Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or Kingdom Hearts. The only character that is mine is Margret. Everything else belongs to Square Enix.
AN: This is the first fanfiction I've ever uploaded onto the internet. Certainly not the first one I've written, but the first I've felt confident enough to actually upload. I decided to write this because I just love Xaldin/Dilan but he gets no love so I decided to change that. If you enjoy, please review, if you see something I can improve on please let me know. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM ONLY. I'm rating the story M just to be safe. Just an fyi, if I decide to write smut into this story in it's later chapters I will only put the uncensored versions on my A03 account or my tumblr. I will put links to those on my profile. C: Thank you for reading. Reviews are always welcome.
It was a beautiful day in Radiant Garden, as always. Butterflies and birds fluttered and flew through the sky. You could hear children's laughter and the clanking sounds of metal against metal as keyblade apprentices sparred or guards practiced. The town was full of bustling people buy and selling wares, meeting up with friends, or simply enjoying the day. Amidst all the lively people in the town's market, one person stood out. A young woman at the ripe age of twenty four, her gaze was locked straight ahead and she held a small stack of books and papers against her chest. She wore a white lab coat over a white button up shirt, navy blue tie, yellow sweater vest, and a navy blue skirt that ended just above the knee. She also wore brown dock martins and tall white socks that ended just under her knee. Anyone could tell she is very studios with one glance, and the white lab coat gave a hint that she is probably one of Ansem's apprentices. She was also very beautiful. With raven black hair that she had flipped and tied so that her hair was in a long loop in the back held together by a large red ribbon, although not tied in a bow. She had sky blue eyes and pale skin that had the slightest hint of pink. As she walked through the crowd she ignored, or maybe just didn't notice the lingering glares of the men she passed. She was only paying just enough attention to the crowd to avoid running into anybody. Her mind was on her work, always on her work. Theories, hypothesis, experiments, and notes to take from an experiment in her lab.
She finally made it to the castle of her superior, Ansem the Wise. He ruled over this world, keeping peace and prosperity for all. He was very loved, and his apprentices were well respected amongst the people even though none knew what the apprentices actually did. They all just assumed it was for the betterment of Radiant Garden. As she ascended the marble steps to the castle door she nodded to Aeleus and Dilan as she passed. They were guards that kept a nearly constant watch on the castle when the apprentices were inside. They were to be kept safe as they held knowledge that none else did. Aeleus and Dilan were both very large muscular men. Aeleus wielded an ax, and Dilan a lance. They were both very strong in their abilities with their weapons and with magic. Their skills demanded both fear and respect. Aeleus was the taller of the two. He had short red hair that had a slight wave to it and an extremely intimidating expression on his face at all times. Dilan had a cold stare to match his dark purple eyes. His ebony black hair was in dreadlocks and tied into a pony tail, but a loose strand of hair always seemed to stick out. The young scientist noticed this several times, it bugged her but she didn't say anything it wasn't her place. He had pointed brows, sideburns, and ears that had a point to them that was just barely noticeably strange.
As she headed inside she thought about how fitting the guard's uniforms were. Navy blue pants and jacket with silver trim and gold buttons, red heart just below the collar and silver hearts on the long white gloves and of course, black boots. It was quite fitting as the symbol of the heart that was an inspiration to so many here, in this world, especially Ansem the Wise, and that in the lower levels of this extravagant castle that was a symbol of purity, dark deeds were done in the search for the secrets of the heart. Whenever she was asked what she did in her apprenticeship, she would always answer that she worked with a type of magic that was not yet understood, and a science that would help change things forever. She wasn't technically lying. Hearts were magic, and with their machines, they were growing closer to discovering the secrets of the heart, and that would indeed, change everything.
She entered the large castle doors into a huge towering room with gothic style arches, elegant tapestries, and large stain glass windows that trickled multicolored light from the mid-morning sun into the room, bouncing off the rose stoned granite of the walls and pillars creating an air of magic and beauty. She walked through the halls lined with paintings and statues with crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceilings. Down stairways made of stone with glittering lanterns lighting the way. Into a corridor, now without the lavished décor and no windows to let the light it, leading to a darkened stairway with plain torches burning just bright enough to be able to see where you were going. She descended the stairs into the basement where the apprentices did their work, it was decorated, but plainly compared to the grandeur of the rest of the castle.
"Good morning Margret," Said a tall, thin, blonde man with bright green eyes.
"Good morning Even, Ienzo." She said nodding to Even and then the small ebony haired boy beside him. His grey eyes followed her as she walked through the study and into the labs. Margret and Ienzo didn't like each other. They had never actually had a conversation before but they didn't have to. It was like trying to force tow magnets of the same charge together. It just didn't happen. They were too much alike to get along.
