Hurried, silent steps led Azami to the dining hall which was loud with delicious smelling foods and the sounds of the clattering of various plate wares. The dark haired girl took walked into the dining hall as the last of the plates walked off the table and into the kitchen at the other end of the massive room. Brushing off the odd sight of the utensils clearing themselves off the table (just one of the many peculiarities that came with this world) and turned her attention on the satisfied-looking brunette.
"Belle's left, I think she may run into trouble!" Azami's words instantly had the boy and his companions on their feet, shocked by the news.
"The mademoiselle left?" Lumiere echoed. He seemed to have difficulty wrapping his head around the words. "Why would she do that?"
"Oh, does the Master know?" Cogsworth asked before anyone could answer the candelabra's question. Being the Beast's right hand man, Azami wasn't surprised that the clock's initial concern was for his master and not the helpless girl out on her own in the woods, but his misplaced concern still made the girl's blood boil.
"We have to go save her!" Chip exclaimed. At his words, the rest of the group sprang into action.
"Cogsworth, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, go alert the Beast, we'll go ahead and start looking for Belle!" Sora instructed. Following his lead, the rest of the group (Donald, Goofy, Riku, and Azami) rushed for the castle's front door. Within seconds the small group of five was rushing down the bridge towards the gates leading out to the forest. If the footsteps of a small foot and the trotting horseshoe shaped prints were any clue then they were headed in the right direction.
"She couldn't have gotten far!" Riku shouted over the rush of wind. "Her footsteps still look pretty fresh!" The group pushed the gate open with little difficulty and followed the trail of footprints that were soon accompanied by more sets of tracks. Barely slowing down, Azami chanced a closer look at the prints only to find the distinguishable prints of wolf paw prints.
"We gotta hurry!" the girl exclaimed, picking up speed. "It seems that wolves have caught onto their scent!"
"Wolves!" Donald quacked, stumbling to a halt. His sudden stop brought his long time friend Goofy to a halt as well.
"C'mon Donald, Belle needs our help!" the Captain of the Guards shouted. Without further prompting, the dog left the quaking duck to catch up.
The footprints led the group to a large clearing where they encountered the endangered maiden being circled by what appeared to be wolves, if wolves have unnaturally long claws capable of ripping a human's chest open and long fangs that almost touched the ground as well as a shiny black coat of fur topped off with the all too familiar Heartless insignia on their chests.
"Belle!" Sora shouted, stopping short of the scene, his Keyblade at the ready. His yells caught the attention of the maiden as well as the Heartless wolves. The black furred monsters barred their impressive fangs at the group, before a choice few stepped forward to challenge them while the rest closed in on the defenseless Belle.
"I'll go after Belle," Sora said, glaring down the charging wolf Heartless, "you guys handle the others!" The brunette rushed at the attacking enemies, jumping clear of the impending doom in his attempt to get to Belle. While most the wolves ignored the piece of meat rushing the opposite way, one turned in an attempt to follow him.
Azami reacted swiftly. With a quick flick of her wrist, her almost invisible string wrapped around the jumping wolf's neck and yanked hard. The wolf fell hard against the forest ground and with another quick flick of the wrist, vanished in a dust of black ash. She pivoted gracefully on the balls of her feet to avoid the snapping teeth of a Heartless wolf aiming for her throat. With a swift elbow to its back, Azami sent the attacking enemy crashing to the ground at her feet. She sent the immobile wolf up in a puff of ash the same way she did the wolf before it, with an almost unseen jerk of her fingers.
Riku, Donald, and Goofy did their own share of Heartless-slaying but even with their help it seemed as if the wolves just kept on coming. As Azami destroyed what felt like her twentieth wolf Heartless she was knocked to the ground, by a lunging wolf.
"Azami!" Goofy shouted over the chaos of snapping jaws and growling. He attempted to knock away the wolf Heartless attacking him but was forced to shield himself from another wolf that came to assist his brethren. "Donald, Riku, Azami needs help!"
"Kind of busy here, Goofy!" Donald quacked. The magician struggled uselessly with a wolf who had taken it upon itself to trap Donald's staff within its jaws. The flustered duck quacked loudly before calling upon his magic to send a jolt of electricity through the wolf's mouth, sending it flying across the fighting grounds. His victory was short lived however as another wolf jumped to take the fallen wolf's place.
Riku chanced a glance at the struggling girl on the forest floor and bit back a curse. He knew she was trouble from the start! He slashed furiously at the three wolves encircling them, effectively managing to gain an opening as the wolves jumped out of the range of the blade. He made to rush to the girl's aid but was tackled to the ground by another wolf, his Keyblade tumbling out of his grasp in the surprise attack
Azami struggled under the weight of the wolf Heartless, barely managing to hold the animal back by its neck. The wolf snapped viciously at the girl's face in an attempt to rip the skin off. Gritting her teeth, the blue haired girl held tightly to the wolf's neck with one hand and attempted to reach for her wire that had slipped from her fingers and lay inches away from her outstretched hand.
"Just….a little…more," Azami panted. The weight of the wolf began to overwhelm the arm keeping the wolf at bay and much to Azami's horror, her arm began to buckle. She could feel the wolf's hot breath rolling against her face, its saliva dripping on her cheek as its teeth lightly grazing against the skin as she still stretched for the wire. It was her fingers brushed across the wire and as the wolf's teeth locked around her neck that a loud roar caused the attacking enemy to scatter.
The weight on top of Azami was quickly relieved and she found herself staring up at the growling form of the Beast.
