YO. So, I recently re-watched Enchanted and read another Terqua fanfiction based on it. But it was basically the movie written down with the main character's names changed to the characters of Kingdom Hearts. So I decided I wanted to write this because Enchanted and Terqua was stuck in my head, but I thought Aqua wouldn't make for a very good Giselle (she kicks way too much butt for that) so I changed pretty much the entire plotline. I kept a few things in here and there. If I had to match up the characters for this I'd go with:
Aqua: Giselle/Pip
Namine: Giselle
Terra: Robert/Morgan
Ventus: Morgan/Robert
Sora: Prince Edward
Various Kingdom Hearts and Disney Villains: Queen Narissa
Vanitas and a few other Disney Villains: Nathaniel
Kairi and Xion(And possible someone else. I'm not to sure who's going to end up with who aside from the two main pairings): Nancy
I know I know, it's kinda confusing, but bear with me, it'll make sense later, and this story is only loosely based off of Enchanted, so it won't follow the same plotline.
Without further ado, enjoy~
"Princess!" The highly decorated knight strode quickly and elegantly down the long corridor. Maids, servants, and nobles alike bustled about, like a hive of angry bees.
"Princess!" The knight called again. The Knight looked about frantically, searching for her missing princess. The Knight paused, crossing their arms across their chest, decorated with medals and gold trimmings, and raised their right hand to their chin, thinking. The Knight closed their eyes, and concentrated on their ears. A small pulse, like a second heartbeat traveled through their body and rested in their ears. The knight soon heard the soft scritch-scratching of what sounded like a pencil on paper, coming from above their head. The knight smirked, and hurried to the nearest staircase towards the scratching noise, nimbly dodging all of the people and obstacles that happened in their path.
"Your highness!" The Knight exclaimed, swinging open a large wooden door with a heavy thud. Inside of the room, a small, startled figure jumped at the sudden intrusion.
The young girl was no older than sixteen, with shoulder length hair, the color of soft wheat in the morning sun, and captivating blue eyes, that reached seemingly endless depth. Her skin was ghostly pale, but her cheeks retained a healthy, youthful flush. She wore an long and elegant, but simple white dress that nearly blended in with the white in all of the room's decor. The King had insisted in color coding each wing of the castle, so everything in the white wing was eye assaultingly white, even the clothing of the servants who served in that wing. The silvery crown the girl wore, along with her royal title, indicated her status as princess of the castle.
"Aqua, you scared me," The princess breathed, clutching a small leather bound journal and pencil to her chest.
"I'm sorry Princess, but I do believe you've lost track of time again. You were supposed to meet with your potential husbands fifteen minutes ago." The young princess looked slightly confused for a second.
"Was our meeting not scheduled for tomorrow? I could've sworn..." Namine looked down at her toes and back up at her knight. Her befuddled look was quickly replaced with surprise and amusement.
"Is that why you're dressed so funny Aqua?" Namine giggled, and Aqua flushed slightly and rolled her eyes. It was unfortunate, but all knights were required to wear standard formal uniforms in the company of visiting Royalty. Aqua was a rare exception to the 'males only' knights rules, so she was required to wear the men's uniform. Not that she minded. The male uniform suited her quite well, despite the fact that it squashed her curves in a rather uncomfortable manner. And it was most definitely better than the alternative stuffy noblewoman's dress she'd have been forced to wear otherwise.
"Very funny, now come on, we don't want to keep your father waiting any longer than we have to." Aqua said, guiding Namine out of the room. The two walked briskly down several winding staircases and corridors until they ended up in the gold wing, the Throne Room.
The room was magnificent. It was wide, open, and well suited to grand balls and galas the king so loved to host. As it was in the gold wing, it was adorned in various shades of gold, with three magnificent, golden thrones in the center of the room. Residing in that throne was the king of the land, the wise King Ansem. He looked fondly down at his daughter and her knight, and a brief feeling of relief flashed through his eyes. Visiting Royalty were always a handful to deal with, especially when kept waiting.
