"So is it like this all the time?" Poppy suddenly asked, glancing over at Kaitlyn and myself after taking a peak out the window of our carriage. "Being in the Disney Wizards, I mean,"

The three of us were on our way to meet up with the boys at Cinderella's Castle for a big ball that Mickey had planned to celebrate the Wizards victory over the Dark Anomalies. It had seemed like we had finally won the war between this foe, and honestly, from the bottom of my heart, I wanted to believe that. But yet again I've developed that sick feeling in my stomach that's trying to convince me otherwise. That battle back at the Pride Lands just seemed too easy. The previous time's we fought them seemed to feel tougher at least. 

Like the time we battled Jafar in his new genie form? The Ghost Beast? Heck even the leader's Thunder Cloud form nearly killed us good as we raced, or swam rather, for our lives as we made our way to Atlantica. 

"Not really," Kaitlyn shrugged in reply. "Well, we don't throw huge parties like this as often as we used to," 

"Let me guess..." Poppy began with a quiet mutter. "Before the Dark Anomalies?"

Kaitlyn snapped her fingers before pointing a finger gun at my cousin, "Bingo," She then looked over at me, sensing my distraction from the conversation. She gently nudged my shoulder, catching my attention. "You alright, Ava?"

"Hmm?" I shook my head, brushing a stray lock of hair out of my face. "I'm fine, just lost in my own train of thought again," 

"You were thinking about the Pride Land battle, weren't you?" Poppy predicted, a look of worry on her face. 

"I'm sorry, Poppy, I can't help it," I sighed as I leaned back against my seat. "There's just something about it that felt off to me," 

"If it makes you feel any better, the guys mentioned something like that to me earlier," Kaitlyn spoke up after checking her nails.

I sat up in my seat, my head immediately turned to face the ginger haired girl. "Who? When?!"

"Ben and Sebastian, they were talking about it last night after you and your cousins left. Well, mostly Ben," She answered. "Sebastian was so head strong about your win back in the Pride Lands. I can't exactly blame the guy, you three and Santiago kicked the Category 4's sorry butt like it was no problem. Plus Sebastian looks so adorable when he boasts about himself," 

"Hmm," I hummed with uncertainty, fiddling with my fingers. "Maybe I should talk to Ben about that when we get to Cinderella's Castle," 

"Especially so if you feel like your previous battles against the Dark Anomalies were tougher, right?" Poppy added. "Speaking of, you technically still need to fill me and the others in what else you and your friends have been up to in this world," 

"I'll tell you everything when this is all over," I promised her with a small smile. "Beginning, middle, climax, and end," 

"Save it for after the ball, Chosen One," Kaitlyn rolled her eyes playfully in my direction. "Let's have some fun first, alright? We've earned it after everything the Dark Anomalies put us through," 

"... Sounds like a plan," I nodded my head in agreement. 

As the carriage crossed the border into Magic Kingdom and made its way into Main Street, the bright lights of the castle shined through the window of our carriage, making the glitter of our dresses sparkle like the stars up in the night sky. I smiled at the sight, taking a glance out the window to catch one more look of the castle.

Oh yeah, I thought to myself. This is going to be fun!  

********

"So what exactly does it take to be a Disney Wizard?" Ty asked suddenly, looking over at the high ranking Wizards.

Ty, Vince, and Ben were out standing about at the front steps of Cinderella's Castle. All of the guests had already been welcomed and ventured inside to attend to the party. All except for three girls they knew. 

"Why ask now?" Ben questioned in reply as he adjusted his tie. 

Ben and Vince wore matching black suits, the only difference being the colour of their ties. Ben wore a green one while Vince wore a purple tie. Ty wore something different, black dress shoes and pants, a white dress shirt with a black vest over top with light pink floral like pattern and gold highlights along the rims.  

Ty shrugged. "To pass the time while we wait for the girls I suppose," 

"I'm kinda curious too," Vince piped in agreement. "Besides, the sooner the others get here, the sooner we can go inside. I'm getting chilly!" 

"Well if you really want to know, you've got to---" Before Ben could press on, Sebastian suddenly appeared as he slid past him as he began to sing. "SEB!"

"Be a man!
We must be swift as the coursing river,"

Then Jam showed up quickly after him, surprising Ben as he started the boy from behind.

"Be a man!
With all the force of a great typhoon," 

"Jam, where did you--?!"

"Be a man!
With all the strength of a raging fire," 

The duet posed together, linking their arms around each other's shoulders as they waved their free hands up to the sky.

"Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!" 

