A/N: I haven't had a lot of notes to add on these chapters lately, but I want to say thank you guys for all the reviews! It always makes my day!
Terra skidded to a stop outside Cinderella's house. When he'd felt Ven's D-Link, he knew something had to be wrong - he'd thought Vanitas might have shown up, or maybe Cinderella's family had done something out of hand. But he hadn't expected a whole horde - practically a whole army - of Unversed, charging the doors of the manor. Not just the doors; they were breaking through the windows, tearing apart the garden, climbing the stone walls.
Terra didn't think twice. He charged into the mass of monsters, not caring that there had to be at least a hundred of them, the largest horde he'd ever seen in one place. If even one of them got to Cinderella...
Vanitas, you are going to pay for this, he vowed as he cut through the Floods on the fringes of the mob. That got their attention. The Bruisers and Scrappers closer to the doors turned in time to catch a strike raid to the face.
From there, all hell broke loose as the dozens and dozens of Unversed swarmed him. They pressed in close; he barely had room to swing his keyblade. Bruisers charged; Scrappers scratched; Hareraisers slapped - in no time he had a collection of cuts, bruises, and welts. He tried to activate his armor, but a Blue Sea-Salt froze his hand before he could. He hissed and clenched his fist, shattering the ice that encased it.
Shake it off, he told himself. Feeling returned to his hand as he stabbed a Bruiser through its fat stomach, only for two more to take its place. There's just so many!
He wasn't sure he could beat them all. As even more of the monsters appeared out of nowhere, his doubts multiplied. The best plan would be to take them out at their source: Vanitas. But if he fled to track down the boy, the Unversed would take down Cinderella's house for sure.
He shouted with anger, striking down a pair of Blue Sea-Salts with a Quick Blitz. A surge of power washed over him as his Critical Impact command style activated.
That would even up the odds. He dashed across the battlefield, leaping, flipping, slamming his keyblade into the monsters. But still, impossibly, they kept coming, appearing out of nowhere, landing blows on his back and sides. One Monotrucker cut a gash down the back of his calf. He cast a hasty Cure, but it was broken by the whip of a Thornbite's vines before it could take effect.
Snarling in pain, he spun and destroyed the monster, but it was useless - more were still pressing in; he couldn't escape fast enough with the searing pain in his leg. It took all his effort not to collapse to one knee. If only his Cure would reload-!
"Terra!" He heard a voice from the window. Though he couldn't look up, he knew it was Cinderella.
"Stay inside!" He shouted back. "I've got this!"
He wished he felt as confident as he sounded. He wished that she didn't have to watch him get his butt kicked. But while wishing and believing were sometimes enough, he didn't think this was one of those times.
Pivoting on his good leg, he cast Fire, then Strike Raid, clearing himself a bit of space. The power built inside him, leading up to his Finish Command, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to pull it off without damaging himself further.
A Red Hot Chili swept in from above, launching a fireball; he ducked to the side so it only grazed his shoulder. But even just a graze from a ball of fire hurt like Hades. It distracted him enough for a Bruiser to slam into him from behind, knocking him flat on his face. His keyblade skidded across the patchy grass.
"Terra!" This time it was Ven's small voice that called, but his friend wouldn't be able to help him now. "Cinderella, wait! You can't go out there!"
What? Terra rolled to his side, in time to see past the gang of Scrappers lunging towards him. Cinderella was running out into the fray, armed with nothing but a broom she held like a quarterstaff.
"Cinderella!" He yelled, casting a weak Thunder spell to knock back the incoming Unversed. He tried to get to his feet, but his bleeding leg wouldn't support him.
"What does she think she's doing?" One of the stepsisters yelled.
"She's going to get herself killed! How stupid!"
"Well, that's her problem. I'm staying right here!"
Terra started to see red - and not just from the pain. Her family might not care if she lived or died, but he did. And he was not going to let that happen.
