~ I'm wishing ~

~ For the one I love ~

~ To find me ~

~ Today ~

~ I'm hoping ~

~ And I'm dreaming of ~

~ The nice things ~

~ He'll say ~

The feeling of eyes on the two resting bodies is what woke Cinderella up a few hours later. A sensation she knew well enough. More often when she was a younger girl as opposed to the woman that she is now.

Being watched so closely, hatefully even.

With a yawn, she pulled away from the position she was sleeping in to stretch out her arm. Her hand slipped out of Terra's as she did so.

She turned her attention to the front door of the groundskeeper's room, seeing the Mistress Tremaine standing in the doorway, her two wicked stepsisters standing right behind her.

Cinderella rose to her feet immediately, the hastily made chair rebounding off of her legs and crashing into the floor. Making Terra flinch in his sleep and his eyes begin to hazily fall open.

The blur of the morning blinded him before he bright them to a close. He raised his unbandaged hand and rubbed against his shut eyelids.

"It's an hour past your time to begin the morning routine. I was curious as to why you were so late, maybe you were feeling under the weather. How unfortunate for us if you were." The Mistress stares at Cinderella, with a harsh squint and a withheld breath. Her eyes glanced from the blonde woman to the brown haired patient on the cot. Whose body was shifting uncomfortably against the sheets and hay ever so often. "And here I find you in the groundskeeper's shack. And you are playing nurse to a vagabond who muddied my sheets. Who, by the looks of it, appears to be barely breathing anyway."

"He was harmed and needed assistance-" Cinderella began to speak out in her own defense, only for her stepsisters to interrupt her. Like a pair of vultures circling their quarry, waiting for their turn to dive in and feast when the opportunity was right.

"Oh what a kind soul you are! Little Miss Helper!" Anastasia rolls her eyes and makes a 'blegh' guttural sound whilst faux jamming her finger down her throat. Staring scornfully at her blonde stepsister. "Makes me wanna puke!"

"The fair maiden came to save the weary warrior!" Drizella's voice rose to a high sound, one that made the dog howl and cry in the courtyard. Her eyes fluttered and her interlocked hands held against her cheek. Madame Tremaine approached Cinderella, hands folded together and her eyes focused on the blonde beauty. "Want him to whisk you away to the castle of your dreams?"

"If you believe you can just forsake your duties for some miscreant, you are mistaken." Tremaine spoke sure and with brevity. Staring down Cinderella with a hateful expression. The kind that chilled her to the bone. "Attend to your duties, now."

"I'm sorry." Terra's voice came out in a grumble, his legs thrown over the side of the cot as his breathing became labored and heavy. The two sisters shrieked at the sound and ducked behind their mother, who stood unflinchingly at the stranger. Terra glances from Cinderella to the Madame, shaking his head with bared teeth. The pain from his hunched over back and his now irritating side made him want to scream. "I'm the reason she was occupied this morning. Please don't blame her. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

Terra rose steadily to his feet, realizing just now how he towered not only over Cinderella but also her entire family. Standing much broader and a full head and shoulders above the sisters and the mother. He kept a hand resting to apply pressure on his aching side, his bruised and lightly bandaged face pulled to a grimace. He hobbled over to the door, standing beside Cinderella now.

"I apologize for the inconvenience. I do." Terra said sincerely, his blue eyes meeting Tremaine's stare. She glanced at him over, giving a sure nod and then glancing back at Cinderella. She huffed, turning her heels toward the door adjusting her blouse.

"I expect breakfast to be ready within the next half hour."

"Yes, ma'am." Cinderella nodded and bowed her head to her stepmother. Her voice is void of any infliction and her eyes of any thought. A routine expression that she has mastered over the years. "Right away."

"Attend to your duties immediately and I'll discuss what to do with you later." Was all Tremaine said before walking back to the main house. She bounces along the dirt, a wicked smile of hers growing.

Drizella and Anastasia both held lingering stares on Terra, despite his battered form and were busy admiring it for his bulging biceps, his thick and powerful shoulders as well as his toned and muscular torso. His legs that were typically hidden beneath his once baggy and wide-bottomed flared pants, currently tied off and cuffed around his knee to allow Cinderella to gauze wrap the wounds along his shins and to bandage his foot. His thighs were toned and his calves were bulging and strong.

