"You're thinking of sending him off?"
"Not sending. I like to think of it as…luring."
"Still, you'll be angering them."
"They will not feel anger. Xemnas will feel something close to irritation at the loss of his most important pawn…but that is all."
…
Most important pawn.
Namine stepped away from the door.
But I'm your most important pawn…
Because Ansem the Wise had a heart, did he truly think it justified using people? She hugged her sketchbook to her chest and lightly traced her latest drawing with thin fingers. Xemnas was using Roxas for his own ends, without regard to Roxas's feelings. Ansem was doing the same…
"Namine!" A stern voice echoed in the old mansion hallway.
She jumped back, looking much like a deer in headlights. "A-Ansem!" she coughed, shook her head, and held up her drawing. "I came to…show you a picture."
The tall, masked man closed the door behind him and locked it. He didn't seem very impressed by the sketch. "What did you hear?"
"N-Nothing, I just got here!" She smoothed her white dress nervously. "I was talking with Roxas at the Castle-"
"You were told specifically to interact with Xemnas. I gave you no permission to speak to the others." His cold voice bit into her like acid. She shivered and swallowed hard.
"I'm sorry; he just looked so lonely…"
"He is a Nobody. He cannot feel loneliness." Ansem unlocked the worn door again and opened it, revealing his mysterious assistant seated calmly at a table. Namine looked away from the hooded man; what she couldn't see of him sent chills down her spine. "Return to the Castle and watch the boy, but do not draw attention to yourself. Understood?"
She gave a defeated nod and bowed her head. "Yes, I understand."
Ansem smiled…or, at least what she perceived to be a smile through his red mask of bandages. "Good, good. Report back to me in three weeks."
The door shut with a deafening slam. A nearby wall hanging fell from one of its fastenings, dangling askew from a single wooden nail. Namine sighed and reached for the scroll, but she wasn't tall enough to straighten it. Not quite good enough to fix it. It hung nearly sideways, mocking her with its woven images of a victorious battle. A knight in bloodstained armor held a cotton sword in the air; threads of sunlight glinted off of it and into the eyes of an adoring maiden.
With one fluid movement, she tore the thing from the wall.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
"You've returned." Xemnas smirked and kissed her hand. "How we've missed you."
Namine snatched her hand away. "Your sarcasm is flattering."
"Someone get her one of our coats, geez!" A tall, red-haired man put a hand on her shoulder. "I feel like the sun just walked in here. What's up with that thing?"
She shot him a very confused glance before noticing that he was staring at her dress. "It was given to me."
"A woman of few words, I understand." He grinned and offered a gloved hand. "Name's Axel. If you plan on staying around, I can show you one hell of a better time than this old fart."
Xemnas frowned and crossed his arms. "Namine is a Nobody like us. She does not know how long she will be staying."
Namine shook the strange redhead's hand. "Three weeks." She turned back to Xemnas. "That's all, I think."
The silver-haired Superior smiled and inclined his head before glaring at Axel and departing in a haze of darkness.
"A rain cloud follows that guy." Eight shrugged and started down the hall. "You coming?"
She hesitated a moment, mentally reviewing her orders over and over. Interacting with Axel and the other Nobodies was forbidden. She'd already spoken with Xemnas; it was time to watch Roxas and find out if he'd been dreaming of Sora.
Despite her best efforts, her feet began to move forward.
Axel beamed and continued walking. "I wouldn't stay on this hall too long. All the boring ones live here."
Namine didn't hear him.
Ansem is kind to me. He took me in when the Organization would not. He gives me a place to stay, and in return I will do what he asks of me.
She repeated those words countless times, even when they became disorderly and lost their meaning in her head.
"Namine?" A feminine voice pierced her thoughts.
She looked up, but instead of Axel, there was a slightly shorter blonde woman standing in front of her.
Namine found herself averting her gaze, for the woman's intense blue eyes greatly overpowered her own.
"Yes. I was following Axel, but…" she stared down the long hallway, but the redhead was nowhere to be found.
"Well, that can only be expected. He probably got tired of waiting and went through a portal. I'm Larxene." Namine shook her outstretched hand. "You don't want to hang out with those guys, anyway. All they do is cause trouble."
"He seemed like a nice person-"
"You don't have to talk like a prisoner, you know." Larxene crossed her arms.
"Excuse me?" Namine blinked and backed up. "Like a…prisoner?"
Images of herself in submission flashed through her mind.
"Yes, that's what I said." Twelve repeated irritably. "You're too soft. If you're ever going to survive around all of these men, you'd better speak up. They'll walk all over you."
