Let's continue the journey here with another update! We're moving things along as best we can, so we hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 2
Roxas clung to his father's hand as tight as he could. He thought he was going to be excited about this, but now he was just terrified instead. He had no idea how any of this was going to go or who exactly they were meeting. It didn't really help that his dad was just kind of quiet on the subject, leaving all the more to wonder about it.
Was this lady they were seeing actually nice? Was she good or evil? Could there be some plan behind it involving his bracelet? Roxas wasn't able to shake off these thoughts at all during the entire walk there.
"Hey, Roxas?"
"Huh?" Roxas looked up to meet the eyes of his father. "Yeah?'
"You think you could stop squeezing my hand so tight? I don't think it would be any good if you broke it," his father replied, chuckling slightly.
"O-Oh! Sorry dad!" Roxas immediately loosened his grip.
"It's fine. You're just a bit nervous right?"
"Hmm," Roxas nodded in agreement.
"Why should you be so scared?" Vanitas asked before yawning. It was still far too early in the morning for him.
"I'm just worried… What if the wristband is something bad?"
"I wouldn't think it is bad," his father replied. "It's never harmed or you caused anything bad before."
"Yeah, but then… why do we have to go get it checked then?"
"It's just a precaution, son. Remember what we talked about before with what happened when you were young. We just want some explanations, that's all. Besides, if we know what it is that you have there, then it will work out for us all. It will be okay. I promise," the redhead said as he eyed his spiky-haired child and smiled.
"Oh, okay then. Thanks dad," Roxas replied simply.
"How much longer do we have to go on for?" Vanitas yawned at the end of his sentence.
It seemed as though they had been walking for so long now, even though it had realistically only been about half an hour. According to their dad, the trek was actually only supposed to be a little over half an hour. Of course it all depended on how fast they were moving, but since they left so early in the morning, the boys were a little sluggish with their walking.
"Yeah, I'm with Vani. Why did we have to walk anyways?" Sora asked curiously.
Their dad stopped and turned to them, causing them to stop as well. "The sorceress we are going to see doesn't particularly fancy most modern man-made industrial technology. And, there's another 'reason' for it as well, just wait and see. Besides, this is a great way to get exercise!"
"Yay, exercise!" Roxas imitated.
"Now let's continue. We have an appointment and I would rather not be late. Might not be able to get another chance like this again," the father said, and let the way for them to continue their journey through the woods.
Eventually the group came to a small clearing. It looked quite barren compared to what they had been seeing, as there were trees all around them except for where they stood. It was almost like something had been there at one point.
Their father stopped and looked around. "I wonder why it looks like this…"
"Yeah, it's really weird, almost spooky in a way."
"Oh come on Roxas don't be a scaredy cat. It's just the way the forest is," Vanitas scoffed as he walked around the clearing. "See, nothing to worry ab-"
Vanitas dropped to the ground suddenly with a thud. "Ow, what did I hit?!"
"You okay?" his dad asked as he ran and knelt down to his son, who he quickly helped back to his feet.
"Yeah, I think so. Just a bit confused. There's…. nothing there."
The father raised up from the ground and walked toward the spot that Vanitas had landed at. He reached his hands out and started trying to feel the area. While his kids stood and stared at him with confused looks, he continued to seemingly search for nothing. But finally, his hand landed against something.
Small sparks seemed to eject from out of nowhere, as a force slightly knocked back his hand. "Ah, so this must be what I was told then."
"You were told, dad?" Roxas questioned aloud while Vanitas and Sora both stared at their father in agreement.
"The witch, mage, sorceress, whatever you want to call her. Where we will find her," he answered them.
He then turned back to the barrier. "Hello! I'm not quite sure how to get through. It's Axel, the one who sent for you! I was told to come to these coordinates!"
There was no answer to his call. At least, not at first.
Eventually a slight chill ran through the air and a light voice was heard. "It's good to hear from you Axel. You may proceed forward now."
"But uh…" Axel started. He had not expected a random voice to float overhead. It seemed all the boys could hear it too as they were frantically looking around for the source. "Vanitas just crashed into what I can assume is the barrier around your place?"
"Yes. But now that you are here, I had allowed it to let you and your sons to pass through."
"Oh… um okay." Axel slowly stepped forward. He reached out his hand slowly, and instead of hitting an invisible wall his hand actually went right through it. A light blue color swirled around his hand, most likely showing where the barrier was.
"Whoa!" all three boys murdered together.
Right away the three of them ran ahead through the portal, leaving Axel still half way standing through it. A moment later he recovered from his shock and proceeded through the rest of the way, and now that he was standing on the other side, his eyes widened.
Where he stood now still looked like a forest, but the land was much more vibrant and green than before. Plus, before him he saw a clearing with a large cottage rather than just more and more forest. At the same time, all of his boys also were staring at what they saw before them, each having their own look of shock and amazement.
"Wow! This is so cool! Real magic stuff!" Sora beamed cheerfully.
"It's so weird though," Vanitas added in.
Roxas, who was just as amazed as his brother, kept staring at the house that was in the clearing. Slowly, more curiosity filled him rather than just amazement. "So is that where we gotta go?"
"Yup, that should be her house. Come on, let's keep on going," Axel said as he walked alongside his boys into the clearing.
The four of them came up to the front of the house and waited for a moment. After that Axel stepped forward and knocked firmly on the door. "Uh, so we're here now?"
Seconds later the door opened and a young girl was standing in the doorframe. She had light blonde hair that draped over her shoulder and bright blue eyes. The outfit she wore was rather simple, with it just being a plain white summer dress. She stared curiously at the group before her and waited for one of them to speak.
"Ms. Lunafreya?" Axel asked after a moment.
