Give it up for chapter 2!
ii: Long Live the King
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They peered silently as the figure appeared, no longer hidden by the swirling clouds of auric dust. The Knight frowned, obviously recognizing the figure before him: an aged man, slightly bent over at the waste. His head was completely bald and a tuft of pallid hair sprouted from his chin. The man wore a long ebony and red cape that reached to his ankles, dark trousers and boots,snow-white gloves, an off white shirt and a short, black, buckled overcoat. The man's unique orange eyes blazed menacingly like the sun above.
"Xemnas?" the Knight spoke in disbelief as his comrades tensed, gripping their Key blades tightly, ready to attack at word.
"Wielder of Light," the one called "Xemnas" snapped before letting out a sickening, raspy cackle. He laughed manically as thousands of ink like shadows stretched out upon the ground before forming tall lanky beasts, know as "Shadow Heartless."
"Ignore the Shadows," the obsidian clad knight suggested. "We must get to Xemnas." The other two knights nodded in agreement. Without another word, the knights charged forth with an amount of speed no human or beast could achieve. Their bodies cut through the atmosphere like blade through flesh as their eyes concentrated on the insane, chuckling, villain before them. But, just as they reached Xemnas, swinging their blades on instinct, he disappeared into thin air, along with the Heartless. The trio dug their heels into the ground, coming to a halt as sparks of embers flew from their soles.
"What?" the obsidian knight gasped, eyes searching wildly.
"He's vanished!" the argent clad knight bellowed in skepticism.
"We must go back to the castle. Now."
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The royal Knight stormed into the pulchritudinous castle with his comrades at his heels, struggling to keep up. The trio passed through the winding hallways, desperately attempting to dodge the people that rushed by, murmuring quick, polite greetings.
"Welcome back, Your Majesty." The obviously frustrated Knight simply grunted back at a servant as she bustled by.
A large over sized dog-like animal clad in a knight's attire stepped beside the quickly moving trio,
"G'day,Yer Highness. Lady Rose. Queen Beryl."
"Hello, Goofy," the one in obsidian armor, called "Beryl" answered in a quiet voice, slightly muffled by her helmet.
"Hey, Goofy," the young woman called "Rose" answered, slipping past the castle's occupied servitors as they passed through a narrow hallway. Simultaneously sighing, the two women pulled off their helmets and shook their crimson and flaxen-blond hair. Both of them had a pair of striking bright blue eyes, and contained some of the same features. The Knight yanked off his bronze helmet, revealing a crown of unruly chocolate-brown spikes and sparkling cerulean eyes.
"Where's Knight Slate ?" The brunette half asked half commanded, turning towards the dog.
"Uh...I'm not so sure, Sir," Goofy answered, thoughtfully gazing up at the King. The King scowled irritatedly. "I-I'll g-go find him!" the dog offered, stammering uncontrollably.
"Yes, get to that," the King frowned, taking Goofy aback before he bowed and clumsily scurried away, ears flopping and swaying with every step.
"Sora, that was rude," the redhead scolded, slapping him on the arm as the blond silently nodded in agreement. The brunette sighed, his aggravated expression quickly softening.
"You're right," he exhaled, embarrassedly placing his dark gloved hands behind his head. He had to admit, it wasn't like him to act in such a negative way. In fact, he was rarely ever stressed (before he became King.)
"I just can't believe we..."
"We'll get him next time, I'm sure of it," the blond interrupted with a warm smile.
"You're right, Naminé."
Kairi had to cut Sora some slack, knowing she would be just as stressed out if she was dubbed King or Queen of Destiny Islands, only at the age of eighteen. Naminé however, could relate with Sora entirely upon the matter, considering she and Roxas became King and Queen of Twilight Town a mere month ago.
"Let's check the Training Expanse, Sora," Kairi quickly suggested as the three rounded a corner. Sora nodded and pulled the redhead close to him by the waist.
"Good idea," he stressed as Kairi blushed and Naminé giggled, daintily pressing a hand over her heart.
Within seconds more of walking, the trio stepped outside of the castle and reached the outdoor Training Expanse. Sora watched proudly as a few young boys, chosen by the Key blade, vigorously trained against mechanical Heartless.
"They just get better every day, don't they?" Naminé hummed in delight, clasping her hands behind her back.
"'Sure do," Sora cocked his head to the side and strolled into the Expanse, as the young teenagers saluted at his approach. "Hello, Junior Wielders!" he called.
"Good Morning, King Sora, Sir!" they cheered simultaneously. Looking upon their King lovingly and dismissing their unique Key Blades with vibrant flashes of glittering light and standing in the "at ease" formation.
"Have any of you seen Riku?" he asked, cerulean eyes glittering in question.
The bunch of boys mumbled variations of "I dunno, Sir," and "'Not so sure, Sir," until the smallest of the boys shyly stepped up.