Rising to one knee, he summoned Earthshaker back to his hand. Then with all the power, all the anger and pain and fear he possessed, he slammed it into the ground.
A wave of dirt flew up, exploding outward from the impact. The shockwave pushed the Unversed back and also knocked Cinderella to the ground in the middle of swinging her broom. He wanted to make sure she was alright, but the monsters were the bigger threat right now.
But he could still hardly move. He needed to end this quickly, before he lost too much more blood. And before Cinderella got really hurt.
His Cure reloaded, and he cast it, barely staunching the flow of blood down his leg. The Unversed were back on their feet and rushing towards him again. Good. Let them come. Whatever kept them away from her.
But he still needed a plan. A real plan, not just stalling until his strength finally failed him. He just - he just needed to be stronger -
Cinderella cried out in pain. One Scrapper had clawed the side of her brown dress; she smacked it over the head with her broom. It staggered, but kept coming for her as her sisters pointed and laughed from the window.
Rage swallowed him. And suddenly he had the strength he needed.
A dark energy pooled at the tip of his keyblade, then erupted into orbs that shot after the Unversed, obliterating them on contact. Cinderella skipped back, narrowly avoiding the one that destroyed the Scrapper she was fighting.
Terra kept feeding the keyblade, pouring his energy into it, and it didn't fail him. The dark projectiles kept firing until the last Unversed was nothing more than a wisp of blue smoke.
Then, at last, he collapsed back to the ground, too exhausted to consider the implications of what he'd just done.
XXX
Vanitas gasped for breath, nearly screaming when the last of his negativity returned to him. So many Unversed… he'd poured everything he had into them - all his rage at Master Xehanort, all his fear that Aqua would escape, all his jealousy for Ventus. And Terra had still nearly beaten them without calling on the darkness.
The emotions burned within him, still hot from their brief jaunt in the physical world. They wanted out again, but Vanitas wouldn't let them. Couldn't let them. If Terra destroyed any more, the pain might break him. Even if Terra was unconscious as he seemed, just letting the Unversed out again so soon could break him. He hadn't created this many at once since the early days of his training, when Xehanort was first testing his limits. When he didn't know how to hold in his fear and rage and hurt. When he'd hated his creations, killing them over and over, destroying pieces of himself...
He stumbled farther into the forest, flung off his helmet, and threw up. He hadn't had nearly enough food today - had he eaten anything at all? - and it was mostly acidic bile that came up. He grimaced and wiped his mouth, resolving to steal a toothbrush today. And some more food.
Aqua would need to eat soon, too. She couldn't have much food left on her. And he hadn't taken her to the bathroom all day - maybe he should move her to that room he'd found that connected to the bathroom. That would make his job a lot easier, even if it was a little less secure. Void, but taking care of another person was annoying. It was hard enough keeping himself alive.
He took a moment to breathe, hands on his knees. Sweat clung to his face, and he felt a little like throwing up again, but he would be alright. He would be fine. He'd succeeded in the mission - Terra was sure to run off again after giving in to the darkness like that. He wouldn't find Aqua. And Ventus… he still felt close, but the connection was fainter than usual. Well, if his other half stuck around, he'd find a way to deal with him. It had been easy enough the first time.
As a reward for a job well done, he allowed himself a quick power nap… which turned into more of a regular nap. It was was late afternoon by the time his grumbling stomach woke him up. Oh well, he was sure Aqua hadn't missed him.
He picked up his helmet and stuffed it over his hair, which was caked in sweat. Maybe he should make use of the castle's running water today. It was a luxury he hadn't thought about until he'd overheard Aqua muttering about needing a shower the previous day.
He opened a dark corridor and emerged in the castle's storage room -
Where he found Aqua lounging in the corner of the Cursed Coach, with some kind of interactive board game of all things spread out on her lap. She didn't even look up when he entered.
"Glad to see you're entertaining yourself," he said, letting the annoyance seep into his voice. Even when she was a prisoner, her life was still cake compared to his. "Get up. We're moving."