She walked through the lab into a small office in a conjoined room and set her papers down on her desk. She had requested to have an office in or near the lab so she could run tests as quickly and efficiently as possible and Ansem was more than happy to oblige. Margret's arms felt like jelly from carrying her books so long. It's not like they were that heavy, but she had to carry them a long way from her home on the opposite end of the town. It felt as though every step on her way to the castle made the books heavier and heavier. She quickly ran over to her white board and wrote in big letters: GET A BAG! She set to work on her experiments, toying and tinkering in her pristine white sanctuary. She was married to her work as her very displeased mother put it. She frankly didn't understand what was wrong with that. A hard day's work meant more to her than the affection of a man ever could.
Dilan leaned against the wall of the castle letting out an exasperated sigh. Today had been unusually eventful. The usual trio of intruders, Lea, Isa, and Ventus had once again tried to sneak into the castle. They probably would have succeeded if Lea hadn't knocked a potted plant off one of the second story balconies and startled a very mean, very loud cat that Dilan had to pry off of Ventus once he found the delinquents. There was a robbery in town and several people were injured and he had only managed to catch one of the robbers and that meant more work for him if Braig couldn't find out any info on his search through town. Finally, Aeleus and Dilan had to go on a wild goose chase to find Ienzo. Even swears he only looked away for minute but they both know how involved he gets in his work. God knows how long that boy had been gone before Aeleus found him sleeping in a cupboard in the study. Why Ansem let a child become an apprentice, especially under Even's supervision, was beyond his understanding. Ansem's decisions often baffled him. Don't get the wrong idea, Dilan has the utmost respect for Ansem, but he was very hard to understand sometimes.
He leaned against the cold stone of the castle, letting his head fall back and closing his eyes. He wondered if Ansem would give him the rest of the day off. His relaxed thoughts were interrupted when Braig dropped from one of the second story balconies and landed in front of him. Braig was a little shorter than he was and skinnier too. He was a gunner and used his two crossbows and his agility to defeat his opponents. He was cocky, loud and always wore a red scarf. He reminded Dilan of a boy scout.
"Hey Dilan! How ya doin'? Just thought I'd drop by and see ya." The gunman said with a tight smile, obviously trying not to laugh at his own joke and failing.
"Braig, why do you insist on opening your mouth if you can't come up with anything intelligent to say?" Dilan said straightening his posture and grabbing his lance that was leaning against the wall.
"Woah dude calm down." Braig chuckled. "Who pissed you off?"
Dilan didn't respond and rolled his eyes. He returned to his duty of patrolling the perimeter around the castle although he was not surprised when Braig followed him. He walked backwards beside Dilan. He was actually quite for a few minutes and Dilan wondered if walking backwards was too great a task for the gunner's brain to handle. Braig pursed his lips and looked at Dilan as though he had just realized something.
"I know want you need dude." He said excitedly as though he was going to solve all Dilan's problems. Dilan was doubtful but thought he would at least humor him. "You, fine sir, need a woman in your life." He said matter-of-factly.
Dilan stopped in his tracks and looked at Braig like he was crazy. "Or a dude, I don't judge." Braig said snickering. Dilan gave Braig a dirty look and pushed past him, nearly knocking the smaller male on his butt. Braig caught up with him once again, this time walking forward beside him.
"Why so serious sideburns?" he said imitating Dilan's face when he was angry.
"I'm only serious because I'm not over-compensating for anything." Dilan said without looking at Braig. The gunner grabbed at his chest and feigned heartbreak.
"Ouch man, that hurt. You're breaking my heart." He said over dramatically.
Dilan smirked. "What heart?"
Braig laughed. "Ooooh harsh! Oh and I am not over-compensating for anything."
"Whatever you say." Dilan said smiling mischievously at Braig The two friends shared a laugh and continued to walk together.
"But seriously man, you need a woman. What about Margret? She's a looker, got a nice rack too. What d'ya think? Double D's?" He said winking and nudging Dilan in the ribs. Dilan shoved Braig away playfully.
"I gotta get back to work but think about it man. I'll help you get a girl." Braig said as he waved and jogged away. Dilan did think about it. Margret was indeed beautiful, but she seemed frigid and unfriendly despite being polite. She seemed to be way too into her work to take a relationship seriously. He decided that Margret was definitely not for him.
