As the sun arose between the valley of Sunset Hill, the birds hummed its sweet chirps on the trees along the pavement, the gentle mists of nature slowly and gracefully left the town in silent, yawns of awakenings escaped from the townies' lips – wondering what they would be facing today - .
Young and fresh sandy blonde Naminé calmly flung her deep blue sea eyes. She groaned after being 'disturbed' in her sweet slumber. There she was; lying bored on her high-priced mattress and bed sheet. Born as a child of a rich businessman, Naminé could get anything she wanted with a snap of her fingertips; money, trendy clothes, branded cosmetics, perfumes from Hollow Bastion, and etcetera. But what would she prefer for herself? ; Simplicity.
Naminé pushed the shower tab, and let the water drained her fatigue away. Today was her graduation day at the local high school, Twilight Town High School. She spent the entire night before choosing out the best dress (not that they weren't one, she was just looking for something rather…simple!). As she got out of the bathroom, she was greeted by one of the maids of the Pavlos residence. "Good morning, Miss Nami," the maid curtsied; she dipped her head in response.
"I have your clothes ironed, your shoes polished, and your breakfast ready downstairs," the maid said as she made up the bed. "Do you need anything else, miss?" "No. That's more than enough. Thank you, Clara." The maid curtsied again before leaving her room. Naminé's best yet simplest salmon pink dress hung on the knobs of her wardrobe. Her blue orbs travelled across the scenic view of Sunset Hill from her windows. What would she be after graduating from the high school?
Her footsteps projected by the stiletto she wore attracted the servants who were cleaning the manor. The servants bowed as she passed by towards the kitchen. "Good morning, Miss Nami," they greeted. This couldn't get any more casual, she thought. As she arrived at the large dining hall, she was greeted with a lad with a similar iris colour. "Mornin'," he greeted her. "Morning," she replied with her eyes rolled. "Come now, that's not the way to greet your brother," the lad chuckled. He beckoned her to sit beside him. "Good morning my dearest brother Anaxagoras 'Roxas' Pavlos. Happy now?" she said in broad sarcasm. "Very." The lad named Anaxagoras or Roxas was her genius, early 20s, handsome yet finicky older brother. Both of the Pavlos siblings had the same deep blue orbs, though Roxas' hair was darker than hers.
"What would you like for breakfast, Miss Nami?" the chef asked as he pushed his cart of food towards the dining table. "I'll have what he's having." "I'm already done," Roxas replied with a dap of the napkin. "Fine, I'll have what he had." Roxas chuckled softly. The chef served a plate full of pancakes and fruits. He placed another plate of sausages and eggs, and a bowl of cereal in front of her. Her mouth starred in horror. "Did you have this for breakfast?" she exclaimed. This was too much for her small stomach to fill in. "Oh, I see you don't believe me? You need to put on some weight, you've been losing it too much lately," Roxas playfully nudged her arm. "Oh, shut up," she rolled her eyes. "Well, when you're done, I'll be waiting for you outside," said Roxas as he strapped on his sling bag. "What's in there?" Naminé, mouth-full, asked. "You know; my work." He managed a smile before leaving the dining hall.
What he meant by work was really his work. The young lad has been working for The Times Studio as a professional event photographer after his graduation from Auttenbergh Castles in The Land of Departure. Sometimes the petit sandy blonde artist couldn't help to admire her own brother's work. By applying all the knowledge he learned during his studies, his photos taken seemed to come to life if they were to be judged from different angles.
Alas, as Naminé finished her breakfast, Maid Clara hurriedly attended her, "Your robes, Miss Nami." She presented the ceremonial robe of Twilight Town High School. "Thank you, Clara. I'll be off now." "Yes, miss." The maid curtsied. She escorted the young artist to the house's entrance. She pushed the two giant doors of the Pavlos Manor. Roxas' crimson coloured Ferrari has been parked at the entrance. Naminé pulled the handle of the car, and was only greeted with her brother – who has already worn his black shades -. "It's not that bright outside, you know," she told him. "I know. I just love to be one," Roxas said as he shifted the gear. "Being bright?" she wandered. "No silly. I love getting all those attentions from the ladies," he replied in chuckle. Naminé rolled her eyes to his pathetic answer.
Roxas drove his Ferrari through the small town of Twilight. Although they have been living in wealth, they preferred to settle down in a quiet town than in the bustling city of Dawn. Roxas passed by the town centre, and he made a turn after the traffic light. The building ahead of them was no other than Twilight Town High School, the local high school in the quiet town. The crowds of families were seen entering and exiting the school hall, each with their proud smiles crossing their faces. "Well, here we are," Roxas announced as he removed the key from its slot. He reached out his sling bag loaded with necessary camera accessories. The two Pavlos exited his vehicle and proceeded to the school hall. Naminé's heart was leaping in excitement as her distance from the hall shortened.
"Naminé! Heeey!"