"Get up girl," the Beast growled. Almost immediately, the girl scrambled to her feet, snatching up her wire in her haste. She watched as the large creature before her scanned the area, presumably looking for Belle.
"Where is she?" he asked in his low growl.
"Beast!" Belle's voice called out. Following the sound of her voice, Azami and Beast found the girl to be trapped in-between a large, dead oak and a half circle of wolves with Sora doggedly guarding her. Beast bared his teeth at the sight.
"Go help Sora," Azami spoke up. She knocked a lunging wolf out of the way with her forearm, "I'll cover your –," the Beast's ear-splitting roar cut off the girl's words as he lunged forward to attack, leaving Azami to deal with the remaining wolves, "— back."
"A little help here!" Donald called out, catching Azami's attention.
Calling upon her mask, Azami slipped the disguise on and immediately began to fill the effects of the instant transformation. With her newly required speed and agility, the girl dodged the attacking wolves targeting her and ripped a hole through the wolf's stomach that had Donald cornered. She chanced a quick glance to see if the duck was hurt but upon seeing no injuries ran off to help a defenseless Riku.
By now the white-haired teen was using all his strength to keep the wolf above him from biting down on his exposed neck. The boy's hands were struggling to keep the wolf's mouth as far away as possible, a difficult feat considering the wolf wouldn't stay still. Riku's fingers were being cut to ribbons by the dog's razor sharp teeth, the blood leaking into its mouth further fueling its ambition. Calling upon his Keyblade was impossible for it took all his concentration to keep the wolf at bay.
It was as Riku's arms finally buckled under the enemy's weight and as the wolf went in for the kill that the weight of the wolf suddenly disappeared and Riku was staring into the yellow eyes of a large shadow Heartless. Without thinking, he called upon his Keyblade and was on his feet seconds later swinging wildly at the Heartless. He was surprised when the monster easily captured his wrist in its hand, preventing the deadly blow.
"I'm on your side remember?" Azami's voice said from somewhere beneath the shadows. Almost instantaneously the shadows dispersed from her form, leaving the boy to stare into her glaring blue eyes. Releasing his wrist, she turned and sprinted off to help Goofy who was having trouble fending off four attacking wolves. Riku stared after her begrudgingly.
Most of the battle after that passed in a blur. With Azami, Riku, Donald, and Goofy working together the wolves found it hard to gain the upper hand. Donald sent the last wolf up in a burst of flames, allowing the four a moment of relief.
"Guys, help!" Sora shouted. At the boy's cry, the others were ready for the next wave of attack only to find the massive form of the Beast lying pitifully on the forest floor, covered in injuries. They rushed over to help.
"He's hurt really bad," Belle spoke up. She had positioned herself beside the Beast and was looking down upon him worriedly. "We need to get him back to the castle quickly!" The others nodded their heads in agreement and rushed to help.
"Get him on the horse," Goofy commanded. With great effort on everyone's part, they all managed to get the unconscious Beast upon the beautiful chestnut horse and with Belle leading the way headed back to the castle.
O O O O
O O
Under the watchful eye of a very concerned Belle, the Beast regained consciousness a few hours later. His wounds were wrapped and he was sitting in his pallor waiting for the small group as they rushed to greet him.
"Glad to see you're okay!" Sora said, a big smile on his face.
"You had us worried there for a minute, Beast!" Goofy admitted. At his words, the master of the castle looked down in shame.
"Could you all ever forgive me?" the Beast asked quietly. "If I would have never lost my temper this would have never happened. I never would have put Belle or you in trouble." Sora waved off the Beast's words.
"Don't beat yourself up about it," the brunette shrugged. Donald nodded his head in agreement.
"What matters now is that we are safe and Belle is back!" At the mention of the maiden's name all attention turned to the slumbering woman at the Beast's side. She was seated upon a small ottoman with her head resting comfortably on her folded arms that were on the Beast's armchair. She was oblivious to the attention as she peacefully slept on.
"She never left your side while you were unconscious," Mrs. Potts announced. Lumiere smiled widely.
"When everyone else thought it was a good idea to let you rest alone, the mademoiselle refused to leave you alone. She said that it would be nice for you to wake up to a familiar face!" The Beast seemed surprised at her words.
"Perhaps she cares about you more than you realize it, Master?" Cogsworth offered. At the majordomo 's words the Beast seemed to smile.
"I think it would be best to let her sleep," the Beast spoke up. The others silently agreed.
"Well then I guess we'll be seeing you?" Sora said. The Beast nodded his head, unopposed to the idea.
"You all are always welcomed here." The Beast made it a point to look Azami's way. The girl slightly nodded her head to show she understood the gesture behind his words. She and the others followed Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Lumiere and Chip from the pallor to allow the Beast and Belle more time to rest.
"Until we meet again, then!" Cogsworth said. Sora nodded his head.
"It was nice to met you, Azami and Riku," Mrs. Potts said. She offered the two a warm smile.
"Come visit us again real soon!" Chip piped up. Lumiere laughed at the teacup's words.
"Yes! Don't be strangers! Remember, you are all welcomed guests!" And with more long-filled farewells and promises to come back and visit the group headed out, uncertain of their next destination and unaware of the pair of red eyes following their every move.
Preview:
"Sometimes the past can be hard but talking about it with a friend can help ease that pain, ya know?"Azami felt her eyes widen in surprise at the brunette's words.
"Friend?" She tried the word on her tongue, tasting it to see how it felt coming out of her mouth.
"Of course! Who else would risk their life for another but a friend?" Dumbly, Azami nodded her head in agreement, a little shocked but very much pleased at her new found friendship.