A/N: Quick note before we begin: I'm not entirely sure what Cinderella's Prince's name is, but the common census online seems to be "Henry", so that's what I'm going with. If I'm wrong, though, PM me and let me know. This chapter will also be slightly longer than the previous two, due to it following the plot of an actual movie, rather than an original scenario.
This chapter documents Kairi's adventure fighting Cinderella's nightmare, in the latter's heartscape modeled after Castle of Dreams, as the latter fights to regain her happy ending.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts in any, way, shape or form.
The following scenario is based on the movie "Cinderella III: A Twist in Time".
!~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~D~O~N~T~~W~A~K~E~~M~E~~U~P~!
Don't Wake Me Up
Chapter 4: Saudade
"The longing to be near someone or something that is distant."
~Destiny Islands, 10 Years Ago~
About a week or so later, Sora was forced to stay behind after school in order to complete some chores. Despite Kairi witnessing this for the first time, it was a normal occurence, according to Riku. And he was right; this wouldn't be the last time.
So today, it was only her and Riku on the play island. This was kind of a big deal for her, due to her reluctance to come between Sora and Riku's pre-existing friendship. There was also him being one year their senior, and being in the grade above them. He was kind of scary, and if not for him being one of the two boys who had found her that day, she'd be too afraid to approach him.
The two were sitting on the beach, watching the sun ever so lower in the sky with each passing minute. Kairi loved watching the sunsets on these islands; there was something calming about them.
Riku noted the content smile on her face, "What was it like? Your home, I mean?"
Her smile fell. "I don't know. I can't remember much, and the memories I do have are fuzzy at best." It would always bother her—how little she could recall about her homeworld.
"You were crying." She didn't doubt him, but she was still surprised by this. "Sora said that he felt your hurt." A deep pause. "I'm sorry. Whatever happened had to be painful."
She felt herself slip a soft smile, as she eased up a bit. "It's okaty. And thank you for showing me your secret hideout. I know it was a big deal for you guys. Showing me something that special, I mean." She was being genuine; she appreciated their kindness.
She had realized earlier that, while Sora was easy to befriend, thanks to his outgoing and extroverted nature, befriending Riku was going to be more of a challenge, due to his mature and introverted personality. She'd have to do so when Sora wasn't around. This moment here, with just her and Riku on the play island, was the perfect chance.
Riku was the one who justifiably got an adult when he and Sora had found her that night, and according to Sora, Riku was also the one who suggested that they befriend Kairi upon seeing that she could use some company. He was a good person, but he scared her, because he and Sora were already friends before meeting her. And while Sora didn't seem to mind, she didn't know if Riku felt the same way.
"You're welcome," he replied. "You're our friend now, so it's only fair."
Her voice was quiet and her smile was gone as she asked him, "It's...hard for you to make friends...isn't it?"
He paused, making her fear that she had said something wrong. That is, until he finally answered, just as quiet, "Yeah. Sora and I are polar opposites. He's like the sun."
"He is, isn't he?" Kairi couldn't help but giggle.
"Yeah, and I'm not," Riku replied, and Kairi could see the ghost of a smile on his face. He then turned to her, "Listen, I know you feel like you're forcing me and Sora apart. And trust me, I get why. I mean, Sora and I have been friends since our diaper days. Our parents were friends way back in high school, and on these islands, friendships like that last for a lifetime. Sora's my brother." Her smile returned at that, but she remained silent. "But nothing could ever ruin the connection we have. You're not ruining anything, Kairi. You're changing things, yes, but I feel the same way about Sora as I always have—a younger brother who still has some growing up to do."
"But you can't expect things to stay the same," Kairi began, but she trailed off, not sure how to word her feelings.
"I'm not expecting things to stay the same," Riku told her, already knowing what she wanted to say. "Like I said, you're definitely shaking up the status quo. We don't normally get newcomers. Then there's the fact that you came here by a meteor shower. Then there's your pale skin and unusual eyes and hair. Then there's your memory problem–"
Kairi impatiently cut him off, hanging her head, "I get it, okay?! I'm different! There's no need to tell me something I already know." She already hated her standing out from the crowd.
If Riku didn't at least suspect that she was insecure about being the newcomer before this, he definitely knew now. He was quiet as he told her, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I didn't know it was a sore subject." He did now. He continued on his original track, "Anyway, you may be changing some things, but mine and Sora's friendship isn't one of them. Bonds don't magically disappear just because a new friend joins the group. They can change, but they don't just go away. I don't regret becoming your friend, Kairi. At all. Actually, I feel better with you around."
A light blush crossed her face, "R-Really?"
"Yeah," Riku explained. "Maybe Sora won't get into as much trouble if you're keeping an eye on him too. Especially since I'm a year older and grade above both of you, so I won't be there all the time."
Kairi smiled at him, "You can count on me. However, it's only fair that I keep an eye on you too."
"Me? But I'm not a troublemaker," Riku asked, before realizing what she just did. Her first use of sarcasm. "Oh, I see what you did there." She just offered him an angelic smile, one that said 'What? I'm innocent'. He just smirked, "Cheeky, huh? You're fun."
The two shared a liberating laugh—the first one as official friends—before a wave crashed up on shore very near them. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, because it was the beach, but this time, it appeared that the high tide was about to come in. The duo's knees were the only things that got wet, and they both scooted back farther from the water line.
This wave had also brought something to her. When that something hit her knee, Kairi reached down and picked it up.
"What is this?" She asked. It was small, with blue and sandy yellow on one side, and pink and the same sandy yellow on the other.
He and Sora were getting used to her asking these types of questions, and they didn't mind at all. "A seashell. They're quite common considering we're at a beach," Riku answered, before noticing what kind of shell she was holding. "Oh, that's a thalassa shell," he explained. "I've never actually seen one of those in person. They're very rare."
"It's beautiful," Kairi said, rather awestruck. "Am I allowed to keep it?"
"If you want."
And that's how Kairi began her seashell-collecting hobby.
A couple hours later, the sun was starting to set, meaning it was time to go back to the main island and home for dinner. As they were on the dock waiting for Riku's dad to take them back, with her thalassa shell in her hand, she asked him one more question, "Riku? You know the door in the Secret Place?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"The keyhole in the center..." she went quiet. "What is that for?" This would always bother her, even after learning what it was.
His response surprised her, "You can see it too?" She turned to him, stunned, but nodded. "I thought I was the only one... But then, why only us?"
Kairi could only shrug, not sure of the answer, whatever it was.
Truth be told, she had no memory of what happened, but the feelings she had gained from the experience still lingered. Her mind may not have remembered, but her heart did. Even if she never found out why, she knew for certain that the door in the Secret Place should never be opened...
"Don't worry, Kairi," Riku's voice was at a whisper. "We'll make sure it stays shut."
Her smile, despite being soft, nearly blinded him.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~Present Day~
Anastasia didn't think it was fair. Cinderella got the man of every girl's dreams and now she got to live in the palace, living in luxury while she and Drizella had to do all the chores they once forced Cinderella to do.
As she brought over a stack of dirty dishes to the sink, she heard Drizella curse and mutter, "I broke a nail again!"
What was the use of doing your nails, then? Anastasia mentally asked her sister. What was the point when one gets broken every single day? The only people who see you are me and our mother!
It had been a year, and all three ladies were miserable. Not once had they been invited to a ball, or a party, or even for tea.
Where was her happily ever after? Where was the Prince who would marry her?
"I think it suits you," Anastasia quipped as she began sweeping the floor.
Drizella growled, "Why you!" and lunged at her sister, sending them both out the nearby door and outside where the chickens were.
The two sisters were about to continue their fight when they heard a familiar voice in the distance say, "Give me your hand."
