But even given the fairies' many assurances, Cloud was not satisfied. He feared greatly for his son's life, and so on that very day, the King decreed that every spindle in the kingdom be burned. So it was done. In the castle courtyard, every spinning wheel was brought and piled, then set aflame. Many solemn people gathered to watch as the smoke from the bonfire rose high into the sky.

Inside the castle, watching from a window, Lulu turned away with a solemn shake of her head.

"It won't be enough to stop her. That foolish man is only rushing to his grief."

Rikku looked up from where she sat nearby, polishing a little robotic contraption. "Lulu, that's not a very nice thing to say! Why do you think that?"

"Because Maleficent is nothing if not proud. She will see this as a challenge, no doubt. She'll probably kill the boy well before he reaches sixteen, or at the very least, inflict some miserable harm upon him." Lulu shook her head again. "The king doesn't understand. No one escapes her curses."

Yuna sat near the window as well, looking pensive. "There has to be something else we can do." She sighed. "Poor child..."

The blonde fairy sniffled. "How could she do something like that? It's not little Sora's fault! It was the King and Queen's! They made her angry, not him!"

"Life isn't fair, Rikku. Many people end up having to die for the mistakes of others," Lulu said solemnly. "Maleficent knows that it would hurt them most of all to lose their baby."

The blonde fairy shook her head sadly.

"But that doesn't mean we can just give up! Right? Yunnie?" Rikku looked to her sister desperately. "We can't let her hurt him!"

The brunette fairy gave a small, sad smile, nodding.

"I don't want to give up hope," she said. "I don't want the people to be sad. They were smiling just this morning...I want to...go back to that."

"Then what are we to do?"

The fairies pondered for a moment, before Rikku pipped up excitedly. "Oh, oh! I have an idea!...But we should go somewhere private to talk about it!"

Lulu and Yuna nodded. While it was true that walls didn't really have ears, who was to say the evil witch wasn't listening somewhere? Or had sent one of her spies to listen for her, somewhere?

They chose a little jewelry box, painted with swirls of pink and blue in the shapes of swans and little dancers. They opened it, shrinking down to their tiny fairy sizse and slipping inside. Aside from a few scattered pearls and pendants, there was plenty of space to walk around. Yuna made a small orb of light appear for the room, and glanced into one of the tiny mirrors on the back wall. Lulu cast a spell of silence over them, so that no ears, magical or otherwise, would hear of their plan. Rikku bounced excitedly from one foot to the other.

"I'll turn him into a robot!"

Her brunette sister blinked. "The prince?"

"Yes! That way, he can't prick his finger! And he'd be safe from Maleficent, no matter what she tried to throw at him!"

"Except maybe lightning," Lulu said, crossing her arms with a thoughtful look. She leaned against the wall mirror, shaking her head. "Or until Maleficent chose to smash him or shut him down."

The blonde wilted. "Awww...Lulu! You're not helping!"

"I'm just being practical, dear. And besides, do you think the King and Queen would like their son to be a robot for 16 years?"

"I doubt they even know what a robot is..." Rikku mumbled to herself. But she knew her sister had a point. They'd have to think of something else.

So they sat in silence, each wondering what they could possibly do to help the prince. Time passed, and Rikku and Lulu only seemed to grow more anxious and frustrated. Then, Yuna's face brightened, and the two turned to see what she'd come up with.

"Maleficent is the epitome of evil in this kingdom. She doesn't understand things like kindness or love, only that she can sometimes use them to help herself." The others nodded, gesturing her to continue. "If we helped the king and queen, then she wouldn't know what to make of it."

"I believe we established this already, Yuna," Lulu said softly. "The question is how. What can we do that she won't expect? I believe that is the key."

"Exactly!" Yuna said eagerly, clapping her hands together. "Juts picture this. What if we hid the prince away somewhere, where she would never think to look?"

Rikku blinked. "For 16 years?"

"If we were to hide the child, which I'm assuming to be your objective, how would we keep our magic hidden from the witch's detection?"

