The Pink Room
The strange mouse led Kairi through many bright halls lit by white electric lights and with mirrors on the walls and chandeliers on the ceiling to maximise the light without too many bulbs. All of the heavy curtains were drawn shut to keep the freezing cold out as much as possible. Eventually they came to a certain pink door with a heart emblazoned across the tall double doors. It was in a corridor with other such similar doors in different colours bearing different shapes.
"It may not be a fairy tale tower or anything," the mouse said, opening the doors for her, "but I think it's a lot warmer in here than it is in any of the towers."
"You're so kind to let me in here," Kairi said, "But are you sure you can do this? I don't even know who you are."
"Really? You don't recognise me?"
Kairi blinked. Had she met the mouse before? He seemed familiar to her...
"Gosh... well, I'll admit I didn't recognise you right away when I saw you in the snow. I'm Mickey Mouse; I'm a pal of your friend Riku."
The name rang a bell and Kairi remembered being briefly visited by a mouse, a dog and a duck on the small play island. "Oh! You're that mouse? Doesn't Riku usually refer to you as 'The King'?"
"Aw, well, that's because I am," Mickey replied. "I'm the King of Disney Castle and the little Disney Town beside it."
"Wait a minute…" Kairi said, creasing her brow. "Then why were you acting as though you were not the king in front of the hippo?"
Mickey laughed nervously. "Ah, well, ya see, you get a bit cooped up when you're the king. Everyone's trying to protect you – I suppose they feel they should and all – but once in a while a guy likes to get out and about on his own. Y'know?"
"Um… sorta…" Kairi said, scratching a spot behind her ear. She thought back on her own life, trying to understand where Mickey was coming from. She thought she'd always been out and about on her own but then there was Sora and Riku. Had they been protecting her? Recently it felt like they had been protecting her a lot and it made her wonder if it had always been like that.
"So, I pretend to be a pauper but at the same time I informed all of the guards that this pauper was a good friend of the king. That way, I could come and go as I please dressed in these rags."
"Oh! That's really clever," Kairi remarked, genuinely impressed.
"Aw, shucks, don't mention it," Mickey replied, waving her off modestly. "Anyway, you just get yourself warmed up and we'll find ya some dry clothes and all that. And I'd better get back to doing my proper duties as the king."
Kairi thanked him and gave a small wave as he turned to hurry down the hall to wherever it was that he did his job. She stepped into the room and closed the lovely doors behind her. The room was decorated with the theme of hearts and the colour pink in mind and the level of detail was astounding. The four sets of heavy, pale pink curtains were closed and around the room on each wall was a white light with a heart-shaped lightshade. On the ceiling was a chandelier on which all of the crystals were heart-shaped. In the middle of the room, on top of a round pink and white rug, was a four-poster double bed with pink curtains, a pink bedcover and several pink pillows framed with white lace (including a heart-shaped bolster). There was a pink-painted desk and a chair with a heart-shaped back on the left wall with a set of wall shelves above it and a small bookshelf containing some light reading beside it. On the right wall there was a vanity with a cushioned stool and a heart-shaped mirror, a wardrobe crowned with an ornamental carving that was predominantly heart-shaped and between them was a single white and pink door, to match the wallpaper. Kairi just stood in front of the door gazing in awe at the lavish room. Never in her memory had she had a room like this and it wasn't a terrible room either, since she liked the colour pink and she liked hearts so logically there was nothing to complain about.
Kairi hadn't had the courage to take another step into the room, so when someone entered through the doors she was knocked over.
"Oh dear! Oh Heavens! I didn't see you there!" said the woman who had just marched in. She took Kairi by the hand and helped her up. "There, there, now. Oh! Look at you! You're filthy and wet and your hands are so cold."
Kairi looked at the woman who helped her and couldn't help gaping. She was a tabby cat that was as tall as Kairi and standing on her hind legs. She appeared to be a maid, dressed in a long blue dress with an apron over the front and a white cap on her head. Kairi was still in shock over the fact that she was a cat.
