AN: Another thanks to Librarian343 for alerting this story. Makes me happy when people take their time to read this.

Please read and review.

Disclaimer: I don't own LOZ or KH, since I'm not rich, at all.

Chapter 4: I bewitched a princess

"Link turned into a wolf…you expect me to believe that?"

Inwardly, Sora thought that it was the coolest thing to happen after he started leading the Master Knights. Of course he'd never say it out aloud. It would raise the morale of the Knights if they had a puppy mascot.

"Yes, big brother" Vanitas grit out "I just told you that ten times already."

Sora glanced at Impa "Is he telling the truth?"

"Yes, it would be better if you spoke to him privately. The transition appeared extremely painful" Impa said.

Looking around the empty table, Sora frowned and realized that there was only his brothers and Impa in the room. Deciding to drop his tedious façade he slumped on the table.

"Vanitas buy me some ice-cream" he moaned out.

"We want some too" the twins chorused.

Vanitas simply glared at them.

"Sit up properly Sora" Impa chided him "you do not want anyone to see you in such a-"

Just as she was speaking, the door opened. Sora sat up so fast the twins heard his spine crack.

"Hey guys, is it just us today?" Aqua greeted.

Sora viewed her blankly "Oh, it's just Aqua, you gave me a fright"

Aqua threw him a puzzled expression "Did I do something wrong?"

Vanitas answered her: "He sat up so fast his spine cracked, Sora thought you were one of the peasents"

The female key-blade wielder ignored him.

"Will Link be coming today?" Impa directed her question at Aqua.

"No, he said he was going to visit his home village, he is taking the entire day off"

Hearing this, Sora dropped his head in his hands and groaned "Why didn't anyone tell me about this? I could've still been sleeping instead of waking up and sitting in an empty room!"

Mounting Epona, Link gave one last look at the towering turrets of Hyrule castle and set off for Ordona province. He looked forward to seeing his makeshift family again. Smiling to himself he set Epona on a comfortable pace, taking the time to muse about his transformation to a wolf. No matter how much he thought about it, he still could not come up with an explanation of why he turned into a beast in the first place. There seemed to be no lasting effects, but Link was aware that his senses had become much sharper than before. Whether this phenomenon was from joining a band of highly trained warriors or from changing into a wolf, Link wasn't sure yet.

Steering Epona through the gates, he stopped and dismounted in front of his house. Even though his quarters at Hyrule castle were much bigger and fancier, Link preferred his humble tree-house. It was where he grew up and made many fond memories in, a place where he had a family.

Staring at the passage leading to the village, he imagined that the children, especially Colin would be over-joyed to see him; the feelings were mutual of course he too missed them terribly. But first things first:

He needed a nap and a change of clothes.

Back in the House of Kingdom, the three happy siblings, (as Vanitas dubbed them) were making a huge racket. Vanitas scowled irritably when he heard Sora's raucous laughter echoing all the way from the 3rd floor of their mansion. Ignoring them he focused on the television but was interrupted again when felt the mansion shake.

Stomping up the stairs, he located the source of the trembling and peered inside the entrance. What he saw made him wish that he hadn't looked. Sora was conjuring up fireballs half his size and he and the twins were playing Ping-Pong with it. Every time Roxas or Ventus missed smacking the fiery balls back with their key-blade, it would hit against a wall, quaking the mansion and Sora would laugh mirthfully.

Determining that insanity might be contagious, Vanitas went back to his television. When he sat down, the butler, balancing a silver tray bearing an official letter approached him.

"Master Vanitas a let-"

"Leave me alone and leave that letter in Sora's study" he snapped.

Link yawned and stretched. Getting out of bed he pulled off his tunic and chain-mail and changed into more comfortable clothes, climbing down the ladder he took a good look at his house. Someone must have kept it clean because there were no dust nor any cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. Grabbing the fishing rod Colin made him, he made his way to the village.

Upon entering the village, Link spied Talo barreling towards him like a rocket. Discarding the fishing rod, he braced himself to catch the boy. Even with extra precaution Talo still managed to tackle Link to the ground, standing over Link, he cupped his hands around his mouth and screamed:

"Link is back guys!"

And the little hamlet erupted into activity.

"So, is anyone of them as strong as you?" Colin questioned expectantly

Casting his fishing rod and with half of the town gathered around him Link paused before answering.

"All of them are stronger than me Colin. There are twins around your age that could best me in battle"

Beth squealed in delight "So you met them? Were they cute? Did they speak to you?"

Chuckling jovially he nodded.

Ilia beheld him with admiration, "Do the nobles bother you?" she asked gently.

"Not really, they mostly avoid everyone and keep to themselves. I've been with them almost two months now and not once did the leader of the Master Knights lead an expedition. He usually sends the 3rd ranked Knight to do the job. The guy has an ego problem"

Feeling a tug on the fishing line, Link reeled in a moderately sized fish and tossed it into a nearby bucket.

The kids cheered.

