Everyone watched as the princess came down in her golden gown and Vitani said to Kovu, "Here she comes… make yourself known."
But Kovu was way ahead of his sister, he quickly made his way through the crowd as thoughts swirled in his head, he could remember a younger Kiara in an alleyway of Outsider Ward, he thought she was trespassing and thought of her as nothing but a goody-goody until crocodile bandits appeared before them and with their fast thinking they got away from them.
She complimented him for his bravery and he in turn complimented her. He had to admit it, she was pretty cute back then but now… she was the most beautiful lioness he ever seen. He knew he had a job to do and shouldn't let past feelings get in the way and couldn't help but feel sorry that he had to use Kiara to get to her father but this is what his mother had trained him for and he had to see it through to the end.
Kiara had eyed the eager males of the ball wanting to dance with her but she was looking for a particular male to dance with and as luck would have it she found him wearing a dark blue dress suit and addressed him.
"Mister Kit, I presume?"
Kovu smirked and bowed, "At your service, Your Highness."
Kiara smirked herself, "Would you do me the honor of dancing with me in the first dance?"
Kovu lifted his head to face her, grinning, "I accept."
She curtsied as he offered his arm and escorted her onto the dance floor. The orchestra began playing, and Kovu and Kiara had moved into a waltz. The spectators watched on with awe. Nala, her ladies, Judy, and Fru-Fru were all smiling while Simba seemed a bit sad.
Nick eyed the lion with interest as he whispered to Finnick, "Hey, isn't that the guy that shouted and ran out the tavern last week?"
Finnick stated, "Looks like it."
Back on the dance floor, Kiara whispered, "Have we met before?"
Kovu smirked, "What makes you say that?"
"You seem really familiar…" she squinted, she knew she seen him before, but where?
"Maybe this will help… a young naive cub wonders into a part of the kingdom her father forbade her from going into where she meets another cub whose trying to protect his home and calls the cub a 'daddy's girl'…" he smirked as he waited for her to put the pieces together.
Kiara's eyes widen as it all became clear and with a smile creeping on her face, she questioned, "Kovu?" His smile was all the answer she needed. She twirled him excitedly on the dance floor. "I can't believe it's you!"
He chuckled, "You haven't changed at all…"
"Really? I thought I look better then when I was a cub…"
"I mean your personality hasn't changed… Your appearance on the other paw… it's quite the transformation…" he kept smirking.
Kiara could feel herself growing warm and her smile brighten.
It wasn't a lie. Everything he said to her was very true, never had he felt lucky that he met her before so he knew what to say to charm her. He briefly glanced at where his siblings were. Nuka of course was fuming while Vitani was smiling in encouragement to keep up with what he was doing.
The music slowed to a stop and Kovu and Kiara ended their dance while receiving applause. Kiara then signaled for the music to start up again and more animals started to dance. Kiara and Kovu joined right in.
Judy could see that Kiara was happy on where she was at and decided it was time to start looking for a certain fox…
Nick was rubbing elbows with some rich predators as they fell for his charms.
Judy was searching the ballroom when she caught sight of a bushy red tail and when she got closer she saw a fox dancing with a vixen. She tapped on the fox's shoulder and when he turned his head she could see it wasn't the fox she was seeking.
"Yes? Can I help you?" Tod questioned.
Judy blushed, "Sorry, I thought you were someone else." she quickly moved on as Tod and Vixey shrugged and resumed dancing.
Nick was given five gold coins and politely moved on. He looked around the ballroom to find his friends but the room was big and crowded and with his small size it was hard to look past the bigger animals. Then something small and blue caught his eye.
Judy was by the buffet table when a hare asked her to dance, she politely refused him. But when the hare had gone a pig tried to ask her, she turned him down as well. A few more small mammals asked her and she quickly refused them all. Judy didn't know what to make of it, she was quite flattered that so many animals asked her for a dance but at the same time she was on a mission.
Suddenly, the Duke of Weaselton approached her, "Care for a dance?" he gave a sultry smile.
"Uh, no-" but was cut off when he exclaimed.
"Wonderful!" and he took her paw and lead her to the dance floor. He did strange dance movements as Judy tried to keep up. "So, where you from?"
"I live here, actually."
"Really? I didn't know the princess had a sister."
