Bonus Chapter

Part Three

'Who are you,' the guards at the castle gate demand from the strangers.

'We are here to see the King and Queen,' Sora told them.

'Yeah, it's important,' Donald added.

'We have to hurry,' in the distance they could hear a roar.

'What was that,' the guards turned away from the four strangers and looked out into the distance.

'We have no time,' they knew from experience what that roar meant. 'Please, we are friends. We are not here to hurt them, but to protect your Princess.'

'Lies, you could be here on the witches behalf,' the guard went for his sword.

'We wouldn't have gotten past your barrier if that were turn,' Riku finally voice, 'now please allow us access, your Princess is in danger we must get to her and protect her as well as inform the King of what is happening.'

Both guards looked at each other, 'Fine.'

'I'll take you to the King, the Princess should be with him or at least near by.' The guard that had remained silent before spoke. 'I shall return shortly,' he informed his partner as he opened the gate and allowed them to pass. 'Let us hurry.'

They raced towards the castle and inside they hurried to the King's thrown room to seek audience with him and the Queen. They waited as the guard talked to the knight protecting the giant doors, he regarded them before going inside to inform the King of the visitors, 'One moment.'

One moment felt like an eternity as they waited, the knight returned and offered them passage. They entered the giant thrown room and before them was a tall regal man with piercing blue hues that studied them with suspicion. 'Sora, Donald, Goofy,' beside them stood a petite woman with light brown hair pulled back into a loose and elegant bun, hazel orbs that looked at them with disbelief and rosy lips that finished in disbelieve naming them, 'Riku.'

'You haven't aged,' the King voiced their curiosity as he studied the two young teenagers and their companions.

'It's a long story, your Highness,' Sora told them, 'better saved for a later date. As of now we have more pressing matters, Maleficent is here and is after the Princess.'

'Amaranth,' Belle's assumptions were true.

'Why, for what cause or reason,' Adam demanded to know.

'Power, what she always wants,' Riku answered.

The King regarded Riku, between them still wasn't any good blood, considering that the last time they saw each other Riku had aided Maleficent in kidnapping Belle. 'Are you not on her side this time, Boy?'

'No,' he answered.

'Riku was under her control, brainwashed,' Sora tried to save.

'How will we know that she is not controlling him now and he is pretending to be good?'

'Adam,' Belle understood her husband's worry, but she also knew that if he wasn't on the side of good Sora, Donald and Goofy wouldn't be with him. 'They are here to help, not to harm us.'

'Fine,' he agreed with her but still regarded Riku with cation.

'Where is the Princess,' Sora asked, 'we must keep an eye on her?'

'The barrier remains, so we have let her roam the castle grounds freely,' Belle explained.

'That may not be an option any further,' Sora told her.

'We well send for her then,' Belle called one of her knights forward and Adam gave him orders to go and get the Princess.

'I'll go too, Sora, Donald and Goofy can explain what is going on,' before the King could protest Riku took off with the knight.

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Amaranth looked up at the midmorning sky from her position, 'Princess, you must get down from there,' Lily called up to her.

In a moment of distraction she had run away from Lily and climbed up a giant tree hoping to see outside over the wall, but still she remained too short. She had wanted to see the battle, but once failing too she remained seated on the giant branch watching the clouds float by. Suddenly the wind picked up and she braced herself, 'Princess,' she heard panic in Lily's voice.

'I am all right,' she called and it was true, but for some odd reason her body tingled with a surge of something magical and slightly overwhelming.

'You should come down.'

'In a moment,' she called and when she looked up towards the direction of the enchanted forest, she spotted something black in the distance heading their way. 'Lily.'

'Princess?'

'You should head back inside,' she got up and was readying herself for the climb back down, for the black dot in the distance was flying towards them fast and taking the shape of a giant black dragon. 'Lily, go!'

'I am not leaving you,' she didn't understand her Princess until she heard the giant roar from above.

'Shoot,' Lily turned around to notice Chip and another young man exiting the castle doors and racing towards her.

'The Princess,' Chip asked.

The dragon roared and startled her as it crashed onto the barrier, 'Lily,' Chip demanded.

'Up in the tree,' she finally answered.

Amaranth wasn't listening to what was going on below, she watched the dragon in horror as it tried to pass through the barrier. 'Princess,' she heard Lily and another male call up to her, but her eyes remained glued on the dragon, whom had zeroed in on her.

It looked on at her with curiosity and malice, and before she knew it she watched as it opened its giant mouth and began to produce a green flame that was directed at her. 'No,' she forgot where she was standing and accidentally in her fright backed away. 'Ahhh,' she heard a screamed as she tumbled backwards into nothingness after she lost her footing.

