The two walked through the village, hand in hand, to the north part of the beach to get back to the cave where Ursula was undoubtedly waiting. If it wasn't for the impatient sea witch, Jaden would have gladly shown Barbie around the village, but decided against it. She had kept the witch waiting long enough, maybe it wasn't the best idea to go pushing her buttons further. And besides, Jaden could use the excuse of showing Barbie around as another date, as she knew this wouldn't be the last time, Barbie was too cute for her own good.

Once the pair had reached the section of the cave where Jaden's earlier progress had been stopped by the statues, Jaden opened her satchel and placed the gems in each of their corresponding statue, unlocking the magic gate. Not wasting any more time, the couple continued onwards, but were halted again by another magical gate with another three statues.

Barbie squinted her eyes at the sign, but quickly realised that she couldn't read it as it was in a different language. She shrugged embarrassingly at Jaden, who moved in front of her to read the sign out loud for Barbie's benefit. "Discover the right crops to grow to continue on below. One is underground, the other is gold and brown. What remains is red and round."

"Does that mean we have to go back?" Barbie asked worriedly.

Jaden shook her head. "No, I think I've got the right ones. I guess Goofy is good for one thing."

With that, Jaden started planting the three crops at the base of each statue, which thankfully didn't take very long as she didn't necessarily care about the particular spot they were planted as she wouldn't be coming back to take care of them.

Barbie had even taken in upon herself to explore the caves whilst Jaden occupied herself with the seeds, but making sure not to stray too far from Jaden in case she ended up getting herself lost, which was something of an accidental habit of hers back home that she was determined not to bring into her new life here at Dreamlight Valley.
The caves weren't really anything to write home about, Barbie thought with growing disappointment. At least the ones back in Malibu had gems glittering off of the walls that made the place a spectacular sight to behold. Instead, these camps were damp and cold, and if Barbie had to admit to herself, spooky. She decided to head back to where Jaden was planting the seeds, sitting herself down on a relatively dry patch of earth as she watched Jaden get herself to work, casting her a genuine warm smile once Jaden had finished.

Now that they had to play the waiting game for the plant to grow, Barbie patted a spot on the ground for Jaden to sit next to her, their backs up against the freezing, rocky wall.
Jaden turned her head to gaze at Barbie, who despite the darkness surrounding the both of them, still looked just as pretty as she did back at Remy's restaurant, her blue eyes seeming to illuminating the room around them.

The pair sat in silence for several long drawn out moments, neither knowing what to say to each other. This wasn't exactly what Jaden would call an exciting date, but given to what she had to work with, she chose to cut herself some slack. Barbie had wanted to come along, so she knew that this wasn't going to be your typical, ordinary date. Jaden needed to play with the cards that she had been dealt with, so she decided to get right down to business. "So, what exactly are you looking for in a property? Are we talking a small, one bedroomed house with a small garden here? Or do you have something else in mind?"

Barbie was quiet for a few seconds, appearing to think about her answer carefully, almost as if she was debating about giving away some sort of secret. When she was certain on her answer, she looked positive and sure of herself, knowing fully well what she wanted. "Actually Jaden, I was thinking more along the lines of a mansion right on the beach. One with a large living room area with a nice spacious kitchen. At least twelve bedrooms would be ideal, but I suppose I could cut down to ten if needed, and all would need their own ensuite bathrooms." When she saw the surprised, shocked look on Jaden's face, Barbie felt the need to explain herself further. "I come from a big family back in Malibu you see. My parents have such a nice property that having one of my own but on a much grander scale would make me feel like I'm back at home. I know I'm asking an awful lot out of this, and I'll understand if you're not up to the task-"

Jaden interrupted her before Barbie could even think about finishing her sentence. "No, I'll do it. You're right in saying that it is quite big of a job, but I have contact with somebody who would be glad to help. And besides," Jaden gave Barbie a teasing wink, presenting the playful side of herself that she wanted this woman whom she'd only just met to see in abundance. "I do like a challenge."

Looking as if she was about to cry with relief, Barbie threw herself into Jaden's arms, clinging onto her tightly as she wrapped her arms around Jaden's neck. "Thank you so much Jaden! I honestly don't know what I'd do without you." The gratitude in her voice was evident, that Jaden's responding squeeze to her tiny body was enough to finally make the happy tears spill from Barbie's eyes.

