G'day, back again with another Origins story! This time, we follow Kairi Hearts! Once again, yes, she's been mentioned in previous chapters, but I have plans for her this time.
Enjoy!
Story VI: Origins
Chapter III: Princess Hearts
What Kairi Hearts didn't realise when Anna Arendelle asked to be her girlfriend, is that she had already been a Princess. But what secrets has a certain Queen been hiding from Kairi ever since she began entering the Dream Realm consciously?
29 BBY; 2007 Earth Time
Kairi Hearts' POV:
It was no understatement to say I was a crying mess right now. But what else would you expect from a 10-year-old who's been taken away from her family and sent to a foreign country with a foreign language, all because her home country is war-stricken?
It was five years ago that Zaloudek declared war on Kuschpercha and Fremmevilla for the third time in history. Of course, I was too young to really understand what was going on. I'm not sure I understand even at this age. But about a week ago, my village was attacked by Zaloudekian Silhouette Knights, who burned it to the ground. My father was forced to fight while all the children and their mothers evacuated. Unfortunately, the caravan we were in was also attacked. My mother sacrificed herself to save my life…
Now I was not only outside the borders of Kuschpercha, but I wasn't even in Azreia anymore. We had fled to Europia, and now I was alone in a strange village. My knowledge of the local language was somewhat limited, but I could make out enough to assume the village was called Calurn.
I sat and cried in a small alleyway towards the edge of the village, wanting nothing more than to return to my father in Kuschpercha. But I knew he was probably dead.
It was then that I noticed a tall figure peeking around the corner.
The person walked into my view properly and I recoiled when I saw the sword on their belt.
"Hey, it's okay, don't be scared of me," the girl spoke gently.
Taking another look at her, I noticed that, despite her slightly scary armour, her face was really pretty and kind. She had black hair with red streaks on the front, and her hair covered one side of her face. She was giving me a gentle and warm smile which somehow relaxed me a little bit.
"Where's your parents, young one?" she asked, leaning down to my height.
I shook my head. "Daddy had to stay at home to fight the bad robots and mummy left me when a bad guy attacked us,"
"Aww, it's okay. I'm gonna try to find them, okay? Do you wanna come with me?" I nodded. "Alright, firstly let's get you some food. You look hungry,"
At the mention of food, I heard my tummy growl, and I nodded again. The lady held her hand out and I grabbed it. She smiled and led me out into the streets.
We came to a place where people were eating food out the front, and the girl led me inside.
"Your majesty! What can I do for you today?" offered the guy behind the counter when he saw us.
"Seriously, can you all just call me Rivatha," she chuckled.
"Sorry, it's been a while since we've had a Princess like you," he laughed, scratching the back of his neck.
"Forgiven," Rivatha also laughed. "Well, this young girl needs some food. Whatcha got?"
"I see, well I have just the thing. Oi, Jesse, let's get a Qengo Fruit Kids Special out here pronto!" he called back.
"What's a Qengo fruit?" I asked curiously.
"A qengo is a delicious fruit found around Arendelle and Qeios. It's really juicy and sweet, a favourite of the kids around Qeios," Rivatha explained to me.
Now I was really curious.
Barely a minute later and I was given a plate full of fruit covered in some sort of cream, with ice cream on the side.
I sat with Rivatha outside the shop and took a bite of the fruit. It felt like my mouth had just exploded with bliss, and I quickly scoffed down the rest of the plate.
"You like it?" Rivatha giggled.
"Hai!" I eagerly smiled.
"What's your name, kiddo?"
"Kairi Hearts,"
The lady smiled. "That's a nice name. You're from Azreia, right?" I nodded. "That explains a lot. I'm surprised with how much English you know,"
"English…?" I looked at her curiously.
"Ah, it's what we call Galactic Basic sometimes,"
"I learnt a little bit of it at school, the rest of what I know came from mummy. But I still don't really understand much," I admitted.
"Well, you've understood me so far. I'll have to teach you some more English while you're here," she smiled.
I then recalled something the guy in the shop had said. "That guy called you a Princess, didn't he?" I asked.
"Yeah, he did. I'm Rivatha Furai, the Princess of Qeios. Though since I'm 19 now, it's only gonna be a few more years until I become Queen," she nodded. "Oh, but you can just call me Riva,"
"Whoa, you're a real Princess!?" I exclaimed.
