Title: Together with the Moon

Rating: T for now; will go up to M later

Full Summary: Kairi is sent to reclaim the throne of Radiant Gardens, to find a cure to the sickness that is eating away at her people, and to stop the advance of a parasitic enemy and his equally malevolent dragon. She is not prepared for a path wrought with danger, betrayal, and war, and soon finds it all to be extremely overwhelming. Guarded by Sora, who hopes to prove his worth as a Keyblade Master through protecting her, Kairi must prove that she has what it takes to bring her country out of the flames and into the light. Sokai; Rating will go up.

Warnings: Violence, blood, mature themes, sexual content, slight gore.

Universal Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, its characters, its creators, and its storylines do not belong to me. Neither do the characters of the Eragon books. The only thing that belongs to me is the plot of this particular story, the events, and how I have arranged them. This is the only disclaimer that I will make for this story, and applies to all future chapters, including this one.

Author's Notes: This story idea popped up into my head today, and it was begging to be written. Please leave a review or drop me a PM to let me know what you think, how you're feeling, whether or not I should continue, etc.

Song of the Chapter: "Furusato" by Jia Peng Fang

. . . ONE . . .

I had known for quite some time that I was a princess, but I suppose I hadn't quite fit the puzzle pieces together and realized just what that entailed. Fairytales don't tell the truth of what it means to be the princess of an entire country, and they certainly didn't give you a step-by-step playbook of how to do it, either. I had to find out the hard way just how much strength, poise, and patience it takes to bring a country out of the flames and into the light.

It all began when King Mickey appeared at my home on Destiny Islands. I had just finished my homework upstairs and was coming down for a drink of water when I heard not one, but two voices coming from the dining room. Normally, I would assume it was just one of my mother's friends come to visit, but the voice was so unmistakably high-pitched that my heart had leapt. I dashed into the room, an image of oceanic blue eyes and a mess of unruly brown spikes dancing in my mind, and skidded to a halt in the entry way.

"Hiya, Kairi!" King Mickey turned in his seat and waved at me. He was wearing high trademark black cloak, so I knew this was no ordinary visit (not that a visit from him would ever be ordinary, anyway).

"Hello," I said timidly, as I didn't know him as well as my two Keybearer friends did. I waved back at him, and then my cerulean eyes slid to meet my mother's own.

Sadness.

My stomach flipped and I nearly fell to my knees, placing a hand flat over my wildly beating heart.

"Is . . . ?" My throat clenched and I fought back tear. "Are Sora and Riku . . . ?"

The King looked confused for a moment, before he blanched and jumped off of the chair. He waved his white-gloved hands around wildly, shaking his head.

"No, no, no, Kairi!" He cried. "They're perfectly safe. I'm here for another purpose."

Relief had shown itself visibly on my face, and then I'd leaned against the doorway for support for my wobbling knees. If he had come here with that news . . . Well, I didn't think I would have been able to stop crying. As it was right now, my eyes were watering.

I dreamed about it often, silver stained with red and unseeing cobalt blues. Swarming Heartless and Nobodies mauling them, ripping their limbs from their bodies and spilling guts all over the ground. I squeezed my eyes shut and shuddered. I'd been having those dreams a lot lately, and I wasn't sure if they were merely figments of my sleeping imagination . . . Or omens of death.

Sincerely hoping it wasn't the latter, I turned my attentions back to the King.

"Wh-What purpose?" I stammered, still clutching my heart.

The King exchanged glances with my mother, and then he said, "Master Yen Sid sent me to come and getcha."

I frowned. I didn't know who this Yen Sid was, but if he was friends with the King, then he probably wasn't a bad guy. Still . . . What did he want with me? I was a Princess of Heart, but I alone didn't have the power to do much of anything, really. I could wield a Keyblade, but I couldn't necessarily call upon my own, and I was weak of muscle and easily winded. Perhaps they had plans to train me . . . ?

