Erik Hansen

Based on Final Fantasy VII

A Princess Tale

A young man rushed out the castle doors. He turned and pointed at the servants and the King watched him from the castle.

"That woman will never marry! She is improper in her words and actions!" he mounted his horse and galloped away.

"Aerith J. Gainsborough!" shouted the King, "Get your ungrateful self down here!" The youthful princess heard her father calling, and arose from her seat. "Father is shouting again. I hate it when he does that," she thought, and then replied, "I'm coming Papa!" She walked out of her room, down the staircase, and into the main entrance where her father awaited with an enraged look upon his face. "You called me Papa?" she stood before him looking beautifully innocent as she waited for the King's response.

"Young lady, what was that?" he pointed to the door the young man had just exited from. "He stormed off like…" the King sighed. "What did you say? Do you have any idea how much trouble I went through to get that prince down here? Don't you want to get married? You're always such a sweet girl. Why, then, can't you be sweet to the young men I bring you?"

"Yes, of course, but I want to be in love with the person I marry. Why? Because I don't like their attitudes." She thought.

The King had been looking for handsome princes who would marry his daughter for months now. She was of age. It was improper for a young girl like her not to marry.

"Father, I mean no offence. That prince and I had nothing in common." She stated.

"Oh, and what about Prince Kadash, Prince Loz, Prince Barett, Prince Sephiroth, and all the other princes before them? They had similarities with you, and I for one won't stand around as you make a fool out of me. You will marry whether it is of your choosing or not" the king leaves her and goes to his library.

Her eyes flared in rage as she glared daggers at the closed door. "I need to get out of this place!" She thought in anger.

"Grammy?" she calls urgently. Her nanny enters the room; the small elderly woman trudges toward her princess.

"Yes, my lady?" she answers.

"I'm going horse back riding, "She then begins to go to her room to change. "Call the stable boy. Tell him to ready my horse." She added over her shoulder.

"Yes Ma'm," the nanny answers.

Aerith goes to her room and changes into some worn out old clothes originally made for a small boy. She always liked to dress in male clothing and do 'boy things'. Maybe, that was a reason for the princes to call her improper. Her boots make thudding noises as she enters the stable. A young man hands her the reigns to her horse.

"Here you go miss." He says.

"Thank you." She replies. She gets on her horse and trots out of the stable. It was a beautiful day. Perfect for being outside. After riding for a bit, she ties the horse up by the lake. She looks over the lake as she thinks, "This is a disaster! Dad, why can't I wait on marriage? I can rule a kingdom by myself." Night was approaching and she needed to get home. The sound of trumpets breaks her train of thought, "Trumpets? What has happened?" she thinks as she gets on her horse and rides to the castle. She gives the horse to a stable boy and goes to her father's room. "Father!" she calls as she climbs the staircase. She rushed into his room where she saw her father signing papers with a pleased look on his face.

"Ah, there she is. Aerith, I want you to know that, because of your constant refusals, I have arranged your marriage to the son of a friend of mine. I believe you will like him. He is very kind and quite handsome."

Stunned, she asks, "Do I get to meet this man?"

"No. I'm afraid not. You, in this matter, have no say this time."

"That's not fair father!" She says her voice rising.

The King stands up. "Don't use that tone with me! I'm your father and you will show me respect!" His voice continued to rise with every other word.

Aerith runs out crying. She runs to her room and locks the door. "How could father do this to me?" She thinks as she throws herself on the bed and cries. She cries to herself, never noticing the open window or the dirty foot prints on her windowsill until it was too late.

She kicked and squirmed while he went through the window, with her on his shoulder, out of the window to his stallion. Her moving almost made him drop her half way down. "God I would hate to drop this beautiful young girl," he thought.

Clouds loom in the sky, riding away from the castle-on horse back-heading towards the woods, rides the princesses' kidnapper.

"God, good thing I gagged the princess. She would have alerted the entire palace."

Her squirming was now making it hard to steer the horse. With one hand on the reigns and the other around the middle, it was getting much more difficult. He stopped the horse, and grabbed the knife from the sheath on his leg, then pressed it against the princesses' neck.

"Stop moving, I would hate to mar this pretty little neck of yours," she stiffened in his arms.

"Who is this man?" She quietly ponders this. She can feel his strong legs on his thighs, his strong chest at her back and his powerful arm around her middle.