She laughed at my reaction. "Yes, I'm a Princess," she smiled.
"I thought Princesses wore pretty dresses though," I noted, looking at her armour.
"Most do, yes. But this Kingdom has a little bit of a reputation of being ruled by warriors. So, in other words, you could call me the Warrior Princess of Qeios,"
"Whoa… That's so cool!"
A little while later, after I had eaten a second plate of qengo fruit and Rivatha had eaten something, we were on our way to a starship outside the village.
"I will look for your parents, but in the meantime, you should come back to Qeios with me," the Princess suggested.
"Okay then," I nodded.
!=-{+}-=!
22 BBY; 2014 Earth Time
I ran and jumped and weaved my way through the tight back-streets of the underground kingdom, using the grit and dirt to somewhat conceal my otherwise pink Princess clothing.
The sound of my pursuers never faded for a second, and I silently cursed Queen Rivatha for hiring the Vikings to chase me. Didn't help that they now had a Dark Jedi helping them either.
I need to escape the city.
Escaping Qeios wasn't easy, all the entrances were well guarded by Guardians who would recognise me the second they saw me, and any other ways in or out were mostly sealed or protected by shielding systems.
Hell, even the big gates that the vehicles came in and out from had sensors that could detect if a person were to pass through without permission.
Hiding inside a transport wasn't an option either thanks to those same sensors. Really there were very few ways to actually enter and escape without being seen.
Funnily enough, one of those ways happened to be in the throne room. Well, that's if you could get into the throne room without being seen.
I did know of one other way though, and I was already heading towards it.
Sure enough, as I reached the vent in one of the most abandoned sections of the city, I was relieved to see the shield still hadn't been properly fixed. It was an easy one to hotwire due to broken panels exposing the electrics. And of course, no one knew about it because no one came here.
I quickly disabled the shield and snuck into the vent, making sure it would go back up once I was through. I then made my way to the outer walls and popped open the grate leading to the outside world.
I took a breath of fresh air, smiling, before running into the forest.
I glanced back in time to see that the Dark Jedi had apparently known about the vent. But I was away far enough that she wouldn't see me.
"Few, that was too close," I groaned, taking a rest behind a tree near the main road.
Noise from the road caught my attention, and I spotted a speeder with Qeios Guardians around it.
It was a very familiar speeder too…
Riva, going out for a trip huh? Even with everything going on…
Once they were clear, I decided to venture away from the city for a while. And the first place that came to mind was a small town nearby called Calurn, the place where all this started.
!=-{+}-=!
29 BBY; 2007 Earth Time
I excitedly ran up to Rivatha and hugged her as she disembarked from her shuttle. She caught me, picking me up and holding me close.
My excitement changed when I noticed the sad look on her face.
"What happened?" I asked.
"I…I'm sorry…Kairi… I asked the King of Kuschpercha about your village and…" she didn't even finish her sentence before she broke into tears. "I'm sorry…"
Oblivious to what she meant, I tried to comfort her. "I know my village was destroyed… Don't worry, that's not your fault,"
She leaned down and put me back on the ground, looking directly into my eyes. "…there were no survivors… Your father…he's…he's gone…"
…
No…he can't be gone…no way!
"…you're wrong…he can't be…" I tried to convince myself.
"I'm sorry, Kairi," the black-and-red-haired Princess apologised.
"But…then…what happens to me…" I wondered aloud, tears threatening to flood my eyes.
Rivatha looked at me for a few seconds, before taking a deep breath. "Do you have any other family?" she asked.
I shook my head.
"Well then, would you like to stay here with me? I…can't bring back your family…but I can give you a new one here," she said, quietly.
"…a new…family?"
She did her best to smile despite the tears staining her cheeks. "Yeah, I can be your new family…Imouto-chan,"
I wasn't entirely sure how to react. Of course, I was upset over losing my parents, but something about Rivatha's offer made me a little happy.
"…Onee-chan…"
I threw my arms around her again, crying into her shoulder.
"I'm gonna protect you, Kairi," Rivatha whispered.
We pretty much stayed like that until I basically fell asleep in her arms. All I could tell was that I was being picked up and carried before I completely lost consciousness.
!=-{+}-=!
