Chapter 25

The sun was finishing its daily journey through the sky, leaving little light to show the way through the ancient forest. Twilight had come hours ago to the group, causing several of them to continuously stumble over hidden roots or stones. Since the search party ship had crossed their path earlier in the afternoon, they had almost doubled their pace, each noise causing them to freeze in silence lest they be found.

The one leading them was especially on end. Geni's fears had been mounting all day, from worrying about the people she had left behind, to the people she was leading now, and to the people she was hoping to meet with within the next few days. Of course, she had kept these musings to herself, not wanting to worry everyone more than they already were. Sora had kept trying to cheer her up by telling her jokes – mostly bad ones. Donald and Goofy even joined in and they attempted a Three Stooges act on her. Of course it made her chuckle and smile – who couldn't when they were acting so silly? Even Riku had laughed at them. However, despite their best intentions, Geni's stomach twisted more and more with every passing mile.

Back in the present time...the sun was almost completely set, and the woods were beginning to come alive with its nocturnal inhabitants. Kairi had been inching ever closer to Sora as she heard frogs croaking and crickets chirping, sounds she had never really heard before while living on the islands. Suddenly, a very loud hoot! was heard directly above her, and she practically jumped into Sora's arms.

"What was that?!" she cried, clinging to him, searching around frantically.

"Calm down Kairi," Geni said, stopping and turning around. "It was just an owl. He only eats mice and very small animals, so you don't have to worry about him."

"Tell that to his stomach!" Kairi retorted, but loosened her grip on Sora.

"I think this might be a good time to stop," Sora suggested, smiling. "Besides, it's getting way too dark to continue anyway."

Geni looked out into the night. "You're probably right." She turned around and peered in front of her, looking for something. She nodded to herself, finding what she was looking for. Turning back around, she said, "There is a very large tree not too far from here where we'll stop for the night. The roots under the tree have created a small clearing underneath it where we can sleep. Follow me."

Geni lead the six of them only one hundred feet or so before an enormous shadow loomed in front of them. "Over here," Geni called softly, moving to the right of the shadow. As they came closer, the large shadow turned out to be the roots of the tree, which had curled out and then under the tree until they finally took root a ways away from it. The tree was the largest they had seen by far, but much of it was covered in darkness so they could not tell how large or how tall it actually was. Before any of them could ponder on it, Geni slipped down in between two of the roots and disappeared.

"Geni?" Sora called.

Her head suddenly appeared out of the darkness. "This way – and watch your step." Her head popped back inside, leaving only the small shuffling noises she was making the only sign that she hadn't left them completely.

"...Well, let's go, I suppose," Sora said with a shrug. He gently pulled Kairi by the hand and entered the dark opening between the roots. With one hand on the wall of the tunnel and the other being clutched to death by Kairi, Sora slowly found his footing down the small hill leading underneath the tree. It was unnerving not to be able to see anything in front of him, but Sora trusted Geni. So did everyone else, apparently, because Sora could hear several other pairs of feet and hands scraping on the walls as the rest of them entered the tunnel.

Even though his footing only slipped once, in mere moments Sora's feet had touched solid ground. However...there was still pitch black darkness all around him, and he couldn't hear anything or anyone moving around. "Geni?" he called quietly.

"What?"

Sora yelped, jumping several feet into the air, also causing Kairi to shriek. Geni had been standing just to the left of the entrance waiting for them, so she had literally answered him right in his ear. As she laughed at him, Sora quickly regained his composure. "Don't do that!" he admonished her, facing where her voice had come from. "Especially when I can't see you!"

"Come on – it's not everyday I can pull anything over on you," she said with a small laugh. "Sorry – here's some light." A small orb of light suddenly formed in the darkness, illuminated Geni's hands and midsection where she held it. The sphere cast moving shadows across her face, giving it the appearance of a living skeleton. "Everybody in?"

"I think so," King Mickey called out as he came out of the tunnel. He did a quick head check, seeing four humans and three anthropomorphic animals. "Yes, all here."

"Good." Geni spread her hands a little further apart, causing the sphere of light to grow and illuminate more of the hidden space. All the seven of them could see were tangles of enormous roots growing all around them, creating a living wall underneath the tree. Of course, the area was smaller than the cave they had used the night before, meaning that everyone would literally be sleeping on top of one another. "We'll camp here for the night, and then head out at first light again. At least you all can get a full night's sleep tonight."

"What about watch duty?" Kairi said, speaking to all of them.

"Whelp, definitely not any of your four," King Mickey said, taking charge. "The three of us will take turns tonight so you can all sleep, considering how late all of you stayed up last night."

"But –" Sora began.

"No buts Sora," King Mickey said sternly. "You and Riku both took watch last night, and both Kairi and Geni were up late as it is. I'll take the first watch, followed by Donald, and then Goofy can finish up just before morning. How does that sound?" he said, turning to his friends.

"Sounds good to me, a-hyuk," Goofy said, yawning.

"That's a good plan, your majesty," Donald added.

