Chapter Seven: Bibidy Bobidi Boo
Meanwhile, downstairs in the rest of the house, Yuna and Rikku had finally finished getting ready wearing pink and green dresses respectively, and walking behind their mother in a single-file line.
"Now remember," Larxene said as a quick reminder to her daughters before she opened the door, "When you're presented to His Highness, be sure to-"
"Wait!" Aqua's voice shouted from the upstairs landing, and all three of them turned towards her, at the sound of her voice. "Please, wait for me!" She called again, halfway down the stairs as she said so and came upon the landing, breathless with nervousness and excitement. "Isn't it lovely? Do you like it?" She asked, referring to the dress, and then asked more anxiously, "Do you think it will do?"
To judge by the stunned expressions on Yuna's and Rikku's faces, the dress was perfectly alright. Even Larxene looked a bit... surprised, though her reaction was much more moderate than her stepsisters'. The mice, who had descended down the stairs with her but remained on the steps, could only smile with pride at their Aqua in the lovely dress that they had slaved over all day, in order to make it beyond (itlcs) perfect.
"Aqua?" Yuna gasped.
"Oh, she can't!" Rikku protested.
The two continued to wine like two spoiled babies before Pamela raised her hand.
"Girls, girls, please." Larxene said calmly. "After all, we did make a bargain, didn't we, Aqua?"
Aqua smiled as Larxene walked up to her.
"And I never go back on my word."
Aqua began to recoil a little, obviously fearing a more subtle way of stopping her.
Sora had his eyes narrowed as he doubted Larxene would be interested in the dress itself while Riku appeared to simply think that she was just being nice before he looked at Sora's face and switched his face to imitate Sora's.
"How very clever." Larxene said. "These beads, they give it just the right touch. Don't you think so, Rikku?"
"No, I don't! I think she's..." Rikku stopped mid-rant, as the full force of her mother's words sunk in, and she turned to Aqua, completely outraged. "Ah! Why you little thief!" She shouted accusingly.
Riku had had enough. That mean, old stepmother. He'd show her a thing or two. He moved to walk off the stairs, swinging his fists in a threatening motion, but Sora stopped him just in time by grabbing his tail, but Riku was about his size, so he was having a hard time pulling him back up.
()()()()()
"They're my beads! Give them here!" Rikku yelled as she tore the necklace right off of Aqua's neck.
"No!" Aqua protested, both against the lie, and the action.
"Oh, and that's my sash too!" Yuna shouted. "Just because I didn't want it today didn't mean I was giving it to you!"
Yuna tore the sash off of Aqua's dress.
"Stop, please stop!" Aqua pleaded as they didn't just stop at the new additions but at parts of the dresses that were already there to begin with.
"Girls, girls." Larxene said calmly after awhile and opened the door. "That's quite enough. Come along now, both of you. I won't have you upsetting yourselves."
The three left, and Aqua looked at her ruined dress, not only her only way to go to the ball, not only the last solid evidence that she'd had a mother besides Larxene, but the only proof that there had been a good life at all in what was now the worst possible place to live after Zack had died. The only other pieces of evidence were Tifa, forced to sleep in the kitchen or outside, Axel, once a great stallion and now an old weathered horse, and the mice, who had worked so hard to help her. Aqua couldn't take it. She ran out of that cold, dark house that was, it seemed lifetime ago, a beautiful chateau where Aqua had played with a small puppy her father had just given her.
()()()()()
At a fountain in the back yard where Zack and Aqua would let Axe drink from, she fell on top of it and began crying.
No matter how your heart is grieving,
If you keep on believing,
A dream that you wish,
Will... Come... True...
"No, I can't dream." Aqua sobbed as that stupid song came into her head again. "Not anymore."
