Memories are a crazy thing.

They can bring comfort a tortured soul.

They can warm the coldest heart.

They can bring light to the deepest darkness.

But I will use my memories

To connect our hearts together

and find you.

CHAPTER ONE

There is a fine line between dreams and reality. But when the two combine together, that's when things get really crazy.

Black was all I could see where I was. My arms and legs were extremely sore as if I just finished some hardcore training or exercising.

How did I get here? I thought as I searched through my brain.

But I couldn't remember anything except one person and a few voices:

"...One day you will receive the mystical power of the Keyblade. One day you will follow in my footsteps. One day, Kingdom Hearts will be ours..."

"...I can feel the light inside of her... but it is in danger..."

"...Not bad for an amateur..."

"...I'm sorry, but I need to do this..."

The last voice I recognized as my own, but the rest I could not match a face to and none of them belonged to the one person I could remember.

My thoughts were interrupted when a small orb of light appeared in front of me. I reeled back in surprise. The orb floated in front of me. I stared at it and slowly raised my hand up to touch it. Suddenly, it spun around me, starting at my feet and making its way up until it was a foot from my face. It paused for a moment before zooming off into the darkness.

"Hey, wait!" I called. I ran after it, slowly catching up to the speeding orb. When I was close enough, I reached forward to grab it. As my hands closed around the ball, it suddenly vanished. I stopped and took deep breaths.

She sat at a table, flipping a deck of cards in her hands. An old gypsy woman, with wiry gray hair and dozens of rings on her fingers, concentrated on mixing around the cards before her. I watched her in wonder as the cards shuffled perfectly together. The woman stopped and looked up at me. I gulped and looked away for a few moments. When I returned my gaze to her, she was now the one watching me. The woman gave me a friendly smile that seemed to calm all of my nerves and warm my heart. The woman reached out a tender hand and beckoned me over. I walked slowly over to her and sat down at the chair across from her.

"Hello, my dear." the woman said. Her voice was smooth and kind. If she changed her clothing so they were more modern, she could probably pass off as my grandmother... if I could remember what she looked like. Or who she was. "Would you like a tarot card reading?"

"What's that?" I asked.

"It's when I tell you your future with fortune cards."

"Okay, then..."

"May I ask for your name first?"

"Hallie. Hallie Knowles."

"How old are you, Hallie?"

"Sixteen."

"My, such a grown young woman." the woman said, holding her hand over her heart and smiling.

She moved swiftly and gracefully as she shuffled the cards. One by one, she laid out sixteen cards.

"Pick three, please." the woman said.

I observed the purple swirled backs of the cards. Slowly and hesitantly, I picked three cards and handed them to the woman. She looked at the cards and a look of surprise flashed on her face, but it quickly melted into a big smile. She put down the first card and I flinched. The card showed a picture of me holding a weapon shaped like a key. Behind me were a few figures, but I couldn't make out who or what they were.

"You will go on an incredible journey, traveling to all kinds of places and meet many new people..."

She put down the second card. It showed one half of my face, but my hair looked as if it was cut short, like a boy's. The other half was blacked out.

"You will discover yourself in an unexpected way, but you will also discover the truth... pleasant and unpleasant."

I raised my eyebrow. The woman put down the last card, which revealed a heart with a very secure lock on it. Behind the heart were two more key weapons like in the first card crossed together in an X.

"You will find what you were searching for, and you will find what your heart has searched for." The woman stood up and her eyes twinkled. "What you thought was lost forever will be found, and you will find the key that unlocks your heart."

"Find the key that unlocks my heart?" I said as the woman walked over to me. "What in the world does that mean?"

"You will have to find that out for yourself." the woman said. She laid the cards in my hands, leaned over, and put a hand on my shoulder. I think I saw some brown hair peeking out from the gray. "But you must always remember to stay on the path of light, even when it seems like there is nothing but darkness up ahead. Along this journey, there will be happiness, laughter, and love, but there will also be sorrow, tears, and pain. Hallie... you must be strong and fight for what is right."

"...What?" I said, feeling ashamed for being hopelessly baffled by this lovely speech. The woman only smiled.

"The expectations others have for you are great, but you are the one that decides what you do with your legacy. Only you are able to decide where your destiny will take you."

I looked down at my cards as confusion and frustration crashed around inside of me.

"But I don't-"

I looked up but the woman was gone. The table, the other cards, gone. I stood up from my chair and it vanished as well. In their place was a mirror-like wall. I stared at my reflection. My straight brown hair cascaded down my back and over my shoulders, ending at armpit length. I reached up and gingerly touched the waterfall braid that curved along the back of my head. My amber eyes glistened with utmost confusion. I wore a sleeveless shirt with a white strap over the left shoulder, patterned with wide stripes: black, red, white, and pale blue. Over my shirt was an open, red, sleeveless Victorian Steampunk tailcoat. I wore mid thigh, dark denim shorts that were cuffed and slightly distressed. I wore dark brown buckle boots that reached up to my shins, with red shin-high socks peeking up at the top. A skinny, black, studded belt hooked around my shorts. I lifted my right arm up to my face and examined the thin leather wraparound cords that began at my wrist and ended at the crease of my elbow. My left hand donned a black, french lace, fingerless bridal glove.

I looked down at the first card, the one of me holding the key weapon. I sighed and reached out my arm. A light shone in front of me and I curled my fingers around it. The light disappeared and there, in my hand, was the key weapon, or in other words, the Keyblade.

Chaos Ripper.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

The story of Hallie begins! Waking up in the Realm of Darkness with little to no memory, a mysterious gypsy sets Hallie's path for adventure with a tarot card fortune!

Can Hallie fulfill the prophecy set before her? How will these chips fall?

Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!