Hey everyone it's that time again. I hope you enjoy. Thanks to everyone who reviewed.
"Namine wake up dear. It's time to get ready," She heard her mother say.
The blond opened her eyes groggily and rolled onto her back, burying herself deeper into the warm blankets.
"Just a few more minutes mom," Namine whined.
Aerith chuckled softly at her daughter's complaining; Namine was certainly not a mourning person. Today, however, was an important day and she had to wake up.
"I already gave you ten minutes of extra sleep. I expect you to be out of bed when I come back," She said sternly.
Namine sighed as she heard the door close, in truth she was trying to put off getting ready for the ball as long as she could. But she knew when her mother used that tone of voice she expected something to be done. Not wanting to delay any further, she pushed the covers aside and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, her feet meeting the cold floor. She shivered slightly, feeling the goose bumps rise on her arms.
'This is going to be a long day,' she thought as her mother came into her room once again.
"Good mourning sleepy head," Aerith greeted in her usual cheerful voice.
"Good mourning mom," Namine replied as she rubbed her eyes groggily.
Aerith put an arm around her daughter's shoulder, leading her out of the bedroom. She needed to help Namine get into her dress, do her hair, and do her make-up. The ball was in seven hours and Aerith wanted to make sure that everything was perfect.
"In here," She said, gesturing Namine into the dressing room. The golden haired girl took a seat in front of a large white vanity, waiting patiently for the maids to start working on her hair. She looked from the corner of her eye to see Kairi looking at herself in a large mirror, twirling around every so often in her formal outfit.
"What do you think Namine?" Kairi asked excitedly.
"It looks really good on you," Namine complemented as she turned to get a better look at her.
She wore a deep purple strapless gown with ridges of purple ribbon circling around the skirt area. Purple ribbon was criss crossing down her back, attaching the front piece together.
"Thanks. Well I have to leave now and let you get ready. See you later tonight," She replied, winking at Namine before leaving the room.
"Kairi do not get your dress dirty before the ball," Aerith said as she peeked her head out the door into the direction the girl was walking in.
"Don't worry. I promise I won't mom."
Aerith shut the door closed behind her; she knew that Kairi would not get her dress ruined once she promised.
"Well I think that we should get you ready Namine," Aerith said cheerfully, walking over to her daughter.
'Yeah this is definitely going to be a long day,' Namine thought once again as Aerith began to play with her golden locks.
With Sora
"So I'm going to be Kairi's bodyguard?" Sora asked with excitement.
Mickey nodded with a smile; he knew that the boys would be happy about their duties for the ball. After all he had noticed how Riku had fallen in love with Namine and how Sora had grown so attached to Kairi, he was sure the girls felt the same about them as well. The look in Namine's eyes at the mention of Riku the other day made her eyes light up as bright as the sun. It was good to see her smile like that for once.
'I can at least give them a job they will like since they have been working hard,' He thought to himself.
"Wait until I tell Kairi. I'm going to go find her now," Mickey placed a hand on Sora's wrist before he even took off.
"You won't be able to see the princess until later tonight. She's getting ready," Mickey said as Sora struggled to free from his grip.
'Geez for such a small mouse he really has a strong grip.'
"Don't worry Sora. Judging by the sun…you'll be able to see her in four hours," He continued.
"Four hours!? That's like a million years to me," Sora whined, giving Mickey the puppy dogface.
'He's been around Kairi too much enough as it is,' he thought as he fought to resist the face.
"You can be patient Sora. I know you have it in you." Mickey said, punching him lightly in the chest.
The boy scratched the back of his head, what could he do to occupy his time for four hours?
"If you need something to do…you can help me finish setting up for the ball in the Grand Foyer," Mickey suggested.
"Sure. Anything that will keep me occupied for the next four hours," The boy replied.
"Okay then…follow me Sora," Mickey instructed as they walked side by side toward their destination.
'I need to fill Riku in on our plan later,' Sora reminded himself. He would probably tell him sometime during the ceremony.
Four hours later
"There we go. You look beautiful Namine," Aerith complemented as she helped to put the final changes on her gown.
Namine continued to stare at herself in the mirror. To be honest the person who was looking back at her did not look like her at all. Her hair was wrapped in a tight bun with her silver tiara placed on her head, and a small amount of make up to bring out her eyes.
"Thanks mom," Namine replied.
"Now you should get ready to go to the throne room…everyone is expecting you," Aerith said, "I'll see you out there okay dear?" Her green eyes looking at her daughter proudly.
When Namine heard the door shut, she studied herself one more time in the mirror.
"Am I ready to do this?" she asked to herself.
When she finally realized that she would not receive an answer from her reflection, she slowly got up from her seat and made her way out the door. Anxiety began to build up inside her with each step that she took.
