Why it's the second part!
Well, only one part to go and this fanfiction'll be finished. Enjoy!

Imagine a dark lake. Imagine miles of nothing but old trees and mountains with tops that kiss the fresh air. Imagine the enormous sky, it's countless stars barely visible as they are partly hidden by the grey clouds that drift about in the air. Imagine the smooth, dark surface of the water, moving with every sly breath of wind. Imagine the moon, high above the landscape, enlightening the whole scene with a dim, white glow. Imagine the animals, each hiding away for the storm that, they knew, was about to come. Imagine dew-covered grass. Imagine the scent of the mountains. Imagine low roars of thunder, moaning in the distance.

Imagine everything you want in this cold, dark place, so it will fit this story.

After all, you are human. You are blessed with the talent to create.

Now, did you imagine it?

Hold it. Hold that picture. Remember it. Draw it out if you must.

Now put your hands over your ears. Seclude yourself from the world. Concentrate on only this story for a moment. Escape from the daily life.

You are floating in the sky, among the clouds. Underneath you, the dark landscape. Above you, nothing but the stars.

You take a deep breath, inhaling the moist mountain air.

Your attention is caught by a glint you notice from the corner of your eyes.

It's a raindrop.
You follow it down, see it falling. Falling. Falling, until it reaches the lake, immediately destroying the perfect image of the stars shining in the sky above it. From the place it touches the water, slowly but surely circular ridges originate and grow in a slow rapidity.

The surface quickly becomes smooth again, only to be ruined by new raindrops. More and more, until the water gives in and lets the raindrops steer it in all kinds of different directions without fighting against it.

The raindrops do not only touch the dark lake, but also the -due to the hot summer weather- dry grass, the lush trees and finally a girl that lays on the ground. She wrinkles her nose when a drop of water hits her pale forehead.

You smile at her; she looks so innocent.

But then you think of the fact that there is lots to do in the daily life.

You return to your own time, to the places and people you know.

Just remember that, if you feel like escaping the world, there is always imagination.

Now, read about this girl. Read about her adventures. Read about her happily ever after.

The girl looked as if she had been laying there a long time. her arms were cushioning her cherubic face, and the blue dress she wore was brown with dirt from the grass. Her black hair was tangled. It cupped the sides of her face.

She rolled over on her side and grabbed a hand full of the grass.

A drop of rain hit her cheek, and her eyelids trembled.

When she slowly opened her eyes, letting her icy blue orbs get used to the darkness surrounding her, she first looked disorientated, then confused and at last frightened.

''Wha- H-How did I get h-...'' She stuttered. When she sat up, she flinched slightly. The girl looked down at her arm and discovered two long cuts from her elbow all the way down to her wrist. They looked as if they had been made by big claws. She softly touched one of the cuts, and bit her tongue. It stung.

The raven haired girl immediately looked up at the sky again when she heard the roaring of thunder coming from a place in the sky a fair distance away. Her eyes widened as, when a crooked line of lightning coloured the landscape underneath it a light shade of grey, she noticed an enormous castle in the distance, it's raven silhouette pressed against the cloudy sky.

She narrowed her eyes. It was not her father's palace. This castle looked higher, pointier and above all, darker.

The raven haired girl hugged her bare arms around herself and shivered. She was so cold.

The girl snapped her head up when she heard loud cracking sounds coming from somewhere above her. She was sitting underneath a tree.

'That is dangerous, isn't it?' she wondered.

Yes, it was. She recalled her friend Hayner had once told her that when Pence, Olette and himself were five years old they were playing in the forest when it started raining. Pence and Hayner had wanted to find some shelter underneath an oak. Olette didn't find it such a good idea, but she didn't know the way back all by herself and so she followed them anyway. And then, all of a sudden, the lightning crashed into the tree and a heavy branch fell on top of Olette's head. She had not been allowed to come out of her bed for the three months that followed!

Remembering that story, Xion hastily crawled away from the tree. But after a few seconds of frantic crawling, she tripped over a tree-root and fell face-first in the mud. Groaning, she lifted her pale face and spat out whatever amount of sand she had accidentally allowed to enter her mouth.

She then stood up, trembling. She wobbled over to the lake, intending to rest on the shore, but when she arrived there, found her eyelids were drooping.

The raven haired girl sat down on the damp grass again, confused about the whole situation. But she was tired. So very tired. And so she fell asleep; Her body trembling with the cold, her dress torn and dirty, one of her small hands gently touching the water from the lake and the merciless rain crashing down upon her.

Meanwhile, somewhere entirely different, a brown haired teenage boy was talking to his blond cousin. They were the palace's two stable boys and, at that moment, doing their duties in the stables. The setting sun was peeping in through the broken windows, leaving glowing traces of orange on the dirty, hey-covered floor.

''So Sora, how's Riku doing?'' The blond asked his brunet friend, removing the saddle from a horse's back, ''What with princess Xion's disappearance and all.'' (A/N: Cue in Jesse McCartney's sexy voice. 8D)

''Honestly, I have no idea, I haven't really talked to him since the boat occurrence. It's really weird, it's been three days, and still he refuses to see anybody. And I mean really anybody, even the maids aren't allowed to enter his room,'' Sora said, lifting a bucket of water up with his arms and carrying it towards his cousin, ''I heard he spends all of his time in the library.''

