Chapter IX; Untold Secrets

Annora woke up with a start, sitting upright in her bed. Her breath was heavy as she glanced over the room. Her room. The sun was just beginning to rise, the light slowly peeking in through the window. Her Chirithy sat on the window sill watching her curiously.

"Did you have another dream?" Chirithy asked. Annora sighed heavily looking down to the ground. She nodded sadly. "It was about your friend wasn't it?" Chirithy asked. Annora nodded again and looked out her window. She could see the foretellers tower. That had to be where Ephemer vanished. It was the only thing to make sense.

"I want to go look for him in that tower," Annora said standing up and crossing to the window. Her eyes focused on the tower, making it very clear where she meant. Chirithy followed her gaze and jumped up in surprise.

"You want to go search for him in the tower? No way! Only the Foretellers are allowed there. Besides...now's not a good time." Chirithy said, thinking of any reason to keep Annora from the tower.

"Why not?" Annora asked curiously. Chirithy looked down avoiding eye contact. Annora assumed that meant the Chirithy really shouldn't be talking about it.

"I can't go into detail, but the foretellers, well lately they've been disagreeing on a few things. Let's just say you should stay clear of that tower for the time being." Chirithy said, carefully choosing its words. Annora frowned looking back to the tower. She hadn't seen any of the Foretellers in some time. She had hardly seen her own. She could only guess why, but her mind kept returning to the warning she had heard her first day as a wielder.

"The traitor?" Annora guessed.

"Kinda," Chirithy admitted reluctantly. Annora frowned. She really didn't want to get involved with the whole traitor ordeal. It seemed like too much of a hassle. But if that was what caused Ephemer to vanish, she was willing to take that risk.

"I'm going." Annora decided. Chirithy cried out in shock, but Annora ignored its objections.

Annora got up and prepared for the day quickly. Her Chirithy watched her nervously, its paws shaking. Annora really didn't know why though. She was just breaking one rule for a friend. It wasn't like she was going to go kill someone. But she guessed the Chirithy's were taught not to ever break a rule.

Annora got to the base of the tower before most other wielders were awake. But that was fine, for the most part. She was certain that Ephemer's disappearance had something to do with the tower, but with Chirithy's reluctance she should probably look around and see if anyone knew.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Chirithy said from behind Annora where it sat on a window sill. Annora ignored the spirit and began to look around. "Are you even listening?" Chirithy demanded when Annora didn't reply. Annora walked away, seeing a person not far away. "Wait! Where are you going?" Chirithy called.

Annora wandered around the tower area for several hours, asking any wielder she found what they knew about Ephemer. She heard several different ways of saying he was a troublemaker, stories of him angering at least three different important people, and glares that made her blood run cold. But among the nonsense, she did find out that he had spoken to Master Ava before he vanished. Annora wasn't sure what that meant but she was willing to use that as a starting point. But it did mean Annora would, in fact, have to go into the tower that Chirithy insisted was a bad idea.

Getting into the tower was easy enough. Just like the last time, no one seemed to notice where she was going, nor did they care. The waterway she needed to use was empty yet again. Annora almost thought it was too easy. But she didn't complain.

Inside the tower was filled with Heartless. Annora had to fight tooth and nail to get anywhere. But she didn't get very far, even with all her fighting. Finding Master Ava turned out to be much easier than she had anticipated.

Annora stopped walking in the middle of the tunnel, looking at the master in front of her in interest. Annora had never seen the Vulpes master, and she wasn't what she expected. Unlike Master Ira, Master Ava was short and appeared young. Perhaps the same age as Annora herself. She wore a pink robe that was designed similarly to the robe Master Ira wore. Her mask was silver with blue lines throughout it. The eyes were bright yellow.

"Master Ava?" Chirithy asked cautiously. Master Ava looked at the Chirithy for just a moment before shifting her gaze to Annora. For some reason, Annora swore she heard the foreteller's breath catch.

"You're..." Master Ava began. Annora really wasn't sure what she was about to say, but she nodded anyway. Maybe it would keep her out of trouble. Master Ava frowned a little, tilting her head to the side. "Why are you here?" She asked.

"I'm looking for my friend Ephemer. I heard you were talking to him right before he vanished." Annora answered honestly. She tried to keep her gaze even and meet the foreteller's eyes. She was surprised to realize she was taller than the master.

