CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I stepped out of the portal and into a dark and tight area that only had up and down as directions. I noticed a rope and a ladder for easy transportation. I grabbed the rope and slid down quickly, careful to not burn my hands from the coarse material. My feet hit pavement and I saw an opening. I ducked through the opening, and screamed at my surroundings. It was slightly dark in the room, but what startled me was how huge everything was. I think I shrank to the size of a mouse when I entered this world! I spotted a window and ran over to the wall. I used the tattered curtains to climb up to the wooden window sill. I shivered from the cold night air and rubbed my arms. I gazed at the giant, brightly lit castle in the distance.
"Wow..." I whispered. "I wonder who that belongs to."
The window sill began to rumble, and I clung to it to avoid falling off.
"Oh, my!" a voice cried.
I turned back into the room and gasped at the large woman who stared at me. She had blonde hair tucked back in a low ponytail with a blue ribbon, crystal blue eyes, and pale skin. She wore a maid's outfit, consisting of a dark brown bodice with aquamarine long sleeves and a brown, knee-length skirt. She wore black flats on her feet and an apron tied around her narrow waist.
"I've never seen a mouse quite like you." the woman said.
"Mouse? I'm not a mouse, I'm a human!" I said. "But, uh... why am I so small?"
The woman shook her head and held her hand out to me. I climbed into her palm and she brought me up to her face.
"What's your name?" the woman said.
"I'm Hallie." I said.
"Nice to meet you, Hallie. My name is Cinderella." the woman said.
I smiled to myself. Another Princess of Heart.
"Flinderelly! Flinderelly!" A real mouse scurried out of the hole in the wall and over to Cinderella. He wore an orange jacket, a red turtleneck, brown shoes, and a red hat. "C'mon! Gotta flurry! Gotta flurry!"
The mouse climbed up to Cinderella's bed and stood at the top of one of the wooden posts. I had to work my brain to figure out what in the world he was saying.
"Now, Jaq, what's all the fuss about?" Cinderella said.
"Somebody new in the house! Somebody never saw refore!" Jaq said.
"Oh, a new friend. Where is he?"
"In a trap-trap! Down the stairs!"
"Oh dear!" Cinderella brought her hand up to her shoulder so I could rest on it. "I do hope this isn't going to bother you, Hallie, but I must help this poor creature."
"Of course. Go right ahead." I said.
Cinderella hurried over and threw open the door. We descended down a flight of dark, noisy stairs that creaked with every hurried step. Cinderella opened another door, and I cringed as light flooded my eyes. When I adjusted, I was shocked to see a giant entry way stocked with expensive furniture. I gazed up at the elegant chandelier covered in gold and diamonds hanging above us and the rich, aquamarine carpets. The walls were painted white with gold filigree along the bottom.
What in the world is Cinderella doing up in that attic when she lives in such a beautiful house as this?
As we approached one door, I heard very faint grumbles and complaining. Something rattled behind the door.
"Somebody tell me how I got so SMAAALL!" a voice cried from the other side.
I gasped and Cinderella opened the door. The majority of the room was shaded with aquamarine. My eyes found a trap rattling on the ground. Inside wasn't a rat, but a person.
"Ventus!" I cried.
Ventus gripped the bars of the trap and saw me riding on Cinderella's shoulder. "Hallie! What's going on?!"
"Is this a friend of yours?" Cinderella said.
I nodded and used Cinderella's hand to bring me to the ground. I ran over to the trap and gripped the bars.
"Ven, how did you get in here?" I said.
"I don't know! Why are we so tiny?!" Ventus said.
I shrugged and shook my head. Cinderella opened the side of the trap and Ventus stepped out.
"Not-ta worry about. We like-a you!" Jaq said. "Flinderelly like-a you, too. She's-a nice, very nice nice. Name-a Jaq!"
"I'm Ventus. Call me Ven." Ventus said. "This is my friend, Hallie."
"Zugk-zugk, Ven-Ven and Hall-a! Need-a sudda? Ask-a Jaq!"
"Do you have any idea what he's saying?" I whispered.
"Sort of." Ventus said.
"Cinderella!" a voice cried from the other side of the door.
Cinderella drooped slightly. "Oh well, time to get to my chores. I'll see you all in a little while."
Cinderella left the room.
"Wow, I guess she's got her hands full." Ventus said.
"Zugk, work, work, work! Stepmuddy keep Flinderelly busy all day!" Jaq said.
"She didn't seem to mind much, though." Ventus said.
"No, not-sa Flinderelly. She work-a hard. Got a dream, big duh-ream! Dream gonna come true!"
"Dream, huh? Kind of reminds me of someone." Ventus said, smiling to himself. I glanced at the blonde, knowing he was talking about Terra and wanting to become a Keyblade Master. He turned to Jaq. "Maybe you can help me find someone. His name's Terra. You seen him?"
"Eh, no-no. Never saw Terra 'fore."
Ventus sighed. "Oh, well. It was worth a shot."
"C'mon! Follow me! Gotta see the house!"
