Chapter 4: Dwarf Woodlands
Terra and Gaia appeared in a chamber where a big mirror and a queen stood. Luckily, neither the mirror nor the queen noticed the kids' presence. Terra held onto Gaia's hand and they both sat silently listening to the queen speak. The queen's voice was extremely loud yet dignified like a leader giving a speech to his subjects. It even kept Terra and Gaia on their toes even though she wasn't speaking to them.
"Slave in the mirror—come from the farthest space," commanded the queen like she was quoting a magic spell. "Through wind and darkness I summon thee. Speak! Let me see thy face."
The couple saw a face that looked like a mask appear in the mirror and Gaia looked like she was about to pee herself. What kind of things did they come up with these days? The mirror looked like a demon to her because there was nothing right about it. The face didn't seem to notice either Terra or Gaia even though it looked very wise.
"What wouldst thou know, my queen?" asked the mirror in a hauntingly chilly voice that made shivers go down Gaia's spine.
"Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" It seemed like the queen had asked this question many times before because she addressed the mirror so casually about it.
"Famed is by beauty, my majesty," answered the mirror truthfully, "but hold—a lovely maid I see. Rags cannot hide her gentle grace. Alas she is more fair than thee."
"Alas for her!" hissed the queen in fury, folding her long cape over her form. "Reveal her name." Her tone changed to subtle anxiety yet her face showed none of it.
"Lips red as the rose, hair black as ebony, skin white as snow," described the mirror like he was saying a poem.
"Snow White!" the queen exclaimed hatefully, placing a hand over her chest.
"A mirror that knows and sees everything…how about that," murmured Terra quietly as he placed a hand to his chin in contemplation.
"I know," whispered Gaia fearfully. "I think it is possessed. I mean, look at it. It's a freaking mask in a freaking mirror."
Terra chuckled at Gaia's opinion of the mirror but immediately sobered when the said object began speaking again.
"The heart of Snow White doth shine bright," it continued prophetically. "Beware, my queen, a heart of light."
"Another one?" Terra gasped the same time Gaia gasped, "How is that possible?" The two exchanged an anxious look before looking back to the mirror.
"Wait," said Terra, placing both hands on Gaia's shoulders. "What if Master Xehanort is here?" His voice tinged with a bit of excitement.
Gaia groaned lightly because Terra sounded like a lost puppy looking for its master, which would be Xehanort. "Not this nonsense again," she grumbled softly with a shake of her head.
Before Terra could retort a response, they heard a gasp and a rustle of clothing. The queen must have spotted them. Both Gaia and Terra winced at their stupidity and began walking forward. The queen's green eyes widened when she saw the two walk towards her. It seemed she had not been expecting guests.
"Who goes there?" demanded the queen, staring at them suspiciously.
"My name is Terra," replied Terra calmly as the couple walked towards her, "and this is Gaia. We're looking for a man named Xehanort. Master Xehanort. I thought maybe you might have seen him."
"That name is of no consequence to me," said the queen irritably, turning back to the mirror with a swish of her cloak but just as Terra and Gaia turned to leave, the woman spoke up, "Wait. Ah, yes…I have a task for the two of you. If you succeed, I will ask the mirror where you might find this Master Xehanort."
"And the mirror would know?" asked Gaia curiously, giving the woman a skeptical look.
"Do you two dare to question me?" the queen demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
"What is the task?" asked Terra, changing the subject immediately to save Gaia from the queen's rage.
"There is a young maid who resides in this castle," explained Queen Grimhilde ominously. "Her name is Snow White. Kill her. And make sure you do not fail, bring back her heart in this." She held up a box engraved with a heart and a sword running through it.
Gaia felt her blood go cold when she looked at the box. She couldn't let Terra and herself become a criminal of a crime again. She knew Terra would never kill anyone. Even if he had darkness, he was too flighty to accept that. Why would the queen assign such a task? Literally taking someone's heart out of their chest was grotesque and inhumane, if not worthy of arrest.
"Her heart?" questioned Terra in a tone of surprise, grabbing the box in both hands. "I don't understand. You're after the hearts of light too?"
"What I demand is her life," said the queen firmly, approaching them. "I have had more than enough of her light."
"What did this maiden do to you?" asked Terra patiently as if he was trying to counsel her.
Gaia clenched her fists so tightly that she felt her nails digging into her palms. How could Terra be so thick-headed? Her teeth clenched in anger and a furious flush flooded her cheeks. Just wait till he was out of the queen's sight then she could beat some sense into him. Her eyes widened with anger and fear. He wasn't really considering killing a girl, was he?
