I have a bit more news to share. Remember when I said last year that I was staffing at CLACSTC (Cold Lake Air Cadet Summer Training Centre)? Yeah, that's happening again this year, which will supply me with tuition money, so I'm happy. So for seven weeks, starting approximately around July 4th, 2009, I will appear to be on hiatus. I will be taking my laptop with me, so I will still be able to write, but I have no knowledge as to how my internet status will be like so it will be difficult to contact me via e-mail and updates will be sparse. To those who I beta for: I'm sorry but you're on your own. If you wish to correspond with me over the summer, and I would recognize you as a person that I wouldn't mind texting me, send me a PM to ask for my cell phone number and we can start texting.
NO CALLING ME! Just about any call that any one of you would make would be massive long distance and I can't afford having conversations with people in the Philippines, the UK, Switzerland, New Zealand, Slovakia, across my country (Canada, love you guys BTW, same with you Brits!), the States, Australia, France, Spain, Southern Ireland, Puerto Rico, Belgium, the Netherlands, Brazil, Denmark, and Singapore! And yes, I just listed all of the nations that show up in the Reader Traffic page underneath Light's Growth on my profile. I really am glad that I have such a diversified readership from all around the globe. And to you people that barely ever see snow or cold weather except for in pictures, I have just this to say to you: while I pity you, I also envy you, because you don't have snow falling to the ground at the end of May! Fortunately our spring-early summer weather has returned now.
I have another few things that I might want to make a note of to avoid confliction. In this story, I have already made two points clear. One: I use the phases of the Moon and even plan which phase the Moon is in, and Two: females lose all magical powers and the ability to summon the Keyblade during the first day of their period. Magic and the ability to summon the Keyblade return upon the second day, but are considerably weaker until the period of menstruation is over. For purposes pertaining to a certain character, magical ninjitsu cannot be used at all during the entire length of time menstruating. In order to avoid confusion, the cycle of the Moon's phases is not the average 29.5 days, nor is it the Moon's 27.3 day orbital cycle, it is instead 28 days, making each quarter come every seven days on the dot, every single Saturday within the story. Also, the differing times of moonrise and moonset do not come into account, as that would really be too much trouble to go through. However, since the difference between moonrise and moonset between each day come from the Moon's orbit, and the Moon's orbit is set at exactly 28 days for simplicity's sake, this really isn't too much of an issue. Speaking about the menstrual cycle of our female protagonists, all of them feature the average 28 day cycle with deviations between cycles from 1-4 days, and they only lose all of their powers during day 1 of the cycle (the first date of menstruation), and after that their powers and abilities slowly return, with the menstruating character back to full strength at the end of the menstrual period, which will average at 3-4 days within the story. And I've actually started planning these, and their fertility... I need to know when certain events happen so that incidences could be biologically believable and actually occur, or if I am actually just shitting myself.
Yes, it's an uncomfortable subject to broach and talk about with you guys, but the fact of the matter remains that I am the only one smart enough (or more than likely, crazy enough) to stick his (reminder, I am a GUY) neck out and think about biological human issues such as this that have real effects on people. I've been reading a lot of Tom Clancy... not that he normally has anything to do with stuff like a woman's period in his writing, but he does make the adult mind think. However, now that I have gone out and opened up the topic, I freely accept the advice and opinions of anyone who wants to discuss it with me. In fact, I've already had a couple of conversations with one of you, and a worthwhile discussion with my twin sister. If we want to have a big discussion on it, USE MY FORUM!
Now, away from this madness and on to the disclaimer and chapter:
Disclaimer: Not mine.
-A-D-
Light's Growth
Chapter XIV: Lord Ovan Ramius
Riku woke up slowly the morning of the sixth of October. He briefly wondered where he was, as the sheets felt different than the ones aboard the Highwind, and the ceiling above him was most definitely something he was not used to looking at in the morning. He looked to his right and saw a west-facing window against a wall a few feet away from him. Just next to the bed he was in was a small nightstand, a digital clock-radio sitting in front of a small lava lamp. 8:02 a.m. was the time that the clock said it was, and the light of the Sun was already filtering into the room from the reflection cast by the white wall of the building adjacent.
Riku was still half asleep when he heard a low and contented moan next to him and felt that there was someone shifting in the bed with him. He looked around as an arm crossed over his chest and clutched at the sheets to his left with a slender hand. Riku smiled at the sight of a peacefully sleeping Yuffie next to him in the bed, a soft smile on her pretty face.
He let his hands move to caress her cheek for a moment before his fingers became entwined in the girl's hair. She moved a little bit and her face became buried into his shoulder as she spoke very quietly in her sleep. They had made it back to Radiant Garden in the early afternoon the previous day, and spent their time doing a lot of nothing, which suited both teenagers just fine. Leon was very busy with his party and the election, Tifa had to go back to the Seventh Heaven and take over for Barrett (who was running it in her absence for the past week), Aerith and Vincent were busy helping Leon, Cid was working with Tron on something or other, and Shalua Rui was with them.
So Riku and Yuffie had gone back to her apartment with a couple of rented movies and ordered in pizza. The last one they had seen was a horror film (and one of Riku's personal favourites). He felt bad at the time for making the girl watch it with him, as it had already been getting close to eleven in the evening before they had started watching it. But really he needn't have worried, as horror films turned out to be Yuffie's forte as well. She hadn't seen the one they watched before, and Riku took pleasure in her grasping onto him every time she became startled.
Riku felt completely at ease as his fingers sifted through the sleeping girl's shiny black hair; he surprised himself when he realized that he'd have been perfectly content to do so for the rest of the day. But Tifa had made mention of something when they had parted about how Yuffie worked part time for her at the Seventh Heaven, and that she had to work today. Riku figured that Tifa wouldn't have been completely happy with either of them if Yuffie was late for work because he'd kept her in bed just so that he could run his fingers through her hair.
After another minute or so, he gently shook Yuffie to wake her up. The girl's hazel eyes slowly fluttered open and her smile twitched to become a little bit wider. "Morning," she said quietly, moving her left hand towards his chin and slowly drawing his head close to kiss him.
Riku obliged her and kissed his girlfriend on the lips. "Morning," he replied, kissing her again. "And how are you?"
