Kingdom Hearts (c) to Disney and Square Enix!
My OCs (c) to me!
Chapter 26: Winter Night
"Aqua! Happy birthday!"
The young woman smiled as she walked into the embrace of her parents.
Terra and Ven stood back, watching with a smile.
"Aqua!" Nia came jogging over from her workshop, a soft smile on her face.
Her mother looked back at the boys. "And this must be Terra and Ven."
"Nice to meet you all."
"Nice to meet you too."
The woman smiled. "Come inside. We're just about to start cooking the feast."
"Start?"
Aqua nodded. "It's tradition for everyone to help with the cooking on these occasions. Though, mother, we might want to keep these two away from the kitchen. Don't want them to burn it down."
"Hey!"
"Our cooking isn't THAT bad!"
"A toast!" Kennard stood up, looking at his daughter. "To Aqua!"
Everyone raised their glass and took a sip.
Looking down at the table, they could see flatbread, salads, and cheese bread with an egg in the middle.
Not to mention the multiple cakes that waited back in the kitchen.
The meal, full of laughter and mirth, went on for hours.
"So much foooood!" Ven leaned back in his chair.
Endzela laughed. "Of course. On a birthday, you should be full in body and spirit."
"I believe it."
Nia laughed before looking to her parents. "Maybe we should start filling our spirits."
"I agree."
"That means," Aqua leaned over to her friends, "we tell stories and sing songs."
"Oooooh."
"That makes sense."
So, they all listened.
Listened as Kennard and Endzela recounted the tale of how they met.
Listened as Nia told the story of her first flight in an airship.
And then it came to the three.
"You know what," Ven smiled, whispering to his friends, "we should tell them a story from one of the worlds we went to."
"How about Cinderella?" Terra offered.
"I love it."
Ven spoke up, so everyone could hear him. "We're going to take turns telling a story of a girl we met. Her name was Cinderella."
So, Ven began the story first. Telling how he'd been the size of a mouse and helped her fix up her dress so she could attend the ball of her dreams.
Terra went next. Telling how her stepsisters had destroyed the dress, but the Fairy Godmother gave her a new one, and how she went to the ball and met the prince.
Aqua went last. Telling how Cinderella fled the ball, leaving behind a glass slipper. How the prince searched for her, and how Aqua helped them reunite.
"That's a beautiful story."
"It was."
After a few more stories, and a few more slices of cake, Nia began humming a song to herself.
"Nia…"
Aqua's sister smirked before she began to sing.
"Goldsmith Blacksmith, Goldsmith Blacksmith(1)
Bird Nal found a Goldsmith Blacksmith
Make me a gold bar Goldsmith"
Terra and Ven blinked at the unfamiliar lyrics, but Aqua took her sister's hand and sang along. "Ho da ho hoailolo harli haralo haralo,
Ho da ho hoailolo harli haralo haralo"
Endzela stood up, pulling her daughters into a dance as they sang.
"Goldsmith Blacksmith, Goldsmith Blacksmith,
Which would survive the Goldsmith Blacksmith,
Make me a Goldsmith Blacksmith.
Ho da ho hoailolo harli haralo haralo
Ho da ho hoailolo harli haralo haralo."
Kennard began to clap and sing along, and the boys joined in the clapping.
Smiling as Aqua danced.
Danced and sang into the night.
The next morning, they all met out at a frozen pond near the house.
The cold winter air pulling close around them.
"Are you sure the ice is thick enough, Mother?"
"It should be."
Aqua summoned her Keyblade. "I can make sure." Holding out her blade, she fired an ice spell at the pond, holding the spell to make a good coating of ice. "That should be perfect."
Pulling on a pair of skates, Ven sighed. "I don't know about this."
"It's not that hard." Nia stood up, her skates already on. "And I can't believe you two have been friends with Aqua for so long and she's never dragged you skating."
"Oh, I have. They just run away."
Terra wobbled as he stood up. "We didn't run. We're just not that good on skates, and we'd rather not embarrass ourselves."
"Well, no one will shame you here." Aqua's mother stepped onto the ice, immediately gliding across the slick surface.
Aqua and Nia followed.
Kennard stepped onto the ice next, not as gracefully as his wife and daughters.
Finally, Ven and Terra hobbled their way onto the ice.
Aqua skated over, taking their hands. "I've got you. Trust me."
"W-we trust you." Terra wobbled, grasping Aqua's hand.
Gently, she pulled them toward the middle of the pond.
Eventually, Ven pulled away.
He slowly skated alone, but seemed to get the hang of it.
Terra on the other hand-
"I'm going to fall."
"You're not going to fall." Aqua laughed, hooking her arm into his. "Just stay in step with me. I've got you."
Terra felt his face turn a bright shade of red, but he did as she said.
Endzela and Kennard, holding hands, looked over at the two of them.
"Perhaps our family will be growing soon."
"Perhaps it will."
I hope you enjoyed!
If you don't know, Aqua's homeworld is based on the Ghibli movie, "Castle in the Sky", and her family traditions are based on traditions from the country of Georgia.
Footnotes:
(1) This is the translation of a Georgian song called "Okromchedelo".