AN: Oh my, this took a while 0.o. Anyways, not much to say (apart from 'green ones' were Nazis, but I'm sure you guys got that anyway), so enjoy
Same daily ritual. Except this time there was no Dad. I could tell that something was wrong from the solemn atmosphere which clung tightly to the entire house. Confused and scared, I questioned my father's whereabouts.
"He had to go back, sweetie. We need him on the border to keep the Germans out. You have to understand that."
Mum ruffled my hair and walked off again to make breakfast. She returned seconds later with a piece crumpled paper. It was addressed to me, in Dad's cursive handwriting. At least he had the manners to leave a note.
"He left one for me, but I guess he had too much to say to write it on one piece of paper."
Again, Mum turned for the kitchen, leaving me in the crippling silence to read what may be my father's last words.
Dear Saïx,
By the time you will be reading this, I will already be returning to the borderline front. I do wish that I could spend more time with you and your mother, but we can't let the green ones in. The resistance has been extraordinary, but I have to do my part. For King and Country. You must understand this, my boy. I know you'll forgive me one day, when you can walk and act freely as a true Dane. I need you to look after your mother. She's a tough woman, but at the end of the day, she'll need you as something to hold onto. You've grown enough for me to trust you to do this for me, and I hope that God will be merciful enough to let me return to see you grow into something spectacular. Look after yourself well, son. And remember that I will always fight for you to have a bright future, not to be stunted by the green ones. I will return as soon as I can, and then we can talk as men, seeing as you are no longer a little boy. Just yesterday, your mother and I were teaching you how to walk. Now, you can run confidently through the town square with your head held high. Keep yourself and your mother safe, and never trust anyone outside our comfort zone. Ve Vil Vinde!
Best wishes and love,
Dad
I never noticed that I was crying until I began choking on the tears. Dad had so much enthusiasm; he always mentioned how proud he was that I joined the resistance. He was a man with a strong sense of morality, a man who would die for what he felt was right. I ran to my bedroom to tuck the note under my pillow. If it went missing, I would never forgive myself. Wiping my eyes, I returned downstairs. I knew that I had to be brave for Mum, seeing as I was all she had. We ate in silence, both stunned by Dad's sudden departure. I helped around the house for a bit, but it was not long before I was called for a resistance meeting.
Every few days or so, all the members of the resistance in Århus would meet in a small apartment to discuss our previous efforts and what else we can do to get rid of the Nazis. So far, little has worked to force them to leave, but they certainly pay less attention to Århus, making it a safer place for Jews and others that suffer persecution to live in. The same group of people were there; Riku, Sora, Kairi and Namine. We never really got on until the war started, when we all joined the resistance. I guessed it was finally time to put aside out petty differences and fight for our country. We were a small division in the whole Danish resistance, but we did our part. Only this time there were two others, a tall man with electric red hair which resembled a hedgehog and two triangular tattoos under his eyes and a smaller, blond boy whose hair looked as if the wind had swept it to one side. Both of them looked shy and huddled together. Taking my seat next to the redhead (who backed away at first, until he remembered that everyone in the room was on his side) and questioned our two new members. Not that I minded the fact that they were there. If anything, I appreciated anyone who may support us. It was just that I had never seen them before...anywhere.
"Oh, this is Axel and Roxas. They lived on Copenhagen until the Nazis came along. They were scared that they would be persecuted for being homosexual."
Nodding with understanding, I made sure that they understood that they were still welcome. I had nothing against people being gay (I was completely in love with some guy from a place that no one else knew about for Christ's sake), and they seemed like decent people. We agreed to join with the rest Århus division and arrange a boycott and protest march. The Nazis would lose a lot of money if people refused to buy anything to do with them. It was just by chance that Axel and Roxas were staying with a family not too far from my house. I knew them well, and I was not surprised that they took them in. Nonetheless, the redhead was still uneasy.
"Don't worry, they'll look after you two until this all blows over, then you can go back to Copenhagen."
"It's just that…well we saw what they did. And I'm sure they'll pay more attention to this place eventually. We can't run forever."
Giving Axel one last reassuring comment and patting his back, as a way of showing friendship, I parted with the two and continued home. I still had to visit Xemnas.
Mum never questioned the fact that I headed straight for the garden. Maybe she thought that I needed space. I was still upset about Dad, but I had calmed down a lot. Where Xemnas lived was so happy, making it impossible for my first initial shock to remain. Passing through the waterfall again seemed even more thrilling than the first time. Possibly because I knew what I was going to see, possibly because I could savour each little moment rather than let them slip away. The fields and town seemed so familiar now, despite the fact that I had only seen them once. However, I was still a stranger and knew no one other than Xemnas. I had an awful feeling in my stomach that it would not be as easy for me to find him as it was last time. Suddenly, it hit me: he knew the whole town by heart. Therefore, everyone must have known him. Asking an elderly lady where I could find him, she stared at me as if I had gone mad.
"I'm really sorry, but I'm not from here, and I promised him that I would see him today. He's very interested in something which is going on in the place that I'm from."
Still staring, she pointed at the giant palace I had noticed the first time I visited this place. I nodded in thanks and set off. So Xemnas had a really high social status….impressive. I felt slightly threatened by the palace and the people around me. I knew nobody except Xemnas, was not familiar with my surroundings and simply did not know what to expect. Thankfully, the place slightly reminded me of a smaller and older Århus, so I made it to the palace quite easily. The only time I'd ever been close to anything like it was when Dad took me to Copenhagen before the war and we'd seen the King's palace. But this was different; almost magical. I was entranced by the majestic building before me, yet I was scared of it; I wanted to go further, but I also wanted to turn back. It truly is amazing just how much a place can affect you.
