The Two Princesses of Hearts

By: Courtney

Arrival (Roxas P.O.V.)

I couldn't believe that my parents would actually agree to this. We are going to have two dimwitted princesses running around the castle for who knows how long! My twin brother Sora is, of course, very excited and can't wait for them to arrive; he is so overly happy sometimes even I can't stand being around him. The princesses will be arriving at the castle tomorrow, so we needed to prepare to meet them-which seems kind of stupid because it seems to me that they would be fine by themselves.

Sora comes rushing into my room the next morning, yelling that the princesses have arrived and are in the throne room, talking to our parents. I get up and dress quickly, and rush downstairs with Sora at my heels. We arrive in the throne room, out of breath and laughing because I had almost fallen down the stairs in my haste.

The two princesses turn and look at us when we enter the room. Sora is instantly drawn to the auburn-haired princess, while I am busy staring at the blonde haired princess. It seems like it's making her a little nervous, for some reason.

She's wearing a white floor length dress with diamonds scattered on it and a white velvet mask. Her tiara consisted entirely of sapphire and aquamarines. She clutches sketchbook to her chest, and she is trembling slightly. The blueness of her eyes and the sadness of her expression startle me.

The other princess is wearing the complete opposite garb: a red, floor-length dress with rubies scattered on it, and a red velvet mask. Her tiara consists entirely of rubies and garnets. Her eyes are a startling violet color that contrasted with her whole outfit.

She notices that her sister is shaking, and goes over and murmurs something to her. The blonde princess nods and turns back to my mother and asks her something. Her voice is so quiet, I have trouble hearing her.

"If you would be so kind as to show me my room, please?" she murmurs.

My mother nods to one of the guards, who shows the princess to her room.

Well, that was weird; she had rushed out so fast, that I never even got to ask her name. My parents introduce me to the other princess, whose name was Kairi,

"You'll have to excuse my sister, Naminé. She doesn't do well around new people," she explains when she sees the confused look on my face.

So the other princess's name was Naminé. Well, it suits her very nicely.

What really bugs me, though, is that she seemed scared of my family.

I look at my mother, who nods, meaning that I could go. I go to try to find the princess to talk to her, because I wanted to find out exactly why she was so scared. However, there is one problem:

I can't find her-she isn't in her room, or anywhere in the castle!

I go into the throne room to ask my mother if she has seen her, but when she shakes her head I start to get worried.

I decide to check the garden, and sure enough, that's where she is. She is so busy sketching that she doesn't hear me as I came around the corner. I look over her shoulder at the drawing. It's amazing!

I shift my weight slightly, which causes a twig to snap. Naminé's head snaps up so fast, I think I hear her neck crack; she then promptly falls backwards, off the bench, her eyes wide. I realize that I could see fear in those blue eyes; I hadn't meant to scare her!

She scurries backwards away from me, running into one of the trees, her eyes filled with terror. I hold my hands up in a gesture of peace.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you," I say softly.

The terrified girl continues to shake her head, so I try backing away. I stand behind the bench, putting distance between the two of us. This seems to calm her at least a bit. I try to put a friendly smile on my face, and the blue eyes behind the white mask return to normal.

I take a moment to observe the silent princess. She is tall and slim as a cat. Her eyes still had that sad expression.

"What has you so scared?" I ask softly.

The princess looks at me in surprise.

"What do you mean?" she replies.

I look at her with my head tilted to the side.

"You're absolutely terrified. I can see it," I tell her.

The girl looks at me.

"I don't want to talk about it," she says back.

I nod and try to smile at her.

"I understand," I reply.

The princess looks at me before looking down at the sketchbook in her hands. I slowly approach her, hoping I don't scare her again.

"What were you drawing?" I ask her.

She holds up the sketchbook, revealing the picture of the cherry blossom trees in the palace gardens. My jaw drops. The drawing is absolutely stunning! I can't believe it. I notice the girl she has drawn into the picture as well.

It appears that she has drawn herself in. I glanced up at her.

"I don't believe we were ever properly introduced... I'm Prince Roxas," I say with a bow.

She looks at me and stands up.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Princess Naminé from the Kingdom of Destiny," she replies with a curtsy.

I smile secretly, happy that she is talking to me. I am curious about this silent princess from Destiny. I hope I will be able to find out more about her. I know that if I could change my stand-offish tendencies, she would probably be a little more likely to talk to me. I want to know exactly what she is so scared of. If I find that out, I know I could try to help her with it. I have no idea why I'm so adamant about helping her, because normally I wouldn't care at all. I just can't figure out why it bothers me so much. It actually scares me a little, because I don't understand what's happening to me.

It starts when she eventually asks me why I'm talking to her. After she snaps at me, with fire in her eyes, I respond:

"Listen, I don't know why, but, I feel the need to help you..." I tell her, quietly.