"I'm not her sister, though sometimes it feels like we are. I'm actually her personal guard."
The duke then started spinning her like crazy which made Judy feel dizzy when she suddenly felt strong paws around her and she looked up to see the very fox she was searching for!
Nick smirked as he addressed the weasel, "Mind if I cut in?"
The weasel indignantly said, "Hey! Find your own dancing partner!" But Judy piped up, "Yes, you may!"
Nick led her away from the scowling weasel as he joked, "This is what? The second time I had to save you from something bad?"
Judy gave an amused expression, "Har-har. But thank you nevertheless, the weasel maybe of noble birth but his dancing skills are downright horrible. You know, it's quite a coincidence you showing up just now, I was just looking for you."
"Were you now?" he crossed his arms in amusement.
"Yes, in fact, there's a reason Kiara convinced her father to invite everyone to the ball was because I needed to get you here so I can finally find out about your connection to the Dobermans." she smirked.
Nick's face slowly melted into shock. All this was just so she could…?
Judy basked when seeing his face, "So… you are not leaving this ballroom until I can get an answer, and don't bother trying to run away, there are guards surrounding the entire area so you have nowhere to go…"
Nick was trapped. For the first time in his life, someone actually outsmarted him! He couldn't believe it! He was always the spider trapping those in his web and outwitting his opponent but now this time he was the fly… Caught in the middle of a fancy web.
He challenged, "You're bluffing."
Her smirk furthered, "Am I? After all, it was my ties to the royal family that got me into the royal guard. I'm sure with just one word to the king and princess, you'll find yourself in the dungeon eating nothing but bread and water until I get what I need…"
Suddenly they heard deep laughing from their feet and could see Finnick guffawing away. Nick scowled as Fin pointed at him, "She hustled you! She hustled you good! Oh, this is just too priceless!" he faced the rabbit that had a confused look to the fennec. "No wonder he couldn't stop thinking about you! You're exactly like him! Unbelievable!"
Nick growled, "Fin, don't you have somewhere to be?"
The fennec nudged the taller fox's leg and said coyly, "Oh, I getcha… You want to be alone… I can take a hint…" he winked as he walked away and resumed his laughter.
Judy asked, "Friend of yours?"
"As of now, ex-friend…"
Her smirk returned, "So… you couldn't stop thinking about me?"
"Ha! Says the bunny that had to lure me to the palace just to see me again!"
"For information! Now are you going to tell me or I am going to have to tell the king to send you to the dungeon!"
Nick crossed his arms in thought, before sighing, "Look Carrots, if I tell you, you have to promise you won't reveal who told you… Those Dobermans work for a tiger who would love to skin anybody that doesn't pay their interest. It was bad enough you stopped them from hurting Oliver but for me jumping to save you was worst. I don't know if they saw us, but if they did… Shere Khan won't waste a second to kill us…"
Judy gapped at this information and tried to find if he was lying about any of it. But she couldn't because she saw genuine fear in the fox's eyes and she seen him at his worst so she knew there was complete sincerity in his voice.
Nick waited to see what the bunny would do and as he did he got a good look at what she was wearing and felt a strange pull toward her.
Finally she spoke, "You're in trouble, aren't you?"
His brow rose, "With you? Or…?"
"You're force to ask for money from someone who would like to hurt mammals all because they couldn't pay back… That's so awful!"
Nick said, "Just the way of the world, Carrots, not everyone can get lucky like you and live in a castle."
"Judy."
"Huh?"
"My name is Judy Hopps. Is your name really Nicholas Piberius Wilde?"
A slight smile crept on his face, "Since the day I was born."
A tiny smile crept on her own face, "That's great. I was hoping that was your real name…"
"I'm sure… since you will willing to have me arrested on the spot for withholding information."
"If you had just told me that day on the street, we could have found those Dobermans and they would no longer be a problem for you."
"They're not the problem, an annoyance and a pain sure, but it's their boss that scares me more…"
"Wow. I never thought of you as the scared type given your carefree nature."
"Well, I never thought of you as the sneaky type."
"When you grow up with animals bigger then you are, one has to be tricky." she stated.
"So how did you get close to the royal family? Were your parents part of the royal court?"
"No. I was the king's ward."