"Then it's settled. A quick meal, and then bed for everyone," King Mickey said decidedly.

"Yes sir!" Sora said, saluting.

King Mickey gave him a weak glare, but mostly everyone just laughed. "I'll be taking my leave then."

"Wait a moment King Mickey," Geni said as she set her pack down. "Let me put up my safety spells again before you go out. It will only take a few minutes."

"Alright then. I'll wait for you to come back," he told her.

Geni nodded. "I will only be a few minutes," she called to them as she jogged to the opening in the roots and back up out into the night. Once outside, she took in a deep but shaky breath of the cool nighttime air. Come on...keep it together, she mentally told herself. She shook her head fiercely, forcing herself to keep focused. Once a little calmer, Geni drew some magic into her index finger and closing her eyes, she tapped each lid once before opening them. Now the forest was clothed in a brighter shade of gray, allowing Geni to see her surroundings like she could as if she had been wearing night vision goggles.

Walking around the enormous tree, she chose five distinct trees that covered the perimeter and placed her spells upon them as she had done the night before. As the magic drained away from her, Geni felt how tired she actually was. That afternoon the group had pushed on so much that they had covered another fifteen miles or so before they had stopped here, leaving only a grand total of twenty-five miles left to go until they reached the beginning of the Beast's Rest. Amazingly they had covered half the distance of it – on foot to top it off – in only one day. She had assumed it would have taken them at least four days to make it to the mountains, but seeing as how determined her friends were she thought it would now take less than three days.

Which is good, considering we didn't have that much food to begin with. But still...what about crossing the mountains? At this time of year there are bound to be snowstorms around the peaks, and if they drift down it means we'll be heading into really bad weather. Geni had been walking back towards the room underneath the roots when she suddenly paused, a lump forming in her throat. Lirona...told me that there is a hidden passage through the mountains...but to get there we must climb at least halfway or more up the tallest peak of the Beast's Rest itself: the Mount of Ease. Easier said than done...and who names these places anyway?! she finished with a huff. She stopped just outside of the entrance down into the hidden chamber. Soft voices drifted out; she could hear several of them talking about food (probably Sora, Donald, and Goofy Geni thought with a smile), but she also heard two worried voices coming from close to the exit.

"...which is why I'm beginning to think that there must be something else we can do," Riku said to King Mickey. "I mean...we don't even really know where we're going, and Geni claims that these 'old friends' of hers can help her. Why can't we somehow go and get reinforcements from the castle?"

"Because right now that isn't possible. One, we would need either need a very powerful source of magic to create a portal out in the middle of nowhere, or find an existing portal and change it to go the castle. I wouldn't even know if that were possible, considering we're outside of our normal dimension right now. Geni might...but I don't want to ask her right now considering how determined she seems to get us to those 'old friends' of hers you mentioned." King Mickey paused in his thought. "I just wish I knew more of what was going on," he said with a sigh.

"She just doesn't trust us...especially after what we said to her before," Riku said softly. "I doubt she's ever going to fully trust me again either...I know I wouldn't." He bent his head down involuntarily, hiding his vivid eyes with his silver hair.

"Give her time Riku," King Mickey said to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hearts are a fragile thing; breaking them is easy, but mending them is even harder. I'm afraid Geni's heart has been through so much these last few years that it has become so fragile, in a sense. I know right now she may seem tough as nails and perfectly fine on the outside...but I definitely know that her heart is in pain and turmoil right now from losing the Queen and her teacher. Trust me...the more she doesn't say, the more she says it."

"You think so?" Riku asked, tilting his head to the side to look at the small monarch.

"I didn't raise her for twelve years not to have learned that much by now," he said with a laugh. "No matter what, Geni will always be my daughter. Hopefully that does count for something in the end."

Geni cringed, her guilt increasing with every second that she listened to their conversation. For twelve years she had kept the secret of the Realm from everyone save Queen Minnie, and for twelve years she had worked her hardest to overcome the fact that she only had half of a heart. And for the last two years, from the time Sora and the King had pushed back the darkness and when all of them defeated the Organization, she had finally thought her life was going to get easier. She had regained her full heart, her family had grown, and she had made many new friends...and she had even found someone who loved her for who she was.

Until it came to the first test of that love, a little voice said from somewhere deep inside of her. He flat out accused you of cheating on him with Keldar! Riku didn't even let you explain yourself. One would think he was still as arrogant and undeserving as he was before the whole mess with Kingdom Hearts started.

But what about you? You blatantly lied to all of them...not just your family and friends, but to the person whom you had devoted your heart to. Maybe he should have been going out with Leblanc and not you, the voice said with a mocking laugh.

SHUT UP! Geni shouted mentally to herself, pounding her fists against her temple. I did it to protect them!

But now this is all your fault – you're leading them not to reconciliation with the people of this Realm but to their death; you might as well have handed their demises to them on a silver platter!

They won't die! I won't let anyone! Not again! she screamed at the voice, her breathing coming in short gasps.

"I wonder what's taking Geni so long?" Riku said as they finished their conversation.