The two boys laughed away as Ben crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the pair as he scanned their attire. They were both dressed for the occasion but their ties were loose and their shirts were buttoned up. 

"Where the heck have you guys been?" He asked.

"Well we finished our fittings way faster than you blokes, so to pass the time I thought I'd show Jam around here in Fantasyland," Sebastian explained, still recovering from his laughing fit.

"And you never thought to at least say something to me?" Ben interrogated. "The girls are going to be here any second, why do you even look so... sweaty?"

"We may have popped by, uh," Jam began but paused, a puzzled look on his face as he tried to speak further, yet couldn't. Looking over at Sebastian, he continued. "What was that place called again?"

"Gaston's Tavern?" He recalled.

"Yeah, that's it!" Jam exclaimed. 

"You guys are drunk now, aren't you?" Ty concluded, a blank expression on his face indicating that he had seen something like this before with his brother. 

"I wouldn't say drunk, bro," Jam defended. "We only had a mug of beer, each!"

"And it was low fat too!" Sebastian quickly added before smirking over at his blonde friend. "Why are you complaining, Ben? You used to go to the Tavern with me all the time!"

Ben face palmed, shaking his head, "I used to, Sebastian, past tense," he clarified as he made his way over to his partner, gently shoving Jam off him as he began to fix his tie and shirt. "Mickey is already inside and the girls will be here any second, you don't want Kaitlyn seeing you like this do you?"

Sebastian shrugged. "Why should I care? Knowing her, she may have joined us," 

"Just try act professional, both of you?" Ben pleaded, glancing a glare at the eldest Macht cousin. 

"Yes sir," Jam flicked a salute in the Defense Wizards direction, however due to his slight buzz of a side effect, he unintentionally activated his Attack magic, sending a pinch of red energy towards Ben and slapping him in the face. 

"Ow!" His glare sharpened as he stepped closer to Jam. "What did I just say?!"

"I didn't mean to!" Jam quickly defended, waving his hands apologetically as he tried to hold back a snicker. 

"Sober up guys, I mean it," Ben ordered. 

A quiet neigh caught the boys attention as they looked down to see a golden carriage pull up to the front steps of the castle. The driver sprang out of his seat, touching down on the tarmac before opening the door for the guests inside. 

******

One by one, the three of us stepped out of the carriage, taking in the sight of Cinderella's Castle. Our eyes trailed down and we caught sight of some of the boys waiting for us at the top of the stair case. 

I couldn't help but giggle as I saw Sebastian fix up his hair once he saw Kaitlyn. I couldn't blame him. She looked absolutely beautiful, heck stunning even. But that's not to say Poppy and I didn't look just as wonderful.  The three of us made our way up the stairs to group up with the boys. 

"You guys are looking pretty sharp tonight," Kaitlyn complimented.

"Why thank you," Sebastian smiled, motioning his hand as if he were tipping a hat over his head.

I scanned the group, noticing that we were missing someone. "Where is Santiago?"

"He's inside, chatting with Mickey," Ben pointed out, waving everyone inside. "Come on, we've got a party to attend to!"

Sebastian coughed, extending his arm out for Kaitlyn. "Shall we M'lady?"

Kaitlyn smirked, scoffing playfully at the boy as she took his arm. "Sometimes you really get on my nerves, you know that?"

"In a good way, right?" He questioned, raising a brow at the girl.

"I'll let you figure that out," She smiled.

Vince and Ty motioned for Poppy and I to walk first before they and Jam followed behind us as we followed Ben inside the castle. The main hall shined with marble walls and floors, a red carpet marked the way down to the main ball room as royal guards stood at their posts every 10 centimeters away from each other. 

The ball room had silky light blue walls with a white floor. Buffet and food tables were stationed all along the sides with a small orchestra performing on a stage, playing an all too familiar tune. 

"So this is love, Mmmmmm
So this is love
So this is what makes life divine
I'm all aglow, Mmmmmm
And now I know 
The key to all heaven is mine," 

There was another staircase at the end of the room where I could Santiago, wearing a matching suit with Vincent, black suit with a purple tie chatting with Mr. and Mrs. Mouse themselves. Mickey wore a royal blue suit with Minnie wearing a matching dress with a white sash around her waist and a bow on her head. 

The ball room itself was huge, way bigger than Cinderella's library when I first came here. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever set foot in this castle since I first came to this alternate world when Ben brought me here. To think it was just mere days ago all of this happened. It feels like it's been longer. 