The two turned to see Prince Henry and Cinderella riding horses together.
Anastasia lost her will to fight as she watched the two lovebirds ride away together. When would someone love her like that? When would someone take her around the world, take her to places she's never been?
"Hey, let's follow them," Drizella suddenly said. Anastasia looked at her in surprise, but she didn't get a chance to answer, because Drizella was suddenly pulling her along.
The two sisters followed Henry and Cinderella deep into the forest, which was glowing with magic. Hiding behind a couple of trees, the duo eavesdropped on the following conversation.
An old woman in baby blue robes and a mouse had set up a gazebo and a banquet for Henry and Cinderella. "Surprise!" the two said.
"Happy One-Year Anniversary, Cinda-relly!" the mouse cheered.
"Thank you, Jaq," Cinderella said with a kind smile. "And thank you, Fairy Godmother. It's wonderful."
"You're welcome, dear. Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!" the old woman replied, waving her wand and making magic swirl around the couple, placing them in their formal clothes. "All touched up with some magic, just like that night I sent you to the ball."
"So that's how she did it," Drizella muttered. "Magic!" Anastasia could only nod.
The two lovebirds began dancing, like they did that night.
Anastasia quipped softly, "I wonder if that old lady has a wand that she could spare."
The two sisters suddenly started before turning their heads to look at each other. Both had the same idea.
"Let us celebrate!" the blue-robed lady said, waving her arms. Suddenly, the two sisters got their chance when the wand came flying out of her sleeve and landed right next to Anastasia's foot.
The two sisters share another glance, before Drizella picked up the wand and led her sister all the way back home.
The sky was darkened by the time they got back to the chateau. Lady Tremaine was on the front porch, having tea like she didn't have any worries. They two would have envied her if not for what they just discovered.
"Mother! Mother!"
Lady Tremaine glanced up from her tea to see her two daughters running towards her, with something long and white in Drizella's hands.
"Where have you two been?" the woman asked. "Slacking off?"
"No, Mother!" Anastasia said. "Our troubles are over!"
Drizella held up the object in her hands, "Look!"
"A stick?" Lady Tremaine questioned. "What for? To beat you with?"
"No, not a stick!" Drizella corrected. "A magic wand!"
"We saw this nutty old woman and zap!" Anastasia explained. "She gave Cinderella the beautiful gown and, oh, the Prince."
Lady Tremaine was quiet, until she quipped, "Perhaps I loaded you two with too much housework." Their mother thought they were crazy.
"We'll prove it to you!" Drizella said. "What were those words she used again?"
"Wappity-pappity-poo?" Anastasia offered. She couldn't remember, but she did know that it was a rhyme of some sort. "Skip-skip-scadoo?"
"No, that's not it!" Drizella muttered. "Oh! I remember! Bibbidi-bobbidi..."
Lady Tremaine turned to leave, clearly thinking her daughters were crazy, until she heard an unfamiliar voice ring out from the treeline.
"Oh! There it is!" It was the same old woman from the forest, the one the wand belonged to in the first place. "Child, put that down!" She walked over to Drizella and gently grabbed the wand. "In the wrong hands, that wand could be extremely dangerous! Now, give it back to me, you silly, little goose!"
"No way, Grandma!" Drizella shot back, and the two started a tug of war over it. "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!" A string of magic shot out from the wand and hit their cat Lucifer, who had the displeasure of being turned into a goose.
There was a beat of silence, as the Fairy Godmother began to realize the gravity of the situation, "Look what you've done. Now give me back my wand."
"No, we need it, you silly old garden gnome!" Drizella cried. "Bibbido-bobbidi-boo!"
There was a sudden bright flash of light that made Drizella, her sister, and her mother all cover their eyes. When it faded, the old woman stood where she was before, except she was now completely turned to stone. Just like a garden gnome.
"Woah..." Drizella muttered.
So that was how the magic worked...
As Drizella stood in awe over what she had done, Anastasia approached the statue and began tapping it, "Hello? Hello, hello, Grandma?" No response. "Uh-oh." They had actually turned an old lady into a statue. She then quietly said, "I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." They also stole her wand.
Drizella was too awestruck by the power of the wand in her hand to feel any guilt or notice her sister's, while Lady Tremaine simply ignored it all and walked over to Drizella. Taking the wand from her, she said, "So this is how Cinderella did it. What delicious irony. Do you realize what this means, girls?"
"Yes! No more laundry!" Drizella cried.
Lady Tremaine groaned, "No, it means power, riches, revenge."
Anastasia gasped, sounding almost like she didn't want to believe it, "We could rewrite her happy ending and give it to us instead!"
"Exactly," Lady Tremaine replied, before raising the wand and chanting, "Now, Cinderella, to undo your trickery and take what's rightfully ours, I call upon all the forces of the universe! Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo! Reverse the moon and sun, turn back tide and time, unravel Cinderella's happily ever after to the moment my troubles began!"
The nearby clock gave a powerful chime as a light enveloped all of them...
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
Kairi arrived within Cinderella's heartscape to be instantly greeted by what sounded like a whispered argument. She hid in the shadows at the top of the staircase within the chateau Cinderella used to live in, as she eavesdropped on—but did not see—the following conversation, amid Drizella's gleeful "It fits! It fits!"
"You look confused, dear." Lady Tremaine? As in Cinderella's stepmother?
Cinderella was confused, and rightfully so. According to her memories, things weren't supposed to play out this way.
"How could the slipper have fit Drizella? I danced with the Prince. That was my slipper." Cinderella replied, and Kairi heard some fabric rustling. "See? I have the other one."
"You may have danced with him," Lady Tremaine said. "You may even have thought it was love. But the slipper fits Drizella, and that's who he's marrying. Whatever you think happened last night was a dream."
There was a beat of silence, and Kairi felt Cinderella's heart all around her fracture at the same moment the sound of shattering glass reached Kairi's ears. Lady Tremaine had taken the glass slipper Cinderella had held onto and smashed it along with Cinderella's hopes and dreams.
The old lady leaned in and threatened Cinderella with this, "I don't care where you go or what you do, but you stay away from the palace. Stay away from the Prince. Oh and...clean up that broken glass." Those were the final words of the conversation before the front doors slammed shut.
Kairi came out of hiding as soon as those doors closed, "Cinderella?" She could see and feel that Cinderella was trying her best not to cry. Trying and failing miserably.
The blonde turned around at the familiar, yet unexpected voice, "Kairi? What are you doing here?"
"Saving you," Kairi said, deciding that honesty was best here. Right off the bat, Cinderella's heart was already fractured pretty bad. "You called out to the rest of us."
"Saving me?" There was a pause, before Kairi felt sudden understanding from the other. "I see. This is a nightmare."
"A very real one," Kairi added. "One that could kill you."
"I know," Cinderella said as she reached into the supply closet and pulled out a broom. "I can sense both Snow White and Aurora's χ-blade fragments within you." She sighed. "So this is a nightmare...but it feels so real."
"Because it is, in a sense," Kairi replied, before taking the broom from Cinderella's hands and began cleaning up the shattered glass slipper herself. She did this because she could feel Cinderella practically forcing herself to clean up the symbol of her now broken dreams. She didn't want to—because that would be admitting defeat—but her stepmother ordered her to. Kairi continued, "Someone put you to sleep."
Someone with a powerful darkness that Kairi still could not name.
Before Cinderella could respond, a mouse slid down the stair railing. "Cinda-relly? What a-happened? I heard glass break!"
"Oh, Jaq!" Cinderella suddenly cried out as she fell to her knees in despair. "It's awful! Lady Tremaine, she somehow was able to get Drizella's foot to fit the glass slipper! Now, Prince Henry will marry her instead of me!"
