The Balloon Incident

Part One Arania's day begins

It was Valentine's morning and I had made a lovely breakfast for myself and MusiKai. To set the mood for the day I made heart shaped pancakes, raspberry syrup, strawberry jam, and hot chocolate. He came into the kitchen carrying roses and a box. He laid the box on the table in front of me and put the roses into a vase.

I opened the box and found a lovely red velvet dress, just the right size. I smiled at him, though I wasn't to sure I liked the look on his face. He was grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"I have a surprise for you this afternoon." He said. "I would like you to wear that for me." I nodded and finished eating. I wore the dress as he asked, adding a red jacket over it so I would look presentable for working in the store that morning. I had planned on closing the store at noon that day so I would be able to spend time with MusiKai. He dropped me off saying he had a few things left to do before the surprise. The morning went uneventfully, with a few men coming in getting last minute gifts from forgetting what the day was. MusiKai arrived back at about eleven, and helped me finish up the sales and closing the store for the day.

I still was wary of his expression, but I trusted him, so as I got into the car, I tossed my jacket in the backseat. He took me to a very nice restaurant for lunch. Afterwards he drove us to the edge of a patch of woods. I got out of the car and stood there waiting for him. He walked over carrying a blindfold that matched my dress, and a CD player with headphones. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and he smiled. "Please put these on, I want it to be an absolute surprise." He got ready to pout but I put my hand out, laughing.

"Alright, I'll wear them, you don't need to do that." I let him put the blindfold on, and put the headphones on myself arranging them so they were comfortable. He pressed the play button and my favorite romantic songs played in my ears. I smiled, so far so good. He picked me up so I would not fall since I couldn't see. I relaxed into his arms and enjoyed him holding me. I wasn't sure how long he carried me like that, but eventually he set me down, but still held my arms to my sides and didn't remove the blindfold yet. It felt like a good ten minutes later when he did. I took off the headphones and opened my eyes. I took a deep breath, and started screaming at the top of my lungs.

Part Two, MusiKai tells his side

I carried her from the car to a clearing in the field nearby. There I had set up a hot air balloon, a bottle of wine and a heart shaped box of chocolate covered cherries waiting in the basket. I set her on her feet, and started filling the balloon with air. I let it rise for a while then took off her blindfold, and she took the earphones off herself. I smiled waiting her reaction to the magnificent view. As she opened her eyes, she took in a deep breath, I thought she was stunned by the beauty of the area from above. Boy was I surprised when the breath was let out in a long, ear piercing scream. My eyes widened as I watched her. I never realized a living being could go that long without a breath. She stopped the screeching and started shouting "get me down" repeatedly. She freaked out, as I've heard it put before, screeching it at the top of her lungs. She was looking around wide eyed and panicked. She grabbed my forelock and started pulling on it, still shrieking and looking around wildly. I tried to restrain her, but she started flailing her arms and legs. I doubled over in pain as she hit me in a rather sensitive spot. Unfortunately for me she chose that moment to bring her knee up and hit me in the face. I was knocked backwards out of the basket and started falling. Just before I got out of range, I managed to grab the basket with my brace and pull myself back into it.

At this point she had stopped screaming and was huddled in the corner of the basket, repeatedly muttering, "get me down, oh god, get me down." I watched her carefully as I brought the balloon down, I was still sore where she hit me the first time. She still was muttering and shaking as the basket touched the grass. I carefully tied the balloon down and carried her back to the car, setting her in the passenger seat and buckling her in. She was still shaking, but had quieted down, so I left her there and got the chocolates and wine from the balloon. When I got back, she was standing beside the car, glaring at me. I had never seen anyone as angry as I saw her then.

"Where in the devil did you get the idea for that stunt? You knew I am terrified of heights. What the hell were you thinking." Her voice was level, but I could hear the fury lurking under the surface. I pouted as I answered, but she was too angry for it to effect her.

"MyKai suggested that a hot air balloon ride would be romantic. You can stand the roof, so I thought you would not be very afraid in the basket." I lowered my eyes, I realized how much trouble I was in.

"You did, did you...boy were you wrong. When we get home you get to take care of Meow's kitty litter and bathe her every day for a month, and no chocolate for two days." I didn't dare argue with her, so I silently got in and drove us home.

Part Three, Suffering Arania's wrath

I left MusiKai at home to do the things I had told him. I chuckled to myself as I thought of the trouble he would have bathing the cat. My thoughts turned back to the task at hand. First I would need to pay a visit to Heather, she would have just what I needed. I drove to the castle and found her in the greenhouse as usual. She allowed me to borrow what I needed, so the next step was finding MyKai. I wanted to guarantee his idea sharing would not involve MusiKai for a long while. I found out that he was on the roof at the moment, so I went up there. I found him looking out at the woods. "oh MyKai, can I speak to you for a moment?" I did not let my voice betray me.

"Of course. What can I do for you?" he turned to me.

"You like hot air balloon rides a lot?" I walked over to him and held up the wand I borrowed from Heather. "Well, I do not, and thanks to your...suggestion, I was made to go on one." I stepped closer, and the look on his face told me he knew he was in trouble.

"Because MusiKai your idea heard
Though not to touch shall be insured
For the fear that I did know
To the newbie wing you go"

At that I touched him with the wand, and he vanished. I cocked my head, and a few seconds later heard the screaming and giggling of the newbies, and MyKai's desperate yells to be let out. I smiled to myself. It would only last an hour, but that should be enough to leave an impression. Especially since the spell stripped him down to his codpiece, which out of respect for his mistress, I made doubly sure would not come off should they catch him. At that, I returned home, and found MusiKai drenched from head to toe, and Meow perched on the couch, dry as a bone. I hope they learned their lessons.