"I'll go up and check on her," King Mickey offered as he stood up. "You should get some sleep with the others." As the two of them had been talking, Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy had been eating a small dinner and preparing the blankets for sleeping. Since sleeping quarters were so crowded, it was decided they would split the area between the boy's area and the girl's area, on opposite sides of the glowing and warming sphere. Already Goofy and Donald had set up all of the blankets; it was already very apparent that they would literally be sleeping on top of one another that night.

Hearing this, Geni quickly whipped her face around in the cool air, dispelling the seditious thoughts. She quickly walked forward and almost bumped into King Mickey as he was coming out. "Oh, there you are!" he said with a smile. "I was just coming to see if you were done yet, but it looks like you beat me to the punch."

"All set," Geni told him, looking down. "It's the same as before; if you hear a loud ringing noise, something has set off the alarm. Other than that, I'll be heading off to bed," she told him with a convincing yawn.

"Sleep well," King Mickey told her as he hopped up onto one of the vines near the entrance, giving him a decent vantage point of the immediate area. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, King Mickey," Geni said with a wave as she descended down into the hidden area under the tree.

"You're back!" Sora said with a smile as he saw his sister walking into their hidey-hole. "Did everything go well?"

"Yes. We're all set for the night," Geni said as she located where they had put her things.

"What did you want to eat? There are plenty of those granola bar things left, but mostly we've had our leftover lunches. What would you like?" Sora said, offering up a box of food.

"I'm not that hungry, actually," Geni told him.

Sora frowned. "But you should really eat something – we need to keep up our stamina for all this hiking."

"Honest Sora – I'm not really hungry right now. Don't worry; I'll just have a little extra for breakfast tomorrow morning." Geni placed her hand over her mouth, yawning a little. "But right now I'm more tired than anything, so I'll just go to bed." For further emphasis Geni prepped her sleeping area on the opposite side of them.

"At least have a granola bar or something," Kairi offered. "Sora's right – this isn't a time to be going hungry. Here." Kairi tossed a half-opened granola bar to Geni, forcing her to catch it mid-air lest it fall to the ground and become wasted food.

Geni caught it with ease, looking at it for a moment before she sighed. "Alright, I'll eat it. Thanks," she said as she took a small bite out of it.

Riku watched this interaction with interest, albeit silently. His talk with King Mickey had been informative, and he really wanted to speak with Geni about the events of the past few days. He knew they had both been purposely avoiding each other as much as possible, and with everyone around it wasn't any easier to get any time alone either. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Geni, noticing how stiff her movements were any time someone tried to impede her from going to bed. It appeared that she wanted to cordon off herself from everyone…but why? I can understand myself, but Sora and Kairi didn't do anything to her, he thought to himself. He mentally sighed; if only he could talk to Geni like they had before, when they had been dream-sharing during their time within the darkness. However, they hadn't shared one since Sora broke the spell over Geni and freed her from the Organization's control. It would be nice if we could speak there – then no one would be able to interrupt us. But I never figured out how it happened in the first place, and I doubt Geni would be willing to tell me even if she knew right now.

"-ku? Earth to Riku!"

"What?" Riku said, looking up from the ground where he had been absentmindedly staring.

"He asked you if you were going to sit there all night or get some sleep," Donald quacked impatiently, giving both Riku and Sora a look. "Now stop irritating everyone and go to sleep Sora!"

"Sure Donald," Sora said, smiling and scratching the back of his head.

"I will too," Riku said, trying to alleviate the tense atmosphere. He heard a giggle, and shot an irritated look at Kairi who was settling down on the opposite side of the room next to Geni. She had placed her large pack near where her head would lay, and had currently kneeled in front of the sphere laying both of her hands on either side of it. Squeezing it gently, the sphere shrunk by a third of its size and the room dimmed immensely, but still leaving enough light to illuminate everything and everyone there. Once Geni finished, she sat down on her blanket and proceeded to lie down and turn away from the light. "Good night," she muttered quietly.

"Night Geni," Sora called, worrying his lip. He looked over and caught Riku's eye, his gaze uneasy. Sora tilted his head, gesturing to Riku that he should go talk to her. Riku immediately shook his head, trying to pantomime not now. They argued for several moments like that before an irritated and tired voice disturbed them.

"I'm fine, so stop arguing already," Geni called from her position on the floor. She hadn't moved an inch to face them, and with the little light they did have they hadn't been casting any shadows either. "Just go to sleep Sora – we have a lot of walking to do tomorrow."

"Okay," he answered with a sigh, his shoulders sagging. Riku felt bad – it wasn't Sora's fault...he had been only trying to help. Said person bade goodnight to everyone as well before trying to settle in on the not so level earthen floor. It seemed everyone was having problems with their natural shelter, save Geni who had appeared to have already fallen into a light slumber. She and Kairi were sleeping right next to each other, and Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy tried as best they could not to cramp each other's spaces. As each of the six people slowly found their own path to the world of sleep, King Mickey was keeping vigilant watch on the forest outside.

