Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney. If I did, so many ships would be canon. So many...
Thunder cracked overhead. A tired figure pulled along her two sons as the rain beat down on their heads.
"I'm tired, Mommy," whimpered the small blond one.
"We've been walking for hours!" complained the grumpy raven haired one.
"I know darlings, but we must push on. This is not public land. If we stop now, we could be arrested for trespassing." The two young sons gasped at this.
"B-but that's not fair!" The raven hair screeched and his younger blond brother echoed the statement. He was promptly shushed by the tired figure.
"Just a little farther," she pleaded. A little farther on this dark and twisted road.
"Close all the windows and make sure we are properly armed. I do not want the Rebellion to use this storm to attack us." Twenty-one year old Terra sat in his father's study, awaiting the guards to follow his orders. Thunder boomed loudly, but Terra barely flinched. The youngest of his guards approached him.
"Is there a problem, Roxas?" While Roxas was the youngest, he was far from inexperienced. In fact, Terra would go so far as to say he trusted Roxas with his life.
"No, M'lord, it's just…" He trailed off.
"Well, spit it out!" Terra ordered.
"Our scouts spotted someone walking through the forest on the left side. We were not sure as to how to proceed, and lost pursuit of them."
"Why were they not detained and/or killed?" Terra felt his anger rising. He prided himself on having steadfast, capable guards that did not show mercy. To just simply let someone go was an ametur mistake that could bring later problems.
"Uh, there was a slight hesitation upon realising it was a young woman and two young boys. Hardly spy material."
"How young were the boys?" Terra's mind was headed into over drive. It could very well be a cover meant to disguise the real spy or enemy.
"From what we could see, they looked to be about three at the most. The young woman, whom we assume to be the mother looked around your age, sir." Roxas bowed his head respectfully. He could tell his master was growing angry.
"Find them. I want them in this castle by tomorrow morning. Otherwise, there will be consequences!" Terra ordered Roxas. The blond turned on his heel, and beat a path to the door. Sinking back into the chair, Terra paused to think on what he had just ordered. Why did he want them here so badly? Chances were, they weren't spies. The more he thought about this, the more he was sure of it. Most likely, it was a struggling young widow, looking for some shelter from the storm with her sons. But it was too late to call off the search. Roxas and his troop would be long gone by now. Best to just sit back and wait.
A tired nineteen year old Aqua tugged along her two sons as the rain pounded down. She could barely see for the sheets of rain flooding her vision. It was slow going, pulling along her sons, but her arms were too tired to carry them any longer. All three were silent as they walked, too tired and cold to speak. (Not that the rain would have made it easy anyway.) Lightning struck a tree close to where they walked and her youngest son, Ventus or Ven, shrieked. His blond hair was plastered to his forehead and dangling in front of his eyes, making it hard for him to see. Aqua reached back and smoothed his hair back and out of the way. Her older son, Vanitas, kept his head down and pushed resolutely through. It brought a smile to her face. He was so stubborn, just like his- She stopped that train of thought as quickly as it came. A crack of wood sounded behind them. Whirling around, she pulled her sons protectively to her chest. Armoured guards swathed in bronze, red, and black circled them, wielding all manner of weapons.
"You're wanted by our master," spoke the lead guard, his voice disembodied by the mask he wore.
"Who are they, Mommy?" asked Vanitas.
"Hush, sweetie. You and Ven stay behind me." Aqua whispered in his ear. Vanitas nodded and pulled Ven closer. She had to smile at him putting on a brave face. Van always tried to act so tough.
"I'm terribly sorry, sir. My sons and I were just passing through and got lost in the storm. If you could just guide us in the right direction, we'll leave your land." Aqua did her best to appear friendly.
"I'm afraid we can't do that," Yet another guard spoke from behind the lead guard. This guard was different, however. He wore a cape of all black, the hood pulled up and shielding his face. The only thing Aqua could see to determine he was human and not some heartless, was a flash of red hair. Biting the inside of her cheek, she began to back away slowly, pushing Ven and Van with her. The guards struck.
"Mommy!" She heard Ven yell. Whipping around to face him, she felt something hard and blunt strike her head.
He could hear the footsteps of his soldiers returning. Standing up, he adjusted his armor and attached his long, crimson cape. Glancing in the mirror, he pulled on his helmet. Time to meet the condemned. His feet clanged against the cold, marble floor. Rounding the corner, he sifted through what possibilities could be waiting. What he didn't expect to see was a petite young woman with blue hair. She was unconscious, but two boys - who couldn't be more than five - propped her up. The blond boy stared at him in terror, but the one with black hair look up with open hostility. Terra took a step towards them, but Roxas grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the room.
"Why is she unconscious?" Terra growled.
"Well, you see, funny story. You'll laugh so hard!" Roxas himself laughed nervously.
"I'm waiting."
"Axel was a little rough." Terra swore under his breath at the idiocy of his most skilled scout.
"Put them in the dungeon. Send for me when she awakes." Terra ordered. He felt a headache coming on. A drink was in order, maybe followed by a visit to the local floozy, Larxene.
"But, sir," Roxas was continuing. "Are you sure that's wise? The woman looks sickly and her boys are so young!"
"I said put them in the dungeon. I don't want to hear about or from them until the woman wakes up." Terra turned and stalked out of the room, tired of dealing with the guard. He really wasn't a people person.
All dressed up and no where to go, he lamented with a wry smirk. Wait, there was somewhere, he realized. Larxene would be waiting for him, probably with a cold drink in hand. This night could turn out to be interesting indeed. He turned and headed from the castle to the village. The rain had stopped and it was actually quite peaceful. Not that Terra cared. No, he was too caught up in thoughts of women and alcohol to even think about watching his surroundings.
From high up in the trees, a figure cloaked in black watched Terra. He must get back and report the existence of the woman to his master. Finally, they had the key to breaking Terra and toppling the last remaining figure who could revive the rebellion. The figure grinned. His master would love this.
- To those of you who are waiting for It's a Man's World to be updated, it'll be awhile. I've sort of lost interest in it and might even delete it. For now, it's on a definite hiatus. I'm really sorry about that.
- Now about this story: It will be an AU, though many (if not all) Kingdom Hearts characters will appear. I'm also using a Beauty and the Beast twist in here. The characters might seem a little OC (especially Terra and Vanitas), but all that will be straightened out in time.
- Secondly, two stories really inspired me to write this. The first one is called The Dark Rule, written by Marjorie Franklin. And the second is called Odd by The Punch Lord. These two wonderful authors really inspired me to write this, and if you have a chance, you should go check out their stories. (ESPECIALLY if you like Terqua.)
- Lastly, thank you all for having patience with me. I got busy trying to finish up school and my summer swim team started, leaving me with little time to write. I'm all done for the summer now, however, and the updates should roll out pretty quickly. I'm really sorry this took so long! Happy reading!