'I got you,' she heard as she was caught in midair before falling to her demise.

Lily felt like she had aged in that moment of horror as her Princess fell, 'Oh my heavens,' she rushed to her aid with Chip, whom kept an eye on the dragon.

'Are you alright,' Amaranth had shut her eyes as she fell and watched the dragon's green flame strike the barrier.

'Yes,' she answered after she regained her voice and wits.

'Can you get up,' the voice asked as she reopened her hues and looked up into aquamarine orbs staring at her with worry.

'Yes,' she nodded as she looked away from the handsome face that loomed over her. 'You can put me down, now.'

Lily came to her rescue as she grabbed the Princess and began to examine her, 'We should get back inside,' the young man said as he returned his attention to the dragon up above.

'Yes,' Lily agreed and grabbed the Princess's hand in hers.

'I'll lead the way,' Chip announced, 'Princess, Lily, stay close.'

Riku followed after the trio as he watched Maleficent in her dragon form begin to retreat from the air assault from below. She couldn't get pass the barrier, but that didn't mean that the weapons from down below couldn't. Yet as one final attack before she left, he heard a crack and could assume only one thing, their barrier was weakening. 'Amaranth,' they had just entered the castle when they saw Belle and the King, followed by Sora, Donald and Goofy coming down the hall in haste.

'Mom,' Amaranth was relief to see her parents were safe. 'Philippe?'

'Safe,' Belle answered as she grabbed her daughter in an embrace.

'Mom,' she could feel her self be squeezed to death.

'We should go to the inner chambers and secure that Amaranth is well guarded,' the King said as he looked at his eldest and only daughter.

'There is something that you need to know, the barrier that is protecting the castle is weakening,' Riku announced.

'That's not good,' the King and Queen both blanched at the news.

'I can help enforce the barrier, but we are going to need the original spell caster to fix the damage completely,' Donald stated.

'That will be a problem,' King Adam now looked at his daughter with worry. 'But first things first, Chip get the Queen and the Princess to the inner chamber with Philippe. Tell the Knights on guard to remain vigilant.'

'I'll go with them,' Riku offered, but the King stopped him and asked Sora and Goofy to go along for enforcement. Riku was told to lead them to the crack in the barrier so that they could try and repair it before the damage became to great.

Amaranth looked after her father, the young man and the waddling duck as they turned and went the opposite direction. 'Princess,' Sora noticed that she was watching after the trio, 'we should go and get you to safety.'

Amber hues turned to look up at the warm young man that tried to give her a reassuring smile as he gestured her to turn and follow her mother. She nodded at him and turned to go but noticed her silent and frightened Lady in Waiting, 'Lily,' she went over and grabbed her hand, 'we should go.'

'But…'

'We'll be safe with Chip and our guests,' she told her as she looked at Sora and Goofy before her gaze wandered towards the retreating silver haired young man.

'Amaranth,' Belle called her daughter.

'Come on,' she pulled Lily along after her.

Sora had watched the pretty Princess and began to wonder if there was something there that wasn't there before, 'Sora,' Goofy whispered as he saw the amused look on Sora's face.

'Sorry,' he snapped out of his train of thoughts, 'I was just thinking.'

'Of what I am thinking,' Goofy gave him a shared grin.

'You think?'

'I do.'

'Are we thinking the same thing?'

'I think so,' Goofy nodded in wisdom and reassurance as he followed after the Princess and friends.

'We should help,' Sora suggested.

'Okay,' he agreed.

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'So you're saying that the Enchantress was the one that placed the barrier around the castle, we know where she is,' Donald answered as he sat trying to recover from his ordeal of having to repair the barrier. 'We just need to go and get her.'

'That's the problem,' Belle answered, 'the barrier wouldn't weaken unless something serious happened to her.'

'You mean,' Sora and friends looked at each other.

'It would make sense since you said she was battling against Maleficent and that witch isn't like before.'

'Dying twice could have something to do with it,' Donald voiced.

'Then if we assume that the Enchantress is dead, how long before her barrier breaks?' Riku stated and asked the hard question.

'The Enchantress told us that if anything were to happen to her the barrier would only last a few days after her passing.'

'If she cursed you, why would she then decide to protect you,' Riku voiced.

King Adam's corner of his upper lip began to twitch at the mention of his past, but he bared through the unpleasant memory, 'She blessed my daughter, she met her when she was a little girl and had escaped the castle walls. The Enchantress found her and took care of her after she had made her adventure into the forest and almost been attacked by wolves. She kept her for the night and was charmed by my daughter, so she decided that as long as she lived she would always offer Amaranth protection.'

