For the next few days, Namine began to see less and less of any of the council members, including Axel. Many of them didn't even ask for her services at night. It left her to believe one of two things. 1) They were working on something extremely important and called for late night meetings 2) They all stopped caring about what they wanted their dreams to be. Either way, it was a break from the ordinary and that was a bit frightening.
It seemed as if everyone was in a hurry as well, but not just the council members. The halls were always crowed with people racing around with papers and files in hand and yelling at each other. It was very hectic, but Namine found herself beginning to care less about the councils business as time passed. It was unnatural for her to feel that way but, as the week went on, she saw Roxas more and began to get a bit distracted.
A whole had past week where she had been sneaking out to see him without any problems. It turned from her wanting to see him for business into wanting to see him just for fun. And it really was. From the hours of 3-6, Roxas practically disappeared from his friends, just to be with Namine.
Sometimes they would only talk about each others lives for hours on end. Of course Namine made sure to never bring up the fact about her being a clone and told him she was only a servant for the Organization. Other times, they would walk around and enjoy each others company and the sights, since she never was able to explore Twilight Town herself. Either way, not a day went by where they didn't smile and share laugh between each other. It was especially fun today when he decided to try and teach her how to skateboard.
"I don't think this is very safe" she told him as she tried to stay on the board and not have it move.
"You just need to balance yourself" he instructed and grabbed her hands to keep her steady, but she still had a problem as it moved everywhere.
"I'm going to fall" she said nervously.
And, as much as he hated to admit it, he knew she was going to. He then helped her off and got his helmet and placed it on her head.
"This feels weird" she told him as she felt it "I refuse to wear it" she said confidently and gave it back to him.
Normally, Roxas would have half a mind and destroy anything she didn't like, but that was not the case today and he immediately put it back on her and even tied it on.
"Roxas!" she wined, obviously not happy with the helmet. He just smiled at her childishness and helped her back on the board.
"Hey, I'm only doing this because I don't want you to get hurt. Remembered what happened to me the first time we met?" he explained "Now separate your feet on the board and straighten your body up"
"Like this?" she questioned and did as he ordered
"Perfect. Now hold on" and then he grabbed her hands again and began to pull her around. It made her feel like a little kid trying to learn to ride a bike but, after a few minutes of riding, it seemed to not be so difficult.
"Hey, this is easy" she smiled
"You're not even doing anything"
"Wait and see. I'll be the best skateboarder around"
He immediately laughed at her comment.
"Just stick to painting." He advised "Ok, I'm going to go faster"
As she began to gain confidence in the board, she began to feel more like a 5 year old on a bike with help from the parents. She also remembered that they normally let go and that's when the child falls.
It was at that point when Roxas let go of one of her hands and she knew he would let her go too. She noticed she was going faster and got more scared about falling and getting hurt. With quick thinking, she hopped off the board and straight into his arms, sending the skateboard down the street unoccupied.
It took Roxas a while to notice what just happened in the past two seconds and realized Namine was more hugging him than holding on to him. He began to enjoy the feeling of having her so close to him, with her arms around his neck and her face by his and her…
"Why did you jump off?" he asked quickly, and erased his thoughts and removed her arms from him.
"Sorry, I got a little scared" she told him "But it was fun. We should try this again sometime"
He rolled his eyes at her comment and started to untie her helmet.
"Sure, if you don't chicken out" he smiled and took the helmet off.
"It takes time for a person to adjust to new things" she defended
Roxas couldn't help but laugh at her philosophy but decided to change the subject as she gave him an upset glare.
"So, you want ice cream?" he asked
After dropping of his skating equipment at his building, they got their ice cream and began to walk back to the castle gates. It was getting late as the minutes slowing crept to 6 o'clock.
"You know, I never got the whole 'Sea Salt' name for this ice cream," Namine told him as they continued to walk down an abandon road.
"Probably because it is made from salt" Roxas replied
"Yeah, but where does the 'Sea' part come in? There are none around here"
"Sea? Isn't that just the name?"
