Kingdom Hearts
The Other Side of the Mirror
Note: A few of the characters and places that appear in this fanfiction, including one of the main characters, are original to me. This will be a novel-length series I hope will explain Ansem's behavior using information known now about the game. When Chain of Memories comes out, things may have to take a different direction, although I doubt this.
Second Note: Indietro is Italian for backwards. I'll let you figure out the significance for yourself, because it will be implied, not fully explained.
Third Note: Violence, strong language, implied sexual fiascos. If you don't like that, please leave now. I will not pay for your therapy bills.
Fourth Note: Don't get turned off by the romance genre… it'll uh… get progressively different. Not much kissy-kissy stuff in this… I don't do kissy-kissy…
Pairings: Ansem/OC implied Axel/Larxene
Disclaimer: Most characters do not belong to me, they belong to Disney/Square-Enix. I make no profit from using them, I only create entertainment.
Summary: Before Ansem was possessed by Darkness, he was ruler of his land. When a visit acquaints him with a local soldier, his life changes forever.
Chapter Two
"You look like a crackhead," said Cerden, half joking, the next day.
"Shut up, Cerden. I just had the best day of my life last night," said Lynette, turning red. She thought of the dinner with Ansem with a girlish blush that disgusted her so much she accidentally cut her sausage in half. She was too embarrassed to talk. Even so, she wanted to see Ansem again. She couldn't explain it. Even though she hardly knew him, had meet him once, it felt like more than some sort of blind date. Maybe fate had brought the two of them together, although she didn't believe such nonsense. Was it supposed to feel so right? Lynette felt lighthearted whenever she thought of him.
Oh, but it didn't feel wrong or anything like that. It felt perfectly natural, that was what bothered her.
"You feeling alright, Lyn? You're acting all… girly. It ain't like you." Cerden still kept his grin, although it was fading slightly.
"I'm serious, Cerden. Yesterday was wonderful. Quit playing around."
Cerden raised an eyebrow. He didn't seem to know what to say, but he eventually did speak. "Oh, I suppose you got a boyfriend or something?" he said, grinning. His grin faded quickly when Lynette turned bright red, and started shoveling egg in her mouth to cover the blush. "You really do? Who is it?"
"Shut. Up," said Lynette quickly. They were in the breakfast hall, a large rectangular room in the left wing of the barracks. Despite being awfully cramped with other soldiers, it was made too cramped by Cerden's questioning. "You wouldn't believe me, anyway," she added quickly covering her blush.
"Try me."
Lynette shook her head, wondering what she should do to not make things look so suspicious. In the long run, it probably made things worse. "I don't want to talk about it," said Lynette, shaking her head roughly. Why did it bother her so much? Some part of her was saying it was too real to be a prank, and it had definitely been Lord Ansem who had kissed her so shyly on the cheek. She was probably drawing too much attention to herself, all she could think of was him, like some high school cheerleader. She was a soldier, not some vacuous dancer.
She laughed slightly at the thought. A dancer, now that is something she could really become. She had been considered butch since she was fourteen. Imagine all their faces when the so-called lesbian was seen in public with Lord Ansem. That would show them all.
Her grin must have revealed something because Cerden's next words startled her.
"What? It ain't Lord Ansem, or anything, right?" Cerden grinned jokingly, not noticing right away that Lynette had turned scarlet again.
"I-I've got to go," she said quickly leaving the table.
-
When she arrived at Bently's Park, much to early for Lord Ansem to be there, it was nearly deserted. Some children were playing on the merry-go-round, and on the miniature playground near it. She sat on her favorite horse, a little disdainful. Of course he wasn't going to be here, it was one in the afternoon. He was the Lord of the kingdom, he had places to go and people to visit.
"Wassa matta?" a small voice asked her. Lynette looked down to see a little girl in cute blonde pigtails looking up at her with rounded eyes. "The mewy-go-wownd isn't bwoken, is it?" she asked.
Those eyes are adorable. As soon as she thought that, Lynette nearly jumped away in shock. Never had she thought something so strange about a child. Damnit, if this is all because of Ansem I'm never going to see him again. "No, no," said Lynette softly, masking her self-disgust. "Of course not. I'm just sitting here. Which animal do you want to ride on?"