22 BBY; 2014 Earth Time
Fortunately for me, the towns were a little more slack when it came to their Guardians. So I made my way through town normally with ease until I came across a café.
I was quite hungry, to be honest. Luckily, I had recently stolen enough money to at least get lunch here.
I walked in and smiled at the guy behind the counter.
"Well, you look a bit worse for wear youngen, what can I do for you today?" he asked.
"I'll just take something nice that I can pay for with this," I replied, placing the money on the counter.
"Well, I have just the thing. Oi Jesse, let's get a Qengo Fruit Special out here pronto!" he called back.
…oh…right…
I hadn't noticed it at first, but it was the same café that Rivatha had taken me to when we first met.
Those memories hit me like a flood, and I stumbled over to a table to sit at.
Seriously, how'd we go from that to what we are now?
A minute later and Jesse put the plate of qengo fruit covered in cream on my table.
"Thanks," I quietly nodded, before taking a bite.
Just as delicious as last time…
It had been a long time since I had eaten anything decent like this, so I savoured the flavour as much as I could.
I was brought out of my thoughts as another plate was placed on the table and someone sat across from me.
I froze when I noticed who it was.
"You had that exact same look of enjoyment when you first tried the food here, Kairi," the 26-year-old smiled warmly.
"Hello, sis," I groaned.
Rivatha looked slightly hurt by the tone of my voice, but sighed.
"Really Kairi, how did we end up like this… We used to be best friends, now it just feels like you hate me,"
"…I don't hate you…" I whispered, looking down.
"You know I worry about you every day, right? You're my little sister, it hurts me to see you like this," Rivatha quietly said.
"I'm sorry, Riva…"
She looked at me for a while, before speaking again. "Kairi… Why'd you run away?"
I hesitated for a bit, trying to think of a way to answer her.
"…I guess…since you became Queen, things changed. I know that's pretty silly for me to say, I'm 17 now so I shouldn't be bothered by it…but…eventually it kinda just felt like I lost you… I know I should have been a bit more supportive since I became a Princess of Qeios, but…"
I looked up when I felt Rivatha's hand on my own.
"But you weren't raised as a Princess. You grew up in a small village, I guess living in Qeios as a Princess was always going to be hard for you. I know it might have seemed like I was drifting away from you, but things got really busy with the Clone Wars starting, so I didn't have much of a choice. But I promise, I still love you, sis. And I always will, 'kay?" she smiled.
Tears threatened to come forth, but I blinked and wiped them away, smiling and nodding. "I love you too sis, always have, always will,"
"You owe me though, I'm gonna have to clear your name of that bounty," she teased.
"Why'd I even have a bounty?" I giggled.
"I guess people don't take lightly to a wielder of the keyblade causing trouble," she chuckled.
!=-{+}-=!
25 BBY; 2011 Earth Time
"Kairi, run," was all our father said to me before facing a battle that would end up being his last.
I ran through alleyways and streets, trying to avoid the monsters that were ransacking the town.
My luck wasn't that great though as I ran straight into a giant demon beast with blood dripping from its mouth.
I screamed as it raised its claws, about to attack me, when a sword came out of nowhere and cut the beast's arm off. The blade penetrated its heart, and it fell.
"Are you okay?" came the familiar and comforting voice of my sister, Queen Rivatha.
"Yeah, but that was scary…" I whined.
"Where's father?" she asked.
"He told me to run so I last saw him in the town square," I replied.
"Shit… The town square was just overrun," she panicked. "Alright, if he's still alive, then he'll have to take care of himself for a while. I gotta get you out of here,"
She grabbed my hand and we rushed through the town, Rivatha slaying any demon beasts that came near us.
As we were about to escape, a huge beast blocked our path. It was bigger than any we had seen before and was covered in battle scars.
"Stand back," Rivatha ordered, and I complied.
She jumped at the beast, slashing at its thick hide.
But her sword barely did anything to it.
It swung its arm and sent Rivatha crashing through the window of a house.
No! I might have just lost my step-father, so I can't lose my sister too!
Without really thinking, I rushed up to the beast and hit it with a brick.
Oh…that just made it angry…
But it did distract him from Rivatha, who jumped out of the house, aiming at the beast's head. Unfortunately, it hit her again and her sword went flying. She crashed to the ground, hard. I rushed over to her.
