Heyyy... *sigh* I missed a week again, huh?

I'm really really sorry. It's just... I'm not having an easy time right now and it's making it harder for me to write. I really don't want to give up writing though. I love this story too much. Twisting and Turning is my baby, y'know? And I've got my next KH Project coming soon...

I promise I'll keep writing but updates aren't going to be every week over the next few weeks just so you know.

Review cookies: SpiritDreamWarriors, Fellow Digitamer, N00bcakeinc, StarAF938 and Nightwing2593!

Sigh... This chapter killed me but this is as good as it's gonna get...

Chapter ten – Patience is a virtue… Puh-lease

Xion frowned as she rode on her horse, Maximus. The neutrals staying at her inn had all been 'evacuated' so to speak. While some guards were pretty decent and were even welcomed to the inn at times, there were bound to be a few more here and there for more…. official reasons.

In other words, the high-ups who didn't like them were taking the chance to get rid of them.

It was a tactic they'd used on another neutral inn before. Wait for there to be an incident associated with the inn (in this case Roxas and Naminé) then start snooping around. Find the guys who may or may not have broken the law in the past (but only minor offenses!) or make up some rubbish, then take the inn out. Xion knew that these incidents were often on the shady side of 'official', especially as the current commander Leon (formerly Squall… yeah she knew his real name) Leonhart was from a neutral family himself. He'd decided to join the army to get them some more protection as a faction and slowly rose through the ranks, not telling anyone about his origins.

At times Xion felt like the neutrals were just a group of families hiding from the Organization, their only major enemies. The Kingdom was much kinder to them now, with the exception of some stubborn old idiots hanging around the top of the pecking order. She liked to think that if Naminé was who she thought she was, that girl could make things safer for the neutrals.

The innkeeper knew that they'd have to pick up the pace. The advantage of having several Fae in the neutrals was their ability to have certain feelings about events to come. Never knowing the full details but often enough to prevent catastrophe… usually. Xion had conversed with several of the Fae and it had become clear that they all agreed that they needed to get to the capital. It was where they had to go. To help someone Xion believed.

"Xion, the carrier bird is back," a green haired girl said, holding a letter in her hands. "We think it's from Riku."

"Thanks Tina," Xion replied. (Author butt-in: I know it's Terra but well… that name's taken)

She stopped Maximus and grabbed the letter before reading it. Her eyes flitted across the page.

"Is everything okay?" Tina asked.

"Yeah," Xion murmured. "Let's take a short break. I've got my own letter to write."

As the large party stopped, Xion sat alone, allowing various thoughts and memories to flow through her mind.

FLASHBACK TIME!

"Tifa! Tifa!" a thirteen year old Xion screamed.

Everything was on fire. All of Nibelheim, a small village in the north of Radiant Garden. Xion had been separated from her older sister and her father. All she could hear were the roars of the flames. She grew dizzy as more and more smoke entered her lungs. The girl coughed and cried out for her sister once more.

"Xion!" a voice screamed back.

"TIFA!" Xion yelled.

She ran as fast as she could through the burning buildings, trying to find Tifa. But she was tired and there was too much smoke in her. If she didn't get to fresh air soon, she would die. Unable to find her sister, Xion collapsed onto the ground, legs too tired. Her cries for help were unheard. Eyes widened as a one of the houses began to fall towards her. She closed them, afraid.

"You can open your eyes now," a voice said.

Xion slowly opened her eyes and saw a blonde teen in front of her. He slowly put her down against a wall and knelt down so that their eyes were level.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Xion whispered, air slowly filling her lungs. "Thank you… Cloud."

She didn't really know him that well. Xion did know that his surname was Strife and that he was one of the boys living with Aerith. The only other thing she knew was that he was the oldest Strife boy at about 16 was it? 17? She didn't know. Cloud was friends with Tifa but he often tried to avoid her other friends and her family. Xion had only spoken to him once or twice.

"You stay here. I'll find your sister," Cloud said.