"Who is the leader now again?" Sera queried.

"Sora, first born to the House of Kingdom, he is both strict and polite. A good leader" Link replied.

There was a collective gasp.

"You are amazing Link!" Talo broke the silence, "I want to be your apprentice!"

Smiling, Link got up "Not now Talo, first you need to grow up and then you can think about training, but for now, how about we all head to the spring and play?"

Marching in a straight line, with Link leading, the children headed to Ordon spring.

Taking in the scene before him, Link sighed contently. Munching an apple, he dodged a stick flying his way and carried on eating. Talo and Colin had begun play fighting while Beth splashed them with water. Sometime later Ilia along with Epona joined them at the spring, moving to a far corner, Ilia began grooming the horse. And Malo stood aside with an uninterested expression on his face.

He was probably perfecting his plans for world domination but who cares?

To Link, his life as a knight and his life in the village seemed worlds apart. He briefly wondered if staying here forever would've made him happier.

He discarded such thoughts.

Lying back with his hands behind his head, he gazed at the azure sky, Yep, he loved his position as a knight, it was better than herding goats and he could protect the things that matter. Unbeknownst to him, the triforce symbol on the back of his hand glowed.

Sora felt happy, fireball Ping-Pong was so much fun, he wondered why Vanitas never joined them. Picking up the letter from his desk he studied the royal crest and thereafter neatly tore the envelope. Extracting the letter he read:

To Master Sora

Council member

Heir to the House of Kingdom

Leader of the Master Knights

Sora rolled his eyes and read further:

Greetings

You are hereby required to attend a council meeting regarding the marriage of Princess Zelda. The meeting will take place at six-thirty sharp. Failure to attend will result in drastic consequences.

Looking forward to seeing you

Signed:

The High Priestess

Sora grinned. Generally he hated council meetings but the ones regarding the princess' marriage were the prime exception. It was fun to see her give them one hundred and one reasons of why she shouldn't or couldn't marry. Each question was countered with fierce eloquence and the conferences only lasted about fifteen minutes before the older members (the one's forcing her to marry) gave up. Sora took great pleasure in seeing their haughty faces crumble with defeat.

Wearing appropriate clothes, he grabbed the comb and attempted to brush his hair, giving up when the comb stuck to his locks. Pulling it out with great difficulty, he ran his fingers through his hair, arranged it somewhat and went down.

In the kitchen Roxas was busy taking his tub of sea-salt ice-cream out of the freezer when Sora, in formal attire appeared.

"Hey Sora, we're having an ice-cream eating contest, want to join? See, even Vanitas is here" Ventus trilled.

Giving them a rueful smile he explained that he had a council meeting to attend.

"I'll be back in twenty minutes, just wait for me" saying this, he left.

"We will now begin the meeting" the priestess declared.

Snapping to attention, Sora sat up straighter. With one eye on the clock, he curbed the urge to smile, so far his day was going absolutely great, the princess had begun to speak and he tuned out his thoughts.

"I have decided to get married to Sora" she announced.

There was a deafening silence.

Sora blinked, then blinked again and blinked for a third time as the council members all gaped at him.

"Excuse me princess?" he whispered, his voice failing him.

"The council pesters me to marry and I have chosen a suitable husband for myself. An influential noble and leader of the famed Master Knights, you would make an excellent partner" Zelda responded.

Sora stared at her. Wait, was she blushing?

"But your majesty, I'm only eighteen years old" he almost whined, wondering if the princess has gone crazy.

Note the almost.

"It is of no matter; I have been getting proposals since I was sixteen years old. Some of the proposers were men of fifty" she countered.

Sixteen, Sora thought, Vanitas' age; the idea of someone offering Vanitas marriage and walking away unscathed was very slim indeed.

The princess looked eagerly at him; he noted that she averted her eyes shyly and flushed when he made eye contact. It was almost as if she was in love.

Love.

"The one who finds you worthy, will fall in love with you" Yen Sid warned.

It was impossible.

Utterly impossible.

Breaking out in a sweat, Sora mind reeled with despair. He mechanically turned his head to an aged council woman who started to talk.

"Pardon me princess, but have you gone mad?" she quipped "Of all the men in the land you chose him? Sora is a knight, a warrior, not a prince and certainly not king. He is not fit to lead a nation."

Okay, maybe there was hope for him.

"He successfully leads a band of powerful warriors and has been doing it since he was fifteen. Leading a nation is no challenge for him"

Or maybe no hope after all.

"Princess, he is not a Hylian, he is human!"

"Diversity creates unity council member Helen, I aim to create an alliance between Sora's home land and Hyrule."

"He hails from Destiny Islands which is situated in another dimension, please your highness, your arguments make absolutely no sense"

Zelda remained stone-faced.

"Also, he is far too adventurous to settle down and lead a country, not to mention that he is still too young"

The princess was not done yet: "Sora will move to Hyrule castle and will be properly educated on how to run a kingdom. I'll personally see to that."

