Aurora had dealt with many difficult things in her life before. As a baby, she was cursed by an evil fairy which forced her away from her parents; spending sixteen years not knowing that she was a princess; having the revelation brought to her by three people whom she thought were her family and thinking she would never see her true love again; and being put to sleep. However, despite all of that, nothing could've compared to, or prepared her for the endeavor she was about to face.
As the sun rose over the island of Zula and its bright orange rays cascaded off the lakes and leaf of its tall trees, Aurora, from Sualili's house, looked on in the distance as the wind blew her golden hair; thinking only of what was ahead.
She had spent the previous night learning everything she needed to know from Sualili about traps; pitfall, net traps, etc. She did her best to memorize everything, however, it was so intricate and complicated that she couldn't grasp it all at once, but she didn't care. If she had to, and she knew she probably would, she would make due with what she was able to learn.
With what limited knowledge she had, Aurora was prepared to leave. Sualili constructed a leaf bag for her to carry her things in; such as rope, nets, bait, and such. It was a bit heavy for her to carry, but she got used to it after a bit.
Aurora didn't need to be given direction to the mountain since it was easily seen from the ground, so with that, she exited the house.
"Are you prepared for your journey?" asked Sualili
"Yes," answered Aurora, turning to Sualili with strong resolve.
The young princess stated that nothing would stop her from getting the staff from the mountain. With a nod of confidence, she turned, ready to face whatever challenges awaited her; but her strong moment fell flat when she fell from the house and landed hard on the ground.
"Oooh, that has got to hurt," said Sualili.
Picking herself off the ground, Aurora picked up her bag and started on her way.
As she passed the gang, still tied up, a couple of the tribesmen were playing with Rapunzel's hair, one of them went so far as to place it in their mouth.
"Hey! That's not spaghetti, that's my hair!" Rapunzel shouted.
Merida was in a similar situation as a bunch of the tribes men looked around her hair for bugs...and surprisingly found about five.
"Deblin! NO!" Merida shouted after one of the tribesmen ate one of the bugs.
"You named the bugs in your hair?" asked Jasmine.
"Sure, don't you?" asked Merida.
"Um...no..." said Jasmine.
The tribesmen continued with the rest.
"There goes Tod...and Blar...and Gall, he was always a good listener, and Gordan...I'll miss your sense of humor," said Merida.
Cinderella turned the gang's attention to Snow White who appeared to be getting worse by the minute. Her coughing was getting louder and often and the pain of her injuries appeared to hurt her more and more.
"Guys, what are gonna do? Snow White is not looking so good," said Cinderella.
"Our only hope is for Aurora to get that staff and get us out of here," said Tiana.
"Don't worry, I will," Aurora said as she walked up to the gang.
Coughing in her breath, Snow White spoke. "Au...Aurora...be...careful..."
Aurora walked up to Snow White and held her hand and nodded at her, assuring her that she would return safely. Though honestly, she herself wasn't too sure if she would return at all as she walked off.
Meanwhile, a tribesmen was sniffing Tiana about. He was rather fond of her scent and looked affectionately at her.
"Um...I think he likes you," said Rapunzel.
"OK, first of all, I have a husband, and second, even if I didn't, I do not date guys that don't clean their toenails," said Tiana.
Even though it seemed like the mountain was only a few steps away, in fact, it was farther than it appeared. Sufficed to say, Aurora would have to do a lot of walking and from the looks of it, climbing, to eventually get the staff. The young princess had made sure to pack enough food for three days and considering how long it would take to get to and from the mountain, she knew she would have to ration it.
As she walked through the dark and slightly muddy terrain, Aurora's eyes wandered around the giant trees and leafs of the forest; slightly trembling as she heard the sounds of the jungle; from the screeching of monkeys, to the growling of wild animals.
Admittedly, she was scared, but despite it, she kept walking forward.
Eventually, she made her way to the river where Pocahontas and Mulan were before and stopped to get a drink. With the hot sun beating down on her, she poured some water on her face before she filled a wooden bottle she had made with some of the water.
Suddenly, she heard rustling coming from the nearby bushes. Realizing it might be a wild animal of some kind, she knew she had to prepare herself. Taking cover by the nearby rocks, she took out the net and readied to capture whatever was coming her way.
Out of fear, she closed her eyes, relying only on her ears, listening for the footsteps of the approaching creature. As the steps got louder, the sweat poured down her face and her heart beat faster and faster. Finally, as she heard the footsteps as close as they could get to her, with a scream, she launched the net forward.
Hearing a scream, she figured she must've caught the creature and went to check, only to discover that no one was in the net. She then breathed a sigh of relief, realizing she must've just heard things and it was all in her imagination. So with that, she went to take her net and place it back in her backpack, but as she reached for it, another net fell from the sky and trapped her.
"Help! Help!" she screamed.