"Am I . . . Leaving the Islands?" I asked apprehensively. The thought of adventuring and meeting new friends while also seeing old ones was thrilling, but scary nonetheless. I didn't know if I was going to be traveling with Sora and Riku, with Donald and Goofy, with all four, or completely on my own. That is to say if I was going to be traveling at all, of course.

"I'm afraid so," the King said gently. "But don't worry! Destiny Islands is not in any danger, and it will be here when ya get back!"

I nodded, my eyes searching the hardwood floor beneath me as if it had answers to all of my questions. When I lifted my gaze, it was to meet my mother's. I could see how dismayed she was at the fact that I was leaving again, but I could also tell that she understood. The King must have explained it all to her, because she gestured to a small duffel bag on the table.

"I packed you a pair of pajamas, some snacks, and your pink dress," my mother said shakily. She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and dabbed at her eyes momentarily. "Your belt and bags are in the bottom of the bag, along with your tin of thalassa shells. I got you some new thread, so you could make bracelets when you get bored."

"Thank you, momma," I said. When I looked at her, sometimes I forgot that I was adopted.

"Now, go on ahead with the King," my mother said with a sniffle.

"And what of the Mayor?" King Mickey asked, referencing my adoptive father.

"I won't be gone for very long, will I?" I asked before my mother could speak. There was no need to tell my father I would be leaving if I wasn't going to be gone forever—I didn't think his heart could take it. After I had been kidnapped when I was fourteen, he had exhausted every effort and resource on the main islands to find me, and when he had failed, it had nearly killed him. When I'd left the second time, I had been gone for a short time, but he had still been upset. Now, I was leaving a third time . . . It would devastate him.

"I can't say for sure," King Mickey said, wiggling his ears and looking down sadly. "Yen Sid only said that it was extremely important that I bring you to his castle."

I clenched my fists at my sides. I didn't want to leave my parents, but this was the opportunity I had been waiting for. A chance to be a part of something much bigger than life on the Islands. An opportunity to explore and adventure and help other people without being unable to protect myself.

And I would finally get to be with Sora and Riku . . .

I had to do this. I had to do this for my own sake.

"Don't worry about your father, sweetheart," my mother said, using the handkerchief to wipe her tears again. "I'll explain to him what happened."

I rushed across the room to her, and she stood up to embrace me. I pillowed my head on her chest and wrapped my arms around her waist. It didn't matter if I was adopted. She was my mother, through and through, and I was going to miss her. Bloodlines would never change how I loved her, or my father, and I wished there was a better way for me to show that then leaving so soon after returning home.

"Good bye, momma," I whispered.

My mother kissed the top of my head. "Good bye, Kairi."

"Aw, don't worry, Kairi's mom," King Mickey spoke up with a smile. "We'll all take real good care of her! She'll be safe and be back home before ya know it!"

The King then turned around and drew his golden Kingdom Key, a flash of sparkles and tiny stars raining down into nothingness. He opened up a portal right there in the dining room and then looked at me over his shoulder, waiting.

I quickly grabbed my duffel bag and slung it over my shoulder. I walked into the shimmering portal after the King, giving my mother one last smile and wave before Destiny Islands closed completely behind me, leaving us in a completely different world.

Turning around, I was surprised to see that we were standing at the top of a long flight of stairs with no railings, leaving the sides of the stairs to drop into empty air. A glowing door with a magical symbol stood in front of them, and Mickey smiled up at me.

"Wait right here, Kairi," he said cheerfully. "It will be just a minute."

I watched as he disappeared inside, leaving me completely alone. Sighing heavily, I let my duffel bag fall to the floor. As ecstatic as I was to be in another world, I still felt a bit on the dejected side. I missed my parents already, not because I was homesick, but because of what I knew my leaving was going to do to them. I felt like I had disappointed them, leaving without warning and explanation. They were going to sit and wile away their days, waiting for me in sadness while I was off doing fun things with my friends. It didn't feel right, even though I knew sometimes these things had to be done.

