Darkland Castle's courtyard was filled with the sound of Raven's loud and harsh sounding battle cries.
''Yah! Yah ! Yah!"
Sweat beaded up on the girl's skin as she attacked the man in front of her.
The man parried and blocked most of the girl's attacks. Once in a while, she would get a hit in, but it was never anything serious. He seemed unwilling to harm the girl in any way.
Raven had been training almost nonstop for a week now.
Thankfully, Darkland had one of the best sword fighters in all the six kingdoms, named Syrio. Luckily for her, the man was her Godfather whom she hadn't seen in years.
When she revealed who she was to him, he had been more than happy to train with her.
"You're very good." Syrio complimented. "You would be better off training with Bowser's son Iggy. He may seem mentally unstable, but put a sword in his hand and he has no equal in all the world. The Hero of Time from Hyrule would be a close second."
Raven looked surprised by this new information.
"I've been coming here for months and I never knew that." She mused. "I should look into this."
Syrio chuckled.
"You've gotten so serious, Raven. It's hard to believe you're still the girl that Tyrion used to write to me about. It makes me proud to be your Godfather. It also makes me sad that I haven't been there for you since your father…Vanished."
Raven sheathed her sword and hugged him tightly.
"Let's go. There's a great café in town. We can have coffee and catch up before you head to Hyrule." She pleaded. "We have a lot to discuss."
Syrio nodded solemnly.
"Yes we do. This time, I promise, we'll be able to keep in contact properly." He promised.
The two made their way downtown. To get to the café, the two needed to pass through the market district.
The smell of fresh fruit and leather filled the air.
"Uncle, you say you are leaving for Hyrule tomorrow, right?"
"Yes. Why?"
Raven had a sly look on her face.
"Would you mind if we actually took a looked around the Market District? I haven't been able to come here and actually shop."
As her uncle agreed, the young princess cheered. She always had a wad of emergency cash on her in case she got stranded somewhere.
Koopas, Parakoopas and Toads were mixed through the crowd, their chatter drowned out by the vendors calling out their wares.
There was a market district in the Mushroom kingdom too, of course, but it wasn't as big as this one.
Raven was drawn to a stall with beautiful paintings. If you paid the person a set amount of money, you could commission them to create a masterpiece for you.
As she was negotiating a commission, Syrio was at a sword sharpening stall.
He kept a close eye on his niece and goddaughter.
"I want this sword as sharp as you can get it." He requested, handing over five gold coins. "There will be more if you do a good job."
He could see that Raven was clearly enjoying herself. She had moved to a different stall now and was inquiring about different kinds of armor.
This was bothering him more than it should. What was she planning, if she was inquiring about armor?
"Raven!" He called over the noise. "Come here.''
Raven made her way over quickly.
"Yes?"
"I assume you have a good reason for wanting armor?" He raised an eyebrow. "I doubt Toadsworth would approve."
Raven shook her head.
"He's like Dad. He's really understanding. But..well, I'll explain it to you in the café. It's a long story."
Eventually the two made it to the café. The café's wallpaper was a darkish red and the seats were covered in red velvet.
At Raven's request, they were seated in the back. No one would listen in on them there.
She handed him the scroll that her father had written.
"I received that on my birthday. It's in Father's handwriting."
Syrio unrolled the scroll and began to read.
He only spoke once, when the waitress asked what they would like to drink to order black coffee.
Raven ordered an Iced Coffee with lots of ice.
When he was finished with the scroll, he handed it back.
"..They're back?" He asked weakly.
She nodded solemnly.
"They have Peach too. She had the guards attack me after I got Father's sword."
Syrio's face was grim.
"If he didn't have the sword….''
"We have to stay positive. There's no way Papa would have been killed." Raven encouraged.
"And you're planning to go rescue them by yourself?"
Raven bit her lip and nodded.
"I don't want anyone to get hurt because I asked them for help. I'd never forgive myself. Especially if it was Bowser."
Syrio nodded understandingly.
"You love him don't you." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
She nodded eagerly.
"More than anything in the entire world."
Syrio placed his hand atop hers.
"Raven. I'm going to give you some very good advice." He said, a bit sternly. "Do not be afraid to ask people for help. This isn't something you can do alone. At least let me help."
Raven stared into her uncle's eyes, mulling it over.
"Alright, Uncle. You can help by going to Hyrule." She said finally.
When Syrio began to protest, she continued.
"If this is really as bad as I think it is…we will require help from Hyrule's Queen."
Syrio nodded. He took a long sip of his coffee when it was brought over.
"Alright. I can help in that way, I suppose."
-
Waluigi walked through the halls of the Sarasaland palace. He had been summoned by his girlfriend, The Queen. He knew better than to make her wait for him. Daisy was not a very patient woman, even more so now that she was a queen.
As he pushed the doors open, his jaw dropped.
Daisy was sitting on her throne wearing some very revealing clothing.
As the door opened, she looked up.
"Come closer, Waluigi." She commanded.
As he came closer, Daisy spoke up again.
"I have a job for you."
-
Raven chatted animatedly with her uncle at the supper table. Bowser had been nice enough to invite him to dinner, once Raven told him who he was first.
Finally, she decided she had put off her question to Iggy for long enough.
''I didn't know you were a master swordsman, Iggy."
Iggy froze, a forkful of pasta halfway to his lips.
For years, the Mushroom Kingdom had called this particular Koopa's mental state into question. Raven guessed it was time to see if the rumors were true.
A deranged look came to his face.
''Why yes. Yes I am."
