Crepuscular Rays

And so, here it is our first chaptered story in… almost a year, actually. Wow. Anyways, I have nothing to say about this, except that I might be playing far too many JRPGs, because, really, this plot is way too Japanese. Let's hope you enjoy it!

Just a quick note, the romance in this one is somewhat slow. There won't be as much fluff as usual for one of our stories. But if we're going to make an adventure/romance, we might as well do a good romance AND adventure! Usual disclaimer applies ^_^

I: The King's Crown

"Long ago, so long that most people have trouble believing it was real, there was a terrible monster in these lands. Nobody knew where it came from or what it wanted. Some said it was old as time itself, and that it could never truly die out.

"The king, a young man that had given himself to his people, decided that the hundred years of fear had been enough, and decided to fight it with all he had. It wasn't enough. The creature was vastly intelligent and cunning. In just a few days, his armies were razed, and he was left with nothing on his side.

"He still didn't give up, for he loved his kingdom, and every single person on it. His love, along with some ancient magic, turned out to be enough to defeat the beast.

"The King died that day, but the monster was sealed. It would never break out of his prison again. His descendants, us, must keep his will, and be rightful and kind rulers to our people."

Sora grinned. His father told the best stories. It was one of the things he did best. Not even a sitter or poet could compare to him. The king's deep and passionate voice was able to make him go back to the times he spoke of. Sora could have been happy listening to his father's voice forever.

"Why did he have to die? I'm sure there was another way…" the young boy asked, somewhat confused. The king just smiled and kissed his forehead.

"Maybe, but he couldn't think of a better way. Being a leader is a burden, not a privilege. A king must love and think of his subjects before anything else, even himself."

"You too?" Sora inquired, a little in awe. "Would you have died too?" Sora was not so little anymore. He understood death. That was why it was so difficult to believe someone would choose it when possibilities could be endless.

"… If there was no other way," His father answered simply. "It's true I don't want to die, nobody does. But my duty is to protect and rule. That is why I'll do everything in my power, to protect those who serve me."

Sora hated being in the council room more than anything.

The country was mourning the loss of their king. Every noble and servant was wearing black, and the ceremonial pyre was to be held the next day, while family and close friends kept vigil. Yet the counselors thought it was the opportune moment to take a grieving teenager from his father's side to talk about succession.

"… His highness is only sixteen, though." Counselor Kyle said dismissively for what was probably the twentieth time in three hours. "I believe it would be in the best interests of both the country and the crown prince to have a regent by his side until he was of age. After all, he's been quite shaken by his majesty's death."

"And I suppose you would like to be his regent, Kyle." Counselor Lillian snapped with venom. Sora actually liked her a lot. She was the youngest in the council (in her late thirties), and Kairi's mother. "I believe Prince Sora would make a wonderful king of his own. Despite his age he's already knowledgeable enough on both politics and economy." She fought tooth and nail for him, and he could appreciate that, but right now, he had no energy to deal with this.

The counselors kept fighting for a good forty minutes. Most were actually on Kyle's side, but constantly fought over who should reign for Sora for the next two years.

"Despicable," Everyone turned around and observed Counselor Yen Sid, the oldest and most respected person in the council. His opinions tended to tip the scales of any debate to his side. He had been born into royalty, but his battle injuries had made it impossible for him to succeed the throne. Sora was kind of scared of him, but the old man always seemed reasonable, if a little stern. "Kings through our history had always understood what it means to lead. To be hated no matter what choice you make, and yet still love the kingdom. Can any of you say you're ready to accept such a burden?"

The room was eerily quiet, as it usually happened under the elder's hard gaze. However, Yen Sid's stare was not on the council, but on Sora. The teen gulped, but nodded all the same. Yen Sid smiled somewhat proudly as he stood up.

"Let the Crown Prince prove his worth then." The man said as the council began stirring up. "Give him a quest, a mission that will demonstrate whether or not he's ready for the throne."

"What kind of test do you have in mind, sir?" Counselor Sarah asked somewhat mildly.