Yuna shrugged. "We'd put our wands away for a little while."

Lulu's eyes widened. "You mean...live as mortals?"

"That's what I think we should do."

"But Yuna, how would we live? We've never done anything without magic before. Not really," Rikku said quickly, hopping off of the pearl she'd been sitting on.

"We'd learn," Yuna replied calmly. "Humans can do it. Who's to say we can't?"

Lulu paused, looking thoughtful for a moment. "If we all pitched in, then we might be alright. Where are you suggesting we take him?"

"Into the forest. He'll be safe there."

"But don't a few monsters live in there?" Rikku asked hesitantly. The deeper parts of the woods could be very dangerous indeed. "You know she can command monsters!"

Yuna nodded. "But it would be safer than leaving him at the castle, where she can appear at any time and deal with him as she likes."

"You think so?"

Lulu looked up. "Perhaps...if they didn't know to look for him..."

"And we'll keep him safe and sound," Yuna said firmly. "We'll make sure he's never unprotected."

Rikku brightened excitedly at all this planning. "Wouldn't it be wonderful? We could take care of the little cutie! Ohhh, I've always wanted to try taking care of a baby!"

The black-haired fairy snorted. "Since when?"

Rikku stomped her foot. "For a while, okay?"

"I didn't know you had such fierce dreams of being a mother."

"Hey!"

Yuna laughed at them softly. Some things never changed. It was good to see that even in these dark times, they could still be so light-hearted and natural.

"First we have to tell their majesties." She sighed. "I just hope we can convince them."

Lulu came up beside her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Whatever happens will happen. All we can do is pose the idea and hope for the best. Ultimately I pray that the Gods watch over that child, no matter where he goes." The other two girls nodded their heads solemnly. One by one, they filed out of the little jewelry box and regained their human sizes, where Yuna promptly took their wings and gave them peasant clothes in place of their old fairy ones. She gave the wands to Lulu to keep hidden away, and together, they left to speak to the royal family.

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"Absolutely not."

The fairies looked up at their king with dismay, Rikku's in particular looking more pathetic and miserable than the rest.

"But your majesties-"

"No." Cloud looked over to his queen and saw her nod in agreement. "I cannot condone this plan. If something happens to Sora, and we have been without him all these years, it will be just as if we had no son to begin with."

"With all due respect, your majesty," Yuna offered quietly, "This is the safest possible thing for your son. What better protection than to be hidden, somewhere where the witch cannot find him? And you can be assured we would love and care for him just as you yourself would. He will grow up happy and free, unburdened by the stress of court life, and humble to all your subjects because of it."

Stella looked as if she might speak, but Cloud raised a hand to silence her.

"I understand your logic in this matter. We are just..." Now the king looked very sadly at his lap. "We are hesitant to give up that for which we have worked so hard. He is our son."

"I understand, your majesties. Believe me, I do." Yuna said sympathetically. Lulu took a step forward then, addressing the king and queen beside her sister. "You may enjoy your son for many years to come, but you will have longer to do so if he survives the curse. If the time has passed, and Maleficent's deed is left undone, there is nothing more she can do to hurt your son, by our law. She is bound to her word."

The royal couple considered this, and soon enough, they gravely relented to the fairies' greater wisdom. Though they would not be able to see him grow from a boy to a handsome young man, they knew that this was the best assured protection they could offer their only son. Offering a few tearful words to their newborn son, the king and queen passed the boy into Rikku's waiting arms, surrendering him to the unknown. And early into the next morning, dressed in simple peasant's clothes, the three fairies left the castle. Under cover of darkness, with only a few simple provisions, they sought the old abandoned woodcutter's cottage on the edge of the deeper woods, where they would take to caring for the little prince in secret.

And so their new lives began. They lived like mortals, raising the boy as if he were their own. To protect him further, they gave him the name 'Roxas,' and never allowed themselves or him to speak to another living soul in those woods, for 16 years...