It didn't even occur to Jaden to ask her who would be staying in this expansive house, the fact that it there was no way one woman alone would need all of those bedrooms didn't even cross Jaden's mind. She didn't know why, but holding Barbie in her arms like this, made all the more reason for Jaden to make sure that this woman would have everything she so desired. Perhaps it was seeing the way Ken badly mistreated her, Jaden wasn't sure. But one thing she did know for certain was that she wanted to do everything in her new-found power to keep this woman safe. She would make sure that she had a hand in keeping Ken away from Barbie's new house once it was built, Jaden was determined on that front if nothing else.

For the next hour and a half, Jaden and Barbie sat together discussing over more plans for the perfect mansion of Barbie's dreams that she had imagined ever since she was a little girl. Jaden had even went the extra mile and pulled out a sketch pad from her satchel and started taking notes of every last detail of the interior and exterior of what the house would look like, drawing various different sketches of what she had in her mind. It didn't go unnoticed by Jaden that every time she'd show Barbie one of these drawings, that Barbie would scootch herself closer to Jaden until both their sides were touching. She let Barbie know that she was aware of this by wrapping her arm around Barbie's shoulders when she was close enough, to which Barbie reacted by laying her head on Jaden's shoulder.
Well, this date is going a lot better than expected. Jaden thought with a growing fondness to this blonde woman.

By the time the crops had finally grown, the pair already had the final plans for the house. Jaden tucked her notebook back into her satchel as she stood up, helping Barbie to her feet by extending her hand out to her. Once fully stood up, Jaden grabbed the food from the planted crops, thanking the Maker that this was a dream and that she wouldn't have had to wait for weeks for the crops to fully grow. With the food in hand, Jaden and Barbie moved onto the next section of the cave. There was no statue to greet them this time, but a cooking station instead.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say you're meant to cook the food you just grabbed." Barbie stated obviously.

Jaden sighed. "Great," she drew the word out longer than intended, "let's hope that annoying mouse doesn't somehow smell the food and come running down here." She ended with a groan.

Barbie chuckled. "Wow, you really hate Mickey, don't you?"

"Trust me, once you get to know him, you'll hate him too." Jaden said, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice.
She walked up to the sign next to the gate and read it out loud, more for Barbie's benefit than her own. "'The final riddle, let it be known to cook and eat what you have grown.'" Taking a breath, Jaden walked over to the cooking station. "Seems simple enough." She shrugged at Barbie.
An hour later, and Jaden had fully cooked and prepared the meal, to which she decided was to be veggie pasta. Barbie had even pitched in to help, to which Jaden was thankful for. Multiple times Jaden had stopped what she was doing just to watch Barbie work her magic around the kitchen-like area. Just when she thought this woman couldn't get any better, she had proved Jaden wrong by showing her she could cook, and cook well at that.

"Can we at least eat the meals?" Barbie wondered aloud.

Jaden shrugged her shoulders. "I don't see why not."

Seating themselves on a wooden bench not that far from the kitchen area, the pair ate their meals in a comfortable silence, with the occasional praise to one another on just how good the food was. When they were done, the nearby gate opened to signal that the final riddle had been completed. Dusting themselves off from any specks of food, Jaden and Barbie walked through the open gate to the bottom of the cave, which was filled with water.
Barbie tapped Jaden on the shoulder when she noticed slap down in the middle of the spring of water, was the Orb of Power, pointing it out to her in the distance.

"So, how are you going to get that? It's quite far out." Barbie asked, squinting her eyes to try and get a better look at their prize.

"I could jump in and get it." Jaden suggested.

Barbie looked Jaden over from head to toe, almost as if she already knew judging from Jaden's appearance what the answer to her question was going to be. "Do you even know how to swim?"

Jaden sighed. "No, but I am really good at drowning!" This earned her a slap on the back of her head from Barbie. Rubbing the back of her head until the brief sting was gone, Jaden shot the blonde woman a look. "Ow! I was joking…sort of. You'd be surprised at how many times I've nearly drowned." Jaden tried to reassure her, as if this little bit of information made it all okay.
Jaden then summoned the fishing rod in her hand, swinging the line over her shoulder as she tried to fish the orb out of the spring.

As Jaden was fishing, Barbie busied herself to take the time to look around the cave in search of something that might help them retrieve the orb. Instead, she found what looked to be a ripped out page from a journal. Inspecting it closer, Barbie quickly realised that she couldn't read the strange language, so she raced back over to Jaden, holding out the page for her to see.
"Any idea what this says?" Barbie asked as Jaden took the paper from her.

