[Kingdom Hearts AU] Someone to Watch Out for You

When Stars Dance

A year later and Ven didn't think he had changed much. He certainly didn't look much different at the very least. Goofy had been rather accommodating to Ven's squire attire. The only real addition were braces for his dominant hand and lower legs. It was two steps down from wearing his Keyblade armor in whole. In fact, Goofy even let him use the armor to take on training exercises with a bit more punch to them. The amount of times Ven actually needed to wear his armor were few, but in the instances where he did? It was a lifesaver.

Soon enough, his Keyblade armor was synonymous to his status as Queen Minnie's protector. It was a symbol of protection to everyone. One glance and you knew help was on the way. Ven thought back to Pete's disguise of Captain Justice and almost laughed.

Today Ven was going to be knighted. It was an event that made him both proud and anxious. This was the true mark that he was part of Disney Castle and one its citizens. This was his home now, and he was going to protect it with his life. Curious, Ven went over to his window that held a pretty good view of Disney Town and tried to see how many people had shown up so far. He could already hear the big house band play triumphant marching music to pump everyone's spirits up.

Sure enough, from here Ventus could see more than half of Disney Town's residents were already grouped in the main square. Everyone was greeting each other as if they hadn't seen their friends in awhile. He almost couldn't wait to see the decorations at ground level. Up here it just seemed like a mess of color. Which, considering Disney Town's usual color schemes, made the ceremony that much more overwhelming.

Resting his arms on the window sill, Ven idly said to himself, "I wonder how Terra would react with all this stuff. Bet he wouldn't even believe it was for me. Heh."

The soon-to-be knight paused.

"I wish they were both here to see this." he decided in one last murmur before deciding to head down to the square.

The first thing Ven saw when he crossed the gateway from the castle to the square was Minnie crying.

"Queen Minnie!" he suddenly declared as he got to her side. "Is something wrong? Did something happen?"

Choking back a laugh from her light sobs, Minnie shook her head.

"Oh no, Ventus dear." Minnie assured him. "I'm just really happy. It's a big day for you, and oh! I invited some important guests. I wasn't sure if they'd come or not, but they'll be here shortly."

"Alright." he agreed with a nod. He then gave the queen a formal bow before inquiring, "May I still escort you until the festivities properly start, my queen?"

Minnie laughed; a genuine one no longer held back by tears.

"I'd be honored, Sir Ventus."

Smiling, the duo walked around the square with no real aim or goal. They were occasionally stopped by a citizen or two that wanted to give Ven their congratulations. Not a single one got annoying or too overbearing. Minnie even nudged Ven to notice a pair of young dog-like female citizens that appeared to have a crush on him. He gave them a polite wave and the girls in turn huddled in a circle to giggle.

"Oh!" Minnie suddenly declared at one point, almost scaring Ven. "They're here!"

"Who?" Ven wondered. His answer came rather quickly when someone barrel hugged Minnie.

"Minnie!" the newcomer, a female cat in a frilly pink and blue dress with matching sun hat, happily proclaimed. "It's been forever! Those boys really need to make travel easier between our worlds."

"Ortensia!" Minnie happily said back, even returning her hug. "You're right. It has been awhile. But... don't tell me you came alone?"

"Of course not." Ortensia huffed. The spunky cat lady spun on her heel, then brought her fingers to her lips to let out a loud, shrill whistle.