CHAPTER TWELVE

I entered a wide and spacious plain. A couple of butterflies fluttered around my head and I watched as they descended on the shoulders of a woman crouching over some flowers. She had pale skin, brown eyes short black hair, and she wore and dress with a gold skirt and a dark blue shirt with lighter blue short-sleeves with red diamonds on it. A brown cloak hung down her back. She looked up and saw me there.

"Oh!" she said.

"Sorry to scare you, ma'am." I said.

"It's all right. It's not everyday that I run into other people." the woman said, standing up straight. "What's your name?"

"I'm Hallie."

"It's nice to meet you, Hallie. My name is Snow White."

I gasped quietly. Snow White. The Snow White, one of the Princesses of Heart.

"What are you doing out here?" I said.

"I was taking a stroll in the woods when I saw the most beautiful flowers here. I thought I'd pick some." Snow White said, gesturing to the bouquet of red, yellow, and blue flowers in her arms. Snow White glanced over my shoulder. "Oh, hello. Who are you?"

I turned around and met my eyes with Terra.

"Terra." I said.

Terra looked away and at Snow White. "Excuse me, but does the name Xehanort sound familiar to you?"

"Why... why, no. I don't think I've ever heard that name." Snow White said.

Terra sighed and collected his chin in his hand. "Now what...?"

Floods shot out from the ground and surrounded us.

"Unversed!" I cried as Terra and I summoned our Keyblades. "Get to safety, Snow White!"

Snow White cried out and scurried away into the forest.

"Gather!" Terra cried as he raised his Keyblade. A ball of Magnet formed and the Floods were sucked inside the powerful magic. As they squirmed around, Terra and I destroyed them. A Bruiser appeared and rammed its emblemed stomach into me. I cried out and tumbled to the ground. I heard a grunt, and Terra sliced his Keyblade through the Unversed. He stood over me and held out his hand. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I said, standing up on my own and dusting myself off. "What are you doing, going around and asking about Xehanort to random people? Of course Snow White wasn't going to know him!"

"I had to try, couldn't I?" Terra said. He scoffed. "The Queen asked me to bring her Snow White's heart."

"What, like Maleficent did with Aurora?" I hissed. "What stopped you this time? The little strand of will you actually have? Or did you contend with the darkness on that as well?"

Terra sighed. "Hallie, I'm sorry. I tried to fight it- I really did. I promise, I'll never let the darkness control me ever again."

I scowled at him. The promise sounded sincere at this time, but I knew better that it was filled with hollow emptiness.

"I got to go." Terra said.

I watched Terra as he ran off towards the giant castle in the distance. I shook my head and turned toward the forest. "I hope Snow White hasn't gotten herself in any trouble."


The path led me into a dark and spooky forest. As I walked along the path, listening to my heart jump with every rustle and groan emitted from within the darkness, I came across a house in the center of the forest. It had a straw roof and small windows scattered around the outside. I walked up to one of the windows, tapped on the glass, and peered inside. A scream ripped through the trees, and I stood up straight and whirled around. My eyes narrowed on the small bridge that lead to another path and ran down it. The area grew darker the more I delved into it. I came to a dead end and saw Snow White cowered near a boulder.

"Snow White!" I said, running over to her. "Are you okay?"

"These horrible trees- they tried to grab me!" Snow White sobbed.

I reached out my hand to her and helped her up.

"Everything's okay. It must've been your imagination. You're safe now." I said.

"Thank you, Hallie." Snow White said. "I'm sure I'll get along, somehow."

"Heyyy!" a voice called. I turned to see Ventus running towards us. He stopped in a stumble and panted. "I heard a scream! Is everything okay?!"

I chuckled. "Yes, Ven. Your clumsy stumbling scared away all the monsters."

Snow White giggled in her palms while Ventus blushed.

"Oh... I do need a place to sleep at night." Snow White said. "The dark can get so scary. Do you know anywhere I might?"

"There's a house just up ahead." Ventus said. "We'll take you there. Oh, I'm Ventus, by the way. Ven for short."

"Thank you, Ven. My name is Snow White."

"Great. Let's get going."

The three of us walked down the path, Snow White wedged in between me and Ventus. We returned to the house and entered it. We all had to duck in order to fit through the door, it was so short. In fact, all the furniture seemed fit for toddlers.

"What kind of person lives here?" I said, crossing my arms.

"Dwarves." Ventus said.