"'I've learned a new language…extremely easy to learn and you can express complicated ideas so quickly, I'm going to use it to keep my journal.'" Jaden read, aloud, finding it strange that she could read it despite not recognising the language. That was the beauty of dreaming, she supposed. "Must be the old ruler's journal." She informed Barbie.

T wo long hours went by when Jaden finally pulled the Orb of Power out of the water. As she was reeling it back to shore, Barbie noticed the slight trembling of Jaden's hands, making it difficult for the woman to achieve her task with ease. Thinking maybe it was from more relief than excitement, Barbie didn't comment on it. But when Jaden had the orb firmly grasped in her hand, the shaking had travelled up from her hands to her entire body. So great was Jaden's shaking that it caused her legs to turn to jelly, making her collapse on the ground.
Barbie rushed to Jaden's side instantly, making Jaden drop the orb onto the ground so she could hold her hand. "Jaden, what's wrong? Talk to me." Barbie's voice was laced with heavy concern, unsure on how to exactly handle the situation.

Just when she thought Jaden wasn't going to respond, she then heard Jaden's voice. It was so softly spoken that Barbie had a hard time recognising it. "I-I just need…" Her voice was broken short from hyperventilating, her breaths coming in short, gulping gasps. "I need to get out of here…can't stand this place for-" She stopped short yet again as she took in another lungful of deep air.

The look of immediate fear in Jaden's eyes was more than enough for Barbie to understand what was going on. The poor woman was suffering from a panic attack from what appeared to be a fear of staying in an enclosed space for a long period of time. So, wrapping Jaden's arm around Barbie's shoulders, with the orb in one hand, Barbie walked them both out of the dark mystical cave, sitting Jaden down on a patch of grass just outside the entrance.
Once settled outside the cave, Barbie used her free hand that wasn't holding the Orb of Power, to hold Jaden's hand in an attempt to calm her down. She protested down the sound of pain as Jaden squeezed her hand tightly, the mage's knuckles turning a ghostly white as she hung on.

In less than fifteen minute the ordeal was all over. Jaden's breathing gradually returned to normal, and her grip on Barbie's assaulted hand loosened until her hand dropped down to her side. When Jaden was certain enough that she could speak properly again, she gave Barbie a warm smile that displayed her gratitude. "Thanks Barbie."

Barbie returned the smile, using her fingers to affectionally brush a stray lock of hair behind Jaden's ear that had fallen out of place. "You're welcome Jaden. Do you want to talk about what happened back there?" The question was presented in a tone of voice that also invited Jaden to decline the offer if she so desired, to which Jaden was thankful for.

But, knowing she owed Barbie an explanation, she took the proposition gratefully. "I just can't stand to be in the same place for too long. For reasons I won't get into, it almost feels like I'm trapped with no way out that it causes me to panic. This attack was nothing really, compared to how bad it really get." When Jaden saw the look of mixed understanding and horror in Barbie's eyes, she sighed dejectedly, casting her gaze down to the floor. "Some date I turned out to be…"

But Barbie shook her head, using an index finger to raise Jaden's chin to her eye level, needing her to understand that it was alright. "It wasn't your fault, okay? Obviously I don't know the reasoning behind it all, but you can't control how it makes you react." Barbie leaned herself towards Jaden closer, placing both her hands on the mage's shoulders, a warm expression on her face. "I'm here for you okay? Seeing you like that upsets me, and I want to help you in any way I can, so if you let me, we can overcome this together. If that's okay with you."

Jaden couldn't believe her luck with this woman. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time at just how kind and considerate this woman was, whom just on their first date, was willing to help Jaden out with her internal struggles. She didn't quite know how to act towards all this, so she expressed it in the only language that she knew how; by reaching a hand over to place on Barbie's own that was on Jaden's shoulder, stroking it gently to show her appreciation and, most importantly, her affections she had for Barbie. "Where have you been when I've needed you in my life the most?" Jaden asked softly, allowing herself to sound vulnerable, something she hadn't given herself the luxury to do in years.