The horse Roxas was taking care of suddenly made a squeaking sound, causing the two teenage boys to flinch.

''Easy, Axel. Easy,'' Roxas told the horse, taking the bucket from Sora and putting it down before the horse's head, so it would be able to drink,

''The library? What would he be doing there?''

''Do I look like I know?'' Sora asked him bluntly, turning his back to his cousin.

Roxas smirked, ''Nah, not really.''

In the palace's library, indeed a silver haired teen was flipping through the pages of several books that were piled up high on a cherry wooden desk. He ran a hand through his spikes in an irritated manner.

''Why can't I find anything about this thing?'' He hissed at nobody in particular.

The hadn't been able to sleep properly ever since the king got killed and Xion was kidnapped, both on the same evening. He knew he couldn't have foreseen the at that moment name- and faceless creature messing things up, and yet he felt as if he should have done something. Anything. It wasn't like he cared for the spoiled little princess in particular; it was only this nagging, biting guilt that kept kicking him in the stomach every time he dared to do as much as stopping to try and find a solution to her kidnapping.

Ever since the king's death, the queen had been ruling the kingdom. She did not do her job very well, though. She was mourning for her late husband, and did not have her mind set on the kingdom. The people felt with her, however, and they were all mourning for their beloved king themselves.

It was necessary for Xion to come back. She needed to give the people hope again.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. The young man shivered when an evening breeze brushed past him. His eyelids fluttered open again and he looked around until his gaze lingered on an open window.

'Strange,' He thought. He couldn't remember opening it.

He swiftly turned his head back to the book he had been reading when the rustling of paper filled his ears. The breeze brushed over the book's pages, making them flip rapidly.

Riku groaned, stood up, walked over to the window and closed it with as much strength as he could muster.

When he returned at the desk and was about to close the book, though, he hesitated. The title at the top of the right page gained his attention.
'Mysterious and unexplainable creatures,' He read. He sat down on the silk clothed chair again.

His teal irises scanned the chapter for anything of use. He did not need to search for long.

There it was, in the upper left corner of the page. A picture of a creature that fitted the description of everything he knew about it. Well, it wasn't exactly a picture. It was more like a sketch. A rough sketch. It was clear enough, though.

It was a dragon-like creature, but hairy. The sketch wasn't coloured, so it would be impossible to know what colour it's fur, eyes or wings were. It did not need colour. It looked dangerous enough just like this.

''Two feet tall when standing up straight,'' Riku read, ''Around seven feet long, depending on the length of the tail.''

'The Shape Shifter,' The line of text underneath the picture said, 'A Shape Shifter is a creature that is able to change it's form from what it was to another creature whenever it would like to do so. The most common forms are mice, birds, dragons and humans. There is no way to tell whether the creature is in fact a Shape Shifter other than just waiting for it to change it's form again. This will be necessary, for it is very tiring for a Shape Shifter to stay in a form other than it's usual one for more than an hour. Animals that are Shape Shifters are born this way. Human Shape Shifters have gained this 'gift' using witchcraft.'

Riku had been resting chin on his hand palm, until he read the last line and lifted his head up again. 'Witchcraft?'

Suddenly a thought struck him. Hadn't his mother once told him about an evil enchanter that had terrorized king Xigbar's kingdom a long time ago?

'Could it be possible...' He thought, biting his lip.

Then, without a second thought, he tore out the page of the book that held the information about the creature and stood up so quickly that he almost knocked over his chair in the process.

Butterflies.

Those were the first things Xion saw when her eyelids fluttered open the next morning.

She closed her eyes again.

Heaven's flowers.

The pale girl smiled as the sunlight stroked her skin and warmed up the earth all around her. She breathed in through her nose, welcoming the scent of the dew-covered grass and the lake.

Her smile faded almost instantly, though.

'Wait... Butterflies? Sunlight?'

And it all came back to her. The occurrence on the boat. The storm. The fear.

She tried to sit up, but winced as her sore arm brushed past the grass and her back hit the ground again.

'Weird,' She thought, 'My arm feels odd.'

And she looked down.

A high pitched scream pierced through the air. For when her eyes scanned her arm, expecting to see the smooth, pale skin, there was not an arm but a black wing attached to her shoulder.

She screamed again and crawled backwards in panic, only to tumble down once more. As she looked down at her left arm, she noticed there was a wing there as well. Again, she fell down on the grass. She yelped once more.

She opened her eyes, whom she had squeezed shut during her fall, and discovered she was only inches away from the liquid surface from the lake. Reluctant and afraid of what she was going to see, she supported herself on the raven wing and looked down at her reflection in the lake.

Once more, a scream tore the morning air.

Xion did not know what to do when she did not see her own face looking back at her, but a bird's. Her nose and mouth were replaced with a tiny beak, her short, lean neck with a long, feather-clad one, her feet with light orange flippers and her whole body was covered in raven feathers. The only thing that had gone unchanged were her icy blue eyes.

She was no longer a human, but a mute swan.

Being a teenage girl, she did what every sixteen year old would do in this situation; run in circles, flapping her wings in each and every possible direction while letting out the most monstrous screams.

She stopped dead in her tracks and grasped the sides of her head as well as she could. The world seemed to be spinning around.

''What happened to me?'' Xion yelled, ''What did I do to deserve this?''

She felt dizzy and sick. She stumbled forwards slightly, not used to the flippers that now were where her feet used to be..

