I do not own Kingdom Hearts, it's characters, settings or terms.
"Naminé, hurry or you'll be late!"
A woman with long pale blonde hair stood by a large white wooden door. She opened it just enough to see a small girl of five years scrambling about in her room gathering up her toys into a bag. "Naminé, are you ready to go?"
The girl looked nearly identical to the woman; the same shade of hair, the same skin color, the exact same lips. The only difference was their eyes as the girl's eyes were a rich cerulean shade its hues contrasted with her thick black lashes. "I'm ready mommy!"
The mother picked up her child in her arms and kissed the girl's forehead, earning a giggle from her daughter.
The two of them walked out to the driveway where little Naminé quickly jumped into her mother's vehicle, her mother strapping her into her car seat. "Do you have everything, sweetie?"
"Yup, I have it all!" Naminé smiled as she opened her floral print cloth bag. "I have my coloring book, my crayons, my PJs, my undies, my toothbrush, socks, shoes and Peggy!"
At this, Naminé pulled out a dog doll with long ears; it had a glow-in-the-dark pink nose, a white bow above its right ear, but what Naminé loved the most was that the dog had glow-in-the-dark stars and moons all over. The girl hugged her beloved Peggy and beamed at her mother.
"Wow!" said her mother. "You are very prepared for this sleepover!"
The ride to their destination was relatively short, a mere twenty minutes. Their car pulled up at the front of the esteemed Coeur family, which they were members of. As soon as the car came to a halt, Naminé eagerly unstrapped herself and opened her door. She leaped out and ran to the main doors as fast as she could, leaving her mother behind. Naminé had barely knocked twice on the big fancy doors when it was answered by a maid.
"Miss Naminé!" the young brunette smiled. "Please come in! Miss Kairi and Xion are waiting for you!"
Naminé entered the large house and ran to the music room, where she knew her cousins would be. And sure enough, upon entering the wide room, her eyes spotted two girls; one with flaming red hair and another with rich raven hair.
"Nami!" Kairi, the redhead squealed. "You came!"
"Of course I did!" Naminé giggled. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else!"
"Nami, are you staying the night?" Xion, the brunette asked timidly.
Naminé held up her bag proudly. "I came prepared this time!"
Both sisters beamed and the three girls laughed excitedly. In their merriment, the three cousins failed to notice an older man entering the room. He smiled at them before clearing his throat alerting them of his presence.
"Grandpa!" the girls exclaimed in unison. The three ran to him as he kneeled and was tackled almost to the ground by their sheer momentum.
"Easy girls." He chuckled. He gave each of them a kiss on the cheek before turning to face Naminé. "Where's your mother, Naminé?"
"Right behind you, dad." Smiled the young mother.
The older man straightened up and greeted his daughter with a warm hug. "Good to see you again, my dear."
"I hope I'm not imposing on you for bringing Naminé to stay the night." She said with a tinge of guilt.
"Oh not at all." Her father chuckled. "Besides, it's Aqua whom will look after them, not I."
"Who's Aqua?" Naminé whispered to Xion.
"Oh, she's our sitter." Xion answered. "She's so cool, you'll really like her."
"Auntie Isabeau?" Kairi asked politely. "Can Naminé stay the whole weekend? Pretty please?"
"Well…" Isabeau said thoughtfully. "I don't think she brought enough clothes for the weekend…"
"She can borrow some of our clothes!" Xion piped excitedly. "Please?"
"Please mommy?" Naminé begged.
Isabeau sighed in defeat. "How can I say no to all those pouts?"
The three girls squealed and cheered in delight.
"Lord Ansem." Called a maid. "The baby sitter is here."
"Let her in." he said then turned to face his daughter. "Don't worry, Aqua is completely trustworthy, she has yet to disappoint."
Isabeau nodded at her father before kneeling in front of her daughter. "Sweetie I have to go now, so promise me you'll be a good girl and not cause any trouble for Aqua."
"I'll be good, I promise." Naminé said sweetly.
"I'll bring you some clothes tomorrow, okay?" Isabeau kissed her daughter's cheeks and forehead. "I love you, Naminé."
"I love you too, mommy." Naminé hugged and then kissed her mother.
"Bye Kairi, bye Xion!" Isabeau kissed her nieces' foreheads.
"Bye Auntie Isabeau!" chorused the twins.
Naminé watched her mother and her grandfather walk away as a tall woman with blue hair came into view.
"Aqua!" Kairi and Xion ran to the bluenette happily.
"Hey girls!" Aqua smiled in a motherly way as she picked one girl with each arm and kissed their foreheads. Her indigo colored eyes landed on Naminé and she smiled warmly at the small blonde. "Hello, what's your name?"
"Naminé." The girl replied shyly.
