Author's Note: Ick, this is my first fan fiction. The first chapter is a bit confusing, and short, but all will be cleared up in future chapters, I promise. This fiction places the characters from Kingdom Hearts into a twisted version of Beauty and the Beast. Enjoy as much as you can.
I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of their characters or ideas.. I wish I did, though, because then I'd be filthy rich.
"Oh Grandma…" Kairi groaned exasperatedly. Her grandmother was once again trying to sneak out of the house and into the forest once again. The elderly woman was ill, and the last thing she needed to do was to go into that dreadful, cursed forest to gather the berries that grew there. Kairi brushed the hair from her eyes as it began to fall out from the tight bun her long, chestnut locks were kept in. She'd have to redo he hair later, she supposed, since now her main mission was to get her elderly, and slightly senile, grandmother back into bed for rest.
"But Kairi, dear," Grandma protested as her granddaughter led her from the door and back to the uncomfortable straw mattress in the corner. "I wanted to bake one of my pies—I know how you love them. We can't very well have a pie without any berries, can we?"
Kairi exhaled deeply while settling her last remaining family member down onto the straw mattress before straightening out her own spine. Her actions were rewarded with an audible pop and a relieved sigh. The young woman could only give into her grandmother's requests, for no matter how senile the old woman had become, she was still her grandmother, and she still loved her.
"Okay, well I'll tell you what," Kairi negotiated patiently. "You lie down here and rest, and I'll pick some berries. Then we can both make the pie together, and eat it together as well. How does that sound?" As she spoke the young teen pressed her hands onto her hips. An expectant look had spread across her face while waiting for the elder's slow, and joyous reply.
"That would be quite nice, dear—thank you," Grandma replied. The old woman watched as her granddaughter pulled a bright green traveler's cloak over her usual peasant's gown, gathered up a medium-sized wicker basket, and meandered out the door while waving goodbye. Kairi really hadn't been looking forward to going out in those dark woods today, especially after hearing all those stories from when she was younger. She knew that they were just stories, but they did have a bit of truth to them. They were stories of monsters, and Heartless raiding the village of its people... all of them a load of nonsense, of course.
"Ha! Well, this is one girl no monster's going to get!" Kairi exclaimed with throwing her arms in the air. The ground was muddy from last night's rain, but she didn't seem to mind. What she did mind was when a large, strong hand curled about her shoulder and forced her to cry out from shock. She was met with the smirking face of a young man, perhaps a little older than herself. The silvery blue hair was more than familiar, and she found her shoulders sink out of exasperation as she finally uttered his name. "Riku…"
"You're right, Kairi," Riku confirmed with a nod. "No monster will get you while I'm around to protect you." The young man grinned as crimson taint covered the girl's cheeks. She hadn't been aware that she had said that out loud.
"So don't you worry about a thing, Kairi!" Riku cried. Truth being told, he had his eye set on Kairi from the start. Riku could very well have been the most admired male in the entire village. He was strong, handsome, and not only that but he single-handedly protected the village from attacks against the Heartless. He could have any woman he wanted, any home he desired, and as much riches as he could handle. That is why he longed for Kairi's hand in marriage: she was the only thing that he could not have. No matter how many ways he approached her she always seemed to be uninterested in him. She was the woman that no other man could ever have, until now. Kairi would be his—he would make sure of that.
"May I escort you through the forest?" Riku's question was hardly a question at all. Already he had grabbed her by the hand and was pulling her into the dark woods. "The night will be here soon. I wouldn't dream to think what the Heartless would do to you if they found you helplessly alone out here."
Kairi didn't have a choice but to go along with him. For one, by resisting she risked having her arm pulled out of its socket. For another, Riku was right. Nighttime was the best time for a Heartless to attack, along with the fabled monster that lived in these woods. Just this past month three girls had been taken away by the vicious beast, and Kairi didn't want to end up as the fourth.