Barbie forced back the tears that were threatening to fall. This woman sat right in front of her was starved of any sort of real love and affection that the depressing feeling was infectious. All she wanted to do was take this vulnerable woman into her arms and whisper sweet nothings into her ear to make all of her problems vanish into thin air. But she knew that was impossible. As much as she prided herself on being able to ease her friends of any worries with her joyous attitude and feelings of positivity, at the end of the day she wasn't a miracle worker. Hearing Jaden pour her trauma and fears out onto her in as much detail as she would allow herself to, made Barbie's determination to help others in need all the more stronger. She had set her heart out on helping Jaden, that much she was sure.
And so, with a responding squeeze to Jaden's hand, she moved her hand to cup Jaden's right cheek, using her thumb to stroke a soon to be recognised pattern. "I'm here now, and unless you want me to, I'm not going anywhere."

The pair sat like this for several minutes, until Jaden found the strength back into her legs to stand up. "Well, shall we get this job done then? The sea witch will still be waiting for us."

Barbie nodded her head enthusiastically, glad to see Jaden back to the same person that she met in the restaurant. She followed Jaden step for step, keeping an even pace with her as they reached the pillar just outside the cave.

Jaden, now with the Orb of Power in her hand, placed it back into the indentation of the pillar where it belonged. The purple mist that was surrounding the pillar and the cave that Ursula was trapped in disappeared as soon as the orb was positioned back into place.
As soon as the last traces of purple mist had flown up dancing into the sky, Jaden and Barbie walked into the cave where Ursula was trapped.

Ursula cast the two woman an ugly grin that made Barbie want to shiver all over. Ursula addressed Jaden when speaking. "Welcome back, angelfish. And I see you held up your end of the bargain. Well, a deal's a deal…I'll let you in a little secret about the Forgetting…" Ursula leaned in closer to Jaden, almost as if she was whispering directly in her ear, even though she was out in the middle of the spring. "Everyone talks about the Forgetting as if it were just some miserable thing that happened like an algae bloom in the ocean. But the Forgetting is much more than a fleeting moment in our village's history. The Forgetting is caused by a being! The Forgotten is as real as you and me, and the Forgotten is still here, cursing the village." Her voice ended on a high, cheery note, like she was expecting the Forgetting to pop around the corner like an old long-lost friend.

"Must be very powerful." Jaden said, trying to keep her enthusiasm in check.

Ursula saw this brief flicker of interest and decided to use this as a weapon of knowledge. "Oh, it is. And don't you wish we could get a little of that power for ourselves? But, we can discuss that later." She gave Jaden a wicked smile when she saw the displeasure take over Jaden's face. She chuckled slightly in response to this. "If we're going to stop the Forgotten, you've got to fix the pillars. They're the only things that will protect the village from the Forgotten's curses." Ursula gave a clap of her hands to signify that she was done explaining, "now, run along and tell whoever you must…but be careful, you never know who might be listening. Ha-ha!" Ursula's laughs were drowned out by the sound of her diving underwater, leaving Jaden and Barbie alone in the cave.

Jaden turned to Barbie. "Right, now that's done, let's go discuss with Scrooge about your housing arrangements. I can put off telling Merlin about Ursula for now."

Barbie agreed with a nod of her head, slipping her hand into Jaden's as the two left the darkness of the cave into the bright sunlight of the valley's luscious green fields. As they walked across the beach, they spotted Merlin walking along the coast. Figuring since he was already here, she supposed she could speak to him about what Ursula told her, since it shouldn't take very long, as well as getting to introduce him to Barbie. She gestured to Barbie to follow her, but was stopped short when her phone began to rang. She excused herself to the side whilst Jaden walked up to Merlin.

Upon seeing Jaden approach him, Merlin greeted her fondly. "Jaden, you've returned the Orb of Power to its rightful place! Bravo! You've done marvellous things for our village, my friend." His friendly voice dropped to a dissatisfied grumble. "Though, I suppose the sea witch is free now. Unfortunate consequence, eh?" Merlin ended on a cheeky note, trying to lighten the mood.

Jaden narrowed her eyes at the usually cheerful wizard. "I'm not going to leave anyone behind." Jaden told him, a warning threat in her voice.

Merlin saw the level of determination in her eyes and sighed wearily. "Yes, yes, quite right. We'll need everyone working together to fight the Forgetting. Just be careful, Jaden. Ursula will do almost anything to increase her power. And I'm sure she sees the power within you." He warned her, genuinely caring for her safety.

"I'll be careful, Merlin. No need to worry." Jaden brushed off his concerns with a dismissal wave of her hand.

