Thanks to SoulNinjas for reviewing the last chapter and adding this story to their favourites. I really means a lot to me :)
I have up to chapter 20 written so far, so that means the updates will keep on coming--as long as the reviews follow suit.
This one's filler-ish, but at the same time, it's sort of the turning point for the story. So it's filler-ish with a hint of importance in it. Please review, it'd make my evening!
Livia's eyes fluttered open slowly. She found herself back in the castle, lying in her bed as the faint light from the moon cascaded down from the sky and washed over her sheets. She sat up a little too quickly and gripped her head in pain as the room spun momentarily. She shook the dizziness away and looked around to find Riku leaning against the wall by the door.
"Riku?" she called out. "How long was I out for?"
He sighed. "About four or five hours." He walked over to her and sat at the edge of her bed, placing a hand on her cheek. "Are you alright?"
She nodded. "I...I think so." Riku opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. Livia tried to search his eyes for the lost words he couldn't find, but he wouldn't look at her. "Riku?" she said, barely audible. "What's wrong?"
He inhaled deeply, letting his hand drop. "Livia..." he began, "when you saw Sora back there...you wanted to go back and join him, didn't you?"
"What?" she asked, completely caught off guard. "What are you talking about? I'm here with you, aren't I?"
"But do you want to be?" Riku demanded, looking her dead in the eyes.
"Why would I stay here if I wanted to go back and join Sora?" she questioned. "Riku, why are you even asking me this? What's really on your mind?"
He shook his head. Then he leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. "I don't want to lose you," he mumbled against her skin. "The darkness...it's a solitary power, but I don't want to lose you. Not now, not ever."
Their lips rejoined momentarily before she whispered to him, "I'll admit to you, Riku, I've wondered if the darkness can really help save Kairi, but then I realized that Sora is the denizen of light. He's the one who will restore all the worlds...we're the ones who reside in the darkness. But you and I are the darkness, which means there has to be some good in it, right?"
Riku smiled. "I love how you see the good in everything."
"It just depends on your view of life," she answered simply. "When you think about it, light cannot exist without the darkness and vice versa. No matter what, there will always be those who live in the light and those who live in darkness. One isn't any better than the other, they just need to learn to live in harmony."
"Twilight," Riku mumbled. "Get some rest. Tomorrow we have to meet with Maleficent. She said that she had something important to go over with us."
He got up to leave when Livia suddenly grabbed his hand. "Please," she said quietly. "Stay?"
Riku looked down at the girl staring at him with big, baleful violet eyes and gave a small smile. "How old are you?" he joked.
She giggled softly, and then said more seriously, "I don't want to be alone. Not in this castle..."
Riku nodded understandingly and laid down with her, gently resting an arm over her body. She moved in closer to him, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck, the rhythmic sounds of his breathing lulling her back to sleep.
Riku kissed her forehead and let out a sigh, staring at the ceiling as shadows danced around the room. He bit his lip and thought to himself, I love her, but I can't tell her. She may end up hating me forever, but that's a risk I'll have to take in order to win this battle. The end is far from over.
Review please!!