"She's our cousin!" Kairi declared happily.
"I can see the resemblance." Aqua chortled. "You three all have the same eyes and face shape."
The two sisters giggled as Aqua set them down on the ground. "Nami's going the stay for the whole weekend!" Xion beamed.
"Really?" Aqua smiled encouragingly at Naminé. "Well, the more the merrier! Are you girls hungry?"
"Yeah!" the three girls proclaimed. The four of them walked out of the music room and followed Aqua into the kitchen. Once inside, Kairi and Xion led Naminé to a small table for four near a bay window.
"What do you girls want to eat?" Aqua asked them as they all took their seats.
"I want macaroni and cheese!" Kairi immediately replied.
"Kairi, that's not actual dinner." Aqua said with a raised eyebrow.
"It is too." Kairi said with pursed lips.
"I want a grilled cheese sandwich, please. " Xion said politely.
"That's also not an actual dinner." Aqua giggled. "What about you, Naminé?"
"Um, shrimp Alfredo?" Naminé replied quietly.
"Now that's a real dinner." Aqua smiled approvingly. She got up and walked back to the kitchen and got the staff to commence cooking Naminé's shrimp Alfredo for all four of them.
About three hours later after dinner, the three cousins had taken to playing multiple pretend games among them was being princesses in a far away land, waiting for their princes to come and marry them. Kairi and Xion's bedroom became the setting for their imagined epic tale and Aqua could only wonder what it was that their eyes saw. Through the entire game, Aqua had watched, highly amused at their notions of love. She looked over at a nearby clock and saw that it was 8:30, past the girls' bedtime.
"Girls, it's time for bed!" Aqua announced.
"Aw, already?" Kairi moaned. She took off her pointy glittery princess hat and frowned. "But we had just started playing this game!"
"You girls have been playing non-stop for three whole hours!" Aqua said incredulously.
"But not this one!" Xion said defensively as she took off her plastic crown.
"Tell you what," Aqua said serenely. "If you three get ready for bed quickly, I'll tell you a bedtime story about princesses and their princes."
"Which one?" Naminé said interestedly.
"Go get ready and find out." Aqua smiled. "Don't forget to brush your teeth!"
The three girls ran to the bathroom joined to the twins' room, with Naminé walking back out to grab her bag before heading back to the bathroom. Kairi was the first to walk out dressed in a silky pink gown that had roses decorating the hem. Though as lovely as she looked, she forwent any lady-like behavior and zoomed to her and Xion's large bed and pounced on it.
"Kairi!" Aqua shook her head disapprovingly at the redhead only to have said child laugh at the bluenette's expression.
Xion walked out wearing a purple long sleeved shirt and pants with camellias decorating the center of her shirt. Unlike her energetic sister, Xion did not jump on her bed; rather she climbed up and laid down on her side. This would leave Naminé in the middle of the bed.
Naminé finally walked out of the room with a yellow cloth dog doll in her arms. Her white dress had small blue flowers embroidered all over. Naminé climbed on top of the large bed and frowned when she realized that she would be stuck in the middle.
"Why do I get the middle?" she pouted.
"This is my side." Kairi said from her end.
"And this is mine." Xion said from her end. "So you get the middle."
Naminé crawled over to her designated spot and laid down. Once all three girls were nice and settled, Aqua walked over to them and tucked them underneath the sheet and comforter and sat down on Kairi's end.
"So what's the story called?" Xion asked as she grabbed one of her pillows and fixed it to her liking.
"It doesn't have an actual title." Aqua replied. "It's actually a story that my dad told me when I was little.
"A long time ago, when the world was still blanketed by darkness, three wise kings begged the gods for magic to use and vanquish the darkness. Their wishes were granted and each man was blessed with an ancient weapon called a keyblade. Using their sacred weapons, the three kings sealed the darkness within another realm.
"After the long battle had ended, the three kings united their homelands and called it Kingdom Hearts. Their keyblades vanished, and the kings feared they would be left unprotected against any danger. So the gods assured the kings that they would have a power light to defend them; these lights came in their daughters.
"Each girl carried a pure, holy light in their hearts, and as they grew, their lights became stronger. These lights repelled the darkness, and the three kings made sure that their daughters remained safe."
"So these girls are princesses?" Xion asked.
"Yes, they are." Aqua smiled. "One was called Princess of Heart, the other was Princess of Emotion and the third was the Princess Memory."
"What strange names to give to their daughters." Naminé said pensively.
"I agree with you on that one." Aqua chuckled. "But like all princesses, upon reaching their 18th birthday, they had to get married."
"Do they marry handsome princess?" Kairi asked dreamily, earning giggles from her sister and her cousin.
