p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Heart or any of the Disney/Anime worlds. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;"Chapter Nine/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;"Retrospect/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Levi was furious, he couldn't understand how the snot-nosed brats got the better of him. To make matters worse he wasn't able to heal as fast or normally because their wounds left light scars that wouldn't disappear and an underlaying pain. 'Ahh,' he smashed his hand down on to the table. This was all his brother's fault and now he was left alone, because even the shadow maid wasn't around to help take care of him. She had always had a soft spot for her creator so it was no surprise that now that he was gone so was she. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'To have someone so loyal and disposable,' he mumbled to himself as he sat back in his chair and looked about his brother's study. Ever since he was a young boy, he had loved to study his alchemy and show it off to his sister. Until one day he made a mistake and hurt her, almost trapped her within a vertex of his spell. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" If she had slipped and died in that tragic accident he wouldn't have been banished or suffered through his many ordeals. He could have been King and his brother could have served as his right hand man, because where his magic failed Rikhard's alchemy would succeed. Levi hadn't been strong enough to remove Amaranth's magic, but Rikhard had worked hard in perfecting his alchemist spell that he used a double solar eclipse instead of a normal one. Nonetheless, he had betrayed him and stolen the girl of his wishes. He wanted to get revenge not only on his sister but brother too and as he though about his brother he realized something. 'With a little tweaking it could work and I could pay those brats handsomely for what they did to me,' he got up ready to get to work. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: center; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Are you alright,' Rikhard asked as he joined Amaranth./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Nervous,' she admitted. Hours ago she had been reunited with Riku, yet she was afraid to go to him. What would he think of her once he saw what had happened, would he see her as the witch most feared or would he accept her like Conrad and her friends?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'I think that you are going to have to face your fear, to me it is obvious that he will accept you for who you are and not your appearance,' it didn't take a fool to realize how insecure she was, it just hurt to know that he was the cause. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She turned to look down at her hands, 'You're right.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Of course I am,' which he hated but felt relieved at the same time, she might be the embodiment of Aymaran but that was all. Yet finally meeting her lover he understood why Aymaran had always had a soft spot for him. During their time together she never made any advances or gave him false hope though. Thous, she helped him with his alchemy and was always a good friend that listened and kept him company. His sister had hoped for their union, but Aymaran had turned them down gently saying that she belong to another and that he would find someone best suited for him. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" That never happened, a month later Levi had gone berserk demanding that the crown be his and that if Lilith refused there would be war. For two months they fought neither one giving up, the men that fought for his brother were beyond human. They would cut through Lilith's soldiers as if they were paper cut outs. Lilith asked Aymaran for help and she obliged, after taking out the first soldier and experimenting on him she deduced the reason as to why they were unstoppable. Levi had reanimated his men and with the aid of his black magic they were given immense strength and fighting skills. Lilith had almost fainted at the news of his power, to bring the dead to life. Aymaran had eased her worry by saying that his magic wasn't as grand, for all those poor souls were nothing more then puppets and the beast that he controlled were mindless and easily freed. Lilith demanded that she do as asked and bring her brother's head to her. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Aymaran had agreed, but of course things did not go as planned. He had been used as a puppet in Levi's master plan and when they realized why their plans always got spoiled his sister and the court turned away from him. Aymaran left her duties and swore to protect him, however it would be a long time until he was freed of his brother's grasp. That night she embedded a charmed opal into his chest saying that it would protect him from harm, he didn't understand until she began to bind him and his brother in a teleportation spell after she fooled Levi into getting close to her. Levi had been beaten and when they were teleported almost died of the cold desert night with a moonless sky looming over his demise. 'Help me,' Levi had pleaded and against his better judgment and the fact that he was his brother, Rikhard did as asked. Using that magic within him, he resurrected the opal castle and made it a home for his brother and himself. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Rikhard,' he heard the gentle voice pulling him out of his thoughts. 'Rikhard are you okay?'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He lifted black orbs to meet honey hues looking at him with worry, 'I am fine. I was just thinking about the past and how sorry I am for everything that has happened to you.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" A soft smile touched her gentle lips, 'I don't hold you accountable, I know of your past,' she confessed as she reached out to grab his hand. 'If Aymaran would have been better prepared I am sure that she would have saved you.' /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'You know,' he was taken back. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Of course, we are one and the same. However, Aymaran is a bit more unreserved and forward in her crusade of love and justice,' she pointed out. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'But how,' he didn't understand./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'A fragment separated by magic and brought together because of the same man. Well, she thought she was the darkness and sought out his which made a huge mess of our world and many others.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'But….' he searched for traces of Aymaran. 'I thought that you two were sisters separated by the love for the same man.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'No,' she shook her head. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'How,' no matter how hard he looked he didn't see any glimmer of the woman that he meet years ago. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Magic,' she repeated. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'I don't want to believe you, but I feel that with what I know about you and your magic its true.