A girl in Naminé's age, bluish silver shoulder length hair, aqua irises, and pale skin waved frantically at her. "Reiko? Is that you?" Naminé exclaimed. "Sheesh we haven't even graduated yet and you've forgotten about me? Oh, Naminé," the girl pouted her thin lips. Reiko skipped to her friend and embraced the artist. "You look absolutely beautiful," Reiko sighed at Naminé's salmon pink floral summer dress. "It's nothing, really. You're even more beautiful." Naminé smiled. Reiko wrapped her arm around her shoulder; gesturing her towards the hall. "You've always been nice, Naminé. And is that Roxas behind you?" she broke into whispers. "Why yes of course! Who else do you think that was? My boyfriend?" Naminé whispered back. "Anyway, where's Riku?" she asked as they reached the entrance. "Riku's working today. Guess he won't be joining us," Reiko's said in sombre. Naminé felt a tug on her dress. She spun around and found Roxas signalling her off to his work. She nodded in reply.
Both Naminé and Reiko made their way to the reserved seats for the graduates. Reiko lowered her voice, "Is that who I think it is?" Naminé followed her gaze to a young, fresh, and handsome dirty blonde guy. "Obviously, that's Hayner Oswald. Can't be any ordinary," Naminé uttered boringly. Reiko nudged her arm. "Ouch!" "Well, that's what you think Miss Naminé. But I think he looks dashingly cute." The sandy blonde rolled her eyes, 'Oh god.'
The mumbles of the crowds slowly went into silent as the headmaster, Mr. Endo, made his appearance on the stage. He began the ceremony with his speech. Though Naminé had predicted the speech would turn out to be another boring one. She plugged in the headphones and slides her skinny finger on the Ipod Touch's screen. Her aqua blue orbs travelled across the dead ambience of the hall and spotted Roxas busied himself taking photos of the headmaster. Reiko sunk her head on Naminé's shoulder. "Wake me up when the speech's over," she mumbled. Naminé chuckled.
"Reiko, wake up. Hey…wake up!" Naminé nudged her best friend. "Huh…what? It's over?" Reiko lazily mumbled; half awake, half asleep. Naminé, unexpectedly, slapped Reiko's cheeks; Reiko stood up in jolt. "Right! The ceremony!" she exclaimed. Naminé ashamedly hid her face as the spectators' eyes focused on the two of them.
"Hayner Oswald," the master ceremony announced. The dirty blonde, in his robes, strutted to the stage.
"C'mon, we should get going," said Naminé while she fixed the robes. The master of ceremony called out the students' names by classes. "Reiko Maemi." The bluish silver haired girl ascended the stage with confidence carried on her shoulders. As she received the certificate, Roxas snapped his DSLR a couple of times. "Naminé 'Nami' Pavlos." The young sandy blonde arose to the stage and beamed at the headmaster. Roxas snapped a photo of her receiving the certificate. "Perfect." He smiled to himself.
"Congrats! My dear little sister." Roxas joyfully embraced his sister. He playfully ruffled her hair. "Roxas, you're ruining my hair," said Naminé with gritting teeth. "Woops, sorry," he smirked. "Congratulations, Naminé," a deep voice uttered behind them. The two Pavlos turned around, only to be greeted by Roxas' best friend, Riku Maemi. "Thanks, Riku." Roxas greeted him with their usual sign handshakes. "I see you're late," Roxas muttered. "Work as always. Not as easy as yours. Been trying my best sucking up the boots, but I don't see any progress…at all," he sighed. "Don't worry, pal. One day, it'll be worth it." Roxas gripped his shoulder; Riku nodded. "Riku, isn't it time to go home?" Reiko called out afar. "I'll be right there."
Riku turned back to them. "I'll see you around then, Roxas, Naminé."
Roxas' crimson Ferrari parked inside the Pavlos Manor's garage. As soon as they two of them stepped out, Maid Clara came descending the stairs to greet their arrivals. "Welcome back, Miss Naminé, Master Roxas." She curtsied. Naminé responded with a smile. "Roxas, I'll be upstairs," she said as she made her way to the grand staircase. "I'll be in The Red Room if you need anything," Roxas replied.
The Red Room was Roxas' working place. It was the only room where he'd spend most of the time processing the photos taken from his DSLR. Roxas set his camera on the table. He took out the memory card from the camera and plugged it in to his laptop. His deep blue eyes scanned each of the photos taken. After feeling satisfied editing the photos, he saved the files onto his external hard disk. He cupped his chin with his eyes staring at the wall pasted with memorable photos, though his gaze halted on a family photo of the Pavlos. Without any hesitation, he scrunched up the photo and threw into the waste basket. He let out a deep sigh.
Abruptly, the door was knocked, and a voice called out, "Master Roxas?" "Come in," Roxas replied. An old man with thick white icy hair, dressed in tuxedo, and carried a tray of assorted evening tea. "Put it there, Edward," Roxas instructed the old butler. Edward placed the tray onto the unoccupied table. He spotted the crumpled family photo. "Master, are you sure you're going to throw this away?" On the photo sat a young couple with a small boy standing in the middle. "That photo holds the darkest secret. Naminé must not know the truth," he darkly said. "How long are you going to keep it away from her, master?" Edward warily asked. "I don't know. She's…precious to me. I can't let her know the truth. I know that she'd hate me if I were to tell who she really is." "Very well then, I'll remain loyal to you, master. I swear that I won't reveal the secrets unless if it is by your command." Edward bowed.