As they walked in silence, Kairi was given time to reflect on her history. When she had just been a small child she was brought to this village. She knew nothing of her life before this. Her grandmother's memory was slipping, and she had never told Kairi anything about the village they had lived in the first place. She had been curious about her origin more than once, but had long ago gotten over it. It was something that she would never know, and she accepted it as so. Besides, she liked it here. This place was so full of history, and many great legends.
Her favorite legend, however, was the tale of the "magic" forest—the very same forest that she walked through right now, along with her companion Riku. It was said that a noble prince had lived in a giant castle, somewhere deep in the forest. He had been the only person who the Heartless ever truly feared, and his weapon was the mightiest of all. It had the power to not only protect people's hearts from the darkness, but it could shield the heart of an entire world from Heartless attacks.
Then, one dark night, a mighty warrior named Ansem had challenged the prince to a duel. Whoever lost would surely lose their heart to darkness. It was risky, but Ansem was a fighter for the darkness, and used Heartless to fight. The noble prince had agreed to battle despite warnings from his comrades, confident that he could beat Ansem despite his superior strength and wit and defeat the Heartless at the same time. He was wrong. His over confidence and a cheap-shot from Ansem had led to the prince's demise, and the young man fell to darkness, where he couldn't find the light. He returned to life as a Heartless, but nothing was the same. His people fled to this village after learning that their once wise ruler had turned on them.
Ashamed of his form and disgraced into a life of solitude the prince became bitter and cruel. In a desperate attempt to regain his heart he started going down to the village and stealing the hearts of young women, and only young women. The last so called attack on the village had been fifty years ago, but suddenly young women were starting to disappear again. At first the attacks were blamed on wolves, since all kidnappings were preformed in the forest, but as more and more maidens were taken suspicions rose. Many villagers, who actually believed the crackpot story of the prince, said that he was out to steal their hearts once again. A mercenary had even been hired to go into the forest, seek out the hidden castle, and slay the evil, Heartless prince once and for all. He had gone into that forest, but never came out. Most said that the prince had killed him, but Kairi knew better than that. She was a smart and sensible girl, thanks to all the reading she had done, and knew for a fact that the prince did not exist. The mercenary had probably been killed by a wolf, or maybe just ran off. Well, whatever had happened to him, he was definitely not killed by some made-up prince who lived in the middle of the…
"What's that?" Riku's query snapped Kairi out of her thoughts and back into reality.
"What's what?" Kairi responded hesitantly. Her head snapped to the side as Riku pointed towards the shadows, where a pair of glowing eyes rested. The true color of the gaze was amber, but with the moonlight reflecting off the eyeshine and into their direction, it seemed as if they were greenish blue and swirling with color.
"Heartless," Riku confirmed through gritted teeth. He raised his sword defensively, side-stepping so his body would be placed between the set of eyes in the shadows, and his beloved Kairi. The young woman was currently too petrified to do anything. She knew that running was a bad idea, since she had no weapons and a terrible sense of direction, but staying here wouldn't be smart either. Sure, Riku was strong, but something about the hidden Heartless was more forbidding than usual. She couldn't put her finger on it, but the eerie presence of the darkness-veiled being sent pangs of fear running through her, paralyzing her legs and preventing her from speaking.
"Show yourself!" Riku snarled. The warrior edged backward while throwing a protective arm in front of Kairi. This Heartless was stronger than most, he could sense it, and he'd be damned if he let any harm come to his future-partner. The hidden owner of the eyes just chuckled before complying obediently. The sound turned Riku's blood into lead, for he never knew that the Heartless were capable of laughing. Not only that, but the sinister chortle was mirthless and cruel.