The visiting Royals kept neutral expression as the Princess passed, Aqua in tow, but the underlying irritation was evident in their stiff posture and twitching fingers. Still, they bowed politely, nontheless.
"Namine, so kind of you to join us." Ansem said, smiling down kindly at his daughter, gesturing to the smallest golden throne at his left. Namine smiled meekly and hurriedly sat down. Aqua took her place, standing at the side of Namine's throne. King Ansem cleared his throat and stood.
"My honored guests," he began, "I welcome you kindly to my humble home, and express my deepest gratitude that you would journey so far for this momentous occasion. As you all know, with the recent passing of my precious daughter, Princess Namine's sixteenth birthday, she has been declared rightful heir and inheritor of the Royal crown. As such, it is time for her to take on a suitor. Each of you came here today to present to her your land's most prodigal Royal, and worthiest suitor to my dear daughter. I kindly ask that you all come forward, and present yourselves to her at this time. As you all know, first impressions are important, so choose your words wisely." Ansem turned to Namine, gesturing her forward. She stood, patted down any wrinkles or creases in her dress, and stepped forward to stand beside her father. Aqua followed the princess with her eyes, but otherwise stayed put. As personal knight to the princess, it was her duty to guard her at all cost. Royals had a tendency to do whatever best suited their own needs, and Namine was a constant target. Kidnappings, assassinations, and threats were commonplace, so Aqua was always vigilant. Only a few years ago, a Royal from a small, outlying region had managed to hold a knife to the princess' neck at a ball. Had Aqua not been there, Namine would've been killed, but instead, the Royal had gotten a flying kick to the head and a life imprisonment, as well as having his Royal status stripped away from him and his entire family.
Aqua gripped the hilt of her uniform standard sword strapped at her waist tightly, and studied each and every present Royal carefully, like a lioness studying her prey.
Just as King Ansem had asked, Each family of Royals sent a young man forward, a potential husband for Namine and Ruler of all Royals. Namine smiled nervously at them, and Aqua continued her silent examination of the suitors. Most of them didn't appear to be anything special, however, a pair of nearly identical boys near the end of the line caught her attention. One boy had gravity defying, spiky brown hair and brilliant blue eyes, full of life and excitement. His big goofy grin almost made Aqua want to mirror it. The other boy looked as if he could be his twin. The only difference between the two was his black hair and amber eyes. Unlike his blue-eyed counterpart, the black-haired boy's eyes were cold, cruel even. He seemed to lack any interest whatsoever. When he caught Aqua's stare, he gave her a rather malicious grin that made her skin crawl. There was something about that black-haired Royal that Aqua definitely did not like. She tightened her hold on her sword and hardened her glare, swiftly walking over to Namine and standing by her side, as if she were challenging the black haired boy to do something. He merely raised an eyebrow and chuckled silently in response. Namine cast a confused expression at her bodyguard at her sudden appearance, but shrugged it off, knowing Aqua does everything for a reason. Ansem seemed to acknowledge Aqua's dislike for the black-haired suitor, for he gave her a nod of approval before turning his harsh gaze on the boy.
As each suitor stepped forward, they presented their name, the region they represented, and a small token for the princess to take into consideration. The brown haired boy that had caught Aqua's attention early stepped forward and introduced himself as Sora. He came representing Destiny Islands, a small, remote island chain in the far east.
"Our islands don't have much money, or valuable gifts to share with you like the others Princess," he said, reaching for something in his pocket, "But I hope you'll accept this," He held out a beautiful star shaped pendant, crafted out of small pink shells that looked almost like glass. A few of the Royals chuckled at his gift, and others looked at him in pity or disbelief. Namine, however, only continued to look at the trinket curiously. Sora glanced around nervously before continuing, "You see, we have this legend on Destiny Islands. There's this star-shaped fruit that grows only there, and nowhere else in the world, and if you share it with someone you really care about, your destinies will be linked together forever. And if you make a charm shaped like the fruit and share it with someone, it creates a bond that can never be broken. We call them Wayfinders." There was a brief moment of silence before all of the Royals burst into laughter.
