III : Castle of Dreams II
The two Keyblade Masters were perched on top of a pillar that held an expensive looking vase, listening in on the conversation between the three women and the grand duke. Baal's feet dangled off of the edge, his charcoal eyes calculating the situation.
"You're the only ladies here?" The grand duke asked.
"There's no one else, Your Grace." The red-head frowned at that as Aqua voiced out her impatience.
"Come on.. Hurry, Jaq!" The tan male turned towards his female friend, standing up and walking over to her. He placed a warm hand on her shoulder.
"He's doing the best he can. Besides, I bet if he shows up at all we can go out later to get some pumpkin pie."
"Pumpkin pie?" She questioned.
"Well, why not? In the mood for some pie. Why not a pumpkin pie?" The grand duke turned around, leaving the house as they can only do nothing but watch. What can they do when they were this small anyways? Aqua ran up to the ledge, about to jump off until they suddenly grew back to their original sizes. Her eyes widened as she tried to regain her balance by grabbing onto Baal's arm. Baal was oblivious to Aqua's predicament, so when she grabbed onto his arm he turned his head to her direction.
"Wait, wha-" Aqua fell from their spot, pulling him down with her as they crashed into a heap on the floor. The crash made the grand duke stop in his steps as he turned around to look at what might have caused the commotion.
Baal was underneath Aqua as he took most of the damage, his body facing upwards as the bluenette climbed off of him to sit on her knees near him. He had grabbed her while they were falling and switched their positioning so that he fell first, making sure that Aqua didn't get hurt whatsoever.
So what if he can't take things seriously? Aqua's still a girl with wants and needs. One of those wants isn't her getting hurt, and she definitely didn't need to get hurt. He slowly got up, rubbing his sore right horn as multiple cracks were heard from his back.
At least he didn't need one of his friends giving him a rough massage for a while.
"You alright?" He asked, to which Aqua replied with a nod.
"Thank you for breaking my fall." Baal simply waved it off, a smirk plastered on his face.
"S'no problem." The girl gasped as she quickly looked up to Lady Tremaine and her daughters huddled together, the grand duke still at the doors. They stared at them, Baal quickly standing up and dusting himself off as his posture straightened. His eyes darted around the room before they landed on the glass slipper.
"Ah.. Would it.." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Would it be alright if my lady would try on the glass slipper?" He didn't care if Aqua got on his ass about what he asked, they needed a good cover up.
"Hmm.. I met you two at the palace. Unfortunately, she is not the young lady the Prince is looking for." So much for that good cover. Aqua stood up, a hand on her chest as she played along.
"But I am a girl. I should at least be given a chance to try it on." The bluenette glanced at Baal, who only stared back. "Isn't that right, my servant?" Baal's left eye visibly twitched, but he slowly nodded nonetheless. The grand duke had a look on his face as he considered it. Lady Tremaine walked up to them, her eyes narrowing at these strangers.
"Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?"
"She's probably here to rob us!" One of her daughters concluded.
"Mother, do something!" Lady Tremaine looked back at the grand duke.
"That girl does not live here. I have only two daughters. I believe we're finished here, Your Grace." The grand duke walked up to Aqua, glass slipper in hand.
"Regardless... She means no harm." He held out the glass slipper towards her, the female giving him an uncertain smile. "Here you are, my dear." Aqua looked up at the vase from the corner of her eyes, clearly not wanting to try the slipper on. It obviously looked too small for her feet, and she didn't really want Baal to use this as blackmail material.
How he became a Keyblade Master, she wasn't even sure.
"Your Grace... Please wait. May I try it on?" All eyes turned towards the blonde woman that Baal and Aqua saw at the castle. The bluenette let out a sigh of relief; she would be saved from Baal's antics.
"Pay no attention to her. She's just an imaginative child." Lady Tremaine said. Baal's eyes narrowed as she bowed to the grand duke.
"Madam, my orders were every maiden." He responded. Baal began walking towards Cinderella who had just reached the last of the steps.