As the hours passed, and King Mickey awoke Donald to replace him, Geni was once again sleeping fitfully, her dreams plaguing her of events from her distant past. She turned in her sleep, her eyes darting every which way beneath the confines of her closed lids, her fingers balling up the blanket underneath her.

A little girl ran through the strangely quiet streets, her heart pumping frantically and her breath coming in short gasps. She was in near hysterics, every few seconds looking behind her. She couldn't see them, but she could hear them coming ever closer for her. She wished she had just taken the ferry today like she usually does!

"Jalin," the little girl whispered, a tear rolling down her face. Oh, how much she wanted to run into his arms and hide behind her strong and muscular protector. No one ever messed with Jalin! Even when the Guard was involved, they always treated him with a lot of respect. As the little girl ran, her small arms pumping her along, she wiped her face with the back of her hand. Her uniform was stained and dirty from where they had pushed her down; the few embroidered symbols that she did have, the ones that she had worked so hard for, their bright colors of blue, red, and green were now stained a muddy brown color.

"There she is!"

"Get her!"

"Don't let her get away!"

The little girl panicked, trying to run even faster. As she did, she tripped over a stone in the street and went sprawling. Her hands and knees scraped across the ground, tearing small pieces of skin off and allowing dirt to creep in. She cried out a little, the cuts stinging badly, as she forced herself to keep on running. Where was everyone? Where were the shopkeepers, the people walking to and from home and work? Where were the Guards? As the little girl tried to outrun her pursuers, she attempted to shake them off by taking a quick left which she hoped would take her closer to the docks. Once she did, she saw that the alley ended, but continued to the right. Taking a sharp turn, she ran a few feet before skidding to a halt: she had run into a dead end. Not bothering to look back, she saw a door at the far end of the alley and ran towards it. She pulled on the handle, but it wouldn't budge.

"There she is!" a boy's voice shouted in triumph. Geni spun around, her body glued to the door. A group of seven or eight young teenagers had the entrance to the alley cordoned off as they smiled in a not so nice way. Their leader, the tallest boy among them, stepped forward. His bright red hair and abundance of freckles made him seem like the type to be picked on, but he was actually the strongest in strength and magic out of all of his year mates. "Well, well…what do we have here? I think we've found ourselves a filthy little bug. What should we do with it?" he said with a sneer.

"Squash it!" one of the girls called, making her giggle.

"Give it a bath, it reeks," another boy called. "We could drop it in the river," he added with a suggestive lift of an eyebrow.

"Make it Nohlmul food!" the boy next to the leader said, making chomping noises and rubbing his stomach.

"Hmm…all very good suggestions," the leader said. "But I think we'll do both – squash it and then give it a bath!" he said with a laugh. "This'll teach you for coming here and pretending that you're so high and mighty, outsider," he said with a sneer. "Get her."

The little girl watched the entire one-sided confrontation with a knot growing in her stomach as she tried to find a way out. She looked around with her eyes, looking for something to climb up on or a way to get past the teens. When they began to move towards her, the little girl began to move to her right a little as she saw a tiny opening between them. Taking her chance, she took a deep breath and lunged from her spot on the wall. Her action seemed to take the group by surprise, because she was almost through the tiny hole before a large body blocked her path and shoved her, sending her flying back into the stone wall. She let out a cry of pain and crumbled to the ground.

"Nice block," the leader told the large boy. He had been hiding behind the corner of the alley, just in case the girl had tried to escape. "Now, let's finish the job."

The teenage boys and girls ran up to the little girl lying on the ground and began to pummel her mercilessly. Some of them kicked her, some of them punched her, others used the little bit of battle magic they had already learned to give her small burns, pick up rocks and launch them at her, use the wind to slice at her, and freeze the water droplets in the air to make projectiles and shoot them at her like missiles.

Cuts, bruises, and burns were only a few of the physical damages done to the girl. The children also taunted her verbally, wreaking havoc upon her fragile mind. They knew she wouldn't be able to fight back; they had made sure to run her ragged before they swooped in on her because with her having only half a heart she didn't have the stamina or the strength they had – giving them an even larger advantage over her.

The little girl whimpered and cried softly, curling her body into a fetal position to soften the blows upon her small frame. With every thud that connected to her, jarring her from her concentration, her resolve weakened and weakened until it was almost gone. With a kick to her head, someone's toe landing against her temple, she felt her vision darken and her body loosen up as she almost lost consciousness. The shouts and yells from those around her began to dim; the bright sunlight began to turn to dark shadows; her body began to uncurl which allowed her attackers even more canvas for the pain they were painting her with. Until…

"STOP!" a young boy cried out. All of the teenagers froze before turning around very slowly. They had taken such good precautions to make sure they weren't followed, so who had found them? What greeted them was a boy a few years older than the little girl – who was in quite bad shape by then. His jet black spiky hair waved in the small breeze, but his eyes were full of fury. "What are you doing?" he shouted at them. "Why are you beating her up?" He looked at each of them in turn, memorizing their faces.