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starved," Poppy sighed, almost drooling on her shoes as she spotted the food that was being served. "I'm going to help myself to some sweets,"

"I'm in!" Vince beamed as he quickly followed his cousin, Ty and Jam nodding in agreement. 

"I should go and make sure to keep Jam away from anymore drinks," Ben shrugged in defeat before quickly following suit. 

"You're not gonna go with them, Ava?" Sebastian asked, looking over at me.

I was lost in my own thoughts I didn't hear him at first. I shook my head, flinching as I looked over him and Kaitlyn. "Oh! I think I'm just going to look around for a bit."

"Suit yourself," Sebastian shrugged before glancing over at Kaitlyn once more. "May I have this dance?"

"I suppose one dance couldn't hurt," she grinned.

I watched as the pair made their way to the dance floor, joining various Disney couples as they mingled into the crowd. When they left, I had thought about making my way around to meet up with Santiago, but just as I was about to leave, a familiar voice that I hadn't heard in a while caught my attention. 

"Avalyn! Over here girl!"

I looked over to see a small red dragon waving over at me, jumping up and down on a table. I gasped with a smile as I quickly made my way over towards him, carefully maneuvering myself around some of the guests. "Mushu!"

"How've you been?" He asked, munching on a cracker with a melted brie cheese spread. 

"I've been great! Busy, but great," I answered. "Where have you been for the last while?"

"As much as I enjoy being your Disney Guardian, I'm still the Guardian to the Fa Family so I pop in and help out my girl Mulan with saving China and all," He explained.

"Have there been any sightings of the Dark Anomalies in China at all?" I asked with worry.

"Oh, thank the ancestors, no!" He sighed with relief, "But I guess now we don't have to worry about them ever again, thanks to you and your team!" 

My eyes widened as I sat down on a chair, inching closer to the dragon. "You know about that already?"

"Everyone knows it, girl! It's why we're throwing this party to begin with!" He exclaimed, a bright smile on his face. He picked up another cracker from his plate, extending it to me. "Want one?"

I accepted the token, taking a bite. "Thanks,"

"And just between you and me," His voice lowered to a whisper as he motioned myself to move closer. Moving my head forward, Mushu whispered in my ear, saying, "Word on the street is The Man wants to meet you,"

If my eyes could go even wider, they'd be hanging out of my eye sockets. The Man, the so called Leader of the Disney Wizards and who knows what else, wanted to meet me?!

"Really?" I looked back at the dragon, eating the rest of my cracker out of anticipation. 

"Now you didn't hear that from me, alright? I don't know exactly when, but he wants to meet you and have a talk, one on one," He stated. "It was supposed to be a secret, so don't say nothing to nobody, you got that?"

"Got what?" A voice spoke up.

The dragon and I yelped as I jumped out of my chair, the piece of furniture nearly falling over. Santiago stood by the table, a playful smirk on his face with his hands behind his back. Now that I got to see him up close, I noticed that he got his hair done too. Nicely combed, and a tad wavy with some gel to make it shine in the bright lights of the room. Gosh he looked handsome!

Not only that, but Mulan and Shang were with him too! Mulan wore a beautiful royal Chinese dress with a red and golden colour scheme, while Shang wore a fancier and more proper armour type of uniform like he had in the movie. 

Mushu chuckled nervously, whirling the end of his tail with his fingers. "Ah heh heh heh, hey guys! How's it going?"

"What were you doing Mushu?" Mulan asked, crossing her arms. 

"Nothing! Just having a friendly conversation with a friend and catching up," He answered. 

"Is the catching up part about anything I need to be aware of?" Santiago questioned, raising a questionable brow at the dragon. 

The dragon scoffed with a hiss. "Not at all!" 

"I think you've caused enough trouble for now, Guardian," Shang scowled with a tease. 

"Come along Mushu," Mulan beckoned. 

"Alright, I'm coming," Mushu sighed as he crawled down the table before scaling up the side of Mulan's dress, perching himself onto her shoulder. "I'll see you around, Chosen One,"

"Later, Mushu," I waved goodbye as the couple took their leave with the dragon. 

The music came to a close as the dancers applauded the orchestra before a new song began to play and the dance began a new. I caught sight of Kaitlyn and Sebastian among the dancers. They seemed to be having a good time together. 

 "A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you're fast asleep
In dreams you will lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep," 

"You look beautiful," Santiago complimented. 

"Thank you," I nodded in reply, a small blush showing on my cheeks. 

"Would you like to join everyone on the dance floor?" He asked.

"Me?" I perked up with surprise. "Oh, I don't know..."

"Why not?" He questioned with curiosity. 

