What can I say other than that I'm touched?
This story got over 60 views last time I checked and 5 reviews at the time I'm typing this... I might cry...
But you, loyal readers, please keep reading... it means a lot to me... honestly...
Besides we have come to another long awaited part... Terra and Iris meet! I know... I'm excited too!
So please keep reading!
It's high noon in Agrabah. The Bazaar was buzzing with buyers and sellers, looking to make a good deal or a quick buck. Terra and Shadow went on their way into the marketplace without causing any trouble. Well, at least for the first few minutes.
"Hungry?" Terra asked his partner in crime.
Shadow nodded in approval, staying close to Terra's side. The brown haired thief gestured to a melon stand just down the path. Shadow scampered off into the crowd and hid behind the melon seller.
"Come on down, buyers! Fresh melons picked ripe! Try it and your tastebuds will dance and sing!" the seller cried.
Terra strolled casually up to him. The seller eyed the thief up and down.
"Haven't I seen you before?"
"No, I'd say this is the first time we've met. Say, those melons look delicious. Too bad your farm was infested with...beetles..." Terra smiled, saying the last word a little too loudly.
Other buyers eyed the two men and avoided the melon stand at all costs. The melon seller coughed loudly and tried to ignore Terra.
"No, no, no! He's just kidding, that was last year! No bugs have even dared set foot on my produce since!"
"Oh yeah, that was last year..." Terra mused.
Behind the both of them, Shadow was stuffing five melons into a sack. If he could get a few more, they would be set for a whole week.
"Go away, troublemaker! You're bad for business!" the seller shouted at Terra.
The thief smiled and picked up a melon to examine. Other buyers stopped to watch the interaction. From Terra's acting, it seemed that this melon stand wasn't the best choice to buy from. Terra poked at the melon, creating a hole straight to it's inner fruit.
"Oh no, this isn't ripe at all. If the skin can't defend itself then clearly it's not ready to sell." Terra grinned.
Shadow stuffed the last melon in the bag and ran back to their hideout. Terra saw him out of the corner of his eye.
"Go away or I will call the guards!" the seller threatened him.
"It will be my pleasure..." Terra responded.
The thief rushed back to the hideout as well. Shadow was putting the melons in their stash while leaving one out for them to share. Terra picked up the one melon and split it in half.
"And now, Shadow, we feast." He said handing half to the shadow creature.
On the other side of the Bazaar, Iris was making her way through the streets. She kept a hood on over her vibrant red hair.
She was fascinated at everything she saw. The bright colors of the woven rugs, the little children playing tag around her, and the many things to buy. It was amazing how cheap this stuff was. She only heard about how expensive her stuff was to buy, but this all was frickin' cheap!
"Hello, young lady. Would you like to buy a pot? Special discount for the pretty lady..." a seller beckoned to her.
Iris giggled and shook her head no.
"How about a nice necklace? I'll give you the necklace free if you buy earrings..." another seller lured her.
She continued walking down the street. More sellers tried to get her attention but Iris wasn't interested. She was too busy taking in the scenery. It might be her only time outside of the palace and she was determined to soak it all in. No one was gonna stop her now.
While she wandered around, Terra and Shadow came back on the scene. They tried to keep a low profile around the crowd. Though a taller-than-average, handsomely built man and his pet, dark, shadowy, Heartless creature was hard to keep low. They weren't the most average couple in these streets, and that's saying something.
Iris accidentally bumped into someone while looking around.
"Oh, excuse me. I'm so sorry." she hastily apologized.
She had bumped into a fire breather, causing him to swallow his fire stick. He belched out a large flame of fire that would make a dragon jealous. Iris jumped back in surprise and landed on the ground. The men rushed to help her up.
Terra turned in time to see the large flame of fire and a woman fall over. He tried to catch a glimpse of her face as a few men helped her up. When he saw her blue eyes, the thief couldn't look away. She was beautiful.
Shadow tugged at his pant leg. No response...
"Terra...Hello? Anyone home?" the creature asked.
"Yeah... um... I'm gonna go talk to her..." Terra said, dazed.
He was just about to walk over there when Iris saw a little boy standing next to the apple stand. He had a pouty lip and sad eyes. The princess went over to him.
"Are you hungry, little boy?" she asked.
He nodded and sniffed, holding back tears. Iris took an apple off the stand and gave it to him. The seller watched her.
"There you go." she smiled.
The little boy smiled back and ran off with his apple. The seller confronted the disguised princess.
"You know you have to pay for that, right?" he asked.
"Pay?" she responded.
It just hit Iris that she had not thought to bring money. Now would've been a good time to use it. The only choice now was to blow her cover.
"No one steals from my stall without punishment." he said.