"Get out of here," she coughed.
"I'm not leaving you, sis!" I yelled.
A roar from behind me indicated that the beast was ready to kill the both of us.
I faced it, standing protectively over my sister.
"K-Kairi! Run!"
The beast's hand came crashing down and I closed my eyes, but it yelped in pain.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw something surprising. In my hand was a keyblade, a magic weapon of legend which could only be wielded by specific people.
Holy…are you serious?!
"Is that…is that a keyblade?!" Rivatha exclaimed.
I looked back at the beast, smirking.
A quick dash up its torso using the skills that Rivatha had taught me, and I was able to slash at its neck. The keyblade pierced the skin and easily killed the beast.
I landed gracefully, turning back to where my sister lay injured and shocked on the ground.
She managed a smile though. "I guess there's a new Warrior Princess of Qeios," she chuckled.
!=-{+}-=!
22 BBY; 2014 Earth Time
I yawned as I awoke, slightly surprised at first to see that I was in my old room. I then recalled the day before; Rivatha had finally cleared my name after a few days of trying, and I had been allowed back into the Main Building as Princess Kairi Furai once more.
I felt way better rested than I had in a long time.
A knock on my door caught my attention.
"I'm awake," I said instinctively.
The door opened and Rivatha came in, wearing fairly casual clothes for once.
"I wouldn't call that being awake," she smirked when she saw me still in bed with only my nightgown on.
"Hey, I'm conscious, aren't I?" I laughed.
"Just because you're conscious, does not mean you're necessarily awake," she teased.
I just giggled and got out of bed, going to hug Rivatha.
"I'm glad you came back, sis," she smiled.
"I'm sorry I made you worry, I'll try not to run away again," I sighed.
"Just let me know next time you feel excluded, okay?"
"Okay,"
!=-{+}-=!
As I fell asleep that night, something felt off.
I lost consciousness pretty quickly, and slowly as I slept, my memories became more and more muddled. Soon, they began to fade completely. New memories entered my mind, memories from a different world.
Of course, I wasn't exactly aware of this. Because, well, I now have a lack of memories of my entire life in this world…
!=-{+}-=!
I groggily opened my eyes, surprised to find that it was darker than usual in my room. But then I was more surprised to see that I wasn't in my room. It was pink and looked way more expensive than my room. What also caught my eye was a keyblade that I recognised from Kingdom Hearts as belonging to Kairi, a character that happened to share my name.
"What the hell? Where am I…and what the heck am I wearing?" I wondered, realising I was in a thin nightgown rather than the t-shirt I had gone to bed in.
Or rather, had cried myself to sleep in after arriving home from my holiday in NSW and finding out about Josh's death.
There was a knock on the door, and I immediately felt on-guard. "Who is it…?"
The door opened and a girl with black and red hair came in.
"Morning," she smiled.
"Uh…hi… Might I ask who you are? Or even better, where I am?" I inquired cautiously.
The girl looked a bit surprised and sighed.
"I guess it happened," she quietly whispered to herself. "Sorry, I'm Queen Rivatha, my soldiers found you passed out nearby and brought you here. You're in the kingdom of Qeios,"
"Kingdom of chaos? That doesn't sound pleasant…" I groaned.
She chuckled a little. "Not quite, it's pronounced the same way, but it's spelt Q-E-I-O-S. It's actually quite peaceful here,"
"Right…well, uh, sorry for the intrusion, Your Majesty. I'm Kairi Hearts, my memories are a little foggy at the moment though so is it okay if I ask a few questions?" I asked, lying about my memories.
The Queen hesitated for a moment, before saying; "Things are a little busy at the moment, but I know someone that can help you. You should get dressed and have breakfast, then I'll get one of my men to show you to the hangar bay. I'll let my friend know to meet you there,"
I nodded.
Something's going on here, and I'd like to figure out what…
The Queen got a fancy outfit that I recognised as Kairi's from Kingdom Hearts II out of a drawer and handed it to me.
"You can also take that keyblade, it might come in handy," she said.
"R-Right…"
!=-{+}-=!
I said farewell to the Qeios Guardian that had escorted me to a hangar area. From what I could tell, this appeared to be a Star Wars-styled world. There were many ships and speeders around that indicated as much.
