A birthday/request story from Bride of beetlejuice. :) Here you go, Amiga! :) Happy Birthday! :)
Balan Wonderworld belongs to Square Enix. I only own Chantrea.
Nightmares Won't Ever Come True For You
"Chantrea! Where are you?" A familiar voice cooed playfully.
The little girl giggled quietly as she hid behind the couch in the living room. It was near her bedtime, but she felt playful and wanted to stay up a bit longer.
"Chantrea! Where could my little sunlight be?" Another familiar voice called out in a playful manner.
She hunkered down a bit more, peeking around the corner of the couch carefully to see both her father and uncle enter the living room and look around. She ducked back so that they wouldn't find her right away as she giggled again quietly.
Balan's sharp ears picked up a mostly muffled giggle and he smiled, looking at Lance and pointing to the couch. Lance, who had also heard the muffled giggle, smiled too and nodded. "Well, we've looked all over the theater, Balan," he said. "I just don't know where my sweet little moonlight is."
"She's very good at hide and seek," Balan said, chuckling. "She no doubt wants you to find her, Lance."
"Oh, you know I will find her," the tendriled being said, his voice taking a very playful tone. "And when I do find her, I'm going to enjoy snacking on her sweet little tummy."
"Ah, yes. What a delicious treat," the green-haired maestro chuckled. "Something about a child's laughter just fills me with happiness, especially when it's my cute little niece laughing."
"She does bring joy to us," Lance said, smiling as he then stopped by the couch, hearing a small sound of someone scooting backwards to avoid being seen. "Hmm, if only I knew where she was. I could just slip around here a bit and...,"
He trailed off as he heard his daughter giggle, but she was trying to keep the noise down. His tendrils came out and he began humming and looking around, seeing the child out of the corner of his eye look up at him before he suddenly turned and his tendrils gently grabbed her. "I got her!" He cheered triumphantly as the young girl squealed in surprise and began laughing.
Balan laughed in amusement. "So there she is," he said, still chuckling.
Chantrea giggled as her father now held her in his arms and she began squirming with giggles as he began playfully poking her stomach and sides with gentle fingers, smiling at seeing his daughter laughing happily. "Hmm, I think that tummy needs just a little more time before it's ready for me to eat," he said playfully.
"Allow me, brother," the green-haired maestro offered and Lance nodded, to which Balan's gloved fingers began wiggling all over Chantrea's stomach, making her squeal with laughter and giggles. "My, my, listen to that cute laughter. Could it be this little one just loves to be tickled?" He cooed to her, which made her laugh even more.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The child laughed out before Balan stopped the tickle torture with a smile.
"All yours, brother," he said.
Chantrea squealed as her father blew playful raspberries into her stomach and then pretended to 'eat' her stomach, doing over-exaggerated munching sounds that sent his daughter into a fit of giggles as she wiggled around like a wiggle worm. "Cootchie, cootchie, coo, my little moonlight!" He cooed to her before hearing her start to gasp for air, so he stopped the playful attack, holding his daughter as she continued to giggle, but then a yawn escaped her.
"Aww, it looks like someone's ready for the land of dreams," Balan cooed gently.
Lance nodded with a smile. "Come on, my little one," he said to his daughter. "Let's get you tucked into bed."
By the time they reached her room, Chantrea was ready to fall asleep and she reached for her uncle, who accepted her from her father, and she hugged him. "Night, Uncle Balan. Love you," she said.
"Goodnight, my little sunlight. I love you too," he said, kissing her forehead in affection. "Sweet dreams, little one."
He then handed her back to her father, who smiled and hugged his daughter, who snuggled into his hug. "Night, Daddy. Love you," she told him before giving him a daughterly kiss on the cheek.
"Goodnight, my little moonlight. I love you too," he said, kissing her forehead before gently nuzzling her nose with his own, making her let out another giggle before he gently placed her in her bed and tucked her in as Balan switched on the nightlight for his niece. "See you in the morning, Chantrea."
She smiled before falling asleep and the two maestros left to turn in themselves.
But the peaceful night wasn't to last.
Chantrea found herself by her old foster parents' home and she turned to run, but it felt like she was running in slow motion. She heard the voices of the two people behind her.
"She really thinks he cares about her," the woman sneered.
"No one wants a brat like her," the man said nastily.
"A little thief and ugly to boot," the woman laughed meanly.
"He only pretends to care about her," the man said.
Chantrea covered her ears. "NO!" She cried out, still trying to run. "Daddy! Daddy!"
"She'll never find him," the woman said.
"She'll be alone forever," the man said.
"NO!" Chantrea screamed and jumped awake, sitting up in bed sharply before looking around to see her room. She hugged Cotton close to her as she began shaking, her nightmare replaying in her mind.
She then looked at Cotton. "Cotton, do you think Daddy...is only pretending to care?" She asked him. "What if he doesn't really love me and he's just saying that?"
Tears began to fill her eyes before she decided to try and find her father. As afraid as she was from her nightmare, she really wanted comfort from her father.
She wandered down the hallway, but didn't find Lance in his room. Curious, she kept looking, noticing the time was after two in the morning. "Maybe Daddy couldn't sleep?" She asked herself before she came to the main auditorium of the theater. Seeing the stage, she went up to it and found a door behind the curtains that was partially open. Now more curious, she pushed the door open and gazed out.
A full moon gave light to a beautiful island that seemed magical and Chantrea saw a bunch of Tims and Negati. Some Tims were sleeping while others hopped about the isle. The Negati seemed to be acting like nightwatchers. The little girl stepped onto the isle, making the Negati turn to her. "Hi," she said.
