Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.
NOTE: Like I said at the end of the last chapter, there's a four year time skip in this chapter.
Another thing, Terra and Aqua now wear their normal BBS outfits as their casual clothes.
Chapter 5 – Eraqus's Announcement
The years rolled by for Seaside Haven and its residents. The city and its residents didn't change much at all, but the residents of King Nox's castle certainly did. In particular, the prince and the two apprentices of Master Eraqus had changed the most.
Prince Caelum was studying intently to take over for his father as king. But other than that, he'd grown into a fine young man full of ambition. He'd also attracted the attention of several young ladies of his father's city. But he had no interest in any of them.
There was only one maiden who captivated the prince.
But there was always a certain obstacle in his way.
Terra walked down the hall looking for Aqua. His earth brown hair spiked up in its usual manner while some of it framed his face. His indigo eyes never betrayed any emotion as they searched for its only blue-haired resident.
The now nineteen-year-old youth wore a tight, black, muscle shirt and tan hakama pants. He still wore Master Eraqus's symbol as a belt buckle. But aside from that, he also wore armored boots and a long armored gauntlet stretched from his shoulder down to cover his hand.
Terra had grown into a strong, battle-hardened, and handsome young man. As his years of experience with the Keyblade had gone on, his heart had grown strong as well. And though he displayed a rough exterior, he truly had a kind heart that would stand up for what was right.
The Keyblade wielder and the prince stood on a clear rivalry with each other, but it never affected his friendship with Aqua, with whom Terra was still best friends with.
But like Caelum, Terra had taken to Aqua in a new way. After seeing her dance more beautifully than the most experienced dancer, his feelings had gone to a whole new level for the girl.
But he'd never told her about his feelings. If Terra told Aqua the strange feelings he'd had for her, he didn't know how she'd respond. So, he kept it to himself. And he especially didn't want Caelum to find out and taunt him.
"Excuse me," Terra said. He approached a servant girl, who blushed when she saw who spoke to her. Like Caelum Terra had also attracted the attention of many girls, but he turned their attention away because he only had eyes for Aqua.
"Yes… sir?" she asked.
"Do you know where Aqua is?" Terra asked. "Our Master needed me to find her."
"I believe Lady Aqua is in the central courtyard."
"Thank you." And Terra went on his way, leaving the flustered girl blushing and fuming. Several girls, who actually knew of Terra and Aqua's existence (their residence in the castle was still kept secret under the king's orders), had grown attracted to Terra and jealous of Aqua because she was the object of his affection.
Terra darted for the central courtyard and saw Aqua sitting at the fountain with her back to him. He approached her and lightly grabbed her shoulder. She turned and her lovely water-colored eyes lit up as she smiled.
Aqua had truly blossomed as a maiden of pure heart and beauty. Now seventeen-years-old, she was on her way to becoming a powerful Keyblade mage, far outmatching the king's master magicians and almost Master Eraqus himself.
Aqua's blue hair was cut short around the nape of her neck, sticking up in several places. It was like that due a haircut she'd requested from Terra a couple years before. When her hair had been long, several women advised her not to cut it because she was so pretty with long hair, but Aqua wanted it out of her face for training and she ended up going to Terra and asked him to cut it. He was nervous, but Aqua just handed the scissors to him with a determined look. He pulled her hair into a bunch and cut the whole thing in three snips. Aqua didn't mind the shortness or how uneven it was; in fact, she liked it and had decided to keep it that length from then on.
Short hair aside, Aqua was truly a beautiful wonder. She had the face of an angel and the figure of one as well. But her heart's beauty outshined that of her physique. Just being with her always made Terra's heart swell up like a balloon.
Aqua wore a black and blue halter shirt with her pink straps and Master Eraqus's silver emblem on her chest. Long white sleeves hung from her upper arms, suspended by armor, and ended at her wrists. She wore black shorts under the long white and blue sashes she had on her waist and long black socks covered her legs from mid-thigh to foot. She also wore black and silver armored boots.
"Master Eraqus needs us in the soldiers' training area," he said, grasping hold of his composure.
"What for?" Aqua asked.
"I don't know, but he said he had something to tell us," Terra explained. He stood up and offered Aqua a hand. She ignored it and pushed herself off the ground.
"Then, let's go," she said. "Race you!" Without waiting for Terra to object or agree, she ran off.
"No fair!" he bellowed before charging after Aqua.
"This is payback for all your head starts!" she retorted with a laugh.
Terra tried to speed up, but Aqua was already too far ahead and she ended up winning.
"Like I said," Aqua stated as Terra finally caught up to her outside the training area. "Payback." She flicked his forehead.
"Ow!" Terra rubbed the spot where Aqua's finger had hit him. "That smarts."
