This story is not set in the normal stream of reality for medieval times or Renaissance Era times. The subtle importance of girls (beyond their ability to produce offspring) is recognized, which it really wasn't back then. The royal family doesn't seem upset or even slightly worried that they have two children, even though no male children means no way to carry on the family name and no immediately related heir to the throne until one of the two gets married. Oh yes, and peasants can read. If you have a problem with that, too bad. This is my story, so you're just going to have to deal with the inconsistancies.
It also refuses to conform to the normal stream of reality by allowing children to be ready to leave their parents in under a week, letters arriving within days of being written, and week-old infants having memories, faint or clear, of each other.
Now that that's out of the way, on to the disclaimer, then the story!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts company, games, or characters. I don't pretend to be an expert on REAL medieval/Renaissance practices, traditions, or ways of life. I do, however, own this particular storyline and the characters, Xion and Ammy. Some characters will act slightly out-of-character due to necessity for storyline or lack of expert knowledge on characters. I am not an expert of psychology, nor do I claim to be one.
One Final Note: anything written in italics is either a flashback or a given character's personal thoughts. These will not be marked to indicate what they are separately. Flashbacks will have quotations, usually, and will be separated from current actions in their own paragraphs. The personal thoughts of various characters, however, will simply be fitted into the paragraphs for the most part.
-~-~-Chapter One – How the Princess Became a Pauper-~-~-
The horse slowed to a stop. The cloaked man on its back slid off and turned to face the two infants he and the horse were transporting to the king's castle.
The hood of the man's cloak shielded his face from view as he silently studied the infant twin girls, frustrated by his orders.
"My wife sent a letter. As you know, she moved to the castle we inhabit for the summer so she may have the comfort of a mild climate. She gave birth to a pair of beautiful twin girls, named Xion and Amaterasu, a week ago, and our children have finally been deemed prepared to make the trip to this castle. My wife will stay at the other castle for a week or so more, and then she will return as well," the king said to his most trusted advisor. "I am trusting you to bring my daughters here safely. Be very careful with them, especially Amaterasu. According to the letter, she is exceptionally small and delicate. Do you understand?"
"… Yes, sire, I understand," the advisor responded, eyes shaded.
"Good," the king said, nodding slightly. "I expect you to dress so as not to stand out and attract the attention of any robbers or highwaymen in the area. I do not wish to lose my children."
"Of course, sire. I will head out immediately," the advisor replied.
The queen, of course, already had a nickname for the younger of the two twins. The twins were already inseparable, and could only be separated if both were asleep – if Xion were awake, she would panic and attempt, in any way possible, to return to her sister's side. If Ammy were awake, she would begin to cry loud enough to wake the dead - or her sister.
The younger twin, Amaterasu, was called Ammy by the queen. She was diminutive, but her smaller build only seemed to make her quieter and more intelligent despite her young age.
The firstborn, Xion, seemed almost as clever as Ammy was. She also seemed to be more impulsive, despite the fact that her young age should have made the impulsive nature of the girl much less evident, if it was even evident at all.
The king's advisor gave a sick, twisted smile. Amaterasu won't last very long anyway, even with the royal physician's skill and expertise. I might as well make her death quicker, maybe even a bit less painful. I can blame it on highwaymen, or perhaps robbers… After all, it's not as if the king will ever find out…
He smirked. As far as he was concerned, Amaterasu's fate was sealed. Even if a hunter found her, the only identification she had was a clay pendant on a soft leather strip, and even that only had her nickname. She would never be identified as a princess, especially since they were traveling in peasant's clothing to prevent themselves from being recognized on the way home.
He left the infant, wrapped in a simple blanket, in a simple traveling basket, which he left on a rock, before he climbed back on his horse and galloped off with Xion.
Thirty seconds after the king's advisor left with Xion, Amaterasu awoke from her slumber. Blinking, the tiny girl seemed to somehow sense that she was alone, her sister was gone, and no one was coming back to get her. After a momentary pause, she began to cry, quietly at first, but they grew to extremely loud wails over time.
Perhaps it was Amaterasu's lucky day, after all. A passing hunter heard her cries and came to her aid.
The hunter was a young man who longed to raise a child with his wife, whom, as they had recently discovered, was unable to carry children. Was this some kind of godsend, finding this beautiful baby girl in the woods? He scooped her up in his arms, rocking her slowly until she at last stopped crying and fell asleep once more. He held the clay pendant around her neck in his hand, examining it.
"Ammy… is that your name?" he asked the sleeping infant quietly. He was going to have to assume so, since she couldn't exactly tell him herself.
A flash of silver caught his eye. Clutched in the infant's left hand was a necklace with a silver cross pendant on it. The pendant was on a silky black ribbon. I wonder why would she have something like this, the hunter mused internally.
Meanwhile, back at the king's palace, the advisor entered the throne room, his head bowed in mock mourning.
"Your majesty, on the way back, I was attacked by a band of highwaymen. They grabbed Amaterasu and ran off. I couldn't stop them, sire, I'm sorry. I fear she may be dead by now," he said solemnly, his voice practically dripping with false sympathy and grief.
"I escaped safely with Xion, but…" the advisor began, cutting himself off when he noticed tears forming in the king's eyes. "S-sire…?"
The king took a few moments to calm himself. "I understand…" the king murmured, holding back the tears that were fighting to escape. "May I see Xion now?"
"Of… of course, sire, right this way," the advisor murmured, struggling not to sigh in relief. The king had believed him, thank goodness. He was pleased at his luck, the luck he was not going to take for granted.
-~-~-End Chapter-~-~-
I know, you're probably dying to know why the king's advisor hated Ammy so much, but I'm not going to tell you~! You'll have to keep reading to find out!