"What?! How is that possible?!" Jaq was startled. "We must tell him the truth!"
"No," Cinderella's response was surprising, both for Jaq and for Kairi. "It's alright. I suppose I'll just have to live my life with a broken heart from now on. Perhaps it was nothing more than a dream."
But that would kill her, Kairi mentally objected. Things only got better for Snow White and Aurora once they chose to start fighting back. She couldn't let the worst case scenario happen to Cinderella, so she was quick to jump in.
"No, it wasn't," Kairi replied, as she knelt down in front of her elder. The blonde's sad blue eyes met Kairi's determined indigo orbs. "It was real. Those feelings you had that night were real. You know that. I know that you believe Snow White and Aurora just gave up, but they didn't. I have their fragments because they chose to accept their fates, yet they still fought to achieve their happy ending. They still helped me turn their nightmares back into dreams. Please, Cinderella. Don't give up so easily. That's not you."
Jaq didn't know what Kairi was talking about, but she knew Cinderella did. Cinderella knew that Lady Tremaine had found some way of reversing time and making it so she was victorious rather than her step-daughter. Cinderella knew that the light within her was what allowed to her to retain her memories of how it was supposed to be (that was how she even remembered who Kairi was at all).
Despite not fully being in the loop, Jaq immediately jumped in with, "She's right, Cinda-relly! Princey knows he danced with you last night! There must-a be some way to tell him!"
Kairi smiled when she felt Cinderella's heart began to warm up and beat with a rhythm that said, 'Fight, fight, fight!', over and over. She smiled because it gave her hope.
Cinderella would regain her happy ending, and Kairi would help you.
"You're right, both of you," the blonde replied, as she let Kairi help her to her feet. "Henry does know. Perhaps if he sees my face again, he'll remember."
"Then, let's-a go!" Jaq cheered as he climbed into Cinderella's apron pocket. He then turned to Kairi. "By the way, it's nice to meet you. My name-a Jaq!"
"Kairi. It's nice to meet you too."
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
Kairi escorted Cinderella all the way to the castle, fending off Nightmares with the aid of Destiny's Embrace. The blonde had a twinge of familiarity at the sight of the redhead's keyblade, but she said nothing.
When faced with the guards, Kairi was fortunate that Nightmares began appearing within the castle, allowing her to enter it under the (correct) guise of her being here to eliminate them. Cinderella, meanwhile, was able to get in under guise of being the royal animal control, with Jaq and other mouse friends playing along by sneaking into the castle and causing a ruckus, thus allowing Cinderella to easily get past the guards in order to catch him.
Once inside, they all split up to find the Prince faster, all under their respective disguises. Due to his smaller size, Jaq snuck through all the castle's nooks and crannies. He managed to locate Prince Henry in the Exercise Room of the palace, fencing with his father. The two watched the following from the rafters.
"But, Dad–" Henry began.
"Those aren't reasons!" the King replied, as their swords clashed. "Breeding, refinement! These are the reasons to marry someone. Not their choice in transparent footwear!" He then pushed his son away from him and grabbed a pear from a nearby bowl. But before he could take a bite, Henry stabbed the fruit with his sword. "Ooh! Nice parry."
"Thanks," Henry replied, before the two continued their duel. "It's not about the slipper. It's the girl wearing the slipper. She was...Well, she was..." The duel was put on pause.
The King got rather impatient, "She was what?"
"Well, she was the one," Henry revealed. "I know it."
The King lunged forward, and the duel went on, "You think there's only one woman in the kingdom who wears a size four and a half?"
"It's all I have to go on here," Henry pointed out. She never gave him her name.
The King groaned, "Oh, poppycock!"
Henry lunged forward and finally disarmed his father, "You remember when you met Mom? You said the first time you touched her hand...you just knew...instantly."
The King was giving the nearby portrait of the Queen a lovestruck look. "Mmm, yes. The stars were brighter that night." The Queen had passed on a while back. Her husband and son really missed her, and she was well-loved by the entire kingdom.
"Dad, you found true love," Henry finished. "That's all I want."
A bugle outside suddenly sounded, a sound that made Henry excited.
"Oh! They found her!" He exclaimed, as he dashed out the room. Jaq was quick to follow him.
Their tailing led them to a hallway where Lady Tremaine, Drizella, and Anastasia were taking seats, with the Grand Duke telling them, "Now, if you ladies would please have a seat, the Prince will be right with you."
All of a sudden, the doors opened to reveal an ecstatic Prince Henry, who entered the hallway with a gleeful smile on his face. Drizella had an equally excited smile on her face, and she bowed to him, "My Prince!"
But Henry's smile fell in disappointment.
"Your Highness," Lady Tremaine bowed to him.
"Oh, hello," Henry stuttered. "Am I in the right room? Of course, I'm in the right room. Um...well there–...There seems to be...a little mix-up here."
This was where Drizella's smile fell as well, as her mother spoke up, "I assure you, Your Highness, the slipper fits my daughter's foot."
"Yes!" Drizella held out her foot that wore the glass slipper. "See? See? How could you miss it?"
"Oh, yeah, I see," Henry replied. "It's just that I was expecting...well, someone else." Drizella quickly glanced at her mother. "I really do feel awful about this."
"But the royal proclamation declared–" Lady Tremaine began.
Henry cut her off, "Yes, but it would appear that, uh, more than one girl actually fits the...the slipper." He cleared his throat. "I'm very sorry to have inconvenienced you. Uh...Why don't I have the Grand Duke to escort you home safely?" He missed Drizella's sigh of dismay. "If you'll please excuse me."
Up above, Jaq sighed in relief as Prince Henry walked towards the doors. He still had his memories and sanity. There was still hope.
However, Lady Tremaine shared one last glance at Drizella before pulling out the wand she had stolen, "You will forget who you danced with at the ball, and marry the girl who fits the slipper...tonight. Bibbido-bobbidi-boo."
A burst of magic shot out of the wand and directly hit Henry while his back was turned. His eyes glowed a sickly green before he turned around, back to the three ladies with his attitude having done a complete reversal.
"Wait. Hold the trumpet!" He exclaimed. "It's all coming back. It is you."
Jaq gasped in surprise at this turn of events. He had seen everything from his high vantage point, and he couldn't believe it.
Henry walked up to Drizella, "Please tell me your name."
"It's...Drizella."
Henry sighed, "Drizella...Well, I–...I know it's sudden, but," he got down on one knee and took out a small box from his back pocket and opened it, "will you marry me?"
He barely got the question out when Drizella leapt forward and snatched the ring from him, "Yes! Yippee!" She was so excited, she fell backward in her chair. She cheered until her mother cleared her throat, and Drizella immediately collected herself and calmly said, "I mean, yes. Definitely yes. I will marry you."
Lady Tremaine stepped in front of her daughter, promptly seizing her chance to take charge, "Excellent. The ceremony will take place tonight. I trust that meets with your approval, sire."
Henry smiled, "The sooner the better."
"Splendid," Lady Tremaine replied. "Then tonight we will have a new princess."
"Wonderful," Henry turned to leave the room. "I'll go tell my father."
As he left the room, Jaq, still hiding in the rafters began to panic, "Not good! I have to find Cinda-relly and Kai-Kai!"
All the while, Anastasia stewed in silent jealousy. Why did her mother pick Drizella over her?
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
Kairi had just chased down and defeated a Nightmare that was about to sneak up on Cinderella. "You never seem to stay out of trouble, do you?" Kairi quietly asked with a smile.
"All I am doing is my job as the 'royal animal control'," Cinderella smiled back, holding up the net she borrowed from the storage closet. "Have you found him yet?"