'I hope that I will get to see Riku tonight,' She thought to herself.
She wanted to tell him how she felt before it was too late, so she told herself that she would need to tell him tonight. Namine knew that if she didn't tell him tonight then she would have to live the rest of her life without him knowing that he was the one she truly loved.
"I can already hear the voices of the guests," She thought aloud as she approached the door leading to the foyer. All she had to do was wait for Mickey to announce her name before she could enter.
"Now introducing the future bride of Roxas and heir to the throne, Princess Namine," Mickey's voice echoed off the marble walls.
Two guards on the other side of the doors opened them for her, ushering her in.
"This way Your Majesty," The one on her left said.
She heard the crowd sigh in awe at the sight of her, she wondered if Riku was watching her at this very moment as well. Instead of looking around to see if he was there, she kept her gaze straight ahead to look at her parents and her future husband. The king and queen both rose up from their thrones as Namine approached them. Cloud embraced her silently, probably feeling guilty about yesterday's events.
"I'm really proud of you Namine…you've grown up so much. I'm happy that you understand why you are doing this," He whispered in her ear before releasing her and allowing Aerith to hug her as well.
Cloud cleared his throat slightly, "Thank you everyone for being here tonight. As you, all know we are here to celebrate the engagement of my daughter Namine to Roxas, prince of Twilight Town. Tomorrow they will be joined together in holy matrimony to bring peace to our kingdoms once and for all."
Namine froze. 'Tomorrow?' She looked over to Roxas who looked equally surprised at the news.
"Now everyone I would like to present Roxas and Namine as they will dance the first dance tonight. Enjoy the festivities everyone," He finished and returned with his queen to their seats.
Namine approached her fiancé quietly, not showing any hint of emotion on face.
"Would you care to dance Namine?" he asked, slightly unsure of himself.
"…Yes," she replied, taking his hand and allowing him to escort her onto the dance floor.
With Riku
"Ansem is behind something?" Riku asked his friend.
"Yeah…I'm not sure what it is but Kairi thinks that it's a little strange for a wedding to be conjured up in only two weeks," Sora replied while lightly polishing his keyblade.
"Sora!"
Both boys turned to see the red haired princess coming up to them. Riku smirked at his friend as he noticed that he had become a light shade of pink. Sora shot his friend a warning glare as she approached him.
"Kairi you look beautiful tonight," Sora said, not being able to take his eyes off her. He knew Riku was smirking at his back right now without even having to look back behind him, he just knew his friend that well.
"Thank you…Sora," She replied feeling equally nervous. Her blue eyes took note of the boy with long silver hair behind him.
"So…your Riku huh?" Kairi asked with a mischievous grin, "Namine has told me so much about you. I'm her little sister Kairi," She finished, extending her hand to him.
"Pleased to meet you," he replied, returning the gesture.
"So Sora did you fill him in on the details?" Kairi asked.
Sora nodded, "For the most part…I was about to tell him about our mission tonight."
"Mission? Tonight?" Riku asked, scratching the back of his head.
"Yes. While the ball is going on Sora and I are going to sneak into Ansem's room to see if there is anything suspicious happening that I don't know about."
"I get it…you won't get caught that easily tonight because of the festivities."
"Exactly," Sora jumped in.
"What exactly do you want me to do?" Riku asked. He really did want to have some part in this little recon mission tonight.
Kairi looked thoughtful for a minute. "I got it! I want you to keep an eye on my sister tonight. She needs you more than ever tonight Riku…so please?" Kairi pleaded.
Riku nodded, he didn't need to be asked twice when it came to Namine. "You guys can count on me…just be careful okay?"
"Don't worry Riku. I will be protecting Kairi. Nothing will happen," Sora said making sure to reassure his friend.
"That's what I'm worried about. Kairi might even have to end up protecting you," Riku laughed.
"Hey that's not funny!" The brown haired boy whined. He turned around to see Kairi snickering at him as well.
"Not you too!? Why does it have to be me?" he complained even more.
"Sora you know I was just kidding," He replied punching him lightly in the arm.
"Okay we better get going. Riku you better get inside, Namine has probably already made her appearance known," Kairi said as she began to drag Sora away from the festivities.
"Sure thing." He stated and began to walk up the stairs that lead to the foyer.
His aqua eyes widened at the sight before him. There she was, dancing in the middle of the ballroom with her betrothed. Riku was at a loss of words, she was beautiful. There was a large crowd in front of him, their eyes locked on the pair that gracefully moved around the room. There was no way that he was going to be able to get through them.
"Namine…" he just continued to watch her in awe.
With Namine
It was rather difficult to keep up with Roxas in his steps; he was a considerably better dancer than she was. Neither of them said anything to each other, as both of them were lost within their own thoughts. Namine felt a little self-conscious because of the many people that were watching them at this very moment. Even if she didn't like Roxas, she would have at least felt better if he had said something to her.