"But why would you come here?" Master Ava asked.

"I had a dream, about him being here, and I needed to talk to you," Annora replied. She glanced around the room cautiously. She knew the room, but it looked the rooms before it. Or hallways, Annora wasn't quite sure what to call them. Master Ava frowned, pacing ahead of her.

"You had a dream?" Master Ava asked. Annora wasn't given the chance to answer before Master Ava continued talking. She was still pacing with her arms crossed, one hand resting on her chin. "I see. Ephemer said he was waiting for you here in your dream, but this place is restricted." Master Ava walked past Annora, making Annora turn around to face the way she had come to keep her eyes on the foreteller. "So you thought he may have gotten caught up in the problem we foretellers have been having lately. And because someone saw us talking the other day, you thought maybe I had something to do with it."

"Yeah, pretty much." Annora admitted as the young master came t her conclusion. She was impressed with Master Ava's ability to know all that just from a few simple sentences.

"You're honest. I like you. You're not too far off base, but I can't tell you much else right now." Master Ava said with a soft smile. She summoned her keyblade in a flash of light, making Annora jump and summon her own keyblade in preparation.

"Master Ava?" Chirithy asked in fear. Master Ava smiled yet again, holding her keyblade at the ready as she faced Annora. She almost looked playful, reminding Annora of a fox like the mask she wore.

"Show me what you can do." Master Ava said, the playfulness creeping into her voice.

Annora wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want to attack the foreteller. If she took off she could probably run. But she would only be going deeper into unfamiliar territory. Master Ava would easily be able to find her. But she knew she was outmatched. Master Ava was, well, a master. Annora was hardly a novice.

Annora took a deep breath before swinging her keyblade forward. Master Ava easily blocked her, pushing the keyblade aside. Master Ava stepped forward bringing her keyblade up towards Annora. Annora jumped back, trying to avoid the hit. Master Ava swung her keyblade so effortlessly Annora was certain it was a part of her. It was just as Annora expected. She was outmatched. Vastly.

Annora was pulled out of her thoughts by a sudden pain in her side. She had lost focus, which was her undoing as a keyblade wielder. Master Ava had landed a blow on Annora's side, successfully knocking the wind out of her. Annora stumbled back, trying to regain her footing. Before she could Master Ava hit her again, pushing her back farther. As Master Ava swung her blade again Annora managed to bring her keyblade up to block the blow but was knocked to the ground by the force of the hit. Master Ava pointed her keyblade at Annora's throat where she sat on the ground. Annora looked up at the master in fear. She had lost, and there was no way to get away.

"Not bad." Master Ava said, taking the keyblade away from Annora's throat. Annora looked at her in shock. Master Ava held out her hand to Annora. Annora took it cautiously, letting Master Ava pull her to her feet. She wasn't hurt too badly, just a few bruises as far as she could tell. "I see a lot of potential in you. But I also see sadness in your heart. Hanging onto it will eventually lead to darkness. You need to somehow let it go." Master Ava said. Annora nodded as Master Ava turned to Chirithy. "With this little one helping you, you'll be fine. Now go home. And I'm sorry but this area is strictly off limits, all right?" She asked.

"Yeah, I get it," Annora said, rubbing the back of her head nervously. She motioned to Chirithy before turning and going back the way she had come. Master Ava watched her go with a smile.

"So it's you. You're the friend he told me about." Master Ava said softly.

*3*

Kamiko dashed into the living room of her brother's house, her breathing heavy and labored from having run the entire way from her house. It was annoying, the way the city was unspokenly divided by union. It meant Kamiko had to go a long way just to visit her brother.

Kamiko's strawberry blonde hair was a little more messy than normal. She looked around in a panic, in her hand was a small piece of paper that caught Takiko's attention. He couldn't read it, but he had a good idea what it was. He had a similar piece of paper in front of him.

"Taki!" Kamiko said, clearly alarmed and maybe scared. Takiko sighed heavily walking to his sister.

"I know." He said simply, taking the paper from her. Sure enough, it said just what he thought it would. 'The war will come, and you two will start it. Whether you want to or not.' He walked away from his sister, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"What are we going to do?" Kamiko asked in desperation. Takiko shook his head, his hand still gripping his hair. It didn't make sense. They had never told anyone, and suddenly, somehow, the last person they wanted to know had found out.

