Ten years later…
Sora was running through the castle with his guard dog Dolly; if you could call her that. She was more like his partner in crime. Chasing them were Ventus and Dylan, their angry older brothers that they just pranked by dropping flour on them from above and stole some sugar cookies.
"Hey, you two! Get back here!" yelled Ventus.
"Yeah, you better get back here right now, Dolly!" Dylan also yelled, though Ventus only heard barks coming from him.
"Okay sure," Dolly sarcastically called back. "How about we get on that never?!" Dolly then proceeded to laugh. "Right, Sora?"
"Yep. So long as they keep chasing us, that is," Sora responded to Dolly, being the only human that could understand her as well as other animals and plants. It was a gift that he was born with, likely because of remnants of the sundrop that was in his mother's body.
"What did Dolly just say?!" Ventus yelled at Sora, demanding to know what was said by the dalmatian.
"Nothing you don't already know," Sora answered, also laughing at them.
This proceeded to get the ire of both Ventus and Dylan. In fact, Dylan immediately started to bark loudly as he ran, trying to get the attention of the royal guard. Which, in fact, he did. In about a minute.
"Um, I don't suppose that any of you would like some cookies?" Sora offered to the guards as he held out a few cookies. Two of the guards, named Stan and Pete, accepted the cookies while the third one, the captain of the guard, just glared.
The group was led into the throne room by the captain of the guard. Upon entering the room, Ventus glared at Sora while Dylan had a smug look on his face. Sora and Dolly were led to their respective parents. After a moment of silence Sora's father began to speak.
"What were you thinking?! Why did you prank your brother and steal cookies? What if someone got hurt?" the king demanded from Sora.
"Um, I was just hungry and wanted to get a snack. As for the prank, I was just bored. There isn't much we can do around the castle," Sora hesitantly answered.
Before the king could speak, his wife comforted him by saying, "Don't be too harsh on him. He's just unhappy with how we all feel due to Rapunzel being gone, especially so close to the anniversary of, you know."
The king sighed before he gave his response, "I understand, but you know we cannot let you leave without guards. What if something were to happen to you or your siblings?"
"Sorry father," Sora apologized.
"That's alright Sora, but we still need to talk about your punishment. How about you clean up your mess and no dessert for the night?" the king offered.
Sora thought for a moment before sighed and said, "Yes father," with a bow.
Meanwhile, Sora wasn't the only one to be scolded by their parents. Dolly was also being scolded by her mom and dad.
"So, let me get this straight. You let your human pull a prank on your brother and his human, and on top of that stole some of the cookies that were to be for the feast tomorrow. Is there anything I'm missing?" Dolly's mother scolded.
"Well, there was that skateboarding session in the backyard," Dolly sheepishly added.
"Uh, oh. Someone's in trouble," Dylan said.
"You what?!" Dolly's father cried out.
"Oh, um, never mind. But, other than that I didn't do anything else wrong," Dolly awkwardly said.
"Dolly, you know that we have been given a fantastic opportunity. We have to care for our new pet humans and make sure that they, and by extension the rest of the kingdom, can live their lives safely and fulfillingly. How can they do that if you keep pulling stunts like this?" Dolly's mother explained.
"Well, they can't live fulfillingly if we just sit around and do nothing like Dawkins and Dylan do with their humans," Dolly snarked under her breath.
Unfortunately for Dolly, both parents heard what she had said and were not happy. "They have found interests that allow them to live safely rather than put them in danger all of the time," Dolly's father, Doug, explained.
"So what are you saying? I'm nothing but a pest that makes a mess of everything?!" Dolly yelled at the top of her lungs.
"No, I'm saying that you need to be more responsible. And, to help give you a sense of responsibility, I'm afraid you've left us with no choice. You are grounded until further notice. During that time, no skateboarding, no dessert, and to help you learn responsibility, you must watch after Da Vinci in addition to watching over Sora," Dolly's mom sternly said.
"What?! But that's not fair. Besides, why do I have to watch over Da Vinci anyway?" Dolly demanded from her parents.