The mice, Tifa, and Axel, who had seen her run outside, and followed after her, heard these words, and their jaws dropped in shock. They had never heard her talk like this. She has always been hopeful and, though a little depressed at times, optimistic. It was heartbreaking to see her like this. And yet, there in the darkness, under the shade of the tree, a bright, misty light seemed to surround her, and draw together into a distinguishable form. They watched with both apprehension and wonder as the lights seemed to take on the form of a person, of all things. The only company Aqua seemed to want was that of the stone bench she was crying on.
The person had light brown hair with dark green eyes. She was dressed in a blue gown and had her hair in a high ponytail with a pink ribbon.
()()()()()
"Oh come on, Aqua." The woman said. "You can't have lost all hope. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here right now."
Aqua looked up, and gasped, too shocked to be able to do anything other than stare at the woman in front of her. Who was she? And how did she get here without her knowing.
"Come on, Aqua, dry those tears." The girl said with a soothing smile as she lifted her up by her elbows and brought her to her feet. "You can't go to the ball looking like that." She said with a slight pout, as an indication of Aqua's emotional breakdown.
"The ball?" Aqua asked, her eyes still puffy and red from crying, and she stared down at her torn dress. "Oh, but I'm not..."
"Of course you are!" The woman interrupted enthusiastically with such assurance, that Aqua couldn't help but believe in her, if only slightly. "But we must be quick, because even miracles take a little time." She added with a wink.
"Miracles?" Aqua asked blankly, still not sure what exactly was going on. Everything was just happening so fast. And she still had no idea who this woman was or where she had come from.
"Yup." The woman said. "Watch!"
She held out her hand when she suddenly stopped and looked at it.
"Oh shoot!" The woman called out. "I forgot my wand! Where'd it go?"
"Wand?" Aqua asked. "As in a magic wand?"
"You got it, kiddo." The woman said as she looked under the bench.
"Why you must be my fairy godmother then!" Aqua said in awe. She remembered her father telling her stories about them.
"You've got it." The woman said. "My name is Aerith by the way."
"Aerith... Okay... Got it..." Raven said shakily, trying to remember everything and absorb it all.
"Darn it! Where is my wand?" Aerith shouted as she crossed her arms and frowned thoughtfully. But then her eyes lit up again, and she said, "Oh! I forgot! I put it away!" And from thin air, right in her hand, the air shimmered and a white wand appeared in her outstretched palm.
()()()()()
"Please tell me I'm not seeing things." Sora said as he rubbed his eyes and then continued to stare back at the staff.
"If you're seeing things, then so am I." Riku told him with the same dumbfounded expression.
()()()()()
"Now, let's see... hmm..." Aerith said thoughtfully with a slight frown as she started tapping her fingers on the top of her staff. Then she nodded once, and said at last, "I think the first thing you need is a... a pumpkin!"
"B-But... a pumpkin?" Aqua repeated, thinking about her ruined dress, since that was all she really needed, and wondering why on earth she needed a pumpkin.
"Yup." Aerith said. "Now what were those magic words? Oh yeah!"
Saligadula, Magicabula,
Bibidy-Bobidi-Boo!
Put them together and what have you got?
Bibidy-Bobidi-Boo!
A nearby pumpkin then actually got up and started walking towards them on its vines.
Saligadula, Magicabula,
Bibidy-Bobidi-Boo!
It'll do magic, believe it or not.
Bibidy-Bobidi-Boo!
The pumpkin stopped, and its vines began to grow out.
Now Salagadulemeine,
And magical bue laroo…
But the thingamabob that does the job
Is Bibidy-Bobidi-Boo!
The extended vines twisted into wheels, and the pumpkin grew four times its original size to make a round white carriage with a door inside.
"Whoa, it's beautiful." Aqua gaped.
"Yes, isn't it?" Aerith said, smiling at her handiwork. "Now with a coach like that, we'll need some mice."
Axel gaped at what Aerith said and Aqua couldn't blame him. How were mice supposed to pull a carriage?
"Mice?" Riku asked in surprise as he, Sora, Iris, and Hikari gaped.
"Isn't it nice?" Aerith asked. "While have a coach with four when we're through. Just a wave of my stick, and to finish the trick Bibidy-Bobidi-Boo."
