The Lost Princess

Chapter Two - The Journey Begins

The snow fell from the grey sky, falling onto the already thickly covered ground. There had been quite a snowstorm the night before, but luckily it had cleared up. The snowflakes falling to the ground in an almost lazy way, while reflecting the rising sun was one of the most beautiful sights to be seen.

In stark contrast to the brilliant white landscape, a dark and gloomy building stood out, surrounded by metres upon metres of land. In the largest window on what appeared to be the third or fourth story of the house, a bunch of younger children leaned against the window eagerly, all waving or shouting out the window.

An old woman, who was chubby and stout, was talking quickly with a no-nonsense sort of voice, trying to make her point clear.

"Now, you follow the road to the east and when you reach the fork in the road, turn left. That will take you to the fisherman's village where I got you a job, and—"

"Bye everybody!" a much younger, and cheerier voice called out to the children.

"Are you listening to me?" the old woman snapped at the young woman she was speaking to.

"Bye!" she called out to the people again, waving her hands in the air cheerfully.

"Kari!" the old woman yelled.

"I'm listening," the girl named Kari replied back in a rather sarcastic tone, turning her vision back to the old woman. Her deep indigo eyes stared at her woman with a rather disgruntled and annoyed look, and her crimson red hair was tied back so that it looked much shorter than it actually was. She wore baggy clothes with a long, dark blue jacket and pale gray fingerless gloves. The only kind of bright clothing that she had was the pink scarf that the older woman was dragging her by. She loved that scarf because she had made it from the dress she had been wearing when she first came to the orphanage.

It was a part of her past.

"Well what did I say then?"

"Go east, fork in the road, go left. Anything else captain?"

The old woman pursed her lips and said, "You ungrateful little brat. For ten years you've been a thorn in my side, acting like the Queen of Sheba since you were brought here. I've clothed you, fed you, kept a roof over your head--"

Kari rolled her eyes and muttered the last words along with the old woman, who whipped back around to face her twin a stern look. "How is it you remember all that, yet you don't have a clue about who you were before you came to us?"

"I do have a clue though," Kari said as she reached into her shirt and pulled out a necklace with a silver chain and a pendant that looked like a seashell.

"Oh yes," the old woman said sarcastic, "Destiny's intertwine at Destiny Islands, or something like that, right? So you want to go to Destiny Islands to try and find your family?"

Kari nodded her head eagerly and the woman said, "Little Miss Kari, you should be grateful for all you have! Destiny's Islands, bah! You are nothing but a little orphan, and that's all you'll ever be! Be grateful!" The woman suddenly slammed the gates in Kari's face, causing her to scowl as she heard the old woman said, "Destiny's intertwined at Destiny Islands, ha!"

Kari grumbled to herself and started walking down the snow-covered road. "Be grateful, ha!" Her voice rose a little bit. "I am grateful! Grateful to be away!" She continued to mutter to herself unhappily as she walked down the road, kicking at the snow with her black boots.

She walked few a few minutes, grumbling to herself, but she did not let the cold air get her down any more than she already was. She was an upbeat person, even though she had little reason to be.

At the age of eight, she had woken up in the orphanage, and was told that she had been found lying on the ground, unconscious. When they asked her what her name was, she had hesitated. She couldn't remember. She vaguely remembered someone wishing her a happy eighth birthday, and she knew her name was…K…Keria? No, that wasn't why it. Kali? No. Kristen? Kara? Karla? No, no, no. None of them were right. Finally, she had told them that her name was Kari.

Something about that name bothered her too though, but she was sure it was her name, and if not, it was close. Still, she didn't want people to know her uncertainty, so she was almost viciously protective of how people pronounced her name. Not that it was anything special anyway; it was just simple, common Kari.

She rubbed her hands together as she walked, wondering briefly why some sort of transportation couldn't have been arranged. While her coat, boots and hat kept her quite warm, her hands were freezing.

Finally, she came to the fork in the road that the old woman had been talking about. Her eyes focused on the side and she muttered, "Go left Kari." It was a perfect imitation of the old bat's voice. She looked at her hands and said, in her normal tone, "Well I know what's to the left. I'll be little orphaned Kari for the rest of my life." She let out a deep sigh before looking up from her hands and taking a step backwards.

"But if I go right…" Kari muttered. "Maybe, just maybe I'll find my family. Or, at least find out who I am." She looked up at the two signs, one pointing left, and the other pointing right. She knew that this would be her only chance to make this choice, but what if she just ended up wandering around the capital of Radiant Garden forever, with no job and no way to get to Destiny Islands?

An angry sigh left her mouth as she looked up at the light grey sky. She fell back into the snow bank beside the sign and yelled out, "Give me a sign! A hint! Anything!" She put her face in her hands, and jumped when a small bark seemed to echo around her.

Kari looked up and saw a small, dog with pure black fur except around his face, where it was white, with large almost black eyes. The oddest part was the fact that it looked like the little puppy had a bump on the top of his head, between his long, floppy ears.

"Where did you come from?" she asked with a slight grin as it wagged its skinny tail at her. It barked happily while prancing around her.