"Moving?" That got her attention. She pressed a button, and the little illusions running around her game board faded. He didn't get a good look, but he thought one of them was Ventus. That thing couldn't let her talk to her friends, could it? He frowned and resolved to check it out later. "Moving where?"
"Does it matter?" He snapped. "It's not like you have a choice."
She frowned but stood anyway. "Has Vanitas written me a letter yet?"
Void, she wasn't going to let that drop, was she? "Look, my life doesn't revolve around you two," he said as he opened a giant corridor, one large enough to fit the Cursed Coach through. "I've been too busy to deliver your letter."
"Busy doing what? Kidnapping other innocent people?"
Knowing it would annoy her, he left through the corridor before answering. He had to make sure no one had suddenly decided to clean up the unused bedroom overnight, though he doubted anyone would. From his brief exploration, he'd deduced that it used to be the queen's extra chambers, but clearly there was no queen around anymore. It was closer to the heart of the castle, but still isolated in its own wing. And if anyone decided to bother them there, he could always take care of them and move again.
As expected, it was dusty and empty as ever. And, conveniently, it had its own bed, if one that had a second blanket of dust on top of the comforter.
He returned to guide the Cursed Coach through the portal, and Aqua repeated her question. "What have you been so busy doing?"
Keeping you alive, he wanted to snap. And pushing your friend into the darkness. But she didn't need to know either of those things.
"Brace yourself," Vanitas warned her, then jumped and grabbed onto the Cursed Coach's side as it rolled through the corridor. He caught her face through the window, teeth clenched, face greenish in the ethereal lighting of the portal. She wasn't made to travel this way. Her armor might have protected her, but he feared she would use the corridors as a way to escape if he told her that. If she ran off here, she could end up spat out anywhere in the worlds. Knowing his luck, she'd probably end up on Master Xehanort's doorstep.
It wasn't long before light engulfed them on the other side. Even through the heavy rose-print curtains, this room was much better lit than the storage area.
"Where are we?" Aqua asked, squinting against the light.
"Your new bedroom," he answered, forgetting to be mysterious. "Bathroom's connected. No more dark corridors every time you need to pee or something."
Red flushed her face, replacing the green tinge. "How thoughtful. Now I'm in a prison with indoor plumbing." She sneezed; the Cursed Coach had kicked up a fair amount of dust on its way in. "Would it kill you to clean every once in a while?"
He shrugged. "Not my castle, not my problem."
He realized too late - when a smile flickered on her face - that he'd given away too much.
"So we're in a castle, and it doesn't belong to you. Could it be that we're still in the Castle of Dreams?"
As if he was going to be stupid enough to answer that. "How much food do you have left?"
She frowned. "Enough to last until I get out of here."
He opened a corridor. "Suit yourself, but I'm getting a hot lunch today. See you later, Aqua."
She was calling something behind him - he didn't catch what - as he left, dropping out of his corridor in the air above the queen's wing. He angled his fall and caught hold of the top of a column.
Sure enough, he couldn't hear Aqua from here. The castle's thick walls were good for more than just looking fancy. He spied over the hall, but it was as abandoned as before. He nodded to himself, dropped - only stumbling a little at the impact; he blamed his exhaustion and hunger - and crept off in search of food.
He was nearly to the populated area of the castle when he heard voices. One loud voice in particular.
"Now, son, you know it's vital to our kingdom that you find a wife-"
"Yes, yes, Father, you've told me. At least eighty times now."
The voices were coming closer; Vanitas shimmied up another column rather than risking them hearing his dark corridor open.
"Well, only because you never listen! What about that young woman you danced with at the ball?"
"Which one?"
"Lad, you can't tell me you don't remember! You only danced with two, and even I wouldn't have you marry that Tremaine girl."
Vanitas risked a look down, and nearly laughed in surprise. The younger one was obviously the prince, which made the short and fat one the king.
"I already told you, Aqua left. She disappeared with that young man."