"Wishing I could still be asleep," Yuffie pouted with traitorous eyes. Riku chuckled and held her close as she was still mostly underneath the sheets. Yuffie flicked a few strands of his long bangs out of his face and smiled again. "But... I suppose that I could get used to waking up like this."
She yawned and dropped her head onto his shoulder again. "Well now that you aren't sleeping naked anymore," Riku answered, "you very well could be waking up like this for a while, because I think I kinda want to get used to it."
"Well I'm glad you like it," Yuffie told him, "because it isn't often that I've woken up to such a handsome face." Riku blushed slightly and gave Yuffie a kiss on the nose as a reward. His heart quivered in delight at the squeal the ninja made in response to it and he chuckled.
Yuffie planted herself over him. "It's not funny," she pouted. Riku smiled and placed his other hand on her back while the first was still running through her hair.
"Yes it is," he answered, beginning to rub her back. Yuffie sighed contentedly and nestled her head underneath his chin. He was surprised at how well she seemed to fit there, but the surprise melted away into bliss as the girl that was in his arms began to make small humming noises with closed eyes. If Riku didn't know better, after a few minutes he would have told her that she almost sounded like she was purring.
Riku's eyes were either on Yuffie or the ceiling for ten minutes as he continued to run his hand through her hair and rub her back up and down through the fabric of her blue tank-top. A small smile seemed to be permanently attached to his face as his brain and heart slowly came to the same realization.
He was in love. He was in love with the young woman lying across his chest. His heart would dance a jig whenever Yuffie entered the room, and his soul would begin to sing whenever she kissed his lips tenderly. A single smile from her was all it took to infect him with happiness, and her laughter was contagious. Even before he understood that what he was suffering from was not a simple crush, but true and honest love, it had already begun to take effect upon him. The music he had found himself listening to recently was not what he would have listened to before he met Yuffie; the classic love songs from decades before had slowly wormed their way into his library.
He started humming after a minute, and Yuffie cracked open an eyelid at him. She yawned, "When did you start listening to KISS?"
"Recently," Riku answered. Under his breath he added, "I was made for lovin' you baby; you were made for lovin' me."
Yuffie gave a slight moan (or a sigh, Riku couldn't tell which), and then sang under her breath, "And I can't get enough of you baby, can you get enough of me?" The ninja opened both her eyes now and peered out of the hazel into the aqua. "I thought you said that you didn't like to sing, and that you didn't sing along to songs you were listening to."
"Usually, I don't," he told her. "But I think I've had a change of heart."
Yuffie came a bit closer and her lips touched his. "That's good," she said. "You do sing well."
They both fell quiet for a few more minutes and Riku continued rubbing her back as the fingers of one of Yuffie's hands became entwined within his silver hair. Eventually, she broke the silence with those fateful words that toppled the peaceful and serene moment. "I'm hungry."
Riku was only able to withhold his laughter for a few seconds, which turned out to be longer than Yuffie herself had been able to keep the giggles in check. At the sound of her laughter, Riku found himself powerless to resist chuckling himself.
They settled down after what seemed ten seconds and Riku smiled wider at Yuffie, who was looking up at him with starry eyes. He could see that for some reason she was about to start laughing again and it took all of his own willpower not to break into another bout of senseless hilarity. "Come on," he spoke quickly, shifting on the bed, "let's see if we can find you something to feed that tummy of yours."
He poked it with a finger as Yuffie rolled away from him to the other side of the bed. She slapped his hand away. "Don't bother. We still don't have anything."
"There's cold pizza," Riku answered, getting out of the bed on its right side.
"Yeah," Yuffie said, "but we also still have some of the munny left over from those Heartless in Atlantis." She got out on her side and slung the necklace with the blue crystal she had gotten from Kida as they had left the city over her neck. Riku, Max, herself, Vinnie, Audrey, Sweet, Mole, Packard, Cookie, and one other for Mr. Preston B. Whitmore (the financier of the expedition), had all received the crystals as a parting gift from Kida and the Atlanteans for saving her, along with a large amount of gold and treasure, enough to make everyone from the world rich when they reached the surface. The three off-worlders took none of it, but Max kept the trinkets given to him by the Atlanteans during the day and they retained the crystals as they were dropped off at the Highwind. Riku, Yuffie, and Max weren't quite sure just what the crystals would do for them, but even after only a couple of days of wearing them they already felt quite healthier than they could ever remember feeling. "So," Yuffie continued, "we could just get breakfast at the Seventh Heaven again. Tifa always makes it great."
"Yeah, it was pretty good," Riku admitted, slinging his own crystal over his neck. "But, we can't just eat out all the time can we? Shouldn't we get groceries or something?"
"And what would we get?" Yuffie asked in a quieter tone of voice as they both left the bedroom. "Neither of us can cook; the only things we'd be able to get would be those microwave dinners and stuff that doesn't need any skill."
Riku and Yuffie both entered the kitchen and looked at each other after a quick glance around. "We have so got to learn how to cook," they said simultaneously. A single second later they both spun on their heels out of the kitchen and towards the bedroom again. Two rounds of rock-paper-scissors later, Riku grabbed some of the clothes he'd brought down from the Highwind and went into the bathroom to change, while Yuffie got the bedroom.
They were on their way to the Seventh Heaven ten minutes later.
"Incidentally," Riku asked, rubbing his bare shoulders in slight discomfort as a chill wind blew around the streets in the morning light, "just what do you do working for Tifa anyway?"
"Waitressing," Yuffie answered simply as they passed by a couple of people standing on a street corner.
"Did you hear?" one of them was excitedly whispering to his fellow, "Lord Ramius is coming back to the city soon!"
"That's just a rumour," the woman replied. "'S far as I know, he's still out at the reconstruction sites for Windy Plain and Woodburgh."
Riku frowned slightly in interest. He'd heard the name several times now, but he still had no idea who this Lord Ramius was. He figured that he'd ask both Yuffie and Tifa while they were eating breakfast.
He was glad when they opened the door to the Seventh Heaven. It was warmer indoors than it was outside. The bar was busier this morning than it had been in a while, and Tifa appeared very glad to see them when they arrived.
"Oh good, you're here Yuffie," she said as both Riku and the kunoichi made it to the bar. "Do you think you can start early today?"
