Be grateful, people, because I'm s'posed to be writing my English essay right now, and I'm typing Chapter 4 of Shatterheart instead. How much do you love me? Not enough. Lol. Jeez, this chapter's really long...

L and H: Heeheehee… I know something you don't know. But it's a surprise…

Oh, and I forgot last chapter's disclaimer, but you guys know only like four of these characters are mine, right? Anyway, enjoy.

All of the things that I want to say
Just aren't coming out right
I'm tripping on words, you've got my head spinning
I don't know where to go from here
'Cause it's you and me and all other people
With nothing to do
Nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why
I can't keep my eyes off of you
- Lifehouse, "You and Me"

"I can't do this," Bruixe muttered under her breath.

"Of course you can," Kairi encouraged. "You look gorgeous."

"No, I mean I physically can't do this!" panicked Bruixe. "I'm going to kill myself – these ridiculous heels, and this train…"

"It helps if you walk tall," Kairi told her. "And keep your weight on your toes."

Bruixe took an experimental step and only wobbled a little. She straightened her back as much as she could, and took another step. No wobbling.

"And the heels keep more of your train off the ground," Kairi pointed out.

Bruixe looked behind her and saw that the redhead was right. She turned in a small circle and found that it was nearly impossible to step on her own train. "What if someone else steps on it?"

"You'll trip," Kairi said cheerfully.

Bruixe groaned. "Thanks a lot."

"No time for complaints!" the island princess ordered. "Our escorts are waiting!"

"Oh, boy," Bruixe muttered, but then her friend was pushing her towards the door. Her heart thudded nervously as she entered the hallway.

Riku had been leaning against the wall, looking suave in his black tux and violet vest that exactly matched the color of Bruixe's dress. When he saw her, he jerked upright, face lighting up.

"Hey," he said, smiling.

"Hi," Bruixe replied awkwardly, stepping up to take his outstretched hand.

He pulled her in for a swift kiss, then stepped back. "You look beautiful," he told her.

"So do you, pretty boy," Bruixe replied, brushing long hair out of his aqua eyes. "Shall we?"

Bruixe had never seen the original castle of Radiant Garden, but she was sure it couldn't compare to the grand sight before her. The ballroom was enormous, with a golden floor and towering golden pillars; every wall was draped in curtains of royal blue and dark magenta, and the north wall was entirely glass, looking out over the famous Rising Falls.

And there were people everywhere; some she recognized, but most she didn't. The Restoration Committee, of course; Leon, Yuffie, Tifa, all of whom she had met in the Chaser War, but also an older man named Cid and a young woman called Aerith. There was a couple who appeared to be part skeleton; a woman with flaming red hair who was oddly unsteady on her feet; a man with arms as big around as Bruixe's waist and his date, whose waist was as slim as one of Bruixe's arms. There was a man who looked oddly familiar to Bruixe, but she couldn't quite place how she knew him; he had the hardened look of a warrior and was accompanied by a smaller blonde girl that looked like his sister. And, of course, there was mouse-king himself, who barely reached Bruixe's knee but carried a presence bigger than mountains.

"Hello, Your Majesty," she said with a smile as she and Riku passed him.

"Hiya, Bruixe," replied the king, waving a gloved hand. "Welcome to the first annual World Ball!"

The music was already playing, a lighthearted minuet, and Riku offered his hand and bowed. "May I have this dance?" he asked, mock-formally.

Bruixe giggled, not just at the joke but at the memories it brought back. "Of course, good sir," she said cordially.

Riku slipped his arm around her waist and brought her close, making her heart do funny things, and then she was gliding across the floor with hardly any effort at all, guided by his firm but gentle steps.

"You're good at this," she told him.

"So are you," he replied.

Bruixe grinned. "Kairi made me learn. It was horrible." Riku was just as good a dancer as Sora, but his steps were longer, more purposeful. Bruixe wondered where he had learned to dance, but decided not to ask.

The music shifted; slowing to a soft waltz, and Bruixe laid her head against Riku's broad chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart. She let her eyes drift shut, enjoying the warmth and the closeness of him.

"This was a good idea," she murmured.

"Mm-hm," he agreed, burying his face in her hair.

It was a little like being underwater; that feeling that the world was very, very different, but you didn't want it to ever end, Bruixe decided. You never wanted to come up for air, you wanted to just drift there, letting the water swirl around you. But no matter how long you held your breath, eventually you had to come up for air.

Still, she never wanted this moment to end.

The waltz may have lasted a few minutes, or perhaps an hour, or a day, but for Bruixe it was over all too soon. They slowed to a stop near the edge of the dance floor. "I could use something to drink," Riku said.

"Me too," Bruixe responded, but then she spotted a familiar face among the crowd. "Terra!" she yelled, thirst forgotten, and walked as quickly as she could in her silver heels to where he stood.

"I guess I'll go get the drinks," Riku muttered, and disappeared into the throng of people.