The small girl opened her mouth to speak, but her vocal cords could not muster a reply to the odd woman.
"I…won't be staying long." She finally managed to squeak, tightening her grip on her sketchbook. "Three weeks is all."
Larxene tilted her head to the side, causing two long strands of hair to fall in her face. "Why only three? Is there somewhere you need to go?"
"No." She replied simply, formulating a believable response. "I…don't know where I'm supposed to be, so I have to keep moving until I find it."
The taller blonde smiled and let her arms fall to her sides. "What if you're supposed to be here?"
Once again, Namine found herself at a loss for words. "I…" she stopped and looked down at her sketchbook.
"Whoa there," Larxene patted her on the shoulder. "Don't get all serious on me; it was just a question."
Rambunctious laughter emanated from a room at the end of the hall labeled "II". Twelve frowned.
"That would be Xigbar, Axel, and Demyx; otherwise known as the Three-Most-Likely-To-Be-Murdered-In-Their-Sleep." She sighed and started toward the room. "We might as well introduce you, as I'm sure Axel has mentioned you to the others."
Namine followed wordlessly, keeping close to the black-robed Nobody.
Larxene opened the door. "Boys, I hate to interrupt you, but we have a guest at the Castle." She put an arm around the smaller girl's shoulders and brought her forward into the room.
"Namine!" Xigbar grinned and inclined his head. "The Superior told me you'd be staying a while. I'm Xigbar."
Before any shaking of hands could follow, a certain musician felt the need to throw in his two cents as well.
"Snowflake! I saw you in the dining hall the other day! You blend in with the walls. I'm Demyx." The energetic blonde held out his hand, but all he received was an astonished and horrified look from the petrified Namine.
Larxene cleared her throat loudly and motioned for the still-frozen girl to follow her out of the room.
"Maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all." Twelve sighed and opened the door to the library.
Namine gave a small chuckle. "Oh, they were…amusing. A bit energetic, but amusing."
The robed woman turned and tilted her head to the side. "You are a strange one, aren't you? Most people would be more than happy to take a stab at those three."
"They seem like the closest things to 'people' here." The small girl smiled and took a seat at a table. "They bring life to this place."
Larxene opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment, a short, blue-haired boy appeared from behind a bookshelf. He smiled caustically and passed the two, offering one sentence with a voice that matched his face, "How is Eleven doing?"
Namine, puzzled by the question, turned to her companion. "Why did he say that?"
She received no answer. No trace of recognition registered in the older Nobody's eyes. For a moment, Twelve's image seemed to break and distort like a porcelain doll fallen to the ground. She clasped her hands in front of her and inhaled deeply, seeming to regain emotional strength as she did so.
Namine reached out for Larxene's hand, but all she received in return was a sharp jolt that forced her back a few steps.
"Excuse me." The disgruntled woman brushed past her smaller counterpart and disappeared out of the library in a field of static electricity.
Zexion, the instigator, grinned satisfactorially and bowed slightly. "Namine, is it?" his voice gained a velvet tone, much like an artificial silver lining, "If I were you, I would not trust Twelve. She is…unstable. Her judgement is clouded by that which she has lost."
"W-What has she lost?" The short blonde found it difficult to maintain eye contact with the strange boy. The intensity of his gaze made her uneasy.
"Does it matter to you, little puppet?" He responded quickly, sarcastically. "I thought you were only here to rid us of problematic Thirteen?"
Namine blinked and cleared her throat. "You must be Zexion. The psychic." She smiled. "It is pointless to lie to you, then."
"You aren't even supposed to be talking to me." He replied calmly. "What will your master say?"
"He isn't my master." She hugged her sketchbook tightly to her chest.
Zexion shrugged, inclined his head respectfully, and made his way into the tall bookshelves. She took it that he wished to end the conversation.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Larxene slammed her door.
"Testy, are we?" A silky voice wafted through the room.
Lightning cracked from her fingertips, stopping inches from the speaker's face. "Why are you-"
Marluxia grabbed her wrist and stood. "Turning on your own lover, Larxene?" He tilted her chin upward and stared into her eyes. "Have you changed so?"
"I haven't!" she protested, trying in vain to break free of his grip. "What do you want? Don't you have plotting to do?"
He kissed her suddenly, grabbing her around the waist with one hand and smoothing her hair with the other. It was controlling, different. Dominant. Cruel. She pushed him away, tears forming in her eyes. "What the hell happened to you?"
Eleven grinned and walked casually past her in silence, closing the door on his way out.