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Did you love her,' she suddenly asked./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Rikhard was taken by surprise and wondered what he should say. If it was the truth would he have hope or should he lie and let her be happy with the man of her dreams. Searching her amber hues he went with the truth, 'I did,' he confessed, 'but it was such a long time ago.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Amaranth sat quietly as she looked back at Aymaran's memories of her time in his world. She smiled as she saw how he doted on her and how much he tried to impress her with his alchemy. 'She could have been happy with you,' she told him, 'you seemed to really care about her and she knew it. That was why she decided to save you and have faith in the fact that someday you would find your freedom.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He wanted to demand that she love him in return, but he had arrived to help her purse her lover. 'I wish I could turn back time, if I could none of this would have happened and you would be living happily ever after with your Prince Charming.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She laughed, 'Riku may look like a Prince Charming, but he would rather be a Knight on a crusade for his Princess in distress. Princes become Kings and they stay forever in that one place, Riku could never do that. He wants to explore the world and see what is beyond the horizon and even thought I am a Princess, I want to also break free and travel by his side.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Then why are you here,' he looked about the empty study./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'It has a great view,' she turned to the window and looked out onto the garden lite by the full moon./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'You should be with him,' Rikhard forced himself to say. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'What if he rejects me?'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'He won't and if he does, I'll set him straight.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Amaranth got up, 'You're right, I am being foolish.' She was about to take a step forward to leave, but stopped and turned to look down at Rikhard. 'Thank you and I am sorry about Aymaran.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She took him by surprise again when she leaned over and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Then with a smile, she turned away and raced to find the man of her dreams. 'Oh, my,' he turned from the closed door and looked out the window as tears filled his eyes. It seemed that her rejection and kindness hurt more then when Aymaran rejected Lilith's proposal of them getting married. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: center; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;"8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8—8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Sets of purple hues stared at each other in wonder, meditating they slipped into their unconscious and triggered a vision. Worried about the reality Lady Ulrike got up and turned away from her smiling small self. 'Did you see,' she heard the pure happiness bubble from inside her. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'I did,' she nodded. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Aren't you happy,' Little Ulrike got up, walked behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'I…' she was lost for words. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Please, you promised me that if we were happy you would concede. I want to be happy with them,' she began to cry as Lady Ulrike remained silent. 'You saw our future and you know that it's what you want too.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Little One,' she turned and looked down at her crying self./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Please, let us be happy.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'But our responsibility,' she reminded her./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Little Ulrike continued to cry even harder, for she knew that without a new High Priestess she would never leave. Even with as hard as she prayed, none of the other priestesses had passed and were able to ascend from their positions. If they never found someone, they would never be able to live happily with them and see the world beyond the castle. 'I just want to go with them and so do you,' she pulled away and ran from Lady Ulrike's grasp./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Little One,' she called out in vain. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Ulrike,' she turned to the waterfall as she heard a deep and soothing voice emanate from it, 'it is time.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" A bright orb of light appeared and zoomed out after the Little One. 'Time,' she slowly smiled as she realized that the next Priestess had been chosen and was close. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: center; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;"8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Amaranth,' she was cutting through the courtyard to the West wing when she heard Sora. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Yes,' she stopped and turned to look at him. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Can we talk,' he made room on the bench. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Certainly,' she thought it was odd that Sora seemed so serious. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'It's been so long since we last sat out beneath the moonlight.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'It was all three of us,' she recalled./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Right, I was a nervous wreck about asking Kairi to marry me. I asked for you and Riku to give me advice, but Riku was no help. He just told me to ask her instead of worrying.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'That's right, but you wanted to do something memorable for her so that she would never forget such a special occasion.' /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'But it seemed that everything I wanted to do went horribly wrong,' he sighed. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'However, in the end you managed to make it a beautiful memory.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'I took your advice and didn't think too hard about, plus what better place to ask her then where it all started.' He recalled their hideout as kids and all the adventured that they imagined and the plans they made to travel across the sea to the world beyond the island. Yet their plans all changed and their friendship was put to the test. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Sora what is all this about,' she pulled him out of his thoughts. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'I wanted to know if you still had feelings for Riku? That maybe the memories of my love for Kairi would trigger yours for him. He was worried about you and tried the best that he could to find you, but you have been so distant with him. I was starting to believe that you had forgotten about him and the love that you shared.