She moaned softly, feeling the world spinning around.

''...What is- ha-...happening...''

The world spun around one last time before everything went black once more.

The sun was already setting when Xion gained consciousness.

For a second, she just gave a soft, groggy moan. She wasn't sure what had woken her up, until she heard some hushed voices.

''-Hey, are you ok?'' Somebody said, ''Helloooo? Swan?''

''Mmm...''

''Look, she's alive!'' That was somebody else, ''Demyx, go get her some water!''

''You do it, I'm tired.''

''No way, I'd be too slow,'' the second person huffed.

''Fine, Ventus, but you owe me one.''

Soft plopping sounds filled Xion's ears. They became softer until her surroundings went eerily quiet. After a while, though, the plopping sounds could be heard again. When they sounded like they were less than a feet away, they stopped.

''Finally, Demyx,'' the person that had presumably stayed behind with Xion said.

He earned a scoff from the other person, who muttered, ''Told you I was tired.''

This was the moment they decided to throw the water in Xion's face, resulting in her waking up with a startled squeak. She spat out some water that had entered her mouth and opened her eyes to her quite dark surroundings.

''Look, she's awaking!''

''Of course I'm awaking if you throw damn' water in my face,'' Xion snapped.

''Whoa, she's defensive!'' One of the persons said. It was quiet for a while until the person winked and whispered, ''...I like that.''

Xion looked around with narrowed eyes, until she could finally make out more than just the silhouette of the two creatures standing in front of her. When she finally succeeded, she gave a loud gasp. Because there, less than a feet away from her, stood a turtle and a frog.

Xion questioned her sanity when the frog actually gave her a flirtatious smile.

...Was that even possible?

''You're animals!'' She screamed, pointing at them. Until she glanced down at the wing she used to point and remembered that she, in fact, shouldn't be the one to talk.

''Hey,'' the turtle spoke, widening it's bright blue eyes, ''You ok?''

''No, you don't get it! I'm not a swan!''

There were a few seconds of awkward silence before the two animals erupted in maniacal laughter.

Xion kept silent, not realising what was so funny.

''O-oh really?'' The sandy coloured frog hiccupped, ''Be-Because I'm not a frog. I'm secretly the tooth fairy!''

They once again burst out laughing.

''Stop laughing, it's not funny!'' Xion snarled.

''Yes it is! You're crazy!''

''No I'm not!''

''Yes you are! Did you fall on your head or something?''

Xion felt like pulling out chunks of her hair.

...Of course, this should be replaced with 'feathers', noticing her current situation.

Xion hissed through clenched teeth and wobbled over to the lake. Without even thinking twice she entered the chilly water, intending on getting as far away as she could from those annoying animals.

They looked at each other, their laughter dying away.

''H-Hey, wait! We didn't mean it like that!'' Xion recognised the frog's voice. ''Come back!''

She snorted softly and swam over to the middle of the lake. She then turned around, sending drops of sparkly water flying all around her. ''You should of thought have that earlier!'' The raven swan called out to the two animals standing at the shore. Ok, so she was being childish. She could, if she felt like it.

''We thought you were joking!'' that was the turtle.

Xion thought of sticking her tongue out at them, but then figured it would look weird and just narrowed her eyes.

The two animals kept apologising, only earning intimidating flapping of wings from the swan.

The three of them were not aware of the soft white reflection of the moon in the lake, which slowly but surely crept over to where Xion was.
It was only a few inches away from her now.

Five inches. Four inches. Three, two, one...

Xion's eyes widened when, from the corners of her eyes, she caught sight of a blinding light. She looked down and, to her surprise, found it was surrounding her. Silver splatters of water jumped up from where the blinding light originated, steering the water away at first, but eventually also steering it upwards. Waves of water splashed up now, almost purple in the moonlight. Xion could only snap her head around powerlessly when the waves washed over her, capturing her wings and head and flippers and torso until she her whole body felt tingly and light.

At the shore, the turtle and the frog were witnessing the spectacle, awestruck. Neither one of them even thought of yelling or doing anything. The moment before the swan had been just floating there, and the next there were these silvery waves washing away every sign of her.

Demyx finally remembered how to speak and stuttered, ''Wh-what's happening?''

Ventus stood next to him, unmoving. He didn't take his eyes of the spot on the lake where, once more, the water started moving. Only to again shoot up in the air in silvery violet waves. They formed a spinning, sparkling circle of water that splashed around until all of a sudden, it stopped. Everything went peaceful, quiet and dark again. The water that had been surrounding Xion fell down in the lake, leaving the two animals that had witnessed the scene to wonder if they had imagined it all.

They turned to face each other. Their heads snapped back, though, when a series of soft splashes in the middle of the lake caught their attention. In the moonlit glow they could easily make out trashing, pale limbs in the water.

''Come on,'' Demyx said, ''Let's go take a look.''

With that said, both him and Ventus entered the water and took off towards the moving creature. When they arrived there, they were both surprised to find the creature was a girl. Her icy blue eyes, though, immediately revealed her identity.

'So it was true,' Crossed their minds. But they didn't lose sight of what was really important.

''H-help me!" Xion managed to gasp. She cursed herself for never taking to the swimming lessons her friends back at the castle had more
than once suggested.

''Grab a hold of me,'' Ventus said, signalling for Xion to wrap her arms around his shield. He didn't need to repeat that.

