Author's Note: Well…even I have to admit, that prologue was a little sketchy (thanks for your feedback, Mugiwara Gorillaz and Gijinka Renamon). But now I'm going to get into the main story, so hopefully this will help it regain its balance, so to speak. But that's the thing with ideas, right? They always sound so good in theory…Anyway, happy reading! ;)-AMX
Chapter 1: I wish Decemberween still existed…
Now, near the supposed location of the Decemberween Thnikkaman's workshop (known as Free Country Area), there were a lot of distinct locations. The first was Mt. Idznak, a treacherous and huge mountain located behind the workshop, notorious for its horrible snowstorms; it was also the supposed location of where Klogg resided.
Also in the area was a very thick forest, called Mugen Forest, full of mostly pine trees (there were also deciduous trees, but not that many). If one wasn't careful, a person could easily get lost in there. Needless to say, it was not common for anyone to enter Mugen Forest.
However, our main story starts at one last significant location near Free Country Area.
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Crossroads Village had been around for a long time; even before Decemberween stopped occurring, it was there. Over the years, some subtle changes had happened in the town; it was just as modernized as anyplace else around it. But other than that, it hadn't changed much over the years.
There was a residential area and a shopping district in Crossroads Village. However, the most noticeable building was located near the edge of the town, across from Mugen Forest: the Crossroads Village Orphanage.
The building itself was a large Victorian mansion; clearly large enough to house a group of children. A common scene at the orphanage was of the children playing outside, in front of the mansion.
And the morning of December 24 (known nearly a century ago as Decemberween Eve) was no exception. A good amount of snow on the ground was not going to stop those children from playing all day.
However, one of the residents of the orphanage returning did.
"Look!" one of the children suddenly called. "Rini's back!"
All the kids stopped playing and looked. At the front gate, a little girl was saying goodbye to a man and a woman. The man had short, slightly spiky brown hair and icy blue eyes; he was wearing a black leather jacket and black jeans. The woman had shoulder-length brown hair with light brown highlights, with dark-brown eyes; she was wearing a light blue winter outfit.
As for the little girl, she had bright pink hair put up in pigtails, and red eyes. She was wearing a pink winter outfit, and a pink and light-yellow backpack on her back. However, the most striking item the little girl had was in her right mitten-clad hand: a little, bright red cane.
As the man and the woman (who was waving at the little girl) walked away from the orphanage, the other children ran up to the little girl and began to bombard her with questions.
"Rini! How was it?"
"Are they really nice?"
"What did you do today?"
"Do you think they'll adopt you?"
The little girl, Rini, waited until the other kids calmed down a little more before speaking.
"Well…we went shopping all day today. Miss Rinoa let me buy any one thing I wanted, and she bought us all lunch. Mr. Squall still didn't say much, but he's still really nice. And I think he really likes Miss Rinoa…" She paused. "And…I really don't know if they want to adopt me. I'm pretty sure they both like me, especially Miss Rinoa. But…I can't help but think they're as nervous as I am…"
"What did you buy, Rini?" a little girl asked.
"Oh!" Rini took her backpack off her back, opened it, and pulled out a book. "I got this book. It's about this old holiday called Decemberween. I thought I would finish reading it now."
With that, Rini began to walk/limp over to the nearest bench, still carrying the book and her backpack. She set her things down on the bench, and then got on herself.
By this point, most of the children had gone back to playing. However, one little girl followed Rini to the bench.
"Rini, I wish you could play with the rest of us," said the little girl.
Rini looked at the girl. She gave a sad smile. "I wish I could, too," she said. "But as long as the rest of me is healthy, I'll be okay."
This answer seemed to satisfy the little girl, as she nodded and ran off to join the other kids.
As soon as the little girl was far enough away, Rini's smile faded. Then, she sighed. She took her backpack, and pulled two other things out. The first thing was a black robotic sphere shaped like a cat's head, with a crescent moon pointed up on its forehead, and an antenna coming out of the top of its head.
The second item was a small, golden heart-shaped brooch with a pink heart-shaped diamond on the front. Rini pushed a button on the top of the brooch, revealing a picture on the inside. The picture was of a woman with long, blonde hair in pigtails, wearing a white dress, and a tall dark-haired man wearing a black tuxedo. The woman was holding a small, pink-haired baby: Rini.
"Look, Luna-P," said Rini, holding the brooch toward the cathead robot. "Aren't Mommy and Daddy pretty in this picture?"
The robot, Luna-P, nodded.
Rini looked away from the picture, then down to her right leg; this was the leg that was partially crippled. According to Miss Gainsborough, the owner of the orphanage, Rini's leg had been that way since she was born; with proper care and exercise, there apparently was a chance that Rini's leg could get a little better, but this was still a very slim chance. Miss Gainsborough was also the person who told Rini about the car accident that had killed her parents. Miraculously, Rini, who had been just a year old at the time, survived the crash; she had lived in the orphanage ever since, and had been seven years old when Miss Gainsborough first told her what happened.
Rini was ten years old now. She'd been at the orphanage for a long time (at least to her). It wasn't that she didn't like the orphanage, the kids, or Miss Gainsborough; she just really wanted a family of her own. She really hoped Miss Rinoa and Mr. Squall would consider adopting her…
Unfortunately, while Rini's leg made her special, it also seemed to be the main reason nobody wanted to adopt her. Rini was a cute, well-mannered, likeable little girl. Everything about her was as close to "normal" as a child could be. So why would something as little as a slightly crippled leg make such a big deal.
This was more than Rini's ten-year-old mind could comprehend. She picked up the book again, and began to flip through the pages.
"Luna-P, do you know anything about Decemberween?" she asked the robot. It gave no response; Rini took that as a 'no.' "According to this, a long time ago, the Decemberween Thnikkaman would travel all over the world and deliver presents to each and every person. But then, a bad guy named Klogg stole the Decemberween Thnikkaman's special sack, causing Decemberween to stop happening because there was no way to deliver the presents." Rini sighed. "I wish Decemberween still existed. Then maybe I could ask the Decemberween Thnikkaman for my very own family…"
Rini flipped to the last page in the book. She suddenly noticed that there was a loose piece of paper after the last page. She picked it up, and saw that the loose piece of paper appeared to be some sort of map.
"Luna-P, look!" said Rini. The cathead robot moved closer. "This map has Crossroads Village on it!" She pointed to its spot on the map. "And according to this…on the other side of Mugen Forest is a place called Free Country Area…and that's where the Decemberween Thnikkaman's workshop is supposed to be!" Rini looked at Luna-P. "Do you think…this map is real?"
But before Luna-P could give a response, a sudden burst of icy wind shot through the area, jerking the map out of Rini's hands.
"Oh no!" Rini exclaimed, watching as the map sailed through the barred fence of the orphanage, across the street, and flying straight into Mugen Forest. Rini grabbed her book and her brooch and put them back in her backpack. She slung the bag onto her shoulders, grabbed Luna-P with her left hand, and took her cane with her right hand. "Come on!" Rini said, jumping off the bench. "We need to get that map back!"
However, just as Rini limped over to the fence and was about to squeeze through, something stopped her.
"Rini, where are you going?"
Rini looked back; it was the same little girl from before. She smiled. "Don't worry," she said. "I'll be right back. I just need to go get something."
With that, Rini squeezed through the bars with Luna-P and her cane.
The little girl could only watch as Rini hobbled down the sidewalk, crossed the street, and enter the dark-looking Mugen Forest.
But little did anyone know, Rini was about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime…