Author's Comments: Hello! After finding the time to write and looking up various clips of this movie because I'd forgotten how the story went, I finally finished this chapter. Keep in mind that the storyline I wrote isn't the same as the one in the movie. Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or The Swan Princess.

"This'll be the last time. I swear."

Zexion glared at Demyx. "That's what you said three days ago."

"I know, but I mean it this time!" Demyx waved his hands around wildly to emphasize his point. "Look, the girls have school starting Monday meaning there won't be any need for us—"

"For you, you mean. You're the one babysitting them."

"But you're helping, too."

"Against my will."

"Anyway, starting Monday, the girls won't need us and we'll be busy with school so it all works out. No more storytelling after today." Demyx shrugged with a hesitant grin. "Sounds good, right?"

Of course the part about Zexion never having to tell another story after today sounded good…but that would be after today. Today, Demyx dragged Zexion into yet another day excursion with his talkative younger cousins to the park. Today, Zexion had to spend nearly twenty munny to buy ice cream (two cones for Ariel since she dropped her first) for everyone since Demyx forgot his wallet at home. Today, he had to put up with Selphie's screeching when she didn't get to her favorite swing before another child snatched it from under her snot-filled nose.

To top it all off, the girls demanded another story.

With a sigh, he conceded. There was no avoiding it if he wanted to spare his ears and his wallet just to keep the girls from driving him crazy. "Let's just get this over with," he muttered.

"That's the spirit!" Demyx proclaimed, calling his cousins from the playground. When they rushed to his side excitedly, he asked them, "Okay, girls. You know the drill: no big interruptions while Zexy's telling the story."

"Okay!" both girls chimed, scrambling onto the bench between him and Demyx. Their legs swung back and forth over the edge of the seat in anticipation. "Tell us a story, Zexy!"

Zexion's eyes flitted around the peaceful park for prompts…and lit up at the sight of a serene swan gliding across the glassy surface of the pond. Alright, he found a story. As for the characters…

The corners of his mouth turned upward. Those two would be perfect. He began, "Once upon a time…"

There were two kingdoms whose rulers were good friends. To one kingdom was born a son named Zack; to the other, a daughter named Aerith. So great was the friendship between the rulers that they decided to marry their children and unite their kingdoms once they were of age.

"I like this story already," Demyx murmured under his breath with a big grin.

The children, however, were not pleased. From the moment they first met, they despised each other. Summer became their least favorite season for they were forced by their parents to visit the other's home kingdom every year. They bickered, schemed against each other, and refused to get along. Their behavior troubled their parents to no end.

Yet something changed between them one year. Prince Zack had grown to be a handsome young man and Princess Aerith had become a lovely young woman. Upon seeing each other, the two fell in love…but for questionable reasons. When Aerith asked Zack why he loved her, he proclaimed that it was because of her beauty and nothing else, believing that beauty was all that mattered. Heartbroken, Princess Aerith refused to go through with a wedding unless Prince Zack could prove that his love for her extended far deeper than outward appearance. The rulers of the kingdoms, fed up with their children's fighting, lost all hope of uniting their kingdoms through their children.

As Princess Aerith and her parents returned to their home, their carriage was attacked by an evil sorcerer named Lord Rothbart who thirsted for power over their kingdom. The sorcerer, after transforming into a grotesque beast, defeated the soldiers accompanying the royal family, killed the king and queen, and kidnapped the princess before stealing into the stormy night.

Prince Zack, still devastated at having lost the trust of the love of his life, received the horrifying news from a soldier who'd escaped the ambush. The soldier informed him that a great animal had attacked the carriage and kidnapped the princess. From that night on, he vowed to hunt down the great animal and rescue Princess Aerith, knowing in his heart that she was still alive somewhere.

Lord Rothbart took the princess to his lair near a secluded lake. Several times he asked and demanded her to marry him so he would become ruler of her family's kingdom. To his frustration, she always answered with a no. Deeply vexed, he cast a terrible spell on her, transforming her into a swan. Every night when the moon's reflection hit the surface of the lake, the princess would change back into a human. However, when the moon's reflection disappeared, she would revert back into a swan. Only a vow of everlasting love could break the spell.

He paused to allow the details to sink into the girls' minds. It was a bit of a pleasant surprise to hear no interruption of any sort from them—no comments, no questions, no exclamations…

Then again, the story was only beginning.