Seeing as it was only a little boy, the leader stepped forward and sneered at him. "Go home to mommy, brat," he told him. "This isn't any of your business."

"Yes it is – and I know that the Queen and Miss Lirona are going to be really mad when I tell them about this and show them how hurt Geni is. I bet that you'll all get arrested by the Guard," he said, jutting his chin out at them.

"Not if you aren't around to tell them," the leader said with a nasty smile. "Get him! We'll get rid of him too!" The teens stopped their assault on poor little Geni and made their way towards the little boy. The young boy was brave, albeit a little foolish to be taking on a group with twice as much height and more than twice as much power as he had – yet he stood his ground, putting up his fists against them.

"I'll defeat all of you!" he told them bravely.

"Ha – I'd like to see that," one boy said, the one who had suggested giving Geni a bath in the river. The group closed in around him, cutting him off. As they drew nearer, the boy still continued to hold his ground, even though he was most likely going to end up following in Geni's fate.

Whoosh! Just then, a flash of light blinded everyone in the alley, and several thumps were heard flying past the young boy. He shut his eyes tight, holding his hands over his eyes. In a few seconds the light vanished, and the little boy opened his eyes to an amazing sight. All of the teenagers were lying against the far wall at the beginning of the dead end, most just starting to stumble to their feet. He turned his head to see Geni sitting up with her hand stretched out, breathing deeply. Cuts littered her body, some larger than others, but all of them still bleeding the same. Bruises littered her arms, legs, and face. Her clothes were dirty, muddy, and ripped all over, and her spikes and braid were disheveled and unruly. But what unsettled him the most was that Geni did not move, her deep ocean blue eyes blank and unblinking as they stared at her attackers.

"Le-let's get out of here! She's a monster!" a shorter girl said as she stood up shivering – the one who had suggested squashing her like a bug.

"She shouldn't have that much power!" the leader said as he backed away, fear in his eyes. Shaking his head, he turned and bolted out of the alley, his cronies hot on his trail, leaving the two children standing and sitting there in silence.

The boy turned around just in time to see Geni's arm drop and her body slump to the ground. He ran towards her, calling her name. "Geni! Hey Geni! Are you okay?" he said, dropping to his knees next to her. "Oh man – she's in bad shape. I better take her to the Healer's Pavilion," he said to himself. Carefully, he lifted Geni up from under her arms and slung her across his back, crossing her hands in front of him and her feet as best he could around his middle which he used to hold onto her. "Um, hold on, okay?" he told the unconscious girl. The boy slowly began to walk out of the alley and towards the main street, picking up speed as he adjusted Geni to make sure he would not jar her.

Geni first felt a cool breeze in her face, cooling off her hot forehead as she slowly regained consciousness. "Mmm," she groaned softly.

"Hang on," a male voice told her gently.

Geni opened her eyes a crack, seeing jet black hair. "Who-who're you?" she said, slurring her syllables. Her tongue felt enormous and heavy in her mouth, making it difficult to speak.

"Keldar. Nice to meet you," the boy told her as they rounded a corner.

"Hi," Geni said, closing her eyes as she slipped back into blissfully unaware sleep.

Geni awoke with a start, sitting up so quickly she made herself dizzy. She could feel her face hot with sweat, and her breathing coming in short gasps. Looking around quickly, she noticed gladly that no one else was awake or had awoken due to her dreaming. She shook her head. I haven't had that dream in such a long time¸ she thought to herself. She looked down at her arms and legs, turning them and examining them. Her skin felt tingly, like she had been beaten once again. The sons and daughters of the noble families who had chased her had belonged with the popular opinion of the time to banish the intruders of the Realm, namely Geni and Queen Minnie. However, since Queen Minnie wasn't there all the time, they took out their anger on her more often than not.

Looks like they'll get their wish, Geni thought to herself, sighing. Well, I know I'm not going to sleep after that. She quietly stood up, brushing herself off, and quietly tiptoed through the bodies on her way to the exit. She could hear many sets of quiet snores and deep breathing; Geni turned around and looked at her friends and family, and smiled a little. She then turned back and made her way outside.

Riku lay as still as he possibly could, pretending to be asleep yet. When he had heard someone wake up loudly, he turned slightly to see as to who it was. What surprised him was that it was Geni yet again – Sora had told him about yesterday morning and her waking up from a bad dream. He turned back, listening. When he heard her get up and begin to walk out from their secret spot, he began to get worried. Out of all of them, Geni needed her rest the most and she wasn't getting it by having nightmares every night that tended to keep her awake.

Should I...go talk to her now? Riku thought to himself. I might not get any other time to do it. Riku pondered on this for a moment, before gathering his nerve and quietly getting up and following her. He was careful to step over everyone, slinking into the shadows and disappearing into the night.

King Mickey listened to the both of them, quietly smiling before he rolled over and closed his eyes.

