The Power of Music and Other Things

I want to thank Cybertoy00 for reviewing my story with the long, in-depth reviews I love to read. As a note, I would like to say that I love it when people write reviews that are longer than "omg, that fic s col, lololol P". You need to explain what was good, what was bad, and what needs to be corrected for me to really respect you as a reviewer. Just saying real quick. THANK YOU CYBERTOY! Oh, and if you're trying to suggest a fanfic or something in your reviews, tell me, 'kay? I'm thick like that. Okay, chapter summary: Everything comes together as the story comes to a halt... Or does it?

"What treachery is this?" A large Clydesdale centaur boomed as his bow quivered on its string. "Humans are not allowed in centaur territory!"

"Please, sir, don't shoot, he didn't know!" Aresia flung herself over Shute's unconscious body and clung to him. "Don't hurt him!"

"What twaddle," said another, roan centaur with fiery red hair. "Ignorance of the law is no excuse!"

"Please, we're just trying to get away from my Uncle John!" Aresia held onto Shute's over-shirt even tighter. "Please, please, don't shoot us!"

"Wait! Angus!" The roan centaur sidestepped towards the Clydesdale, his bow still at the ready. "She looks royal. She has the jewels around her hands."

Aresia gasped and glanced at the back of her hands. There were a multitude of jewels running from her shoulders down to her fingers that she had worn since she was a baby, and since they were magically attached to her skin, she couldn't take them off! She'd given herself away as a member of the royal family (and if there was one thing centaurs hated, it was any form of governing rule). Now she was sure to get it!

Angus the Clydesdale leaned forward on one hoof, closely examining Princess Aresia. Angus had a broad face with strong eyes, a blunt nose, and just a touch of facial hair. One would expect for a centaur to have a long, dread locked mane of unruly hair, but his was surprisingly well-kempt and short (lightly curled and a very pleasant shade of auburn, not unlike Shute's). His flat nose sniffed Aresia's scent with the delicacy of a rabbit.

He slowly stood up and withdrew his arrow, the other centaurs copying. "She's of royal blood. What does it matter?"

"The other humans spoke of the magical boy she was traveling with." The roan waved his hand towards Shute. "That might be him."

Those words struck a cord in Aresia's ears. She shot straight up, not minding the leaves and twigs that had stuck to her dress. "Other humans? You mean the villagers?"

The roan centaur, whose name was Aiden, nodded. "They ran into the forest screaming about being attacked by the king."

"My Uncle John! That's who they were screaming about!" Aresia screamed, accidentally sounding a bit excited to say so. "You see, he's after my friend, Shute! He's a strong wizard, and he might not survive if he stays in Lacroa!"

Angus trotted forward and nudged the sleeping Shute with his foot. "You're running away from Prince John?"

"Of course!" Once again, the Princess sounded a bit too eager to answer. "You're not against my uncle, are you?"

"Against him? HA!" Angus waved a whole herd of centaurs into view of the princess. "He ordered half of our forest destroyed just so he could have more room to grow potatoes!"

"Any enemy of his is a friend of ours!" whinnied Aiden.

The other centaurs raised their bows to the sky in salute. "Brotherhood of the Centaur!"

Aresia was so happy she couldn't help but clap. And all this time, Shute was asleep, happily oblivious to all around him...

&&&

"Everything's gone wrong... He's ruining everything!" Prince John floated back and forth on the prow of the ship, the ever-faithful Zero standing beside him. Faithful as he was, though, Zero still had no idea what he was talking about.

"Um, sir?"

"Causing riots, ruining villages..." John ran his hand down his face in frustration. "And making Aresia Think for the first time in her life."

"Um, sire? Hello?"

"Just like a boy to ruin a perfectly good vegetable-"

Zero gasped, offended both at the Princess being called a vegetable and the statement that Shute had "ruined" her. "SIRE!"

Prince John turned to Zero, a vein in his forehead threatening to explode. "Zero, let me tell you something! As soon as I find that ignorant boy, he will get so harsh of a beating that it will send his MOTHER to the doctor's!"

Zero jumped and shivered under the fearful gaze of the king, who had been growing more and more fidgety ever since Shute had escaped to the woods. "Uh... Uh, uh..."

