(Star Wars march)
Okay, cut the music; I've done this enough times to no longer need a fanfare or whatever! Plus, I didn't really leave that much time between stories, but I do want to get this started in here!
GIGANTIC ANNOUNCEMENT: THIS WILL BE MY LAST KINGDOM HEARTS STORY…FOR NOW, AT LEAST. I just feel like I'm wearing out my Kingdom Hearts vibe, the way I wore out Teen Titans and Jimmy Neutron. I always move on to the next thing I really love, and right now, it looks like I'm moving onto Flushed Away! ^_^ One day I might do Monsters vs. Aliens, but I don't know yet.
So for now, we'll just say this is my last Kingdom Hearts story. In my opinion, it's not as fantastic or as epic as Hunt for the Hearts was; actually, I think Hunt for the Hearts might have been my best story ever…maybe. I'm not sure yet. The point is, while this will have its own degree of awesomeness, it doesn't involve as much butt-kicking as the others did. It's gonna be mostly sneaky and stuff.
This story also marks a first in my writer's history: Arranged marriage. I've never done an arranged marriage escape story before, and since the Water Tribe did that kind of thing, I figured it was perfect!
The other first this story has is that for this prologue, I'm not doing italics, like I usually do with prologues. I'm so totally sick of having to unscrew it on the Document Manager, and this is gonna be a bit long, so I'm just skipping it this time (even though the italics look great on the website!)
Oh, and another first: Childbirth.
So, yeah: I'll leave the rest of the comments for the Review at the bottom. In the meantime, please enjoy this prologue to my final (for now) KH story!
Title: Castle in the Snow
Summary: Sequel to The Curse of Hades. In classic storybook fashion, Lenne is roped into an arranged marriage in the Water Tribe! Will her family rescue her in time and can she figure a way out? Love, drama, politics, and Owl City ensue!
"I'm never having kids. I couldn't handle it the way you do; you're good at it."—Sue Heck, The Middle
Prologue: Secret Children
Sora paced outside the door to the delivery room; Ansem, Roxas, Kairi, and Naminé all sat on benches. Two-year-old RJ was watching his father while three-year-old Lenne colored some paper on the floor, waiting for her baby brother to be born.
Finally, the golden moment arrived.
"Congratulations," said one of the nurses, "It's a boy!"
Riku felt like he could sprout wings and fly to the moon. A boy! The sight of him sent a wave of joy crashing through his body, leaving him breathless. He looked down at Ame, glowing through her labor sweat as she smiled tearfully up at him. He leaned down and kissed her tenderly while stroking her head.
"You did it, honey," he murmured lovingly.
"We did it," she chuckled. The nurse brought their crying son to them.
"Here he is!" she presented, "And he's got a real set of lungs on him!"
She carefully handed the small newborn to his mother; he gazed at her with his father's own eyes and had a thick wad of wispy white hair!
"He's perfect," his mother sighed adoringly, "He looks like his father."
"Are you kidding?" Riku laughed, "Good looks skip a generation in my family!"
"Here," she said, "You want to hold him?"
As Riku held his son, a great sense of calm reverence came over him: Here was this perfect, whole, innocent life before him, fresh from the womb, his mind a clean slate. And he was his. His eyes shone.
"My boy," he said softly, "My beautiful little boy." He hadn't felt like this since Lenne was born.
"He's an angel, Riku," said Granda, who'd been there the whole time, "You and Ame are very blessed indeed."
"Would you like to meet your great-grandson?" he smiled.
"The honor would be mine," she beamed. She held the tiny baby up with a hand behind his head and he looked at her.
"Welcome, little one," she giggled, "I'm your great-grandmother!" The baby blinked and sneezed a powerful blast of air that blew the bun out of Granda's hair like a giant fan!
Everyone gaped at him; Granda simply stared with wide eyes.
"Sobo-chan, are you okay?" asked Ame.
"Yes, quite," the old woman replied, "Now I've learned another way to dry my hair!"
The nurses all laughed; Granda's eyes flashed a brief light that flashed in their eyes as well, then they went about their business as if nothing had happened. She gave him back to his mother.
"You two get acquainted with your son," she smiled, "I'll go and announce his birth."
In another part of the hospital, old Mr. Bevilaqua got a call on his cell phone.
"Mike here," he said, "That you, Rockford?"
"Yeah," said the caller, "There's a blood hunter where you are. He's headed for Maternity. He's got the badge, so you'll find him."
"Where is he right now?" Mike urgently asked.
"Information desk," came the answer, "He's probably asking for her."
"Not if I can help it," said the old man darkly, "Keep at it, Jim. I'm on him."
He snapped his phone shut and followed the man, who wore a monogram on his sleeve, like paramedics do, only his was a badge no one else would recognize: The official seal of the Northern Water Tribe.
He was a blood hunter, all right.
As discreetly as he could, Mike trailed him to the elevator that went to the Maternity Ward and casually slipped in next to him. They were alone; it couldn't have gone better if he'd planned it himself.
"Off to the Stork's nest, then?" he smiled in a grandfatherly way.
"Yes, sir," the younger man smiled back, "My cousin's having a baby today. I just hope I haven't missed it."
Mike was shocked to hear this; how could he know? But then his earthbending skills tapped into the metals on the elevator walls and found the reaction he was looking for.
This man was lying. He didn't know about any babies; he was just spying on her. He might suspect a baby, but he didn't know for sure. That brought some relief to the old earthbender; that would make his job easier.
"You know, I took a few medical courses myself back in my younger days," he rattled on, "The human body's a fascinating thing, particularly the brain."
"Really?" said the man.
"Of course," he nodded, "For example: There's a part of the lower brain that affects your short-term memory. It's about…right…here."