The foyer itself was outstanding, roughly the same size as the lower story of my house and highly decorated. Everywhere, servants were running to attend to whatever errands they were given, and no one was wasted. I was too busy admiring the place to notice the one person I was looking for stand beside me until he finally spoke.
"It's been a while since someone's admired this place as much as you seem to."
I jumped slightly, causing Xemnas to laugh and apologise for scaring me.
"I'm
glad you came again, I was wondering if you'd ever come
back."
"Sorry, we have a lot of resistance work going on and I
needed to help with that."
I could not help but smile at his expression when I said that. He really was clueless about the war. In a way, I did not want to spoil it; his world was still untainted by the actions of mine. It would not be right to let them in. Still, Xemnas was interested, and there was no harm in telling him stories. Just as long as he never got involved. We sat for hours as I explained the resistance and answered his questions. It was strange just how much he reminded me of a small child, always desiring to know more. However, I grew slightly uneasy as his expression once more changed from awe to horror. But how could words paint the total picture of what was happening? Xemnas could never understand what was happening unless he was to physically experience it. To see someone you admire and love put their life on the line so that there can be peace, to see everyone living on a knife's edge in fear of others. Hopefully, he would never have to.
"So…these Nazis, do they actually agree with what they're doing?"
"Some
do, some don't. But both they and their families will suffer if
they don't follow orders. Some of them try to beat the system, but
they're always caught."
"At least they tried, that means
they still show some signs of humanity." That sentence caught me;
the Nazis were humans, but they reduced themselves to act as animals.
Blindly following orders and not showing any remorse or sorrow for
those who die, or any signs of even caring. It really made me think;
Hitler must be worse than we all thought. To reduce ordinary men and
women into that…the consequences must have been as horrifying as
everyone said they were. It was strange how Xemnas could almost see
right through the wall of water that separated our worlds and knew
all about the war already. The questions kept coming, only they were
getting harder and harder to answer. It made me realise just how
little I actually knew about the war besides the fighting. I knew
nothing about how Hitler got the way he was, or most things
political. King Rex had always told us that he would handle all of
that for us, and we were helping his majorly by keeping the Nazis
out.
I told Xemnas about the camps and what happened there. Then we talked about Demyx and Xaldin, and how they were under the constant threat of a raid. Then Axel and Roxas, and how they had to flee their homes to buy time from the Nazis. All of this sickened Xemnas the same way it sickened me. Suddenly, he stood and started saying how brilliant it was and asking why he had not thought of it before (by it I did not mean the war or the Nazis, at the time I had no idea what he was talking about). Questioning him, he grabbed me and pulled me up, clearly very excited about his idea.
"It's simple. You take your friends who are under persecution and you bring them here! There's no way the Nazis can get them if they're here."
"Xemnas…that's a good idea, but how would you accommodate for all of them? I mean, you'd need to find a place to put them and feed them and make sure that they can last until the Nazis leave…" He dismissed my remark, claiming that there was space and that it would be better for them to be there. I nodded in agreement, because it would be a lot better for all of them to stay with Xemnas. The claws of Hitler could never reach them if he did not know where they were.
Neither of us noticed our visitor until there was a silence in our conversation. He scared me at first, because I had no idea he was there, but Xemnas seemed used to people just appearing. The man was tall, and I couldn't help but stare at his eyes. They were large and striking green, so they were the first thing that hit you. He had long blond hair, and appeared to be wearing a lab coat. What an odd world this place was; scientists were wandering up to royalty like it was nothing. If someone did that in my world, they could be shot for it, or severely beaten.
"Pardon me, but we need to discuss the results of the experiments from the other day…" The man bowed to Xemnas, who nodded in return.
"Oh, right…yes. Perhaps later, Vexen. I have company right no-oh! I should really introduce you two." Xemnas put his hand on my shoulder and pointed at the man.
"Saïx, this is Vexen. He's the Head of Scientific Research. Lately he's been doing a lot of work on the heart…it really is fascinating. And Vexen, this is Saïx. He's from a place outside of ours and had been telling me all about it!" I smiled at Xemnas' enthusiasm about both mine and Vexen's situations. Vexen looked at me sceptically, making it two people who thought I was mad.
"Sounds intriguing." He commented, not caring to hide the suspicion in his voice. However, there was no time for us to argue over my sanity, as Vexen rushed out very quickly as soon as he heard someone calling for him. Xemnas laughed at him, but I was very confused.
I decided
it was time to go. The voice had been this person called Marluxia
(who had to have been the most feminine man I had ever met). He, like
Xemnas, had no doubt about me when I mentioned being from another
place, and sat with us as Xemnas questioned me further about the war.
Apparently Marluxia's job involved tending to all the plants in the
town or something. Either way, it only accented his femininity. I
felt terrible when I stood to leave; the disappointment in Xemnas'
face really made me want to stay. But I had to go home, and we both
knew that.
"Hey, how about this. I'll come back tomorrow, and
I'll bring pictures of places in my world, so you can see what it
looks like." Xemnas' face suddenly lit up, and he grabbed my arm
so tightly I felt the blood circulation being cut off.
"Really!?"
"Yes. Not everywhere, but I have loads of
Århus and Copenhagen, and a few of Charlottenlund…and I think we
have some of London from last year." Xemnas grew more and more
excited as I mentioned all the places, like a child at Christmas when
they see all their gifts. Promising him the pictures and Marluxia
some flowers, I took my leave. I finally had a way of helping my
friends; I'll take them all to Xemnas. I can finally protect them.
All night I thought about how strange that world was, as no one was that open here. And all night I could not get the image of Xemnas smiling out of my head, as it had to have been the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