The blue-haired maiden just grinned.
"If you two are done fooling around…" a voice said. The apprentices turned and saw Master Eraqus standing next to them. They hadn't noticed him sneak up like that.
Even after strenuous years of training two apprentices, Eraqus had hardly aged. He still looked like he did when Terra and Aqua had first met him.
"Yes, sir." Terra and Aqua straightened up in the presence of their Master.
"I have good news," Eraqus said. "And it concerns both of you."
"What is it, sir?" Aqua asked.
"I believe you two are ready to take your Master Qualification Exams." Eraqus beamed at his students.
Terra's jaw dropped. Aqua's eyes widened. Their Master really acknowledged them as ready to be Keyblade Masters?
"Thank you, Master!" Aqua cried. She hastily bowed in respect.
"Yes… thank you, sir!" Terra added, bowing as well.
"I plan for you both to take the exam in a week's time," Eraqus explained. "I will not be training you during that time as I expect you to do it on your own."
"Yes, sir," the apprentices replied. Eraqus nodded and left.
Back in the central courtyard, Terra and Aqua were discussing their Master's news of finally allowing them to take the Master Qualification Exam.
"Can you believe it? We'll finally get to become Keyblade Masters!" Terra exclaimed.
"I know! This is incredible!" Aqua said.
"I wonder how the test works." Terra raised his hand to his chin in thought.
"That's right. The Master has never told us how the MQE plays out."
"All he's told us is that apprentices never learn how the MQE works until they take the test for themselves. It's traditional and it's so the apprentice can stay on their toes to be prepared for anything."
"I guess that's reasonable. You never know what may happen." Aqua leaned back on her hands.
"Yeah. Why not do a practice match?" Terra offered.
"Right now?"
"Yeah. Right here. Right now."
"You're on!"
The duo stood up and went to separate ends of the courtyard, the fountain directly between them. Terra summoned Earth Shaker and Aqua called out Rain Fall.
Neither made a movement, waiting for the other to strike first. The fountain hid them from the other's view, but Terra was distracted when a very unwanted audience walked into the courtyard.
Prince Caelum, his light blue hair glinting in the sun, walked out with his dark brown eyes settled on Aqua. He grinned when he saw her, but she ignored him. He was dressed in a black shirt and navy pants, combat boots on his feet.
"Aq—" he started.
"Shut up! We're training!" Terra hissed. His eyes flashed a glare at the prince, who returned the hateful look.
To his misfortune, Aqua took Terra's moment of distraction as a chance to spring. She rushed at the fountain and jumped right over it with an acrobatic flip.
Terra managed to block her strike just in time. Sparks flew when their Keyblades struck. Despite the strength of Earth Shaker, and the extra strength Terra had to use to wield the blade, Aqua managed to force him back, but just slightly.
The man retaliated with an uppercut, which caught Aqua on her foot the instant she back flipped away. She shot a blast of Fire magic at her friend and it hit Terra's shoulder pad. He cast Thunder magic in response, just skimming Aqua's left foot as she jumped away.
"Stop it!" Caelum cried out. Terra stopped mid-attack. Aqua cocked an eyebrow. "Don't hurt Aqua, Terra! What kind of man hurts a lady?"
"We're training," Terra repeated. "Get lost!"
"Terra, stop being rude," Aqua said.
"Aqua… but…"
"It's no excuse to be rude," she said. She turned to Caelum and bowed. "Please forgive him, Your Highness. But Terra is right, we're training. We have to prepare for our Master Qualification Exam."
"You're finally going to take it?" Caelum asked. He'd only directed his question at Aqua, but it was Terra who answered.
"Yes," he said. "Master Eraqus just told us that we'll be taking our MQE in a week's time."
"Well then, don't let me hold you back," Caelum said, his hands up in mock surrender. "Train, train, train all you like." He approached Aqua.
"I know you'll do wonderfully in your exam, Aqua." Caelum reached to take Aqua's hand, but she hid it behind her back and stepped away. The prince shrugged and headed back into the castle, but not without shooting another death glare at Terra, who also glared.
'If looks could kill…' Aqua thought. She hadn't missed the two men's exchange.
"Alright, start over, Terra?" she asked aloud.
"What? Oh, sure," he replied.
They stood on either side of the fountain again and waited for the other to make a move. Tired of waiting, Terra took the first strike and ran to the side, where Aqua intercepted and they started basting magic and clashing blades again.
As they trained, all Terra acknowledged was that he was having fun. And Aqua's smile confirmed that she was having a blast as well.
They would definitely be ready for that Master Qualification Exam.
Chapter five is done! Now, I can get to the good parts.
By the way, I tried to think of a better name for the chapter, but this chapter was written between several cases of writer's block. The title is included in that.