When they finally were close enough to the shore for Xion to be able to touch the sandy ground with her feet, she let go of the turtle and walked the last few feet until she was out of the lake. She sat down next to Demyx and Ventus, both of them panting. Xion rubbed her arms in an attempt to become warm again. It was no use, though. Her dress was damp, cold and torn, her hair stuck to her forehead, her lips were becoming blue and she hadn't seen her shoes since the last time she woke up on the grass. In her human form, that is.

-That reminded her...

She looked down and let out a gasp.

''I'm me again!'' She cried, inspecting her arms, fingers, legs and feet for anything out of the usual, ''How'd this happen?''

She didn't await an answer, though. She got up from the grass and started jumping up and down giddily, ''Yes! Yes! Yes!''

The two amphibians sitting on the grass could only stare at her in wonder. Demyx opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a masculine voice coming from the somewhere behind the rim of the wood, it's owner hidden by the shadows of the trees.

''Why hello, princess Xion.'' A dark figure stepped out from behind the oak trees, ''I hadn't expected you to find out how to become a human again this fast.''

Xion heard the rustling of leaves and grass from behind her, revealing the fact that the turtle and the frog had started moving. She stepped in front of them protectively, hoping to protect them from the line of vision from the silhouette in the distance. Maybe she was lucky. Maybe that person didn't know about the fact that she could now hear these two -and perhaps every other- animals talking. She didn't know entirely why, but the person seemed threatening. She wanted him to know as little about her as possible.

''What is it, don't you want to know why you changed into a swan before? Don't you want to know how come?'' The person took one step in her direction.

Xion narrowed her eyes at him.

''You sure? It's interesting, I promise you.''

When, after a few seconds, he still didn't receive an answer, he took another step in her direction.

Xion could now make out the cloak the man was wearing. She couldn't see his face, for it was hidden by his cloak, but he looked very tall.

''Fine, then I'll just leave-''

''-Tell me.''

If Xion was able to see his face, she would have shuddered at the way one of his mouth corners turned up in a crooked smile.

''So, please tell me what it was like to be a swan.''

''Who are you?'' Xion asked in a demanding tone.

The cloaked person slowly brought his hands to his face. He lowered his hood.

Xion took in the man's face. From his dim, copper coloured eyes to his stubbled, greasy skin and from his dull, silvery hair to his cracked lips. She couldn't help but flinching.

''I,'' he said, ''am the person who has started this all. The creator of your new life.''

'New life?' Xion thought.

''My name is Xemnas. Magician and former knight, at your service.''

This name, the raven haired princess knew. The traitor.

''I am the creature that took you here.''

''...Did- Were you the one who killed my father?''

To Xion's horror, the man only laughed.

This was all she had to know.

In a flash of pure fury, she launched herself at him, stretching her arms. She was ready to wrap her hands around the man's neck and strangle him.

The plan failed, however, when he caught her arms in one swift movement and threw her down on the grass.

''Now let's not be rash,'' He said coldly.

In desperation, Xion only glared up at the man, angry tears streaming down her cheeks. ''Why- are you doing this?'' She gasped between sobs.

''It's easy,'' Xemnas said in a deadpanned tone, ''You know, when you steal something, a kingdom for example, you have to fight your whole life to keep it.''

Xion looked at him, her eyes questioning. The tears didn't stop falling.

''But, when you gain the power over this kingdom legally, by marrying a princess for instance, nothing can be done about it.''

It took a few seconds for the words to dawn on Xion. But when they did, she could only crawl backwards in shock. She stopped when her back collided with something hard, presumably a rock, and yelled, ''I will never marry you!''

''Of course, I'll give you some time to think about it. In the meantime, I'm sorry to inform you that every day, during sunrise, you shall change into a swan.''

The raven haired girl wiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand and got up, planning on just running away from that cursed lake. She stopped dead in her tracks, though, when Xemnas spoke. He didn't raise his voice, but she heard him clearly.

''You can change into a swan everywhere, it doesn't matter where you are. But if you're not on the lake, you cannot change back to a human.'' He then turned his back to her and in a flash, he was gone.

Xion let herself fall to her knees, tilted her head to face the heavens and screamed at the top of her lungs.

''You are what?''

''I am going into the woods, to search for Xion.''

Prince Riku and queen Larxene were standing in the palace garden. He was planning to go and search the woods and the mountains for her. He felt as if he just had to. Her disappearance was his fault partly, wasn't it? He was the one that had let go of her.

He looked down at his mother -He had been a lot taller than her since last winter- and when she glared at him, glared right back at her. He had too much experience with her to be intimidated.

''But what about the ball?'' The middle-aged blonde hissed.

''I'll be back in time.'' Riku replied. His mother was talking about the ball she was holding, intending on finding the prince a new fiancée. Because, as she put it, the princess was not coming back.

''If you aren't home by then-...''

''-I'm back in time. I promise.''

''On one condition.''

''What condition?''

''You have to bring something for the dinner party.'' She said. After all, many royal families would be there. And oh, how Larxene loved impressing people.

''Fine,'' Riku replied. He was a good hunter, one of the best in the palace. Hunting down something wouldn't be much of a problem for him.

''And don't forget, be back in two days!''

Riku huffed and rolled his eyes.

Larxene smirked. She knew she had won.