I wiped my eyes quickly as the door opened a crack. I waited for a moment for someone to come out and beckon me inward, but when nobody did, I took it upon myself to enter on my own. I peeked around the edge of the door and immediately saw Riku. He was incredibly tall, at least six-foot-three, and his normally long silver hair had been cropped choppily about his chin. He wasn't looking at me, and was simply listening to King Mickey have a conversation with who I assumed was Yen Sid, a bearded man with foreboding bushy eyebrows sitting regally behind a grand oaken desk. Out the windows behind him, I could see hundreds of twinkling stars and a midnight blue sky.

A few words and phrases later, Mickey had introduced me and Riku was staring at me in shock. I didn't smile at him, though, mostly because I was still thinking about my parents, but also because something about Yen Sid made me feel as though smiling around the man would be perceived as immature and unnecessary.

Not really knowing the proper thing to do, I bowed my head and shoulders respectfully. "I'm Kairi," I said a bit lamely.

"I am aware of your name, Princess of Heart," Yen Sid spoke, his voice a rumbling storm cloud. The air around us was charged with unseen magic, and it was then that I realized that he was a sorcerer. He was clad in robes of blue silk, with a tall triangular hat perched comfortably atop his head of waist-length gray hair. His beard was long and fine, and it moved with him when he spoke.

"What didja want me to bring her here for?" King Mickey asked.

I looked over at Riku briefly, and he gave me a small half of a smile. His aquamarine eyes peered out at me from his silver bangs, still the same wise, mischievous eyes I'd always known.

"As you all well know, Kairi came from another world, washing up upon the shores of Destiny Islands when she was eight," Yen Sid said.

I gasped. "How did you know?"

"He's the High Sorcerer," King Mickey whispered to me. "He knows lots of stuff."

Yen Sid went on as if Mickey had never spoke. "You were sent to Destiny Islands via a protective spell put upon you by another Keybearer, to keep you safe. However, now that you are seventeen years old, it is nearly time for you to come of age."

My brow furrowed. What did my age have to do with anything? A protective spell? Another Keybearer? I supposed it wouldn't ring any bells though, seeing as I had no recollection of my childhood before washing up ashore of the Play Island.

"But I thought that Ansem sent me to the Islands, to see how I would react with the Keyblade?" I asked.

Yen Sid paused and narrowed his eyes. "How do you know this?"

"I . . . I read Ansem's Reports," I said sheepishly, clasping my hands behind my back. "When I was waiting at the Altar of Naught for Sora to beat Xemnas."

King Mickey said, "Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness had nothing to do with your appearance on Destiny Islands, Kairi. Be glad of it, because if he had, you might be in a worse state. No, it was someone else."

"Who?" Riku and I said simultaneously.

"That is not important at this time," Yen Sid said, his words thundering outward and making me feel as though I were cowering. "What is important is that your are the heir to a throne that has no Queen to sit within it. Once you are of age, the throne will call to you and you will no longer be able to live away from it. It is time, Kairi."

Yen Sid's words settled upon me like a prickling thorn bush. I was immediately assaulted by a violent array of emotions: shock, confusion, anger, and most of all, fear. I knew I was a princess, and that my heart was the key to opening Kingdom Hearts, but I was not in any way, shape, or form ready to be royalty.

"Time?" I stared up at Riku, wide-eyed. He had answers, right? He was Riku, and he had always known everything.

Riku shrugged, looking pale.

King Mickey said, "Ever since Sora and Riku went in for their exams, Radiant Gardens has been taken over by a man named Galbatorix, his legions of men, and his dragon. Merlin and the others couldn't keep them back, and the people of Radiant Gardens are becoming frightened."

"Galbatorix?" Riku asked, crossing his muscular arms over his chest. "How is Kairi supposed to claim the throne if it's already claimed?"