"I'm getting there, so hold on." Aqua said. "The Princess of Heart was friends with a young prince from another kingdom along with his own best friend, a young master swordsman. While the princess knew that she probably be married to the prince, her heart belonged to the swordsman."
"How romantic!" Kairi sighed.
"I would have fallen in love with the prince." Xion said seriously. "She's going to be married to him anyway."
Aqua smiled. "The young prince became aware of the love between the princess and his best friend, but he too, was in love with the young girl. And he was not willing to lose her without a fight."
The three girls gasped.
"So what happened?" Naminé asked worriedly.
"The prince challenged his best friend to a duel." Aqua said ominously.
"To the death?" Kairi whispered.
"No, not to the death." Aqua reassured them. "Whomever won the duel would be worthy of the princess's hand in marriage."
"So who won?" Naminé asked.
"The swordsman, obviously." Xion said serenely. "He's a master swordsman for a reason."
"Right you are, Xion." Aqua smiled, causing the raven girl to smile proudly. "The swordsman won the duel, and so the prince declined to marry the Princess of Heart. He told her father about his best friend and surprisingly, the king did not object to letting his daughter marry the young man."
"Why would it be a problem anyway?" Naminé frowned. She didn't see what was so wrong about the swordsman marrying a princess.
"Don't you read any normal fairytales, Nami?" Kairi asked incredulously. "Princesses always marry a prince!"
Naminé still didn't see what the problem was, but she kept quiet and let Aqua continue the story.
"What about the other two princesses?" Xion asked eagerly.
"Well, the prince still needed to marry." Aqua said. "So he chose to wed the Princess of Memory."
"Just like that?" Xion asked deflated. "He picked her and that's it?"
"Well…yeah." Aqua said apologetically.
"That's mean." Xion frowned.
"How is it mean?" Kairi asked confusedly. "She gets to marry a prince!"
"Only 'cause he has to." Xion voice held a tinge of sadness. "He's not really in love with her."
The four were silent for a few moments before Aqua cleared her throat and resumed. "Despite how you see things Xion, the princess was truly in love with her husband and he genuinely cared for his wife. They were the first to marry, and his kingdom was united with Kingdom Hearts."
"What about the other princess?" Naminé asked, her eyes lit with curiosity.
Aqua sighed. "The Princess of Emotion was not very lucky. There was an old man in her kingdom, a man who was like a brother to her father. This man was the king's confidant, the king trusted him wholeheartedly and so he saw it fit to marry his only daughter to his friend's eldest grandson. The young man had a twin brother; but as identical as they were in looks, they were as different as night and day. The oldest twin was sweet and friendly, the youngest twin was quiet and serious."
"That sounds like you two." Naminé giggled at her cousins.
"It does?" Xion blinked.
"I'm the funny one and you're the serious one!" Kairi pointed to herself and then her twin.
"I think you're right Naminé." Aqua laughed. "The princess had grown up with the twin brothers; the three were inseparable during their childhood years. But when her father announced that she would marry the oldest twin, the youngest twin separated himself from them."
"Why?" Kairi inquired. "Weren't they friends?"
"Did the young twin fall in love with the princess?" Naminé asked softly.
"He did." Aqua said gently. "And he could not bear to see his brother marry the girl he loved."
"So what happened?" Xion asked anxiously.
"One day, the master swordsman visited their homeland for he was the twins' cousin." Aqua had the smallest of smiles on her face. She waited for the pieces to click insides the girls' brains.
"You mean the swordsman who marries the heart princess?" Kairi asked eagerly.
"The very same!" Aqua chuckled. "The swordsman had come to bring news of his wedding and to invite his cousins and their grandfather, as well as the king and princess of course. But the youngest twin had other plans. He took the princess and left the kingdom with her."
"He kidnapped her?" Kairi gasped.
"It wasn't a kidnapping since she loved him, too." Aqua said wisely. "But the princess was torn between the love she felt for the younger twin and her duty to marry the older twin. She didn't want to hurt either of them, nor did she want to disappoint her father. But yet, she ran away with her beloved.
"The king immediately began searching everywhere for his daughter. The oldest twin was deeply hurt by his brother's betrayal, no matter how much his cousin tried to comfort him."
"So what happened?" Xion asked in a small voice.
"Darkness was reborn." Aqua said solemnly, causing the girls to gasp again. "It slowly grew within the older twin's heart. All the pain caused by his brother and the princess's betrayal kept growing. The old man had always wanted to take over the kingdom for his own, saw an opportunity.
"He called upon the powers of evil and extracted the darkness from within his grandson's heart. This darkness took the shape of a man, with the face of their cousin, the swordsman. "
"How did he do that?" Kairi scowled.
"I'm not sure." Aqua replied. "I think it's because the older twin grew close to his cousin after what his brother had done. This man of darkness was instructed by the old man to destroy Kingdom Hearts."