"You…look nice tonight," Roxas said, trying to ease the tension.
"Thank you," She said, at least one of her prayers were answered.
"Look Namine…about the other night. I'm…sorry. I've been under a lot of pressure lately with my father and I guess I took it out on you. I hope you can forgive me."
Namine was taken aback; she had not expected Roxas to apologize for his actions that night. In a way, she kind of felt bad for judging him like that, but he did kiss her without permission.
"I-It's okay…I forgive you. After what you did for Olette, I have started to gain more respect for you," She finally said after a moment of awkward silence.
"Yeah…look I know that neither of us want to do this. But, let's just try to make the best of it once it happens okay?" he asked as he tried to look at their engagement from an optimistic viewpoint.
"Yeah…I'll try," she stated, not wanting to continue this conversation any further.
Namine began to look over her partner's shoulder, examining the crowds for anyone familiar. Sadness began to well up inside her; she didn't see Olette, her sister, or most importantly Riku.
'Where are they?' she thought as the music began to die down, signaling the end of hers and Roxas' dance.
"Thank you for the dance princess," Roxas said, taking her hand gently and kissing it.
"Your welcome," She replied, quickly pulling her hand back and watched him disappear into the crowd.
She really needed to get out of this room; she was never used to being the center of attention, she left that part up to Kairi.
'If I don't get out of here I'm going to scream,' She thought as she looked for any exit of some sort.
It was then that Namine spotted a glass door leading to the large fountain in the garden. Not wasting anymore time, Namine rushed over to the door as her need to feel the cool night air growing stronger with each step.
'It's so beautiful tonight,' Namine thought, breathing in a sigh of relief. Indeed it was a very gorgeous night; stars decorating every inch of the sky, not leaving any amount of darkness, and the moon shined brightly over head, spilling it's pale light over the grounds. Everything looked so serene.
'This is much better,' Namine thought, taking a deep breath of air into her lungs.
She wished that she could have seen Riku tonight, she was so eager to tell him of her feelings for him. Now it seems like she really will never be able to tell him; tomorrow is the day her fate is sealed, why her father decided to move up the wedding date she will never know.
'I really need you here Riku,' She thought, focusing her gaze onto the marble that she was currently leaning her arms against.
"You know…a princess shouldn't be out here by herself when there are people looking for her," Namine's head snapped up at the sound of the voice that she loved. She turned around to see Riku closing the door behind him; the noise of the party completely silenced.
"Or did you really want to try and worry me?" He shrugged, smirking at her.
Namine didn't think as she ran towards him, crashing into his chest. Riku tensed up at sudden actions for a moment before returning her embrace. She clung onto him for dear life, the entire military could not take him away from her at that moment.
"Hey…Namine I was just kidding," He said, caressing her soft hair.
"Riku. I'm so glad you're here. I thought that…that I wouldn't get to see you tonight."
"Do you think I would honestly do that to you Namine? I promised that I would never abandon you no matter what, I intend to keep that promise."
"It's just that when I didn't see you or anyone that I knew…I guess I panicked. Especially when dad announced that the wedding was moved to tomorrow."
Riku tensed up once again at the mention of the wedding. "Why did he do that?" he asked, trying to hide his anger.
"I don't know…maybe Ansem pressured him to. I know that he would not act so rash," She replied.
'So Ansem really must be up to something.'
They stood there in silence, comfortable in each other's embrace. Neither one moved, for fear that tomorrow would come faster. It was then that Riku remembered that there was something that he had to finish from yesterday, when the two of them were interrupted.
"Riku…I really need to tell you something," Namine said, breaking him from his thoughts.
"Namine…before you say anything there is something that I must do," He said, cutting her off.
"What is that?" she asked, confused as to why he was moving her away from the glass door.
"We were interrupted yesterday by your friend," He began. Namine instantly froze up, she knew where this was going. Riku carefully lifted her chin so that she was staring into his mesmerizing aqua gaze.
"I intend to complete what I started…if that is okay with you of course Namine," He continued, awaiting her answer.
Namine simply gave him a small nod, her voice lost at the current moment. Riku smiled at her before he began to close the distance between them. Her mouth went dry and her heart was pounding at an alarming rate. Her legs would have given in if Riku wasn't holding her by her waist. Time seemed to move slow, his face was now only centimeters away from hers.
'This feels right,' She thought as she felt his lips meet hers.
Uh-Oh Cliffhanger!! I know everyone hates those. So Riku and Namine finally kiss, without any interruptions too. So it's 9:00 pm on March 25th. A little late but on the same day. My computer has been acting strange lately, but we got it fixed today. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 13: March 29, 2007