Outside, Geni peered around the roots, looking for Donald. She found him on top of one of the largest roots far to her left, scouting the area. Tiptoeing, she went in the other direction as quickly as she could, making her way through the darkness. It wasn't difficult; a bright full moon was able to shine through parts of the trees and light her way. Geni wasn't walking in any particular direction; rather, she was just looking for a spot a ways away from everyone to do some quiet thinking. In a few minutes, she had found the spot she was looking for; another great tree, with its roots splaying out in many directions before entering the ground. She jumped up on several of these, climbing higher and higher, until she felt the breeze pick up from the branches high above her. It was at this point that Geni sat down on the root, her legs swaying gently below her.

Whenever Geni had had a bad dream, someone had always been around to comfort her: Sora, Daisy, King Mickey, Queen Minnie, Lirona, even Queen Hisako at times. For the moment, she didn't want to worry Sora or King Mickey further, and the last two people on her list wouldn't be able to guide her anymore. Geni's throat constricted and she felt a tightening in her chest. It was my fault they died…no matter what anyone says, she thought bitterly. I know Sora meant well, but there are just some things that won't change no matter how we look at them. Death being one of them. Her mind shifted to the reason why she was awake at such a late hour. Why did I dream of that…of him? I haven't thought about it or dreamt of it for years and years now…so what brought it up this time, right now? Is it because I feel like I betrayed him? I feel that way about everyone I left behind, not just him. Or is it because…

"You have feelings for both of them, however."

The unicorn's words rang out in her mind, making Geni flinch. He's right though…she thought to herself. From that day onward, Keldar became my friend. Maybe not a great friend, but someone I could rely on and trust. Of course we did have our differing opinions which he vocalized quite often and at times to everyone's irritation, but he is honest and loyal. Geni looked up, seeing a small opening in the dense canopy. Millions of stars twinkled away in the night sky, shining merrily. She smiled softly, remembering. And he always did try his best; even if his brain got in the way of his heart more often than not, he still made sure to be true to himself. Geni closed her eyes, feeling the cooling breeze against her flushed skin.

Down below Riku had followed Geni's example, skirting past Donald and following a ways behind her. He watched as she jumped gracefully from one root to another until she was sitting high above him. After that, he studied her actions for a few minutes; he watched her look up into the night sky and close her eyes. Riku couldn't imagine the last time he had seen her so serene and peaceful – lately her face had been full of worry, of anger, of concern, and of sadness. And knowing he was the cause of much of it only made him feel worse. Deciding this was for the best, he once again put his power to work as the master of shadows and quickly climbed up after her.

As Riku leapt from root to root, growing ever closer, his determination never faltered but his mouth grew dry and his tongue heavy. In wetting his lips and trying to bring more saliva to his mouth, he didn't see the twig resting on the root he had jumped to, the one just behind were Geni was sitting, until it was too late. Snap! The twig broke and alerted Geni to his presence.

At the sudden noise Geni's calm mood was broken and she immediately opened her eyes and looked behind her. Her eyes widened in surprise, seeing Riku standing behind her. "Riku?" she asked him in astonishment. "What are you doing here?"

The practiced words that Riku had worked so hard on flew straight out of his head, and he was tongue-tied. "I…I wanted to get some fresh air," he stumbled as he stood there, feeling and looking quite awkward.

"And you had to come all the way up here to get some?" she asked him, an eyebrow rising at the obvious lie.

"Well…I…" Riku said as he fumbled for words. He shook his head, deciding that at this point the truth was his best option. "I wanted to talk to you," he told her simply. "May I sit down?"

Geni was silent. "Sure," she said curtly, turning around, her entire body stiffening. Riku jumped to the root she was sitting on, and sat down a good six feet away from her or more to give them plenty of space. As he settled, Geni spoke up quietly. "What do you want?" she told him, sounding tired.

"We need to talk," Riku told her.

"About what?"

"Well…about everything, I suppose." Riku paused, scratching his head. "Mostly about what's happened here since we arrived several days ago."

"That's quite a lot to talk about," Geni said nonchalantly.

"Can I ask you some questions?" he said, looking over at her.

She sighed. "What do you want to know?" Riku was taken aback. He hadn't been expecting this conversation to be so easy – the answers so simple to give. "Well?"

Riku shook his head. "Well, I guess I'll start at the beginning. I know you weren't allowed to tell anyone but Queen Minnie about the Realm, so everything before we arrived here had to be a secret to us. But why couldn't you tell us about your betrothal? And about having to live her permanently?" Riku thought it best to get right to the point of their conversation.

Geni was very quiet for the moment, until she let out a loud exhalation. "I couldn't, not at first," she told him softly. "When I first found out, I wanted to run away and never come back to this place. I wanted to be normal, to be ordinary – I didn't want to rule an entire world…Disney Castle being the exception, of course. I wanted…to be just a plain teenager whose biggest problem would be acne." Geni stopped. "But then Lirona showed me all the good I could do if I were to accept; not just in this world but in all worlds. I would have the greatest amount of influence anyone could want. If it had just been that, then I think I would have been fine with having to stay here for the rest of my life, even if that meant Sora coming to visit me here. But…"

"But what?" Riku gently prodded.

