Title: A Sorceress & Her Knight
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Characters/Pairings: Naminé, Roxas, Aqua; RokuNami
Rating: PG
Warnings: Taking a bit of FF8 sorceress logic and mixing it with my own headcanon. The story follows my KH3!AU. At this point of the story, Kairi, Oswald, and Naminé have rescued Aqua (and DiZ because's he was there, too) from the Realm of Darkness. The gang has regrouped, reconvenned, and split off again to continue undoing the "hurt." Riku, Sora, and Mickey are trying to locate Terra's Lingering Will (let's just say that the portal in Disney Castle to the Keyblade Graveyard is gone now). Lea, Xion, and Oswald try to recruit the now human former Organization members to the Light or at least make sure they're not sided with Master Xehanort. Roxas, Naminé, and Auqa return to Castle Oblivion to try and awaken Ventus. When the "Wake Ventus" team gets to the castle, they encounter Maleficent who is once more trying to set up a base of operations (Maleficent hints that she's working with Vanitas to keep Ven asleep and sealed away). This story picks up right after Maleficent's defeat.
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is owned by Square Enix, Disney, and Tetsuya Nomura. Rinoa Heartilly and all pertaining to Final Fantasy VIII is owned by Square Enix. Atlantis: The Lost Empire is owned by Disney. I own the stories I write.
Summary: Maleficent is defeated once and for all, but she must have a successor.
Word Count: 1,860
Dedicated to AmatusVanitas. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
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Naminé struggled to breathe through the black smoke that rose from the green flames that ate away at Maleficent's slain body of black and purple scales. The dark plumes filled the space of Castle Oblivion that Naminé had altered into a facsimile of a throne room she had drawn from an unfamiliar memory—though the shocked expression on Aqua's face revealed the memory's origins. Slowly, then all at once, the smoke cleared and the last flame died out, leaving only a black cloak like a scorch mark upon the beige marble of the room.
Chains rattled in Naminé's mind as the scene before her superimposed another, one with gray stone and Darkness speaking through a wayward friend. The chains rattled again as a series of guttural caws reverberated from the dark rafters above, outside the now fading memory.
Naminé heard neither Roxas' comment on Maleficent's defeat nor Aqua's question about the bird call. All Naminé heard were chains rattling in tempo, pulsing at the back of her mind and spreading through her veins with each beat.
Her sandaled feet shuffled towards the tattered cloak, the blue soles catching on the charred material and bringing Naminé to her knees. The cloth burned where it touched her exposed skin, yet the young blonde found herself unable to react. White hot, the heat stabbed thousand of pin pricks deeper and deeper into her pale skin. Against self-preservation, against pain, against every single thought running through her head, Naminé's pale arms languidly gathered the cloak and pressed it close to her searing chest.
The rattling grew thunderous, its rhythm escalating to a fever pitch.
Then a raven with its inky black feathers and knowledgeable beady eyes flew down to perch upon her hunched back.
Green like mint, like shamrock, like lime, like emerald. It consumed her, scorched her from the inside out—her mind melting with images of viridian hues, her insides boiling with dartmouth lava running through her veins, her skin and hair burning in malachite flames.
With a screeching caw, blissful numb darkness stole Naminé away from the green inferno as well as the panicked cries of Roxas and Aqua.
.
"Even when she dies, Maleficent always has to be theatrical," Roxas griped as he swatted at a lingering wisp of black smoke. He didn't bother with looking at where the last of the flames had died—faded memories stolen borrowed from Sora were clear enough to rightly predict what Roxas would find on the sun warmed flooring. Instead, the Key of Destiny looked around and pondered the origins of the throne room that Naminé had conjured up for the battle their trio had just won.
Aqua had faltered and stared wide-eyed when they had burst into the room with Maleficent hot on their heels during the final stages of their fight. There hadn't been time to analyze Aqua's expression, but now that he had a minute to spare, Roxas wagered that the throne room had been pulled from the blue-haired Keyblade Master's memories.