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She grabbed his hand in hers, 'I would never forget my feelings for him, its just that right now I am insecure about the way he will feel for me once he sees what's hidden beneath this hood.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'I don't think that anything will keep him from being by your side,' he remembered the look of anguish the day that Riku awoke from his nightmare, a vision of her death. The wind picked up and blew her hood back revealing the symbols marring her face. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'When people see me, they are frightened,' she confessed as she remembered the looks of the villagers and some of the servants that glimpsed her without the hood. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Riku loves you and he will accept you for who you are not your appearance,' he held her hand tightly. 'You just have to trust him and your heart.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Amaranth smiled, 'I don't deserve such good friends.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Sora got up pulling her with him, 'You have somewhere to be, don't you?'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Yes,' she nodded. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Then you should go, before he gets all depressed and thinks that you don't love him or have fallen in love with someone else,' Sora turned her around in the direction of Riku's room. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Okay,' she fixed her hood and began to take off but stopped, 'thank you.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Good luck,' he waved her off and watched her disappear. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: center; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;"8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" As predicted Riku was confused and worried, ever since he had been reunited with his Princess she hadn't made any advances towards him. He had seen Sora and Kairi reunited many times to know that there was usually a big scene of hugging, kissing and crying. However, Amaranth was different she avoided being near him, alone with him or within proximity without someone at her side guarding her. Well, it was more of Conrad always standing guard with the little two girls that were attached to her. He remembered thinking that she had lost her memories again and decided to fall in love with another man, but she knew him and Sora./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He was about to go out and confront her, when there was a soft knock. 'Come in,' he thought it was one of the maids./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" The door slowly opened and his guest remained silent before him, trapped by the boundary of indecision even though she already knew her choice. 'Amaranth,' he called out to her as she stood before him….trembling./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Riku,' he could hear and feel her hesitation. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Come inside,' he told her softly hoping not to frighten her./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px; text-align: center;"span style="font-kerning: none;" ******************************/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px; text-align: left;"span style="font-kerning: none;"A/N: Hi, Guys, sorry for the long wait. I am sad to say that I had a huge writer's block and struggled with the chapter before you. However, with this I am hoping to get back on track and finish what I started. Please, bare with me a little longer and I hope to see you guys soon in the next chapter. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Heart or any of the Disney/Anime worlds. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;"Chapter Nine/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;"Retrospect/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: right; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Levi was furious, he couldn't understand how the snot-nosed brats got the better of him. To make matters worse he wasn't able to heal as fast or normally because their wounds left light scars that wouldn't disappear and an underlaying pain. 'Ahh,' he smashed his hand down on to the table. This was all his brother's fault and now he was left alone, because even the shadow maid wasn't around to help take care of him. She had always had a soft spot for her creator so it was no surprise that now that he was gone so was she. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'To have someone so loyal and disposable,' he mumbled to himself as he sat back in his chair and looked about his brother's study. Ever since he was a young boy, he had loved to study his alchemy and show it off to his sister. Until one day he made a mistake and hurt her, almost trapped her within a vertex of his spell. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" If she had slipped and died in that tragic accident he wouldn't have been banished or suffered through his many ordeals. He could have been King and his brother could have served as his right hand man, because where his magic failed Rikhard's alchemy would succeed. Levi hadn't been strong enough to remove Amaranth's magic, but Rikhard had worked hard in perfecting his alchemist spell that he used a double solar eclipse instead of a normal one. Nonetheless, he had betrayed him and stolen the girl of his wishes. He wanted to get revenge not only on his sister but brother too and as he though about his brother he realized something. 'With a little tweaking it could work and I could pay those brats handsomely for what they did to me,' he got up ready to get to work. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: center; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Are you alright,' Rikhard asked as he joined Amaranth./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Nervous,' she admitted. Hours ago she had been reunited with Riku, yet she was afraid to go to him. What would he think of her once he saw what had happened, would he see her as the witch most feared or would he accept her like Conrad and her friends?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'I think that you are going to have to face your fear, to me it is obvious that he will accept you for who you are and not your appearance,' it didn't take a fool to realize how insecure she was, it just hurt to know that he was the cause. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She turned to look down at her hands, 'You're right.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Of course I am,' which he hated but felt relieved at the same time, she might be the embodiment of Aymaran but that was all. Yet finally meeting her lover he understood why Aymaran had always had a soft spot for him. During their time together she never made any advances or gave him false hope though. Thous, she helped him with his alchemy and was always a good friend that listened and kept him company. His sister had hoped for their union, but Aymaran had turned them down gently saying that she belong to another and that he would find someone best suited for him. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" That never happened, a month later Levi had gone berserk demanding that the crown be his and that if Lilith refused there would be war. For two months they fought neither one giving up, the men that fought for his brother were beyond human. They would cut through Lilith's soldiers as if they were paper cut outs. Lilith asked Aymaran for help and she obliged, after taking out the first soldier and experimenting on him she deduced the reason as to why they were unstoppable. Levi had reanimated his men and with the aid of his black magic they were given immense strength and fighting skills. Lilith had almost fainted at the news of his power, to bring the dead to life. Aymaran had eased her worry by saying that his magic wasn't as grand, for all those poor souls were nothing more then puppets and the beast that he controlled were mindless and easily freed. Lilith demanded that she do as asked and bring her brother's head to her. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Aymaran had agreed, but of course things did not go as planned. He had been used as a puppet in Levi's master plan and when they realized why their plans always got spoiled his sister and the court turned away from him. Aymaran left her duties and swore to protect him, however it would be a long time until he was freed of his brother's grasp. That night she embedded a charmed opal into his chest saying that it would protect him from harm, he didn't understand until she began to bind him and his brother in a teleportation spell after she fooled Levi into getting close to her. Levi had been beaten and when they were teleported almost died of the cold desert night with a moonless sky looming over his demise. 'Help me,' Levi had pleaded and against his better judgment and the fact that he was his brother, Rikhard did as asked. Using that magic within him, he resurrected the opal castle and made it a home for his brother and himself. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Rikhard,' he heard the gentle voice pulling him out of his thoughts. 'Rikhard are you okay?'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He lifted black orbs to meet honey hues looking at him with worry, 'I am fine. I was just thinking about the past and how sorry I am for everything that has happened to you.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" A soft smile touched her gentle lips, 'I don't hold you accountable, I know of your past,' she confessed as she reached out to grab his hand. 'If Aymaran would have been better prepared I am sure that she would have saved you.' /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'You know,' he was taken back. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Of course, we are one and the same. However, Aymaran is a bit more unreserved and forward in her crusade of love and justice,' she pointed out. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'But how,' he didn't understand./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'A fragment separated by magic and brought together because of the same man. Well, she thought she was the darkness and sought out his which made a huge mess of our world and many others.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'But….' he searched for traces of Aymaran. 'I thought that you two were sisters separated by the love for the same man.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'No,' she shook her head. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'How,' no matter how hard he looked he didn't see any glimmer of the woman that he meet years ago. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Magic,' she repeated. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'I don't want to believe you, but I feel that with what I know about you and your magic its true.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Did you love her,' she suddenly asked./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Rikhard was taken by surprise and wondered what he should say. If it was the truth would he have hope or should he lie and let her be happy with the man of her dreams. Searching her amber hues he went with the truth, 'I did,' he confessed, 'but it was such a long time ago.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Amaranth sat quietly as she looked back at Aymaran's memories of her time in his world. She smiled as she saw how he doted on her and how much he tried to impress her with his alchemy. 'She could have been happy with you,' she told him, 'you seemed to really care about her and she knew it. That was why she decided to save you and have faith in the fact that someday you would find your freedom.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He wanted to demand that she love him in return, but he had arrived to help her purse her lover. 'I wish I could turn back time, if I could none of this would have happened and you would be living happily ever after with your Prince Charming.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She laughed, 'Riku may look like a Prince Charming, but he would rather be a Knight on a crusade for his Princess in distress. Princes become Kings and they stay forever in that one place, Riku could never do that. He wants to explore the world and see what is beyond the horizon and even thought I am a Princess, I want to also break free and travel by his side.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Then why are you here,' he looked about the empty study./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'It has a great view,' she turned to the window and looked out onto the garden lite by the full moon./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'You should be with him,' Rikhard forced himself to say. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'What if he rejects me?'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'He won't and if he does, I'll set him straight.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Amaranth got up, 'You're right, I am being foolish.' She was about to take a step forward to leave, but stopped and turned to look down at Rikhard. 'Thank you and I am sorry about Aymaran.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She took him by surprise again when she leaned over and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Then with a smile, she turned away and raced to find the man of her dreams. 'Oh, my,' he turned from the closed door and looked out the window as tears filled his eyes. It seemed that her rejection and kindness hurt more then when Aymaran rejected Lilith's proposal of them getting married. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: center; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;"8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8—8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Sets of purple hues stared at each other in wonder, meditating they slipped into their unconscious and triggered a vision. Worried about the reality Lady Ulrike got up and turned away from her smiling small self. 'Did you see,' she heard the pure happiness bubble from inside her. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'I did,' she nodded. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Aren't you happy,' Little Ulrike got up, walked behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'I…' she was lost for words. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Please, you promised me that if we were happy you would concede. I want to be happy with them,' she began to cry as Lady Ulrike remained silent. 