With that, Riku grabbed his sword and took a few steps towards the gates, only to immediately run into Sora and Sora's nephew, Roxas.

''Hey, Riku!'' the brunet grinned, ''Where are you going?''

''Into the woods.''

''What are you doing in the woods?''

''I'm going to look for Xion.''

Sora cast Roxas a glance from the corners of his eyes, before he said, ''I'll go with you.''

''You sure?''

''That's what friends are for, man.''

Riku smiled and gave Sora a high five.

The brunet stopped smiling, though, when he looked at Roxas, ''Hey, I'm sorry, Roxas.''

''No, it's okay,'' the blond smiled, ''I'll take care of the horses for you.'' When the blond was a safe distance away from his cousin, though, he yelled, ''Lazy ass!''

''Love you more!'' Sora called back. All three of them snickered.

That evening, when the moon rose above the eerie castle, Xion immediately entered the cold water and took off towards the bright reflection of the moon in the lake. Her new companions waited for her on the shore, watching the water dancing around her once more. This time, Xion had been careful not to go too far in the water, resulting in the raven haired girl now being able to walk back to the shore.

Ventus and Demyx smiled up at her, and she smiled back at them. She was glad to be in her human form again.

''Maybe you should learn to swim, princess,'' Demyx remarked dryly.

''On my own? Honestly, I'm not like you guys. I've got arms and legs.'' Xion said, wringin out the wet parts of her dress.

''We could help you,'' Ventus suggested.

''I wish there was no need to be able to swim.'' Xion sighed, resting her head on her arm.

''What'd you have to do to break the spell?'' Demyx asked the girl.

''I can't do anything... Somebody else has to.'' Xion muttered.

''Yeah, but what?''

''Somebody has to make a vow of everlasting love. That's what Xemnas said.'' Xion sighed, ''It must be made somebody I trust.''

''And who'd that be?''

''I don't know!'' Xion snapped, pushing away the picture of a certain guy that popped up in her head.

Ventus didn't get the chance to reply, however, for at that moment the loud rustling of leaves coming from the forest gained their attention, followed by a soft thud. Xion gave a yelp, expecting Xemnas to step out from behind the trees. Nothing like that happened, though.

They waited in silence for a few minutes. When still nothing happened, Demyx spoke up, ''-Should we, you know, take a look?''

Xion didn't reply, but just scooped up the turtle in her arms, put the frog on her shoulder and entered the darkness of the forest, ''Where'd the sound come from?'' Xion whispered.

''Over there!'' Demyx said, nodding his head towards a spot a few feet away from them. A grey thing was lying on the moss. Xion walked over to it hesitatingly, and as soon as she reached the thing, kneeled down. The girl noticed that the thing was in fact a falcon. It also wasn't grey, but silver. There was an arrow stuck in it's wing, she noticed when she inspected him more closely.

Xion gasped. She put the turtle and the frog down on the moss beside her, studied the pierced wing calculatingly, split the arrow and pulled it out.

''Ah, it's bleeding!'' Ventus gasped, widening his large sapphire eyes even more. He was right, the wing started bleeding heavily.

Xion tore off a piece of her dress and secured it around the bird's wing. She gave the bandage a last pull, intending on pulling her hand away after, but she was startled when the bird suddenly opened it's eyes and jumped up.

''Hey! Don't touch me, lady! Especially since you were the person that wounded me in the first place!'' it barked fiercely.

''Oh, but that wasn't me, sir!'' Xion said, shaking her head.

''But if it wasn't you, then what does that arrow do in your hand?'' He said, pointing towards the arrow Xion was holding with his wing, ''Yazaa! I knew it! That's the same one I've got here in my-...'' His voice trailed off when he discovered that the arrow had dissapeared from his wing and had been replaced with some light blue bandage.

''I removed it,'' Xion smiled, cocking her head to the side.

''-S-So you could have killed me but instead-''

''-We saved you!'' Demyx snapped.

''Then it is my honour,'' The bird said, bowing gracefully, ''I am Zexion. Lieutenant Zexion.''

''My name is Xion,'' the petite girl said, also bowing for the bird, ''Princess Xion.'' She then pointed at her two friends, ''These are my friends, Demyx and Ventus.'' The two amphibeans looked up at Zexion curiously.

''Nice to meet you.'' He said, ''I owe you, princess. I intend on staying as long as I need to until my debt is repaid.''

''I don't really think there's much you can do,'' Xion sighed, ''He has me under his spell...''

''Who? Wait, did you just say spell-...?''

Suddenly, the four snapped their heads up when the voice of a man sounded in the distance, ''Princess Xion?''

''It's him!'' the teenage girl whispered.

Suddenly, bright colours from somewhere on the ground gained her attention. She looked down when the most beautiful flowers started to sprout all around her.

Zexion looked around frantically, pointing his not-wounded wing at the flowers. He opened his beak to yell something, but Demyx rushed to the spot and muffled the bird's screaming with his webbed hand.

Xion looked down at her friends and decided that it would be the best to hide their friendship from the wizard.

''Stay here,'' She said in a hushed tone before walking off towards the rim of the wood.

She immediately caught sight of a tall figure standing on the grass and walked over to him. He was wearing a long, hooded cloak like he had the last time.

''There you are,'' He said.

Xion didn't reply, she just narrowed her eyes at him.

''Did you think about it?''

