Who doesn't love backstory? I could really do with some Naruto fillers right about now mmmph. All jokes aside, this chapter has absolutely no SLDG in it (I'm not sure if that's a first for this story) but instead we'll focus on a few other characters who have totally not been forgotten. Let's wrap up the Hunchback of Notre Dame storyline, shall we?
Chapter 41
Dancing in Allegro
For three days, Desiree had managed to avoid the questions of her fellow teammates. At first, she had locked herself in her room and refused to come out when someone called for her. This changed on the second day when she had apparently only allowed Rhea into her room. The faithful girl that she was, Rhea had adopted a silent approach whenever she was asked what they discussed.
Astra had heard rumors though they were completely baseless. She had been in the lounge watching Salome and Lysander play competitively against each other at some dancing game when she had decided to bring the topic up. It was scary how good Lysander was at dancing, and Astra had been under the impression that this wasn't his type of game but she was clearly mistaken. When he had said he was good at all types of games, he meant it.
"You trying to impress someone with them moves of yours, sailor?" Astra flirted after taking a sip of her lemonade.
"Do you count?" Lysander asked with a cheeky grin.
"Sorry, not interested. I'm not exactly looking right now."
"But you'd consider later?"
Astra closed her eyes and gave a small smile. "Don't push your luck."
"Hey, at least I tried," Lysander replied before bending down to select another song on the dance mat.
"You know, we really need to make some time for going to the beach soon. Between searching for those new breed of Heartless and doing charity work, we barely have any time for ourselves… not that I'm complaining, I like helping people out in other worlds and listening to their problems," Salome said.
"No I know what you mean. This is such a different life from the one I used to live. There's a beach in Alexander, it's not too far from my house. Luna and I always used to go there and we'd just watch the sun go down and the waves crash against the sand while eating Ice Cream. It may seem repetitive, but it never got boring because it was Luna." As Astra fell into a dreamlike state while reminiscing, her audience had been attentive throughout. Salome beamed at her friend and nodded her head every once in a while and even Lysander had stopped playing with the mat to listen.
"Well I guess we know what beach we're going to then. Luna sounds like a great friend. I wish we could meet her," Salome said with a sad smile. Astra didn't want to say more in that regard. She knew that as long as this feud existed, the only place they would be meeting was on a battlefield. It just made her personal mission of protecting Luna while she was here all the more necessary.
"Do you know what's up with Desiree? Ever since she came back she hasn't been acting like herself at all. She's been locked up in her room for two days now," Astra asked instead.
"I couldn't say. It's pretty unusual that she ever acts like this. Usually she wouldn't pass up the opportunity to use me as a footstool," Lysander answered.
"Well, just before she left she seemed pretty displeased about Kohle wanting her to let Sora go for now. She was all like 'If not now, then when? Hurr hurr hurr, I need a croissant', okay maybe without the hurr hurr hurring but she was pretty angry that we weren't 'taking it seriously' as she put it. She took off without letting any of us know after that and I'm willing to guess she encountered Sora and something happened," Salome explained in the most energetic and cartoonish way possible.
"Yep, it's as Salome the Hedgehog says," Lysander remarked. "If it's that bad that she's become a recluse, she must have gotten beat pretty bad."
So on the third day, Astra knocked on Desiree's door with this theory prevalent in her mind. As expected, Desiree didn't respond at first but Astra persisted in continuing to knock until it annoyed Desiree so much that she threw the door open.
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF LOUIS XII DO YOU WANT- Oh, Astra. Pardonnez-moi, I thought you were someone else. Can I help you with something?"
"I was just wondering if I could talk to you about something," Astra said putting her hand against the doorframe intentionally.
Desiree looked slightly uncomfortable about the suggestion, reflected through her words. "I am sorry but now may not be the best time. Maybe some other time?"
"It's urgent. I'm worried about you. We all are. That and I want to know if Luna's okay. Did you meet her?"
"I do not know what you are talking abou-"
"Did you meet her? Please, I need to know," Astra insisted. At first, Desiree avoided her gaze and looked at the doorframe where Astra's fingers were placed. Her pained eyes soon found Astra's for the first time since she had opened the door. Immediately Astra could tell she had been crying, a lot. The tears had stained the pale makeup on her face and a permanent scowl played on her lips.