Out of the seventeen members of the council (one for each province), she was the kindest and frailest. Sora remembered distinctly having the kind middle-aged woman sneaking him sweets when his father punished him.

"He will look for the Keyblade." He said in his usual no-nonsense voice.

The whole council looked around, uncomfortable. Everybody knew of the Keyblade, a legendary weapon that only a king could wield. According to legend, it had been sealed within Castle Oblivion many centuries ago, as it tended to drive even the strongest of kings insane.

However, the keyword there was 'legendary'. The weapon did not exist, or at least, there was no record of its existence. It was true that there had been a long line of less than stellar kings around six hundred years before, but the idea that a sentient weapon (a key shaped blade, which was obviously just for show, as it couldn't really cut through anything) could actually choose a king, and even drive him insane, was preposterous.

"Then it's decided!" Kyle said in obvious glee after the prolonged silence. Sora was really beginning to hate that man. His father had just died, yet he could still act as if it was his birthday or something like that. "Crown Prince Sora will travel to Bastion, and reach Castle Oblivion. If he brings back the Keyblade, then he'll prove his worth as a king. He'll be crowned, despite his young age. If not, well, we better begin choosing a regent within the council."

That man was nothing but a power-hungry maggot. He didn't doubt he would be chosen as Sora's regent, and was just giving in because Yen Sid's trial was absolutely insane. Sora wanted to punch some sense into him, even if it went against his better nature.

The council agreed on the wild goose chase, and left to their respective guestrooms. Of the seventeen counselors, only Lillian (representative of the neighboring farming province) and Yen Sid lived in the castle. Any of them would have been a better choice for regent, but Yen Sid refused any position that put him above the rest of the council, while Lillian (a noble only through marriage) wouldn't be accepted by the council.

As Sora left, both stressed out and miserable, a hand held him in place. He turned around to face Yen Sid who gave him a stiff smile.

"It exists, Sora." He said in a comforting voice. "I do believe you have what it's required to wield the Keyblade. A strong King has a strong Heart to wield it."

"… And what, in all realms of existence, is that supposed to mean?" Sora ended his tale as he buried his head on his pillow. Kairi smiled sympathetically and looked over at Riku. The knight, as usual, seemed deep in thought, analyzing every small detail and trying to come up with the best course of action.

"If Lord Yen Sid believes it's real, then chances are it actually is." He said, smiling. "We have to look for it."

"We have? Is that even allowed?" Kairi asked with wide eyes. "Isn't this one of those 'this is something he has to do himself' quests?" she said in a bad impression of Yen Sid's voice.

"He's the Crown Prince, Kairi," The knight sighed as he heard Sora mumble 'Don't talk as if I'm not here' from the pillow. "Obviously he'll be allowed to travel alongside other people as protection."

"And what, pray tell, makes you think I'll be considered at all? I have some fencing abilities, I'll give you that, but I'm not sure I can actually pass as the most powerful guard of the Kingdom." She complained. Kairi was just a noblewoman; the most they expected of her was being a socialite. She had to fight hard just to be allowed to practice with a sword. Yen Sid would undoubtedly protest to her going with Sora.

"Sora can put a good word for you." Riku shrugged. "Whatever happens, we face it together, right?"

Sora looked up and smiled gratefully. No matter what, his friends were always with him.

"I'll go talk to Yen Sid right away!" He was stopped by Riku holding his shoulder. "Now what?" He said exasperated. Riku wordlessly pointed to the window. Dawn was only a few hours away.

"You better wait until tomorrow." Kairi smiled as she gave a small yawn. "Right now, I think we should sleep. Tomorrow is going to be really busy."

"Can't sleep, got the night shift." Riku sulked as he picked up his helmet and spear (which served absolutely no purpose for him other than blocking the entrance. Riku was more used to fighting with a Broadsword). Sora just stood up as quickly as he could.

"What if we keep you company? Is that okay?" He asked as he began sheathing his Longsword. Kairi nodded and immediately went to her room to fetch her Rapier Sword.