"First rule of trapping; don't scream when you're trying to catch your target," said a voice.
The voice was coming from the rocks where Aurora once was. She looked up towards them and saw what looked to be one of the tribesmen, only it was a girl.
She had long black that went down over her shoulders, white markings on her face, a green bra and loincloth, and white, furry leg anklets. She was also carrying a spear.
"Who are you?" said Aurora.
"Name's Akiko. I'm Sualili's daughter," said the girl as she removed the net. "I figured you might need a hand getting up to the mountain."
"I...I don't. And why would you help me?" asked Aurora.
"To show my dad that I'm a capable warrior. When you're the only female in a tribe full of men, you're not exactly taken very seriously. Same thing with my Dad. He thinks since I'm a girl, I should just stick to healing herbs and such, but if I help you get the staff, maybe that'll show my Dad that I can take care of myself," said Akiko.
"I don't mean to be rude, but I'm trying to show that I can take care of MYSELF," said Aurora.
"My father may have taught you a lot of things, but learning and doing are two different things. You won't last a day out there without me, so like or not, I'm coming with you," said Akiko.
Akiko's story was actually somewhat relatable to Aurora's own, so she hesitantly agreed to let her come along as long she promised not to get in the way.
Back in the village, the tribesmen took a giant black cooking pot and placed it over a fire. They were certain that Aurora would not be able to make it back with the staff in time or at the very least, get past the beast guarding it.
The princesses were concerned about the safety of Aurora, realizing she was out there on the island alone. But soon their concern turned to nervousness when the tribesmen started licking their lips at them.
"Listen, why do you want to eat us? We haven't done anything to you and we haven't caused any trouble," said Belle.
"You trespassed on our island and when your friend fails to get the staff, we will enjoy feasting on you, especially her," said one of the tribesmen as he stared at Tiana.
"Oh! You don't wanna eat Tiana," said Rapunzel.
"Why not?!" said one of the tribesmen.
"Because...she...has too much meat on her. Yeah! that's it! Way too much meat. You'd never be able to finish her," said Rapunzel.
"Yeah, that's right...hey, wait a minute..." said Tiana.
"She's right! I mean she's packing a LOT of extra meat in that body. Right, guys?" Merida said as she looked at Ariel, Mulan, and Pocahontas.
"Right! Especially around her hip area," said Ariel.
"Yep, she's got a WHOLE LOT there. And not to mention her thighs," said Mulan. "Those things make drumsticks look like tiny chicken wings!"
The gang looked at Pocahontas, waiting for her to add something on.
"Um...she's...too fat!" said Pocahontas.
"OK, guys, I think he gets it!" shouted Tiana.
Taking their words into consideration, the tribesman focused his attention away from Tiana for the time being and tended to the pot.
"The next time you try and get me out of a life-threatening situation, please use your words differently," said Tiana.
Back at his house, Sualili had set a number of herbal leaves, berries, and other ingredients on a table. In addition to being the leader of his tribe and a great warrior, Sualili was also an expert at herbal remedies and medicines and spent most of his time teaching his daughter what he knew.
"Akiko! Time for your remedy lessons! Come on! Today, you're gonna learn how to make a special toe jam that gets rid of fungus and is also good for rapid hair growth," he called out.
But there was no answer. This wasn't the first time; Akiko was always late for her lessons and Sualili figured she was probably out hunting as she usually did, so he thought nothing of it and decided to just wait for her.
Throughout their trek through the jungle, Aurora and Akiko encountered a number of obstacles.
First, they climbed up a small hill of rocks. Akiko got up to the top pretty fast while Aurora was having troubles, but eventually, she was able to make it.
Next, the two came to a large canyon that didn't have a bridge. There didn't seem to be anyway across until Akiko spotted a nearby tree and noticed it had some vines on it. Upon observation, she saw that the vines were long enough for them to swing across. She grabbed a vine and then handed another to Aurora. Despite how large the canyon was, Akiko swung over it with relative ease. Upon looking deep into the canyon, Aurora gulped a little in her throat, but after taking a deep breath, swung over and met Akiko on the other side.
Then, they encountered a giant anaconda. Akiko held it back with her spear, while Aurora took out a fake mouse and threw it, turning the giant snake's attention to it and luring it away from them.
As it seemed that the worst was behind them for now, the two came upon another river and decided to take a rest.
Akiko spotted some fish swimming in the water and decided to catch some to eat later. She checked the river to see how deep it was and the water reached up to her kneecaps, so with that, she took her spear and began spearing fish that swam by.
Aurora watched as Akiko effortlessly speared the fish. Even though she had enough to last her, she didn't want to be outdone by her. She grabbed her net out of her backpack, ran into the river, and scooped up as many fish as she could.
"Not bad," said Akiko.
Figuring they had more than enough, Aurora wrapped the fish in a leaf bag and put them in her backpack.