"Well, hello, Changeling." Terra greeted her with a swift hug. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Very much so," she replied, smiling. She looked at the former Keybearer's companion; she was a girl a little younger than Bruixe, with long, curly blonde hair and a round, soft face. Despite her innocent looks, her smile seemed forced, almost plastered on her face. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Laurenna," Terra introduced them.

"Just Ren," the girl corrected.

"Ren, this is Bruixe," he went on.

The girl's green eyes widened to approximately the size of dinner plates. "The Bruixe?" she gasped.

"The Bruixe," Terra confirmed. He saw the confused look on Bruixe's face. "Didn't you know, Changeling? You're a war hero now."

"A hero?" she repeated dubiously.

"That's right."

Bruixe didn't really know how to react to that. "Well… that's ironic."

Riku returned with two glasses of a reddish liquid; Bruixe took one with a simple, "Thank you."

Terra's companion spotted the glasses and obviously found an excuse to escape the presence of a 'hero'. "Um… I'm gonna go get a drink," Ren stammered, and left.

"Isn't she a little young for you?" Bruixe joked as she ran off.

Terra gave her an I-can't-believe-you-would-even-think-something-like-that look. "Ren has been… temporarily put under my watch."

"Oh." Bruixe frowned. "Why?"

"It's a long story," Terra said dismissively.

"She looked kind of… upset," she pressed, and Riku nodded in agreement. Bruixe examined the Liberator's face. "And for that matter, so do you. What's up?"

He glared at her. "Nothing."

Bruixe shrugged and looked around, confident he would tell her if it was really important. "So who else is here?" she asked. She spotted two Councilors – Isalena, tall and stern, in steely blue, and Garrison, Bruixe's former foster father. "No Danthus? What, is old Ironfist too serious for this sort of thing?" she asked, using the Watch's affectionate nickname for their general.

Terra didn't reply for a long, long time, then appeared to give in. "His Grace is… currently missing," he admitted.

Bruixe's drink fell to the floor in a tinkle of broken glass. "What?" she hissed. "How?"

"About a week ago," Terra began, "General Danthus assembled a squad of Watchmen and set out on an alleged 'secret' mission. He didn't tell anyone where he was going, or why. There were ten of them in all. No one knows what happened… but they never came back."

"How is that possible?" Riku demanded.

"You must understand, we didn't even know he was gone until the next day," the Liberator said. "He left no notice, no word of where he was going. We don't even know if he was in the Eternal Kingdom. Naturally search parties have been sent out… but they have all come up empty-handed."

"He may not even be alive," she whispered, horrified.

"You can see the predicament we're in," Terra agreed, eyebrows knit into a line. "The Council is in utter turmoil. No one can decide whether or not to elect a temporary replacement."

"I'm a little lost," Riku spoke up.

Bruixe turned to him. "The Eternal Kingdom is a democratic republic," she explained. "The people elect representatives to sit on the Council of Nine, who make the decisions for the city. If the Council is split on a decision – that is, four to five – the Senior Councilor, the one with the most experience, decides the final vote. Danthus is – or was – the Senior Councilor. You can see how his disappearance would be a problem."

"What will happen?" Riku asked.

"If Danthus is not found in the next week or so, a new Councilor will be elected," Terra told them. "Councilor Isalena has assumed the position of Senior Councilor until… further notice."

"So who's the kid?" Bruixe wanted to know. "Ren? Does she have anything to do with all this?"

"Her older sister, Hanna, was the lieutenant Danthus chose to accompany him," he replied. "They have no living parents, and no kin that we could find. I offered to take care of her for a time… and a ball seemed a good distraction."

"Terra, the caregiver," Bruixe said, not without affection. After all, Terra had often been her own caregiver, when she was a child.

"It's a weakness of mine," Terra agreed.

The night was long and the dances seemed to last forever, but Bruixe's thoughts kept drifting back to the events in the Eternal Kingdom. Even when the music finally stopped and everyone was shown to the guest rooms – three rooms for women and three for men – she lay awake on the unfamiliar bed, thoughts racing.

The last words Danthus had spoken to her played through her mind like a recording.

"Go in peace, young Bruixe. Do not carry any regret for us."

It was obvious Terra didn't want her to get involved. The Eternal Kingdom was no longer her home, and she owed them nothing. Any debt she'd built up had been broken down by her deeds in the Chaser War… and even if they hadn't, the Council had pardoned her from past crimes. Let the Eternal Kingdom deal with its own affairs, she told herself. That's the sensible course of action.

But the funny thing about having a heart was… sometimes it wanted to do things that didn't necessarily make sense.

Heeheehee… and the plot begins!

And bonus points to anyone who can figure out who I was referring to here:

"There was a man who looked oddly familiar to Bruixe, but she couldn't quite place how she knew him; he had the hardened look of a warrior and was accompanied by a smaller blonde girl that looked like his sister."

And no, L, you're not allowed to answer.

Review please.