A big Negati came up to her, a few flames surrounding him before they died down, almost like he didn't want to fighten the child. A few Tims came up and chirped at her before one jumped up to her shoulder and gently nuzzled her face, making the girl giggle a little. "Hey, do you guys want to play with me?" She asked.
The Tims chirped happily and the big Negati hummed quietly while some smaller Negati that looked like floating musical notes squeaked happily. Chantrea giggled as two of the musical note Negati gently nudged her forward until they came up to a seahorse Negati, which gestured to its back. Carefully, Chantrea climbed on and held on as the Negati began flying through the air. The Tims followed with happy chirps, making the girl giggle before she remembered she had found some drops the other day and she tossed some out, making the Tims chirp again as they chased after the drops.
The seahorse Negati came to a stop and she climbed off as she saw some Tims push some of the gems up to her and one Tim began trying to build a stack of gems. Seeing what he was doing, Chantrea giggled and began building the drops up into a castle. "You guys can knock it down when I'm done," she said to the Tims, who chirped happily as they helped. Even some of the Negati helped too and it wasn't long before they had made a colorful castle and Chantrea gave the signal, to which the Tims playfully knocked it down, making her giggle.
Lance, who had gone on a patrol in Haoyu's worlds as he had sensed negativity becoming too much as a result of the boy having been bullied earlier that day but was now thankfully feeling better again, went to check on Chantrea before he went back to bed, but he was surprised to not see her in bed. "Chantrea?" He called out softly before going down the hallway. He closed his eyes and felt his daughter's emotions, sensing she was happy. That was a relief to him and he searched for her, finding the door to the Isle of Tims open and he went through it, smiling as he came up on the sight of his daughter standing on a small hill nearby and she was pointing at the stars to the Negati and Tims, who were chirping happily.
He then saw Chantrea look down a little. "Hey, do you guys think Daddy really loves me? Like he's not just pretending?" She asked.
The large, bulky Negati hummed with a nod, gently ruffling her hair with a large hand before hugging the child, making her smile. Lance smiled at this before going up to them. "What's this about you wondering if my words are true, my little moonlight?" He asked gently.
Chantrea jumped in surprise. "Daddy!" She said, startled before looking a bit worried and shrinking back into the large Negati's arms. The Negati looked at her before looking at his master with confusion.
Lance grew a bit worried. "Chantrea, what's the matter?" He asked her. "What happened, my little one?"
She looked up at him and sniffled before reaching for him and he accepted her from the Negati, holding her as the child began to cry. "Oh, my little moonlight, what happened?" He asked gently. "Did you have a bad dream?"
She nodded. "I...I dreamed I was back at that horrible place, the home I was at before I came to the theater," she managed to say through her tears. "The man and lady there were saying you didn't really care about me and that you didn't love me. Why would you love a thief and ugly child?" She began sobbing at this. "They...They even said I'll be alone one day."
Lance was horrified to hear of the nightmare his little one had suffered. "Oh, my little one, none of those things are true," he said, rocking her to soothe her as he held her in a comforting hug. "Shh, shh. I'm here. Daddy's here."
Her father's voice broke through her sobs and as she began calming down, she looked up at him. "Daddy, you really do care, right?" She asked. "You do love me, right?"
"Of course I do, my little moonlight," he said comfortingly. "I love you as my daughter and I do care. If I didn't, I wouldn't have adopted you."
She sniffled and felt him start to wipe away her tears. "You're not a thief, little one, and you're certainly not ugly," he continued. "Those people were wrong about you. And you will never be alone. You have me, the Negati, the Tims, Uncle Balan, and all the people who live here at the theater and they all love you as I do."
Her father's words were helping her feel better and she looked up at her father, who smiled gently. "Chantrea, always remember that I love you and I don't regret adopting you," he said. "You're my little moonlight. My little one that makes me forget a bad day when she comes and hugs me. My little one who showed me what a thrill it is to be a father." He smiled at her again. "Do you see what I am telling you?"
She nodded. "You love me very much," she said.
"Yes, I do, my little one," he said. "Those nightmare aren't real and they will never come true for you."
She looked at him. "You promise, Daddy?" She asked.
"I promise, my little moonlight," he said, gently tapping her nose with one finger and making her giggle. "Now, it is way past your bedtime, young lady, so let's get you back to bed."
He said this last part gently, so Chantrea knew he wasn't upset about her being awake and out of bed. She rested her head on his shoulder as he carried her back to her room and tucked her back into bed. "There, all cozy," he said with a smile.
"Daddy, you really promise that those people were wrong about me?" She asked.
"Yes, Chantrea," he said gently. "They don't see what I see."
"What do you see?" She asked curiously.
"A cute little one who has been starved of love for far too long," he said. "And I love her as my daughter and always will."
Chantrea smiled before yawning. "Daddy, can you stay with me? Please?" She said, looking up at him with big, pleading eyes.
He smiled and nodded. "Of course, sweetheart," he said. "Far be it from me to not be there for my little girl when she needs me."
She smiled and when her father lay down beside her, the child cuddled closer to him and he held her in a protective hug, kissing her forehead reassuringly. "I'm here, my little one, and I won't ever abandon you. I promise."
Chantrea smiled before yawning again, settling down as her eyes began to close. "You're the best Daddy in the whole world," she said to him before falling asleep.
Lance smiled at his daughter. "And you're the best daughter in the whole world," he said before falling asleep.
Balan, who had been watching, smiled as he saw the cute scene. "Nothing in the world is stronger than a parent's love for their child," he said softly before heading back to bed himself, knowing the night was peaceful once again.
I just love father-daughter moments. They just make me melt. :)
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GoldGuardian2418