He grabbed the reigns, knife still in hand and started to gallop. A little while later, the man takes his knife and places it on her face near the gag. "If you promise not to scream I'll cut it." He whispered softly into her right ear.

She nods her head, and e carefully slides the blade beneath the restricting cloth, and then cuts it away swiftly.

"Who are you? What do you want?" She asked, her voice hoarse. It pained the man to she her in such distress.

"Please calm down. My name is Cloud; I'm not here to hurt you."

She whipped her head around to glare at him, "Then what do you want? Why did you take me from my home?"

"I have my reasons."

She faced the road ahead. Thoughts raced through her mind so fast she could hardly grasp them, and her fatigue from all the emotional stress was beginning to rise. All she wanted was sleep.

Soon they came to a small cottage deep within Fiori Forest. Cloud dismounts his horse, and attempts to aid Aerith from her place, but fails. For her legs had fallen asleep during the journey and she stumbled as she was placed on the ground.

"Would you like some assistance?" Cloud asks, while lifting her into his arms and carries her towards the house after tying his stallion to a near by tree.

"Put me down," Aerith commands, "I can walk on my own."

Cloud places her feet to the ground, where she struggles to regain her balance once more.

"This woman is head-strong I can see," He lightly muses to himself, "I think I like her already."

He walks behind her, and places an arm around her waist. "I can walk perfectly without your help." She tosses her nose into the air and increases her speed. Soon their strides reach the inside of the humble abode.

Aerith looks around the living room area. There were two oversized lounge chairs, a fireplace, and a dinky window towards the back of badly lit room. As she walked down the hallway, she found a reasonably sized kitchen and a dwarfish sized storage room. At the end of the hallway to her right she found an average sized bedroom.

While walking back towards the living room, Aerith bumps into Cloud. He had been walking into the hallway to cut the ropes that bound her. He gently took her hands into his own then removed his knife and quickly slashed the binds away.

He then leads her into the kitchen and washes her sore, bleeding wrists that were caused from her struggles. After that task was done, he took out a clean bandage and wrapped her wrists lightly. "You shouldn't have struggled. These ropes were not meant to hurt you."

She retrieves her hands from him and muttered under her breath, "How can one not wish to get away."

"Princess, I have brought you clean cloths to change into. Would you like to see them?" He suggested as he motioned her towards the bedroom.

She ventured down the hallway and into the bedroom, where the clothing was laid out on the bed. Looking to her left, she noticed a miniature window that lead to her freedom. She crosses the room and opens the window. Then, she lifts herself up onto the nightstand and propels herself out the window.

Then second her feet hit the ground she ran. As she approaches the first tree, Cloud steps out from behind it. She froze; her heart beat as fast as a stallion about to be caught.

"Is my company that unpleasant?" He inquired.

She panics and sprints in the opposite direction. He catches up to her and grasps her from behind. They roll around in the dirt struggling against each other. After much arguing, Cloud throws her over his shoulder and proceeds to bring her inside.

Cloud places Aerith on the bed and walks out after shutting the window. The retuning to chopping wood for the fireplace, he thinks,"What a trouble-some girl," he laughs, "God, she's amusing."

An hour later, Cloud returns to the bedroom to find her sleeping soundly on the sheets. He smiles as he pulls the covers from under her and places them upon her sleeping form.
Aerith awoke to the sweet scent of maple syrup on eggs. She sits up, opens her eyes and mindlessly picks up a bright yellow dress. She ponders her situation as she dresses, "He confuses me, and I mean he kidnapped me right? And yet he doesn't seem to be in it for the money. He treats me so kindly as well. When I think about it, this is a lot more adventurous than the castle duties. Maybe I could give him a try." Then she goes down to the kitchen.

Cloud turns to see an angel dressed in the gleaming yellow dress he had picked out for the princess. The dress was cut in such a way that it accented her womanly features. "Beautiful." He thought, and then greeted her with a cheery smile, "Good morning."

"Good morning," replied as she plopped down in her chair. He placed a plate in front of her, which contained: eggs, potatoes, ham, and bread coved in maple syrup.

"Why so much maple syrup?" She asks, raising an eyebrow at the odd dish before her.

"I thought it would taste better…"

There is an awkward silence.

"Why did you kidnap me? Money? If that's it my father will pay…"

"No. Not for money."

"Then why?"

"I just wanted to get to know you is all."

"What! Why?"