Riku nodded, he could understand what he meant by charming. He had never met someone quiet like the Princess, then again how many Princesses were filled with a sense of wonder and adventure? How many of them were appealing and had a smile that attracted the gaze of those around them? Riku stopped asking himself questions, for the answer was almost all of the princess that he had met in the past, the only difference now was that he was drawn to her. The realization left him baffled, he had never been attracted to someone before. Kairi for a moment, but that was because they had grown up together and she was level headed. Now all he felt was the urge to protect her like a sister, but this female was different she urge him to protect her without cause or reason. Just mainly the desire to remain by her side, this wasn't right was it?

'We should strategize a plan to keep her safe or move her somewhere that she'll remain safe from Maleficent,' Sora had watched his puzzled friend and decided it was best to draw attention from him.

'Move her,' Belle though the idea crazy, 'she'll be safer here within the castle grounds.'

'The barrier won't hold and it will only put her in harms way, sooner rather then later,' Sora told her.

'There has to be another way,' Belle protested.

'I know that you don't want to think of the idea, but if she remains here she is a seating duck. There has to be somewhere in your kingdom that we can hide her at least until we defeat Maleficent,' Sora remained vigilant on his plan.

Belle looked at the King as he thought the idea through, 'How many people will go with you?'

'Just us and the Princess we'll want to remain a small group so that we don't attract attention.'

'Leaving with the Princess will be cause for attention, let alone your attire,' King Adam didn't want to state Goofy and Donald's appearance, for that attracted attention on its own.

'We can change that with your help and leave within the cover of night,' Sora announced as his random plan started to make sense.

'Where will we go too,' Goofy asked.

'There is another place left enchanted by the Enchantress and the wise woman that lives there can fortify the barrier, she is not as strong as the Enchantress herself but will help.'

'Where?'

'It's a day and half hike from here,' King Adam answered, 'but traveling their at night is too dangerous for the Black Forest is not as kind as the Enchanted one. The place that you will seek is called the Waterfall of Wonders, the Witch that resides there is a friend of Amaranth. My daughter can lead you there, but I cannot have her leaving here without you promising me that you'll protect her.'

'We will,' Sora, Donald and Goofy answered at the same time leaving Riku the only one left.

'And you, I do not trust you but will you promise me to keep my daughter safe,' King Adam zeroed in on Riku.

Riku wondered if the King would ever trust him or at least like him a little, 'I promise.'

'Fine, we will prepare some clothes for you and food. We will have the Princess informed of her departure and to be ready this evening, if that is still your intended time of departure but I would recommend that you wait for daybreak.'

'Daybreak would probably be best, it will allow Donald to get more rest,' Sora agreed, 'and we can better formulate a diversion for the heartless tomorrow morning.'

Donald looked relieved at the idea, because being the only mage was a heavy task to bear. 'Thank goodness.'

Goofy looked at his friend and noticed the wear and tear on his face, a good rest would help him greatly. 'We'll have rooms prepared for you to rest and finish formulating our plan after lunch,' Belle voiced, she really wasn't thrilled about letting Amaranth go off, but if it would keep her safe she would withhold herself and allow her to go.

After the four friends left, Belle and King Adam were left alone, 'I know that this is hard for you, but you must be strong,' King Adam told her as he read the worry on her face.

'I know, but if we aren't there to protect her and something happens…'

'Sora and his friends have promised to protect her.'

'Yes, but you still don't seemed to convinced of the idea yourself.'

'The damage Maleficent did to the barrier is irreversible without the Enchantress.'

'But Donald fixed it.'

'It is like putting a bandage to a cut that refuses to heal and slowly continues to bleed out,' he informed her.

Belle bit her bottom lip with worry still, King Adam reached out and pulled her into his arms. 'Everything will be okay,' he told her.

'I hope so,' she whispered as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.

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Amaranth looked at Lily in her plain green peasant dress, her blond her tied in a loose bun and her make up gone expect her a little bit of gloss. 'Are you sure about this,' she asked her Lady in Waiting.

'I will not allow you to go alone unaccompanied with four male strangers,' Lily stated as she looked at her Princess with conviction.

'They are not strangers, they are friends of my parents, at least they are friendly with three out of the four. For some odd reason, I don't think Papa likes Riku that much,' she told her as she slipped on her traveling boots.

'I think you are reading too much into it,' she patted her dress down before she walked over to the Princess and began to brush her hair so that she could braid her long dark locks.