Did she think about his proposal? What kind of question was that? Xion didn't need to think about it for a moment, she did not want to marry this man!

''I will never marry you,'' she hissed through clenched teeth.

''That's too bad,'' the grey haired man smirked, ''Maybe you still need some time to think about it.'' He let out a low laugh and pointed one, gloved hand at the sky.

Xion groaned. The sun was rising, it's golden glow lighting up the blue in the distance. She could hear muffled yelling coming from somewhere behind the trees, sounding very much like the Bird's (''Let me go, Imma kick that man's a-'').

The pale girl dismissed it, though, and dejectedly, entered the water.

Xemnas laughed at the girl's back before turning around himself, raising his hand, summoning an inky black and purple door. He walked through it. Just seconds after he had dissapeared, it dissolved in clouds of thick smoke.

Meanwhile on the lake, Xion once again underwent the transformation from a young girl to a raven coloured swan. The waves took her underwater, and she quickly ascended to the surface, making drops of sparkly water flying around from the spot she touched the water.

On the shore, the three animals had abandoned their hiding place behind the trees and entered the clearing.

''...Princess?'' Zexion stuttered, ''What happened to her?''

As the two amphibeans beside him explained everything, Xion sadly made her way over to the shore.

''-That isn't a problem, is it? She should know some men!'' she heard her new friend Zexion call out to Demyx and Ventus.

The swan wobbled over to them and sighed. All four of them were silent.

This silence was broken, though, by Ventus, who cleared his throat and asked, ''There must be some person that'd be able to break the spell... Right, princess Xion?''

Xion bit her lip. She didn't know many guys that were able to leave the palace. Her friends worked in the palace and besides... She wasn't in love with any of the guys. No, they were like brothers to her.

''What about that Riku you mentioned?'' Demyx spoke up suddenly.

Xion made a gagging sound, ''Riku? Are you insane?''

''Why not? Weren't you engaged to him?''

''No!'' Xion snapped, even though, in fact, she was.

''Yes you are!'' Demyx said, smirking, ''Guys, let get him!''

''No! No you are not getting Riku!''

''It's settled then, bird, what's your name?'' Demyx asked.

''It's Zexion.'' The falcon hissed.

''Right. You're getting the prince.''

''Do you know where he lives?'' Ventus wondered.

''Of course. I'm a lieutenant, I hear everything about the dynasty.'' Zexion explained.

''Great! Go find him!'' Demyx said, ''Xion, you coming with him?''

''Do I have to?'' the swan muttered childishly.

''No. If you want to stay a swan for ever, that is.''

''I DON'T WANNA!''

That brings us to the point where Xion and Zexion were flying above the forests, searching for a trace of the palace where Riku lived in the distance.

''It really isn't that far away,'' The falcon kept saying along the way, ''we're almost there.''

''You said that fifty times in the last three hours.'' Xion panted. She really wasn't used to so much flying. It had taken her quite some time to finally staying up in the air, and it hadn't been such a good plan to push her limits.

She decided she should distract herself and looked around. The view wasn't that interesting. Just trees, trees, trees and- oh! Guess what: trees.

''Let's play a game,'' She said then, ''How about 'I spy'?''

''What?''

''It's a game. I say something like, 'I spy with my little eye something beginning with-...'''

Xion was cut off when something soared alongside her head. She gave a squeak and looked up. It was an arrow.

''Look out, princess! A hunter!'' Zexion yelled.

Xion looked down. She didn't see anyone. They weren't alone, though, because less than a second later another arrow shot up from somewhere underneath the trees. The raven swan squeezed her eyes shut and dodged it just in time. Whoever the hunter was was good at aiming.

''Crap!'' She yelped when another arrow barely missed her right wing, ''Zexion, what do we do?''

''Let me think, let me think-... Wait, I got it!'' the silver falcon flapped his wings once and flew up in the direction of the sun. Xion followed him quickly, knowing that, judging from the hunter's excellent aiming skills, if she didn't do anything she would most certainly be killed.

''I learned this technique in the air force,'' Zexion said, ''You use the sun as a disguise.''

Xion looked down at the earth, hoping the sun's brightness would hide her from the hunter's view. There were no new arrows shooting up, so she guessed it worked.

''Yazaa! Now all we need to do is stay in the sun!'' The silver coloured bird cheered.

Riku walked around in the woods. He was tired. The day had been a warm and muggy one, and he was glad the trees were shading him from the bright sun somewhat.

Sora and him had split up earlier that day, so they would be able to search a bigger area in the limited time they had. Searching was even more tiring like this.

The cracking and rustling of the twigs and grass he stepped on seemed to get more ear-deafening by the minute. He wiped his forehead with his hand, hoping to clear it of some of the sweat that made his hair stick to his forehead in messy, silver coloured strands.

It was unusual for him to be exhausted like this, since he liked exercising and was used to long trips to the mountains with his friends. Also, he was cranky because he hadn't succeeded in shooting anything for the dinner his mother was having because the thing was that he couldn't come home until he had. Not that he wanted to, anyway. Being home meant he had to sit straight, wear what he was told, speak politely and all of that shit. He was glad he could get away from all that. Even if it was only for a minute.

He looked up when loud, gargling quacking pierced through the air. It came from above the trees.