Yuffie sighed. "Alright Tifa, but it will have to be after breakfast. Can Riku and I get two—?"
"Two usuals coming up," Tifa interrupted her with a smile, two tall crystal glasses already on the counter with another hand reaching underneath to grab a carton of Banora White apple juice. "Thankfully Banora didn't get wiped out like the rest of the world," Tifa said as she poured the dumbapple juice. "I remember going there before the King, Queen, and Prince Raifeor were killed, when I was just a little kid. It's a nice place, only a day away."
"Probably is," Riku said, taking a sip of his juice. "Hey Tifa, just who is this Ramius guy I keep hearing about?"
Riku noticed that he received stern looks from some of the people around him when he posed the question, and shifted slightly in discomfort. Yuffie and Tifa gave those giving Riku stern looks even sterner ones.
"Disrespectful kid," a man who sat on stool two seats to Riku's left.
"Cut him some slack," Yuffie said quickly. "Do you know who this is? This is Keyblade Master Riku, son of Rekun and Riley, of Destiny Islands; the Rose Star Wielder of Dawn."
"Even more reason for him to be respectful to the last living member of Radiant Garden's peerage!" the man said, though his tone of voice had lost a little of its edge now that he knew that the kid he was sitting near was a Keyblade Master.
"Riku doesn't know anything about the peerage!" Yuffie retorted. "He's not from here."
Tifa retreated into the back from the counter to inform her small kitchen staff of Riku's and Yuffie's orders, and a woman on Yuffie's right who was eating an omelette joined the conversation. "And who are you young lady, to address Lord Riku by his first name alone?"
Yuffie's eyes flashed towards the woman. "I'd have thought that you'd know my face by now. I am Riku's girlfriend, The Great Ninja Yuffie Kisaragi, and a Wielder of the Keyblade!" As she was speaking, her hand flashed with white light and Flower of Wutai appeared in her grasp.
Any and all persons who were paying even the slightest attention to the conversation had their eyes turned towards the bar as Yuffie's weapon came into being. Most of their eyes became filled with wonderment and excitement that Yuffie now held a Keyblade.
"No excuse milady," the man who had spoken first said. Tifa returned and he slapped some munny down on the counter. "Keep the change Tifa," he said as he removed himself from his stool. "Good day to you Lord Riku, Lady Kisaragi, Tifa." He left, and the woman huffed and moved her plate over to a nearby and vacant table.
"Have a good day," Tifa called after the man. She fixed Riku and Yuffie with a look and leaned close to the two of them. "Alright you two, what's up? Your Keyblade looks nice Yuffie, but why is it out here and in your hand?"
Riku glanced at Yuffie after Tifa's whispered questions and saw her blush in embarrassment for going a little overboard and it vanished from the girl's hand. He looked back at Tifa. "If you could tell me the same thing, I'd be eternally grateful Tifa. All I do is ask who this... Lord Ramius guy is, and then I'm getting chewed up and being a called a Lord at the same time. And now Yuffie's being called 'Lady Kisaragi'! What's going on?"
Tifa sighed. "I may not be the best one to explain this Riku—"
"This is what I'm talking about!" he interrupted her in an exasperated whisper. "I've just been called 'Lord Riku' by those two people, but you and Yuffie are still simply calling me Riku. What the hell is with the titles?"
"Leon or Cid would be the best ones to explain Riku," Tifa said, her tone indicating that he'd better not interrupt her this time, "but they're too busy, and the rest of us are going to be busy, so all I can tell you is that you're going to have to wait for The Marquess of Ramius to arrive, which should be tomorrow if the rumours are true."
Riku gave her a blank look. "Huh?"
"Lord Ramius," Tifa explained in exasperation. "I'm going to go check on your eggs and pancakes, so I'll be right back."
Riku sighed and took a long drink from his cool glass of dumbapple juice. Just when he had thought that he understood everything about being a Wielder of the Keyblade, each and every day was getting more and more confusing as a web of politics slowly wrapped its way around his life.
-A-D-
He and Yuffie ate their breakfast in relative quiet as he mulled over the situation in his mind. Riku's mind was... discomforted that he was able to sit here peacefully in the Seventh Heaven and eat breakfast with his girlfriend when he knew that Maleficent was out there doing, well he didn't know what she was doing but she had to be up to something or else her grip on the worlds would not have become lax enough to allow them to wipe out Heartless she'd had sent to a number of worlds without retribution. There was only one world that they knew of being threatened, one! And that was being taken care of by Roxas and Naminé. As much as Riku regretted it, he'd worked with Maleficent; this wasn't her style. She had to be planning something big to be forgetting about sending out Heartless.
Or maybe it was true what Kairi had said. Maybe it really was taking up too many Heartless and Nobodies to construct her 'ultimate fortress' for her to send out the regular swarm, and they were just picking off the extras that she'd allowed to go out and attempt to collect hearts to create more Heartless.
Either way, it didn't bode well, and if it turned out that she really was planning something big, Riku had to wonder if they'd be able to handle it.
He and Yuffie finished their breakfast and Tifa took their plates. Yuffie sighed. "I guess I've got to work now then," she said apologetically, her eyes not quite meeting Riku's.
He placed his hand on hers as it stayed on the table and her hazel met his aqua. "Hey, don't worry about it," he said, smiling slightly. "It's not like it's the end of the world right? You're waitressing, and a cute ninja like you would probably pick up a decent amount of tips."
Yuffie smiled shyly and he noticed a tiny blush creep onto her cheeks. "I guess you're right, but then what are you going to do for the day, Lord Riku?"
"I think I'm going to go to Merlin's, Lady Kisaragi," Riku needled her, swiftly poking her in the side. "I want to know what the heck is with these titles."
"Suit yourself," Yuffie said, rolling her eyes. "But if you want to talk history with Merlin, then be prepared for the longest and most boring lecture of your life."
"I think I'll survive," replied Riku. "I survived tutoring with Ansem the Wise didn't I?" He kissed Yuffie on the lips. "See you later Fie."
"Bye Rik," Yuffie called as he began to leave. "Have fun at Merlin's!"