"What a fool!"
"Does he really think he can impress the Princess with such a pathetic gift?"
"He's crazy!"
The Royals taunted and jeered at Sora. He flushed beet red and stared down at the Wayfinder in his hand, ashamed. Namine suddenly stepped forward and took Sora's hands in hers. The Royals immediately ceased their laughter. Sora's head snapped up, and he met Namine's eyes. She smiled kindly at him.
"I think it's lovely," She said, a faint pink dust settling on her pale cheeks. She slid the Wayfinder from Sora's hand and clutched it against her chest. Sora returned the gesture with a thousand watt grin and bowed happily.
"Thank you Princess!" He bounded back to his spot in line as Namine smiled and walked back to her own position beside Aqua. Aqua smiled at Namine and unconsciously loosened her grip on her sword, only to grip it twice as hard as the black-haired boy stepped forward. He had an arrogant air about him and a cocky grin to match.
"The name's Vanitas Princess," he said smoothly, examining Namine from head to toe, smile growing slightly as his eyes ghosted over her delicate figure. Namine shrank back slightly under his gaze, uncomfortable. Aqua's eye twitched ever so slightly. Did he just check out the Princess? If Aqua didn't have Namine's reputation to uphold, and Vanitas' title of Royal to hold her back, she would've cut the boy right down the middle and fed him to the chocobos for breakfast.
"I come here representing Hollow Bastion, and my gift to you..." He smirked at Namine and waved a hand through the air. It radiated with magic, but one of a dark kind, and a small necklace lie in its wake. It hovered through the air and stopped about a foot from Namine's face. The necklace was silver, with a sickly sea green pendant, with a black slit down the center, almost like a cat's eye. "...is this necklace, crafted of the finest gem and silver Hollow Bastion has to offer." Namine smiled weakly at Vanitas' gift before holding open her palm, the one without the Wayfinder in it, and let the pendant fall into it. She tucked it onto the folds of her skirt. She rather disliked the necklace, it gave of an uncomfortable vibe, but decided to keep it, to be polite.
"Now that we are done with the formalities, let us enjoy a nice banquet, to celebrate and get to know each other better before my dear Princess Namine decides on her future husband!" Ansem announced, flicking a wrist through the air, as if swatting away a fly. A wide assortment of gourmet meals were sent flying through the air. They set themselves up on banquet tables the shimmered into existence out of nowhere, and the Royals took seats at tables that appeared in the same manner. Namine looked pleadingly at Aqua, silently begging to leave the crowded room. She had always hated large gatherings, being the shy girl she was. But so was the life of a princess. Aqua was a lenient bodyguard however, and wanted to talk to Namine in private anyway, so she guided the Princess into the hallway, devoid of obnoxious partygoers.
"Aqua, I'm not sure I'm ready for this..." Namine mumbled, looking fearful. Aqua couldn't blame her. Just meeting someone and suddenly having to marry them is a bit stressful to say the least.
"It's alright," Aqua said, placing a comforting hand on Namine's cheek. "I know it's hard, and it's scary, but I'll be by your side, every step of the way. Don't worry Namine, I'll protect you, no matter what. And this day is what you've been preparing for your entire life! I'm sure you'll choose a wonderful husband!"
"It's just... I don't know these boys Aqua. I've never ever talked to a boy outside of the palace! The only guy I've ever really talked to is father, but these boys are different than him. I don't know if I'm ready to be married. Ready to be...Queen." Aqua furrowed her eyebrows with concern. She knew exactly how tough this would be on Namine, and that she was stepping into unfamiliar territory, but she truly believed Namine could overcome her fears.