"That is no concern of yours," replied the queen archly, brushing the two off in a snobby way. "Now, heed my words: My radiance is all the light this kingdom needs."
Terra's eyes narrowed at that. "Where can I find her?" he asked, cocking his head slightly.
"Outside the castle, there is a glade of wildflowers," answered Grimhilde impatiently, turning back to the mirror. "You are dismissed. Go seek her there."
Both of the teens turned towards the exit and left swiftly. Gaia studied Terra's face. He looked thoughtful and calculating. She felt it hard to swallow. How could he accept this after what they had done to Aurora? Just the mere thought of that made Gaia feel even angrier. As much as she liked Terra, he was going too far for info on Xehanort.
A heart of light, thought Terra. Right now this Snow White is my best chance right now. Maybe she will lead me closer to Master Xehanort. But what if I—no, I won't let that happen. In a flash, he remembered what he did to Aurora but then shook the image out of his head.
The two walked out of the chamber silently and somberly. Terra studied Gaia's face. To him, she looked pretty pissed off and antsy. What really stood out was that she looked like she was ready to hit someone. When the two finally walked into the dungeons, Terra's worse fears were true. Gaia walked up to him and slapped him across the face with all her might. The whipping sound resonated throughout the quiet area.
Once he snapped his head to look at her, he saw livid lines on her face. Her teeth her bared and her eyes looked murderous. The sharp sting on his face hurt like hell and reminded him of how strong this girl was. Her form was shaking with unbridled anger and she gave him a glare that would scare even the most ferocious Unversed. He returned her glare with a hard stare of his own.
"Terra, you hard-headed idiot!" she seethed through clenched teeth. "We will not be responsible for another death!"
"Gaia," he said loudly, roughly grabbing her hand so she wouldn't hit him again. "I need to find Master Xehanort! Why must you argue with everything I do!?" He got in her face but that didn't faze Gaia. In fact it made her angrier.
"Because you keep doing stupid things!" She raised her voice to a shout. "Remember Aurora!? What happened to her!? Do we want that to happen again!?" Her voice echoed in the chamber of the castle as she shouted at him.
"Gaia," Terra's voice was an uncharacteristic growl, "you don't have to remind me! Do you not think that crime haunts me every waking hour! I can't get my mind off of it and you have to be the reminder of it!"
Gaia winced at his verbal assault but she refused to back down because she had to have Terra see the light.
"Shut up," said Gaia in a weary tone that betrayed her exasperation. "Just shut up, Terra. I'm tired of arguing with you. Why can't we find a common ground and you some common sense?"
"Excuse me?" he demanded incredulously at her insult. The grip on her hand was tight and it made her wince. Damn, he had a tight grip!
"You heard me," she icily replied. "Now, release my hand and let's go." She wrenched her hand free and walked ahead of him. He followed after her, having a distasteful feeling that she was right.
…
Once the two made outside the castle and into the flower field, they saw a girl bent over with ebony hair and white-as-snow skin. She was lightly humming a tune as she gathered flowers into her hands. The young girl looked so innocent like a little dove and Gaia couldn't help but stare. Even though Gaia was girl herself, she had never seen someone like this girl before.
"I wonder if that's her," murmured Terra to himself, approaching her slowly so he wouldn't scare her off.
She turned around and saw the both of them standing over her. "Oh!" she exclaimed in surprise. "Oh, hello, who are you two?" Her voice reminded the two of a happy cooing dove. There was so much innocence in this one girl that it made Gaia feel self-conscious.
Instead of answering, Terra asked in a gentle tone, "Aren't you startled?" as he stood over her with a soft smile on his face.
She stood and looked at him in the eye with her wide brown eyes. "Should I be?" she asked innocently, cocking her head to one side.
It's true, then, thought Terra, placing a hand on his chin thoughtfully. Her heart is pure light. She's the one.
"Is something the matter?" the sweet girl asked kindly as she stared at the two naively.
"Does the name Xehanort mean anything to you?" he asked slowly.
"Why…why, no," she answered in a confused tone. "I don't believe I've ever heard that name before." She stared at them curiously, looking very troubled indeed.
"Now what?" wondered Terra quietly, scratching the back of his head in confusion.
Flood Unversed appeared out of the ground and dashed around the glade. The two summoned their Keyblades and, with a startled shriek, Snow White ran off into the woods to escape the trouble. Terra started forward and began calling out for her.