"I don't know. We have to find whoever is leaving these notes." Takiko said through gritted teeth. He was angrier than he had been in a long time. He could handle threats to himself. But whoever this was was dragging Kami into it too. And he couldn't stand for that.

Kamiko watched Takiko worriedly. She shuffled her feet nervously, her fingers twining together. It was scaring her.

"Do you think it's true?" Kamiko asked quietly. Takiko looked at her calmly.

"What? That we'll start a war?" He asked, removing his hand from his hair. A small patch stuck up from where he had been gripping it. Kamiko nodded slowly. "No. I have no desire for war." Takiko said looking away.

"But it says we'll start it whether we want to or not." Kamiko objected. Takiko could hear the fear in her voice all too easily. It concerned him even more. She wasn't one to shake easy. Her heart was too full of light for that.

"It's obviously just someone trying to get under our skin. But we can't do anything until we find out who's leaving them." Takiko said, keeping his voice even. If he showed his anger it would only upset Kamiko more. And that wasn't something they needed.

"Do you think we should tell our Chirithy's?" Kamiko asked.

"I don't really want to. I'd hate to drag them into this. But we need a lookout." Takiko said with a heavy sigh. Kamiko nodded in agreement.

"Right." She said softly. Her and Takiko snapped together causing their two dream eaters to appear together. Kamiko took note that though most of the time it was impossible to tell the difference between Chirithy's, there was a clear difference between theirs. Her brothers was several shades darker than hers. Kamiko suspected if her Chirithy was to stand next to any other wielders it would be a paler grey.

"What is it?" The darker Chirithy asked.

"Is something wrong?" The lighter one asked. Kamiko smiled a little at the automatic concern the Chirithy's showed.

"You could say that." Kamiko admitted.

"We need your help, but you can't tell anyone." Takiko said simply, not letting the Chirithy's ask any more questions. The lighter Chirithy jumped back a little, clearly in shock.

"Not even the Foretellers?" It asked. Kamiko laughed softly.

"Especially not the Foretellers." Kamiko said. The two Chirithy's looked at each other. They seemed to have a conversation with their eyes, choosing their course of action carefully. Eventually, they both nodded.

"We'll do it." The darker Chirithy said. Kamiko smiled softly. They had no clue what they were agreeing to.

*3*

Annora was curled up under her blankets, sleeping peacefully. Her Chirithy sat on the window sill watching over her, as was its job. It wasn't surprised Annora was as deeply asleep as she was. So deep no dreams would reach her.

"That was one doozy of a day. Betcha didn't think you'd have to end up fighting a foreteller." Chirithy said with a laugh. The day was still so crazy Chirithy could hardly believe it had happened.

"I'm sorry, but it wasn't fun for me either, you know." A voice said making Chirithy jump and turn. Sitting on the sill of the window beside Chirithy was Master Ava. Her feet were kicking back and forth childishly.

"Master Ava! What are you doing here?" Chirithy asked in shock. Master Ava smiled and chuckled softly.

"Please, call me Ava." She said. She leaned back a little, her gazing moving to Annora's sleeping figure. "Did you show her the dream of Ephemer?" Ava asked.

"No, that wasn't me," Chirithy said, looking to Annora before returning its gaze to Ava.

"Then perhaps it was Ephemer himself," Ava said, almost to herself. Chirithy tilted its head to the side in confusion.

"Huh? How is that possible?" Chirithy asked. Ava stood and walked over to Annora's bed, looking at the young wielders bed. She smiled down at the white-haired girl softly. She really wasn't much younger than Ava herself was.

"Ephemer's getting very close to the truth. He's fallen into an unchained state and now finds himself in a different realm. From that realm, I believe he tried reaching out to her." Ava explained. She gently reached out and brushed a stray hair back from Annora's face. She felt a strong urge to protect her, for some unknown reason."If they connected, even in a dream, that means she's getting closer to that realm too. Whether she continues down that path is up to her own heart." Ava stepped back from Annora and looked to Chirithy. "Chirithy, you have to protect her from the nightmare, so the wind can carry her far away from here," Ava said. She turned away and walked away, fading with each step until she had vanished. Chirithy stared where the foreteller had vanished in surprise.

"Me?" Chirithy asked to the open air.