At that moment, Barbie then walked back over to Jaden, letting out a sigh. "Uh, hey. So, I've got to go and deal with something real quick." She told Jaden, who noticed Barbie was being very vague with what was going on.

"That's fine. Ken isn't bothering you is he?" Jaden asked protectively.

"No, everything's fine. There's just something I've got to take care of." Barbie told Jaden with a flick of her hair.

Jaden didn't push the subject any further, not wanting to seem too pushy. "Well, once you're done, would you like to meet up at my house later?" She asked the blonde hopefully.

Barbie nodded and smiled at the prospect. "Sure, I'd love to."

Just before Jaden could let Barbie turn around and walk away, she pressed a light kiss on Barbie's cheek, causing the blonde woman to blush a bright shade of red. The two went their separate ways with their hearts hammering in their chests, eager to see one another again despite having only just left each other.
Still not quite sure if she was in love or lust with Barbie, Jaden walked away with a genuine smile on her face that she hadn't produced in years. If this what love at first sight truly meant, then she was all here for it.


Jaden entered Scrooge's shop, still with her beaming smile plastered all over her face from her encounter with Barbie and approached the duck at the counter, giving him the same smile that hadn't left her face. "Hey, Scrooge. I need your help with something." She told him as she ripped out the pages from her notebook, more or less shoving them into his hands, showing him the designs of what was to be Barbie's house she had drawn earlier.

Scrooge frowned at Jaden's enthusiasm, not something he had ever encountered when it had anything to do with his shop or any work that he'd given her. He remarkably looked over the sketches, not knowing until now that Jaden could even draw. "Impressive drawings, Jaden, but I'm afraid in order to build this it will cost more than you currently have. And I mean a lot more." He cautioned her, knowing fully well that Jaden wasn't exactly living in the riches at the moment.

Jaden tutted, mentally scolding herself in the process. She hadn't thought about that obstacle before making Barbie a promise. Quickly thinking on the spot, she tried the sympathy card. "I suppose asking for an employee discount is out of the question, right? So what am I supposed to do?" She asked him, a hint of helplessness in her tone for added emphasis, "build the damn thing myself?"

Scrooge, thankfully in her favour, took the bait. "Hmm, now there's an idea. I suppose I could give you the tools you need for a price, of course. You've already made the blueprints, so all you'd need is the materials." He was completely honest in his answer, something that Jaden wasn't prepared for, fully expecting him to turn her down.

"I was joking…though I don't have much of a choice do I? How hard can building a house be?" It must be easier in dreamlife right? She tried to reason with herself. "Alright, I'll do it." She nodded at him, accepting his offer.

Scrooge told her to wait there for a second whilst he brought her his toolkit from behind the counter. Jaden thanked him and was about to leave the store when she bumped into Goofy as he entered the shop. She smirked as an idea came to mind. "Hey, Goofy. I don't suppose you can help me with something?" She queried hopefully.

He nodded. "Sure, Jaden. I'd be happy to help. What do you need?"

The fact that he was being helpful and friendly in public wasn't lost on Jaden. He had to keep up a front somehow, and she wasn't about to break that. After all, she needed his help. "I'm building a house on the beach and I know very little about construction, so I could really use some help. I can't afford Scrooge's services so I have to do this on my own." She explained, handing him the plans that she had made.

Goofy looked them over and nodded. "I'll get the materials and meet you at the beach." He told her. Just as she was about to walk past him, he stopped her short, grabbing her arm in what would appear to outsiders as a gentle tug, but to Jaden it was a firm grip. He whispered in her ear, "Don't forget about the deal we made. You owe me one for this."

Jaden nodded silently. Trust him to bring up something like this at this time. They both left the store in separate directions, with Jaden going back to the beach and Goofy off gathering the much needed materials.
Jaden walked along the beach looking for the best place to put Barbie's house. She didn't want it to be to close to the coast so the rising tides wouldn't bother them, but she also didn't want it to be to far down the other side of the beach so she wouldn't have to walk far to get to the main village. Why the hell does Barbie want the house on the beach anyway? Jaden thought with growing wonder, putting it down to the fact that Barbie was a beach girl by heart, so having her house on the beach would make it seem like she was right back in Malibu. Still, Jaden wasn't about to complain or argue with the woman's needs.