That's me, loser, Vanitas thought proudly.
"Yes, and how I wish I could wring his neck for it!" The king's face turned the color of a Red-Hot Chilli.
"Now, Father-"
"Don't 'now, Father' me! It was completely - completely indecent of him is what it was! If it weren't for him, you and that blue-haired girl would be wed by now!"
Vanitas's earlier nausea returned at that. How likely was it that the king would notice it if he threw up on his head?
"Father," the prince said sternly, stopping in the middle of the hallway. "I've had enough of this. If you have run the kingdom on your own for so many years since Mother passed away, then I can handle it until I find the woman I desire to marry. However long that may be."
He spun and strode away, leaving the king gaping.
"Well - well. No wonder he can't find a woman to marry, with a temper like that…!"
Vanitas suppressed a snicker until the king finally waddled off.
The prince could keep looking for a girl somewhere else. Aqua was never going to be his.
XXX
"Terra? Oh, please, let him be waking up…"
"Hey, I think he's moving! Terra! Wake up!"
His eyes blinked open slowly, only to see Ven - still mouse-sized - standing on top of his chest.
"Gah!" Terra nearly tumbled off of the couch he was lying on. Wait, how had he gotten on a couch? Wasn't he fighting off the Unversed? "Ven! What are you doing?"
He laughed but climbed off of Terra's chest and onto the cushy armrest. "Sorry! I'm just glad you're okay. We were really worried."
"I'm fine," Terra replied, though he hissed when he tried to sit up. The motion agitated several barely-clotted scabs that he couldn't see but could feel criss-crossing his arms and legs.
"Don't push yourself," Cinderella said, leaning over him to wipe a spot of blood from his arm. "Ven, dear, could you and Jaq bring me another washcloth?"
"Can do!" The boy hopped down, followed by the red-shirted mouse.
Terra took the moment to look around, hazy though his vision still was. They seemed to be in a lavish foyer with tile floors and columns supporting the ceiling. Was this the inside of her house? How had she gotten him in here?
"Ven was right, you know," Cinderella said quietly. Her washcloth was warm and wet, soothing the sting of his wounds. "We were very worried about you."
"I'm sorry." His face heated; she shouldn't have to worry about him. Yet here he was, bleeding all over her couch. At least the upholstery was red.
He coughed weakly and continued. "I just knew if I didn't stop them, no one else would. I couldn't let them get to you."
She sighed, wiping the side of his shirt, which was caked in either dirt or blood. He hoped it was dirt. "Ever the knight in shining armor, you are. I'm grateful you were here, or else… well. But I am the one who's sorry, to have put you through this." She scrubbed a little harder, frowning at the stubborn dirt-or-blood, and he grimaced. "That's going to leave a stain. There might be some old clothes of my father's that you could borrow in the meantime."
"Don't worry about it, I'm fine," he insisted. His clothes might be stained and torn, but they would last until he could stop back at the Land of Departure. Besides, he really didn't want to be dressed up like the men at the ball had been. Their pants had looked far too tight to be comfortable. "Tell me though, what happened? The last thing I remember is being outnumbered, and then…"
His eyes widened. The darkness. He'd used it again, hadn't he?
"You collapsed," Cinderella answered. She gave up on the spot on his side, and moved on to his leg, which she had to carefully adjust to reach his bloodied calf. Somehow she didn't even flinch at the wound, just pushed up the bottom of his pant leg and started working. "This might need stitches, I'm afraid. It's rather deep."
He shook his head as much as he could while lying down. "It's nothing a couple Cure spells won't fix. As soon as I'm feeling strong enough to use magic again, anyway."
She frowned at the cut but said, "Alright, if you say so. In the meantime I'll clean it as best I can."
He nodded. Though his pride still wanted to insist he was fine, her care was surprisingly effective. The places she'd washed felt better already, as if her rag were dipped in a potion rather than water. Maybe Ven had lent her a few of the healing items. "What happened after that, though?"