'You saw our future and you know that it's what you want too.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Little One,' she turned and looked down at her crying self./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Please, let us be happy.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'But our responsibility,' she reminded her./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Little Ulrike continued to cry even harder, for she knew that without a new High Priestess she would never leave. Even with as hard as she prayed, none of the other priestesses had passed and were able to ascend from their positions. If they never found someone, they would never be able to live happily with them and see the world beyond the castle. 'I just want to go with them and so do you,' she pulled away and ran from Lady Ulrike's grasp./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Little One,' she called out in vain. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Ulrike,' she turned to the waterfall as she heard a deep and soothing voice emanate from it, 'it is time.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" A bright orb of light appeared and zoomed out after the Little One. 'Time,' she slowly smiled as she realized that the next Priestess had been chosen and was close. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: center; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;"8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Amaranth,' she was cutting through the courtyard to the West wing when she heard Sora. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Yes,' she stopped and turned to look at him. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Can we talk,' he made room on the bench. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Certainly,' she thought it was odd that Sora seemed so serious. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'It's been so long since we last sat out beneath the moonlight.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'It was all three of us,' she recalled./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Right, I was a nervous wreck about asking Kairi to marry me. I asked for you and Riku to give me advice, but Riku was no help. He just told me to ask her instead of worrying.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'That's right, but you wanted to do something memorable for her so that she would never forget such a special occasion.' /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'But it seemed that everything I wanted to do went horribly wrong,' he sighed. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'However, in the end you managed to make it a beautiful memory.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'I took your advice and didn't think too hard about, plus what better place to ask her then where it all started.' He recalled their hideout as kids and all the adventured that they imagined and the plans they made to travel across the sea to the world beyond the island. Yet their plans all changed and their friendship was put to the test. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Sora what is all this about,' she pulled him out of his thoughts. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'I wanted to know if you still had feelings for Riku? That maybe the memories of my love for Kairi would trigger yours for him. He was worried about you and tried the best that he could to find you, but you have been so distant with him. I was starting to believe that you had forgotten about him and the love that you shared.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" She grabbed his hand in hers, 'I would never forget my feelings for him, its just that right now I am insecure about the way he will feel for me once he sees what's hidden beneath this hood.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'I don't think that anything will keep him from being by your side,' he remembered the look of anguish the day that Riku awoke from his nightmare, a vision of her death. The wind picked up and blew her hood back revealing the symbols marring her face. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'When people see me, they are frightened,' she confessed as she remembered the looks of the villagers and some of the servants that glimpsed her without the hood. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Riku loves you and he will accept you for who you are not your appearance,' he held her hand tightly. 'You just have to trust him and your heart.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Amaranth smiled, 'I don't deserve such good friends.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" Sora got up pulling her with him, 'You have somewhere to be, don't you?'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Yes,' she nodded. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Then you should go, before he gets all depressed and thinks that you don't love him or have fallen in love with someone else,' Sora turned her around in the direction of Riku's room. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Okay,' she fixed her hood and began to take off but stopped, 'thank you.'/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Good luck,' he waved her off and watched her disappear. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; text-align: center; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;"8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" As predicted Riku was confused and worried, ever since he had been reunited with his Princess she hadn't made any advances towards him. He had seen Sora and Kairi reunited many times to know that there was usually a big scene of hugging, kissing and crying. However, Amaranth was different she avoided being near him, alone with him or within proximity without someone at her side guarding her. Well, it was more of Conrad always standing guard with the little two girls that were attached to her. He remembered thinking that she had lost her memories again and decided to fall in love with another man, but she knew him and Sora./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" He was about to go out and confront her, when there was a soft knock. 'Come in,' he thought it was one of the maids./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" The door slowly opened and his guest remained silent before him, trapped by the boundary of indecision even though she already knew her choice. 'Amaranth,' he called out to her as she stood before him….trembling./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Riku,' he could hear and feel her hesitation. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"span style="font-kerning: none;" 'Come inside,' he told her softly hoping not to frighten her./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px; text-align: center;"span style="font-kerning: none;" ******************************/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px; text-align: left;"span style="font-kerning: none;"A/N: Hi, Guys, sorry for the long wait. I am sad to say that I had a huge writer's block and struggled with the chapter before you. However, with this I am hoping to get back on track and finish what I started. Please, bare with me a little longer and I hope to see you guys soon in the next chapter. /span/p