"Nene," Aqua said, tilting Namine's head up to look into her eyes. "I know you're scared, and you don't think you can do it. But I've watched you since you were born, grow and blossom into beautiful young woman. You're wise far beyond your years, and I know that no matter who you choose to marry, you will make the best decision for our kingdom and yourself. I trust you to follow your heart, and I'm proud to call myself your knight."
Namine smiled, a bit more reassured, and nodded. Aqua smiled and pulled Namine in for a quick hug.
"Thanks Aqua," Namine mumbled into Aqua's chest. Aqua chuckled and stroked the back of Namine's head.
"So, that Sora boy was quite nice, wasn't he?" Aqua asked, half-joking. Namine pulled out of Aqua's grasp and turned three shades of red.
"I-I he-eh-wh-wh we only- I-I mean, I just-" Namine hid her face in her hands and muttered, "I really, really like him Aqua."
Aqua smiled. "I take it you've made your decision then?" Namine nodded. Aqua chuckled and patted Namine on the head.
"Are you ready to go back inside?" she asked. Namine hesitated.
"Just... give me a minute," Namine said, fidgeting with the long, billowy sleeves of her dress. "Please."
Aqua nodded with understanding, and entered the throne room, closing the door quietly behind her.
Namine stood in the hall for what seemed like hours, just staring at the gold carpet. Despite Aqua's encouragement, she was still nervous. Was she really getting married? And to a boy she hardly knew at that? She really liked Sora, but she had only just met him! She definitely wasn't sure that she wanted to marry him. He was far better than any of her alternatives though. She could tell by the gentle look in his eyes, and the kindness in his smile and the warmth of his hands... Namine shook her head. She shouldn't be out in the corridor daydreaming like a little girl imagining her prince on a white horse, she had to go back inside and act like the Princess she was. Straightening her back, she walked gracefully up to the massive door and slowly opened it. All eyes in the room immediately focused on her. Aqua, who was standing right inside of the door, was at her side in an instant. Namine glanced around the room, her eyes meeting first with her smiling father, and then with Sora's. He looked surprised to meet her gaze and blushed a deep red.
Music suddenly blared to life, and a massive orchestra of floating golden instruments spun around the ceiling of the Throne Room.
Forcing down her own blush, Namine walked over to where Sora was seated. When he was only a little more than a foot away, she said, "Would you like to dance?"
The Royals in the room stared, awestruck. The shy little princess had asked Sora, a Royal from one of the lowliest regions to dance? Several glared, while others looked disheartened. Aqua and Ansem beamed with pride.
"I-I'd love to!" Sora choked. He quickly stood up, knocking his chair over in the process, and tripping over his own feet as he dove to catch it, only for it to disappear in a burst of shimmering golden sparkles. He quickly stood up, red with embarrassment, and dusted off his clothes. Recovering quickly, he held out a hand for Namine to grasp. She gently placed her hand over his, and he guided her to the dance floor. The pair strode to the center of the room, and took up the signature waltzing position.
"Are you nervous?" Namine asked.
"I should be asking you that," Sora replied. Namine looked at him quizically. Sora blushed and stammered, "I-I mean, you have to get married and all after meeting someone so suddenly right? Seems like something pretty hard to do. N-not that I don't think you can do it! I-I mean, you're so great, and kind and pretty-er, um, pretty as in you look pretty and I-, um, just, I thought you might be more nervous... about this whole thing, cause...you know... you're the one who decides and all and..." Sora rambled nervously, and Namine couldn't help but find his nervousness and concern cute. She rested her head against his chest as they danced. Sora immediately stopped his incoherent mumbles. Namine listened to his steady heartbeat, and giggled when she heard it speed up slightly.
