Chapter 2: Roxas

And so, the king's edict spread like wildfire throughout the kingdom; news of the Prince's engagement ball reached the ears of the subjects by word of mouth faster than the royal messengers could post the thick, luxurious royal parchment in every village square. The land may have been enjoying a prosperous, peaceful age, but boy, the people sure did know how to gossip.

In one small village known as Twilight Town, all of the young ladies (and men) crowded around the declaration in excitement. There was a considerable amount of light pushing and standing on tiptoes to get a better look as well as a great deal of squealing and cheering. The parchments declared that all persons deemed eligible were required to attend the ball (all persons aged eighteen or older—those who were close to the Prince's actual age were the best candidates). Everybody had hoped the Prince would marry soon, but no one had ever dreamed that they might have the chance to be the lucky person to marry him! They were also surprised that the King apparently did not care about the candidates' birth and rank—attendance was mandatory for everyone and anyone who could become a potential match for the Prince. Missing the ball without a very good reason basically amounted to treason… finding the right match for the Prince was for the sake of the country. Consequences for refusing to go would be… severe.

Mandatory or not, the people's eyes shined with hope. Who cares if it was a mandatory event? They were going to go to a BALL at the CASTLE and get a chance to marry a total dreamboat Prince—the dreamiest dream to ever dream from Dreamville. In the days leading up to the ball, every person was excited. Everyone worked hard to prepare their best outfits and engagement gifts to bring upon arrival to the castle.

Well, almost everyone was excited.

"I don't see why I have to be forced to go to this thing," Roxas huffed irritably as his mother jammed another pin into him.

"Will you stop wiggling around? I will never get this thing done if you keep fighting me every step of the way, and the ball is TODAY," his weary mother sighed as she continued to work on his best dress clothes. "You must go Roxas. It's the law. Do you want to break the law and break your dear mother's heart? No. I didn't think you did."

Roxas squeaked with pain as his mother stabbed him with another pin. He felt his heart sink. It was just his luck that his eighteenth birthday happened to fall on the same date as the stupid Prince's ball. If it had been just another day later… maybe even a few weeks later for safety… he wouldn't have to be forced into this situation at all.

"Ohhhh," his mother whined. "I don't know why you aren't as excited as your other friends. Olette looked so cute earlier when she went into the fields to get flowers to make a garland for her hair! And when I saw Hayner earlier in his outfit, he was looking so debonair and grown-up. Poor Pence, he was crying watching his friends get ready for the ball, and he's too young to go… he is SO jealous of you, and he would gladly take your place in a minute, and you are just so ungrateful for the opportunity you've been given. Can't you at least go and try to enjoy yourself?"

"If I could switch places with Pence, I would…" Roxas muttered through gritted teeth under his breath.

"What was that?" His mother asked sharply as she jabbed her son with another pin. "Ohh… I'm sorry, honey. I'm not as good at this as your father was."

Roxas' father was the tailor of Twilight Town, but he left town months ago to become a mercenary, leaving his business in the hands of his family. Roxas didn't know why adults were so strong, but so incredibly stupid. The King was stupid for forcing this ball on everyone. His father was stupid for trying to become a mercenary when he made a great living in the village. He said he had wanted to do it for the adventure as well as the gold. What adventure? It was peace time! Roxas just didn't understand it… He hoped his father hadn't gotten himself lost or killed somewhere.

He didn't want to talk about father with his mother.

"It's alright, mother," Roxas said, lying through his teeth. "These will be fine the way they are."

They looked absolutely dreadful.

She smiled. She totally bought it.

"Well, now, I suppose this is as good as it's going to get. Just be confident—even if messed up your clothes a little bit, if you carry yourself well, that Prince won't be able to resist you."

"Mother…" Roxas felt embarrassed.

"Do you have everything you'll need? The coach will be here to pick you up in an hour! Make sure you meet it in front of Hayner's house." (Note: Roxas, Olette, and Hayner chipped in to share a coach. Like splitting the cost of a limo for prom!)

"Mother… I'm set."