"Oh. Well, you had gotten rid of the rest of the monsters by then, so it was safe to bring you inside. I didn't want to leave you out there, in case they came back."
"And your stepfamily?" Terra could hardly mention them without wanting to punch something. "They let you take me in?"
"Well, I wouldn't say they let me do anything." Her mouth pressed to a thin line. "But, I pulled you inside, and they couldn't do anything to stop me."
"You - you brought me in all by yourself?" His brow furrowed. "Cinderella, I have to be twice your size."
She laughed. "Oh, it took me quite a while, but I managed. Ven cast a spell to make you a little lighter, too."
Zero Gravity, probably. Terra smiled; he never would've thought of that. Still, with Ven being the size of a mouse, his spell couldn't have done that much.
"Well, thanks," he said lamely, still embarrassed at the idea of Cinderella having to drag him the whole way through the dirt and then across the clean floors. Which weren't so clean now, he noticed. "I'll help you clean up after this."
"No, I wouldn't have you do that," she replied. She tore a strip of cloth from the bottom of her apron and gently wrapped it around the now-clean gash in his leg. "You've already done so much by protecting us. You just worry about resting, I can take care of everything else."
He frowned but didn't argue - at this point, he would only make a bigger mess if he tried to move. Besides, he had more to worry about than either cleaning or resting.
"How did I finish off the Unversed?" He asked, hoping that his foggy memory was somehow misleading him.
"I'm… not quite sure, exactly," she said, tying a final knot in the bandage. Then she moved back to his chest, hovering over him and humming thoughtfully.
"What did you see?" He asked again. He feared the answer, but he needed to know. If he really had used the darkness again…
"Um… it all happened quite fast, but you used some kind of magic, I think."
He swallowed, his throat going dry. "Did it look… wrong, somehow?"
She stopped inspecting his wounds and met his eyes. He wanted to shrink away from the concern there, but he forced himself to hold her gaze. If he had frightened her, he needed to know that, too.
"Did it feel wrong, to you?" She finally asked.
"Like you said, it happened too fast to be sure. But I was… angry," he admitted. "At Vanitas for making those monsters. At your family for how they talked about you. And… at myself. For not being strong enough to protect you." He closed his eyes. "It was wrong. I gave into the darkness again - that's what happened."
Guilt stung nearly as much as his cuts and bruises. But, he realized, he couldn't regret what he'd done. That would mean regretting saving Cinderella's life.
Darkness is evil… but I used it to destroy evil, to do something good. He hadn't thought that was possible. According to the Master, it shouldn't have been. But that's what I did - I used darkness to protect light. What does that make me?
"I was frightened," Cinderella said quietly, fingering the blood-crusted rag. "I thought you were going to die, Terra. I lost hope again, but you didn't. You saved all of us. However you did it, I don't think that's wrong."
"You - you don't?" Terra's eyes opened, taking in her soft expression. Light, she was beautiful. It was a strange for that thought to intrude - when her hands were grimy with dirt and blood, her hair was spilling out from her loose ponytail, her clothes were torn from the battle and making his bandages - but it was true. How had he missed that when he'd first met her? It was in her blue eyes, in her smile, which she turned on him now.
"I don't," she repeated. She reached out a hand, slowly, hesitantly, and placed it over the left side of his chest. "You have a good heart, Terra. Whatever it is you're fighting inside, I know you are strong enough."
How can you know that? When it came down to it, she still barely knew him. She'd only seen the good, not the fear and anger he'd felt so often lately. Except he didn't feel angry or afraid right now. He just felt… warm.
That was when he saw the light emanating from her hand, the one over his heart.
"What?" His fingers overlapped hers, as if he could touch the light, hold onto it. "Cinderella - what are you doing?"
"It's not me," she said, pulling back in confusion, but his hand tightened around hers.
"I think it is," he replied. He could feel the energy seeping into him, warming him, like a blanket he could wear from the inside.