"No, wait!" he shouted warningly. "Don't go in there alone!" She was already gone before his words could reach her and the Unversed kept blocking his path. "Out of our way!" He now glared at the Unversed and pushed Gaia out of the way before slicing them down.
After all of the Unversed were gone, the couple began making their way back to the castle. Gaia looked angry, sad, and scared and Terra couldn't blame her because who knows what happened to Snow White. He wanted to take her hand but then remembered that she was mad at him. The two silently made it through the dungeons to get back to the queen.
When they stood to face her, she had her back turned to them. "How dare you return here, you blundering fools!" she seethed in a voice that shook with fury.
"What are you talking about?" Terra asked a little too-innocently.
"I ordered you to bring me Snow White's heart!" She gave them a livid look that made them feel a bit of fear.
"A request I chose to ignore," said Terra coolly, crossing his arms over his chest rebelliously. That caused Gaia to stare at him in awestruck wonder and pride. She actually began feeling sorry for the slap she gave him and the cold words she said.
"You know," he continued impudently, "you claim to be radiant, but all I see are shadows of jealousy hanging thick on your heart."
"You will pay for your insolence," she hissed angrily, clenching her fists tightly. "Magic mirror on the wall, consume this fool, once and for all!"
Terra drew his Keyblade and pushed Gaia to the wall so she wouldn't get hurt. The mirror, on the other hand, sat patiently as if it was ignoring Grimhilde's order. Gaia wanted to stand with Terra, but he held up a hand that told her to stand down just in case the mirror did lash out at him.
"Alas my liege," said the mirror wisely, "that I cannot do. I have no power to save answers true." In other words, he was denying her the order to swallow Terra up because his words were true.
That, however, didn't stand well with the angry queen. "You dare defy your queen!" she demanded furiously, throwing a green potion at the spirit.
The spirit hissed as it glowed with a bright light and it sent shivers down Gaia's spine. Terra warily held onto his blade as he was sucked in. There was no trace of him once he was sucked in and Gaia felt devastated. She sank to her knees and began weeping for the apparent death of her friend.
"Terra," she softly cried, "I'm sorry for being mean to you. You're my best friend! You should know that by now!" She wished with all her heart that he could hear her words but he was trapped in a magic mirror.
After a short while, a bright light shone in the mirror and out came Terra. Gaia wiped her tears and stood to her feet in awe. She smiled shakily as she ran to embrace him. Her arms wrapped his neck in a stranglehold and she held onto him for dear life. There he was still handsome and strong, holding her tightly.
"How did you escape!" the queen demanded in furious awe, ignoring the hug that Gaia gave the boy.
Terra made his Keyblade vanish and looked at her squarely in the eye. "Now, you will ask the mirror," said Terra firmly as the two walked towards her—well, more like Terra walked towards her as Gaia clung to him like a grapevine. "Where can we find Master Xehanort?" Gaia finally detached herself and stood next to him, looking serious.
The queen growled in defeat. "Magic mirror, instruct this knave!" she ordered the mirror in a ringing voice. "Give him the answers he doth crave."
"Beyond both light and dark he dwells," answered the mirror as if he was telling a legend, "where war was waged upon the fells."
That piqued Gaia's suspicion because there wasn't such a place, was there?
"Is that all?" asked Terra curiously with a cock of his head.
No response came from the mirror, which meant that was all he had to give.
"Thanks," said Terra gratefully. "You've been a great help." With that, he took Gaia's hand and they walked out of the chamber together.
"So, Gaia," he said once they were far enough away, "did I hear what you said when I disappeared? That you said you were sorry and you liked me?" Now, it sounded like he was teasing her.
"Well," she said grudgingly, "I am sorry, but this is not a talk we can talk about right now." She tried to walk forward but he apprehended her by walking in front of her.
"Answer the question," he said, refusing to let the matter drop. "Do you like me?"
"Yes," she whispered shamefully, feeling stupid for revealing her emotions. "A little too much."
"Well, Gaia," he said, smiling, "I like you a lot too." He then grabbed her and held her in his arms, smelling the sweet perfume of her hair. This was the candid moment for them. Those were the words he had been waiting for her to say since he was ten. He realized that he felt these feelings for her from the first day he met her when they were six.
When the two separated, they walked out of the castle, got on the glider, and left the world alone to find more answers about Master Xehanort's whereabouts.
A/N: Before you ask about the queen's name, the reason I know it is because I looked it up and that's the official name Disney gave her. Since this is based on the Disney version of Snow White, the name of the queen is Grimhilde. R&R please!