"She hasn't been feeling well lately from what we could see. However, neither of us have had time to check in with her to see what the problem is," Doug explained.
"Before that, why don't you go with Sora and clean up the flour that is now on the floor?" Delilah suggested.
"Me?! But why?! Dylan normally would be all over stuff like this!" Dolly yelled, unhappy that she was being asked to clean.
"Because you're the one who helped make the mess. We've been here for three months and we've all agreed that staying here is preferable to being separated. However, we likely won't be allowed to stay if we keep pulling stunts like this," Delilah retorted. "Now, go!"
Dolly turned to leave with Sora, who had similarly been told to clean up the mess. Before she left, she sarcastically told Dylan, "Thanks a lot brother."
"The pleasure is all mine, Dolly dog," Dylan smugly said back.
"Now, before you go clean up the mess, you should go change into a different pair of clothes that are easier to clean. You can get them from the staff," the king told Sora.
"Okay," Sora accepted.
After this meeting with the king and queen, Ventus left to talk with Roxas over what had just transpired, with Dylan following not far behind. Upon arriving at Roxas's door, Ventus proceeded to knock. "Roxas! Open up! I need to talk to you!" Ventus called out to Roxas from the other side of the door.
It took a minute, but Roxas eventually got to the door and opened it up. "So, what do you want to talk about?" Roxas asked his older brother.
"I'm here to talk about Sora. He pulled another prank on me," Ventus explained.
Roxas just sighed, "Again? Well, that makes seven times." As he said this, Namine and Xion, who were both friends of Roxas's, added another tally on a chalkboard next to an image that resembled Ventus, which was drawn by Namine.
"Strange. He's been more prank happy as of late," Namine noticed on the board that there were many marks next to the king, the queen, Roxas, and Ventus, and many people that live in the castle.
"Why do you think that is, anyway?" Xion asked.
Ventus sighed. "It's likely because he wants to go outside. Don't get me wrong. I want to go outside too, but our parents won't allow us. Still, that doesn't mean he should go about pulling pranks and making messes. I just don't know what to do with him."
"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I don't know what to do either. I mean, I cope with being stuck inside by reading about the outside world," Roxas said as he gestured towards several tall bookcases that had ladders next to them. "I'm not sure about Sora, though. He is more of a people person than a book person, and he has already made friends with everyone in the castle and most of Corona."
"What about your parents? Don't they know anything?" Xion asked Ventus.
"Not really. I don't know if they are even fully aware why Sora acts this way. They know that he wants to meet Rapunzel and that he wants her to return home so that everyone will be happy, but not that he wants to be more free," Ventus revealed.
"Why don't they just let him go free?" Namine asked.
"Yeah. If you were all allowed to see the world outside the castle maybe you would all be happier," Xion reasoned.
"It won't work. Our parents, especially our dad, would never allow us to leave," Roxas shot the idea down.
"Maybe one of us should go talk to Sora. I'll go get Riku and Kairi. He's more likely to open up with them," Ventus decided.
While this conversation was going on, another separate conversation was going on with Dylan and Dawkins.
"So, what happened this time Dylan?" Dawkins asked his older brother.
"Dolly and Sora pulled a prank on Ventus and me." Dylan said as he let out a groan. "I just don't understand it! Why does Dolly insist on playing these jokes and goofing off?! She has the responsibility of looking after a member of the royal family and she treats it all like a big game rather than with any real gravity or weight."
"That makes sense. She is almost as trapped as Sora is," Dawkins offered up the thought.
"Maybe, but that doesn't excuse her behavior. I just know that someday her behavior will get us all kicked out and separated. And when that happens she won't have anyone to blame but herself," Dylan explained with bitterness in his voice.
"Maybe you should go and talk with her before things get any worse," Dawkins suggested.
"That may not be such a bad idea, Dawkins. Thanks for the help," Dylan thanked his younger brother.
"You're welcome," Dawkins accepted the gesture.
And so Dylan and Ventus both left to begin their tasks at bringing their families together. However, it would turn out that things would ultimately become more complicated.
