Day 6: Fairytale
Dame Aqua gripped Terra's reins tighter, urging the horse onwards through the gloomy forest as dark creatures stalked through the trees, their red eyes gleaming with hunger. The knight leaned forward on her chestnut steed, his long brown mane brushing her face as they sped along through the sharp brambles, dead leaves crunching under the stallion's galloping hooves.
Aqua unsheathed her silver sword, the blade shining bright in the darkness as she carved a wide hole in the thicket of thorns, causing the dark creatures to scatter. She and Terra rushed through the gap and cleared the forest, emerging onto a rough, rocky mountain path under a stormy grey sky. Up ahead was a castle, once beautiful with white pillars and gleaming turrets, now dark and ominous.
She rode on, encouraging her horse up the perilous climb. Halting only once they'd arrived at the castle entrance, Aqua quickly dismounted, the weak sunlight glinting off her silver armor as she reached up to pat Terra's nose. The stallion snorted and shook his mane, pawing at the ground as she told him to stay; it would be too dangerous for him, ahead.
Leaving her faithful steed behind, Aqua pushed open a set of great oak doors and entered the dark, desolate castle. Cautiously moving up a spiral staircase, she found herself in a large, near-empty chamber. Against the far wall was a glass coffin resting upon a stone dais, within which lay Prince Ventus. He was asleep, yet completely still— as if dead.
As Aqua took a step towards her prince, there was a deafening roar which shook the very foundations of the castle and a great, winged dragon descended upon the chamber. Aqua only narrowly escaped as the monster's black, scaly tail swept over her. The dragon turned and spread his leathery wings, which filled the entire chamber. The beast's yellow eyes burned with malice, his curved talons scraping the floor as he advanced with dozens of white fangs bared in his blazing maw.
Despite the fearsomeness of the creature before her, Dame Aqua was quick and clever— evading both his swiping claws and fiery breath. She raised her silver sword, the blade shining with a radiance brighter than the sun. The monster howled as the light blinded him, rearing back as Aqua took that opportunity to run circles around the beast, between his legs and under his scaly belly. As she went, silver chains burst forth from the tip of her blade, binding him and dragging him down to the chamber floor with a tumultuous crash.
The black dragon lay defeated, growling and snarling his displeasure, yet unable to do anything but feebly struggle against his bonds. Aqua sheathed her sword and ran to the dais. She placed a hand on the coffin and murmured a word of magic, the glass melting away into nothingness. Despite the clamor of battle, Prince Ventus had not stirred; he was under a magic spell, to sleep for all eternity until his one true love came to rescue him.
Dame Aqua leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. The Prince's eyelids fluttered, and he blinked open his blue eyes. He slowly sat up as he breathed her name, and she knew the spell was broken. Aqua threw her arms around him, tears of joy springing to her eyes as she and Ventus embraced. Together, both knight and prince left the castle and rode off under the clear blue sky.
"…And so they both lived happily ever after; the end," Aqua said, finishing her story.
"That's my favorite story, Mommy!" Aerie cried enthusiastically, clapping along with the rest of her family. They were all seated on plush chairs in the small library before the warm fireplace.
"It is?" Aqua asked her daughter, amused. "I thought you didn't like kissing."
"I don't!" Aerie insisted with a serious little pout.
"Even when it's Mommy and Daddy?" Ventus asked playfully, wrapping an arm around his wife and leaning in close to give her a kiss on the lips.
"Eww!" Aerie cried, covering her eyes with her hands.
Aerie's uncle Vanitas gave a loud bark of laughter, while the expression on Uncle Terra's face indicated he shared the girl's sentiment.
"You know, Aqua…" Ventus began, winking at Aerie who was now peering at her parents through her fingers, "I'd like to be the knight, next time."
"Yeah, and why did I have to be the horse?" Terra grumbled.
"Dunno; I think I made an awesome dragon," Vanitas chimed in, his golden eyes glimmering mischievously.
"I wasn't in it at all," Chirithy whined from Aerie's lap, her fluffy tail swishing.
"Don't worry, Chiri!" she giggled, snuggling the feline Spirit's warm fur. "Mommy will let you be the horse, next time!"
"Oh, joy…" The cat's naturally folded ears drooped even more.
"Hmm… Well if my story-telling skills aren't good enough for most of you, I guess you'll all have to make the next one up, yourselves," Aqua sniffed mildly.
"Can we have another story?!" Aerie asked excitedly, turning to her father.
"I think your mother would say it's a little late for that," Ven grinned sheepishly with a glance at his wife, who nodded.
"Aww," Aerie pouted, but she knew it was already past her bedtime.
"Alright, let's get you to bed," Aqua spoke gently, scooping up her daughter into her arms.
Uncle Vanitas and Terra wished Aerie a goodnight as Aqua carried her to her bedroom, Ventus and Chirithy padding softly behind. The walls of Aerie's room were painted with scenes of a pretty seaside castle. Ven flipped off the light switch and the nightlight in the corner automatically clicked on, casting silhouettes of dancing fairies along the pastel walls. Together, he and Aqua tucked Aerie into bed with her stuffed Pegaslick Spirit plushie.
"Goodnight, my princess," Ven whispered, smoothing her blonde hair.
"Sweet dreams," Aqua murmured, and kissed her cheek.
As they left, Chirithy lightly leapt onto the bed and curled up against Aerie's shoulder. Aerie hugged the pegasus plushie and closed her eyes as Chirithy began purring softly, ensuring she'd have good dreams. She couldn't wait to hear another fairytale, tomorrow night.
Thanks for Reading!