As the wand's magic hit the mice, Riku ran for it.
"Hey sorry little guy, but we need four." Aerith said. "Bibidy-Bobidi-Boo."
As the magic hit Riku, Vexen pounced on him, and all Vexen saw was a huge horse. Gar neighed angrily at Vexen, and he ran for it.
"Serves you right, Vexen!" Aqua called out after him.
"You know it, kiddo." Shayera said. "Now where were we? Oh yeah! You can't go to the ball without a…"
Aqua held up her dress, expecting her to get the hint, but apparently, she didn't.
"A horse!" Aerith said.
"Another horse?" Aqua asked.
Aerith pointed at Axel, and he floated up.
"But tonight, for a change, you'll handle the reins." Aerith said. "And sit in the driver's seat too. For instead of a horse, you'll be a coachman of course. Bibidy-Bobidi-Boo."
Axel turned into a red-haired human with with green like tear drops on the bottom of each eye and dressed as an elegant coachman.
"Well that does it I guess." Aerith said with a smile. "Except for… Oh yes. The finishing touch, and that's you."
Aqua closed her eyes, ready to be surprised by what she saw, but instead of her, she felt the magic pass just by her to… Tifa?
"Yes dear Tifa that's right." Shayera said. "You're foot-woman tonight. Bibidy-Bobidi-Boo."
And there stood Tifa by the carriage, dressed in a footman outfit, but with a dress instead of pants. She also had long black hair and a very lovely face, which made Aqua guess that she was normally very attractive to another dog.
"Well hop in, kiddo." Aerith said calmly. "We don't have much time."
"But-" Aqua began but aerith cut her off.
"Now don't thank me." Aerith said. "I've wanted to help you out ever since your dad died."
"Well I wasn't about to thank you just yet, it's just that… Well look at me." Aqua said as she gestured to herself. "Look at my gown."
"Yes, it's very lovely, my dear." Aerith said before she looked back. "Whoa! Good grief, what was I thinking? You can't go to the ball looking like that! You can't even go back inside looking like that!"
Aqua smiled. If Aerith was here more often, life would be much more fun.
"Now let's see." Aerith said as she used her wand to measure Aqua's arms legs, neck, torso, and head. "Get your size, and the shade of your eyes. Something simple, but daring too. Oh, just leave it to me! What a gown this will be! Bibidy-Bobidi-Bibidy-Bobidi-Bibidy-Bobidi-Boo!"
Aqua was suddenly in a long white gown with a white cloak around her for warmth, with the sleeves covering her arms completely.
"Oh, it's beautiful!" Aqua said happily. "Perfect! Did you guys ever see anything like this? Hey cool, glass slippers too."
Aqua showed them her foot, and they could see right through her shoes as they were made of the most perfectly shaped glass.
"It's like a dream." Aqua said. She couldn't stop smiling. "A wonderful dream that came true."
"Yes, my child." Aerith said in a somber tone. "But like all dreams, it can't last forever. You only have until midnight to-"
"Midnight?" Aqua asked calmly. "That's fine by me."
"Now just a minute kiddo, you have to pay attention." Aerith said firmly but kindly. "On the stroke of twelve, the spell will be broken, and everything will be as it was before."
"I understand." Aqua said as she smiled. "It still more than I ever hoped for."
"Oh, you're such a sweet little thing." Aerith said. "Oh, what am I doing? It's getting late! Hurry up, dear. The ball can't wait! Have a good time! Dance! Be gay! Now off you go, you're on your way!"
With a Bibidy-Bobidi-Bibidy-Bobidi-Bibidy-Bobidi-Boo!
As Aqua waved good-bye to Aerith, she disappeared. Aqua smiled. This was still going to be a great day.
Chaos dose not own Cinderella or kingdom hearts, but she owns Iris, Surane belongs to SuraneSpiral, Hikari belongs to WingBladeWeaver1357, and Drew belongs to RedDiEnd.