Nick's ears flatten, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be, I never knew my parents so…"
Nick slightly nodded; he could remember his parents but briefly. He was small when they passed on so he knew how it felt to be an orphan. His eyes suddenly widen as he recalled his Uncle Robin's words from long ago.
"You may not understand it now, but someday… someday you will meet a girl you don't think you can get along with but that could easily change in one moment. You find something that ties the two of you together and the next thing you know, you're proposing in the middle of a fight after an archery tournament gone wrong."
Suddenly those words made sense except the part about the archery tournament but that was beside the point. He stared down at Judy and saw what his friends had saw that day when he started fighting with her. He was actually attracted to this rabbit as strange and bizarre as it is but he felt the need to grow closer to her despite their different species.
Just then a dog guard in golden armor came up to them and asked Judy, "How's the night off going for you?"
Judy smiled at him which made Nick's stomach turned as she said, "Great, Bolt. I'm actually enjoying wearing a dress."
He laughed, "Well, it's definitely a big change from what you usually wear. When you're not wearing the armor it's always a tunic and pants."
Nick smirked, that did not surprise him one bit before slightly scowling at how close Judy was to this guard.
Bolt suggested, "Maybe once the ball is over, we can have a dance."
Judy was about to reply when Nick cut in, "I'm afraid Miss Hopps will be too tried from dancing all night to even have that dance."
Judy cocked her brow in confusion, "I will?"
Nick smirked, "Certainly, because I will be asking you for a dance again and again until the night is up."
Her eyes widen before smiling at his green shining eyes, reminding her that she liked those eyes and that they went so well with the fox. Now that she thought about it, he was quite attractive for a fox especially since he was wearing that white outfit making him even more dashing.
He offered his arm, "Shall we?"
She took it without hesitation and said farewell to Bolt who was happy for his friend and fellow guard.
Duchess and Lady had finally made their way to the ballroom floor as Thomas and Tramp found them. Thomas talked privately to Duchess.
"So I take it that your husband is around then?"
Duchess gave a sad smile, "No, he is no longer with us…"
Thomas' face softened and said a sad tone, "I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure you loved him very much."
"In a way, he was a dear friend but it wasn't true love. Still, it was a good marriage and to have the children made it all so wonderful."
"I'll bet. But have you… ever considered looking again and this time for true love?"
Duchess slightly smiled, "Perhaps… it would be wonderful for the children to have a father again."
"Of course, but you should also feel happiness by marrying someone you love…"
"Naturally. But I must also think of my little ones, I will not marry someone if they do not love them as much as they would love me."
"Fair enough. I'd like to make a deal with you, Duchess."
"Yes, Mister O'Malley?"
"If I spend a week with the kittens and they don't like me or if I don't like them, I'll be out of your life forever. But… if the kittens and I can get along, then… do you think it would be possible for us to get together?"
"A very intriguing proposition. If the latter was the case then, yes… it would be very possible." she smiled.
Thomas was jumping for joy on the inside.
Tramp and Lady were holding their own conversation on the other side of the room.
"I've lived on the streets all my life, Pige."
"Don't you have a family?"
"Well, sure, in a way. I don't have any blood relatives but the gang is the only family I have right now."
"Are they here?"
"They sure are, all expect for little Oliver but you've already met him." he started pointing to where his comrades were, "You know Thomas is with Duchess, Dodger is over there with Rita, Francis and Einstein are at the buffet, Mittens seems to be sulking about, Finnick is chatting it up with those posh looking hippos, Tito is trying to impress that baroness, and Nick… Well!" he exclaimed that last bit with excitement.
Lady questioned, "What? What is it?"
Tramp moved her to see the fox and rabbit dancing up a storm. With Nick twirling Judy around and she gave off a look of joy.
Lady gapped, "Judy?"
Slowly more animals began witnessing the fox and rabbit's dance including Nick's comrades, the royal household, the king and queen, even Kiara as she stopped her dance with Kovu to see her friend having the time of her life. The lioness smirked, I knew it…
AN: I will admit, I am a bit nervous from the lack of reviews and favorites this story's been getting and I can't help but think I'm doing something wrong. I would like to be told what it is so I can make the story better, but please keep it civil and kind. I do enjoy writing this story, because it is fresh and helps keeps my creative mind going but knowing I have support helps my writing and self-esteem up.