In-fact, as I was waiting there, a YT model ship landed near me.
I was still looking at the ship with interest when its occupants disembarked from it. But when I noticed them…
"Kairi?" came the surprised voice of my childhood friend and crush, Anna Arendelle.
A few other girls who I knew in my world were also there, though they all had crazy outfits and most of them appeared to have weapons of some sort.
"Anna? What the hell's going on?" I asked, shocked.
"Uh, that's kinda hard to explain…and we don't really have time to do so right now, we'll have to tell you later," replied Elsa Arendelle, Anna's older sister.
"For now though, we need some help," said Jaina Rhile, one of the Rhile twins.
Alright, at least I'm not alone anymore.
"What do you need help with?"
…
…
!=-{+}-=!
…
…
31 ABY; 2068 Earth Time
Wake
"She wants to talk to you, Kairi," Elsa quietly stated as she emerged into the waiting room.
I nodded, slightly curious as to why she had asked for me specifically, and quietly made my way to the hospital room where my old friend was barely holding on to her life.
I entered, closing the door gently behind me, and moved over to the bed. I noticed Sonia and Jane sitting near a window. They sombrely nodded in acknowledgement at my entering.
"Rivatha…you asked for me?" I tried to force a smile.
The former Queen of Qeios gave me a weak smile as she looked up at me.
"Yeah…there's something I should tell you. Something about your past…I probably should have said it sooner, but I suppose late is better than never…" she said with a shaky voice.
"Right…I woke up in Qeios all those years ago, didn't I…?" I recalled.
Rivatha nodded. "The real reason you were there, it wasn't because we had found you out in the streets or anything… Before you woke up in the Dream Realm and overrode your memories of that life, you actually lived in Qeios. That room you woke up in? Yeah, that was actually your room. In truth…you were known by the people as Princess Kairi Furai…my adopted younger sister."
I paused in shock for a moment. I'm Rivatha's little sister? I was a Princess of Qeios?!
I also heard Sonia and Jane whispering to each other in surprise.
"Sorry I didn't tell you sooner…Imouto-chan…"
"…Onee-chan…it's fine… I'm glad you told me now…" I smiled.
There was a moment of silence, before Rivatha chuckled to herself.
"You know, you were a handful before you awoke. There was a while where you had a fucking bounty on your head."
"Ehh? A Princess with a bounty? Wait, were you hunting me?!" I exclaimed, though was laughing to myself.
Of course, that sounds about right for me.
"Yeahh…you caused trouble in Qeios, so I did have to try to find you. Thankfully I got to you before any bounty hunters and changed your mind about going rogue," she chuckled.
"Are we sure Qeios' security is up to standards if I was able to cause trouble and get away with it?" I laughed.
"In our defence, there were Qeios Guardians who willingly turned a blind eye to you because you were my sister."
"Still doesn't seem safe. Sonia, you should probably make sure that sort of thing won't happen again," I chuckled, glancing over at the two younger girls.
"Noted, Aunt Kairi," the young Queen giggled.
Well, I was her Aunt-in-law before. Now I guess I'm her Aunt proper…
Rivatha coughing brought our attention back to her.
"Hey, take it easy mum," Sonia stressed, rushing over to the bedside.
"Don't…worry…Sonia… Qeios…is completely…in your hands now… Take care of it…"
I was about to back away and let Rivatha spend her final moments with her daughter, but Jane put her hand on mine as she saw this.
"You're a part of their family too, Aunt Kairi…I'm sure Rivatha would want you by her side as much as she wants Sonia."
"So are you…Jane…" Rivatha coughed.
I looked at my dying friend once more and nodded.
She really is my sister…
And that is the origin story of Kairi Hearts, Princess of Arendelle. So she used to be the Princess of Qeios, huh? Interesting. Also, I feel bad for Rivatha now… You'll know why when you read her origin story, since we're going back a long way (Though I can't release that until a certain other event in the main series). Anyway, it's annoying that I finished this in one day, but I've been working on the Vestara Khai one before this for almost 2 years now…I say before, but now I've made Kairi a Princess, I've decided that chapter should be after this. Oh well! It was a bit of a different style here, jumping back and forth, but I felt it was the best way to show her story.
-Night
Caster's Network 2018 (Final scene added in 2019)