"Not now," Kari said to it clearly as if he could understand her. "I'm waiting for a sign."

The dog yipped again and grabbed a hold of the scarf that was hanging out of her pocket. She quickly grabbed a hold of the pink fabric, tugging back. "I don't have time for this!"

The dog suddenly ran around her legs, wrapping the scarf around them and kept running. She let out a small scream as she ended up falling over one of the cold, white snow banks.

Kari let go of the scarf and wiped the snow out of her face. She shot a quick glare at the little dog and said, "Thank a lot." The dog barked again and ran a few more feet down the road before turning to face her again, wagging it's tail.

"Oh great," she said with a sigh as she pushed herself back up into a sitting position. "A dog wants me to go to the capital."

There was a moment's pause before her indigo eyes widened with realization and her lips formed an o. She looked around again, seeing the dog still there, and she stood up while said, "I can take a hint."

She walked towards the small dog before kneeling down and picking up her scarf. Before she got up, she cast a quick look at the road signs behind her, but the dog tugged at the scarf and she turned away from them, slowly starting to walk down the road.

"So," Kari muttered. "I suppose you need a name, don't you?"

The dog, of course, didn't reply. He just happily held one end of the pink fabric in his mouth as she held the other in her hand. They walked silently for a few moments before she said, "How about I call you Goofy?"

The dog barked while wagging it's tail, the scarf falling from its mouth. For an animal, it looked quite pleased with her choice.

"Goofy it is then," she said with a laugh as she picked him up. "So little puppy, where do we plan on doing in the capital? Just wandering around for a while? Or...we could..." Her hand clasped her necklace tightly. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them with a quick shake of her head. "What's a little puppy like you doing out here on your own anyway? Don't worry, neither of us will be lost or alone ever again after this. I promise."

She started humming to herself again as she walked down the road. Goofy squirmed in her arms for a moment, so she set him down. Again, he took one end of her scarf into his mouth and she held the other in her hand. "You know Goofy, I do have more than just this necklace as a clue to my past. There's also this song I think I remember. There were words to go with it, but I don't remember them. I just remember the song."

Kari hummed a little louder, spinning around with a happy laugh. Goofy let go of the scarf and ran in circles around her, yipping happily. She laughed and practically started skipping down the road with her already faithful companion running at her side.

Although the excitement continued to run through her veins, Kari managed to calm herself down so that she didn't waste all of her energy on dancing and skipping down the road. It was still freezing out, and she doubted she'd make it to the capital city before nightfall.

Kari studied the area around her carefully. She quickly came to the conclusion that she'd probably have to dig herself a small snow shelter, since snow was actually a really good insulator.

"We'll keep each other warm, right Goofy?" she said aloud to the dog, which pranced along happily beside her. The poor thing attached itself to her quickly, so she wondered if someone abandoned him on the road. It was a likely scenario, since he seemed comfortable around people.

Or maybe someone really did send him as a sign, Kari thought with a small smile. Maybe, the family that couldn't be with her was watching over her, trying to help her find her way.

Kari often daydreamed about her family, trying to force herself to remember them. She imagined that one of her parents had the exact same hair color as her, and perhaps the same eye color. Her mother, she had decided early on, was rather short, just like she was, but her father had been a tall, strong man. Perhaps she had an older brother? Or maybe a younger one? Who knew?

She spent a while contemplating her dream family, trying to figure out exactly what it looked like. She was sure she had an older brother, and maybe a sister.

The sound of laughter broke her from her thoughts as she looked off of the side of the road. Two little children were happily playing in the snow, giggling and tossing snowballs at each other.

Kari looked around with confusion until she saw the rising smoke of a chimney. These two probably lived out here. With a shrug, Kari was about to continue on until she heard a loud crack, followed by a splash and a scream.

She whipped around and saw the little girl standing beside what they now knew was a snow-covered river. Kari didn't hesitate to run over in their direction, skidding to the ground beside the girl. The little boy, who had managed to grab onto the edge of the ice, was only just under the surface of the water, making it easy for Kari to grab a hold of him and pull him out.

Quickly, she pulled off her coat and wrapped it around the little boy, holding him close as he sobbed. She looked at his sister (at least, she assumed it was his sister) and asked, "Where's your house?"

"This way," the girl replied as she quickly led Kari through the forest with Goofy running after them.

"Mommy!"

A brown haired woman looked up and gasped when she saw her son in Kari's arms, shivering and turning blue. She turned into the house and yelled, "Tidus!" Then she rushed towards Kari.

"Mommy," the little boy moaned and the woman took him into her arms.

Their father, Tidus (Kari assumed), burst out of the door and asked, "What's wro—what happened?"

"We were playing by the ice daddy," the little girl said. "And he fell through. This nice lady was walking by and she got him out."

"Yuna, take Hayner inside," Tidus said to her quickly. "Olette, go with your mother."

The little girl nodded quickly and tore after her mother and her brother. Tidus turned around to Kari and said, "Is your home around here?"

"No," she answered while rubbing her arms. She scooped Goofy into her arms to keep them warmer. "I just left the orphanage today and I'm going to the capital. This is my dog, Goofy."