"You're the one who can use magic. How could I be doing this?"
"That's what I tried to tell you before, Cinderella. There's a special light inside of you. Your heart is free of darkness - that makes you a Princess of Heart."
"Me?" She frowned. "A princess? Terra, I think you might need more time to rest than I thought."
"No, I mean it. That's why the Unversed attacked, why Vanitas will try to get to you. There's only seven Princesses in all the worlds, and - well, I didn't know exactly what they can do, but I guess sharing light is one thing."
She was silent for a long moment. He could feel her hand tense under his. Finally, she said, "Well, if I suddenly have a Fairy Godmother, and you have a magical flying machine, I suppose being some kind of Princess is the least surprising thing to happen to me. And did you say… worlds?"
Terra bit his tongue. He could lie, but he felt her light would see right through him.
"Uh… yeah," he said anticlimactically. Master Eraqus was going to have him scrubbing floors for weeks for this.
"Is that where you're really from, then? Another world?"
He closed his eyes, wishing he could take back his words. She really was going to find out everything about him at this rate. "You know those rules I told you about? One of them's that I'm not supposed to talk about that."
"Oh. I'm so sorry, I had no idea - am I going to cause trouble for you?"
"Well… not if you don't tell anyone." He would still have to report this to the Master, but he doubted there was any way she could disturb the world order. Maybe he'd only have to scrub floors for one week. He shouldn't complain; it would still be less trouble than she went through on daily basis.
"I won't. I promise."
He opened his eyes and saw her smiling again. "Thanks."
"Well, don't thank me just yet. I'm still not done cleaning you up." She pursed her lips, and her cheeks reddened. "I'm afraid you might need to remove your shirt for me to properly wash some of your cuts."
"Huh? Oh - uh…" He was sure his face turned red too. He let go of her hand, and she quickly pulled it back to her side. "Don't worry about it. I think I can cast Cure again now."
"Oh. That's good, then." She coughed. "I wonder what's taking Jaq and Ven so long. I could really use a clean washcloth…"
He shrugged, then quietly said, "Heal." The comfortable green glow surrounded him, closing up cuts and lightening bruises. Though it wiped away his physical pain, the feeling still paled in comparison to whatever she'd done with her light.
"Oh," Cinderella gasped, then sighed in relief. "That's quite a useful spell. I suppose you didn't need my help after all."
"No, I did. Trust me." He smiled. "If it weren't for you-"
"Cinderella!" A nasally voice called, cutting him off. Stomping echoed from the staircase he could just barely see through the doorway. "Mother says you've wasted enough time with that boy! It's time you cleaned up around here!"
Terra gritted his teeth, but Cinderella just rolled her eyes. "Just a moment, Anastasia."
"Don't talk to me like that! Mother, she can't talk to me like that!" Anastasia appeared in the doorway, hands on her hips. Then, to Terra's annoyance, she was joined by the other stepsister - Drizella, Cinderella had said. And last but not least, the stepmother herself.
"Quiet, Anastasia," Cinderella's stepmother said calmly.
"But-!"
She held up her hand in warning. "I will deal with this."
"Hmph…" Anastasia crossed her arms. Drizella peered out from behind her, and a curious expression replaced the sneer on her face.
Cinderella swallowed nervously. Terra wanted to reach for her hand again, but decided that might not be the best idea. To her family, he was just a blacksmith's apprentice. He wondered why she'd picked that as a cover story for him, of all things. But they'd seen him fight. Would they even believe that anymore?
"I believe," the older woman stepped closer and said, "that someone has been telling lies."
Terra swallowed. Apparently they wouldn't.
"Stepmother, I can explain-" Cinderella began.
"Silence!" She barked. "The blacksmith currently has no apprentice. I know this because I spoke with him at the ball three nights ago."
"I - he - he was only trying to-"
"What did I say, child?" Her stepmother sneered. Terra felt a similar expression form on his own face.
"Don't talk to her like that!"