"Don't be nervous," Namine said, "Thank you for worrying about me. I haven't really met anyone outside the castle before, and I was really nervous before but," Namine raised her head to look Sora in the eye, "I'm really glad I got to meet you Sora," Namine smiled, and Sora turned redder than the red wing of the castle. "Even though you can't really dance," She added in a joking tone. Sora gave her a somewhat shocked look, but immediately replaced it with a huge grin.
"Can't dance?" He laughed, "I'll show you who can't dance!"
Namine giggled as Sora twirled her in sloppy circles and dipped her so low, he nearly dropped her. He spun her all over the dance floor, nearly knocking into a few Royals who were starting to make their way to the floor to dance themselves. The Royals quickly decided best to wait for Sora to finish dancing before they started. He really wasn't a very eloquent dancer, but it was fun nonetheless.
Just as soon as it had begun, the song ended, and Sora released Namine from his hold, albeit reluctantly. He bowed respectfully, taking her right hand in his, and kissing the back of her palm gently. Namine blushed, and curtsied in response. Soon enough ,all of the Royals had taken to the dance floor, and several of Namine's other suitors had asked for her hand in dance. She had politely accepted all of her requests, until Aqua pulled her aside, noticing her exhaustion. Aqua guided her to a wall to the right of the room. As they came near it, it dissolved in a plethora of colors to reveal a beautiful garden, lined with various magical flowers and plants, and a massive fountain, filled with water that seemed to shine with every color in the rainbow. Namine sat on the ledge of the fountain and sighed in relief.
"Having fun?" Aqua teased. Namine pouted at her a little, to which Aqua only laughed. She sat down beside Namine and rested one palm on the surface of the water. When she raised her hand back up, a trail of glowing, multi-colored water followed. Aqua guided it through the air in various shapes; a fish, a bird, snowflakes, and so on. Namine watched in fascination. Watching Aqua's magic was one of Namine's favorite things to do. Aqua's magic was both graceful and powerful, the strongest magic of all the knights in the kingdom of Radiant Garden. Aqua molded the colorful water into floral shapes, and complex designs, before freezing it and watching vanish in the form of a sparkling dust. The two girls sat in a comfortable silence and enjoyed the cool breeze as they listened to the festivities inside.
Suddenly, something crashed through the bushes to their right. Aqua reflexively jumped into a battle stance, ready to defend Namine, who had jumped from her perch on the fountain, prepared to run for help at any sign of danger. However, it was only Marluxia, the garden's caretaker, stumbling through the brush with an elderly woman in tow. Aqua and Namine let out an immediate sigh of relief. They were both familiar with the pink haired man, having spent a lot of free time in the garden. Namine enjoyed drawing the many wonders of the flower garden, and Aqua accompanied Namine almost all of the time, so the three spent quite a bit of time together. Marluxia was a pleasant man, with a passion for everything beautiful. He loved the garden as much as his own life, and he always acted like a gentleman towards everyone (except the castle's creepy doctor, Vexen), so it was strange to see him dragging the old woman along in such a rough manner.
"Marluxia, who is this?"Aqua asked, sheathing her sword.
"I don't know, but she was trampling all of my beautiful Moon Lilies! I slaved over those beauties for hours!" He exclaimed, pushing the woman forward towards Aqua in a way that was rough, but not forceful enough to hurt her. Aqua and Namine exchanged glances, but otherwise said nothing. Both girls had fallen victim to Marluxia's anger after messing with his flowers. He had once put poison ivy in their beds when they had accidentally turned his red bleeding hearts neon green during Namine's magic training. They had itchy rashes for a week.
"Excuse me ma'am? But why are you here in the garden? Are you looking for something?" Aqua asked politely. She was a sympathetic woman, never hesitating to help someone in need of it. The old woman looked up, beady eyes peeking out from underneath her dirty, dark brown hood. Her eyes widened at the sight of Namine.
"Princess!" She exclaimed suddenly, dropping to her knees at Namine's feet. Namine jumped in shock and looked at Aqua, silently asking what to do.