Once she found the perfect place, she marked up the area with some cones. The house would be situated just on a small grassy area with some beautiful palm trees that were reminiscent of the familiar Malibu setting. The trees were to be surrounding the house, something that Jaden hoped Barbie would appreciate. She texted Goofy the location of the house, happy with the way the job was going so far.

After a short while, Ken approached Jaden, looking over the area with morbid curiosity. "What's this?" He asked her, trying to sound interested.

Jaden attempted to keep the irritation out of her voice from Ken being nosy. "Barbie's house. Or it will be once I'm done building it." She informed him with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Do you need any help?" The offer wasn't of one to be helpful, Jaden understood. It was the offer of attempting to find out any information about Jaden's apparent relationship to Barbie.

Jaden shook her head, not wanting to spend any more time with Ken than needed. "Thanks for the offer, but I'd prefer of those who are going to live inside the house to not help out. You shouldn't have to help." Jaden managed to keep the scorn out of her voice. Even though Barbie hadn't mentioned about anything of Ken staying at the house, she had a funny feeling that he wasn't going to give her the opportunity to say no.

Ken's eyes were guarded, sensing the hostility coming off of Jaden in waves. But, he still tried the friendly approach, for now at least. "Still, the offer's there if you need the help." He told her. Not able to keep up the outgoing act for much longer, his entire demeanour changed with one simple question. His body became stiff with tension, and his voice dropped dangerously low. "Now, about Barbie…what's your intentions with her?"

Jaden gave him a pointed look, disgust written all over her features. "Excuse me? How's that any of your business?" She practically spat, scorn dripping in her voice.

Ken shrugged nonchalantly. "She's my girlfriend, it's kinda my business."

Jaden's retort was immediate. "If she's truly your girlfriend, she wouldn't have agreed to go on a date with me. But then again, there might be something very wrong with your relationship if she's willing to cheat." Jaden laughed nastily in his face, enjoying the reaction she was provoking him as she watched his face twist in anger.

That was all it took for Ken to completely lose it. He punched Jaden hard in the face, knocking her into the sand. Jaden groaned as she wiped the blood from her nose, glaring angrily at him. Judging from the look on his face, Ken felt no remorse for what he had just done, not a single trace or line of guilt was etched into his fuming appearance.

Merin, who was sitting not far from them, saw the exchange happening right before his eyes. He quickly rushed over to Jaden's side, realising what Jaden was going to do as she aimed a punch to Ken's face. The wizard grabbed her by the shoulders before the hit could land, holding her back before she could seriously hurt the young lad.

"Let me go, old man!" Jaden demanded as she struggled against his hold. For an old man he sure had a strong grip.

"Not until you calm down, Jaden." He instructed her steadily, a teacher speaking to his student.

A sudden voice registered in Jaden's ears, causing her to quickly twist her head around, her heavy breathing starting to return to its normal state.

"What's going on here?" Barbie asked incredulously, walking hurriedly over to the scene that was disturbing the peace of the beach.

"Your friend punched Jaden." Merlin explained to her, his grip on Jaden still tight as she continued to struggle.

Barbie glared at Ken crossly, her voice rising in disappointment at her friend and anger at his inexcusable, embarrassing actions. "Seriously? Why?"

"I was trying to protect you!" Ken yelled, spit flying from his mouth.

Barbie scoffed at this pathetic display. "Protect me? Ken, I don't need protecting. And protect me from what exactly? I doubt Jaden; the leader of this village, would do anything." She aimed to reason with him, but shook her head once she realised it would just be pointless. He wouldn't see to reason.

"You don't know what her intentions are with you…" He practically growled out the words, his high-rate temper getting the better of him that it was causing him to act irrationally.

Jaden interrupted him before he could say anything more outrageous. "And neither do you, Ken," Jaden struggled to swallow down her anger. "now, how about you stay out of this before I-" She couldn't say anything more as Merlin tightened his grip on her, causing Jaden to groan in slight pain and frustration.

Barbie, seeing how angry Ken was making Jaden, decided to grab him by the arm. "You and I need to have a serious talk." She demanded, leading him away from Jaden and Merlin, marching him down the beach out of earshot.

Once they were blurred shapes in the distance, Merlin reluctantly let Jaden go. "You need to go take a walk and calm yourself down before you do something you'll end up regretting." Merlin instructed her, his voice not brooking for any arguments.