His pectorals, whilst barely wrapped in a layer of bandages, emphasized his imposing and clearly visible strength. Defined and compounded by years of disciple, combat, and personal exercises. His abdomen had well toned abdominal muscles peeking over the edges of the cloth wrap that Cinderella had applied. Years of crunches and swinging around a massive blade leaving very little in the way of fat, his stomach was lean and packed with muscle.

They both took a second to process and admire the stout and brawny body before they both came to their senses and stepped in line to follow their mother to the house. Ready to resume the day properly.

Anastasia's right crossed over Drizella's left and they then knocked noggins carelessly. The sound echoed through the room and nearly made Cinderella laugh. Anastasia shoved Drizella, who then tugged on Anastasia's collar as they rushed to the house. Terra shook his head while watching the two of them leave, clenching his jaw before he turned to Cinderella and gave her a nod.

"I'm sorry and I'm grateful for your help. But I need to go now." Terra spoke sternly and aggressively. He winced as he attempted to make his way out into the courtyard, his wrapped foot was stiff and slowed his walk, with his body aching with every single step he made. He reached the center of the courtyard and flexed out his hand. Calling for his blade to return to his hand. He had been out for hours, and the Light would only know what had become of Aqua and what happened with Ventus during his absence. "My friends need me."

"You need to rest!" Cinderella shouted, rushing out against the wet mud and dispersing a brood of hens. Which take off in short jumps and clucking into the morning air. Her apron stained and dampened from the small puddles of murky brown water she walked into. "You came crashing through the heavens in the middle of the night, head to toe injured and bloodied, and you barely survived that! On top of that, you can barely walk, Terra."

His havoc filled mind was made and he did his best to ignore her protests, he had to save Ven from becoming a weapon. He had to support Aqua in their battle against Xehanort. He needed to right the wrongs of his own doing and finally do good. He needed to be good. He needed to make things right. He had to. For Eraqus. For Aqua. For Ven. For his family.

He flexed his hand again, and the blade still didn't return. He let out a growl of frustration and tried again. Then again. Then again. After a few more moments of trying his hardest, it still didn't return to him.

At best, he was currently too mentally fogged to properly focus on the summoning. At worst, and this is what scared him the most, was that he was just incapable of summoning his keyblade to his hand. It had abandoned him. He was unworthy to carry its legacy and responsibility.

Terra's heart sank into his stomach, and he swiped at the air in his desperate attempts to get his keyblade and glide out to save his friends. One ill attempted swipe pop a stitch, which caused him to howl in pain and go crashing onto his knees.

HIs shoulders fell forward before landing on his left forearm to brace for impact. His right hand slammed against the ripped cord and began feeling the rush of blood flowing out against his palm. Leave small traces of red against his hand. He grit his teeth and lowered his head down in shame, his body tense and his arms quaking under the gravity of his situation.

He could barely walk, he could not summon his keyblade, he couldn't fight, and Aqua was alone to deal with a rampaging Xehanort and it was all his fault.

Ventus was transformed into a weapon of mass destruction and it was all his fault.

He left home and stole a princess' heart and it was all his fault.

Eraqus was dead and it was all his fault.

He gave into the darkness that had settled in his heart, and it was all his fault.

Terra didn't notice that his arm was slipping on the slick mud and he was stretched further out, nor did he feel the cool wet dirt against his forehead as he sunk down into the ground. Deeper into the dirt as he found himself at fault for all the horrible things that have transpired since he left home.

His eyes held tightly shut and his hands quivering in absolute despair as he barked out a wail of devastation. The kind that would split bark from trees if he got any closer, and would crack windows if he held the note for too long.

His vocal cord shredded at the noise he bellowed out, his throat ached in pain while his tears squeezed out of the corners of his eyes and traced down his cheeks in an ever flowing river of defeat down his face.

His body ached with every vibration of his cry and he tucked his elbows toward his knees. He curled in a position of agonizing loss against the dirt. He felt helpless, and he felt hopeless.

"I failed them." He broke out in a fit of hushed whimpering, his lip quivering and his hand clawing into the dirt as though he were attempting to start digging and pulling it into a taut fist. The power and strength behind the fist made the bones in his hands snap and pop, his arm trembling as he stared into the dirt. Seeing the dark reflection of his broken hearted face. The face of a man who lost everything that he ever loved.