Princess Aerith soon befriended a few woodland animals who lived near the lake and witnessed her transformation: a turtle named—

"Lek-sis."

The name died on Zexion's tongue as he glanced down at Selphie. "Pardon?"

"Lek-sis," she repeated seriously.

His brow inched together. Who the hell was Lek-sis? Unless she really meant…"Lexaeus?"

"Uh-huh. Lek-sis."

Zexion stared at her for a few moments…then sighed quietly. He knew the girls would come up with something to say eventually.

"Why Lexaeus?" Demyx asked his cousin patiently.

"Because Lek-sis is kinda like a turtle," Ariel answered for her sister. "He's slow but he has a tough shell."

"Oh, I see." He nodded in what could've been a mixture of agreement and acceptance of her explanation. He flashed a sheepish glance to Zexion. "Okay, so the turtle's name is Lexaeus."

Zexion merely blinked back. It didn't make much of a difference to him what the turtle was called. The use of their friends' names made the story slightly more interesting, if anything.

Princess Aerith befriended a turtle name Lexaeus, a frog named—

"Demmy!"

The sudden outbursts, on the other hand, Zexion could've done without.

"Me?" Demyx pointed a finger to himself. "I'm the frog?"

"Yeah 'cuz frogs live in the water and you like the water!" Selphie told him with a gleeful laugh.

He laughed along, wrapping his arms loosely around the redheaded cousin. "But Ariel likes the water, too."

Ariel scrunched up her face. "I don't wanna be a frog."

"Okay, okay. I'll be the frog," Demyx volunteered.

Zexion stared at the three of them. Were they finished discussing?

"Sorry," Demyx chuckled nervously. "Go on."

Princess Aerith befriended a turtle named Lexaeus, a frog named Demyx, and a puffin named…

Zexion purposely trailed off just in case the girls wanted to insert a name again.

"What's a puffin?" Selphie asked.

"It's a small bird," he explained.

"What kinda bird?"

"A small sea bird. It's black and white with a colorful beak."

"Oh…" Selphie hummed thoughtfully, her lips twisting in a frown. "A bird…"

"I know!" Ariel cried. "Xiggy!"

Zexion reeled back just as Demyx caught himself from falling off the bench in shock. They shared a bewildered look. Xigbar?

"The puffin's name is…Xiggy?" Demyx reiterated slowly.

Another sigh snuck out of him as the girls nodded and congratulated themselves on a successful naming. Zexion didn't want to know what the logic behind that choice was.

Princess Aerith befriended a turtle named Lexaeus, a frog named Demyx, and a puffin named Xigbar. As a favor to the princess for saving his life after a hunter's arrow shot through his wing, Xigbar vowed to help Princess Aerith by finding a way to bring her one true love—Prince Zack—to her.

Meanwhile, Prince Zack had been training in order to fight the great animal that had kidnapped Princess Aerith. He and his best friend Cloud ventured into the forest one day to hunt down the creature, but neither were sure what kind of creature they were trying to find. The only clue they had came from the words of the soldier who'd given them the news that night: "It's not what it seems."

"Hah. Cloud."

"Shhh, Demmy!"

"Sorry."

Aimlessly the two men wandered in the forest. At the same time, Xigbar and Princess Aerith were flying towards the prince's castle and crossing his path by chance. Xigbar and the princess were delighted at finding the prince so quickly, but soon their delight turned to horror when the prince began shooting arrows at them. Prince Zack believed that a swan—Princess Aerith—was the perfect creature for the great animal to disguise as.

Frantically, Xigbar and Princess Aerith tried to lead the men to the lake without being shot. Time was running out quickly as they flew through the forest with the prince and his friend hot on their trail. Just as the moonlight hit the lake, the princess alighted into the water and Xigbar hid in the trees.

Prince Zack and Cloud were astonished to see the swan they'd tried to kill transform into a human. When the prince realized it was Princess Aerith, he dropped his bow and ran toward her, hugging her tightly. Questions spilled from the prince's lips between the kisses he showered on her face, but before the princess could answer all of them, they heard footsteps and Lord Rothbart's voice calling.

Princess Aerith begged the two men to leave before Lord Rothbart found them. After much protest, the prince finally agreed and reluctantly began to go…when suddenly an idea hit him. He told the princess to come to his castle the next night for his mother, the queen, would be holding a ball. At the ball, he would make a vow of everlasting love to Princess Aerith in front of all the guests, thus breaking the spell she was under. He and Cloud only left when the princess promised to go to the ball.