She blinked slowly, as if surprised that he would speak, and then scowled again. "You would invade my own home, destroy my lawn and gardens, and then speak to me this way?"
Terra sat up; his energy had returned, whether from the Cure or from his anger, he didn't know. "Look, I was the one who kept your home from being destroyed!"
"Terra-" Cinderella began nervously, but her stepmother raised her hand again.
"Regardless of what you have done, you are corrupting my stepdaughter. Her duties are to our family, not to brawling peasants."
"Peasants-!" He growled, but she kept talking as if he'd been silent.
"If you are capable of such insolent speech, then you are clearly well enough to return home. You will do so, and you will not speak to Cinderella again."
"But Stepmother, you can't!" Cinderella threw an arm out to the side, as if to protect him. "He's still hurt! And I..."
This time, Terra did squeeze her hand. Then he rose and stood at her side, still looking like death warmed over, but holding his head high. Drizella and Anastasia flinched back a little, then stuck their noses in the air as if to cover it.
"What if I don't like that plan?" Terra said.
Cinderella's stepmother turned a steely glare on him. He imagined her looking at Cinderella like that, bending her to her will, and the anger kindled inside him.
"You will not have a say in it. Cinderella is far too busy to entertain your company." She turned her cool gaze on her stepdaughter. "Come, now. Let us show him out."
"...Yes, Stepmother," she replied quietly, a tear trailing down her cheek. Her small, callused hand was cold in his.
"But, Cinderella…" Terra swallowed what he was going to say: you can't let them treat you like that. You don't have to let them. Did she? When it came down to it, they were the only family she had. They may be cruel and horrible, but where else could she go? Who else could care for her?
I could, he thought even as they led him to the door. I could take her with me. She's a Princess of Heart, and she's in danger here.
But the words stuck in his throat. What if she didn't want to go with him? Sure, she'd wished to see other kingdoms, but other worlds - that was something else. And what would the Master say? Would he demand he take her back, back to this home that looked more like a prison?
They arrived at the door, somber as a funeral procession arriving at a grave. His only small comfort was that she still hadn't let go of his hand.
"Say goodbye, Cinderella," her stepmother commanded. Terra gave her the fiercest glare he had, for all the good it would do either of them. Everything about this was wrong. He may not be a real knight in shining armor, but he should have been able to protect her. He shouldn't be abandoning her here, to these people who didn't care if she lived or died. There had to be something he could do, if only he had longer to think of what it could be.
But he didn't have time. Sparkling tears dripped down Cinderella's face. She turned to Terra, took a deep breath, and…
Smiled?
"Goodbye, Stepmother."
"What?" Drizella shouted. "What do you think you're-!"
"Goodbye, Drizella. Goodbye, Anastasia." Cinderella pulled open the large front door.
"She can't really be-!"
"Oh, but I can," She said firmly, the confidence in her voice increasing with every word. "I have been thinking about this for some time now. I am old enough to take care of myself. I think I shall do a better job of it than you have."
"Who does she think she-!" Drizella tugged on her mother's dress.
"Mother, you can't let her-!"
Her stepmother cleared her throat, and the protests went silent. "Surely I misheard. Surely you aren't so deluded as to think you could make your way in the world on your own, without my support."
Cinderella stood straighter.
"I believe I can."
"And she won't be alone," Terra said, squeezing her hand. Her smile grew wider.
"So, a scullery maid and a lying peasant. We'll see how long your fairy tale will last." The woman gave a thin smile. "When you wake up from this delusion, you know where to find us."
Anastasia gaped. "Mother, you're not really-!"
"She can't leave!"
"Who's going to do our laundry?"
"And our dishes!"
"Mother!"
Terra heard the aghast shouts as he followed Cinderella out the door, and even after it shut behind them. She didn't stop on the porch, or in the charred debris of the lawn. She walked stiffly, clinging to his hand the whole time, until she finally collapsed to her knees in the remnants of the pumpkin patch.
