X. Less

Memo: I apologize for the late update! But…nobody is really saying much about this story… What do you guys think? Do you like it? Or would you like something else? Your thoughts really count; I won't bother with this story if you want something else!^^;;

The walk to the forest was twice as long as the walk to the castle, but to Sora it felt much quicker. Perhaps it was because he had some sense of direction now, even in a place he had never been to before. By the time they had reached the edge of the forest, the sun was beginning to set, and the trees were cast into shadows.

"Should we wait?" Donald asked.

"No way," Sora said defiantly. "We know that there are gonna be people here. Why should we wait?"

"What if we get lost, Sora?" Goofy added.

"It'll be all right," Sora assured them. "Really. If we keep up this pace, we can get there in no time. C'mon!"

Unable to argue with him or cloud his enthusiasm, Donald and Goofy reluctantly followed Sora further into the forest. The deeper they wandered in, the darker the sky above them became, both due to the change in time and the shade of the countless towering trees.

Luckily, the forest was calm, and there was no sense of danger for any of the three. They walked for quite a while on open soil, as if many others had walked on the same path time and time again. In fact, in some areas, the forest was quite open, and there were even animals running about. After a while, the trees became even sparser, and soon the trio could see light in the background.

"Hang on, Sora!" Donald exclaimed, grabbing the back of Sora's shirt to stop him from running off. "We don't know what that is!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Sora countered, whirling around. He pushed Donald's wing away, frustrated. "It's a house. It's the place the mirror told us about!"

"But Sora, it might be something else!" Goofy said.

"Like what?"

Donald and Goofy stood silent, trying to think of another explanation, but as their pause grew, so did Sora's triumphant smile.

"That's what I thought. C'mon, let's go!"

Free of Donald's grip, Sora let out a laugh and sprinted off in the direction of the lights. Donald and Goofy, once again left with no other choice, chased after him. If they were running into battle, at least they weren't unarmed.

However, Sora was right, and soon they had reached a cottage of epic proportions. It seemed as though the cottage had had additions built on to it, since the main portion differed in appearance from its side wings. Either way, it looked anything but threatening or scary. Even the glowing lights from inside spoke of comfort, and Sora could swear he heard music coming from nearby.

"How should we go in?" Sora wondered, more to himself than his companions. "Bust in? Knock? Will they even notice us over the music?"

Unable to notice his friends' responses over the sound of the music and his own thoughts, Sora reached out and pushed the door open, stepping inside the house.

As expected, the music was indeed coming from the main room of the house. The furniture had all been pushed to the sides of the room, and the center was filled with the smallest people Sora had ever seen. A few of them were playing instruments-the source of the music-while the rest were dancing in the middle of the room. Some of them appeared to be children, but others were bearded men, fully adult in every other way but their height.

Puzzled, Sora wandered a little further into the room. It seemed that the only two people of normal size were one man and one woman. The man was in the middle of the room, dancing with a young girl, presumably a relative of his. However, the woman was watching on the side, clapping her hands to the beat. She was admittedly beautiful, and even though she didn't look like royalty, Sora figured she must be the princess.

As inconspicuously as he could, Sora sidled around the room to the princess' side. She jumped when she saw him, her dark eyes growing wide. Her mouth opened, as if to cry out, but for some reason she stopped. Sora sighed in relief and approached her.

"Are you the princess who lives in this place?" he asked. She nodded, her eyes still a little wide. "Oh, yes! Okay, I'm Sora, and that's Donald and Goofy. Miss, do you know who-"

"Hey! What're YOU rascals doin' here!" a voice suddenly shouted. Sora, who had not expected the sudden outcry, nearly jumped out of his skin. He quickly turned to see Donald and Goofy face to face with one of the dwarves, who was staring them down.

"Wait! Wait a second!" Sora cried, running over to them. The focus of the entire room was on them. "I can explain!"

"How rude to break into someone's house!" the little girl said, frowning up at Sora. It was obvious whose child she was; her eyes had the same soft glow as her mother's.

"I-I'm not trying to break in!" Sora insisted. "I need your guys' help! We're looking for information about some people that you might know!"

"Well, get on with it then!" another one of the dwarves said. "You're interrupting our party!"

Hesitating, Sora looked over at Donald and Goofy, who nodded. They only seemed to want to leave this place as soon as possible.

"Okay, well, do any of you know anybody by the name of Terra, Aqua, or Ven?" Sora asked.

"I thought you looked familiar," the princess said. "You can call me Snow White. You're related to Ven, aren't you? You look a lot alike in the face."

"Ven? Wasn't he that no-good diamond thief?" one of the dwarves asked. They all began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Oh, goodness, how many times must I tell you? Ven was a kind young man." Snow White turned back to Sora and company. "I knew all three of them. Why are you looking for them? Has something happened?"

"A lot, honestly," Sora replied, scratching the back of his head. "Too much to explain right now. But can you tell me where they went? Do you know?"

Frowning, Snow White slowly shook her head.

"I haven't heard from them in a very long time," she said. "I'm sorry I can't be of more help to you."

Sora sighed, shaking his head quickly.

"No, no. I-It's all right. Sorry to interrupt your party."

Without another word, Sora walked outside. Defeated, he sat on a nearby stump. Donald and Goofy walked to his side, but as soon as they reached him, he stood once again and began to walk back toward their ship. He remained silent the rest of the walk, his bitter expression shrouded in the darkness of the night.