It was only a little warmer outside as Riku left the Seventh Heaven. He checked his watch and rubbed the exposed skin on his right arm with the other hand; it was ten after nine. The Sun had found herself hidden behind a large mass of cloud, and Riku cursed under his breath as he began the walk through the streets. The wind robbed him of what little body heat he retained, and the friction from rubbing his arms with his black fingerless gloves wasn't giving enough heat to his limbs.
Not only do I need to learn how to cook, he thought dismally, but I need a jacket too. Oh well, what I've got planned to do should keep me warm regardless.
It took him about a half an hour at a steady walk to reach the Borough, and only a few more minutes after that got him to Merlin's house. He gave three knocks on the door and then pushed the wooden portal open.
He did not expect what he found inside.
A small owl was flying around the ceiling of Merlin's house in circles, hooting loudly. Chasing it was the dragon made of fire that Roxas had created over a week previously. Merlin's books, which were normally stacked in somewhat neat piles, had toppled all over the floor, and his magical tea set was huddled underneath the pedestal that held The Book of Pooh upon it. Merlin himself was running around the central stone dais where his round table and chairs were, and was shouting at both the fire dragon and the small brown owl in a flustered voice.
"Now, now Archimedes calm down! He's perfectly friendly!"
"Yes," the owl replied, to Riku's momentary surprise. "Oh yes, 'friendly' is the exact term that I would use, you cantankerous old wind bag!"
The dragon roared and a searing jet of flame erupted from its mouth towards the tiny owl. The owl yelled in distress and ducked underneath before banking to his left. Merlin ducked, and ducked again as the dragon continued to chase the owl. He turned around. "Now see here Plato—!"
Merlin stopped as he noticed that he had an audience to the calamity befalling him. "Why, why-why Riku? This is a surprise."
Riku nodded his head towards the two flying creatures. The owl had grabbed a spoon from the sugar cup and flown into a wooden birdhouse, and was attempting to fight off the dragon by using the spoon as a club. "So's that," Riku answered.
Merlin looked towards the owl and the dragon and made a sound and gesture out of irritation towards both of them. "Oh don't mind Archimedes and Plato. They've been at it like this for the last hour."
Riku raised an eyebrow as he now stood next to Merlin, looking at the two. "Who is who?"
"Oh, Archimedes the Owl, is my familiar," Merlin said, stroking his long beard. "And Plato is—"
"You named the dragon!" Riku asked. "Why?" The dragon's head and neck snapped around and it seemed as if its flaming eyes were glaring at him.
"Well, I have this feeling that it is going to be around for quite some time," Merlin answered. "So I figured that it would be best if it had a name."
"As if a fire needs a name," Archimedes snapped, shutting the circular door to his birdhouse. Plato's head turned back around and he snorted at the closed door. The fiery construct glided on one more circuit around the room before landing in the fireplace, the already burning logs in it intensifying for a moment as it curled up, like a dog.
"Be mindful what you say around Archimedes though," Merlin whispered. "He's a little sensitive."
The door opened on the familiar's birdhouse and Archimedes stuck his head out slightly. "Sensitive? Hm? Who—who? What—what?"
Merlin ignored Archimedes and turned to Riku. "Now, what was it you wanted again Riku?"
"I came to ask for your help Merlin."
The wizard seemed a little surprised, and amused at this. Riku looked away slightly in embarrassment as Merlin said the words, "Oh? You're asking for my help? But what could a powerful wizard such as myself possibly do to aid Keyblade Master Riku?"
"Please Merlin..."
He chuckled. "Alright my dear boy, I've teased you enough. Have you come to finally learn some true magic then?"
"Not really," Riku answered slowly, to which Merlin appeared to be a little disappointed. "But, do you know a place where I would be able to train, away from the public that is," he added quietly, giving the door a shifty glance. "I've noticed a few times, and especially last night when we got back, that there are a lot of crowds that keep flocking around me."
Archimedes flew out of his birdhouse and landed on the bent top of Merlin's blue hat. "Ah yes, humans can be annoying like that at times."
Merlin began stroking his beard. "Well, I do have a special room on the second floor here, but I hardly think that that would suit your needs. There is of course, no that wouldn't work. You'd never have any privacy from the female servants if you trained in there. Well my lad, the only place I can say that would give you the privacy and space you need would be either along the Ravine Trail or the Great Maw itself. I can help you set them up today if you'd like."
"Thanks Merlin," Riku said, "I appreciate this."
"Oh, it's only the right thing to do," Merlin said, waving it off. "And," he added in a hushed whisper as he reached the door, "it is a wise move; I share your suspicions."
-A-D-
It was still cloudy the next afternoon, when the Hunter broke through the atmosphere of Radiant Garden and landed upon the flight line where it had taken off from a week earlier. It was raining lightly outside, and soon the blue hull of the ship was glistening from the precipitation in the grey light that made it through the barrier of condensation.
Unlike when he had landed the ship in Resembool, Roxas touched the Hunter down lightly, almost as lightly as a feather drifting slowly to softly bend the blades of grass on a lawn. He did so because of the young woman that was sitting behind him. Naminé had her right hand clutching the bruised skin of her left shoulder as tightly as she felt able to, and her indigo eyes clearly showed that she was still in a moderate amount of pain.
They didn't quite know what had happened to Naminé when she had crashed into the metal stands in the circus ring, but it was quite clear that something had happened to her shoulder; but whether it was dislocated, cracked, or broken was beyond their ability to tell. Roxas had forced her to drink a Hi-Potion after they had returned to the Hunter from the Big Top, and the blonde Princess' condition had improved a little bit, but she still felt weak and pain raced through shoulder with every pulse of her beating heart.
Roxas unbuckled himself from the pilot's chair and helped Naminé get up and walk, as he had done for all of the previous day after their battle with the Boar Heartless. "Come on," he said comfortingly, "let's get you to the hospital. Aerith and Dr. Fraiser should be able to fix you right up."
Naminé nodded weakly and gratefully took her boyfriend's support as he led them down the stairs from the bridge and into the cabin. He left Naminé on the couch before hurrying to get coats for both of them. He suspected that it would be somewhat chilly and windy outside, and the rain wouldn't help matters. Not to mention that a coat wouldn't keep Naminé's legs warm, as she was still wearing the yellow and silver miniskirt that was part of the outfit Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather had made for her.
