I was never afraid of the dark.
My home, Faerydae, was dark for most of the day. The sun peaked out for maybe three or four hours, but the rest of the hours ticked by in eternal twilight.
I was afraid of this darkness.
It didn't feel right.
My home's darkness was calming; the silhouetted skyline against the not-quite dark sky was breathtaking each night. The crisp air was never too cold, but comforting. This darkness devoured me, lulling me to sleep. I grasped onto the edge of my consciousness, knowing if I fell asleep, I wouldn't wake up. It felt like I was floating; my body couldn't move. I tried flickering my eyes open, but each attempt failed. My limbs hung limp to my side.
I didn't want to die yet.
I had things to do, people to see. But would they want to see me? The last thing I remember was a huge monster attacking the town, and all courage being whisked away. I failed my people, and my punishment was this darkness. Would their screams ever leave my head?
I lingered on the brink of death for what seemed like hours. If this was the end, I at least wish it would hurry up. I hated waiting.
An odd taste filled my mouth. Bitter, as if a very strong tea was being poured down my throat. I swallowed the liquid out of reflex. It was the first movement in what felt like hours. More was poured in my mouth.
I opened my eyes, coughing as I swallowed the last mouthful.
I was alive.
I froze as I realized a boy about my age had been feeding me a bright, yellow-green substance in a bottle. Judging by the colour, it was a low level healing potion, like the ones my people sold. They were easy to make; even a child could mix up a batch in an hour.
I was lying in his arms. Worry sketched across his face; then a brief sigh of relief as he realized I was still alive. I rolled out of his grasp and jumped to my feet, the ruins of my deep purple dress surrounding me. My black hair fell to my chest in a tangle, the hair ties and ribbons long gone.
Some birthday this had been.
My eyes narrowed at the stranger. His chestnut hair was as messy as mine was, and his clothes several sizes too small. What struck fear into me were his bright, cerulean eyes.
"Are you alright?" He asked, scratching the back of his head.
I frowned.
"Absolutely perfect. I quite enjoy having strangers force feeding me potions, and invading my personal space." My guard didn't drop. He seemed harmless; but risking my life again wasn't going to happen.
"I'm really sorry about that. When I killed the Heartless, you kind of just...fell out."
I broke eye contact to look around. I wasn't home.
The sun hovered above the horizon, sending beams of light across the town. My bare foot stayed steady on the smooth brick ground. The buildings were painted in shades of orange and yellow. Perhaps I had just yet to be in this part of Faerydae.
"What's a Heartless?" I questioned
"Well, they're...born from the darkness from people's hearts. If someone has enough darkness, it'll swallow them up."
I nodded, but not quite out of understanding.
The monster in my town must have been a Heartless.
"How did you get inside of it?" He stepped forward, and I took one step back. The torn fabric of my clothes dragged along the ground, dirtying the once beautiful dress.
"I was eaten, while trying to fight it, if you must know. Now please, escort me to Faerydae, will you? My father must be worried sick."
His head tilted.
"Fairy Day? Where's that?"
I wanted to laugh.
"Here," I gestured around me. "It looks different, but I have yet to do much exploring of my home."
The boy scratched the back of his head.
"This is Twilight Town."
I crossed my arms.
"Don't be silly. I've never hear of this place. Take me home."
He shook his head.
"The Heartless must've come here right after attacking your Fairy Day place. I have no idea where your world is,"
My mouth felt dry.
This couldn't be happening. This had to be some kind of joke, or a really bad dream. No one has blue eyes; only purple. It was silly to think otherwise.
"You said...world?"
The boy looked away, guilty. That must have been a secret, and he just blew it. No matter, I fully intended to find my way home. I unstrapped my heel; the other one was long lost.
"Where are you going?"
"Home," I snapped.
"But-"
"Sora! We bought more potions! We can leave-"
I froze at the sight of a white duck, wearing a hat. That wasn't so out of the ordinary; the fact that it talked was. He, what seemed to be, glaring at me, strutting past to join his blue-eyed friend. A dog like creature followed the duck.
"Who's she?" It quacked.
Sora pointed to a dark scorch mark of the ground.