The mud that clung to his hand was squeezed out between his fingers and plopped onto the ground, before he chased it with a fist that slammed hard into the dirt and kicked up a small burst of murky water and mud. His chopped and incoherent whimpers turned into growls of untethered rage as he did so.

The anger he felt for being responsible for the loss of his family overwhelmed him, and he sent two more bone shattering punches into the dirt before he noticed that glimmer of golden light shine in the reflection in the murky water.

He stopped mid-fist cock and froze. He fell back into it again, he called upon the darkness once more. Just like he always did.

He sat back onto his haunches and stared up into the morning sky. The ever clear, cloudless blue above him. Letting a few deep chested sighs in and out as he mellowed out the wild pace of his heart and his unfocused and rapid breathing. He couldn't do it again. He wouldn't do it again.

That darkness that he had tried so hard to contain, reared its ugly head once again. So easily, so effortlessly. A few more breaths and that spark of yellow faded back into his typically sullen blue.

He rose unsteadily to his feet, and turned towards Cinderella, nodding his head and turning his attention back to the dirt. Staring at her dirt covered flats and her damp, blood stained apron. He needed to get back to his baseline. He needed to not freak out.

"Sorry, Cinderella." He whispered before he let out a short sigh. He took a moment to run a hand over his face and into brown locks, feeling the need to address the issue and take measured steps to prevent that from happening again. He was currently 'grounded' for the time being and he needed to not fall into a despair hole. He needed to be focused and ready. It's what Eraqus would want him to do. What he trained him to do. "I am having a difficult time."

"What happened Terra?" Cinderella asked, gently approaching him and letting her fingers trace the edges of his cheek and his chin. Ignoring the mud that he let cling to his face and clump his hair together. His strong jaw clenched at the sensation of her fingertips and his eyes closed to savor the moment of kindness. He hesitantly raised his hand and rested it along her knuckles, giving her a weak smile. His hands gave her a light squeeze as he eased his breathing. "Talk to me."

"I lost. " Was all he could muster the strength to say.

Cinderella fixed the plates for breakfast without issue. The meal this morning was whipped together in a hurry, there wasn't a second wasted on garnish or presentation. Terra was still in the groundskeeper's quarters attempting to rest, and Cinderella knew that he was going to start attempting to re-stitch his own wound if she wasn't fast enough. She knew he would.

The meal was made up of hot oats, fresh cut fruit and piping hot tea. It took some maneuvering to get up the stairs with all three plates and three cups of tea in record time but she did so as she had done every morning for years. Without issue and seamlessly, albeit much faster than usual.

She gave each plate and beverage to the Stepsisters without attempting to engage the typical banter she would helplessly attempt to try every morning. The wicked sisters took the meals thanklessly as they did every morning and went about their daily routine without a word of thanks to the blonde sister. As per usual.

However, due to the tardiness of this meal, they added an unnecessary cruelness to their typical plan.

Drizella slammed the door in their servant's face shortly after Cinderella handed off the meal. Anastasia was sitting up in her bed and waved Cinderella off without a word spoken. Eyes focused on the corner of the room that Cinderella wasn't standing in.

It was painless and quick, Cinderella didn't let it bother her. It just meant she could get back to Terra sooner.

Cinderella mentally prepared for the worst as she held her breath upon approaching Mistress Tremaine's room with the last meal. She opened the door with her nose held high and her shoulders unburdened. She couldn't show any weakness. Not an ounce of it.

The room that belonged to her stepmother was this violet wallpaper, drably decorated room. It was unapproachable and uninviting, constantly dark and unwelcoming in its aura. The massive window curtains were pulled aside, letting the morning sun peak through the thin drapery and dimly light up the room. Which served to highlight and emphasize the shadows, not beat them back. Her bed was massive, being several cots wide with a deep purple canopy along the head of the mattress. The stepmother sat up against the headboard, hands resting on her lap as she gently pets her feline's back and along his tail. Waiting patiently for her meal.

Cinderella walks towards the nightstand and leaves the breakfast along the table top and takes a step back. Her hands folding behind her back as she meets her stepmother's stare. Those devilish eyes of hers cutting into the blonde. She waited to be dismissed.