"You'll just fall asleep by the door… again." Riku smiled, but still didn't stop Sora from his preparations.

"Will not!" He said childishly as he finished putting on his leather vest. Riku decided not to take the obvious quarrel-bait and stepped aside.

Kairi met them by the doors wearing pants and a slightly baggy woolen jacket.

"What?" She asked, noticing their stare. "It's autumn, and wearing a skirt while on guard duty is just silly."

The three laughed as they set themselves by the inner doors. Rarely ever any intruder got past the outer walls, so this post was pretty uneventful.

Sora was the first to fall to boredom, falling asleep against the wall just an hour and a half later.

Sora opened his eyes to a flower garden. He couldn't quite make up the kinds of flowers or their smell, but that only reassured him that this was a dream.

"You're late."

Well, one of those dreams.

He turned around to see the now-familiar blond boy he often dreamed with. His spiky hair, slightly less messy than Sora's, blew with the dream-wind as his blue eyes were completely lost on the distance. He followed his gaze, only to see a setting sun coloring all the flowers orange.

"Sorry, a lot happened today." He apologized. The blond just smiled, but still didn't look at him.

"The king died today." The teen said simply. Sora nodded, somewhat pained, as the night began enveloping the sky. "Everybody has been busy."

"Yeah…"

"Stay sharp." He said in that same soft voice. "Grief does not suit you. You're at your best when you're smiling."

The blond finally turned to him, giving him a small smile. Sora returned it, and they both sat on the flower field.

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you in ages." Sora said as they held hands and watched the sunset. Although, he didn't know if it could be called that, since the sun didn't show any signs of going down the horizon.

"It was just a week." The other chuckled. "I don't know, been dreaming something else, I guess."

"Why a sunset this time?" Sora smiled. The blond usually was on a dark castle, or even in a forest clearing. He only showed a sunset in special occasions.

"This one wasn't mine. It was like this when I arrived." He paused for a minute. "Maybe it's trying to tell us something."

"Like… that you can finally tell me your name?" The brunet teased. The teen beside him just chuckled once more but uttered his name to try it.

As always, the lips moved, but his voice turned impossible to understand, while his face blurred, as if the dream itself collapsed with the name. Sora sighed and shook his head. The blond shrugged and turned back to the sunset.

"Maybe not," He joked. "… This is called magic hour." He finally said after a while.

"Huh? What is?" Sora looked around; trying to find what triggered the comment.

"This," his head moved to point all the landscape. "The last hour of sunlight, the colors seem a little more… alive, subtle. I really like it." He squeezed Sora's hand.

"You're so random sometimes." Sora said, but the blond continued smiling.

"When I was little, someone told me this was the moment when you meet the people that have left us." He looked towards the sun more intently. "People never truly leave; they always live within us, in our actions." He released Sora's hand and smiled in a comforting way.

And with that, Sora felt like he was being pulled by an unknown force, as his name was repeated over and over.

"Sora!" The prince woke up to see Riku shaking him lightly. "It's dawn, someone will replace me soon."

"Replace us." Sora corrected with a yawn. Riku just smirked. "Where's Kairi?"

"She already left. You should go too. What would people think if they saw the Crown Prince sleeping outside the castle?"

"Guarding the castle," He grinned. "They'll think I'm an awesome prince of course." A blank stare was all he received. "Okay, I'm going."

"Remember to talk to Yen Sid." Riku called as he passed the main gate.

"Of course I will!"

Sora smiled as he went to sleep a few more hours in his room. He missed his father like no one else could, but he felt him. He didn't feel alone.

The king's Crown still rested on the empty throne room, waiting for its new Master.

And so, we end Chapter one. I kind of like where this is going! Next chapter, we see a bit of Roxas (Who he is, what he does, etc.) and they meet for the first time. Please review and tell me how we're doing, since this is the first time we go into something that's not at least 85% romance.

Next chapter is… 15% done, more or less. We'll try to post it as soon as we can. Also, we're kind of trying to give everybody some sort of "big part" in this story. We're working on Kairi right now!