"You should let her go first." He suggested, holding a hand out towards the woman. Cinderella gave him her thanks as her feet touched the floor. She sat in a cushioned pink chair, looking up at Aqua before staring at the grand duke. Aqua gave her a comforting smile as she saw Jaq from the corner of her eye.
"I actually want to thank you, for teaching Terra he needs to keep believing." Cinderella looked back at her with a questioning gaze, Aqua quietly retreating towards Baal. He gave Aqua a smirk, knowing fully well that she had seen Jaq.
Which meant they were getting pumpkin pie after this whole ordeal! Baal silently cheered to himself, oblivious to Aqua's small sigh.
The grand duke began walking up to the blonde woman, until he unceremoniously tripped. Baal rushed forward, only to barely miss the glass slipper as it shattered from hitting the marble floor. He cursed under his breath as Aqua let out a gasp, the grand duke covering his face with his hands as he began sobbing.
"What will I do?" Cinderella looked down at them with a graceful smile on her face.
"Oh please, don't worry. You see, I have the other slipper." She reached behind her to pull out a glass slipper just like the one that had shattered. Lady Tremaine's eyes widened in shock as the grand duke cautiously took it from her, kissing it multiple times. He slipped it onto her bare foot, finding it to be a perfect fit.
"A perfect fit. I must inform the Prince immediately! You will come with me, of course." Cinderella stood up, walking towards the two Keyblade Masters as her smile grew.
"I'd be happy to." The grand duke began walking towards the doors, Lady Tremaine's daughters clearly voicing out their opinions.
"It's not fair. She's a scullery maid!"
"Mother! Are you just going to let them leave?"
"No.." Lady Tremaine drawled out. "Cinderella will be put in her place."
Baal and Aqua were walking around the front of the house, until a scream pierced through the silent night. Their heads quickly turned towards where it came from.
"What's that?" The grand duke came running out of the forest, yelping in fear. Baal ran up to him with Aqua in tow. "What happened? Where is Cinderella?" Aqua questioned, the grand duke bent over with a hand to his rapidly beating heart. He was breathing quite heavily.
"Sh-she was attacked by a creature.. a monster in the forest.." He stuttered out. The red-head's eyes narrowed.
"A monster?" He muttered to himself. Baal took off into the forest, Aqua reaching a hand out to him.
"Baal! Wait! We don't even know where Cinderella is!"
"Sh-she should be in a clearing with the castle in sight... Please, save her! Save Cinderella!" The bluenette nodded, determination filling her eyes as she ran after her tan companion.
Baal ran down the winding dirt path until he reached a clearing, seeing Cinderella on the ground with Lady Tremaine and her daughters cackling as they were standing next to..
A giant pumpkin carriage? It was clearly too early for Halloween, he thought to himself. The monster vomited what looked to be a fire spell into the sky, making it rain down on the clearing. Baal made a mad dash to Cinderella, sliding on the dirt as he covered her with his own body from the magic attack.
Aqua made it to the clearing, her eyes widening as the fire exploded upon impact.
"Baal!" She screwed her eyes shut, covering her face with her arms from the blinding light of the close range spell. Aqua slowly opened her eyes, the smoke clearing out as she sighed in relief. The two of them were unharmed.
The red-head got up from Cinderella as she looked up at him with grateful eyes. Lady Tremaine cackled.
"This is what happens when you go against my wishes!" She looked up to the sky, her arms spread apart as a glowing pumpkin fell down in front of them, immediately exploding. The mother and her two daughters screamed as they sailed through the air, their voices fading away as they were out of sight. Baal watched it from start to end with the two females before he let out a low whistle.
"The darkness in their hearts overtook them." Aqua surmised. She held a hand out to Cinderella who took it, pulling her up. "Go." Baal watched the blonde woman just in case she was attacked while moving to safety. Seeing that it hasn't happened, he turned his attention back to the matter at hand; the giant Unversed pumpkin coach.
"How do you want to do this?" The red-head asked, twin Keyblades already summoned and raring to go. Aqua summoned her own as her eyes scanned the nightmarish monstrosity.