"She came out of the Heartless after it ate her,"
"Ate her? Gosh," the dog pitched in.
This was just too much for me. I slapped my cheeks, in an attempt to wake up. This was just an awful dream after drinking too much Fairy Nectar, and spending the night dancing. My home was never attacked; I just had an overactive imagination.
"Wake up, wake up!"
Nothing.
"Hey, Donald, have you heard of Fairy Day?"
"It's Faerydae!" I called. If he was going to say the name, it could at least have been correct.
The duck shook his head.
Sora rubbed his chin.
"Well, maybe we should take her with us? We might find someone who can help-"
I screamed.
Little, black creatures with yellow eyes started crawling out of the ground. They were the same ones that popped up when Faerydae was attacked. One wandered too close, and I couldn't take the sight of it.
I stretched my arm to the sky, and called lightning down. The electricity in the air seemed almost to spark, before disappearing. The creatures, Heartless, were fried.
From behind me I hear the scuttle of fighting. Sora had gotten a strange key like sword from somewhere, and was bashing it around. Donald, like me, was using magic to rid us of the pests. The dog was slamming a shield on anything that came close.
I killed several more, panting.
I wasn't a fighter.
I had my limits, and this dress was one of them. It seemed like the others were at their end too. I took a deep breath, hoping this wouldn't go on for much longer. I killed one more with fire, when I started to feel dizzy.
As if my prayers were answered, a cloaked figure arrived. Very small, I couldn't see his face. The remaining Heartless were wiped out with ease.
"Take this," The cloaked figure handed Sora an orange pouch. "Take the train out of town, and take the girl with you."
The figure dashed away.
"Your Majesty-!" Donald called.
Your Majesty?
I shook my head. The group of three look tired, startled, and just too strange for me. The cloaked figure had said to take me with them, but I had no reason to. I had to find Faerydae.
"Well, this has been fun, but I really must be getting home. Thank you for everything." I curtsied, and turned to leave.
"Wait!" A hand wrapped around my wrist. "He said for you to go with us."
I shook my head.
"A shady stranger told me I should go with three more strangers? No thank you." I tugged at my arm, but he wasn't letting go.
"You can trust him. He's the King,"
"King?" I scoffed. "Of what?"
Donald made a very odd screeching noise that must have been his way of yelling.
"He's our King!"
I dropped my hands on my hips.
"That doesn't change anything. He's not...my King." My King was the only King in Faerydae. I heard of other lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses, but never another King.
"Well, gosh," the dog said, "you can't force her to go,"
"You're not helping, Goofy!" Sora's blue eyes met mine again. "Please will you go with us? If it's the King, he will know of a way to get you home."
I frowned.
Did I have much of a choice? This wasn't my home. This wasn't my world . These strangers, although odd, were offering me a ride. But should I take it? I was confident in my magic, but would that be enough? Those Heartless creatures were a pain to fight alone.
I sighed.
"Fine." Sora smiled, but I held up my hand. "If you try anything though, I will fry you like those Heartless."
"Deal. Come on, the train is this way."
I followed the three up the short staircase, and into the station. Sora had mentioned a train, but I had no clue as to what that was. I guessed it was the big, metal square sitting on eight wheels. It seemed to run along tracks.
"Wait up!"
I turned at the sound of a boy's voice. Standing tall with spiky blond hair, he was followed by a chubby brown haired fellow and a girl about my age wearing orange.
Sora turned as well, his grin stretching across his face.
"We just came to see you off. It seemed the right thing to do," said the cubby one.
A train horn rang out. I glanced at the train, wondering if we should hurry.
"You should go get your tickets," The girl suggested. She turned to me. "I'm sorry, we haven't met. I'm Olette; this is Hayner," She gestured to the blond, "And this is Pence."
I held out my hand, offering a hand shake.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." All three stared at my outstretched hand, questioning what I was doing. I lowered it, my cheeks turning red.
I followed Sora to the ticket counter. He pulled out the pouch their King had given them. I heard Olette gasp.
"What is it?" I looked around for Heartless, but there was nothing.
"The pouch! They're the same," Goofy said.
My eyes narrowed. The pouch looked hand stitched, but the two were identical, including a small, loose thread. It was odd.