It felt like hours passed, those sky blue eyes focused on Tremaine's moss green. Neither one of them refused to look away. Eventually, one of them had to speak.

"Cinderella," Madame Tramaine spoke, the air in the room chilling immediately as she continued to pet her cat. Lucifer's muzzle showing off a smug grin and fiendish glare, as much as a cat could muster anyway. "What were you thinking when you dragged that man out of the mud and let him bleed all over our bed sheets? Explain yourself."

Cinderella had to act fast, and she fashioned up an excuse that would be the perfect way to ensure that Terra gets the assistance he needs without issue. Just a few egos need to be stroked for it to come to pass.

"I thought I saw a man who was in need of assistance, and thought it would bring a great honor upon the name of Tremaine and her gracious and hospitable daughters to offer rest and care for the weary and those that need it most." Cinderella stated with a gracious smile and a sureness to her tone. "After all, we can't have your name sullied because a man decided to crash in our forest. It would be most unbecoming to not be a gracious host."

"Indeed. Well, we must be gracious hosts. We mustn't let our treasured guest feel unwanted or felt to be a burden. Shan't we?" Tremaine asked with a slow nodding of the head and devious look in her eye. Her typical biting tone eased into a mellow and soft spoken cadence. Not unlike she would have whenever she were in the company of those she wanted to impress. This made Cinderella's arms prick and sent a shiver down her spine. Not that her face ever gave way to show that she was perturbed. The older glanced over the stone faced and properly mannered blonde girl, before letting out a sharp breath and easing her shoulders. "Next time you decide to act on behalf of the family, be sure to consult the family."

"Yes, ma'am." Cinderella nodded, before being dismissed with a wave of the hand. Cinderella began marching out of the bedroom with even step and measured breath. And as soon as Cinderella had shut the door, bolted out of the house and back towards the courtyard. Her feet carried her to the groundskeeper's shack and shoving it open. Ready to bloody her hands once more for his sake.

She happened upon Terra, who was struggling to ease back into his compressed shirt to look properly dressed, his face contorted in pain and succeeded over the last ten minutes to get a single arm shoved into a sleeve. The hem of the shirt was barely held by his wrapped hand, his eyes darting to the door. Cinderella felt her eyes go wide, her sight darting to the bulging muscle of his bent arm before she turned her vision to the floor. Her cheeks are getting rosy and her heart is beginning to race.

"I apologize, I needed to make sure you were ok. I assumed you would be resting." She noted with a hand covering her eyes, mentally having prepared herself to walk in on Terra with half the stitches undone and bleeding wildly. Terra huffed, shrugging and letting the shirt slip off of his arm and land onto the dusty floor. "What are you doing?"

"I was trying to get dressed, but I can't get the shirt back on." Terra noted, glancing over at Cinderella with a weak smile and a squint to his right eye. Noticing just now that she was avoiding staring at him and his bare torso. "What's wrong? Make you nervous?"

"I should say not!" Cinderella giggled at his light teasing before walking over to the footlocker at the end of the bed, eyes still faced away from Terra as she opened it up and combed through the belongings of the last groundskeeper. A portly man with a pension for drinking most of his pay, he left in the middle of the night with a hen and some cutlery. He swore he was drunk and he would pay the family back when he got the money, but that wasn't important at the moment. She found a dark gray button up shirt, missing the last few buttons along the bottom, and handed it off to Terra without taking another peek. Terra's fingers traced along her knuckles purposefully, reminding her that he was still in the room, before taking the shirt and easing into it carefully. While the man's gut certainly stretched out the front of the shirt, the shoulders were perfectly snug, not too tight and allowed Terra to slip into the arms without issue. "Let me know if it fits, please!"

Terra's thoughts returned to his friends, his eyes falling to the floor as he began to work out a strategy. A piece of his heart ached, making a tremor run down his arm. He couldn't rely on Aqua to be the planner now, he needed to make the game plan for himself now.