Roxas helped Naminé into a white jacket that would protect her from the wind and rain, fleece lining the inside to hopefully keep her a little warm as well, and winced himself in sympathy at the pain the Princess was likely feeling as her arm had to move to get inside of the sleeves. Eventually they were able to get the coat on and Roxas quickly put on his own grey one before leading Naminé out.
It wasn't raining that hard, but it was still raining for all that it was worth when they left the Hunter. Technicians were already rushing out of the gummi hangar with mechanical devices and lifts to get the gummi ship safely inside. Roxas watched for a moment as the early autumn wind blew only gently from the east, but even so it was enough to rip away the bubble of warm air produced by the human body that protected it from the elements, letting the cold air sting Roxas' face and neck, as well as Naminé's legs as the rain came down to wet their blonde hair. Naminé shivered and drew closer to him and Roxas sighed. It looked like it was going to be a long walk to the hospital.
They were surprised as they were leaving the small base to find a coach directly in front of them along the road and waiting for them. It was drawn by a team of four yellow chocobos, and across the door was the floral shield emblem of Radiant Garden that hung upon banners in the castle. The footman and coachman were both wearing dull blue overcoats that looked to be made of wool, and grey pants, and while the footman wore a top hat, the coachman seemed content to let the rain soak into his short sleekly pulled back black hair.
The footman jumped down from his position with the coachman and opened up a black umbrella as soon as he had caught sight of Roxas and Naminé, and within seconds he was by their side, holding the umbrella above both of them. "Welcome back Your Highness; Sir Roxas," he said, his brown eyes quickly sweeping over them and gaining a trace of anxiety. "Not the best of weather to return in."
"It isn't the worst either," Roxas answered as the very new sound to him of raindrops striking the nylon of the umbrella entered his ears.
"What are you doing here?" Naminé asked, as confused and surprised as Roxas was that they had a coach waiting for them.
"We received a call at the castle, Your Highness," the footman replied as he led the way to the coach with his umbrella keeping the pair dry, "as soon as the Hunter was detected. Kensworth it was who sent us out, and we've been here only a couple of minutes ourselves." He opened the door with his free hand and Roxas helped Naminé into the coach, knowing that the nervous eyes of the footman were on his Princess and the look of pain that briefly overtook her features.
Roxas stayed outside for a second after Naminé had sat down and made herself as comfortable as possible on the seat facing the front of the coach and turned towards the footman. The man gave a small bow to him. "We are at yours and the lady's service sir. What is our destination sir?"
Roxas glanced back at Naminé through the open door for a fraction of a second. "Can you take us to the hospital?"
The footman nodded. "We'll go as speedily as we may sir."
"Just be careful," Roxas said quickly. "Her Highness is injured, and I don't want her to suffer too much from reckless driving."
A tiny smile appeared on the footman's face. "As you wish, sir."
Roxas nodded and clambered into the coach to sit next to Naminé. The footman closed the door behind them, and the coach moved just slightly as he obviously climbed back into his seat next to the coachman. The coach gave a lurch suddenly, and they were off.
Roxas looked around for a moment. The wooden interior of the vehicle seemed to be well cared for, and he was unable to discern for how long this coach had existed for. If it wasn't for Naminé's current condition, he'd have admitted to himself that he was a little bit excited. He'd never ridden in a coach before, and in fact he'd never even seen one of them before. They had to have been kept in a garage somewhere on the castle grounds though, and likely near to the stables.
"You called me 'Her Highness'," Naminé said suddenly.
"Hm?" Roxas asked, barely catching it.
"Are things changing Roxas?" Naminé asked quietly, looking at him with uncertain eyes. "Is everything about us going to change because I am a Princess?"
Roxas placed his hand comfortingly on Naminé's own and held her gaze with a determined look. "Naminé, I can't promise you that it won't change things. But I love you, and no matter what happens, I always will. Nothing bad will happen between us, I promise you that."
Naminé smiled slightly, and Roxas did as well. He realized that what he had said was exactly what Naminé needed to hear. He didn't add anymore; just held her hand as the carriage jolted slightly every once in a while as it made its way down the road. Naminé sighed and her head came to rest on his shoulder. He blushed slightly, but allowed her to get a couple of winks as her eyes closed.
The coach came to a slow stop ten minutes later and Roxas gently shook Naminé awake. The footman was at the door opposite the one they had entered the first time within seconds, opening it with his black umbrella nowhere to be seen. It had stopped raining. Roxas and the footman both helped Naminé out of the coach and inside of the hospital.
They were lucky. As soon as they entered, Dr. Fraiser happened to be walking by from one hallway to another and took a curious glance (like any person would) at who had entered. Once she saw Naminé being helped by Roxas and the footman, the good doctor immediately hurried over to them.
"What happened?" she asked.
Roxas liked that Fraiser avoided any formalities or preamble when one of her patients was injured. "We were fighting this big Boar Heartless in a circus big top. It tossed Naminé into the air and she crashed into the stands after at least a fifty-foot fall."
"I think I broke my shoulder," Naminé added as Fraiser began to lead the two now, the footman taking his leave to wait outside at the coach. The man pulled out a mobile phone and flipped it up, after a moment he began speaking, likely to inform Kensworth where they were in case he began to worry. Naminé winced at a movement as pain shot into her shoulder. "But I'm not quite sure what I did to it," she finished.
Dr. Fraiser nodded understandingly. "Alright, we'll get you into X-Ray. Roxas, I'm sorry to do this to you, but I have to ask you to wait in the waiting room."
"Don't worry," he said, a smile taking hold of his face as he began to feel better. "I know that she's in good hands now. I only wish that I'd brought a book with me. Then the wait wouldn't be so bad."
"You could probably get the coach to take you to a bookstore," Naminé said, smiling through the lingering pain.
"Where's the fun in that?" Roxas asked humourously, stopping. "I won't be able to complain then." Fraiser and Naminé continued on down the hall and he called after them. "Here's hoping that you broke it! Then you'll be just like me, and you'll get a cast like I did!"
"If it is broken, I'll punch you!"
Roxas laughed, he could even see that Naminé was sticking her tongue out at him, and turned back towards the waiting room. There were probably at least a dozen magazines with articles that might interest him that he hadn't read yet, and possibly some new ones since the double fiasco of Sora's arm and Kairi getting pulverized by Maleficent.