"But they can't 'cause of the light inside the princesses!" Naminé said happily.
Aqua shook her head. "The man of darkness traveled to the Princess of Heart's home. Since he looked like her beloved, the man used this to his advantage and began killing the people…and the princess."
"Wh-what…?" Naminé's grip on her dog doll Peggy, tightened. On her left Kairi sat up straight, while to Naminé's right Xion covered her mouth in shock.
"With her dead, darkness consumed her land." Aqua said in a hollow voice. "The Princess of Memory and her husband had been visiting, awaiting the wedding of the prince's best friend. Upon hearing of the tragedy, the prince sent away his young wife, fearful for her life. But the man of darkness was one step ahead…"
"He killed the memory princess too?" Xion said tearfully.
"Yes, he did." Aqua said quietly. "This drove her prince husband into despair, for he had learned to truly love her as much as she loved him. He swore to avenge her death, but the darkness was too strong and it overpowered him.
"But then he heard his beloved princess calling him and he sealed the darkness in his own heart; with this act he became resistant to its corroding nature. The prince knew he would not be enough to defeat the man of darkness, so he sailed to find his best friend. He had the unfortunate luck to give the news to his best friend of what had happened."
"He must've been so sad…" Kairi mumbled.
"Of course he was…his bride-to-be had been killed while he had been away." Aqua said sorrowfully. "The swordsman and the prince grieved over the loss of their princesses, but it was then that the older twin realized that the Princess of Emotion was in danger. She was the last pillar of light and she had to be found immediately. But they didn't know where to even begin looking for her."
"So what happened?" Naminé asked fearfully. "Please tell me that the emotion princess lives!"
Aqua looked at the girls hopelessly. "The youngest twin's remorse had gotten to him and the princess's guilt was more than she could bear…so they returned home."
"No!" the three girls chorused.
"Girls, calm down." Aqua scolded them. "The twins decided to put their differences aside for the sake of the princess's safety. But this time it wasn't the man of darkness that took the princess's life, it was the old man. He had decided to take matters into in his own hands after the deaths of the other two princesses.
"With all three princesses dead, the world was plummeted into darkness. The old man, in a foolish move, revealed that it was him that had caused all of the tragedies. The three wise kings once again begged the gods for their help, but this time the gods gave their holy weapons to the four young men.
"Knowing that his darkness was the one who had killed two of the princesses', the oldest twin fought against the man of darkness. But killing his own darkness would mean his death. The youngest twin tried to keep his brother from fighting, but to no avail. The man of darkness longed for battle; he wanted to kill all who opposed him. The swordsman and the prince went after the old man, hoping for a way to stop him.
"The wise kings offered their lives to the gods in exchange for power to seal away the old man's powers. The gods granted their wish and bestowed upon the swordsman, the prince and the youngest twin amulets to contain the old man's powers."
"What about the darkness man?" Kairi hissed.
"The oldest twin killed him." Aqua replied gloomily. "And this in turn brought his own death. The youngest twin pleaded with the gods, but they had already done too much."
"So they let the older twin die?" Naminé whispered sadly.
"The oldest twin had been friends with a magician and another swordsman." Aqua said wistfully. "The magician cast a spell to bring back the older twin, and even though he was alive again, he wouldn't wake up. The darkness was taking over the world, so the gods decided to place all of them in an eternal sleep. That only in dire times would they awaken and they would protect the world."
"Is it true?" Xion asked warily. "Did they ever come back?"
"I don't know." Aqua smiled. "Like I said, it's just a story my dad used to tell me." She looked over at the clock and saw that it was 9:28pm. "Okay, no more stories!"
The three girls groaned in protest as they moved about in the bed.
"No no no." Aqua shook her head as she stood up. "It's way past your bed time." She walked over to the room's door and flicked the lights off. "Good night girls."
"Good night Aqua." The three chorused.
The bluenette smiled and closed the door behind her. Once they heard the door click, Kairi sat up.
"Do you think the story is true?" she asked earnestly.
"It's too sad to be true…" Naminé whispered. "I didn't like the ending."
"Me neither." Xion said sadly. "Just when the prince had fallen in love with the memory princess, she dies."
"Sometimes stories are based on real things." Kairi said bracingly. "Maybe this one is one of them!"
"And maybe it's really just a story." Xion yawned. "Don't think too much about it, Kairi."
"What do you think Nami?" Kairi asked the blonde.
Naminé looked down at her glowing cloth dog doll. "If the story is real…then I hope that they all found happiness in heaven."
She closed her eyes and waited for sleep to come, wondering if in her dreams she'd meet a handsome man who would love her for all eternity.
Guess who's back?