"No," Kairi replied. "Due to the presence of the Nightmares, I have free reign all about the castle, but it's not helping. You?"
Cinderella shook her head. "I have find him before it's too late." Meaning, before the Prince married the wrong girl or Cinderella's heart broke beyond repair. Cinderella glanced up at Kairi, only to see the redhead staring off into space. "Kairi?" She waved a hand over the younger's face.
"He's here," Kairi whispered, nodding her head at something behind Cinderella.
The blonde turned her head and immediately gasped in excitement, before smiling. It was Prince Henry, walking down the hallway to go meet his father, the King. Just as Kairi expected, Cinderella immediately raced after him.
"Your Highness!" She exclaimed. He stopped and turned around to look at who had called out to him.
"Yes?"
"Hello," Cinderella giggled.
"Um...hello."
"It's wonderful to see you again."
"Um...I'm sorry, have we met?" Henry asked.
Cinderella appeared to have expected this. She didn't seem all that fazed by such a question, "I believe we danced last night at the ball." Cinderella's grip had loosened up by this point, causing the net she was holding to fall to the floor.
Henry chuckled as they both bent over to pick it up, "Well, uh...maybe you've mistaken me for some other prince."
Cinderella was oddly calm, "I don't think so. You are quite the dancer."
The two touched the net at the same time, causing Prince Henry to trail off, "Well, it wasn't just me. It was the lady I was..." his eyes turned a sickly green, "...dancing with."
"Oh, Your Highness, you see–"
He cut her off, "As a matter of fact, I'm gonna marry her."
Cinderella was excited, "Marry? Really?"
"Yes! Tonight." He seemed just as delighted as she was.
"Tonight?" she questioned, trying to calm her enthusiasm after feeling Kairi send her a wordless warning that it might be false hope.
"Once you dance with someone like Drizella, you don't want to waste any time."
And there it was. The bombshell that made Cinderella's heart fracture more. "D-Did you say Drizella?"
"Yes." He didn't seem to notice her joy turn into shock and sorrow.
"But..."
"Well, I guess I better be going," Henry said. "I've got to tell my father."
"But that's not right..." she muttered as he turned to leave.
"I'm sorry?" He turned back to her.
Unfortunately, before Cinderella could explain, the head mistress of the castle—the one who had to be convinced with disguises in the first place—arrived on the scene. She already had a solid grip on Kairi's shoulders and she was walking towards Cinderella, "You there. Royal animal control! I need you two this..." The head mistress paused when she noticed the Prince standing there too, "Oh. Oh, I'm sorry, Your Grace. I didn't realize..."
"I was the one..." Cinderella mumbled, still in shock.
"I need them both this instant. Please excuse us, Your Highness?" the head mistress said.
"Please. I'm sorry, just one moment," Cinderella quietly pleaded.
Henry was quick to reply, "No, no, no. Of course, I can see you're busy. I'll... I'll let you go." And he turned to walk away as Cinderella was deep in a cloud of hurt and disbelief. She wanted nothing more in that moment than for him to hear her out.
"But... it was me," Kairi heard Cinderella whisper as the head mistress escorted both girls away.
But the head mistress was now all-business, as she was telling both Princesses, "I want this castle completely vermin-free in time for the wedding."
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
Cinderella was inconsolable. She and Kairi were placed in the cellar after their unfortunate encounter with Prince Henry in order to keep an eye out for those 'vermin'.
"This is terrible," the blonde sobbed. "There's nothing I can do now. It's my worst nightmare. I worked hard to achieve my dream, only for it to break apart so easily!" Kairi placed a gentle, comforting hand on her shoulder, and Cinderella only acknowledged this gesture with a simple sigh.
"Cinda-relly! Kai-Kai!" came Jaq's voice from the nearest wall. The two turned to see Jaq coming to a stop in front of them. "We found Princey!"
"We did too," Cinderella replied, solemn. "But he doesn't even know who I am."
"No, no, no!" Jaq replied, hurriedly. "It's a magic!"
"A what?" Kairi started, now on edge.
"Fairy Godmother's wand!" Jaq exclaimed. "Stepmother stole it! Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo! Now she's in control!"
"She used a magic spell to make him forget who you are," Kairi explained to Cinderella.
"That does explain it," Cinderella replied, "but there's nothing I can do! My stepmother's in control!" She paused. "Cruel, isn't it? All that hard work, only for it to be broken down with one simple wave of a magic wand. And now, he knows nothing about me, but I remember everything, and there's nothing I can do to fix it."
'The fact that he doesn't remember, but you do, is exactly what's causing your heart to break,' Kairi wanted to say. But she didn't. Instead, she took Cinderella's trembling hands in her own. "Don't give up yet. If it's a magic spell that took everything away, then it's a magic spell that will bring it all back. Deep down, Prince Henry's heart still remembers. He may be under a spell, but I can see him struggling to fight it. Trust me, deep emotions and connections like that don't simply fade away."
"He's far away. But I know we'll see him again."
"So I told myself—I'm not going to the island until I remember everything about him."
She knew that from experience. Despite the memory issues caused by Naminé, Kairi still remembered Sora deep down. Despite him hiding in a different skin, she could still feel Riku. Heck, she felt the same way now—right now, she wanted nothing more than to have Sora and Riku here to help her, but she still couldn't feel them.
But she wouldn't give up. Not yet.
"This isn't over yet," she finished. "We can still fix this."
Cinderella finally smiled through her tears, "Right. We have to get that wand."
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
Kairi had used the excuse of hunting down a stray Nightmare in order to see if she could eavesdrop on Lady Tremaine and her daughters. Well, it wasn't an excuse; it was true. She was looking for a nightmare. Cinderella's Nightmare, to be more precise.
She was scaling the roof of the palace to get a better view of the kingdom, when an open window below them began revealing a rather interesting encounter.
"Father," it was Prince Henry, "allow me to introduce my bride-to-be, Drizella. Drizella, this is my father."
"It is an honor, Your Majesty," Drizella replied, as Kairi carefully and silently maneuvered herself to get a better view into the room.
"Charmed, I'm sure," the King didn't so so pleased. That gave Kairi hope. Maybe the King would see Henry and Drizella weren't a good fit and stop the wedding himself.
"So, who's up for a dance?" Henry asked. In the background, Kairi saw and heard an small orchestra warm up.
"Oh, I don't dance much," Drizella waved him off.
"You're too modest," Henry told her. "That's how we met, remember?"
Drizella seemed to remember the glass slipper that was still on her oversized foot. "Oh, right. Of course."
"I'll never forget when I first touched," Henry took Drizella's hand, only to trail off, "...your hand."
Kairi wondered why he sounded disappointed, before remembering that earlier, he touched hands with Cinderella, and sparks seemed to fly between them instantly. Did he feel none of those sparks when he touched Drizella's hand just now?
(When was the first time she felt the sparks fly between her and Sora? She couldn't recall...)
She was brought out of her reverie when the orchestra began playing a tune she felt Cinderella recognize as 'On the Beautiful Blue Danube'.
Henry and Drizella began to ballroom dance, much like how he and Cinderella did the night before, but much to Kairi's amusement, Drizella was a terrible dancer. The black-haired young lady kept stepping on Henry's feet, and whenever she apologized, her heart was only half in it.
The dance ended in Drizella landing right on her backside after she tripped over the back hem of her green-colored dress.
Henry immediately leaned down and lent her a hand to help her up, "Are you okay?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Drizella replied. "These aren't my shoes." Truth. One of them was Cinderella's. "I mean, what am I saying? Of course they're my shoes. I'm sorry. I must be off today." She was clearly trying to salvage her and her mother's plan.