The girl giggled, shaking her head. "No, that's my mother. I'm Namine."
"Oh… Oh! You know that totally makes sense now that I think about it," Axel said before laughing sheepishly.
"Come this way, mom's just in the parlor. We have tea and everything ready." Namine smiled at everyone before stepping aside to let them in.
"Wow, how about that. Nice hospitality and a quiet lovely house, wouldn't you say boys?"
"Yeah! It's really cool and it's hidden by magic!" Sora exclaimed as he started to look around.
Roxas nodded along. "I agree. I like it."
Vanitas, who was watching Namine carefully, kept close to his brothers. "Sure… I guess."
"So," Namine said as she closed the door. "What's all your names?"
As Namine came closer Vanitas stepped further away from her though he continued to stare with wide eyes. "Why do you care?"
"Vanitas," Axel said, using his strict tone. "Don't be rude."
Lowering his head he sighed. "Sorry…"
Namine giggled making Vanitas feel the slightest bit of embarrassment. "What an interesting name. I like it."
Vanitas felt even more flustered. "Whatever…"
Vanitas's brown haired twin grinned happily, completely oblivious to his brother's shyness. "I'm Sora!"
"Nice to meet you then, Sora," she replied sweetly with a smile.
She then turned her gaze towards the other boy in the room. "That means you must be Roxas then."
"Yeah, but how did you know?" he questioned her.
Namine giggled. "Well, you were the one we were told about after all so it only makes sense."
"We're almost there," she spoke again as they continued to walk until they were in another room.
The new room was smaller than the entrance, but everything within was so ornate. The entire room was nearly pure white, with the walls being lined with marble as well as the floor. There was a small table placed in the center of the room, with a few chairs positioned perfectly around the rest of the area. The walls were mostly barren, with only a handful of paintings or pictures lining the walls. It was a simple setup, but beautiful nonetheless.
"Wow, this is incredible," Axel commented upon taking a look around.
"Oh it's nothing much. This is just a simple layout," a new, more mature voice spoke.
All of them turned to see a much older woman, who looked around Axel's age enter the room. It was clear from just a glance that this was clearly Namine's mother. They had the same blond hair and blue eyes. Though her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, she did at least have bangs sweeping over her forehead. She even had a similar white dress like Namine's but hers was much longer.
"Ah, Ms. Lunafreya?" Axel said, trying again.
"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you Axel, but please you may call me Luna."
She walked over to him and shook his hand and then turned to the group of boys. She smiled kindly at them before speaking. "And it's nice to meet you too, all of you."
Right away the boys returned the greeting to her, but other than that, they kept quiet. It was hard to explain what they felt around her. She seemed nice, but there was something else to her. It was no doubt something with magic. That was what they all figured, but they had no idea exactly what it was she could do.
Luna laughed. "You're boys are completely adorable."
"Thanks, though I had no part in that. All adopted of course," Axel explained.
"I'm not adorable!" Vanitas interjected.
Luna bent forward slightly, placing her hands on her knees. Once she was closer to Vanitas's eye level she nodded at him. "Oh I see. You are very handsome instead, right?"
"Yeah! Sora can be the adorable one."
"Hey! I wanna be handsome too!" Sora replied. "And what about Roxas?"
"Fine you can be, but I'll be the most handsome!"
Roxas sent a glare to his older brother. "Who says you gotta be the most handsome?"
"Cause I'm the oldest."
"No you're not!" Sora said. "We're twins! You're not older."
"I was! Just a few minutes but still born before you so that makes me older."
"Whoa whoa boys, calm down," Axel said raising a hand. You are all perfectly handsome in your own right, but there's no reason to fight over it. And, it doesn't matter who is the oldest, you got that memorized.
The boys quieted down after that, they said their apologies and sighed deeply, waiting to see what would happen next.
"How about we get right to it, okay? Please have a seat," Luna said as she gestured to the chairs.
"Is this going to be a lot of boring talking? Like dad does sometimes with his friends?" Vanitas asked as he walked over to one of the chairs.
Axel cleared his throat. "Vanitas…"
"Oh it's quite all right Axel," Luna said. "He is still young and curious about the situation at hand. There will be some talking, yes. I will be doing my best to explain what I know about Roxas's wristband."
"Do we have to listen to the talking dad?" Sora complained with a tired look on his face.
"There's nowhere else for you to go, so yes you'll have to stay here," Axel retorted quickly.
"Actually there might be something," Luna started and turned to her daughter. "Namine, why don't you take Sora and Vanitas elsewhere so you all can play or do your own thing."
"Sure, that sounds like a good idea, mother." She then turned to the two boys. "Well, let's go then."
Sora looked excited. "All right we can go have fun!"
"At least it's better than being bored," Vanitas added in.
Namine then walked toward the two of them and grabbed them by the hands. "Okay' we're going now."
Suddenly, the three of them started to glow with a white light. It flickered in and out rapidly in amazing fashion. Both boys stood there with a shocked look on their faces, unable to comprehend what was happening.
"W-What's happe-"
In a flash they were gone before Vanitas finished his words. Axel and Roxas both widened their eyes with shock.
"Where did they go?" Axel asked with a worried tone.
"Don't worry, she only teleported them to another room. They're fine," Luna quickly spoke.
Axel seemed relieved. "Oh, okay I see."
"Woah so cool!" Roxas suddenly blurted out. "That's really awesome magic!"
Axel and Luna each couldn't help but chuckle at his lighthearted response. It was typical for a child to be enamored by such a display. But then again, that was exactly why they were there in the first place.
"Right, so speaking of magic, let's get down to business," the witch said with a more serious look on her face.
Thank you all for following the story and giving us support! There will be another chapter coming soon, so stay tuned!