The teen took a few swift steps to a spot where he was able to see the sky through the leaves of a big oak tree. There, flying up in the air, was a big bird. A swan, presumably. A smaller bird was flying beside it, but Riku decided that the swan was an easier target. After all, it was easier to hit.
He ran a short while until he was in the lead of the birds. He then aimed his bow and stretched the chord until the bow was ready to fire it's arrow. He let go and the arrow shot up and missed the bird's head by an inch. Strangely, it let out a cry.

Riku snarled. He fired two more arrows that both missed the swan. He was surprised, though, when the smaller bird suddenly shot up and flew into the direction of the sun. The other one quickly pursued it.

Riku followed the two animals with his eyes until, all of a sudden, he was startled by the blinding intensity of the sun. He shielded his eyes with his hand and dropped his bow.

''Shit!'' He spat, reaching for it. He looked up, though, when he heard the smaller bird quacking something at the swan.

…There was something odd about these birds.

Suddenly a thought struck him. He gripped his bow and got up from the ground; What if that swan wasn't a swan, but something else? It wasn't a normal bird, that was certain. Also, it was black. Black swans were very rare in this area.

Maybe it was-... Could it be...

''...The Shape Shifter..?'' Riku whispered.

They flew in circles for about a half an hour, feeling perfectly safe. Well, as safe as you can feel, knowing that several feet underneath you, there's a person wanting to shoot you, pluck your butt and roast you above a fire.

The annoying glint in the corners of Xion's eyes coming from the sun was slowly but surely disappearing. Too bad, only, that she didn't notice. It wasn't until the sun had sunk about a feet that the two noticed they were no longer surrounded by sunlight. Too bad that during that time, the hunter had already climbed up a hill and was now aiming his bow at them, ready to fire.

Xion's head snapped around, searching for the person until her eyes rested on the silver haired man underneath her. She gasped, stunned for a while, but luckily her companion knocked her out of the way just in time before the arrow pierced her chest.

They started flying in the direction of the lake with as much speed as they could muster.

''-T-that was Riku!'' Xion huffed.

''Who?''

''Riku!''

''Your fiancé?''

''Yeah!'' Xion panted, too panic-stricken to be angry at him for using the word 'fiancé'.

''Then shouldn't we slow down? What if he can't follow us?''

''No! No no no, we are NOT slowing down! He's faster than you think!''

''Oh I can't imagine he's that fa- aaargh!'' He was cut off by an arrow zooming just past his head. The falcon clung on to Xion's feet just in time before he would lose his balance and hissed, ''Keep flying, girl!''

After a period of flying at full speed, finally the dark castle came in sight, and after a few minutes the lake did, too.

The swan sped up a little more, knowing that if the moon reached the lake before she did, the whole plan would have failed.

''There are Demyx and Ventus!'' Zexion hissed, nodding towards a spot on the lake that was lighter than the others. The frog was standing on top of the turtle's shield. One way or another, Demyx had succeeded in grabbing two fireflies and was now waving them at the two birds excitedly.

They were happy because of that, for the sun had already disappeared behind the mountains and their surroundings were becoming quite dark.
Panting and gasping for air, Xion and Zexion fluttered their wings more and more lightly until they reached the water. When the swan looked over her shoulder, she could see Riku pushing his way through the trees. The shocking of his shoulders revealed the fact that he was panting as well.

She turned her head back to it's normal position and then looked down.

''Come on, Xion! What are you waiting for? The moon is almost here!'' Ventus called out to her encouragingly.

''-I-I'm scared. He'll kill me!''

''If you don't go now, everything will be ruined. You'll never get a chance like this again!'' Demyx said, loosening his grip on the fireflies and blowing them away.

Xion took a deep breath and whispered, ''...Okay...''

Then she turned around and flapped her wings until she flew up lightly. She sped off toward the silver haired teenager then, her feathers barely brushing the water. She was so very scared at that moment, because she knew he would kill her. He wouldn't show mercy.

You can imagine how she felt when she brushed down on the water and saw Riku aiming his bow at her, tightening his grip on the chord attached to it.

She squeezed her eyes, shut, preparing for the blow.

Nothing came, though. Only silence and a light that was bright enough for her to see it even through her eyelids.

She opened her eyes and gasped, looking down at the blinding glow surrounding her, and the splashing of the water. She looked back at Riku, and noticed he was still aiming his bow at her. His eyes, though, were widened in surprise.

Once again the water started splashing up, twisting around her body and cupping it gently. The light splatters of water danced around with the waves until the swan was completely surrounded by the water and all of a sudden, they dropped down in the lake again.

With one last, sparkling splash, Riku's surroundings went dark and silent once more.

His jaw dropped and he loosened his grip on his wooden bow, making it slip through his fingers and fall down on the cold grass.

There, standing waist-deep in the water, stood Xion. She looked at him with big eyes, her pale skin almost glowing in the white light of the moon. She looked dirty and cold and her dress was torn, but it was her. No doubt.

...Or... It looked like her.

He reached down and grabbed his wooden longbow, not taking his eyes off the girl before him.

The swan changing into Xion before his eyes... Maybe it really was the Shape Shifter.

Riku took a few steps into the water and aimed his bow.

Xion gasped.

The silver haired teen took another step closer to her.

Why didn't he lower his bow? Couldn't he see her?