"Did you hear a bird right now?" questioned Aqua, Stormfall still drawn. If the older woman's defensive stance were anything to go by, none of Aqua's memories of the throne room included birds—the avian creature's presence obviously unexpected and apparently unwanted.
"No," responded Roxas, coming back from his thoughts when Aqua spoke. His own Keyblade flashed back into his dominant sword hand as a scratchy caw sounded. "Yes. Naminé, do you see any bir- -What's wrong?"
The former female Nobody made her way to where Maleficent's cloak lay, the seared fabric catching on the girl's sandals and sending her to her knees. When she didn't get back up, Roxas took quick steps to reach her side.
"Naminé?" Roxas stretched out a hand to rest upon her shoulder, but was rebuffed in his efforts when Naminé bowed down to gather the tattered cloak in her arms. With slow gentle movements, she cradled the material to her chest.
Then a raven—large enough in size to rival any house cat—swooped down with a deafening screech. Aqua shot off spells in rapid succession and Roxas swung with quick strikes, but neither was able to down the dark bird before it landed on Naminé's vulnerable back.
Green flames erupted from the raven and the cloak, swallowing Naminé whole.
It lasted for only a moment, no longer than a single heartbeat, but that did nothing to quench the yell that rose from the former male Nobody's throat. Even when the fire vanished, leaving only an unconscious and unscathed Naminé behind, Roxas was still shaking with ice in his veins and heart clenching painfully at irregular intervals. He gathered her up just as carefully as she had done earlier with the accursed cloak and stumbled over a cure spell as he pressed his cheek to hers.
Still warm. Breath tickling his ear. Heartbeat pulsing strongly against his trembling fingers that pressed against her wrist's pulse point.
"You're okay," Roxas whispered, mind fighting against images of floating crystal shards at sunset, against derezzing avatars and black cloaks.
"You're okay," he repeated as he opened the Corridors of Darkness.
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When Naminé opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Roxas sitting at her bedside.
"Hi," Roxas greet her, a smile tugging on his lips as he squeezed her hand that was held in his own.
"Hello, Roxas," Naminé replied, mustering up just enough energy to offer a tired smile.
"How do you feel?" inquired Aqua who stood at the foot of Naminé's bed.
The addressed blonde inclined her head towards the Keyblade Master. "Tired, like every part of me is too heavy to move. My head feels like it's full of cotton balls."
Aqua nodded, moving around the footboard to take a seat atop the quilted comforter by Naminé's feet. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"We defeated Maleficent." Naminé could practically feel the tremor that shook the ground when the sorceress fell, and smell the thick black smoke from the dying green—
"I was on fire." She looked to Roxas whose grip on her hand had tightened. "I couldn't control my body. I picked up Maleficent's cloak and then the raven landed on me. There was green fire everywhere—outside and in. It was …"
Roxas placed his free hand on top of his and Naminé's entwined ones when the latter started to shake from the force of the memory. "Don't worry. There's no green fire here."
Naminé took a few deep breaths before turning back to Aqua. "What happened to me?"
"After the fire went out, Roxas and I brought you here to Yen Sid," began Aqua. "He said … he said that you're a sorceress now."
A pale young woman with hair black as ebony and angelic wings as white as snow flashed across Naminé's mind. Devastating displays of uncontrolled power and heart-wrenching cries of anguish followed soon after.
"Oh."
Roxas furrowed his brow. "Just 'Oh'? Aren't you surprised? Confused? I mean, I am. I only half understand what Yen Sid said."
"I inherited Maleficent's sorceress powers after she was defeated. When Sora beat her the first time, no one who could wield sorcery was nearby for Maleficent to transfer her powers. Without a successor, Maleficent couldn't truly die, but she couldn't live either," explained Naminé.