At that moment, Namine began to remember something; he didn't know anything about the world outside Twilight Town. Sadness began to creep on her as she thought about the fact that he could never experience or understand anything outside of this world.
"Never mind" she sighed
When they reached, what had now become their good-bye point, Roxas turned to face Namine and looked at her straight in the eye. Something about the action made her realize just how weak she really was and hated it. Yet, she also like his direct approach and his ability to take charge.
"Will I see you tomorrow?" he asked her
She smiled and nodded as she realized just how much he must care for her if he was still asking this question after a week of seeing him everyday.
"Of course" she assured him.
"Promise?"
"Do I have to give you this promise everyday?" she smiled
"Yes!" he laughed
"Ok then. I promise. Just cross your fingers I don't get caught" she advised and began to walk to the gates to continue her regular routine.
At least once a week, Namine was supposed to take both Namies' to their nursery and give them lessons of her choice. She didn't like it very much on the count of waking up extra early and having to do lectures, but she loved the part where she was able to play with them as well.
The nursery was about the same size as her room with a whole wall that was window and overlooked the town. The other 3 walls were a light shade of green and there was fluffy white carpet on the flooring. Half of the room was full of toys and even a small swing set, while the other half was dedicated to large bookshelves, full of hundreds of different textbooks from classic literature to science. Next to the books was a white board for her to write and two small desks for the Namies'.
Most of the time, she just let them play around and enjoy their company; after all, they were always in lessons. However, this day, both of the Namies' caregivers were present and demanded education.
Little Namie seemed to find it difficult to remain still while the other was sitting still and waiting for her lessons quietly.
Namine was normally given a decent week to come up with a lesson plan, but her week was busy with seeing Roxas, and she forgot to prepare one. Making sure the caregivers didn't notice her unpreparedness; she quickly skimmed through the shelves of books and picked out a random text from the science section.
'Introduction to Astrology' the text title read as she went to the front of the Namies' and prepared to teach.
"I suppose you both know what the stars are," Namine asked as she opened the book to a random page that talked about ancient astrology.
The youngest raised her hand.
"They are millions and millions of miles away!" she told her with pride.
"And they form constellations" the other Namie commented
"Yep, and in the past, people believed that by analyzing them, they could predict the future and their destiny"
"They obviously weren't very smart"
"Stars are suns too!" little Namie came in
Older Namie rolled her eyes in annoyance at her youngest self.
"Well, back to the destiny part." Namine told them "As you know, there are different constellations for different signs. Like, if we were really 'born', we would be Leo's, since our day of birth is in early August. They are said to enjoy getting praise from others but often care for others more than themselves"
"That makes sense"
"Leo's are lions!"
"But destiny can't be found in the stars" Namine confessed and closed the book "It isn't written anywhere. People make up their own destiny"
Older Namie gave her an awkward glare.
"But isn't our destiny to only serve the Organization?" she asked
Namine wanted to add something to her statement but realized that the caregivers were still in the room, and even giving her questionable looks.
"Ok, free time" she smiled and watched young Namie immediately get up and head straight to the building blocks. The older Namie went to the swing set, but stopped when she saw Namine about to leave the room.
"Where are you going?" she asked her
"Back to bed. I didn't get much sleep. Plus…" she looked back at the caregivers who were now talking to each other and looking at her "…I think I should leave before your caregiver attacks me."
"Yeah, that wasn't the best lesson. But at least it was quick" she smiled
Namine smiled back and turned to leave the room and get ready for yet another escape. As she turned back to Namie, who was now on the swing set, she noticed the caregivers still looking at her with questionable glares. It might be a little difficult today to see Roxas today.
A Word from the Author: I know this chapter is kind of just a 'fill-in' but it has a purpose once the next chapters start coming up. Plus, it was part of the next one but it then became really long so I split it into two chapters. So the next one will be coming really soon. I promise! In the mean time, please read and review! Grazie!