And despite it all, now that Naminé was in the care of the very competent and caring doctors at the hospital (no matter how horrible a couple of the nurses were), Roxas couldn't help but feel slightly happy. No matter what, they were getting that break that Master Yen Sid had promised them.
-A-D-
It was spitting rain and the Sun had just set at around seven in the evening as two guards that were recently posted in the gatehouse to the north of the castle patrolled their station on the joining wall between the gatehouse towers. The reddish light from torches held in black iron baskets attached to the side walls of the gatehouse partially illuminated them through the dark gloom. Two guards were not enough to man the entire wall, or even the gatehouse for that matter, for the fortifications to protect the city from invaders to the north were quite elaborate and extensive, but their sole purpose in these marginally peaceful times, where the city's claymore defences protected the inhabitants on the inside from Heartless and Nobodies, was simply to admit or bar passage through the northern gate. And indeed there were more than just these two guards maintaining the gate. There were eight others, not including their captain and his lieutenants, currently stationed upon the gatehouse.
"Why do we always get the jobs that seem boring Namis?" one guard asked, leaning on their carried spear.
"Our last assignment wasn't that boring Jenkins," Marie Namis answered her companion, Crysta Jenkins, with a small smile. "Princess Kairi is a nice girl."
"Yeah," Jenkins agreed slowly, dipping her head for a moment and running her free hand through her short charcoal hair to rid it of some of the water, "but she did go a little funny in the head with the whole Maleficent thing."
Namis shrugged. "She was probably under a lot of stress and dealing with stuff that we haven't even begun to comprehend yet. Not bad for a sixteen-year-old, lasting as long as she did against her."
Jenkins sighed and nodded her head. "Wonder where she is now?" she asked aloud, looking out to the north. Her cobalt eyes narrowed and she suddenly became rigid as the hand that held her spear tightened. Within a pace and a half her lower body was against the parapet and she herself was leaning slightly over it. Her voice rang out sharp and clear over the wind and slight rain, "Captain!"
"What is it?" Namis asked, coming up next to Jenkins. "Crysta?" Jenkins didn't answer her, but their ears suddenly picked up the faint tune of a horn blowing on the wind.
Metal boots crunching on the stonework of the walls of the gatehouse declared the arrival of their Captain and two other men with him. In his shining armour and with his hardened jaw, Captain Nikolev Beagle (a man whose given name and surname seemed to be at odds with one another) was one of the few junior officers who had survived service during the Keyblade Wars under the banner of Radiant Garden, and unlike Twilight Town's current mayor, was one of the even fewer who elected to stay within the military after the War came to its inevitable end. Underneath his spears of brown hair that were now flecked by the occasional grey sat two jewels of green that were currently evoking an air of interested anticipation, but could fire up with any other emotion without a moment's notice. Despite his exemplary service record and commendations, the highest rank and station that Beagle had attained in his continued twenty years of service was Captain. In all possibility he could have become a Lieutenant Colonel by now, had Ansem the Wise not begun to slowly and quietly phase the military of Radiant Garden out of existence, or had Maleficent not invaded with Heartless and took over, or had he not refused promotion to Major seven times because he loved his lower-middle rank position of Captain, allowing him to maintain close ties with those who were fighting alongside him. It infuriated the higher-ups, and he took pleasure denying the upper echelons of the army something that they wanted.
Whatever the case was, the man with a thin brown scar running vertically for a few inches upon the right side of his jaw (both above and below the jawbone) walked briskly towards the two female soldiers that had been inducted into his small Company only a few weeks previously (they were in such a state of SNAFU at the moment that supply hadn't even been able to properly kit them out with their proper armour yet!). "What is it Private Jenkins?" He turned his head as the lingering echo of the horn-call whispered into his ears.
She pointed out over the parapet towards the road that ran through the gap in the blue cliffs. "Something's coming sir," she answered. "It looks like riders."
Private Jenkins glanced at her CO for a few seconds and saw that he was gazing out through the mist of spitting rain towards the area she'd indicated. His face was expressionless, the sea-green globes of his making slight alterations constantly. She turned back herself, and her blue eyes looked back across the three long klicks between them and the ravine. The figures were shrouded by the lack of light, but as they came closer it became clearer and clearer that they were indeed riders, and approaching at great speed as well.
Soon they were close enough for Jenkins to observe that there were five of them in a loose formation with one leading. It was still too early to hear the quiet slapping footfalls of their yellow chocobos, but she felt a trace on anxiety take hold of her when she slowly became able to hear the distinctive clinking of armour.
A much closer ringing came to her ears as her commander drew his sword from its scabbard upon his left hip. The two men that had accompanied him to where she and Namis were were two experienced lieutenants within their Company that had served with Beagle for several years drew their own swords moments later. They and Captain Beagle constituted of the Company's three officers. A rather small number, considering what is normal, but then again there were only about twenty people left in their Company in the first place. One of them, Lieutenant Saeron, gave an ordering shout of, "To your stations!"
Without hesitation, Jenkins clutched her spear tighter and patted Namis on the shoulder. Without a word, both women left the dividing wall above the gates and entered the gatehouse's western tower. The other eight soldiers had all been within this tower as well, and they had all heard their superior's order and were hurriedly, but calmly, moving about to comply. All eight of them wore shining steel plate and chain, each sized to suit them accordingly. Of all thirteen soldiers that had been posted to the wall, only Privates Jenkins and Namis were still wearing the dull brown of leather armour. However, that actually suited them in this weather over the heavier armour of the others. The hardened leather wasn't as great a protective as the steel worn by the others who were all ranked above them, but it was lighter, allowed for greater movement and did not make as much noise.
Namis and Jenkins immediately went towards a man who appeared to be in his early thirties, and another young man in his mid-twenties joined them. The other six were hurrying out to the other tower across the ramparts, or climbing the wooden stairs on the inside of the tower they were currently in. Those six were all carrying recurve bows and concealed dirks, while Jenkins, Namis, and the two men they were with all clutched spears and sheathed swords. "We're ready Sarge," said the younger man, Private First Class Trent.