"Long ranged magic and close ranged fast hits. Think you can keep up?" She challenged him, a friendly smile on her face. Baal only scoffed at that, his trademark smirk plastered on his own face.
"Sweetie, you shouldn't be saying that since your spells take a helluva lot longer to cast than I take to get in multiple hits." With that, he bolted to the Unversed and began slashing at it. Aqua stayed in the back, shooting out ice spells at it from the tip of her Keyblade.
The Cursed Coach twisted its body before rapidly spinning towards the bluenette, who gracefully dodged with a cartwheel. Baal quickly caught up to it, slicing and dicing until it swiftly turned to face him. He barely had any time to dodge or block as the Unversed slapped him off towards Aqua with its thorny, pale yellow tentacles. He winced as he tumbled and skitted across the dirt unceremoniously, steadying himself into a kneeling position.
"Baal!" A gloved hand caught a potion that was thrown at him, Baal quickly thanking Aqua before downing the disgusting concoction. He threw the empty bottle aside, littering the least of his worries as he sprung back into action.
The Unversed spun again, this time heading straight to Baal. He crouched slightly, his Keyblade in front of him in a cross as he blocked it. The Cursed Coach staggered, which gave him enough time to give it a solid upper slash. It flipped over onto its top, the giant mouth on it turned into an upside down frown. Aqua began casting Blizzara multiple times, as Baal changed his attack stance; becoming more slow and heavy instead of the fast-paced rogue-like slashes.
The monster spun back onto its wheels, the eye markings on its body glowing a sinister red before it shook its body. Baal glared menacingly at it as it took a few steps back, the mouth opening large and wide.
"Move!" The tan male shouted to his companion as he felt a strong gust of wind sucking him towards the Cursed Coach. Aqua began running to the left of it as Baal moved to its other side. They were able to get a few hits in until the Unversed decided to float in the air. The small stem on top of its body opened up as it began raining mini pumpkin bombs. The red-head groaned, clearly exhausted from running around.
"Why can't you die already?!" As the large Unversed landed back on the ground, Aqua shot out another Blizzara, its body shaping into darkness before it faded away. Baal panted heavily, flopping onto his back on the dirt beneath him as his Keyblade disappeared in a flurry of light. He stared up at the stars, sweat dripping off of his forehead until Aqua decided to ruin his view of the night sky with her face staring down at him.
"So... Still want that pumpkin pie?" The only reply the bluenette got was a loud groan paired with an annoyed look, to which she giggled at nonetheless.
The two of them were in what looked to be the courtyard of the castle as they watched the prince and Cinderella embrace each other on the stairs. The grand duke wiped the tears that were threatening to fall from the corners of his eyes, Baal standing next to Aqua who sat down. He gave a small grin to the scene; he wasn't one for sappy romances, but he thought that this one wasn't too bad. Aqua looked out of the corner of her eyes to her left, a faint shimmer catching her interest as the Fairy Godmother appeared. She then turned her attention back to the couple on the stairs.
"A pure heart filled with light... It's strange, the Master taught us darkness needs to be destroyed. But how, if not with light?" Baal assumed that it was Aqua doing her weird talking to herself thing again, so he decided to ignore it. The Fairy Godmother turned to look at her, a serene smile on her face.
"Oh, my dear, you're too young to know. Experience more things, and you'll find the answer. Just trust in your dreams." Baal turned to look at Aqua.
"I still want some pumpkin pie." Aqua simply shook her head, laughing.
"Alright, alright. We can get some." Baal let out a small cheer. "If they have any." The red-head's excitement went from one hundred to zero in less than a second. The Fairy Godmother watched the interactions between the two, before coming to a conclusion.
"I ship." The bluenette's face flushed red as she turned to the Fairy Godmother.
"W-wait, wha-?!"
So, Aqua and Baal just finished their business in Castle of Dreams.
As said before, there's no need for you to write a review, but you can do it if you feel like it.
Enjoy the rest of your day / evening / night.
- Ran