Geni turned her head to face him. Riku could see that her eyes were bright and shining with the little amount of light that showed from the moon high above them. "But I couldn't bring myself to accept the fact that the person I would be spending the rest of my life with was already chosen for me, and that I had no say in the matter."

"So you don't like Keldar," Riku pointed out.

"Well, not exactly no," Geni said slowly. Riku's fists clenched on the root. "Keldar and I have been friends ever since I was little. Elwen told you the story about how I had been beaten up by the children of the noble families and of how Keldar had supposedly rescued me? Well…that's not an entirely true story."

Riku's fists unclenched a little. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the first part is true. The children of the noble families who had wanted no outside influence on the Realm chased me and cornered me in an alleyway and had proceeded to beat me up – quite badly, in fact. It was at that point that Keldar had found us and stepped in. But before he could do anything, there was this light…" Geni trailed off, remembering her dream.

"A light?" Riku said, confused.

"I don't remember doing it, but Keldar had said that I sat up even with my injuries and stretched my hand out. A bright white light surrounded everything, and in doing that I sent all of the attackers flying against a far wall. After that they ran away scared, and Keldar carried me to the Healer's Pavilion."

"I see," Riku said, his sudden jealously abating.

"After that, Keldar and I sort of became friends. We weren't really good friends, like Elwen and I are, and of course we disagree all the time and certainly there are times when Keldar gets on my nerves so bad I just want to hit him," Geni said in a rush, "but even with his flaws Keldar is a good friend. His mind may get in the way of his heart more often than not, but he does stay true to what is right." Geni smiled a little to herself, which didn't go unnoticed by Riku.

"You like him," he said as quietly as he could, somewhat in an accusatory manner. Geni looked up into his eyes, seeing once more the betrayal that Riku had felt when he had first learned about it.

She looked to the side. "In a way, I suppose," she admitted to him, feeling the words roll off her tongue like rocks. "But for the most part, he felt more like an older brother than a future husband," she quickly added.

"What about now?" Riku prodded, his voice still quiet.

"I don't really know," Geni said, more to herself than Riku.

"Oh."

They sat there in silence for a few minutes, allowing the breeze to rustle the leaves high above them. Riku knew what question he wanted to ask, but was too afraid of the answer. Him, a master of the Keyblade, and wielder of not just light but of darkness as well, was afraid of what a girl might think about him. Summoning up his courage, he opened his mouth to speak. "Do…do you still…have any feelings for me?" he asked her softly, looking at her face.

Geni slowly turned her head and locked eyes with Riku. She noticed how the breeze played with his silver hair, how his aquamarine eyes were so dark yet so full of life, of how his pale skin shone in the moonlight. Of the smooth lips she had tasted only a few times before. "Riku…" she began. He looked at her expectantly, with a small glint of hope shining in his eyes. "Of course I do," she told him with a blush.

Riku immediately turned away, shame and embarrassment wreaking havoc within him. Even after all this…even after he called her a liar, denied her feelings for him, denied his feelings for her, shouted at her, and said and thought horrible things about her and how she had supposedly used him…she still cared for him. Riku felt his breath catch in his throat, and he shut his eyes tight as he looked down at the ground.

Geni immediately noticed his change in behavior. Did I say something wrong? she thought to herself. What if he's still angry with me? What if he still thinks I'm lying to him yet again? "Riku?" she said tentatively.

"I'm sorry."

Geni blinked. Riku had mumbled something so softly she had barely heard it. Or maybe the wind was playing tricks on her ears. "What did you say?" she asked him.

Riku cleared his throat and spoke a little louder. "I'm so sorry," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "All this time…after calling you a liar, after doubting you, after thinking you used me as just a plaything…" He stopped, inhaling shakily. "After all that I've done to you, you still…care about me?"

Geni's mouth gaped open. "Is that what you've been thinking about this whole time?" she asked him incredulously. "Of course I knew you would be angry with me. The only thing I had hoped is that you were the mature and caring person I knew; that even after knowing the truth you would want to get the whole truth from me before jumping to conclusions. I guess I was wrong about that…you got angry with me, and I was too stubborn to come right out and rectify that. Maybe neither of us are as mature as I thought we were," she finished with a small laugh.

Hope began to blossom like a fragile flower bud in Riku's chest. However, he still wanted one point cleared from her. "So…you have feelings for both of us. Keldar and I," he clarified, looking up at her.

Geni's laughing abruptly halted. "Would you be mad at me…if I said yes?" she replied in the tiniest of whispers, staring down at her feet.

"I would have thought you were a Nobody if you didn't," Riku said to her with a smile, making her look up at him with his odd statement. "You grew up with him like a brother, then a really good friend, and now you were supposed to treat him as something even more?" He looked deep into her confused eyes. "In the end, whether you will choose me or not, the choice will be up to you. And I will be happy with whatever decision you make, as long as it makes you happy. You know I love you Geni, and I always will."

"Riku…" Geni whispered. Riku stood up on the root they had been sitting on, and carefully walked over to where she was sitting and sat down next to her, facing Geni by straddling the root with his legs.