"And you have the gift you're bringing—"

"It's fine."

"Oh. Sorry, I'm just nervous for you."

"…I'm going to go for a walk. I need some air. You know, to calm me down. I think I'm catching your nerves… don't want to be all jittery when I meet the Prince, right? I'll be back before the coach arrives." Roxas smiled softly.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. See you soon!"

'That's what you think…' he thought.

Roxas knew he would be breaking the law. He knew he would break his mother's heart. However… he would pay the price necessary to ensure his freedom! The King was terribly out of line; he would not tolerate this… this… potential forced marriage. He didn't want to be at the ball at all when there was a chance he might be the one chosen. How could he live a lifetime with someone he didn't know… didn't want to know? Screw the consequences! Even if the consequence was death, it was better than decades of unhappiness. If he made it past the village and could travel far enough to clear the border… his life would be entirely his own. He felt like it was worth the gamble.

He would have to be sneaky—sneaky like a little fox.

Roxas made it to the edge of the village. From his vantage point in one of the bushes, he could see the guards posted at the entrances. The guards wore identical, shining armor, and they all had incredibly large chins. These chins were no joke; these chins were so mighty they could fight someone with one chin tied behind their chin while Aladdin's Genie's chin cried in the corner LIKE A GIRL. Roxas tried his best to stay out of sight. He crept toward the forest's edge when suddenly…

SNAP.

Roxas looked down. He'd stepped on a twig—the tiniest twig ever.

"YOU THERE."

He froze in place.

"YES, YOU. STAY WHERE YOU ARE. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" Two of the guards approached him. Their armor clanked noisily.

"Um… I'm… uh…" Yes, Roxas. Real smooth.

"ARE YOU… BREAKING THE LAW?!"

"Um?"

"YOU ARE BREAKING THE LAW. YOU MUST RETURN TO THE VILLAGE. YOU HAVE THREE SECONDS TO COMPLY."

That's when Roxas decided it was now… or never. He had three seconds to duck into the forest and attempt to lose the guards. He turned to leave.

"GET HIM!"

Roxas felt the metal of one of the guards' gloves clamp down on his shoulder. So much for his three second head start.

"NOOOO! I DON'T WANT TO GO TO THIS STUPID THING! LET ME GO!"

"HE IS RESISTING! HE WILL BE PUNISHED!"

The other guard pulled out a weird looking gun. Roxas' eyes widened. He thought he could be resigned to death if it came down to it, but his survival instinct told him to keep struggling.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

The guard zapped him. He felt everything go fuzzy and then… everything went white. Was this what dying felt like? He closed his eyes, waiting for the end…

But when he opened them, he found his head and arms bound in the stocks back at the village. His head hurt, and it felt like his brains had turned into mush.

"Ugh… it was a teleport ray…"

He looked up to see a very blurry looking crowd.

"What's wrong with him?! Why doesn't he want to meet Prince Axel?"

"I know! He's like, SUCH A DREAMBOAT OHMYGOD!"

"Let's throw rotten fruit on him!"

"YEAAAAAAHHHH!"

"AHHHHH!" Roxas screamed.

His mother watched from the back of the crowd, totally ashamed of her law-breaking criminal of a son. She held her cloak tightly near her face so no one would recognize her as the mother of such a delinquent child. His friends Olette, Hayner, and Pence stood by at the edges of the crowd uncomfortably. They didn't partake in the verbal abuse nor the throwing of rotten foods, but they didn't try to stop it either. Eventually, the crowd dispersed. Olette and Hayner cast a sad glance at Roxas before they got into their coach… the one they were supposed to share with Roxas.

When everyone was gone, the emptiness and silence in the village gave Roxas' mother silent permission to take her son out of the stocks. She tried to wipe away as much of the gunk as possible, but he was still horribly smelly and dirty. His clothes were absolutely ruined. She cried the entire time, but she didn't speak a word to him. Her son had shamed her in front of the entire village, the clothes she had spent so much time working on were ruined, and the coach was gone. There was nothing to say.