His two strong fingers jabbed the young man in just the right spot; in the same breath, he pinched the bottom of his neck on the side and he fell over.
The elevator then opened to reveal Mr. Rockford, his handsome, 45-year-old associate. He was smiling as he switched places with Mike and winked as the doors closed.
"Is that man all right?" asked a woman.
"Oh, he'll be all right, honey," Mike beamed, "He just became a father."
He continued on his merry way to the lobby outside the delivery room, where the rest of the gang already were.
"Did I miss anything?" he asked.
"No, sir," said Kairi, "They're in there now."
"Mr. B!" chimed three-year-old Lenne as she toddled over.
"Hey there, pretty girl!" he said as he scooped her up.
'Don't worry, little one,' he thought fondly, 'No one will find you while I'm around.'
(Eight years later…)
Mizuki Megami was sitting on the spacious outdoor patio to her room; it was a mosaic pebbled pattern that made many pictures, and they all moved when it was filled with water. It was specifically designed to hold knee-deep water. She was on the floor now, in the Indian style, wearing a pale blue kimono that she didn't mind getting wet, and her hair was down.
Her water deck had bamboo flumes along the edge that helped feed the rain water onto the enchanted floor; it was storming outside, and Mizuki took his opportunity to meditate.
She loved a good thunderstorm; it always either signaled or illustrated drama, particularly the properly punished mortal woman who had dared raise her hands to a child.
"Vengeance is mine," she murmured calmly, "and I will repay." She drew in a deep breath through her nose, closed her eyes, and opened her arms to the lashing rain. Unlike the storm that had killed Aang's teacher, Mizuki hadn't had to summon this one, and that was her favorite kind. It made them wild and unpredictable.
With the sigh of a peaceful yoga student, Mizuki laid back and floated with her limbs spread out serenely; she turned a bamboo flume so that it poured over her forehead. Her silver-and-blonde hair streamed around her head like a mermaid in wispy tendrils of gold and silver.
"Wash away the thoughts inside," she intoned and opened her eyes, "that keep my mind away from you." She made herself sink halfway to the bottom and watched the raindrops ripple from the other side of the water.
Suddenly she heard a spark of a voice; she gracefully sat up to hear better and watched the storm.
There it was again, as faint as Horton's speck of dust. It called her name.
"Mizuki-chan," it said more distinctly, "Mizuki-chan!" It was a child's voice!
"Shitaro?" she said, "I hear you! Come to me!"
The Son of the Wind appeared on the balcony railing, balancing on his hands as he rocked his lower body back and forth on the white marble; his angel wings dripped and his hair was drenched!
"I like splashing in the rain, too!" he laughed, "I have a message for you, Mizuki-chan, from Yu-chan!"
"From Yue?" said Mizuki as she drew closer, "Pray, tell me!" Shitaro swung his legs outward on opposite sides and into the air for a headstand; his feet then arched forward to take their proper place on the ground—the edge of Mizuki's enchanted pool. He squatted like a frog and made intense eye contact with her, his metallic rainbow eyes swirling as they changed colors.
"This is exactly what she said," he said clearly, "'My servant is coming and in desperate trouble. Please, hide her away for me and care for her.'"
"Yes," the spirit woman nodded, "Yes, I will." She touched his pretty little face.
"Domo arigato, Shitaro-kun," she smiled, "You may tell Yue not to worry. I will do all I can for her."
"Right!" he nodded, "I'll go to her now! See you later, Mizuki-chan!"
Not five minutes after he disappeared, Mizuki was sitting in the middle of her patio when the door to her suite was knocked on. She heard it all the way from outside.
"I'm coming," she called. When she opened her bedroom door, she was dry as a bone with her hair back in a bun.
"Yes, Ichi-san?" she smiled.
"Forgive me, Granda-sama," he bowed, "but there is a young woman at our gate with long white hair and a small child."
"You may tell Merv to let her in," she nodded, "And please prepare some chamomile tea. I'll send her an escort."
Two minutes later, Dharma opened the doors to a young woman cloaked in dark blue, with something bulky inside it. One of the young manservants was shaking the rain off an umbrella. The girl lowered her hood.
"Moe," said Granda, "Welcome back."
"Thank you, Granda," Moe curtsied and uncovered a sleeping child, her spitting image. "You remember my sister Shirohi, don't you?"
Author's Review:
So you're probably wondering why I did the flashback. BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT TO THE STORY! LOL
That cute little incident of Aang sneeze-blasting Granda's hair was a doodle I'd done a year or so ago and always wanted to put in a story, so I did!
Mr. Jim Rockford is a tribute to an old TV show called "The Rockford Files," starring James Garner. He's one of my favorite actors! (peace!)
I'll explain what a blood hunter is in some of the later chapters…or one of them.
I'm excited about Granda's little rain patio; I figure every spirit has his/her own little private place that no one else is allowed in, so I made this up for Granda! Did you noticed that Shitaro never actually got in her little pool? Spirits can be territorial when they want to be, and he's always very polite not to intrude.
Okay, so you may not remember, but I'm pretty sure I mentioned that Moe and her baby sister are Teen Titan knock-off characters I came up with but never got to use. Their "real names" are Snowfire and Whitefire (which is what "Shirohi" means, literally translated). They're very tight and they love to sing karaoke together; they rule Airebis, Tamaran's sister planet! But this might be the only story I actually use them in, so…oh, well.
Oh, and Granda's vengeance line is the last line from Romans 12:19. And apparently, she's a Josh Groban fan! Boo-yah!
So is everyone cool? Any questions, comments or concerns? Y'all know what to do! Stay tuned for the first official chapter, which will have a HANSON SONG!