"I expect you to back me up on this, Zero!" John shook himself straight, rubbing his scepter protectively. "You're the only person here who could protect me from these other two numbskulls." He jabbed his thumb towards Baku and Captain's cabin in the middle of the ship.

Zero, again, had no idea what he meant, but he did know that he was now shaking so hard that he could hear himself. He inched himself around and away from the substitute king. "Um, I think I'll just... check on the guys..."

Zero mumbled a spell and was instantly right outside Captain and Baku's door; he didn't like using teleportation spells because they were usually too long to recite, but this was an emergency. He was about to take a deep breath to release some pent-up tension when he began to hear voices.

"So, what exactly happened to you and your sister?" Captain's voice! And it was coming from... His room. Duh.

Zero turned around and tapped the door open by a tiny crack. He could make out Captain's back, but that was all.

"Me and Hanako were taken from my family when we were very young." Bakunetsumaru!

Zero just Had to hear the rest of this story. He pressed his ear to the door and held his breath.

"We were sent to train in bushi-do, the both of us, at my master's dojo. It was our mother's idea; she wanted us both to be samurai, it was a family tradition. We tried not to show it, but we were miserable at that place." Zero so wished he could see Baku's face. "My two older sisters, Aneko and Hoshiko, knew that we hated it there, but they didn't know what to do about it. We couldn't tell Mother, it would've broken her heart."

Zero had a soft squishing sound, a sign that Baku was moving his arms. "My mother finally found out just how hard we had it there when she came to visit, and me and Hanako both had huge cuts in our arms."

"From what?" asked Captain.

"From training. Hi-mahoumaru-sensei spared no mercy in training."

"How long had you been there by that time?"

"Two years."

Zero gasped, as did Captain.

"It took her that long?"

"And it hit her like a runaway wagon." Baku took a deep breathe. "That night, my sisters thought up their plan. They hid Hanako and me in a basket in the back of their cart and told Hi-mahoumaru-sensei that we had run away. He sent the entire dojo out to look for us, and while they were gone, we packed our things and left. That what I planned to do with Shute, but..."

So Baku was behind all this! Zero saw the parallels in his mind but refused to acknowledge them right away; it was too painful.

"Was it really that bad, Baku?"

"It wasn't terrible..." Baku paused for a moment. "We always had enough food, and our own beds to sleep in at night. But we were so young... Just a little bit younger than Shute is now. It wasn't that we were being treated badly all the time... It's that our mother wasn't there to see it when we were."

Zero couldn't take it anymore; he flew onto a ceiling rafter and buried his face in his knees, too ashamed of himself to cry. He heard the cabin door opening and Baku and Captain walking out. Captain was, once again, asking questions that were difficult to answer. "Why don't you just tell Zero what happened to you? You could stop this if you just told him."

Baku shook his head. "He's a stubborn and devoted fool, Captain... He wouldn't understand..."

Captain patted Baku's back as they tracked out the door. Zero dug his face back into his lap.

"Is that how they think of me?" Zero thought, rubbing his eyes to mask the tears. "A blind follower of whoever's in charge? A mindless pawn?"

He sobbed into his cape before a little voice somewhere in his head sounded off. They didn't say it, it said. You thought of that on your own...

&&&

It began with a light patting sensation on his palm. He wanted to react to it, but he was too tired... It stopped, and his lifted hand dropped to the ground. His legs began to hurt again by that time, and he winced in pain. The patting feeling moved to his cheek, and it was much harder this time. His eyes wrenched themselves open...

Hooves.

"Ah!" Shute tried to pull himself up, but could only manage to prop up his torso as his legs hurt too much to move. "UMA! TASUKETE! Tasu-"

"Shute, it's all right!"

Shute didn't quite realize who had spoken until she flung herself around his shoulders. He blushed, being reminded of Sayla. "Hello!" He looked up and saw the various centaurs, mostly male, some female, staring at him. "Nan da?"

"They're centaurs, Shute!" Aresia squealed, shaking Shute by his shoulders. "They saved us!"

"Centaurs? But-" He was about to spout off "they're not real", and he would have if he were not his father's child, for Mark Matthew Marxworth happened to be the highest ranked Dungeons and Dragons player in all of Neotopia. Shute had grown up reading every single game manual that had ever been published for that weird little game, and was all too comfortable with the idea of mythical beasts. He smiled widely. "Okay, works for me."