Growing tired of where the conversation was going he abruptly stood up and says a bit harshly, "Because I'm your fi-"He pauses, "I mean, I want to be your friend." With he exits the room with his plate. He scolds himself, "Oh God. What is wrong with me? My plan would have been a waste if I had finished that sentence."

Later that week, her view of Cloud began to sway. A positive light began to brighten her outlook on her current situation. He would continue to be courteous and always had a smile on his face. She became fond of him and looked forward to the day ahead. More than once, she had forgotten that she had been kidnapped. "This is the kind of man I would want to marry," She often thought to herself.

Cloud loved how she no longer hid herself from him. "The final day is approaching. The day that I shall see whether my plan was a success of not." He often thought. He found himself trusting her more and more.

The crackling of the fire and the pitter-patter of the rain outside left a calming atmosphere in the cottage. Snuggled up in their own oversized armchairs and drinking their hot tea, they spoke for a bit then settled into silence. Cloud was stretched out in his armchair, his eyes closed, giving the illusion of him being asleep.

Aerith went down the hall to get him a blanket, when she heard a loud crash coming from the living room. She ran back down the hall startled by the sudden noise. When she arrived at her destination she noticed Cloud was missing and the front door was wide open. She called his name from just inside the doorway. She dashed to the bedroom to retrieve her coat and boots. She rushed towards the door when Cloud entered drenched. He then turns to her revealing the blood on his right side.

"Cloud! What happened? Is that yours?" She cries out desperately.

"It belongs to a man who came here in search of you." He says as he removes his shirt and vest.

"He came in search of me and you killed him?"

"No, I wounded him and put him on my slowest horse. He'll be okay."

Aerith started to pace while she thought aloud, "He could have had information like 'How's father?' or 'Is everything good at the castle?' or 'When is my wedding?'"

"Do you really want to leave me that bad? Is being with me so unpleasant?"

She looks into his eyes and sees pain, then wonders, "Do I really want to leave?" Tears weld in her eyes and she threw her arms around him, "No! I want to stay here forever! I love you!" He holds her close and whispers sweet nothings in her ear.

The next morning Aerith found Cloud in the kitchen. They greeted one another and the morning continued as usual.

When breakfast was done Cloud led Aerith outside. "I want to take you somewhere." He said in a low voice.

"Where shall we be going?" She asked curious; Cloud always had nice surprises for her.

By the time they reached their destination Aerith was astonished. "What are we doing here?" She asked Cloud both worried and confused.

"This is the end my lady." He places her on the ground next to the castle wall. She looks at him in utter confusion.

"What do you mean?" Tears formed in her eyes, afraid of the answer to come.

"This is where I leave you." His voice was devoid of all emotion.

"You're leaving! Why?" She cries in distress.

He then says, "You're getting married in a couple of days."

"But I want to be with you! Please! Take me from this place! Take me with you, please! I love you!" Tears became rivers as she cried.

"I'm sorry, but I can't…" He pulled away from her and rode off into the distance.

She walked inside the castle. People began to recognize her and rushed her to her father. The King had been worried about his little girl for the entirety of her absence.

She fell into a deep depression, deeper than the darkest waters. Insomnia sets in, for she cannot eat, sleep or stay away from the pain in her heart. Time was an illusion, for it passed without purpose or meaning. Her heart was so heavy that if it had wings it wouldn't be able to carry the burden of love that she held within her.

Finally the day of the wedding arrived. It was a sad day, for she refused to cooperate until her father reminded her of the fact that she must marry this man at all costs. She then prepared herself for a life of misery as the veil was placed before her tear stained face.

Walking down the aisle, she looked everywhere but at her groom. Terrified of who this man could be, she forced herself to turn to him.

Time froze.

She stared at her groom and her face brightened, her heart filling with happiness. Her groom was Cloud himself. Tears of joy clouded her vision as she flipped the veil out of her face, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him before the ceremony had officially begun.

The rest of the day went beautifully, for she was married to Cloud D. Strife. The ring on her finger proved it and she wore it with pride. Her wedding night she asked Cloud the reason for her kidnapping. He explained, "I wanted to know what my future wife would be like; if she was a kind, beautiful person and if she could stand up for herself, instead of letting a man rule her. The time I spent with you I learned that you were perfect for me. I love you Aerith and I hope you would not be mad with me."

She told him over and over again how much she loved him. She moved into his castle where she lived happily with the man who kidnapped her heart and her love.