Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. And if you ever thought I did, you are a special kind of stupid.

Words from the Author: This is... going to be some weird stuff. Which is not surprising since it's coming out of my head. And to make matters weirder, this came out of my head while I was asleep. So this is subconscious madness at work here. Which explains why Xemnas is so... like the way he is. Same for everyone else in this.

And yeah... it's AkuRoku. Big surprise, huh?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

An AkuRoku Fairy Tale

Chapter One: A Very Disgruntled King

Ages ago, in a land far from here, there was a magnificent kingdom. In this kingdom, the people lived happily. Farmers worked the land, producing large harvests that kept the people fed. Others were craftsmen, producing a variety of useful goods and luxury items. There were merchants as well; they traded goods across the entire kingdom and beyond. And there were soldiers and noblemen; the noblemen watched over the people and governed them fairly, and the proud soldiers fought daringly to keep danger away from the kingdom's subjects. All lived happy and prosperous lives. All were satisfied except for one-- their king.

The king had a serious problem indeed, but it was not money troubles nor were the people rising against him. His troubles were with his son, the prince. However, you may wonder why the king would be so displeased with his only son and heir to the throne. It was not because the boy was not dedicated to his studies. In fact, the prince was quite studious. It was not because he was hopeless with strategy-making and weaponry; the prince was quite capable of leading when it came time for him to be in charge, and he also practiced with the rapier and the bow twice a day. It was not because he was ugly either. The prince was actually quite handsome in addition to his intelligence, strength and kindness.

So then, what could the problem be?

Whatever it was, the king had had enough of it. He marched down the hall leading toward the prince's chambers, stomping his feet loudly. The sound of his boots slamming against the gleaming floor echoed throughout the hall, and it also alerted his presence to the prince. The prince who was lounging on his bed with a book, looked up toward the door expectantly and rolled his eyes.

'Well, here we go again...' He thought.

It was barely a moment later when King Xemnas barged into the room. The great oak doors collided against the walls with a crash. He looked absolutely furious, and his skin was all red and blotchy.

"AXEL!" He bellowed. "You're twenty-one, for fuck's sake, and you are showing no signs of wanting to settle down! I'm not getting any younger, you know, and I want to see you wed BEFORE I'm on my death bed! And DON'T YOU ROLL YOUR EYES AT ME!"

"Father, would you calm down?"

"NOIWILLNOTCALMDOWN!"

"Father--"

"Don't 'Father' me! You are going to get MARRIED, and you are going to like it!"

"You can't force me to marry!"

"Oh YES I can! I am KING, boy, and I won't hear any of your protests. I'm sick of all this 'If I marry, I want it to be for love' crap. You've been saying it since you were sixteen, and you STILL have not found anyone yet. Do you even CARE about your future? By the gods, it's driving me up the wall! Therefore, I'm taking matters into my own hands!"

"But--"

"Shut up! There is to be a ball in two weeks time, and you will choose your spouse-to-be then. Girl, guy, I don't give a damn, to be quite frank. You're going to pick, and you're going to get married, and that is THAT."

And before Axel could speak up for himself, his father had taken off down the hall to see that invitations would be sent out immediately. He threw his book down on the floor angrily.

"What the hell is he talking about his death bed for? He's forty-one!"

End Chapter One.

Notes: Average life expectancy at this time and in this kingdom was somewhere around sixty or seventy. And, if you've lived a very good life, it wasn't surprising if you hit eighty.

Stay tuned for chapter two. By then, the invitations will have gone out, and a certain someone is displeased that they have no choice in going or not...