"You're my son, and I love you… but you have ruined this day. I did my best… I don't know what else to do now."

And she walked away.

Roxas sat in the muck. He felt… really horrible. He wished he could do something to make it up to his mother.

Wishing, as it turned out, was not the best idea.

POP.

"Are you the one doing the wishing around here—OH. MY. DEAR SWEET TOOTH FAIRY. What IS that rancid STENCH!?" A pink-haired…something… floated above Roxas. It was wearing a pink, puffy, glittery outfit that hurt Roxas' eyes. It held its nose in a disgusted manner.

"Um…" Roxas really had a way with his words today.

"You're probably wondering who I am," the creature said excitedly as it flew around Roxas' head with alarming speed. "I'm Marluxia! I'm your fairy godfather! I'm here to help you so you can be pretty and go dance at the ball and twirl around and around and around and around and you and the Prince can be dizzy in love and-"

"…You mean… aren't you supposed to be a fairy godmother? Isn't that how it's supposed to work?"

"Hey. HEY." Marluxia whacked him over the head with his wand. Sparks shot out of the end of it. "That. Is. Sexism! No, we have fairy godmothers and godfathers now. And we've got a very strong union. Equal opportunity act of 1700. Magical law, you wouldn't be familiar with it, of course..."

Roxas rubbed the top of his head. That had really hurt, and it added to his already unpleasant headache. "Great. And why are you here?"

"You were WISHING, and MY specialty is in getting down-on-their-luck people makeovers. You're on your way to the ball, I presume. My manager told me there was this big to-do tonight… an engagement ball for the Prince! You must really want to go, or I wouldn't be wasting my time here, now would I? Boy, you are a mess though! AND you stink to HIGH HEAVEN. I think it's pretty obvious why I'm here."

"NO," Roxas burst. "I never wanted to go to this thing in the first place! I was hoping to get OUT of it!"

Marluxia chuckled. Roxas wanted to burn him with fire. With fire! ALL OF THE FIRE.

"I'm sorry, kid, but that isn't how things work. Let me elaborate: my job is to make you pretty and send you to the ball. Your job is to go to the ball, meet the Prince, and marry the crap out of him and live happily ever after. This. Is. How. The. World. Works. Now, I'm going to make you PRETTY. That's step one. Got it?"

With a wave of his wand, Roxas suddenly smelled a whole lot better. He felt like he was bathed in a gentle bath of warm water, soap and…pretty smelling stuff. Was that the smell of roses? He took a whiff. Yes, he smelled like roses now. He smelled like a woman.

Marluxia waved his wand again, and he felt like he was wrapped in something comfortable and soft. He looked down at his clothes. Those had changed too. Now he was also DRESSED like a woman; he was wearing a gorgeous blue ball gown that shimmered and flowed beautifully with every movement. The only thing that didn't seem to feel comfortable were the heels his feet were crammed into.

"Um…but… I'm a BOY. The other guys who are going to this thing aren't going in dresses! Though this is really comfortable and there's a really nice airflow… wait. No. NO DRESSES. And these shoes REALLY hurt."

"Do you really think I care? I'm just doing my job. Nothing personal, kid, but it's not always about what you want. You wear a dress. You look fantastic. Heels hurt no matter how much magic I put into making them. That's how it works. You'll wear it and like it. Stop complaining."

Roxas supposed he would have to wear it. At least it was better than being covered in garbage. Or being naked. At this point, he didn't want to argue anymore with the crazy pink fairy with MAGIC POWERS.

"…Fine. I'll go, but I won't like it."

"Oh, you will!" Marluxia winked. "You just don't know it yet. I, however, am a magical being blessed with this gift called foresight."

"…I think you're a crazy quack of a fairy."

Marluxia cackled horribly and then disappeared with another POP. As he departed, Roxas felt a tug and increased pain in his head. Roxas had arrived at the castle.

"I flipping HATE teleporting!" Roxas cried as he rubbed his forehead.

Was that makeup he felt on his face? He groaned.

End Chapter 2