Gosh damn it... my sleep schedule is off again...
College is gonna be hell if I don't straighten it out...
Other than that, please keep reading! And comment!
I will accept requests but just so you know there's a project coming up right after this one is done!
There MIGHT be another one to follow the next project ... yet to be determined...
Read on!
Terra and Ven arrived at their kingdom by the afternoon. While they were gone, the decorations were completely put up. The only things that were left were the flowers and musical orchestrations. Vexen was having trouble deciding on romantic pieces to play while Terra danced with the princesses. The Queen was deciding between lillies and roses for the arrangements on the tables.
"Terra! Sweetie! I was so worried that you wouldn't make it in time!" she yelled to him happily.
"Trust me, Mother! I wouldn't miss it for the world!" he yelled back to her.
Eraqus ran into the room, out of breath. He looked around and saw his son had come back and was...happy.
"Dear god, what's with all the yelling? Terra, you're back!" he shouted himself.
The prince ran over to his mom and hugged her. She laughed lovingly and hugged him back. Eraqus was positively confused. Since when was Terra ever this excited about a ball?
"Terra, what's going on?" Eraqus asked him.
"Oh, nothing... just the best night of my life was last night..." Terra smirked.
Terra went over to the florist and looked at all the arrangements. To everyone's surprise, he gave instructions to the man about the lillies.
"I want all of these lillies gone. I don't want to see one at this ball. Not even the guests can bring them!"
The florist nodded and proceeded to do as ordered. The Queen went over to her son, cautious that he might do something else out of character.
"Terra, I personally liked the lillies. They look so pure and innocent." she said.
"That's why I don't want them. If this night's going to be perfect, no lillies. It has to be done." Terra said sternly.
"I appreciate that your taking this seriously, but is there a reason it has to be perfect?" Eraqus asked.
"It must be perfect... for her..." the prince sighed.
Vexen came over to the royals with sheet music in his arms. Terra faced him and smiled naturally. Eraqus and his wife wanted badly to know who 'her' was.
"Vexen, what kind of music do you have to play?"
"Jazz, classical... pieces that are simple..." Vexen replied.
"How about a wedding march? Think you can do it tonight?" Terra asked.
Everyone shot him an even more surprised look. Had everything come true? Did he find the perfect girl to marry? Everyone was desperate to know. Vexen was flabbergasted.
"I think I can, your highness. We can play it as she comes in if you want."
"No, save it for the end, after a little speech I'm doing." Terra said.
"What speech, son?" Eraqus asked.
Terra didn't answer him. The prince walked away and took a good look around the room. It would be perfect. The entire world would be his stage. Surane would know his real true feelings. This proposal won't fail like the last one did. He could already see his princess walking down the staircase, looking like an angel. And after they danced, he would officially propose in front of everyone and make the vow of everlasting love. The vow that will break her curse and have them remain together forever.
"Terra, who's the girl?" the Queen asked.
"Terra, what speech?" Eraqus said at the same time.
The prince paid no mind. He was imagining his wedding. Iris could be the maid of honor while Ven was his best man. Ven... where was the blonde? He saw him back at the stables not 10 minutes ago. Ven was following him to the ballroom until he suddenly wasn't. Terra never noticed until now.
"Where's Ventus?" he asked.
The servants shrugged their shoulders. Terra appointed two of them to go search for Ven. Now, everyone was confused.
"Why do you need Ven? He's always there for you." Eraqus asked.
"I need a best man." Terra grinned.
The Queen squealed with delight and hugged him passionately. She was going to be a mother-in-law! One day, maybe a grandmother!
"You're pretty serious about this girl. Don't leave us in the dark, honey. Tell us who the lucky one is!" His mother begged.
"Sorry, mother. You both will have to wait." he winked at them.
Surane struggled against ball and chain. No matter what, it forced her to stay put and refused to move. The other girls tried everything to break it, from sharpened rocks to sqeezing the wyvern claw out, nothing worked. The afternoon sun was getting close to the horizon.
"I think we were close when we tried to squeeze her claw out..." Kairi said.
"Yeah, but we either have to break her leg or get some butter to slide it out." Aqua countered.
"It's worth a shot to look in the castle again." Iris said.