"Thank you," Aurora said. "Listen, I'm sorry if I was a little rude when we first met. I never introduced myself. I'm Princess Aurora."
After getting a drink of water from Aurora, Akiko and her sat down for a while and Aurora told her of the Magic Kingdom, Golett and the Evil Empire, and the crystal scepters and Snow White's injury and how nothing would stop her from making sure she felt better.
After taking another sip of water, Akiko noticed the lake was going in the direction of the mountain. Based on this, she figured the two of them could raft on it to get to the mountain faster. Aurora agreed as she looked down the river, but she realized they would need someway to go down it. Upon noticing a couple of logs laying on the ground, she got an idea; they could use them as rafts. Akiko nodded in agreement and the two grabbed a log and began dragging them to the river. They were both rather heavy, although only Aurora had any real trouble with hers. Akiko already had hers in the river and eventually, Aurora had hers in as well.
Akiko was fine with using her spear as an oar, but Aurora needed something for herself, so she used a stick off the ground and the two headed on their way.
"You know, you're pretty good at thinking on your feet, blondie," said Akiko.
"I guess. I'm really just trying to help my friends," said Aurora.
As the two rafted down the river, they were making some good time as the river carried them at a satisfyingly fast pace. Aurora rafted with all her might; the only thing on her mind, being the task at hand; eventually rafting in front of Akiko. But then, Akiko noticed that they were starting to go faster than they were rowing; the speed of the river picking up. As she caught up with Aurora, Akiko looked ahead and saw that they were headed toward some rapids.
"Rapids! I think we should continue on foot," said Akiko.
"No! We can do this! We can make it through!" said Aurora.
Akiko was impressed by Aurora's determination and decided to follow her lead.
Going down some small falls, the two headed into the rapids, dodging rocks and trying to keep themselves balanced as their logs tilted back and forth and left and right. Aurora's log hit a rock and she fell to the side, but managed to hold on.
"Aurora! Are you OK" said Akiko.
"Yes...I'm fine!" Aurora said.
The rapid rushing water splattered on her face with great force, but despite it, she climbed back onto her log.
The two had managed to escape the rapids, but their troubles were not over just yet, for at the far end of the river, Akiko discovered a waterfall. They turned their handmade rafts around and tried their best to raft away, but the current was just too strong. The young princess and tribeswoman needed to think of something and fast.
At the cliff on the right side of the falls, Akiko noticed a long branch from a tree with two vines hanging from it over the falls and got the idea for the two of them to grab onto the vines before they fell.
This plan was risky and would require a good amount of precision and timing, but Aurora was all for it.
As they approached the edge of the falls, Akiko and Aurora nudged themselves to right to get themselves in perfect position. As they got closer, Akiko stood on her log and Aurora soon followed. Closer and closer; faster and faster; they held out their hands and reached for the vines and at the last second, before the logs drop down the falls, they managed to grab onto them.
"Heh, nice way to spend an afternoon, huh?" said Aurora.
"Yeah," Akiko answered with a chuckle.
Climbing up the vines, the two walked across the branch and onto the cliff and decided to continue the rest of the way on foot.
The duo had trekked quite a way and the sun began to set underneath the distant mountain. Growing a tad bit tired and hungry, they decided to take a rest and eat. Aurora gathered some wood and made a fire, then Akiko took the fish she had caught earlier and placed them over it, letting them cook. Meanwhile, Aurora preoccupied herself with some cranberry muffins.
"You're pretty tough and very determined," said Akiko.
"To be honest, I never really knew I was capable of surviving like this," said Aurora.
The young princesses exposited to Akiko her backstory of how Maleficent cursed her as a baby and how she was raised by the good fairies.
"Wow, that's harsh. And all because she didn't get invited to a party? That lady needs a hug," said Akiko.
Aurora giggled and then exposited some more, telling her about the day she met Prince Phillip and found out who she really was; her return to the castle, being hypnotized by Maleficent and forced to prick her finger on the spinning wheel and being placed in a deep sleep; and Prince Phillip waking her from said sleep.
"When I saw Phillip's eyes after I woke, it was one of the happiest moments of my life. But when I think of my friends and everything they accomplished, I look back at that moment and I can't help but think to myself how helpless I was," said Aurora.
"My dad thinks I'm helpless too," said Akiko. "When I was a little girl, my mom was killed and eaten by a lion and ever since, my dad has been very protective of me and against the idea of me being a warrior. But I want to prove that I am capable of taking care of myself, and if I help you, maybe he will."
After some more talking, night came and the two decided to call it a day, making sleeping bags out of leafs.
Akiko fell fast asleep while Aurora looked up at the starry night sky, seeing Phillip and Snow White's images in the stars. Despite the challenges that she had faced so far, she promised herself that nothing would keep her from rescuing her friends and soon enough, she would be reunited with her true love.