Aiden bowed on his left forehoof. "I am Aiden of the Heaviehoof brotherhood."

Angus also bowed, but on his right. "And I am Angus. It is good to meet you, rebel rouser."

Shute blushed. "Rebel rouser?"

"The way you have stirred the peasants against the king? You have strengthened our cause in a way we centaurs never could!" Angus and Aiden bowed together. "You are truly worthy of our praise."

"The brotherhood welcomes you all!" the other centaurs monotoned (Shute immediately thought "Gundivers" due to the mostly male overtone of the crowd).

"Please, guys, you don't think I did any of this junk on purpose, did you?"

Aresia, Angus, and Aiden were all taken aback; the other horse people gasped and murmured in shock.

"Wha... What do you mean?" Aresia asked, her face growing a bit pale.

Shute, for whatever reason, started to grow angry. He stood up (or tried, he fell right onto his knees again) and began shouting "Whaddayamean, 'what do you mean'? You think I was trying to rebel against Prince John?!" Shute tried to stand up again, failing miserably. "Look, the guy's a jerk, but he could zap me with that staff of his until I turn into a cinder! I'm not about to disagree with him without Captain around! Everything that's happened so far-" He grunted as he tried to push himself up. "Has (grunt) happened (grunt) by (grunt) accident!"

He finally gave up and collapsed into the dirt, his head hurting very badly from getting so worked up. Aresia hovered over him and stroked his head while the centaurs huddled a ways away from them.

"So, everything... That has happened to us, Shute? Your magic, my uncle getting mad at us, Baka-flaba-laba sending us away?"

Shute nodded. "There was no way I could have, nor did I, plan it."

Aresia shrugged, the worry in her face disappearing like snow in August. "Oh well. The ends justify the means." (Talgeese had said that before ("Why is everything reminding me of the guys?" Shute thought.) "What's done is done, Shute."

"Hello?"

Aresia gasped and stood up, picking up Shute's arm with her. "I heard Coa! COA, IS THAT YOU?!"

"I'M DOHA!" Doha bounced into view from the middle of the centaur bunch, beginning followed by his brothers and a HUGE man in equally HUGE armor.

"Shute, yeah!" The three boys tackled Shute lovingly; it hurt his legs so BAD, but Shute couldn't tell them that. "We found you, we found you, we found you!"

"What about me?!" cried Aresia.

"Oh!" Doha stood up and hugged Aresia around the middle. "We found you too!"

"He helped!" Noah pointed to the armored man. "He's a rebel, too, and he helped us find you!"

"Oh, Hagard, hello!" Aiden loped to Hagard's side and put his hand on his armored shoulder. "Hagard has been here for quite a while now."

Angus nodded in agreement. "We allow any fellow hater of Prince John into the forest... We probably should have told you that straight away, sorry."

Shute felt the sweat dripping down his temple. "How many of you people hate this guy?!"

And everyone around him answered, "Pretty much all of us."

Shute sighed, because it seemed the more he was around Lacroan people, the worse they got. He felt like a proverbial Alice in Wonderland... And just like Alice, at this point, he was ready to leave. "Hagard, pick me up, my legs won't move."

Hagard thought for a moment. "Okay." The gigantic man lifted Shute into his arms. "Where to?"

Shute thought of the only person who would treat him in a semi-descent fashion. "Take me to Camille."

&&&

"Oi, i's Shute!"

The multiple villagers answered Bevis's call. "Oi!"

Shute winced as Hagard placed him back on his feet. "Oi yourselves, I'm still tired..."

#Puppy!# Camille bounded to Shute's side and began licking his face, whimpering all the while. #Are you all right, puppy? Did they hurt you?#

Shute leaned on the massive warg's shoulders. "I really feel like I need to lie down."

"No no no, Shute, you haf-ta com' an' see this!" Bevis pulled Shute over to a small, three year old girl. "Alrigh', Maggie, show Shute 'ere wha' you can do."

Maggie smiled and clenched her hands together. Her fingers glowed in a blue light-

"Magic!" Shute cried.

"'Ookit!" Maggie opened her hands to reveal... A perfect, dark blue sapphire.

Shute stared in amazement. "No... way..."