"He-He's in the Office, Sir," the tiny male stammered, saluting with one hand and pointing towards the office with the other.
"Why thank you, young man," Sora crouched down and ruffled the now giggling boy's hair. "Very well then, you may continue," Sora stood and ordered as the boys nodded and re summoned their blades.
"They'll make great little soldiers one day," Kairi smirked as the trio approached the Office. Sora nodded with a crooked smile.
"Yes...I just hope they'll never have to fight in a war..."
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"What do you mean you found nothing there?" the nineteen year old silver-haired Knight bellowed at the brunette, aquamarine eyes flashing with disbelief and anger.
"I mean simply what I say, nothing. I found nothing at the Crossroad. No keyhole, no civilization, no..."
"Was Xemnas there?" Riku asked, dread and hate evident when he mentioned the horrific name. Kairi and Naminé cringed.
"Yes..." Sora answered, barely audible.
"And?" Riku raised his voice pacing back in forth, his ivory cloak flapping in the process.
"He got away..." Sora mumbled in defeat.
"What?!?!?" Riku whipped around, silver locks falling over his pale face.
"He got away!" Sora repeated, "He had thousands of Heartless by his side. We charged at him and he just vanished!..."
"Guys, yelling won't prove anything," the flaxen haired Wielder began, gazing pointedly at Riku who pouted instantly.
"She's right," Kairi stepped forward, pushing vermilion locks behind her ear.
"Still," Riku frowned, becoming his normal stoic self once again. "There's no doubt he's behind this and he must be stopped. Wielders all over the worlds are disappearing, being killed...What if our world, our Kingdom is next?"
"Riku, you know that the Suzerainty of Destiny Islands is one of the most powerful kingdoms..."
"What if he's more powerful, Sora? You saw what he and his band of Heartless did to the Crossroad. Think of all those other worlds out there. Demolished!" Riku interrupted, cocking an eyebrow in emphasis. Sora lowered his eyes from Riku's intense gaze, plainly showing that he was in deep thought.
"We leave tomorrow at noon...We'll discuss the matter with King Mickey. Naminé, advise Roxas and tell him to be here by morning," before sparing Riku, Kairi, and Naminé final glances, Sora turned on his heel and left the Expanse.
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Sora stepped out onto the castle's balcony, an elegant sapphire, crystal, and diamond crown atop his head, as the millions and millions of Destiny Islands citizens cheered:
Long live the King! Long live King Sora!
In slight awe, he looked down at the beautiful kingdom before him. The tall palm trees swayed slightly in the breeze. Calm, pure blue waves clapped over the warm pristine shores. The sun shone brightly, lightly kissing the sand with warmth. The castle was so far up, he could even see the lone island with the bent paupou tree he, Riku, and Kairi used to relax on in their youth. He sighed dreamily as the memories of carefree childhood washed over his mind.
With a wide smile that revealed his pearly whites, and the swift raise of his arm, the crowd obediently became dead silent.
"Hello, good citizens of Destiny Islands," he began, sapphire eyes scanning the boisterous crowd. He paused briefly before speaking again. "You've all heard that somehow, Xemnas has been revived..." The crowd murmured incoherently in agreement. "Though the Suzerainty of Destiny Islands is an extremely strong kingdom, Xemnas and his improved band of Heartless are still a threat to our Kingdom." The crowd was completely silent. "Therefore, Lady Kairi Rose, Queen Naminé Beryl, King Roxas Storm, Knight Riku Slate, and I will discuss this matter with King Mickey, and bring Xemnas and his horde of Heartless to justice once and for all! We must not let him capture Kingdom Hearts!" With that, the crowd hurrayed rambunctiously as a variation of Destiny Islands' national anthem, "Simple and Clean," played majestically in the background. With a final nod of finality, Sora strolled back into the castle. After leaving his throne room, he stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted Kairi in the distance. She stood in front of a tall, colorful, elegant stain glassed window, longingly gazing out at the ocean before her. She'd always been so intrigued with the sea. The sun's beams of light painted her flawless face and highlighted her pure crimson locks gold. A contour of pink darted across her cheeks as she stared through the window, oblivious that she was being watched.
Sora sighed. She was beautiful. He Loved her. And he wanted nothing more than for her to be his Queen. So, he gathered his wits, and with his hopes high, approached the caring, feisty, redhead of his dreams.
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Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or the song Simple and Clean.
King Sora. Doesn't that sound awesome? I mean really, it just rolls off your tongue, right? Er...Anywho,this chapter was really fun to write. A lot easier than the first one. If you guys want me to, I'd be happy to continue with this story. I've got some really good ideas and twists and turns for the plot. Did ya' like it? Read & Review to tell me what you think please.
Happy Palm Sunday,
-Heiress of the Suzerainty
