INTERVAL 2:She passes a couple empty rooms, starting to wonder where everyone was, but she isn't worried. They were all most likely wandering around as she was, looking for something to do to pass the time. Sure enough, one approaches her now.
Naminé doesn't have to guess who it is -- they hardly wear their hoods anymore and when they do, it isn't usually around her. Recognizing his face from afar, her stomach deflates and she becomes apprehensive. She tries to hide in an adjoining room, but he has already caught sight of her and marches forward, brisker than before with purpose.
"Ahh, Naminé." She freezes at his voice, feeling like a trapped rat. She isn't too fearful; she knows what will happen next.
She keeps her back facing Vexen. "How are we this morning?" he asks her; she can see the false, caring smile in her head without looking.
Keeping her breath at a steady pace, she just stands in silence, hoping he will lose interest. Vexen. Number IV. Element: Ice. Eldest member, and yet least respected. Naminé knows all about him. She knows also what others didn't.
As his hand touches her shoulder, she shudders. "Come now," he goes on, turning her around to face him. "I know you can speak. Now why don't you use that pretty little voice of yours, Naminé?"
Naminé. He is one of the few that calls her Naminé, but it was only to her face. It is to make her feel comfortable with him, which she isn't at all. She keeps her eyes away.
"Naminé? Don't you want to talk?" He grabs a lock of her dulled, golden hair between his fingers, slowly letting it fall and brush her face.
Then she makes a mistake. She looks briefly at his face, his eyes; just a second, but he's seen it. And she's seen it as well. The hunger. The desire and deprivation in those easily readable eyes of his. It is her he yearns for: her innocence, her purity, but as pure as she was, she is more knowledgeable than he is, no matter his age.
She pulls away. "I've to see Axel about a sketch," she lies horribly. He holds on for a moment longer, then lets the last strand of hair slip out of his grasp.
He sighs. "Run along, Naminé. I have things of my own to finish. I'll see you later, I'm sure."
She hopes not. She tries to throw him a look of disgust, but she can never manage a proper grimace. She lets him trudge on down the hall, watching until he was too far to see, then does she ran the opposite direction, locking away the new hate she feels for the ignorant man.
Catching sight of the library, Naminé walks straight in without hesitation. Pleasant experience or not, Vexen has seen her, so she has one witness; he can report to Xemnas if necessary. Although she's not sure how well the others will believe his word, she isn't in the mood to run into anymore unsettling confrontations.
-*-*-*-*-*-
The library was one of the few rooms in the place with color. She loved to sit and sketch here; the books gave her so many new ideas. She'd read all of them, of course, without Xemnas' permission, but she had an unquenchable curiosity; her mind soaked everything up like a sponge. Sometimes her and Axel would sit here and talk, but he is nowhere to be found today.
She sits at the large center table, a little disappointed and relieved that no one is around. She opens her blank sketchbook to the first empty page.
Getting up, she walks to one shelf and grabs the book she was looking at the day before. Or perhaps it was earlier that day. It is impossible to tell time here; for all she knew, she could have been living there for years or mere days.
She opens the novel in her hands, letting it fall to a page she's previously marked. Naminé smiles; this is one of her favorite books. It talks about an island in the middle of the ocean, crystal and sparkling, always changing colors.
There is a drawer under the table she opens. She keeps her pencils here. She pulls the flap of the case and lets the pencils fall to the surface with small taps. Naminé closes her eyes and imagines the shore of the island; the waves pulsating on the land, the trees swaying to the sea breeze.
Soon, a flash of an image comes to her, almost like a forgotten memory, followed by a feeling of familiarity and grief. She ignores it and, with pencil in hand, begins to draw.
Each stroke is given special attention and detail as the scene takes shape. She needs no eraser; she makes no mistakes. Any slight smudge or mark fades into the background and becomes part of the picture. She takes care in choosing the colors; reds, oranges, violets, blues. The dark green of the plants. Naminé took this much care with all of her sketches: the sketch knew what it wanted to be and used her to give its image shape.
Much time passes, and when she is complete, the art is magnificent. The pristine image of a sunset beach, tide coming in complete with a background of vegetation. The drawing is a perfect replica of her vision. Naminé smiles, proud of herself.
Just then, Larxene comes in, head turning. "Ah, there ya are," she says with a sly grin. She walks up to where Naminé is at the table. Naminé looks up at her with big eyes. She'd rather look away, but that would make Larxene angry.
Larxene. Number XII. Element: Thunder. She had a tendency to let her anger get the better of her, and she had a wicked attitude. Those who knew what set her off stayed away, and most everyone did. She looked out for her self and only herself. If it benefitted her, she was in on it.
Another thing about her Naminé had learned: she hated children. Intelligence-wise, she wasn't exactly a child, but books are usually judged by their covers.
Larxene caught sight of the pencils and sketchbook. "Come on, brat, pack up the doodles," she motions over the mess. "Clean it up. Grab your things - Marluxia says we're leaving. Although I don't know why we're taking you," she softly mumbles to herself.
She walks out, not waiting on her, but Naminé doesn't have to be told twice. Swiftly, she slides the pencils in the case and back into the drawer. She flips the sketchbook cover over; she snaps the book shut and places it in it's position on the shelf.
Before she darts out, Naminé tucks her sketchbook under one arm, following Larxene. The library is back to the way it was before. She could have never been there.
--
So. . . I've made sure that I try to include as much story as possible, while adding my own small touch to the characters. The story should run from the end of KH through CoM and 365/2 Days, all the way to KH 2.
Please review! I'll love you forevah.