"No, no, it was my fault," the Prince attempted to reassure her. "I'm afraid I'm just not up-to-date on the latest dance steps." Kairi could understand now why Cinderella loved this guy. He was a good man.
The Duke approached the two and cleared his throat, "If I may interrupt, you two, it is time for your fittings."
"Right! My dress!" Drizella exclaimed in realization.
"Yes, now come along," the Duke said, as he escorted the two out of the room.
The King entered the frame Kairi was observing and addressed Lady Tremaine, "Perhaps, you would like to join them, to ensure that everything is perfect for your daughter. I must talk to your other daughter alone."
It was then that Kairi finally noticed Anastasia. She looked rather green with envy, but what surprised Kairi was the unshed tears in those eyes. She seemed to be suffering in a way that no one else seemed to notice or care about.
But Cinderella knew. Her heart remembered some sort of redemption...
Fortunately, Lady Tremaine left the room to follow a hyper and excited Drizella. However, Henry walked alongside the Duke. As he exited the room, an intrigued Kairi heard the following whispered exchange, "It's quite alright, sire. I'll have a dozen dance instructors sent in immediately."
"Something's wrong."
The Duke gasped, "An army of dance instructors!"
"No, no!" Henry was quick to explain, "I thought for sure it was Drizella last night, but...well, just now when I touched her hand, I felt...nothing."
Kairi didn't hear any more of this conversation, because the doors then closed behind them. It was short, but it made Kairi wonder if what just happened would stick to the Prince's mind, or if it would also be wiped from his mind by Lady Tremaine's spell.
Now, it was just Anastasia and the King alone in the room. Kairi knew she had to keep an eye on Prince Henry, but something told her to stay and listen to this.
"I can explain everything, Your Majesty," Anastasia began, also trying to salvage her mother's plan. "My sister has this, um, this inner ear thing, and–"
The King calmly cut her off, "I do not wish to talk about your sister. I wish to talk about you."
"Me?" Anastasia asked. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I'm a terrible dancer. My sister's the one who's good at everything. There's nothing interesting about me."
"It's alright," the King was kind and gentle, surprisingly. "My queen was a terrible dancer as well. She trod on my feet all the time, but she took very good care of my heart." He chuckled, before sobering up, his gentle smile remaining. "Do you really believe you're not good at anything?"
"That's what my mother says," Anastasia solemnly replied, and Kairi believed her. It wasn't Anastasia's heart she was in (it was Cinderella's), and thus it wasn't her emotions Kairi could sense. But there was something in Anastasia's voice that made Kairi feel sympathy for her.
Anastasia and Cinderella...what this something they had previously talked about? Kairi didn't have access to the memory, but she could feel it.
Lady Tremaine was a terrible mother, and not just to Cinderella and Anastasia. Drizella too. If Lady Tremaine truly cared about her so-called 'favorite daughter', then she wouldn't be playing Drizella up like a pawn the way she currently was.
"Everyone deserves love," the King replied. "And if not romantic, then at least platonic." Kairi agreed with this, one hundred percent. "Come outside, on the balcony. I wish to show you something I do not wish to show anyone else."
Kairi readjusted her position to ensure she was completely hidden by shrubs and trees as she saw the two head out onto the balcony. Now that they were outside, and she wasn't just listening through an open window, Kairi could hear them a lot better.
"A princess is bestowed with many riches," the King said, holding a golden heart-shaped box in his hand. "Land, jewels, horses. But today I wish to give you something much more valuable."
He opened the box to reveal something that Anastasia seemed disappointed in receiving.
A seashell?
(Kairi remembered the first thalassa shell that she found. Riku was with her, and she still had it. She saw it as a symbol of their friendship.)
"Oh. Isn't it lovely?" The King seemed very smitten with shell.
"A seashell?" Anastasia asked, sounding a bit disappointed.
"This shell was the Queen's most treasured possession," the King fondly explained. "We found it while walking by the water on the day we met. You see, we reached for it at the same moment, and when our hands touched..." He chuckled, "Well, that's when I knew I had found true love."
Anastasia smiled, seemingly realizing that she too shared the same sentiment to such an object, "You knew that just by touching her hand?"
"There's no powerful force in the world than true love," the King said, as he placed the shell in her hands. Kairi quietly nodded in agreement.
"Y-You're giving it to me?" Anastasia stuttered, seemingly surprised that the King would give such a gift to her of all people. She was just the sister of the bride, the one no one cared about.
"Yes," the King explained. "You need it so much more than I do. I only ask that once you do find true love, then you will pass it on to someone else who is having the same troubles as you are now."
Anastasia's smile grew wider and warmer, "I will, Your Majesty. Thank you."
The King then cleared his throat, "Remember, do not tell anyone I gave you that, and do not show anyone, least of all your sister and mother. Now, run along."
Anastasia nodded, before clutching the shell to her chest and walking towards the doors to the hallway outside.
Kairi also smiled, though still in hiding. She felt optimistic about this. Not only was the Prince at least vaguely aware that Drizella wasn't the girl for him, but Anastasia—Kairi felt—was on the path toward the light, as Cinderella had previously witnessed.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
Kairi was interrupted from her recon mission by the arrival of a new horde of Nightmares. The timing couldn't have been any worse, because in that moment, Cinderella and Jaq were making their attempt to sneak into the Tremaines' room and steal the wand. However, once she heard smashing and yelling, fearing for Cinderella's safety, Kairi attempted to pick up the pace of her strikes.
Soon after, she heard something scampering down the hall, with Jaq yelling, "Hurry, hurry!" She then saw a flash of light shine down the hallway, just out of sight, indicating that Cinderella had just instinctively used Faith.
Kairi defeated the last Nightmare, before rushing over to see what was going on, only to be met by Jaq running down the hall, the wand in his tiny hands and Cinderella right behind him. "Other way, Kai-Kai! The guards are chasing us!"
"Hurry! After her!" Lady Tremaine was yelling, hypocritically. "That servant girl is a thief!"
Seeing guards come into view, Kairi chose to turn tail and run, leading the group back to the main staircase, the area she was just in. After closing the doors behind them, Kairi immediately locked them with her keyblade.
Cinderella came to a stop just as the Prince appeared at the top of the stairwell.
Before Cinderella could respond, Jaq tossed her the wand. Cinderella barely managed to catch it, but she wasted no time, "Lift the spell. Let him remember. Bibbidi-bobbidi–" She was cut off by the doors being smashed open by the guards, who immediately restrained her. Lady Tremaine came out of nowhere, then, and took back the wand, "No!"
"What's going on?" Henry asked, confused, as he ran down the stairs to where Cinderella was.
Lady Tremaine said, "My apologizes. It's a problem with my maid."
"It's under control, Sire," one of the guards said.
"Are you okay?" Henry asked Cinderella.
"This servant girl is a thief," a guard replied.
"I am not a thief!" Cinderella exclaimed, pleading with her love to believe her. "You're under a spell! That's why you don't remember me! Please! You have to listen!" She reached her hand out to him, and it briefly made contact with his before the guards pulled her away. "Let go!"
Lady Tremaine tsked, "Poor child. Obviously out of her mind."
Kairi couldn't take her eyes off the old lady. There was a strange darkness radiating from her. Not the kind that indicated darkness hiding within someone's heart, like Riku, but rather the kind that suggested that the person was not who they said they were...
"I hope she'll be alright," Henry said as the guards began taking Cinderella away. "She seemed, you know, nice when I met her. Well, maybe a little confused, but still, there's something about her..."
Kairi had a feeling that he was talking about when they touched hands just now, but she didn't say anything.
"Oh, don't trouble yourself, Your Highness," Lady Tremaine replied. "I'll see to it, personally, that she gets all the help she needs."
As Kairi could only watch Cinderella get dragged away, Drizella suddenly arrived in the room and called out to the blonde, "Nice try, but we won!" She then cackled.
"You won?" Henry asked her, confused. "What do you mean?"
Drizella immediately scrambled to cover up her slip-up, "Uh, well, nothing! I, um..."
Henry chose to ignore that and turned to Lady Tremaine, "You'll see that she's taken care of?" Even essentially a stranger to her, he still cared about Cinderella more.
"Personally, Your Highness," Lady Tremaine replied, before ordering the guards, "Put her on the next ship leaving the kingdom! I want her banished forever!" She then leaned in to Drizella and whispered, "And you! Keep your mouth shut or you're next!"
Drizella's face radiated fear.
Kairi couldn't take this anymore. She surprised everyone in the room by suddenly shouting, "No!" She then pointed Destiny's Embrace at Cinderella and cast Protera, but she also felt herself instinctively cast Faith too.
The bright flash of light this caused made for an excellent escape.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
In Cinderella's old chateau, another flash of light appeared, and when it faded, Kairi and Cinderella stood there, along with Jaq, who was cowering in fear in the blonde's apron pocket. The redhead breathed a heavy sigh of relief when she realized that no one else had teleported with them, even if she had no idea how she managed to combine two magic spells into one.
"Thank you, Kairi," Cinderella finally spoke and broke through the silence.
"You're welcome," Kairi muttered. She turned to Jaq as the mouse came out of his hiding spot, "Jaq, keep a close eye on the perimeter. If any guards find his house, make no sign that anybody still lives here."
Jaq nodded as Cinderella sighed, before shaking her head, "Thank you for all your help, Kairi, really, but I'm tired of hiding."
Kairi knew that. Like with Snow White and Aurora before, she could never fully understand the trauma Cinderella has gone through. Kairi could never fully comprehend one of her parents marrying someone secretly awful and then being treated like a slave once that parent died.
"I-I know," Kairi attempted. "But you've been exiled. Listen, there's a Nightmare out there, the boss and one that's connected to you. If I can find it and destroy it, then everything will go back to normal."
"We can't go back to normal, Kairi. Not anymore," came Cinderella's solemn voice. She sounded so defeated. "My heart is broken beyond repair now. I can feel it, and so can you."
Kairi's hopeful expression fell. Cinderella was right. The cracks in her heart were too severe to fix now. The attempt to steal the wand—and almost succeeding—only to have it ripped away, was the last straw for her.
The sky was still filled with the setting sun, but the world suddenly went dark as a bright light began to shine from Cinderella's chest. Her hands cupped the light that emerged from her. Kairi watched as, like Snow White and Aurora before her, the light formulated into a blue-colored, crystal-like flower petal.
It was her χ-blade fragment.
Kairi didn't say anything, but the expression she wore in response spoke for her, and in volumes.
The elder of the two reassured her, "This is my choice, Kairi. I'm not giving up yet, but I understand the dangers of this fragment falling into the wrong hands. We can't let that happen. I know you understand that."
"I do," Kairi said, swallowing the lump in her throat. She then nodded, before taking the χ-blade fragment and accepting it into her own heart. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Believe me, I don't like this either. I hate it, actually," Cinderella replied. "But the fact that you have, not one, but now four, fragments within you tells me, not that the others chose to give up, but rather that the danger is more severe that I initially thought."
"You still wish to regain your happy ending?" Kairi asked after a pause.
"Of course," Cinderella was determined. "I'm not letting you leave until then."
"I don't plan to leave until then," Kairi smiled back.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
Kairi was proud of Cinderella. Sad that she gave up her χ-blade fragment, but proud because she chose to fight back instead of giving up after almost succeeding. Cinderella had formulated a plan, and Kairi was the linchpin. She was the most powerful of them, after all, due to the keyblade at her disposal.
(Which wasn't saying much, but there were bigger issues right now.)
Now, here she was hiding outside Henry's room, waiting for him to enter. Eventually, his door did open and in stepped Henry himself, who was muttering, "Something's not right..." Kairi waited a few more seconds to see if anyone else came in after him, but no one did. Henry closed the doors behind him.
She waited until he was on his balcony to make her move.
"I know I said 'the girl who fits the glass slipper', but I wanted it to be about the girl, not the slipper," Henry groaned to himself. "I should have gone with the Duke."
"I doubt that would've made a difference," Kairi finally spoke up, catching the Prince off-guard. "Lady Tremaine is a crafty old lady."
Henry nearly jumped out of his skin, but he calmed down when he laid eyes on Kairi. "Oh, it's you! The servant girl's friend. Tell me, is she alright?"
Kairi lowered her eyes, putting on a cold front in order to pretend like she hated him now, "Physically, she's fine. Mentally is a different story."
"She told me I was under a spell–" Henry began.
Kairi quickly cut him off, "She's not crazy, just heartbroken. You are under a spell, one that Lady Tremaine placed on you to think that Drizella was the one you danced with last night."
"She placed a spell over me?!" Henry seemed confused. Kairi couldn't blame him.
"Yes, using a wand she stole," Kairi explained. "Maybe she and her daughters are good people deep down," though she highly doubted that, aside from Anastasia, "but right now, they are fueled by the desire to make the servant girl's life a living hell. Lady Tremaine used the wand to rewind time. She knows whom that glass slipper really belongs to. I'd say ask her, but she'd only lie. She's really good at that."
Henry glanced over at her, "You seem to know an awful lot."
"I know a lot more than you," she calmly fired back. It was true, in more ways than one. He thought this was real life, but Kairi knew this was all just taking place in Cinderella's heart, that this was all a product of the nightmare Cinderella had been subjected to.
"I'm aware," Henry was just as calm. "That's why I'm asking you all these questions. So if Drizella wasn't who I danced with at the ball last night, then...who was?"
"The servant girl," Kairi said. This was it. It was time to break that spell over him.
Henry blinked. "What? It was her?" He didn't seem to believe the redhead in front of him.
That is, until Kairi reached into her back pocket and unwrapped a handkerchief to reveal the repaired glass slipper—the one Cinderella still had but was broken by Lady Tremaine.
"I know it sounds crazy," Kairi leaned forward after Henry took the repaired slipper in trembling, yet gently hands. "But humor me for a minute. When you touched Drizella's hand earlier, did you feel any sparks?"
"...No..."
Kairi barely managed to squash her urge to smile at that, "When you touched the servant girl's hand earlier, did you feel any sparks from her?"
"...Yes," Henry seemed to be coming to a realization. "I did. They were the same sparks I felt when dancing with that girl last night. The two of us had such chemistry that..."
He trailed off, and she became concerned, "That what?"
"That I didn't want the night to end." Kairi smiled when he said this. "You must be telling the truth, because my heart confirms it...but my memories are saying something entirely different."
"That's the spell talking," Kairi reminded him, before pausing. She needed to find some way to break it.
Before she start thinking, a knock suddenly came at the door. While Kairi buried herself deeper in the bushes and trees outside the balcony, Henry turned to face the door and straightened himself up before replying, "Come in."
Kairi couldn't see who had come in, but she could hear the following exchange clearly.
"Oh, hello. Anastasia, right?" Henry asked, trying his best to be polite. Anastasia must've nodded, because Henry continued, "I'm rather busy. What can I do for you?"
"Return his memories to their rightful place," Anastasia softly said. "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo." Kairi saw a faint white light, and she slipped out of her hiding place to see if what she heard was correct.