With a snarl, she dove towards him and yanked him down by his collar, ''Lower that bow, you shitface! You've tried to kill me about six times today! Isn't it enough?'' She barked in his face. She grabbed his longbow and swung her arm forward, using it to smack him around the head. Then she threw it towards the shore with a roar, making it land on the grass.

Riku sweat dropped. 'Yeah, this is the real Xion.'

''What'd you expect? I see a rare, black swan flying in the air that seems to be talking to a bird next to it and think, 'Hey, maybe it's Xion!''' He yelled, ''I'm not insane!''

''Why'd you try to shoot a rare bird, then?''

''I'm the one asking the questions! What have you been doing here? And why were you a bird?''

Xion remembered that they were too loud. What if Xemnas would hear them?

She placed a finger on her lips, signalling for him to be quiet.

His eye twitched, 'Wasn't she the one that started screaming?' But he was silent none the less.

''I was enchanted by Xemnas.''

'Xemnas. That was the wizard's name.' Riku frowned, he knew that wizard had something to do with all this.

''Every day, at sunrise, I change into a swan. At sunset, I change back to myself. I have to be here to do that, though.'' She pointed at the water.

''Why did he enchant you?'' Riku whispered.

''He wants to marry me,'' Xion replied softly, ''So he receives the power over my kingdom.''

The teen before her bit his lip, ''How do you break the spell?''

''Somebody,'' Xion started, fidgeting her thumbs awkwardly, ''has to- er...''

Riku rolled his eyes, ''Spit it out.''

''Makeavowofeverlastinglove,'' the girl muttered, ignoring the heat rushing to her cheeks.

The teen in front of her arched an eyebrow.

''Somebody has to make a vow of everlasting love.'' She repeated, more slowly this time.

''...And that person would be...?'' Riku questioned.

Xion didn't reply. She was not going to say it.

Riku just sighed. ''Fine, I'll do it.''

''...Thank you...'' Xion whispered, hanging her head, ''When will you-''

''My mother is having a ball at the palace tomorrow night. Be sure to be there.''

Xion nodded. She tried to force the warmth in her cheeks to go away, but it didn't. She looked up and immediately a weird, fluttery feeling settled in her stomach. Startled, she looked down at the water again.

She snapped her head up when the cracking of twigs coming from the rim of the forest filled her ears.

''Go! Go go go!'' She yelped, punching him in the chest lightly.

He locked eyes with her once, before taking a deep breath and diving underwater. Xion felt the stream of the water brushing past her legs, pointing to the fact that he was swimming away underneath the surface. She could only pray he would make it without having to draw breath.
She sighed. 'What was that feeling back there with that jerk?'

She was snapped out of her thoughts when a masculine voice pierced through the air, ''Xion?''

It was Xemnas.

''Here I am!'' Xion called out to him. She walked out of the water, shivering.

''-Are you alone?'' The dark silhouette asked.

''Yes.'' Xion answered, trying to keep her voice from shaking

''Are you sure?''

''-Er... Yes. Why?''

''I was sure I heard voices.''

''Voices? Don't be silly,'' She let out a nervous, high pitched cackle.

''Then who,'' Said Xemnas, kneeling down, ''does this belong to?'' He held up a wooden bow. Xion flinched.

'''Somebody has to make a vow of everlasting love''' He cited, laughing, '''Fine, I'll do it'''

''No!'' Xion cried, before he yanked her foreward by her arm, summoned the gate and walked through it, pulling her with him.

''It might not be too comfortable,'' Xemnas called down from a window above Xion, ''But it can't be helped.''

The princess was located in a dark, circular tower, now in her swan form. Even though the tower was very high, there was nothing but muddy, smelly water inside it. Xion assumed that outside of the mossy stone walls, was the moat. Way up high on the ceiling were a few windows, some leading outside and some leading to the castle.

Perhaps this tower was used as a lavatory. Xion shuddered at the thought.

The swan narrowed her eyes at the wizard above her and snarled.

''Don't look at me like that, Xion, what's wrong?'' He paused, tapped his chin and said, ''Oh, you must be angry because you cannot go to the ball.''

'No shit Sherlock,' Xion thought, rolling her eyes.

''I knew it. But you know, I can't just bring you to the ball,'' He said, ''Although... I could bring it to you.''

What did he mean?

''Ok, first you'll need a prince...'' He mused, ''Riku is taken, of course, but here's a substitute for you. Saïx, bring him in.''

A higher window opened to reveal a boy about Xion's age.

'Sora?'

''Ah, no, please, don't push m- aaaargh!'' He cried out when a blue haired man wearing a cloak similar to the one Xemnas was wearing appeared from behind the brunet and shoved him. He fell down, trashing his limbs, and eventually landed in the water with a splash.

''Isn't it sad?'' Xemnas said with a satanic smirk plastered on his greasy face, ''Found him strolling around in the mountains.''

Xion shot the man a glare before diving down, gripping Sora's collar with her beak and pulling him upwards. She brought him to a rusty chain that hung from a spot on the wall and assisted him when he tried to grab it. It seemed like he didn't understand why he was helped by a black swan, but he thought it wouldn't do him any harm.

''Thanks,'' He whispered, sapphire coloured eyes sincere.

The swan nodded, but then focused her attention on the man above them again.

''I have a lot to prepare,'' Xemnas said, ''Have a good time, you two.''

Xion hung her head.

There was no hope.

That was part two! 8D

Dohoho, so how'd you like it? Review, please!

~Lion3queen