Iris was just about to make a run for it when the seller grabbed her hand and laided it down on a cleared surface of the stall. There were dried up blood stains right where her arm was. He produced a sharp sword from his belt.
"No please! If you let me go to the palace I can ask the Sultan!"
"Let's see if the Sultan will save your hide after your hand is gone!" he yelled.
Terra stepped forward and knocked the sword out of his hand. Iris gasped in surprise and hid behind her savior.
"Thank you, kind sir. I'm so glad you found her." Terra quickly said.
The seller was confused. Iris was even more confused. Terra took Iris's arm and tried to lead her away.
"Try to play along." he whispered to her.
The seller stopped both of them.
"You know her?"
"Sadly, yes. She is my... cousin. She has a slight problem with her sanity."
"She said she knew the Sultan. Is this true?"
"My good sir, she thinks that weak shadow Heartless is the Sultan." Terra exaggerated.
Iris caught on and bowed to Shadow. Terra's pet took offense at the term 'weak' but played along anyway, holding his head high and acting prideful and such. Terra led the seller back over to his stand.
"Tragic I tell you. But, I assure you, we will not have this problem again."
The brown-haired man collected his pet and Iris and started walking away, before anyone could recognize him. Too late...
"Wait! You're the thieves! Stop them!" the seller shouted.
Our trio broke off into a run for the hideout...
The Sultan, Xehanort, and Vanitas were in the throne room. Eraqus had just finished getting princely clothes for Vanitas when the news had reached them. Xehanort had to deliver the bad news. Vanitas was busy admiring himself in a mirror.
"Sir, we have just received word that the princess has left the building."
The Sultan froze upon hearing this. Of course he knew his daughter had never been outside the palace, but he never imagined she would actually leave the palace.
"Iris...my Iris! She's gone!" he yelled back at Xehanort.
His yelling broke the mirror Vanitas was looking in. The entire palace was cloaked in silence. When the Sultan was mad, no one dared to try anything.
"It appears so..." Xehanort replied back with no emotion.
"Find her! Search every house, every corner! I don't want anything else going on until my daughter is safe inside this palace!" he freaked.
The servants and guards scurried out of the palace and into the rest of Agrabah. Xehanort and Vanitas stayed with the distraught Sultan. Eraqus sat down and tried to get his heart rate down to normal pace.
"Sir, if you allow me, I will use all my powers to find your daughter and return her here safely. Then we can discuss wedding plans for her and Vanitas."
"I'm not sure if we should resort to such extremes of Darkness to find her. She couldn't have gotten in trouble after only leaving for five minutes." Eraqus whimpered.
"Your majesty, she's been gone since last night. We all have been searching for her in the palace since then. We didn't want to make you fret and conduct a middle of the night search. All of Agrabah would be caught off guard."
"And you think waiting to tell me NOW is better?" Eraqus yelled again. "She could be in serious trouble! She could be kidnapped and held for ransom, or worse!"
"So, may I look for her?" Xehanort asked patiently.
"Fine...so be it. If she's not here by sunset, you're fired."
"That won't be necessary, sir. I'll be back in time to plan the wedding. Vanitas, come!"
Vanitas followed his master reluctantly. Eraqus was left in the throne room with his thoughts.
Once Xehanort entered his private chamber, he held up a crystal ball and started brewing dark magic around it. Vanitas went back to a mirror to further admire himself.
"You know, I don't mind this whole arranged marriage thing." he stated.
"Quiet, boy! I'm trying to find your bride."
"Fine, fine... but I want respect when Iris and I get married."
The old man rolled his eyes and focused on the ball. A thick green smoke filled inside of it and slowly revealed two figures and a heartless climbing a ladder into a building. Iris's red hair started coming out of the hood. Xehanort smiled.
"Found the princess, Vanitas. And look, she's with another man."
Vanitas came over and saw Iris and Terra.
"My bride is with another man! I demand a pre-nup!" he shouted.
Clearly, Vanitas was taking this a little too far. It wasn't to late to try and get in the Cave of Wonders again. Speaking of which, the medallion was acting strange. When Terra was in the crystal ball, it started vibrating and growing warmer, despite being on a cold surface. Xehanort noticed this.
"We might not have to get you married just yet, Vanitas. I think we can take another shot at the Cave of Wonders before it's too late."
"As long as we keep him in that blasted cave and away from Iris, I don't care."
"Fair enough...your princely-ness..." Xehanort hissed.
The fog reappeared in the crystal ball and the medallion stopped vibrating. Terra was the one they were looking for and ironically Iris had just led them to the diamond in the rough. Maybe this would be easier than Xehanort thought.
Alright! Thanks for reading!
Please leave a review and tell me what you think!
Stay tuned for chapter 5!