His eyes softened and he said, "Come inside. You're arms must be freezing. I'm assuming you have nowhere to stay right now?"

She nodded her head as he ushered her inside.

"You can stay here tonight," Yuna answered quickly. She was already boiling water over their fire and had many thick blankets pulled out of one of their closets. "You saved our son's life, it's the least we can do."

Kari stared at the welcoming couple with thought. While she didn't want to intrude on them, she didn't really fancy building a snow tunnel with a wet shirt.

She nodded her head and said, "My name's Kari, and it'd be greatly appreciated if I could stay with you."

"I'm Tidus, and this is my wife Yuna. Our girl is Olette, and our boy is Hayner," Tidus said as he motioned for Kari to come closer to the fire. "Come, make yourself warm over here."

Kari smiled warmly at them as she sat on the floor and Goofy curled up in her lap, she had known them for about five minutes, but they were already nicer than anyone she had met in the orphanage.

VVVVVVVV

She couldn't help but notice the odd looks that Tidus had given her as the night passed on. They weren't lustful or passionate looks, but rather curious ones. He eyed her as if he was judging whether she was real or a manifestation of his mind.

Kari wiped some of the softly falling snow out of her face as she sat in the sleigh Tidus' horse was pulling. She sat amongst the items he was bringing into a small trading post, which was a half an hour's walk from the capital. She had insisted that it was more than enough, since it saved her nearly an entire day of travel.

She scratched behind Goofy's ears and looked up at off-white clouds covering the sky. The conversation that she had heard between Yuna and Tidus the night before wouldn't leave her mind.

She had finally found out the reason for his oddly curious looks. Tidus had pulled Yuna aside later, claiming that he recognized Kari from somewhere, but he didn't know where.

Apparently he was fifteen years older than she was, but he didn't look it at all. Yuna was only eight years older than her. At a young age, Tidus claimed that he was a teacher to the younger children in the Hart Palace. He said to have taught all of the Princesses, and he had been looking forward to teaching the Prince before the revolution. He also taught some of the servant children in the palace, because the Hart family didn't want their servants to be illiterate or unable to perform the most basic of math equations.

He claimed that he was sure he had seen Kari somewhere before, but when she was younger. He just couldn't figure out exactly who she was. It was a shame, really, because if this man had known who she was then that would have solved her problem.

Yuna had reminded Tidus that he spent quite a bit of time outside of the palace walls before the revolution, so he could have seen her anywhere.

This gave her a bit of hope though. She knew this had to be a sign that she was going in the right direction, a sign that following Goofy was the right thing to do.

She was jerked out of her thoughts as they came to a stop. There were a few small house and little shops that Tidus was bringing some of his lumber to.

The man helped her out of the sleigh and he asked, "Are you sure you will be alright? I'd hate for the woman who saved my son from drowning or freezing to end up freezing herself."

"I'll be fine," Kari said. "I'm a tough girl. Besides, it's only a half an hour away. I walked farther than that yesterday. Thank you for your hospitality."

"I hope you find what you're looking for Kari," he said to her, watching as she smiled and walked away, her little dog on her heels.

Kari hummed happily to herself, glad that she had found a good enough place to stay the previous night. While she wished she could have gotten to know Yuna and Tidus more, her journey was calling to her. She knew she needed to be in the capital that day. There was something in her mind screaming at her to move.

Finally, cheeks pink from the cold air and the constant walking, Kari came to the top of a hill. Beyond it was a large, looming city with many brick homes and industrial buildings. She grinned broadly and looked down at her little dog, "Welcome to the capital, Goofy."

VVVVVVVV

Author's Note

Fact: the remains of two people were found in Russia, burned and with damage from bullets. It was revealed through DNA testing later on that the boy (who was aged from 12-14) was actually Alexi Romanov (who was close to turning 14 when he died), future Czar of Russia, and the other was one of his older sisters. It's actually believed now that it was his sister Maria and not Anastasia. This meant that, all along, Anastasia's remains were always with the rest of her family. It's kind of funny how it's always been 'Anastasia' who was missing in the stories. Then again, stories about a surviving Princess named Anastasia sound better than 'Olga' or 'Maria' or 'Titania'. Not that there's anything wrong with those names, but Anastasia just has this ring to it.

Sorry if I repeat a few names (for instance, I think I may have repeated the name Olette already, or I will be in the future, but it's only a once to twice mentioned thing, so I'm not going to bother changing it.). It just happens.

So now we've remet Kairi (aka Kari). I know the names are extremely similar, but I've changed the name about ten different times now and I like Kari the best. Pronounce it either Car-ee not Care-ee. It's different enough for this.

Again, that you to my reviewers! You guys are the best people in the world (No joking this time). Chiglet663, Shire Folk, Topaz Tsubasa and Demonically Angelic Neko88 (who, as always, will now be referred to as DAN88), you guys rock.

Also chasingfireflies, you get half props for sending me a PM when your review would work. Lol I know, I'm a horrible person.

Luv ya all!

Krystal Lily Potter