The sight that greeted her was a surprising, but welcome one. Only Anastasia, Henry, and now Kairi herself was in the room, and in Anastasia's hand was the wand she had stolen and that her mother had used without guilt.
"Did you just–?" Kairi cut herself off, as a guilty-looking Anastasia silently nodded. She just lifted the spell her mother had placed over Prince Henry. "Why?"
"Because what we were doing is wrong," Anastasia's voice was soft. "Mother and Drizella don't see it that way, because in their minds, the end justifies the means. But I know it's wrong. After seeing Cinderella almost succeeding, only for it to be ripped away from her...well, it made me realize that our treatment of her is wrong too. She's our stepsister. We're supposed to be her family, but...well, we just let our jealousy control us and turned her into our glorified slave instead. I'm sorry, Your Highness, for all the trouble we've caused. And you," she turned to Kairi, "do you know where Cinderella is now?"
It was a question asked because the one asking wanted to apologize, but Kairi immediately, and sternly, replied, "That secret stays with me." After realizing how mean she must've sounded, Kairi then softened her voice, "But once all this is over, I'll take her to you."
Anastasia was disappointed, but she nodded anyway.
Kairi cautiously continued, "But before anything else happens, I need you to give that wand to me."
Anastasia paused, recalling what kind of power the wand held. But in Kairi's mind, this would solidify if Anastasia really did have a change of heart or if she had her own selfish motives behind this. Cinderella seemed confident, but that Nightmare could shake things up at any time.
"B-But this..." Anastasia stuttered, her voice wavering with the realization, "this has the power to make someone love me..."
"Magic cannot create love," Kairi softly told her. "Only a connection with another person can do that." Anastasia seemed to have a realization, and Kairi knew she was remembering the King's seashell.
"She's right, you know," Henry added, his voice just as soft. "Don't rely on magic to do everything. Just be yourself."
Anastasia seemed a million miles away, "Your father said...that everyone deserves love..."
"I know," Henry replied, giving her a reassuring smile. "That was something my mother taught everyone, not just him and me."
Knowing he was right and effected by his words, Anastasia's expression eased up, and, no longer tense, she gave up the wand to Kairi. Kairi took it and sheathed it like she would her keyblade. Naturally being a weapon of light, it was easier for her.
"You made the right choice," Kairi finally smiled.
Just then, out of nowhere, the blue χ-blade—the one that originally belonged to Cinderella—within her let out a hard, startling beat. It felt like a warning. The blonde was still asleep, and Kairi hadn't left, so it made sense, but she was still caught off guard.
The other two noticed her expression change in the blink of an eye, "What's wrong?"
Kairi was alarmed by what she was feeling, "The Nightmare caught Cinderella!"
"'Nightmare'?" Henry repeated, concerned.
"A creature of darkness," Kairi quickly explained, "like the ones invading the castle earlier, only this one is a lot bigger, tougher, and meaner. Cinderella's in danger; she's its primary target!"
"Then, let's go," Henry said. He quickly turned to Anastasia, "You stay here," who promptly nodded.
Henry and Kairi ran out of the room, with Destiny's Embrace summoned to her hand and him grabbing a sword from an empty suit of armor on the way.
"Son, where are you going?!" the King asked as the two encountered him on the stairs.
Now at a dead stop, Henry was in a hurry, "Sorry, but I have to go."
"But you're about to be married!"
"She's the wrong girl, Dad!" Henry said. He leaned over to Kairi and whispered, "What's your name?"
"Kairi."
"Kairi here says so!"
"She's been exiled, remember?!" the King shot back. "She's the one who let that thief escape!"
"Cinderella is no thief!" Kairi exclaimed, her voice hard and desperate. "All she's trying to do is take back what rightfully belongs to her! We'll explain everything later, we promise, but right now, she's in danger and we have to save her!"
"Son, you agreed to marry the girl in the glass slipper! I was completely with you on that one! But this is just ridiculous!" the King sputtered. "I forbid both of you from taking another step down these stairs!"
Henry and Kairi glanced at each other, both seeing the nearby window and getting the same idea. They turned back to the King, and Henry said a simple, "Okay," before they jumped out of the said window. The two climbed into the back of the nearest horse, and took off.
"Son?!" the King was calling out to them as the two rode into the forest.
Interestingly enough, though, the guards didn't chase them.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
The Step Cat Nightmare—as Kairi expected—represented and had caused Cinderella's personal nightmare. It had the appearance of a large black cat with cruel red eyes and the markings of any other ordinary Nightmare, with its tail constantly on fire.
It was holding Cinderella in its paw, holding her hostage and walking back toward the castle, with an injured Jaq trying his best to get her back, but failing. The Nightmare was too powerful for both of them.
Kairi leapt from the saddle and slashed at the paw holding Cinderella, and the pain this caused forced the Nightmare to drop her friend. Fortunately, before she hit the ground, Henry managed to catch her. The two shared a lovestruck glance before Kairi stepped in front of them, her keyblade still in hand.
"Save it for somewhere safer, at least!" She told them before handing them the injured Jaq. "Look after him!"
The following fight forced Kairi to use hre previously discovered technique of sliding and practice her new Protera spell (the one mixed with Faith). The Nightmare loved to pounce, and it was rather quick on its feet. She also discovered something interesting about its nature, something she chose not to share until this fight was over.
However, midway through the fight, Cinderella had joined in with Henry's sword. Kairi was concerned, but she didn't protest, knowing that Cinderella didn't want to hide anymore. It was interesting, Kairi thought, that while Snow was quick on her feet and Aurora's hits were powerful, Cinderella excelled in something entirely different.
Magic.
She used Protega to block attacks and her elemental spells were all at the third tier, despite not using them until now. She was also pretty graceful on her feet, cartwheeling away to dodge attacks.
Kairi and Cinderella's combined Faith attack was what finished the Nightmare off.
Once the fight was done, Kairi dismissed her keyblade as she turned to the elder, "That was some impressive magic."
"Thank you," Cinderella replied as she was catching her breath. "And I'm sorry for the trouble. It came out of nowhere."
"Actually, it just felt like that," Kairi revealed, remembering what she had observed during the fight. "It was with you the entire time."
"What?" Cinderella was surprised.
"Lady Tremaine was the Step Cat Nightmare in disguise," Kairi explained. "And as your own personal nightmare, it makes sense that it would follow you. Lady Tremaine is your stepmother, not a stranger to you, and it needed to be in the most ideal position in order to break you. Combine them together, and it's practically a recipe for success."
Cinderella lowered her eyes in contemplation as she digested that, until Henry cleared his throat, "Um, you are...Cinderella, yes?" He carefully handed the wounded Jaq back to Kairi, who cradled him in her hands as a soft green glow began to emanate from them.
Blue eyes met brown. "Yes, that's me." She held out the sword she borrowed from him. "I believe this is yours."
He took the sword back but put it down on the ground, "Are you alright?"
She nodded, "Yes. Do you...remember me?"
"Yes," he replied, and she breathed a sigh of relief. "I remember everything."
The two joined hands, and Kairi felt like an awkward third wheel as she stood there off to the side, healing Jaq somehow without her keyblade. But they weren't bothered by her presence, as it was clear they were lost in their own little world. And Kairi decided to give that to them.
It was Cinderella's happy ending, after all.
"Will you marry me, Cinderella?" Henry softly asked.
The blonde (now former) Princess of Heart smiled happily and brightly for the first time since this nightmare first began. "Yes."
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
As promised, once the Nightmare was defeated, Kairi took Cinderella and Henry back to the castle, explaining Anastasia's sudden redemption on the way. Cinderella wasn't surprised, though, explaining that the past year saw Anastasia coming forward and apologizing for her behavior. In fact, she had met a love interest in the town's baker, and the blonde had helped her stepsister further into the light.