The older man, Sergeant Higgs, nodded. He donned his helmet, a steel open-faced Celeta (also called a Barbute), an indication that the others should don theirs as well. All three privates did so, Jenkins and Namis with their leather ones, and their superior grabbed his shield, a large round wooden/steel buckler with the emblem of the floral shield upon its centre. He nodded to them as they picked up the remainder of their own armament, and led them outside. The four of them clambered down the stairs along the side of the wall, the rain making tinkling noises as they struck the metal protecting two of them. It had turned from spitting into a slight drizzle, and the breeze was enough to flare and flutter the flames in the black iron torch brackets that clung to the walls.
The four got themselves into a single line formation, shivering and nervous excitement racing through their veins as they stood a good several metres behind the gates. The walls were high enough that from this distance they were unable to see the captain, his officers, and the two of the six archers who stood with them.
Jenkins' gloved hand twisted slightly on the haft of her spear, which she held readily at her right side. She hoped that Lieutenant Saeron would hurry and come down to them. Their chain of command for this operation (guarding the gate) had divided them into two different sections. 1st Section was them, Privates Jenkins and Namis, Private First Class Trent, and Sergeant Higgs, led by Lieutenant Saeron with the sergeant as his 2IC (2nd in Charge) as the NCOIC (Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge). 2nd Section was led by Lt. Pabel with Sgt. Parkinson as their NCOIC, and apart from the lieutenant, they were all armed with the recurve bows. The Officer in Charge (OIC) was naturally Cpt. Beagle, with Lieutenant Pabel as the 2IC (on paper) for this operation. It was all documented and run in true military fashion, down to the last detail.
And they were simply guarding a great big gate.
A few minutes later, the lieutenant did come down and informally relieved command of the section from Higgs. Just a subtle glance without a word, and everyone knew who was now in charge at the moment. Another minute passed, and there came another bellow of the same horn, followed through the echo by a loud male voice. It was rich and still maintained a whiff of its youthfulness. But there was also a serious undertone within it, as if its owner required all haste.
"I demand entry into the city of Radiant Garden!"
"Whoever so demands passage through this gate after nightfall must state his name and intentions," Captain Beagle replied in a reasonable answer.
"I am the Marquess of Ramius," the voice spoke authoritatively. "Lord of the Marchlands of Ramius, a Knight of Radiant Garden, and personal friend to the deceased His Royal Highness King Raithen! Under my name and authority do I demand you to open these gates!"
"At once my lord!" Captain Beagle answered quickly. Just over a second later he had appeared over the parapet on the inner side of the wall and was looking down at Saeron's section. He nodded once before returning to the front of the parapet.
Jenkins looked to her sergeant for a moment before looking to her lieutenant. Lt. Saeron looked at them all with a comforting look on his face. "Stay your weapons," he said, "we're opening the gate once it's unlocked."
Thirty seconds later the winches that operated the great gates were moving, lifting a foot-thick portcullis of wood and iron, and sliding mammoth wooden beams inside of the stonework of the gatehouse. A minute after the mechanisms began to work, the gates were unlocked and all of 1st Section including their commander was at the left-hand door, pulling it open with all of their strength. It took them eight seconds to pull it open, and another eight seconds to bring out the other side.
While the gates were being unlocked, Cpt. Beagle returned to talking to the Marquess. "My Lord Ramius," he asked, "what business brings you to Radiant Garden?"
"Do you have knowledge of the whereabouts of Her Royal Highness, Princess Kairi?" Lord Ramius asked. "I would like to know where she is being kept, I have just learned of her survival and the coming trial, prompting my return to the Royal City."
Captain Beagle was taken aback for a moment, but then he smiled slightly. "It appears you have arrived too late my lord, for Princess Kairi's trial has already been adjourned. She was found innocent, and cleared of all charges. As to her present location, I am not privy to such knowledge my lord, but I believe she is currently off-world. However," he added, seeing that Lord Ramius was about to say something further, "her twin sister, Her Royal Highness Princess Naminé is currently within the city and is in hospital."
The left door was just beginning to open now and Beagle saw that Lord Ramius was confused. "But the Princess had no twin sister. Her only sibling was His Royal Highness, Prince Raifeor."
"Well she has one now my lord," Beagle said. "Believe me when I say this, for I have fought alongside her. The similarity is there; they both have the same eyes."
"I shall be the judge of that," Lord Ramius said, though he was unable to conceal his surprise. His chocobo snorted underneath him and the Marquess looked up at Beagle once again. "What is your name and position?"
"I am Captain Nikolev Beagle, Commanding Officer of The King's Honours Company, 1st Royal Swords Battalion, 8th Royal Guards Regiment. Heh," he muttered under his breath, "and the Princesses think that they have no Royal Bodyguard..."
Apparently the Marquess of Ramius had heard that last statement and he smiled. "Well then, I thank you Captain. It seems that we shall have to rectify their lack of knowledge. But if I may ask, why are soldiers as fine as you acting as mere door-wardens?"
"Because Lord Ramius, there is no one else to perform the duty," Nikolev answered regretfully.
"I beg your pardon?"
"We are the only Company left milord, and I only have twenty under my command. There are no others. I am the highest ranking commissioned officer in all of what has returned of the world, which is quite sad when you think about it."
"That it is," Lord Ramius said. "I dearly hope that the situation is in no way permanent, for this is something that I do not like hearing. For your part though, keep up the good work Captain."
"I will my lord," Beagle assured him with a smile on his face and a salute as the second door became fully open. "You may pass."
Jenkins and Namis stood proudly at attention with the rest of their section along the side of the road as the Marquess rode past at a gallop, Lieutenant Saeron saluting him. Even at the speed of the five riders, she could still make out the sight of the Lord Ramius saluting back from atop his canary-yellow mount. A few moments later, only the slapping sounds of the chocobo feet on the wet road could be heard.
-A-D-
"I told you that I'd punch you."
Roxas chuckled slightly and lightly rubbed a spot on his left arm that Naminé's right fist had just left. It stung, but only barely. Her punch was quite light. But he couldn't say the same about the pink coloured plaster cast that was on Naminé's left shoulder and arm. Her shoulder had turned out to be fractured after all, and she had been placed in a shoulder-spica cast to maintain stability of the bones. Naminé's face was enough to tell him, Riku, Yuffie, Leon, and Kensworth that were all in the room with her that she did not like the awkward right angle that her arm was forced to make, her hand perpetually poised in front of her as if she was constantly about to or in the process of punching something, nor did she like that the cast completely traversed her body. It would be a definite pain getting dressed each day.