Yen Sid said, "Galbatorix has yet to actually step into the shoes of king. He rules the cities of southern hemisphere, and the northern hemisphere remains under the care of the wizard Merlin, along with the help of Leon and his friends. However, Galbatorix has grown restless as of late and has been sending small squadrons of men to the outlying villages to plunder and destroy. We need the peoples of the northern hemisphere to rally together under one flag, rather than the scattered flags of fear."

I wanted to sit down. "And you think that I have the power to do this?"

"You are the rightful heir to the throne," Yen Sid said, as if it explained everything.

King Mickey reached up to touch my arm in comfort. "Don't worry, Kairi. I'll come with ya and try to help ya as much as I can, and so will Merlin, Leon, and others."

"Who is living in the castle now?" Riku asked curiously, arms still crossed. "Is Hollow Bastion castle still overrun with Heartless?"

"The castle has been fully restored and the living members of the royal family have been found and returned to Radiant Gardens," Yen Sid explained, steepling his fingers in front of him. "And there is another matter . . ."

"Hm?" My eyebrows rose. There was more?

Yen Sid murmured, "A sickness has spread across the entirety of the planets like wildfire. A terrible sickness that eats away at the flesh but fills the blood with darkness. The afflicted are neither living nor dying, and the cure cannot be found through conventional means. Most of the infected have been quarantined to one town on the border, where all infected are sent, but many fear that they will break through the barriers and spread the disease to the cities and villages."

"It's an awful, painful illness," King Mickey explained. "But not much else is known about it—you'll have to ask the researchers when you get to the castle."

"That's horrible!" I said sadly, thinking of children crying for their mothers and dead bodies littering the ground like in my nightmares. "There isn't a cure?"

"No," Yen Sid answered. "However, after looking through some old tomes, I discovered that there is a possibility that your heart might have the power to cure it. The other Princesses have tried, such as Belle and Cinderella, but they all failed. You are the last hope of your people, Kairi, and it is up to you to find the correct solutions to the disease and to Galbatorix."

"I don't turn eighteen for another six months or so," I said hesitantly. My knees had gone weak. I was petrified and my mind was whirling. I had wanted to be a part of something big, but . . . Was this too big? "What if this . . . This Galbatorix guy attacks before I can be crowned?"

"Your surviving family members and the lords of the surrounding northern hemisphere lands have form a council and have already been working towards a semblance of unity, recruiting more soldiers for the army and doing what they can," Mickey explained. "But there's a lot more to it than what they can handle with Merlin. There are laws to be signed, contracts to be looked over, money to be budgeted, festivals to be thrown to keep the people happy . . . A lot to do, with no singular monarch to do it."

"It will be a dangerous job," Yen Sid said softly. "Aside from Galbatorix, many people wish to rule Radiant Gardens and the northern hemisphere. There will be people who wish you dead, but this is all tantamount to the importance of ruling in the first place. Radiant Gardens needs her queen, Princess of Heart."

"Who will protect me?" I stammered, still trying to find my footing and grasp onto something familiar. "Riku?"

"I have another task for Riku to pursue, unfortunately," Yen Sid said. "However, I do believe that there is only one person that is suited to guard you, and that person is someone you know very, very well."

My heart sang. I knew exactly whom Yen Sid was talking about. The only person who could truly help me through this, help me weather the storm, was him. He was my best friend, and we had been through everything together. He had chased darkness and shadows into the abyss for me, stabbed himself with his own blade, and gotten on his knees to beg for my life. I would have no other person as my guardian.

The door blasted open and in came tumbling a squawking Donald, a guffawing Goofy, each of them yelling over one another in their rush to greet the King. Riku and I both turned to face the doorway, to meet those oceanic pools of blue, and even though it hadn't been very long since he'd left for his Mark of Mastery exam, time seemed to freeze for me.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone! I was . . ."

Silence.

"Kairi?!"

. . . with the MOON . . .

End Notes: Thank you for stopping by to give this first chapter a chance! Any reviews that are left, I promise to reply to either privately, or at the bottom of the next chapter.