That was why Cinderella chose to forgive Anastasia, believing her redemption this time to be genuine, and the two stepsisters used the wand Kairi gave to Cinderella to free the Fairy Godmother from her statue state together.
Once free, the Fairy Godmother promptly stretched, "Oh, goodness. I certainly am stiff." As Cinderella handed the wand back to its rightful owner, Drizella was dragged to the dungeon. Lady Tremaine, as everyone else knew her, had gone missing out of nowhere.
Meanwhile, Anastasia went up to the King and held out the seashell she gave him earlier, "Your Majesty, I'm responsible for what has happened. I don't deserve this."
He was surprised, but he refused to take the shell back. Instead, the King closed her hand, which still held the shell, "I gave it to you for a reason, and I mean it. Everyone deserves love."
Anastasia softly smiled and she clutched the shell close to her chest.
The commotion allowed Kairi to slip away unnoticed, seeing that Cinderella was at peace now. But just as she summoned her keyblade and prepared to wake up the elder, the Fairy Godmother—of all people—stopped her before she could go anywhere, to the girl's surprise. Furthermore, no one seemed to notice the two off to the side, away from everybody else.
"Be careful, dear," the Fairy Godmother quietly warned her. "All seven pure hearts are in grave danger. Three of them have already given up their most valuable treasures," she was referring to the χ-blade fragments, "and now four remain."
The Fairy Godmother was not a product of Cinderella's heart, Kairi realized with sudden start. She was the real deal.
"After she fell into the darkness of sleep," the woman further explained, "I dove into Cinderella's heart in an attempt to save her. If you have succumbed to the same ailment, it means that the situation is much worse than I expected. I will allow you to move on and save the others, but I cannot come with you. I'm afraid that all of my efforts to do so will be met with the same reception that this Nightmare had given me." That was, turning her into a statue and stealing her wand.
Kairi's heart was beating hard with fear, "But I have to wake up somehow! Do you know where Riku and Sora are? I've been trying to reach them, and the King, but the only hearts I'm connected to right now are my fellow Princesses!"
"I'm afraid that Sora and Riku are both asleep as well, my dear," the Fairy Godmother told her, and the redhead's stomach turned to ice, "but I do know where the King and Master Yen Sid are. I will inform them of this turn of events. You just hang in there. Good luck."
It was better than nothing. "You too."
The fairy lady nodded in reassurance, before fading away in a shower of sprinkles. The Fairy Godmother had clearly woken herself up (and Kairi wished she could do the same).
But she was right. Belle, Alice, and Jasmine still needed help.
It was Cinderella's turn to wake up now. Kairi pointed Destiny's Embrace at the sky, where a bright lock appeared. A light shot out from the tip of her keyblade and straight at the lock, engulfing it in light.
The sky turned back into day, though the sunshine was not as bright as it was before. Darkness was beginning to enter Cinderella's heart, filling in the fractures that had appeared thanks to the Nightmare. The world was also fading due to her finally waking up.
Kairi made no move to stop it, knowing that this had to happen. Like before, she let the light from the keyhole envelop and take her back to the void between hearts.
This time, Alice's image appeared, flickering before it turned into her heart station. Kairi promptly dove right in, with her heart becoming increasingly loaded with anxiety and desperation with each passing minute...
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
~Destiny Islands, 8 Years Ago~
Kairi—age 7—was forced to visit the play island by herself today. Sora was sick in bed with a fever and Riku had chores to do at his father's fishing store. It was just her. She had made three more friends—Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka—during the past two years, but they also had other things to do today, so she was truly alone. She never had been before.
And she hated it. She felt like a drifter alone in a vast, stormy sea, desperately flapping her arms in an attempt for anyone to save her. It was a terrible feeling.
Anxiety was overwhelming her the longer time she spent by herself, and after fighting off a tense experience that she would acknowledge eight years later as a panic attack, she returned to the main island in a haze. If she had to be alone, then she'd at least do herself a favor and give herself some privacy at home when she inevitably broke down.
A sudden voice cut through her reverie like a knife cutting butter, "Hello, Princess." The nickname was said in a condescending manner.
Already knowing who it was, Kairi turned around to face the person—a boy in her class named Nico. On the outside, he looked to be very popular and have lots of friends, but she could feel that, in reality, Nico felt very lonely.
"Where are your 'boyfriends'?" he taunted, clearly meaning Sora and Riku.
Anxiety began building up again and quickly overtook any semblance of embarrassment that may have appeared. That feeling from before was coming back at full force, and she tried to be brave, "They have other commitments."
A snicker, "More important than you?"
Fifteen-year-old her would immediately answer that with, 'Yes, actually. They have to protect the light.' But seven-year-old her was left speechless; she had no idea how to respond to that.
Nico just continued, "Don't hate me for speaking the truth. If those two really thought that you were special, they would be here instead of me."
Her breathing began to get shallower and quicker; it was becoming harder to breathe. What if he was right? What if Sora and Riku really didn't care about her? Her chest was tightening and her world was becoming smaller and smaller by the second...
"That's enough, Nico," another voice interrupted.
Across the path was an elderly woman—Chinami, the owner of the local flower shop. She was standing in the open doorway to her shop, her hands on her hips. As one of the oldest living residents, everyone respected her. She was a pillar of wisdom for all, and her mere presence was comforting to Kairi.
"Cut it out and leave the girl alone," Chinami scolded him. "Do you want me to inform your parents about your attitude?"
That was all she had to say for Nico to vehemently shake his head before running away in fear of getting into trouble.
Kairi remained in place, though, taking advantage of the newly uncovered space to regain her air. Chinami also stayed where she was, watching Nico run off before turning to the young girl she had just defended.
"He doesn't speak for all of us, dear," she reassured Kairi, who turned around to face her savior. "You have a home here and always will. Young Sora and Riku aren't the only ones you have endeared yourself to."
The girl took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "Thank you." Being with Chinami was helping a great deal.
Kairi's smile quickly grew into one filled with fondness, and she wasn't sure why.
"You're quite welcome, dear." Chinami sent her a knowing grin, "Now, who do I remind you of?"
Oh, that's why. The girl's smile fell a bit into sadness, "...I don't know. I can't remember much..."
The woman beckoned Kairi forward and into the shop, and the latter obeyed. "What else can you recall about your home? I'd love to hear all about it, especially whoever I remind you of."
Kairi had zero idea why Chinami brought up so much nostalgia in her, even eight years later. But it was probably that feeling that helped her open up to the woman.
"Flowers. A lot of them... It felt like paradise, to be honest."
Chinami gently smiled, "Flowers, huh? Then you should feel right at home here in my humble shop."
She did, and that was still true in the present day.
!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!
To Be Continued...
!~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~D~O~N~T~~W~A~K~E~~M~E~~U~P~!
A/N: Cinderella has also given up her role as a Princess of Heart, but the Fairy Godmother offers Kairi a hope spot.
Chapter Notes:
-Like with the previous two chapters, the first scene sets up Cinderella's nightmare. The stepsisters are jealous of Cinderella and want what she has, to the point where they're willing to rewind time and make it so her happy ending never happens, with Lady Tremaine being the one who sets everything into motion. Then, there's the fact that everything seems to happen completely out of nowhere, despite her Nightmare taking the face of someone she knows.
-The ReMind skill that Kairi learns in this chapter is Starcracker.
-Continuing the tradition I've started in the previous two chapters, Cinderella's fighting style is similar to Aqua's.
-As for where we are in the timeline, concerning the others: around the time where Lea and Riku (plus the Disney trio) save Sora in the Castle That Never Was.