"I hate feeling like this. It is simply not me." Desiree could barely even chuckle. Had things really been that bad? She stepped aside and nudged her head for Astra to follow. Astra gave a small smile and stepped inside Desiree's room, stopping just a few steps after entering to take in everything.
Desiree's room was perhaps the strangest room that Astra had been in since she had come here. There was a clear recurring theme of purple and black. It was a room typically fit for a royal but smaller in order to incorporate the other bedrooms in the hallway. The wall was decorated with purple wallpaper with swirling black patterns running across like art. Her bed covers were of a soft purple fabric compared to Astra's rather bland one and she had matching pillows to boot. To her left was a bookcase with several interesting books that tickled Astra's fancy. Though she wasn't a fan of reading, the fact that Desiree's genre mainly consisted of horror and gothic literature spread a wide grin across her face.
This compared to Luna's love of mystery novels… I wonder how she'd feel about this, Astra thought before turning to look at the desk next to Desiree's wardrobe. On it was the makeup that she no doubt applied on a daily basis as well as a diary, a box of tissues and a stereo system with a few of her CDs on top of it.
"Hey, sit down, you look a mess," Astra said. She walked over to the desk and took some tissues out of the box before making her way over to Desiree's bed. She sat down next to Desiree and delicately began wiping at the wetness on her cheek. "See, this is why I don't bother with makeup. 100% au naturel right here."
"I like my makeup. It makes me feel… unique," Desiree replied absently. A silence followed which wasn't awkward as it could have been. Astra had been so focused on cleaning up the water stains that Desiree didn't want to distract her. When she was finished, Astra chucked the wet tissue in the trash can in the corner of the room before returning to Desiree.
"What's wrong, Desiree? This isn't like you," Astra asked.
"I… have something to tell you, but you need to promise me that you will not tell anyone," Desiree said, averting her gaze and looking down at her hands as if horrified.
"Desiree, what's this about? Was this what you told Rhea?" Astra asked.
Desiree shook her head. "No, she already knew. She has known it for a long time and is probably the only one who does. I just told her about what transpired with Sora. You must promise me that you will not tell anyone else about this."
"I won't. I'll play therapist for a while so feel free to lay out your feelings," Astra said after a moment's hesitation. Salome had asked her beforehand to keep her informed about what was going on with Desiree but it seemed that she wouldn't be able to do that now.
"Alright, it's about a secret. One that I am ashamed to admit but… I feel like I can trust you and that sounds completely weird, I know… trust a person I barely know over people who have basically become my family… It's hilarious, is it not?"
Astra furrowed her eyebrows. "It's a bit odd but I don't think that means you don't trust them any less. Maybe it's just easier to talk to me because you barely know me."
"Oui, I am sure that is it. Alright, my secret then. It's about who I am. Who I really am."
It was five in the morning when Kairi returned from the secret basement that they had discovered the other day. It was impossible to sleep with the thought on her mind.
A secret passageway…
A secret passageway!
Even the words seemed too good not to repeat.
Kairi made quickly blew out the candle and then headed up into the tower. Her efforts to decipher something from the book had proven useless. The thing is she was sure that there was something staring her right in the eye, something that was incredibly obvious. The only problem—she had no idea what any of it meant. She would stay on one page for an hour trying to figure out what a symbol meant only for her to have wasted her time. If only she knew someone who knew Atlantean. Maybe even the crazy Frollo could have deciphered the text's meaning, but that was once upon a time.
She opened the door to the bell tower to be greeted by a nice surprise early in the morning, one that she had hardly anticipated.
"Riku, where did Quasimodo go?"
The bell ringer was missing from his bed, strange because he had felt incredibly sick only a few hours ago. Riku and Max, who Kairi had left to look after him, had both fallen asleep, tired from the long day of investigating that they had done. They had scouted town out for information on Claude Frollo—his hobbies, where he went and what he did there. It turned out that very few people knew Judge Frollo. The archdeacon who had known him since Frollo had started his tenure as judge had told them that Frollo had professed to have knowledge to great and world-changing secrets, none of which the archdeacon had been privy to though.