"Who are you?" Kairi blurted out.
"I'm just the chambermaid, sweetie."
"No, I mean, yes, I wanted to know that but what's your name?"
"Oh, yes, how rude of me," the chambermaid giggled. "I get all caught up sometimes. I'm Tabitha and if you don't mind, I'm usually just the chambermaid of this room but King Mickey has assigned me as your handmaid and has instructed me to make sure that our esteemed guest has everything she needs. And right now it looks like you need some fresh clothes and a nice, hot bath."
"You know, that does sound pretty nice right now," Kairi agreed.
"I'll get the water running," Tabitha said, trotting over to the white door and opening it. Kairi followed her a bit more slowly.
The room was a bathroom, also decorated in pink. There was a pink bathtub and a pink sink and a wooden stool (not pink) with a basket on top. The window above the bathtub was obscured by the little pink curtains and lace and there were two hot pink, heart-shaped bathmats. The towels on the towel rack were fresh and white, with necessary spare linen folded on a shelf high above the rack. There was a cupboard under the sink and mirror above the sink, all of the taps had pink heart-shaped handles and there was a pink chest of drawers in one corner. The tiles and the shower curtain were a lighter pink than everything else and the showerhead arched over the bathtub.
Tabitha bustled around, checking the progress of the bath and the water temperature, making sure that there was toothpaste and shampoo and conditioner and soap, and checking the drawers for some fresh underwear and a nightgown for Kairi. She put the clean articles of clothing on the stool and removed the basket to sit it on the floor.
"Let me take those for you," said Tabitha, turning off taps and taking Kairi's sketchbook and pencil tin, "and when you're ready, dear, just hop in and leave your soggy clothes in the basket."
The cat left the bathroom, giving Kairi the privacy she needed to get undressed, putting her clothes, shoes and all, in the provided basket. She dipped her toes in the bathwater experimentally, finding it to be hot but not scalding, which was just what she needed after being out in the cold. She stepped into the bathtub and suddenly Tabitha burst back into the bathroom. Kairi squeaked and ducked straight into the water, not expecting the invasion. Tabitha picked up the basket by the handles and then hurried out again, shutting the door. Kairi sat deep in the tub, eyeing the door for a few minutes. Then, deciding that Tabitha definitely wasn't going to come back, she reached for a washcloth and began to scrub.
Kairi emerged from the bathroom much later, having wanted to enjoy the hot water for as long as it would stay hot. She couldn't find a hairdryer while she was brushing her teeth, so she had to vigorously towel-dry her locks. While getting dressed Kairi had thought that Tabitha might have given her too much to wear – it looked as though she'd given Kairi a set of pyjamas and a nightgown (Kairi mistook a pair of bloomers and frilly chemise for pyjamas). However, since it was very cold, she decided to wear them both anyway along with a thick, warm pair of bed socks.
Kairi settled down on the stool in front of the vanity to comb her hair out and let it dry before she went to bed. She looked at her reflection, now clean and warm and rosy-cheeked. She somehow looked more at home here in this luxurious room than she could ever say she did on the islands. She looked like she was made for this life.
She combed the last of her tresses nice and smooth and set the comb down. She missed Sora and Riku already. Rather than bring herself to tears, she got up to see where Tabitha had put her sketchbook and pencils. They were laid on her desk and hadn't been rifled through. The pencils were alright – kept dry by their tin – but the sketchbook was already corrugated and the pages were all stuck together. Kairi sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to draw in this book again, so she threw in the waste paper basket under the desk. She ran a hand through her hair, feeling that it was now dry, and started to look around for light switches so that she could go to bed.
Maybe, she thought she could ask Mickey tomorrow about the possibility of returning to her world.
Sorry that there's still no sign of the plot yet. But here's a glossary of some olden terms:
Chambermaid: a maid in a house who was specifically in charge of cleaning bedrooms.
Handmaid: a female assistant to a woman in a royal court or a noble house.
Chemise: a long shirt worn underneath clothes to prevent dirt and oil from the body soiling them.