"I's true!" Bevis pulled Shute along some more, showing the other villagers to him. They had all turned magic! Some of them were helping the trees grow, some were digging trenches in the ground without touching it, some where even changing into animals! "You see, since you touched me wi'h that magic o' yours, I decided that if I touched somebody with my magic, it'd make them magic to, righ'?"

"Well, it obviously worked..." Shute giggled.

"And now, we're ready to beat the pants offa that jerk of a king-"

"WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH!" Shute waved his hands violently, faster than should have been humanly possible. "What are you talking about?! Beat the pants off him? What are you talking about?!"

"We're magic now!" Bevis sneered. "We're an even match! We can rebel and storm the castle and take the throne!"

"Storm the castle!" screamed Hagard, wielding a giant axe (everything was giant on this guy).

"YEAH!" answered the villagers.

"NO!" Shute stretched himself to make himself seem tall, the adrenaline causing the pain in his legs to go away. "What, have you guys gone crazy?! We can't take on Prince John, he's got an army of archers and guardsmen-"

#And other wargs!# Camille barked. #With riders!#

"And warg riders, and what have we got? You people have gone insane!" Shute took a deep breathe and pointed at Bevis. "Bevis, anata no gaki (you brat), I would have expected better of you, I mean, you're a teenager!" Shute blinked. "Wait, woah, contradiction." He turned to Princess Aresia. "Aresia-hiime, you're young and level headed. How old are you?"

"I'm 12, I'll be thirteen by midnight tonight-" And suddenly Aresia's face began to glow, her smile widening and her eyes twinkling.

Shute's chest tightened, the color escaping from his cheeks as it always did when he was scared. "Uh oh, I smell a plot twist..."

"Sterling, announcement stance!"

Sterling, who had been asleep in a big pile with his daughter, Mercury, suddenly awoke and picked Aresia onto the top of his head. He lifted her above the crowd of startled villagers. "People of Lacroa, I have an announcement! I, this night, shall be turning thirteen years old!"

The villagers took on an "Oh, okay" attitude and began a scattered applause. Shute breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, false alarm."

Aresia pushed out her chest, glowing like she was magic herself. "And, as such, when I turn thirteen, the rule of the kingdom shall official fall on me!"

The villagers gasped and began talking amongst themselves. Finally Trent raised a finger. "Um, excuse me, bu' could you repeat tha' in a more... Simple words?"

Aresia flung out her arms. "By midnight, I'll be Queen Aresia!"

And with that, the peasants, centaurs, and half the forest erupted into thunderous applause (which Shute happily joined).

&&&

A faint roaring sound wisped past John's ears. "What the blazes?"

He looked about, trying to find something that might help him figure out what had happened, but only Captain was there on the bow with him. It was late, and apparently Captain had decided to take some time to watch the stars.

"Oi, you there, did you hear that?" asked the prince.

Captain didn't answer. His mind was in other places.

&&&

Shute personally lifted Aresia off of Sterling's head (with Camille's help, of course). "Oh, Aresia, this is the best news I've heard all day!" He hugged the tall girl with all his might. "Finally, something going good for once!"

"Yes, now you'll be able to stay here forever!"

Shute froze for a bit, not letting go of Aresia. "Wait, what?"

The Sayla-look-alike pushed Shute back a little ways so she could see his stunned face. "Well, without Uncle John there to torture you, you could live in the castle with me forever!"

Shute blushed. "Um, Aresia, I think you missed the point somewhere..."

"Oh, we'll be so happy, Shute!" Aresia hugged him again, squeezing the air out of the boy. "Oh, we'll live together and eat together and share the same room and when we're old enough we'll get married and-"

Shute's momentary hope was crushed the minute he heard the word "married". She jumped out of Aresia's arms, just now hearing the music in the background. "WHAT?!"

"Oh, think of it, Shute..." Aresia swooned, her hands clasped over her left cheek. "It will be wonderful..."

&&&

(Aresia suddenly gets all tough, Pat Benetar style.)

Aresia: I'm gonna be a mighty queen,
So enemies beware!

(Bevis stepped forward, lifting a lock of Aresia's hair.)
Bevis: Well, I've never seen a queen like you,
With quite a mess of hair.

(Aresia slapped his hand away.)

(The princess grabbed a bunch of golden flowers from a spirit tree and fanned them behind her hand, mimicking her upcoming crown.)
Aresia: I'm gonna be the main event
Like no queen was before.