Unfortunately, Lord Rothbart overheard everything. He was not concerned, however, because he knew that there would be no moon the following night and thus no way for Princess Aerith to turn into a human. When he told the princess this, she fell into despair, crying tears of hopelessness as she transformed back into a swan.

The next night, Lord Rothbart locked the swan in a tower near the lake, transformed himself into the splitting image of Princess Aerith, and went to the ball with the intent of making Prince Zack declare his love for the wrong person. The princess' friends, determined to help her break the spell and be with her love, broke into the tower and freed her from captivity by digging a hole in the stone wall of the tower for her to swim through. She flew as fast as she could, hoping she would not be too late.

Royal women from all over had attended the ball in hopes of capturing Prince Zack's heart, but the prince entertained them halfheartedly as he searched for Princess Aerith in the crowd. When she finally walked in, his heart soared and he hurried to her side, pulling her in for a dance. However, the woman he thought was Princess Aerith was in fact Lord Rothbart in disguise.

The real princess, breathless and exhausted, arrived at the castle but had no way of getting inside. Through the windows she witnessed the prince and her doppelganger dance and smile. Despair filled her heart when she saw the prince motion for the orchestra to stop playing and begin to make an announcement to the crowd. "I make a vow of everlasting love," he declared, smiling at the fake princess by his side, "to Aerith."

Lord Rothbart cackled at the prince's foolishness as he revealed himself to the crowd. The ball guests cowered in fear at his presence and the room grew dark and the air ominous. Angered, Prince Zack demanded an explanation from the sorcerer and was aghast to realize he made his vow to a fraud. He dashed out of the castle, saddled his steed, and rode swiftly to the lake where he met her the day before.

By this time, Princess Aerith had no choice but to fly back to the lake where she would be bound to her curse forever. Tears blinded her vision and her heart ached. She did her best to return, but having used a great deal of her strength in trying to get to Prince Zack's castle, she could barely move her wings to fly. She barely made it to the lake, collapsing at the water's edge in a heap.

Prince Zack leapt off his steed at the sight of the swan and gathered her in his arms carefully. Apologies spilled from his lips as he tried to justify that his vow of everlasting love was for her alone. He could feel her body grow cold and limp in his arms as her strength left her.

Tears burned against the backs of his eyes—tears of guilt, frustration, and rage. He stood up after laying the swan down again, screaming into the quiet night, "The vow I made was for her!"

Lord Rothbart, who'd seen the whole thing, chuckled calmly at the prince's reaction, stoking his anger. Prince Zack rushed at Lord Rothbart and ordered him to save Princess Aerith's life. The sorcerer shoved the prince away, claiming he would only save her if the prince defeated him in a battle to the death.

Lord Rothbart filled his hands with bright light energy and threw it down at his feet, engulfing himself completely. The prince's eyes widened and jaw dropped when the light died away to reveal the great animal, the creature that had killed Princess Aerith's parents. Without a moment to lose, he drew his sword and charged at the animal. He slashed and thrashed and fought with all his might before finally slaying the beast with a thrust of his sword through Lord Rothbart's chest. Lord Rothbart stumbled back and fell into the lake, shrieking in agony.

Though exhausted, Prince Zack rushed to Princess Aerith's side, searching for any sign of life in her still body. As the moments dragged on, his heart slowly sank. She did not stir. He was too late…

"No!" Selphie wailed. "I don't like that ending!"

"Me neither!" Ariel agreed.

Zexion stifled a sigh. Note to self: don't build up the girls' anticipation. It wouldn't be worth it.

Just when Prince Zack was about to lose all hope, he noticed the princess' mouth twitch. Her eyes fluttered open and she gazed up at him with a loving smile. Elated, Prince Zack gathered her in his arms and kissed her.

"And they lived happily ever after!" the girls cheered together.

Zexion allowed a lopsided smile. It was done. "That's right."

"Yay!"

"Girls," Demyx began, "what do you say to Zexy?"

"Thank you, Zexy!" Selphie and Ariel chimed with wide grins on their faces. "That was a good story."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

And he was glad it was finally over. Because this was the last time. The absolute last time. Demyx swore it would be. Someone would be going to the hospital if this wasn't the case.

Author's Afterthought: The Swan Princess used to be my favorite movie growing up. I really liked the music. Did you like this chapter? Let me know in a review, please! Thanks for reading!