"I'm so terribly sorry to intrude upon your night Princess," the old woman cried, "But my grandson! I had lost him in the maze! He climbed over the brush and disappeared without a trace. It was wrong of me to enter the castle grounds without permission, but please! I have to find my grandson! He is all I have!" Namine looked at the old woman with sympathy.
"Come on," Namine said, holding a hand out to the old woman, "I'll help you find your grandson."
Tears of relief formed in the woman's eyes. "Oh thank you Princess! Thank you!"
The old woman reached up and grasped Namine's hand. A deep sense of dread filled Namine as she touched the woman's hand. A cold sensation pulsed through her body from where the old woman touched. She shrugged the feeling off, more concerned with finding the woman's grandson.
Aqua and Namine walked with the woman, following her in the direction she said she thought she saw her grandson go. Marluxia stayed behind, grumbling about fixing his poor Moon Lilies. After a few minutes, the three ended up in a small clearing by one of the castle's protective walls. It was completely surrounded by thick trees, bushes, and various flowers. Marluxia was very thorough with his gardening.
The strangest thing about the clearing was the massive well in the center of it. It was connected to the wall, as it it could be some sort of drainage system, but Aqua had memorized the entire palace, inside and out, and recognized no such place. The well also lacked any drainage pipes or water. Rather, it seemed to be empty altogether, aside from an eerie bluish glow it emitted. There was something about this place Aqua did not trust, but she didn't want to abandon the old woman and her grandson.
"Grandma?" A small voice called, echoing. The old woman made a face of abject horror.
"My grandson! That's him!" She cried, "He must've fallen into the well!" Namine immediately rushed to peer over the edge of a well before Aqua could warn her to be careful. Seeing nothing but the blue light the well reflected, she turned around to ask Aqua to call for help, only to be met with the face of the elderly old woman.
And suddenly, she was falling.
"PRINCESS!" Aqua yelled. She dove after Namine, knocking the elderly woman out of the way.
How could she have been so foolish to trust a stranger like that? That old woman was going to get it as soon as she and Namine got out of the well.
Aqua grabbed hold of Namine as soon as she was close enough to touch her. Namine was screaming and flailing, and clung tightly to Aqua as they tumbled downward. What appeared to be a strange, shimmering water was quickly approaching, so Aqua shielded Namine with all her body. When they hit the watery substance, however, it felt more like falling into bedsheets. There was no liquid at all, only what appeared to be thousands of tiny blue sparkles.
Gravity suddenly began pulling the two in reverse, and, pulling a sharp 180, Aqua landed with a dull thud on her back, Namine laying on top of her chest. The blue sparkles disappeared into the floor, and Namine rolled off of Aqua. Despite the pain and lack of breath, Aqua forced herself to her feet, helping Namine up as well. The first thing Aqua noticed was the stench. The acrid smell of rotting food and waste and the complete and utter darkness around them. Aqua searched around for a source of light, finding a faint one at the top of a rusted metal ladder. She pulled Namine behind her by the hand towards the ladder. She climbed up first to make sure it was safe. A grate of some sort blocked the path. Aqua shoved it hard, and forced the heavy metal slab out of the way. She pulled herself out, and Namine quickly after her. Looking around, all Aqua could see was lights. Lights in all colors and shapes, moving pictures, huge, and everywhere. People were everywhere too. Many stared at them, but kept on moving along. Aqua also noticed how they were all dressed in such strange clothing. Many women wore men's pants, and their clothes were all so tight and strange. Strangest of all were the castles. They were all so square and tall.
They must've been taller than all of the towers in Radiant Garden combined. They were dark too, with a few yellow lights in square shapes all around the sides of the walls. And the carriages were so very strange. They moved so slowly, loudly, and were so tightly packed together Aqua wondered how anyone managed to get anywhere in this strange place.
Most importantly, Aqua knew, wherever they were, they were very, very far from home.