As he stood up, blonde spikes bounced up and down. He made sure Xion was comfortable in her position propped up against a wall before running off towards the burning village. Other than her shallow breaths, Cloud's footsteps and the roar of flames, the only sound Xion could hear was the demonic laughter of the man who had burnt down Nibelheim.

She prayed Cloud would find Tifa before that man did.

Flashback End.

She shook the memories away, trying not to think of the destruction of her childhood home. That was the debt she owed the Strifes. Cloud had saved her and her sister. If he had only stopped to make sure his own family was safe, perhaps he wouldn't have been killed that night. They had slowed him down. Tifa and Xion couldn't directly repay their debt to Cloud, but they could help his remaining family. Pushing away any other painful memories, Xion wrote her reply to Riku.

Riku,

Thank you for the letter. I am glad that you are aware of Roxas' true identity, especially as you can help him find Sora again.

Thank you for also heeding my request and giving Naminé a bracelet. I don't know what it is about her, but I feel she needs protection. I doubt she's ever had real friends or people to turn to. It's important that she can count on us to be her friends.

Especially if everyone's suspicions are in fact correct.

If this letter reaches you in time, make sure you wish Naminé a happy birthday for me, okay?

I understand your concerns. Rest assured that if they discover him, we will not let him die.

But as for your other piece of news… don't chase that person. There's someone else with more claim on him then we have.

Protect them, please.
Xion.

Naminé sat at the window in her bedroom in 7th Heaven. She and Roxas decided to use this day to rest up, because tomorrow Roxas would have to deal with a hyper-excited Naminé. Yep, this was it. Naminé's last day of being seventeen. Tomorrow was her birthday. And now she was getting impatient. She wanted to see Radiant Garden Capital. She wanted to explore the streets, have fun.

And most of all, she wanted to see the lights. The lights. The kites. Her dream.

But what would she do when her dream came true? That was the part she was unsure about. What does a person do when they've reached their dream? Naminé would like to think that she'd find a new dream. Maybe she already knew what her new dream was in the back of her mind.

"Naminé?" a voice asked from the door.

Tifa Lockhart, the kind-hearted owner of 7th Heaven. There was something welcoming about Tifa, although you had to be careful when hugging her because of her… bustiness, shall we say. Naminé smiled and nodded for Tifa to come in. The older woman came in and sat down next to the teen.

"Hi Tifa," Naminé smiled.

"Hello Naminé. I came to tell you that Marlene, Rydia and Tiana have offered to help you with your hair tomorrow. Do it up so that it doesn't get in the way," Tifa explained.

"Oh! That would be amazing! I'll have to thank them!" Naminé exclaimed, but it was clear that she was a little distracted.

Rydia was an orphan that Tifa had taken in. Marlene's adoptive father often had to leave for long periods of time for work and so Tifa looked after the young girl. Tiana and her mother lived in the inn. Her father was killed fighting Orgs and her mother was slightly sick. Naminé and the three girls took an instant liking to each other. They loved playing with Naminé's hair, plaiting it in intricate styles. If they were doing her hair, then Naminé knew it would look beautiful.

"What's up?" Tifa asked, putting her arm around Naminé.

"I'm just really excited that's all. It's exhausting to wait now, when my birthday's so close," Naminé giggled.

And in her head she thought: And I can nearly touch my dream.

Maleficent stood in a large clearing, waiting.

"Maleficent," a low voice said.

"Good. You're here," she replied, turning around.

"Why did you call me here?" the man asked.

"I just needed a little favour from my old friend…" she replied. "Especially when I've been helping you find your mother. Isn't it time for you to repay the favour?"

The man smirked, eyes glowing.

Sooo... subtle hints galore! Anyone catch them? Oh and BTW, THAT BROWNIE IS STILL UP FOR GRABS! I'd love to be able to give it to someone by the end of the fic!

Anyway, I'll try and update as often as possible, but please don't expect any major miracles.