We followed Jaq into the mouse hole and slowly ascended through, fighting off the Unversed we came across. It surprised me that they managed to shrink to our size. We returned to Cinderella's room and climbed up to the window sill, where we gazed at the castle in the distance.
"I can't believe Cinderella's forced to live in such dreary conditions, and yet she keeps such a sunny disposition." I said. "At least the view is nice."
"Thassa palace. King's palace." Jaq said. "Gonna be a big ball tonight."
"Is Cinderella going?" Ventus said.
Jaq sighed. "I dunno."
The door opened and Cinderella stepped inside. She smiled at us.
"Hello, there. Have you all become friends already?" Cinderella said.
Ventus and I looked to Jaq, and we all nodded to each other. Cinderella placed a mannequin down. I stared at the dress draped over the dark brown model. The top was pink with a scoop-neck and had puffy sleeves with white frilly trim. A pink ribbon cinched the waist, followed by a flowing, pure white, floor-length skirt that cinched at the bottom.
"Wow. That dress is beautiful." I said.
"Thank you. I made it myself." Cinderella said. She dusted off the dress and quietly hummed to herself.
"You sure look happy." Ventus said.
Cinderella turned to us. "Mm-hmm. I'm going to the royal ball tonight." Cinderella heaved a dreamy sigh. "I guess dreams really do come true."
"Cinderella!" the sharp voice of the stepmother pierced through the door.
"My dress will have to wait." Cinderella said.
"Cinderella!" the princess' name was called twice more by different voices, younger than the stepmother's, but just as unpleasant.
"All right, all right, I'm coming!" Cinderella called as she left the room.
"Poor Flinderelly. She not go to the ball." Jaq said.
"Why not?" Ventus said.
"You see. They fix her. Work, work, work. She'll never get her dress done."
I stared at the dress as it stood poised in the corner. I tapped my finger against my chin and uttered an "aha!"
"I know! We'll finish the dress for her!" I said.
"Huh?" Ventus said. "Are you serious?"
"Come on, this is for Cinderella. Don't you want her dream to come true?"
Ventus crossed his arms. "But what do we need to get?"
"Rook around the house. Lots-a pitty-pitty things."
Ventus nodded. "Okay. Hallie and I will find whatever we need. Jaq, you get things set up here."
"Zugk, zugk!"
Ventus and I jumped off the window sill and onto the floor.
"Ven-Ven! Hall-a! Care-fy Roos-a-fee!" Jaq called.
"...What?" I hissed in frustration.
"Roos-a-fee a cat-cat! Mean-y... sneaky. Jump at you, bite at you!"
"Okay, thanks." Ventus said. We turned and headed towards the mousehole.
"I need some subtitles for that mouse." I mumbled.
We searched the rooms reachable through the mousehole and found the items needed for the dress. We returned to Cinderella's room and gave Jaq the items.
"Still needs-a pitty-pitty pearl." Jaq said.
We nodded and returned to the mousehole. We climbed to the very bottom and returned to the Wardrobe Room, where we first found Ventus. Ventus stepped out of the mousehole and stopped.
"What?" I said, but Ventus yanked me to the wall and covered my mouth with his hand.
"Shh!" he whispered, bringing his face extremely close to mine. "Look!"
I cast my eyes to the middle of the room, where I saw a giant lump of black fur curled up on the floor.
"Roos-a-fee?" I said.
Ventus nodded. "Look what he's got."
I squinted over at the cat and saw an aquamarine pearl laying near his nose.
"I'll go get it." Ventus said, and I grabbed his arm.
"Be careful." I said.
Ventus looked at me flashed a smile. "No worries! I got this."
Ventus slowly tiptoed towards "Roos-a-fee". Standing over the pearl, Ventus waved his hand in front of the sleeping cat, but he made no reaction. Ventus picked up the pearl and started tiptoeing back towards me. "Roos-a-fee"'s eyes opened, revealing a pair of sinister green eyes. He smirked as Ventus ignorantly continued to tiptoe. The cat raised his paw, and I watched each of his sharp claws extract.
"Ventus! Look out!" I cried.
"Huh?!" Ventus turned to face the cat. A ball of dark blue yarn bounced off his head. He scurried around as Jaq threw more balls of yarn at him from the safety of a dresser.
"Come on!" I said, rapidly beckoning to Ventus as he ran over with the pearl. He stopped when we heard a crash. We turned to see "Roos-a-fee" had body slammed into the dresser and Jaq went tumbling to the ground. "Jaq!"
"Ooh, dat hurt..." Jaq grumbled, rubbing his rear. He looked up as a shadow loomed over him.
"Take this!" Ventus said, shoving the pearl into my hands and taking off towards Jaq.
"Roos-a-fee" bared his teeth and raised his claws to create a Jaq-kabob, but Ventus sprinted over and slammed Wayward Wind into his paw. "Roos-a-fee" hissed and shook his paw, glaring at Ventus with his piercing green eyes.
"Time to play, cat!" Ventus cried, brandishing his Keyblade confidently.
Aw, that was cute... in a courageous sort of way. I thought to myself. I glanced at the pearl in my hands and rolled it into the mousehole. I ran over, summoning Ultima Weapon, and struck my battle stance next to Ventus.