Jaden sighed her agreement and stalked off towards the meadow to calm down, unaware that she was walking in a haphazard manner, dizzy on her feet. Why did this have to happen on such a perfect day? This was the happiest she had ever been since arriving at the valley, and now it had to be ruined from that jealous twat. She couldn't wait until she was able to get her hands back on him, already plotting her revenge in her hazy state.
It wasn't until she realised at the last conscious second that she was lightheaded and faint from Ken's earlier blow, coupled with the exhaustion of the last few days. Jaden was alone when she fell and passed out into a pond, head first.


When Jaden came to, she felt someone hitting her chest. She quickly realised what was happening as the brief and hazy memory of her falling into a pond came flooding back to her. She could already tell without the need of opening her eyes that it wasn't the mouse doing CPR on her, as it felt like the person knew what they were doing this time, unlike Mickey who brutally assaulted her.

Not only that but just before she let out her groan, she could feel the soft delicate lock of lips onto her own as somebody was blowing air into her mouth. When the sweet lips were no longer lingering on her, Jaden could hear the sound of Barbie grunting as she resumed the beating of Jaden's chest. Not how Jaden imagined their first kiss to go, but here they were. She groaned both in pain and frustration that someone was trying to save her life, water sputtering out of her mouth. Why couldn't the universe just let her die already?

Hearing her groan, Barbie immediately stopped the CPR and Jaden slowly opened her eyes. "Well now…this is just embarrassing…" Jaden muttered, coughing the last traces of water out of her breath.

"Are you alright?" Barbie asked her worriedly, the beginnings of tears evident in her eyes.

Jaden curved her head towards her. "Aside from the blow to my pride, I'm fine…" She answered weakly.

"You should count yourself lucky that I was here to pull you from the pond." A skinny black woman who Jaden didn't recognise, said, who was looking Jaden over for any other signs of injuries.

"Hmm, having two beautiful women save my life…yeah, I'm not sure if that's luck or if the Maker is trying to screw with me…still, thank you." This was addressed to the pair of the them, with the unnamed woman smiling shyly down at Jaden.

"And I should apologise for Ken." Barbie said shamefully, casting her head down.

Jaden shook her head, instantly regretting that decision as the dizziness came rushing back. "Why do you need to apologise for your boyfriend?" Jaden questioned her.

"He's not my boyfriend-" Barbie protested with a sigh of frustration, her face lighting up with understanding once she realised what Jaden was getting on. "Oh, you were teasing, weren't you?" Barbie giggled, playfully slapping Jaden in the arm.

Jaden rubbed the abused arm in mock pain. "Ow…don't hit the wounded." She quipped back.

Barbie rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I just felt like I had to apologise for him. He's not usually like that. I mean, sure he can be a bit overprotective, especially since he's got it into his head that I'm his girlfriend, again, I'm not," Barbie added greatly, wanting to get that point across every time it was mentioned, "but you're the first person he's punched." This was said with admiration for Jaden, something that pleased the woman lying on the ground greatly.

Jaden chuckled. "Barbie, I'm not the one you've got to convince that you and Ken aren't dating. With that said, it doesn't mean I won't stop teasing you about it." She grinned mischievously.

Barbie sighed. "You and everyone else…" She trailed off sorrowfully, to which Jaden was regretful she had said that. Barbie was already getting enough grief from the man in question.

"You have to admit though, it is kind of fun teasing you, Malibu." The mysterious woman said with a chuckle, causing Barbie to playfully scowl at her.

"Make fun of my misery why don't you? But just you wait, Brooklyn, I'll get my revenge on you someday." Barbie added teasingly.

Brooklyn's eyes were shining with affection. "I'll be waiting, girl. Until then, we should make sure Jaden gets home safe."

Jaden could tell just from this brief encounter that there was definitely something going on amid the two girls in question. From the way their flirting seemed like their not-so secret love language, to the way the two women gazed at each other with an obvious love between them. Jaden felt a stab of disappointment to her chest. So was Barbie already taken? Had she clearly misjudged that what Jaden was feeling towards Barbie was also reciprocated?
But why should she care? Jaden asked herself with an inward shake of her head. She had only just met the woman for Maker's sake, there wasn't like there was anything shared among them other than mixed signals to seemed.

She was brought out of her longing by the women helping Jaden to her feet, an arm from both of them wrapped around her shoulders. If anything were to come out of this, at least she could say she was to be escorted home by these two stunning ladies.