"All of the Princes and Princesses are there," I stuttered, trying to make up an excuse. "I'd just feel out of place,"

"Kaitlyn and Sebastian are down there," Santiago pointed out, "They seem to be managing alright. You'd blend right in,"

"I'm sorry, Santi, but I couldn't," I insisted, shuffling in place as I glanced at the floor. "Besides, I'm not a Princess,"

Santiago's facial expression dimmed to a sulk as he glanced back over to the top of the staircase at the back of the room, spotting Mickey mouthing words of encouragement. Say it, you can do it!

Nodding, he coughed into his fist to regain his composure and confidence before looking back over at me. "Well, that's a shame," he spoke as he gently took my hand in his and continued, "You've always been a Princess to me," 

My blush turned darker as Santiago raised my hand to his lips and kissed it. "Santi..."

His smile grew as he let go of my hand, took  a step away from me and took a bow, "Your highness," he looked back up into my eyes, extending his hand towards me. "May I have this dance?"

I couldn't help but laugh as I reached over to grasp his hand in mine, my smile never leaving as I spoke, "I'd like that very much,"

"Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling through!"

His smile brightened as he led the two of us to the dance floor, a group of dancers separating as they created a path, allowing us to pass through to the middle of the dance floor to join Kaitlyn and Sebastian. Hearing a high pitched giggle, I looked to see that Mickey and Minnie had decided to join us as well. The six of us bowed/curtsied each other before the boys twirled us girls in a circle before pulling us back towards them to continue the dance with the others.  

"No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing," 

"You see?" Minnie whispered to Mickey. "They're all having a wonderful time together! Now will you consider getting rid of that rule?"

"Maybe..." Mickey's voice trailed off, pondering the thought. 

"Mr. Toledo did have some valuable points how it would benefit the Wizards," Minnie added. 

"Oh... alright," Mickey caved in, gently pressing his forehead against his lover. "If it means that much to them. I'll speak with him about it after the Ball,"

"Thank you, Mickey," The female mouse praised, pecking his lips as they continued to dance. 

"The dream that you wish will come true!"

As the song came to a close and the dancers applauded once more, Santiago wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into an embrace. "After everything this world has put us through, I'm glad the two of us are together right here and now," 

He gently caressed my cheek with his right hand and slowly started to lean in, closing his eyes. Wait a minute, was he going to kiss me? But that goes against the rules of the Disney Wizards, doesn't it? Mickey is right there, what if he sees us?

In that exact moment, it felt like time stood still for me. I thought to myself, wait... why should it matter? 

I looked back up at Santiago as time came back and he continued to slowly lean down towards me face. I moved my hand back behind his neck as I began to thin the gap between us.  I felt his warm breathe on my lips and--!

"LOOK OUT!" 

The two of us jumped in our place, Santiago's grip around my body tightening as everyone frantically looked around for the source of the noise. I looked over towards the buffet table and that's when I saw it.

One of the chefs was delivering a giant cake to the table, but he lost his footing and ended up tossing the cake into the air. It would splattered all over Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen, but I noticed a green force field defending them. Someone used Defensive magic to protect them! 

My mind instantly thought of Ben, but my mind snapped when I saw my blonde friend standing at the other end of the table, hands not glowing a bright green, with Vince, Ty, and Jam. That's when I realized; Where was Poppy?

I looked back over to the force field to find out that there was a third person inside as well. The force field dispersed, the remaining pieces of cake falling to the floor in a circle around the trio, and that's when I recognized the Asian girl in the beautiful green dress. 

"Poppy?!" I exclaimed louder than I thought I would.

Taking steady breathes, she looked around before meeting my gaze. "I... just did that!"

"Three new Wizards in two days, that's a new record," Kaitlyn commented. 

Princess Tiana thanked my cousin for saving them as the squeal of a bird caught our attention. I looked up to see Zazu fly into the room, Mickey extending his arm out for the bird to land on. He looked over at the mouse and spoke, "Sir, it's time," 

"Right," Mickey nodded with confirmation. He then looked over at me, speaking firmly. "Avalyn Macth, The Man would like to see you,"

The atmosphere around me grew intense as my grip on Santiago's hand tightened. Mushu was right after all. He did want to meet me. But I had no idea it was going to be right now!

"Ava?" Santiago quietly called my name.

I glanced over at my boyfriend, smiling reassuringly. "I'm alright," I slowly let go of his hand, stepping towards Mickey and Zazu. "Where can I meet him?"

"Follow Zazu," Mickey instructed. "He'll take you straight to him,"