Raven took a small sip of her water.
''I'd love to train with you sometime, if that's alright with you."
Iggy swallowed his pasta.
"Monday morning. Nine A.M."
Later that night, Raven climbed into Bowser's bed and cuddled into him gently. He was so much easier to cuddle when he had his shell off.
Bowser lazily wrapped an arm around her.
"You've been climbing in here a lot lately, Rae.'' He observed. ''Am I just that cuddly?"
''Oh without a doubt." She teased. She sat up a little.
"You know I'll have to go rescue my family, right?" Her voice was quavery.
He nodded and cupped her cheek.
"And I'll help you with it. As soon as we're ready with supplies and stuff."
Raven's face had gone bright red.
"Would you mind…doing something for me then?"
"What do you.." His eyes went huge. "Oh."
In the morning, a servant parakoopa knocked on Bowser's door and pushed the door open.
"King Bowser? Raven seems to have left her-OH MY GOD." She slammed the door and ran down to the servant's quarters looking quite traumatized.
The servants who happened to be there at the time quickly gathered to her.
"What happened, Arry?" One asked.
"I j-just walked in on Lord Bowser and Lady Raven having sex."
-
Bowser awoke around midday groaning happily. As he moved to get up, a piece of paper fluttered to the ground.
He picked up the paper and began to read.
Dear Bowser.
I am so sorry. I had to go before you woke.
I don't want you to get hurt.
This is something I need to do on my own.
Wario and Waluigi have come with me.
Hopefully Waluigi is still on our side.
If I do not make it back, know that I love you more than I've ever loved anything in the entire cosmos.
I love you and I am so sorry.
Princess Raven Toadstool.
Raven leaned over the railing of the airship Wario was piloting and let out a sigh. They were passing over the ocean that separated Darkland and Hyrule.
Last night and this morning had been the most wonderful experience she had ever had.
Of course she was rather sore now, but that was to be expected.
She let out a yawn. Waluigi walked over to her.
"So." He said casually. "How are things?"
Raven didn't look up at him. She pulled off the harness around her wings.
With a loud FFSH, the wings unfurled to their full length.
"This is something I had to do on my own. As much as it hurts, I cannot risk Bowser and his children getting injured. I am the only one who can do this."
Waluigi's mouth curved into a smirk.
"Forgive me Raven."
Without warning, a knife tore into her right wing.
As Raven let out a shriek of pain, the knife was pulled downward and she was shoved over the edge of the railing.
"Daisy sends her regards!" He yelled after her mockingly.
As Raven plummeted, she desperately tried to get her wings to open.
The one that was stabbed was bleeding severely and refused to open.
Tears filled her eyes. She was going to die and she knew it.
A shout was heard from above her and she saw a smaller airship hurtling towards her as fast as it could go.
At the head of the ship was a very familiar face.
"B.J." She mumbled.
Then her back hit the water. The force of the landing caused her to black out.
B.J. saw her good wing fluttering to stay afloat. But that was her downfall. As the wings got wet,they began dragging her under the water.
He leapt into the water and desperately began swimming towards where his mother's body was slowly sinking, but it was no use.
By the time he got there, she had completely disappeared. The only proof she had been there was the large amount of blood floating on the surface.
-
Note:
Wow. After god knows how many years, Beauty and the Beast has come to a close. But Fear not. A sequel is being worked on as we speak.
I'd like to take this moment to thank each and every one of you for all your support. I love you all and I hope you will enjoy the sequel. It will follow Syrio in Hyrule for the first bit.
Now that this is over, if You had any questions concerning this story, feel free to ask me. I love your feedback. Plus it lets me expand some things I didn't have time to before.
We now have a complete playlist for Beauty and the Beast, that will be posted at the end of this note. Once again, thank you for all your feedback.
SOUNDTRACK TO LISTEN TO WHILE READING AND WAITING FOR THE SEQUEL.
Because you live-Jesse McCartney
We're In Heaven-Dj Sammy
Love Story-Taylor Swift
Don't Wanna Miss A Thing-Aerosmith
Runaway-the Corrs.
Lithium-Evanescence
-Everytime we touch (candle light version ) by cascada
Black star= Avril Lavigne
-Everywhere by michelle Branch
what the hell=Avril lavigne
Smile-Avril lavigne
Natalia imbrugia-torn
-Far away by nickelback
-Its gonna be love by Mandy Moore
- You found me by Kelly Clarkson
"Venus" by Air
"Playground Love" by Air;
"Undisclosed Desires" by Muse
"Such Great Heights" by The Postal Service
Jimmy eat world -The middle
Evanescence- Holding my last breath
Evanescence- Hello
The Fray- How to save a life.
The Sounds-Yeah Yeah Yeah.
The Rasmus- Shot
Tiffany Giardana-Hurry up and save me
Kerrie Roberts-Rescue me
The World ends with you- Lullaby for you
Three Days Grace- Time of Dying.
Taylor Swift- Two is better than one
Evanescence-Whisper
Within Temptation- Radioactive (Imagine Dragons Cover)
Lion King II- Love will find a way.
Nightwish- For the heart I once had.
Phil Collins-Look through my eyes
Allison Kraus-When you say nothing at all
Avril Lavigne- Contagious
Coldplay-Swallowed in the sea. ((YEAH I KNOW. LOWBLOW)
Coldplay-Viva la vida
So once again. If you had *any* questions during the duration of this story that you want answered, by all means, pm me and I'll post it on my profile page ^_^
Stay tuned for Song of Vengeance.