"Welcome to the 'Broken Bones Club' Naminé," Yuffie said with a smile on her face. "Now you're one of us."
"I never wanted to be in the club," the blonde answered quietly.
"Why wouldn't you want to be in the club?" Riku asked, sounding hurt. "I'm in the club! Therefore, the club rules because it is associated with me."
"That's a little... egotistic of you Riku," Roxas said.
"Trust me chocobo brains, if every girl on this world knew that I was part of the club, this hospital would run out of plaster and fibreglass bandages faster than you could say 'Stop calling me chocobo brains'. I'm serious."
"When did you break a bone?" Yuffie asked curiously.
Riku smiled. "It was awesome. Okay, so back on Destiny Islands when I was six, Sora and I were playing in the park on the monkey bars—"
"You don't need to say the rest," Yuffie said.
"But you don't know the story!"
"Just allow me to let my imagination run with it, I'm pretty sure I can figure it out."
"Alright fine then. So Lady Kisaragi, when did you break a bone?"
She smiled widely. "Okay, so about six years ago in Traverse Town I was jumping from rooftop to rooftop—"
"You don't need to say the rest," Riku told her, smiling.
"But you don't know the story!"
"Just allow me to let my imagination run with it," Riku repeated, smiling even wider at the pout on his girlfriend's face, "I'm pretty sure I can figure it out."
"Alright, we'll have it your way pretty boy," Yuffie said, rolling her eyes. "What's your story so I can tell mine?"
"I can't say it anymore."
"Why not!"
"You killed the mood," Riku answered. "That's why."
"There will be no telling stories of how bones were broken while I am in this room," Dr. Fraiser said as she entered the room. "I've seen them all, and heard them all, and I am still amazed at the crazy stunts that some kids pull without realizing that they'd get hurt."
Roxas noticed that Riku smirked guiltily and blushed.
"You shouldn't have been so reckless Naminé," Kensworth said quietly.
"I wasn't being reckless Kensworth," Naminé sighed. "I didn't think it would be that fast and it caught me off-guard after it tossed Roxas into a pole."
"We didn't know it would be so strong," said Roxas. "If it wasn't for the weird stuff that happened at the end, we'd probably have been goners. I've got no clue where that strength and power came from."
Yuffie gasped slightly and Roxas looked at her. "This may sound crazy," she began, "but I had a weird moment like that too. I felt strong power and energy bursting from inside me as well."
"This can't be a coincidence," Naminé said, looking between them all, "because I felt that too, right before the beams struck."
Riku raised an eyebrow. "Then I wonder what is going on with you three."
Kensworth shook his head. "Whatever it is, it can wait. What's the diagnosis doctor?"
"A simple, incomplete fracture to her left clavicle," Dr. Fraiser answered him. "Thanks to that Hi-Potion she told me that Sir Roxas had her take, as well as another potion I gave her this afternoon when she arrived, we should be able to remove the cast in two weeks. The Princess should take half a potion at breakfast and dinner every day for the first week to speed the healing process."
"Great..." Naminé muttered, making a slight gagging noise. "More potions."
"Also," Dr. Fraiser continued, "that cast is plaster, so it should not be immersed in water or else it will weaken and deform. I'm sorry to say it, Naminé, but no showers or bathing for two weeks."
Naminé stared blankly at her. "You've got to be kidding me!" she said in disbelief.
"Look on the bright side Naminé," Yuffie said. "She just said that the cast can't get wet, so you can still bathe, just not anything waist-up."
"That's a very, very small comfort Yuffie," Naminé said, sending the ninja a dismissive glance. She sighed. "Oh, what would Kairi do if she couldn't bathe for two weeks? She'd probably freak out."
They had no way of knowing that Kairi had already been going for nearly a week without a shower or bath, and it was only a passing thought in the back of her mind.
Roxas and Riku both chuckled slightly at Naminé's words, but stopped suddenly. Roxas rose from the chair he had been sitting in and looked at the door with a slight mix of confusion and alarm. A man was standing in the doorway. He was tall, and looked to be about forty years old. His hair was the colour of concrete and parted into curtains on either side of his face, where twin amethyst eyes sat venerably. On his body he wore bright and polished armour, and on the front of the breastplate there lay emblazoned a coat of arms. On either side there stood golden lions, holding up a circular shield, divided into three. The lions stood upon a bed of green vines that were lined with blossoms of differing colours, and above the circular shield there stood an oak with a bear's head on top. Within the shield were three different patterns. On the left there were golden paw-prints of a bear over a red background; to the right were four golden lions across another red background; and beneath those was a blue swallow on gold. There was also a banner with a motto underneath the flowered vines, but the man moved before Roxas could see the motto.
He surprised Roxas by heading straight for Naminé and drawing a long sword from a scabbard upon his left hip. Roxas and Riku had already summoned their Keyblades before the ringing note of the sword leaving its scabbard could even finish, but the man surprised them all by taking the blade into his hands and holding it up in open palms as he knelt reverently in front of Naminé.
"I am Lord Ovan Ramius," he declared, "the Marquess of Ramius of the Marchlands of Ramius, and a Knight of Radiant Garden. In the sight of Your Royal Highness Princess Naminé, I do hereby and forthwith swear the affirmation of my fealty to the Kingdom of Radiant Garden and to Her Royal Highnesses Princess Kairi and Princess Naminé, of the House of Talerith, the Ruling House of the Kingdom of Radiant Garden. Do you accept my pledge of fealty and loyalty?"
The room was silent for many seconds after the man's declaration. Roxas looked at Naminé, who appeared to be in complete shock. He didn't blame her at all. He was just as confused and shocked at the event happening in front of him.
The man's head was as bowed as it had been when he had first knelt before her, but beads of sweat were beginning to form upon his face. Roxas pitied him. His mind had to be ablaze with thousands of different thoughts.
Roxas saw Naminé's lips open and his eyes were instantly upon them in time to hear her speak.
"I accept your pledge. Rise, Lord Ramius."
-A-D-
So... any guesses as to what this all means as we begin to delve once more into a myriad of politics and nobility?
Drop me a review if you feel like it.
May the Grace of the Valar Protect You
Shire Folk