"Jaq, get to the mousehole!" I said. "We'll take care of this!"
"Roos-a-fee" charged towards us head-on, and we jumped out of the way. I knocked my Keyblade into his big, red nose. He hissed and aimlessly swiped his claw around. His paw smacked into my stomach and I went tumbling to the ground. I refocused my eyes and gasped as "Roos-a-fee" jumped from a table and dove towards me. I quickly rolled out of the way as the cat slammed into the ground. Ventus jumped in the air and landed on "Roos-a-fee"'s back. "Roos-a-fee" meowed and bucked around the room while Ventus screamed and clung to his fur.
"Ventus! What are you doing?!" I cried as I watched him flop against the cat's back.
"I. Got. This. Under. Control!" Ventus cried.
"Roos-a-fee" smacked into the tall, white wardrobe. Ventus lost his grip and flew off the cat's back and towards me. I cried out as he rammed into me and we both fell to the ground. "Roos-a-fee" hissed and barrelled out of the room.
"See? I knew what I was doing." Ventus smiled.
"Great... Now get off." I groaned, shoving the blonde off me and sitting up.
"Oh, rat's a big "tank you"!" Jaq scurried over to us.
"No thanks needed. You saved us before, so we saved you." Ventus said as we stood up. "That's what friends do, right?"
"Although, it probably could've been done without that rodeo bit." I said, smoothing out my skirt.
"Zugk, zugk! Ven-Ven, Hall-a, and Jaq are good friends!" Jaq said.
"Now, let's get that dress finished." Ventus said.
Cinderella stepped into her room and walked over to the window. She gazed out the window at the large castle and sighed.
"Oh, well... What's a royal ball?" she said, sitting down in the old chair propped next to the window. "After all, I suppose it would be frightingly dull and boring and completely... completely wonderful."
Cinderella propped her head up in her hand and stared longingly at the castle.
"Come on! I can't wait any longer!" I whispered, nudging Ventus excitedly.
"Okay, okay." Ventus chuckled. "Cinderella!"
Cinderella turned to the wardrobe as the doors opened. Inside was her completed dress. The sleeves had been changed into straps and and skirt had a pink layer of fabric over the white petticoat. Light pink bows decorated the dress, two at the bottom where the pink met the white, and one at the top at the tip of the bust.
"Is that my dress?" Cinderella gasped.
"Yes. It's a present from us." Ventus said. "Now you have a dress for the ball."
Cinderella held out her hands and brought us up to her face, Jaq in one hand and Ventus and I in the other.
"Why, it's... it's such a surprise..." Cinderella said.
"It's the least we could do." I said. Ventus placed his hands behind his head and smiled. "We want to make sure your dreams come true."
"Flurry flurry! Time-a go Flinderelly!" Jaq said.
"Oh, thank you." Cinderella smiled.
After Cinderella left, Jaq, Ventus, and I, respectively, sat together on the window sill and stared at the castle in the distance. The night sky flourished with stars.
"Jaq-Jaq hope-a Flinderelly dream come true." Jaq said. Jaq turned to us. "Whats-a Ven-Ven dream?"
"Huh? I wonder..." Ventus said. He gazed ahead thoughtfully. "Funny... I'd never really thought about it... at least until you asked me."
Ventus stretched out his hand and Wayward Wind appeared.
"My dream is to become a Keyblade Master." Ventus said.
"Hope-a Ven-Ven dream come true, too." Jaq said. Ventus dispelled his Keyblade. "Whats-a Hall-a dream?"
I looked over at Ventus and Jaq, who stared at me, patiently waiting for my answer.
"My dream...?" I said. I stared ahead at the castle. I reached up and touched the crown pendant resting above my heart. "My dream is to return to my friends and family... and be reunited with my loved ones."
"Tell me about your friends." Ventus said.
"Really?" I chuckled to myself, and a soft smile peeked through. "They're what drive me to keep fighting. The memories we have connect our hearts together, and the love we share burns with a light that'll never fade. When I feel like hope is lost, my friends pick me up and cheer me on, urging me to keep going. When I've given up on myself, they surely haven't."
Tears pooled in my eyes as the faces of my friends floated before my eyes. I pulled out my Wayfinder and stared at the red glass star.
"An unbreakable connection..." I said. "And I'm the pathway that leads all those ties together."
I lifted up my eyes and looked at Ventus, who stared at me with an enthralled grin. Pulling out his green Wayfinder, he leaned in closer and held his next to mine. I stared at the castle through the red and green glass.
"We'll always be friends. You, me, Terra, and Aqua." Ventus said. "Nothing will ever drive us apart."
A sting of pain shot through my heart. I turned to Ventus and my stomach dropped from how close our faces were. I stared into his ocean blue eyes. I could hear the sound of waves crashing softly against sandy shores, on an island far away, where a boy with these same colored eyes waited for me. I had to keep fighting. For me. For him. For Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. For all of us. I smiled at the blonde and turned my eyes back to our Wayfinders. I clutched mine confidently.
"Nothing." I whispered.