As the supposed Heartless stepped into the light, and towards Riku and Kairi, the two travelers were at a loss of words. This Heartless didn't look like one at all. In fact, he looked just like any ordinary man. Hadn't it been for his clear claws, gleaming fangs, and flashing eyes, he could've been just like any other human being. He dressed a little odd, since a black cloak covered everything except for his face and hands. Kairi had to admit that his spiky, brown hair was a little bit wild, but other than that he was a fairly attractive young man… Oh what was she thinking? He was a Heartless, not a man!
"Who are you?" Riku demanded. The query only brought a snarl to the figure and a hefty looking weapon appeared in his hand. It looked like a key of some sort. The sight alone made Kairi gasp. A key? Like the Keyblade? But that just couldn't be true. The Keyblade only existed in the fable about the prince, and that was just some made-up story… wasn't it?
"I and the Prince of Heartless," the form responded. Kairi was again glued to the spot. "And you are trespassers. This is my forest, my lands, and now you two are my prisoners." The Prince continued. He never stopped once in his approach, and shortly after speaking he finally made his lunge towards Riku, the Keyblade stabbing at the young warrior.
Riku was a powerful fighter, but this wasn't something that he could deflect. It had all been too fast. One moment he was building up his strength to attack, and the next there was a giant Key stabbing into the flesh of his shoulder. He cringed as he became vaguely aware of the warmth dripping down the front of his torso from the wound, and he instinctively swung his sword at the offending Heartless Prince. The slash missed, of course, but it was enough to cause the Prince to draw back, and thus remove his weapon from Riku's body.
"I don't have time for this… die," the Prince growled beneath his breath. Kairi watched in horror as the Keyblade's hilt was brought down into the side of Riku's head. The hard, packing sound from the collision barked at her ears, and she couldn't fight the tears as she watched Riku's limp body collapse onto the ground, still bleeding from his wounds. Luckily she could still see the steady rise and fall of his chest, proving her that he was still alive. Her relief was short live, unfortunately, since now that Riku was finished the Prince's attention was brought down upon Kairi, and she was fearful of her own life due to the grin that spread across his face.
"Wh-who are you?" Kairi managed to choke out. Her eyes were again blurring with unshed tears, and her legs were weak beneath her. The Prince stepped towards her, his hypnotizing gaze keeping her glued to the spot as he reached out, seized her by the front of her garments, and dragged her forward into his chest. Her legs were so unsteady by this point that Kairi feared that they would no longer support her if the Prince hadn't been holding onto her cloak like he was.
"I told you," he growled impatiently while the Keyblade just disappeared from his hand. "I am the Prince of Heartless." He acted as if it were a fact that everyone should know, and he spoke so conversationally. Slowly the Prince allowed Kairi to steady herself on her own feet, but he had yet to release her cloak, and so far he didn't seem to have any intentions of doing so.
"I mean: what's your name?" Kairi pressed. The Prince's quizzical look made it clear that he didn't know why it made a difference. To Kairi, his name meant all the difference in the world. She had spent her life mocking the legend of the Prince, and now that he seemed to be standing right in front of her, or against her rather, she couldn't comprehend that this was real. Riku wasn't real, the Prince wasn't real, and neither was her sudden urge to pee. Her mind was so numb that she was convinced that this was a dream, and in this Prince's name matched the one from the legend, then it was proof that it was some horrible nightmare.
At the query the Prince just smirked and leaned his head back into the moonlight. The rays bounced off of his amber eyes and made them gleam, his fangs fully exposed and shining. His hand shifted from grasping Kairi around her cloak to wrapping a strong hand around her neck. He squeezed to cut off all means of breathing, ignoring the strangled sounds and flailing limbs as the girl fought a futile battle against his choking grip.
"My name…" The Prince began, his grin becoming even tighter as Kairi's eyes glazed over. She was fading from consciousness, and he could smell her fear grow as instinct kicked in and forced her to struggle further. Soon her tiny punching fists and flailing legs turned into no more but the occasional shiver or twitch, and her eyes turned red as the tiny veins inside began to burst. "My name is Sora." This was the last thing that Kairi remembered before blacking out.