Dilan was starting to get angry. That workaholic girl Margret was still in the castle doing god knows what. He was tempted to go in there and tell her to leave so he could go home, but he knew that he'd get another lecture from Ansem telling him to not interfere with his apprentices' work. Instead he sat down, leaned against the wall, and stared up at the stars. It amazed him that each and every star was its own world. It was amazing to think that there were so many different places and people. It made him feel small, which was unusual for him because he is quite large and he usually has to look down at everybody. He heard the back door open, the one the apprentices used to leave when it got dark, and he got up and grabbed his lance, quite ready to go home. He saw Margret, with her usual pile of books in her arms, walk out of the building. Just as he was about to leave he heard a woman scream and something fall to the ground with a loud 'thud'. He jumped off the platform he had been standing on to the ground level and ran toward the noise. He saw Margret on the ground staring up at a man with a knife standing over her. There was a second man opening her books and looking at her papers. "No!" she screamed and lunged for her books only to be grabbed by the hair by the man standing over her. She struggled but the man only gripped her hair tighter.
"What's wrong miss? Afraid your secrets will get out?" the first man said smiling wickedly.
"You're a pretty one aren't yeh?" The other man looked confused as he looked over the papers.
"I don't understand this science shit." Dilan recognized those two from the robbery earlier today. This was too easy. He used his lance to cast his magic and sent a gust of wind that knocked them off their feet and pushed them hard against the wall a few feet behind them. He cast his magic again and froze their legs to the wall.
"Now the more you struggle, the more the ice will grow so if you know what's good for you you'll stay quiet and stay still." He said glaring at them fiercely. He turned his attention to Margret who was very disheveled and picking up her things and muttering to herself. Dilan grabbed the last of her books and papers and handed them to her but she just snatched them out of his hands and gave him a cold glare. Dilan didn't usually speak up when someone irritated but this was an exception. He just saved her and she was pulling an attitude, the ungrateful brat.
"That's usually not how people would treat someone who just saved their-"
"I don't need saving. I didn't need saving. I had it under control." She said straightening her round glasses on her face.
"Well it sure didn't look like it when you were on the ground getting your hair ripped out of your skull." Dilan retorted.
"I would have been fine. I was waiting for an opening a-"
"And then you'd do what? You don't have a weapon, and you specialize in healing magic. What could you do?!" Dilan said glaring harshly at Margret. He thought she must be stupid if she thought she could take down two armed men by herself.
"Well it doesn't matter now does it? I now owe you a debt." She said glaring back at him. Dilan was very irritated and very confused.
"A debt?" You've got to be kidding me. It's my job to protect you. I get paid to protect you!"
"I told Ansem I don't need protecting."
"That doesn't matter! It's still my job and what kind of person would I be if I didn't help you?"
Dilan was getting angrier by the second. He hated this difficult woman. Where did she even get this idea anyway? Does she just not understand common sense?
"Well Dilan, I frankly don't know what kind of person you are but make no mistake, I will repay my debt, as soon as I possibly can." The scientist said as though the thought of doing anything for anyone else left a bad taste in her mouth. "I'll see you tomorrow then." She said as she started to walk off. "Oh, and if you're going to yell at people again tonight, you should consider using a breath mint first." She added as she disappeared into the darkness.
Dilan unconsciously covered his mouth with his hand and then glared and clenched his fists. Who the hell does this chick think she is? She was even more infuriating than Even's pompous ass attitude. Dilan honestly didn't know what Braig was thinking when he suggestion he go out with Margret. She was crazy. Dilan returned to his prisoners, freed them from the ice and locked them in a cell in the dungeons of the castle to stay until someone came to deal with them in the morning. Dilan left the castle and headed home once he saw that the night guards were in their positions.
His apartment wasn't far from the castle and he'd never felt more glad about that because it meant that his walk wasn't hard on long nights like this. His apartment was high-end, as he was paid quite well for his job. When he entered the door he put his lance on its place on the wall and went straight to his bed and fell backwards onto it, pinching the bridge of his nose. He took off his clothes and climbed into bed, still thinking about Margret.
When Margret finally got home, first thing she did was drop her books on her small desk in her living room and took off her lab coat. She plopped down on her couch and began to take pieces of clothing off one by one and tossing them onto the floor until she was in nothing but her bra and panties and untied her hair. Why did that muscle-headed guard have to get in the way? She knew that he was doing his job, but she could have taken care of herself. She had lived independently since she was sixteen and she didn't need someone to take care of her. She could fight her own battles. Although the more she thought about it, she'd probably be injured or dead if Dilan hadn't saved her, or even worse, Ansem's work would get out to the public. She knew that Dilan saved her life and her career and the more she thought about it the more it burned her. She hated having people help her and it felt like a weight had dropped onto her shoulders now that she owed Dilan her life. She lay down on the couch and thought of what she could do to pay Dilan back until she fell asleep still thinking about him.