"I will always love you with all my heart and soul, Genevieve Keilanyi Astraea," he told her in a loving whisper. He stabilized himself with his left hand on the root, but brought up his right hand to cup the side of her face. Geni's heart was in turmoil with conflicting emotions, but once Riku cradled the side of her face she sighed and closed her eyes, leaning into his warm hand. Riku ran his thumb along her delicate cheekbone, observing the small bags under her eyes. Ever so slowly, he inched forward until his lips were mere millimeters away from Geni's. It was at this moment she opened her eyes, and they stared at each other, breaths caught in their throats.

Time stood still. The wind held the leaves high; the crickets ceased their chirping; the owls silenced theirs hoots; the frogs and toads croaked once and were silent; the whole world seemed to hold its breath. And then…they connected. The two of them pressed their lips together very softly at first, testing themselves. When neither pulled away, it seemed like an unspoken agreement that they pulled their bodies together even closer and deepened the kiss. It was suddenly filled with a great need and longing for each other. Physical contact had been such a necessity after their time within the dark realm, of when they had no control over their own bodies. Through touch they had reaffirmed for themselves time and again that they were once again the masters of their own fates. Especially through touch between each other.

Riku moved his right hand to the back of her head, pulling Geni closer to him, while wrapping his left hand around her waist and pulling her closer to him. Geni circled her arms around his waist, practically sitting in his lap. As the kiss intensified, their lips moved apart for a fraction before crashing upon one another once more. Riku opened his mouth slightly and pressed his tongue against Geni's sweet lips, gently asking her permission for entrance. She immediately opened up to him, and he slid his wet appendage inside of her warm mouth. While moving their mouths around each others lips, their tongues fought for dominance inside of them. Up and down, over and under they went, their passion fueling the heat within their bodies.

It was at this point that they separated, breathing heavily. Riku, however, continued his assault on the beautiful girl in front of him, leaning forward to plant feather light kisses along her jaw line leading to her ear. Once there, he nibbled on it for a moment before Geni arched her neck up, allowing Riku's hand to hold her up as continued his kissing from her ear down her slender neck. He had to, otherwise she would have probably fallen off of the branch by then – Riku was quickly turning her into a puddle of bliss. Geni's hands had slid from Riku's waist to his arms, and when he hit a spot in the hollow of her neck, her hands tightened on his arms. Riku stopped there, alternating between kissing and sucking on the spot with fervor.

Geni moaned softly, reveling at his touch. It felt so good that she couldn't even think straight anymore. As Riku continued to give her a hicky, her hands began to roam. She slid them over his arms and up towards his head, massaging his silky hair and loving the feel of it on her skin.

Moments later, when Riku had paused to take a breath, Geni halted his advance by leaning into his chest and wrapping her arms around his extremely muscular frame. He was surprised, but nonetheless held onto her as they both breathed deeply, coming down from their loving high.

"Riku," she said breathlessly. "I'm sorry for lying to you this whole time."

"I'm sorry for ever doubting you," he said, pulling her tight. "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions before you could have told me the truth."

"I should have told you the truth right away, instead of trying to protect you from it," Geni continued, looking up into his eyes.

"And I should trust in your judgment and your reasoning. I know you would never do anything to hurt anyone, especially those you love," he told her. "Please forgive me."

"No, you should be the one forgiving me," Geni insisted. "I always thought I had to hide this part of my life from all of you – especially you – but instead I should have told you about this right away. Maybe that could have prevented this mess," she told him quietly.

"Maybe, maybe not," Riku told her. He let go of her with one hand and used his index finger to tilt her chin up so he could look her directly in the face. "We'll figure out a way to fix this; the engagement, the ruling of this Realm, and bringing Donovan to justice for the deaths of Queen Hisako and Lirona."

Geni averted her eyes from his gaze for a moment. "Can we? Is there a way to fix all of this? What if…even if we can fix some of this, some of it will still have to be done?"

Riku was silent. He knew what Geni was talking about; he wasn't happy about it, but he didn't know if there was any way to fix it at the moment. "Then we'll take it one small step at a time," he declared to her. "We'll bring Donovan to justice first, and figure out the rest later."

She looked up at him, and for once a true and genuine smile graced her lips. "Yeah," she told him. Geni buried her face in his chest, her arms tightening around him. "Thank you, Riku."

"Anytime shorty," he told him, bending down to envelope her in his strong arms. The music of the night – crickets chirping, frogs and toads croaking, owls hooting, the wind blowing – once again resumed.

Down below, just outside of the secret chamber in which several humans and a large dog were sleeping, a tiny mouse king watched with a smile in the general direction of the human boy and girl as they reconciled with each other. King Mickey, knowing that his two charges had made up and their group was at last whole once more, chuckled softly. As quietly as he could he walked back down into the hidden room. Extremely large ears can definitely come in handy once in a while, he thought to himself with amusement.

Additionally, in the far-off distance, two women's happy laughter could be heard echoing on the wind.