"So you still insist on marrying the boy?" Helen sounded impatient.

"Yes" was the princess' eloquent reply.

"Fine!" retorted the old woman "hold a public engagement ball and a private wedding. Spare us the humiliation of your foolish decisions!"

"I will honor your decision Helen" she confirmed quietly.

The meeting broke up amidst scraping chairs and many murmurs. Numbed from head to toe, Sora was unaware of the looks several members gave him. He could only think about what he had done.

His curse had activated. He had bewitched the princess.

He was doomed.

Roxas stared at his melted ice-cream. Why he didn't put it back in the freezer was a question not even princess Zelda could answer. Stirring the watery contents with a spoon he spoke up:

"Big brother is late; he's being gone for 2 hours now"

"He's probably having his own ice-cream party with the princess" Vanitas said lazily "and put that disgusting mixture back in the freezer Roxas it looks like it could kill you"

Roxas pouted unhappily, one does not get away with insulting sea-salt ice-cream, unless you were big brother Vanitas.

The back door clicked. Ventus who'd been drooling on the table immediately jumped up from his place and ran off to greet Sora. The two of them walked into the kitchen with Sora ruffling his younger brother's hair. He had a tense smile on his face. Taking a seat opposite Vanitas he watched Roxas stirring his melted ice-cream and grimaced. Swallowing thickly he proclaimed:

"I'm getting married to princess Zelda"

Ventus paused from where he was taking a bucket of ice-cream out.

Roxas dropped his spoon.

Vanitas kept on examining his nails.

"We're still holding the ice-cream contest right?" Ventus enquired.

"Yeah, bring the tub out quickly you idiot, I'm starving" Vanitas called out.

Roxas picked up his spoon from the floor and stared sorrowfully at his tub. "Guess I'll have to take another one out" he added.

"I'M BEING SERIOUS GUYS!" Sora bellowed, his sharp tone froze his siblings in their tracks.

Sighing wearily, be beckoned Ventus to come closer. With everyone around him, he began to relate what happened in the meeting and how he was cursed by Maleficent when he went to investigate Hollow Bastion. While relating his story he became aware of Ventus sniffing and eventually crying quietly. Sora's heart felt like it shattered into a million pieces. His life with his quirky siblings was over; tomorrow he'd live in Hyrule Castle.

After he had finished, he raised his head. Roxas wiped away angry tears, his face in a scowl. Grabbing Ventus' hand they both went upstairs. Vanitas remained seated with an unfathomable expression.

It was eerily quiet in the kitchen.

"So Vans, what about you?"

Vanitas shot up "Do not call me that!" he screeched, eyes wide with undiluted fury. His breathing became erratic. Turning away from Sora he spat:

"Leave me alone, I hate you."

Collapsing on the sofa, Vanitas covered his eyes with one hand and tried to calm himself.

Three year old Vanitas, in an oversized T-shirt and shorts squinted at five year old Sora who was currently perched near the top of a Paopu tree. Reaching out and picking a fruit, Sora slid down the trunk, ripping his pants in the process.

On the ground Vanitas ran to him and hugged him tightly.

"I was scared you were gonna fall" he squeaked, clinging to Sora with all his might.

Sora boasted: "That won't happen Vans; I'm the best tree climber in the world!"

Removing himself from Vanitas' hold, he held the fruit up to the sky, sunlight bounced off the star-shaped fruit and it appeared more like a trophy than local produce. Vanitas' eyes shimmered with wonder and happiness. There was nothing big brother couldn't do:

Climb up the tallest tree just to get Vanitas his favorite Paopu fruit? Check.

Chase away the monsters underneath his bed? Check.

Sneak him out of the house in the middle of the night to play on the beach? Check.

Truly, Sora was his favorite person in the whole wide world.

Peeking at Vanitas crashed out on the couch Ventus concluded:

"He's sulking"

"Don't be a fool, he always looks like that" Roxas muttered back.

"I'm going to cheer him up"

"Wait Ven what are you-" too late Roxas realized that Ventus was preparing himself to launch on Vanitas' back. Roxas prayed that his younger brother wouldn't suffer from any permanent injuries.

Vanitas' back stung horribly when Ventus plowed into him. Instead of shoving the boy off, he reached his hand up and tousled his hair. Ventus then slid off and dragged Roxas over.

"Now it's your turn to cheer Vanitas up" he smiled.

Roxas shuffled nervously and climbed on the proffered back. Upon being hitched up comfortably he asked Vanitas softly:

"What's for dinner?"

Adjusting the twin securely on his now burning back he replied:

"Sea-salt ice-cream for you and Rockin' crunch for Ventus and myself. Sora isn't here to lecture us about our health; and while we're at it, chuck Sora's vanilla ice-cream in the bin. It's a waste of freezer space and I loathe that flavor.

AN: For some reason the sight of melted ice-cream makes me gag. Unfortunately my older brother has the habit of melting his bowl of ice-cream into a gooy mess and slurping it. Claims that it tastes better that way.