"Cinderella!" Terra knelt beside her. "Are you alright?"
She began to cry again, breath coming in soft little gasps. "Yes, Terra - I'm fine - I will be. Oh, I'm so sorry you had to be there for that. But I - I had to. I'm so tired of just dreaming…" Her gasps then broke down into full-on sobs.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," he said, rubbing her back. He thought back to the first time they met, when he hadn't known how to comfort her. He still didn't, but he would try anyway. "That was really brave, Cinderella."
She smiled a little through her tears. "I suppose it was, wasn't it? I'd just been thinking about what you said. That they shouldn't treat me the way they do. It had just been so long since anyone - since anyone treated me the way you do… it made me believe that things really can be better." She stopped to sniffle, then composed herself enough to keep going.
"And you believed in me, too. You believed I was strong enough. If it weren't for you, I don't know that I would have ever had the courage to do this. I just can't believe I really… I didn't expect to leave so soon…"
"You don't have anything packed, do you?" Terra realized. "And what about your friends, the mice?"
"Well, actually…" She wiped her eyes, then stood. He followed her around the side of the manor, where a horse knickered inside a small stable. Tucked in the corner, half-buried under a pile of hay, lay a small bundle wrapped in canvas. She dug it out and dusted it off. "I didn't expect to do this so soon, but I wanted to be prepared. Just in case… well. I packed a few spare dresses and things a few days ago."
"You really have thought about this."
"I've thought about this forever, actually." She smiled. "It's only recently that I believed I could do it."
"There really is power in believing," he said to himself, as she turned and patted the horse on the nose, telling him goodbye. "What are you going to do now? Is there somewhere you planned to go?"
"Well… I didn't have all the details yet. But there are a few tailoring shops in town; I'm sure that one of them could use an extra seamstress. And if that falls through, I am more than qualified to be a maid. Perhaps I could even work at the castle." She chuckled.
"And you're not scared at all? I mean, this can't be easy, leaving everything you know..." He realized too late that those probably weren't the comforting words she needed to hear right now.
"Oh, I'm terrified." She laughed. "But I imagine it would be terrifying no matter when I decided to do it. This time, I won't let fear stop me." She hoisted the bundle of clothes up in her arms. "I will worry about the animals here, though. I know the mice and birds can follow me, but Bruno and the others… I hope my stepfamily will take care of them."
"Who knows? Maybe they'll decide to run away too. Here, let me carry that for you." They shared a smile, and she handed over the lump of clothes. "I'll D-Link with Ven, and he can lead the mice out of there. In the meantime, you don't have a place to stay yet. You can use the room I rented at the inn; I'll camp outside tonight."
"Oh, Terra, you really don't have to…"
"I want to," he assured her. "If I had to guess, you probably don't have a lot of munny to spare right now."
"Well… no." She blushed. "I have a few coins I've saved though, change from shopping in the market. I can get by for a couple of days until I find a place to work."
"Would you let me look after you, just until then?" He asked. "I have to stick around and find Vanitas, anyway, and I still think he might come after you again."
Her brow furrowed. "Maybe he won't be able to find me, since we're leaving."
"Maybe," he said, though he wasn't convinced. If Vanitas could sense light, there was probably nowhere she could really hide.
"I just wish I didn't have to put you in danger again. I would still feel better if you rested for a little longer."
"Trust me, I'll be fine. I'm the last guy you need to worry about." He grinned. It was a pretty funny thought, her worrying about putting him in danger. He tucked her clothes under one arm, then held the other out for her to take.
"Shall we go now, Princess Cinderella?"
Her cheeks glowed pink as she laughed. She linked her arm with his.
"Yes, Knight Terra. I think we shall."
The grin stayed on Terra's face as they headed towards town. For the first time since leaving the Land of Departure, he felt like he had done something completely right.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was one I was looking forward to for a while! I'm going to try and go back to updating ASAS next, I'll be sad to leave this was alone for a bit.