"But Xemnas and Larxene haven't left yet." Surane countered her.
They nodded their heads in agreement and decided to wait until the villians left before attempting another raid. It would probably be sunset when they left, but it was a risk they needed to take. Xemnas came out of the castle, dragging a young blonde man behind him.
"Princess, I have another surprise for you." he smiled.
Surane had just enough with Xemnas's surprises. This time, the surprise was on her and Iris. The sorcerer had captured Ventus from Terra's castle and brought him back here. Iris was ready to lunge for Xemnas's throat.
"That's right, you little red dusk. I have your boyfriend. And if any of you girls try to ruin Terra's proposal to Surane tonight, this boy here won't be the only one to die." he laughed.
Surane blinked at him. How could Terra propose to Surane if she wasn't there? The joke was on him. Xemnas threw the boy over to the girls and laughed evilly.
"Oh, I forgot the best part! Larxene, come here for a second." he commanded.
A tall, young, black-haired woman in a red and black ball gown came out to him. She looked exactly like Surane, all the way. Even the facial expressions were frighteningly identical.
"Can we go now?" the doppelganger asked, clearly having the same voice as Surane.
"In a minute..." Xemnas said, annoyed.
Now the joke was back on Surane. Terra would be fooled by the fake Surane into pledging his vow for her and not the real Surane. Clearly, Xemnas would win tonight. Ven looked between the fake Surane and the wyvern Surane with a worried expression.
"Surane?...Wait... What are you doing with him? He's evil, remember?" Ven said to the lady.
"Shut it, you dolt. I know he's evil. Can we please leave? I don't wanna stay like this forever..." she complained more.
Ven's mouth dropped. He never saw Surane act like that before. Now, he knew what's going on.
"Terra will never fall for it!" he yelled to them.
"Oh, I think he will." Xemnas smiled. "We have...this."
Larxene held out her left ring finger. Terra's silver engagement ring sparkled on her finger in the sun. The prince would believe that was Surane in a heartbeat.
"Now, if Larxene here will lose the attitude, she could make a convincing Princess Surane."
"What attitude?" the fake Surane growled.
Xemnas rolled his eyes. It was gonna be a long night. A carriage appeared out of nowhere with four black horses pulling it. The sorcerer and his fake Surane boarded the vehicle.
"You're just gonna leave us here?" Ven yelled to them.
"That's the point. Remember, try to ruin the night and I will personally destroy all five of you."
And with that, the carriage rolled away into the Forbidden Forest. With Xemnas's magic, they would arrive just in time, no half a day's journey for them. Surane slouched to the ground in defeat. It would be over for her soon.
"Surane, we have to find a way to warn Terra." Ven said to her.
The princess shrugged her shoulders at him. None of them had a quick way to get to the castle in time. Kairi jumped up and down suddenly.
"What is it?" Ven asked.
The angel star heartless turned to the girls.
"Get Ven to ride on my back to Terra's castle!" she said.
Iris nodded and gestured to her lover. Ven watched carefully as the dusk carefully boarded Kairi and rode her like a professional. Kairi flew around a little to make the point clear. Aqua ran to the shed to get their map to Terra's castle.
"I get it! I need to ride her and go to Terra's! That's brilliant! But, how do we get there?" he asked.
The girls glared at him. Surely, he would know a vague path to get back above the trees.
"This is only the second time I've been here! Give me a break!" he shot back.
Aqua came floating back with the map. Ven eagerly grabbed the parchment and boarded the angel star like Iris did. The dusk stayed on Kairi and hugged Ven for security. Surane looked at them with worry.
"Just hang tight!" he assured. "We'll be back with Terra, I promise!"
She nodded to him and they took off at an amazing speed. Aqua looked at Surane with confidence.
"I'll find some butter, or something, and get you out!" she said.
"The key would be nice..." Surane said sarcastically.
"Got it!"
Aqua ran for the front door of the castle and slipped inside. Surane pecked at the chain more and more, knowing that it may not make a difference. The sun fully set on the horizon. Just like Xemnas had said, no moon appeared to greet her.
The excitement is building!
Can't wait to see what's next?
Review and tell me what you think!
Stay tuned for the last song of the story!