"Four tickets, please!" Sora called to the ticket booth. He didn't seem bothered by the anomaly. I started walking closer to the train inch by inch the more the train whistle blew. If this was truly my only way to get home, I wasn't going to miss it.
Sora handed me a piece of paper. I couldn't read the scribbles written across it. How I spoke the same language as them, but couldn't read baffled me. It left an uneasy feeling.
We moved to the train door. The smell of smoke filled the air; the source was a tall pipe on top of the train. I would have to question how these machines worked later.
"Let's go," Sora gestured the door. I gathered my dress up and stepped aboard.
"Hey, Sora? Are you sure we haven't met before?" I heard Hayner ask.
I peeked around the corner. I couldn't see his face, but Sora seemed to be thinking.
"I'm sure. Why do you ask?"
Hayner shrugged.
"Nevermind."
I sat in my seat, flattening my dress. Donald and Goofy sat across from me, casually glancing my way. We were all strangers. Sora seemed the type to trust the man that robbed him, but these two were different. I was the same way; I had no idea who or what they were. My intensions were to get home. Why were they here?
Sora took a seat, to my surprise, beside me. He wiped the back of his hand across his cheek, hiding a tear. I offered a small smile. He must not want to leave his home either.
Sora removed a glass blue orb from his pouch. He looked it over. It matched his strange colored eyes.
"You know, I'm sad." He admitted.
"It's okay, we'll be back." Donald offered.
I gave a small nod, wishing someone could have told me that before I was stolen away. I wanted to see my father. I wanted to sleep in my own bed, with the window open and the air tasting of apples and honey. The air in the train felt dead.
The train lurched to a stop. I sat up, waking from my short nap. Sora jumped out of his seat, racing to the door. He peeked out the window, until the door opened. I too was curious. I moved to the door after Donald and Goofy.
A tall tower reached for the sky. The grass around it was well groomed; the few bushes recently trimmed. I could feel the magic in the air. I moved as fast as I could to catch up with the three.
A sizzling noise caught my attention. The train behind up glowed, disappearing in a bright light. My hopes seemed to crash a little. Where ever this place was, I was stranded.
"There goes our ride," Sora nervously laughed.
A cat like creature stood at the door to the tower. He was twice as tall as all of us, and was focused on peeking inside.
"What's going on?" Donald asked.
The cat chuckled.
"I sent some of my lackeys inside! I heard a powerful sorcerer lives in this tower, which would make a perfect bodyguard for me. See, it doesn't matter how powerful he is, once he's a Heartless, he'll listen to everything I'll say!"
"Heartless?" I asked.
"Yeah, the things born out of the darkness. Say, why am I even talking to you pipsqueaks, anyway? Scram! I'm off schedule as it is!"
"You should find something nicer to do," Goofy suggested. I glanced at him, shaking my head.
"Says who?" The cat turned. He seemed startled. "You two?! Why are you here?"
"What are you doing?" Donald pointed his wand at the cat creature.
"You know him?" I gestured.
"We sure do! Pete's been causing trouble for ages. His Majesty banished him to another dimension, but he busted out." Goofy explained.
Pete stomped his feet, his hands curling into fists.
"Enough of this! Heartless Squad - round up!"
The black creatures crawled across the ground, getting closer. I braced myself to use magic. I used lightening, killing two. They burst into black smoke; disappearing from sight. Sora swung his key-sword, Donald used magic, and Goofy smashed them with his shield. They seemed more experience than I was. I killed one more. I jerked to the side. A Heartless grabbed my dress, pulling me over. My hands dug into the ground. Heartless claws ripped the fabric further. I kicked my foot out, colliding with its head. The Heartless tumbled back. It steadiest itself to attack again. Sora spun, finishing it off with one swing.
I panted, relieved that was the last one. Pete was long gone.
Sora offered his hand, and I accepted. My dress was being a nuisance. Eyeing it, a grabbed it at the shortest point and tore across. Everything below my knees disappeared. I dropped the fabric, kicking it to the side. It was a gift from my father, so having it torn and ruined like this was devastating. I didn't want to rid myself of it, but if I died because of it, I would never see him again.
I offered a smile.
"Shall we?"