"I can't summon my keyblade. So, no glider. No leaving the world. It's been literal hours since Aqua and Ven could possibly still be fighting, so Light knows if they are. Whatever happened, it's done with." Terra's thoughts echoed as he turned to the window and saw the morning sun break through the shade of the tree line. Painting the courtyard in a beam of golden light. "If they had lost, then these worlds would have begun to fall to Darkness. No way would Xehanort begin his conquest by not damning the Princess' worlds first."

Terra's thoughts were halted when he tried to button the shirt with his badly bandaged hand, looking more like a lobster claw covered in gauze. It took some dexterity, but he managed to start buttoning the shirt with a single hand.

"I can't leave this world. That much is certain for now. That leaves me with so few options of what to do now. Aqua? What would you want me to do?" Terra recalled a camping trip with Aqua and Ventus for his fifteen birthday, and one of the things she constantly told Ven was that if he got lost, he was to stay put and wait for help. Terra recalled telling her that, 'staying and waiting' was stupid advice and that Ventus could just not get lost. Aqua rebuffed him stating that they had to plan for the worst and gave everyone a whistle for said worst. Terra remembered calling it ridiculous and keeping his tucked in his pocket the entire trip, even if he keeps that same whistle in his nightstand drawer back home. Terra weakly smiled, remembering how fun that trip was. Back when life felt better. Felt easier. Turns out Aqua was right, eventually. Staying and waiting would be the best plan now.

"My best bet is to stay here and continue to try to get my Keyblade back. Then head on home when I can. Aqua would be home by now anyways, hopefully with Ven in tow. Maybe she would think I can't be dead and start searching for me. Start world hopping? Sit and wait. She'll hopefully find me and we can regroup and figure out our next step from there…" Terra nodded gently to himself, casting a glance over at Cinderella. Her shoulders were tight, her feet nearly locked together, her eyes focused on the ground. Her hand vibrated as she fought to not sneak a peek at her barely clothed Keyblade Wielder. Terra smirked, shaking his head with some enjoyment that he made her so flustered. "I need to heal and get a hold of myself. I can't keep falling back into Darkness. Not again. Worst case scenario and Xehanort is out there with this X-Blade in hand and Aqua is dead, I need to be in fighting form. First, get healed in the body. Second, get healed in the mind. Third, either get my Keyblade back or wait for Aqua to start world hopping looking for me."

The few buttons that were still on the shirt were thumbed into their respective holes and Terra's hands cuffed the long sleeves along his thick and firm forearms. The bottom three buttons were popped off due to the man's more expanded stomach and the top two were busted because apparently the man liked his shirts loose around the collar. This left Terra wearing a shirt with the quarter of the buttons undone, leaving a noticeable gap at the end of his abdomen and the top buttons snapped off. Leaving the top quarter of his chest bare and open for the world to see. The center of his sternum and collar open, showing off his partially covered pecs and his collarbone and thick neck.

His hands began smoothing out the front of the shirt and letting it hang loose against his form. Outside of the bandages along his neck, face and his hands, the most obscene damage was hidden underneath his unfurled pants legs or the new shirt. He looked almost approachable.

"Thanks, Cinderella." Terra noted, tapping her shoulder with his least bandaged hand and bringing her to face him. She turned to meet his somber blue eyes and felt instant relief. He appeared to be in better spirits, and her heart hammered in her chest when she realized that they were so close to one another. "I really appreciate it."

"Well," She said with a beaming smile and a fluttering of the eyes. Her sights bounced between his soft lips and his captivating eyes. She reached up and twisted the corners of his collared shirt, staring at the veins that effortlessly bulged along his neck. A passing thought of pressing her lips against the thick vein did occur once or five times. "It seems only fair. You saved me, so I saved you. We are even. For now ."

"Oh, for now? She says." Terra said with a grunt and a wicked smirk, rubbing his chin whilst staring at her from her deep blue eyes and her warm smile down to her dirty flats and back up again. Breathing in her form and humming out a wistful groan. The kind that rumbled in his throat and made her chest tighten. Even with shortly being on death's doorstep, he was so handsome. "Think we won't stay even?"

"I guess we'll have to find out." Cinderella scrunched her nose and stared into his eyes. Rolling onto the tips of her toes to come even close to eye level with him, only to reach his chin despite her attempt. He chuckled at the try, her lips pulled back into a teasing grin. They kept their eyes locked on one another, refusing to break their stare. "Won't we?"