"The unicown." Lynette giggled helping the girl onto the unicorn. She placed the coins in the slot, letting the soft tune start the wheel in motion.
"Man, you're acting really weird. When were you a fan of children? I thought you hated anyone under the age of eighteen."
Lynette nearly jumped out of her skin. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" she shouted, turning to face Cerden. He was right, of course. That bothered her. She was acting incredibly strange.
"You really are with him, aren't you?" said Cerden.
"With who?" said Lynette, distracted, still watching the girl. She looked so happy… the innocence that girl displayed, it was incredible. And wonderful. Perhaps she was rambling internally to keep herself from thinking dangerous thoughts. Thoughts of a life with Lord Ansem? Impossible. He was the ruler of this world, some common soldier couldn't possibly become his lover. It was laughable.
"With Lord Ansem."
"What makes you think that?" said Lynette quickly.
"Nothing, except for the fact you fled when I said his name," said Cerden, waving a dismissive hand. "So he's the one who asked you out last night, then?" He wasn't antagonizing in his speech, he was relaxed, almost as if he had expected the whole affair. Maybe she was being incredibly obvious; staring off into space when she had first seen Lord Ansem, racing off to dinner with him, and then turning red every time his name was mentioned.
Lynette turned bright red. "I just had dinner with him. I wouldn't go so far as to call him my boyfriend. Don't be silly," she said, dismissing his comment while pushing her hair back in a ponytail. "Do you want to go once more?"
"No, I gotsta get home to mommy and daddy. It's almost lunch time!" the girl said. Lunch time. I promise Lord Ansem I'd meet him here at three. Why did she enjoy being around children all of a sudden? It was bizarre.
"Well, whatever, Lyn. Have fun with your new boyfriend. I'm gonna hang out with the guys if all you're going to do is think about your lover."
-
Lynette sat up against the tree she had told Ansem to meet her at. It would be a while before he came, it was half past two. But when someone sat next to her, she looked over next to them. "Ansem? You're a bit early, aren't you?"
"You are, too," he countered, kissing her on the cheek as shyly as before. "You know," he said very softly, soft enough Lynette wasn't sure she heard him right, "Even though we've just met, I like you. Let's be friends."
Lynette turned red, but didn't edge away. It was incredibly creepy, if it had been anyone else, she probably would have smacked him, but she couldn't. Was it his bizarre innocence? God, if it was…
"I'm an idiot," she thought.
"Right. Just don't… ask me out for a while." Ansem's eyes looked a little disappointed so she added, "On a date. Dinner's fine." She leaned over on his shoulder and smiled at him. "So I lied, I like you, too."
"Are we just going to sit here? It's nice here," Ansem said a little nervously.
"Relax. I'm not big on romance so we could just sit. I don't really care."
"Yeah," said Ansem slowly. He stared at the sky for a moment before saying, "You know, when I was a child my mother would say strange things about the stars. Don't bother mentioning it's still light out, I know."
"What would she say?"
"She would tell me that each star is a world, apart from our own. A world with it's own people and rules, a world with different customs… but she would also tell me that each world was also connected by a Heart." His eyes had gone misty, as if the memory brought back sadness. "The Great Heart… that's what she called it."
"Sounds like a faerie tale."
"It does, doesn't it?" He looked at her seriously, an expression she had not seen before. "Do you know why I'm here now?"
"Some sort of affirmation of you being the ruler?" said Lynette, half jokingly.
"No, there are people who had suddenly appeared. People who… don't belong in this world. We don't know their purpose, so we've been scouting around. We've tracked them to around this area. You haven't seen them have you."
"Ah, fuck. Ulterior motive revealed at last," Lynette thought darkly. For some reason, she had been half expecting this to be genuine, but for course it wasn't. "No, sorry. We haven't been told anything. What do they look like?" She said, trying and failing to mask her disappointment.
"Don't get mad, I'm just asking you," said Ansem. "They… they dress in black. That's pretty much the only thing we know about them."
Lynette rested her head on his shoulder. "Nothing bad is going to happen," she said, as if to reassure herself. "Nothing bad is going to happen."
tbc.