"That's basically what Yen Sid said, but he lost me after that," stated Roxas. "Wait. How do you know about this?"
"Kairi mentioned a powerful magic user," guessed Aqua.
Naminé nodded. "Her name's Rinoa. Kairi, Oswald, and I found her wandering the Atlantean caverns while we were searching for a way into the Realm of Darkness. She told us that she became a sorceress by inheriting her powers from a dying sorceress."
"I still don't understand why Naminé inherited Maleficent's powers. Why couldn't you?" Roxas directed at Aqua.
"You really need to pay attention when Master Yen Sid talks," Aqua began. "Certain people are hardwired to perform sorcery. I'm not one of those people."
"But I am," Naminé finished, eyes downcast.
"It's not a bad thing to be a sorceress," Aqua reassured, patting Naminé's knee before standing up. "I should let Master Yen Sid and the Three Good Fairies know that you're up."
It was only once the elder Keyblade wielder left that Roxas helped Naminé sit up in bed and looked her straight in the eye.
"Now what are you leaving out?"
Naminé used her free hand to complete the union of her hands with Roxas'. "When we found Rinoa, she was nearly insane because of how much power she was wielding. The fact that she was wandering so close to the Darkness didn't help her. We had to knock her out before Kairi could free Rinoa from the Darkness corrupting her heart and mind. Even then, the mere presence of her power made it difficult for Kairi to do anything."
"You're not going to go berserk because of your new powers," said Roxas.
"With all the Darkness around us, Darkness that we're forced to seek out, it's very likely that I will," rebuffed Naminé.
"Not if I stay by your side," offered Roxas.
Naminé gave the boy beside her a small smile. "Like a bodyguard?"
Roxas shook his head. "Like a Knight."
Naminé's smile fell. "Do you know what a Sorceress Knight is? What he does?"
"He protects his sorceress," supplied Roxas.
The fledgling sorceress withdrew her hands from the warmth of her potential Knight. "He pledges himself to his sorceress, swearing to protect her body and mind. It's a promise reinforced by magic and broken only by death, either the sorceress's or the Knight's."
"Sounds like a wedding vow," observed Roxas as he retook Naminé's left hand in his own. "A lot like a wedding vow now that I think about it."
"You don't mean that." Naminé tugged at her trapped hand, but Roxas held tight.
"Of course I mean it." Roxas used his free hand to angle Naminé's chin so the female blonde was looking directly into his eyes. "We don't lie to each other."
"No, we don't." Naminé shut her eyes to shield her from the warm sincerity of Roxas' gaze, the sound of rattling chains echoing in the far recesses of her mind. A soft press of lips against her forehead silenced the chains.
"You pulled me out of the Dark and told me the truth when no one else would, even when that truth was painful. You have never made a promise to me that you couldn't keep." Warm arms wrapped around Naminé and drew her close to an even warmer body. "Now, I'm going to make sure that you never lose yourself in the Dark. I'm telling you right now that I'll do stupid and reckless, sacrificial stunts on and off the battlefield. And I promise you that I will always protect you."
"How can I possibly respond to that?" asked Naminé through a watery smile, her eyes blinking open against the moisture gathering there.
Roxas wiped away the stray tears on her cheeks, his own smile spreading across his face. "How about answering the question, 'Do you accept me as your Knight?'"
"I do."
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I started writing this fic with the intention of making it a heart-wrenching bittersweet story. Originally it was supposed to be post my KH3!AU and involved a miscarriage, but I thought that was too much for a birthday present. Then it was supposed to be about Riku and Xion's firstborn child's observations on Roxas and Naminé's relationship, but the wee little devil is only a partially developed character in my mind so that wouldn't do. Then the idea of making Naminé a sorceress came to mind. I always though that Naminé would eventually become a sorceress and I do love the idea of how sorceresses come into being in FF8, so this story came into being.
I'm so happy you like it, Amatus. Next time, I'll start writing sooner.