'Maybe,' she had noticed Lily's interest for the young man and she couldn't blame her, he was handsome with his fair skin, tall well built stature, silver colored hair and beautiful aquamarine hues that seemed to glow. Yet she really hadn't noticed him, at least that was what she told herself as she had studied their companions the day before.

'Princess,' there was a knock on her door.

'I think it is time for us to go,' Amaranth said as Lily finished tying a blue ribbon at the end of her braid.

'Perfect timing,' she pulled away and studied her work for a moment before going to answer the door. 'Morning, Chip.'

'Lily are you and the Princess ready, the King and Queen are waiting at the great hall with your companions.'

'Just let me grab our cloaks and we'll be good to go.'

'Hello, Chip,' Amaranth greeted her friend as she walked towards the door already holding said cloaks.

For a moment Chip froze, he thought he had the Queen's younger version standing before him. 'Princess,' he blinked away the idea of Belle reverting back to her younger self.

'Yes, is everything alright?'

'I just hadn't ever seen you without a dress or royal gown on,' he mumbled.

Amaranth looked down at her attire and wondered if her choice in wear was too unbecoming of a lady. 'Does it look bad?'

'What? No,' he shook his head, 'I was just remembering the first time I meet your mother.'

'Oh,' she recalled the plain blue dress with white apron she had see in her mother's closet once. Her current attire was similar except she didn't wear an apron and the blue dress had been changed for a sleeveless blue jumpsuit that reached just past her knees underneath it she wore a white bell-sleeved blouse and on her hands she wore brown fingerless leather gloves to match her boots.

'This attire suits you, Princess,' Chip told her after seeing the slight frown on her lips.

'Thank you,' she beamed up at him after the compliment.

'We should get going,' Lily reminded them as she placed her cloak on.

'Right,' both agreed and left to go meet up with everyone.

Amaranth was startled to see all their guest dressed in male peasant attire rather then the colorful outfits they wore yesterday. Sora wore brown trousers, a white short sleeved shirt and a dark red vest for color. Goofy and Donald's attire was similar except for the vest color Donald donned a light blue vest and Goofy a deep forest green. Riku just wore dark trousers with a long sleeved white loose fitted shirt that opened a little to reveal his defined collar bones and show off his broad shoulders, but she wasn't really noticing him. She diverted her attention to her parents, if she stared too much she could only imagine what her parents or Lily would think. No, now was not a time to be fantasizing about silly romantic ideas. Wait, romantic? No, her inner self proclaimed as she shook away the thought of romance in a time of crisis.

Riku snuck a glance at the Princess and wondered why the look of concern on her face, maybe like her parents she didn't trust him. Yet that couldn't be right she barely knew him, wait why did he care if she trusted him or not. He was just here on a mission to prevent Maleficent from gaining access to her Soul Blade and taking over the worlds, that was all. He turned his gaze away from her and her parents as the said their good-byes and to soon be reunited after Maleficent was gone and dealt with. 'I'll miss you,' Belle said as she hugged her daughter.

'I'll be back,' Amaranth stated as she returned the hug, 'before you can begin to miss me. Take care of Philippe and Papa for me.'

'I will,' Belle nodded and looked up at her husband whom was talking to Sora and friends. 'Both of you take care of each other and do not stray away from the group.'

'We won't,' Lily nodded towards the Queen and was stunned when Belle grabbed her in a hug too.

'It is a brave thing you are doing, following the Princess and wishing to protect her. I thank you,' Belle told her as she released the blonde female.

'It is nothing,' Lily blushed at the praise.

'Princess, Lily, we should get going,' Sora announced.

'Yeah, we'll want to go before it gets too light outside,' Donald agreed with a yawn.

'We will sent out the first group to distract the shadows and give you time to leave through the back exit,' King Adam announced.

The males all picked up their sacks and placed them over their shoulders. Amaranth and Lily had been relieved of the duty of carrying anything, but Amaranth felt bad about the burden that they had to already shoulder on top of carrying the packs. 'Amaranth, Lily, please be careful,' King Adam told them one last time before leading them out of the great hall and to the back exit of the castle in the cloak of dusk.

After a moment they heard rustling from the trees in the dark forest leaving towards the front of the castle were there was shouting and sounds of guns shooting, swords clashing and shields blocking attacks. 'Go, now is your chance,' the King told them.

'Bye, Papa,' Amaranth whispered before Lily grabbed her hand and pulled her forward after Riku and Sora whom lead the way with Goofy and Donald to watch the back.

'Fair well,' the King softly said to deaf ears for they were gone within a second of haste behind the cover of dark trees and shadows that would not cast them any harm.

To be continued...