I stared at the blonde in disbelief.

"I'm serious! I ran into a group of dwarves on my way here. They weren't very nice, though." Ventus turned to Snow White. "I'm sure this is a safe place, but Hallie and I will take a look around."

Snow White nodded, and Ventus and I left the house.

"Have you found any luck with finding Terra?" I asked.

Ventus sighed and shook his head. "No. It feels like whenever I'm arriving, he's leaving."

"I'm sure our paths will cross again."

Ventus smiled and nodded. "Yeah... you're right."

We entered the house once more.

"No sign of monsters outside. Everything's okay-" Ventus said. "Huh?!"

Seven three-feet-tall dwarves surrounded Snow White. They all turned to us.

"Couldn't stay away, couldja?" one of the dwarves hissed. "An' who invited you in, ya rotten thieves?!"

"Thieves? That's not a very nice way to greet someone." I said.

"Oh no, they're not thieves. They rescued me." Snow White said.

"You fussn't be mooled- uh, mustn't be fooled by them, princess." the only dwarf wearing glasses said.

"Just go on an' git!" the angry dwarf said.

"Why you-" I growled, but Ventus held his arm out in front of me.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not a bad guy?!" Ventus said.

"Please don't send them away. You see, they helped me when I was lost, and oh, so very frightened." Snow White said.

"She's right. We're friends." I said.

"What happened?" Ventus approached the group.

"Well, I was picking flowers by the wood, where I met Hallie." Snow White said. "There was another stranger there, too. I believe Hallie knew him. He had a sword, but it was like a key, just like Hallie's. And then these monsters came and-"

"Terra!" Ventus said. He turned to me. "Terra was with you?"

"Well, yes... but it was only for a brief moment before he took off for the castle." I said quickly. "Something about the Queen..."

"Ya mean this stranger saw ya and set his horde of evil demons after ya?" the glasses-wearing dwarf said.

"That didn't happen at all!" I said.

"Yeah! Terra would never do that!" Ventus cried.

"Oh, of course. I'm sure he wouldn't. Not if he's someone who's your friend." Snow White said.

"Princess, you trustn't be so musting- er, trusting!" the glasses-wearing dwarf said.

"They're a-lyin'! Mark my words!" the angry dwarf said. I wanted so badly to clonk this jerk on the head with my Keyblade, but that wouldn't help my case.

"We'll prove it! You'll see!" Ventus said. "C'mon, Hallie!"

Ventus ran out the door. I stared down each of the dwarves. "You watch the princess and keep her safe, you hear?"

I turned around and ran out the door.


Ventus and I ran back into the darker part of the forest, where a Mad Treant appeared. We defeated it and continued on until we appeared back in the light of the grassy plains.

"TERRAAAAAA!" Ventus screamed. His voice echoed in the air, but there was no response. He bowed his head and groaned, but he stopped when a red apple rolled to his feet. He bent down and picked it up. "An apple?"

He lifted his eyes and saw an old, haggard woman walking along the plain, carrying a basket filled with fruit.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Ventus said as we approached the woman. The woman turned around, and Ventus held out the red apple to her. "You dropped this."

"Oh, why thank you, my pet." the woman said, snatching the apple up with her wrinkled hand. "To tell the truth, I really don't know what I would have done without that."

The woman turned back around and placed the apple in her basket. I thought I heard her cackle to herself.

"Haven't I seen those swords before?" the woman said, hinting to Ultima Weapon and Wayward Wind in our hands.

"Terra has one. You know Terra?" Ventus said.

"Oh, yes, yes... That ruffian pointed one of those at me, asking about some "Xehanort"- My poor heart nearly stopped!"

Ventus stared at his Keyblade. "That doesn't sound like him at all... Ma'am, where did Terra go?"

"I'm sure I have no idea... Must you all menace a poor granny so?"

"Hey, we're just looking for a friend." I said.

The old woman continued walking down the path. Ventus bowed his head.

"Terra, what did you do?" Ventus said quietly.

"Nothing, I'm sure." I said, placing my hand on his shoulder. "I bet this is all just a misunderstanding."

Ventus sighed. "I'm gonna... I'm gonna go. Maybe Terra's already left this world."

He gently took my hand off his shoulder and started walking down the path. My eyes followed him until he disappeared. I sighed.

"It must be hard to realize that someone you care about isn't the person you thought they were." I said quietly. "Or to watch them become someone completely different..."