Calendar Girl

Blue eyes watch him, slim hands smoothing down her white skirt. Riku hides his eyes under the palm of his hand and turns to look, squinting against the glare of the sun. Way to the Dawn hangs loosely by his side.

"Are you ever going to stop?" she asks, biting her lip.

"Probably not," he says.

"You're still looking for her, right?" she says.

"Don't be ridiculous," Riku snaps.

Kairi smoothes down her skirt again, invisible wrinkles flattened. "I'm sorry I can't bring her back."

"I don't know what you mean," Riku says. If he hides his eyes, then she won't be able to see the lie he's telling. (But Naminé sees, and oh, Riku, you can't keep blaming yourself.)

-

-

Speak Softly

Aladdin was nowhere to be found. At this point, Jasmine was beyond worried. She was half convinced she would find his mangled body in a corner full of those monsters that creep out of the dark, and half convinced he was never coming back.

She pulled her hood a little further over her face, slowly picking her way through the crowded market. Ahead, a little girl knocked some fruit off a stand, and Jasmine picked it up as it rolled to her feet. As she was about to place it back on the table, a burly hand suddenly grabbed her arm and twisted, hard, before she could even react.

"I do not welcome thieves," the vendor said harshly, holding her down.

"Oh, jeez, sis, I thought I lost you," a suave voice interrupted. Suddenly Jasmine found herself torn away and held by a very different person, robed in black. For a brief moment she almost hoped-- but whoever had just grabbed her was much too bony to be Aladdin.

"So sorry for the inconvenience, she runs off sometimes, doesn't mean any harm, you know?" the stranger continued, pressing her to his side. "She didn't take anything, did she? Never means to."

Jasmine opened her mouth, ready to scream, fight, argue (she is the Princess and not to be manhandled), but the man was carefully adjusting her headscarf over her face, pulling it over her mouth in the process.

"No.." the vendor said slowly.

"Wonderful!" the stranger said brightly, dragging her away. "Thanks so much for your help."

They had walked no more than a few steps when the sound of an explosion echoed from behind them. Jasmine managed to shake off her scarf and the stranger's hand, looking behind him, and saw the vendor's stand go up in a ball of fire.

"Boy, that guy really pissed me off," the strange man said, guiding her into an alleyway. "Hey, princess, isn't it a little dangerous for you to be running around by yourself?"

Jasmine shrugged him off angrily, glaring. "Who are you? What do you want with me?"

The stranger looked down at her, green eyes piercing. "Princess, I just saved your skin. Maybe a little gratitude, huh?"

"Did you do that to his stall?" she demanded.

"Yeah, that was me," he said nonchalantly. He reached out and suddenly balanced a single flame in his black gloved hand, throwing it up into the air, and catching it when it landed. It didn't burn him at all.

"Any further questions?" he asked, closing his hand over the fire. When his hand opened, the flame was gone, like magic.

"Why did you help me?" Jasmine asked quietly.

The stranger laughed, but it was utterly mirthless. "Maybe you don't realize it, but you're a little too useful to let die." He leaned in closely, his mouth next to her ear. Involuntarily, she shrank against the wall behind her.

"You'd better stay in your palace, little princess. And don't come out if you can help it, or else the bad guys might just get you after all," the stranger whispered. "Keep that in mind."

His hand brushed past her hair, touching the wall, and suddenly she fell backwards and down, down, down-

Jasmine's eyes flew open, and she sat up abruptly. The darkness was gone. She was on her couch, in her own room, and she could hear Aladdin and Abu playing outside by the fountain, Rajah purring softly on her bed. Her scarf was lying on the floor.

She shivered. Everything was normal, but she felt chilled.

-

In the alleyway, two Assassins quickly sliced through the last few Shadows that had been tailing the Princess of Heart. They swayed and fell, like quicksilver, and vanished into the market crowd.

"Moving along," Axel said to himself, and he stepped into another portal.

-

words: 120
words: 638
notes: written for Fated Bliss as a Secret Santa project. :] (double hitter!) merry christmas~