(She fell back onto Mercury's head, who was whistling out an airy tune to the melody.)
I'm brushing up on looking down,

(Shute stood in front of Mercury's head waving his arms. "Aresia, please, calm down!)
I'm working on my ROAR!

(Sterling suddenly appeared from behind Mercury and roared directly at Shute, knocking him into a pixie nest.)

(Shute tried his best at imitating Zero, but in a harsh way rather than to play along with the song. He groaned as he picked pixies out of his clothes.)
Shute: Thus far, a rather uninspiring thing.

(Aresia snatched her brothers from the ground and lifted them onto Sterling's majestic head, Mercury falling behind to whistle her part.)
Aresia: Oh, I just can't wait to be queen!
(Shute: Aresia-hiime, we're got a lot of junk to set straight, now, you're all messed up-)

(Noah dropped down from a vine, right behind Shute's back.)
Noah: No one saying do this-
(Shute: No one was telling you-)

(Noah sprung back up, Coa taking his place.)
Coa: No one saying be there-
(Shute: Stop that right now!)

(Coa slipped away just as Shute went to knock him down, Doha dropping down and landing on Shute's back.)
Doha: No one saying stop that-
(Shute: Look, what you don't realize...)

(Doha swung back up, only to return with all four of the Lacroa siblings on one vine.)
Aresia, Coa, Doha, and Noah: No one saying see here!

(They all jumped off at once and ran past Shute, leaving him in their dust.)
(Shute: Now see- HEYAA!)

(Aresia leapt onto the back of Aiden the centaur and rode around on his back, riding sidesaddle like a perfect little lady.)
Aresia: Free to run around all day!

(Shute stumbled after them, not having much strength left to keep up with a centaur.)
(Shute: Look, that's definitely out!)
Aresia: Free to do it all my way!

(Shute panted and stooped for breath while Aresia passed by him, riding atop what looked like a giant red ostrich with smooth, shiny feathers (a giant phoenix.) He pointed at Aresia, realizing that she needed talking to just like any bad kid did.)

Shute: I think it's time that you and I
Arranged a heart to heart.

(Aresia pinched his little cheek playfully.)

Aresia: Queens don't need advice
From future husbands for a start.

(Shute growled.)
Shute: If this is where the spoiled brat is going,

Count me out!

(Aresia's phoenix glared at him out of one eye, rearing his head back to give him such a peck!)
Out of service, out of Lacroa,
I wouldn't hang about.

(Camille lifted Shute onto her back and loped him out of reach of the phoenix's bill. He sighed as he struggled to balance.)
I don't want to be married to a teen!

Aresia: Oh, I just can't wait to be queen!

(As Sterling and Mercury played, many more creatures poured out of the Lacroa forest; Ents like from Lord of the Rings, unicorns, leucrottas a la Dungeons and Dragons, and a bunch of stuff Shute couldn't even place. Aresia grinned widely, loving her power and influence greatly.)
Aresia: Everybody look left!

(The creatures ran to the right, looking left over there shoulder. Shute barely managed to escape getting squished by a passing minotaur.)
Aresia: Everybody look right!

(And it happened again, only backwards! Camille yanked Shute out of the herd and threw him unceremoniously to the ground.
Aresia: Everywhere you look, I'm
Standing in the spotlight!

(Shute gritted his teeth.)
Shute: Not 'til midnight!

Villagers: Let every creature go for broke and sing!
Centaurs: Let's hear it in the herd and on the wing!
Other creatures: It's gonna be Queen Aresia's finest fling!

Aresia: Oh, I just can't wait to be queen!

(Aresia and her brothers were lifted onto the shoulders of the centaurs.)
Aresia and Triplets: Oh, I just can't wait to be queen!

(The were pulled higher, placed on the very tops of the tree-like Ents.)
Everyone: Oh, I just can't waaaaaait ...

(And finally, there were back on Sterling's head, possibly the highest place in the Kingdom.) Aresia: To be queen!

&&&

Aresia raised her hands over her head in triumph, her chest heaving. "So... (pant, pant) what do you think, Shute?"

No response. In fact, no Shute.

"Shute?"

PHEW! Did you know I had to cut this chapter in half just so it'd fit in the story! The original draft of this thing was like, 21 pages! And I STILL wasn't done! So I dissected it. Second chapter's later.