The only clue that they had found lied in one of the homeless people in the town square who had made their home opposite Frollo's house. When Riku asked him whether Frollo had gotten any visitors, he confirmed that the house had received two visitors about a month ago. He wouldn't have thought anything unusual of these strangers except for the fact that they didn't look like the sort of company that Frollo would keep. One was a blonde woman dressed in a sparkling blue gown while the other dressed in the most flamboyant of colors and wore makeup that made him deeply resemble a jester. It was clear then that Frollo had some kind of a connection with the two people that they were after, one of them being Kefka. The name KRONOS tied everything together in a knot and gave to the idea that Frollo was perhaps working with them. It was the question—could KRONOS also know about Atlantis and if so, were they seeking it?
A sound from the upper level of the belfry caught her attention and she ascended the ladders quickly. She reached the top level and peered up while still on the ladder to see Quasimodo walking around with a smile on his face, his hands feeling and admiring the golden bells.
"Quasi, you shouldn't be out of bed. What if something bad happens?" Kairi called out to him.
Quasimodo jumped in surprise and spun around quickly before relaxing. "Oh, Kairi, I wasn't expecting you to be up so early. I was just cleaning all the bells since I haven't been able to do it in a while. I hope it wasn't too much of a problem for you guys, having to ring the bell in my stead and all."
"No, not at all, I enjoyed waking up the entire city," Kairi said with a grin. She hoisted herself up and onto the floor, stood up and glanced at each of the bells along with him. "Are you sure it's okay for you to be up like this?"
"I'm feeling okay, actually no, better than okay. I feel free, like some heavy burden has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel lighter. Normal… I think that remedy of yours worked!"
Kairi's tired eyes lit up at the sound of this. "Really? That great! I mean we have to make extra sure that everything really is fine and all but if this is true… you saved him, Luna, and you won't even know it for a while. Thank you."
"You should get some sleep. You seem pretty tired," Quasimodo said upon noticing that her eyelids were fluttering uncontrollably.
"I should be saying that," Kairi said amusedly before nodding. "Alright, see you later."
When Kairi next opened her eyes, they were looking at a joyful Riku, Max and Esmeralda who had no doubt discovered the great news. It was a day different from the usually gloomy one that had come to haunt the walls of Notre Dame. A high level of elation hung in the air as Esmeralda danced merrily in a circle with a blushing Riku. Kairi, Max and Quasimodo laughed and started clapping to Esmeralda's beautiful humming, enjoying the uncharacteristic shyness that Riku was displaying.
After a few more minutes of this, the humiliation had ended but the light cheerful ambience remained. Wanting to get a good view overlooking the town, Kairi brought them out onto the rooftop in order to talk. The wind softly lapped against her face and she smiled at this before turning to look at them.
"We need to start thinking about our next course of action. If Quasi's condition continues as it is then there's no need for us to stay. I think it's safe to say we've found all we can from here, right?"
Riku nodded. "I would say so. We know that Frollo met up with Kefka at one point and we have a book with strange symbols on it on top of finding a secret laboratory built into the cathedral."
"And don't forget that strange creature," Max added.
"Yes… Alice," Kairi referred to it with a sigh. She had also checked around that table while she was there, hoping to find something about the name. She had (it had been under the monster's arm) but it seemed that the previous owner or someone else had scratched whatever it was out. "Our only leads now are this book, that Heartless and Atlantis and since we have no idea where Atlantis might be that leaves the book and that monster. Which should we pursue first?"
"The monster, I think. I'm curious to find out who Alice is and I think I know a certain scientist who can help us figure it out," Riku said.
"Then I guess we should make sure to collect a sample before we leave then. So we're heading back to Radiant Garden then. And the book?" Kairi asked.
"We would need to figure out who owned the lab and I'm willing to bet that it was built a long time ago. Obviously Atlantean isn't a practiced language anymore so I don't expect anything to come out of it. Is there even a way to find out how old the book is?"
"Not sure. Don't they usually analyze individual pages to figure that kind of thing out?" Kairi held up the book in her hand and flipped it open to somewhere near the middle. "The pages are yellow and stained. The book is giving of a pretty musty smell and it looks like parchment paper was used. Obviously it's old but I can't tell by how much."
"We'll see if Even and Ienzo can figure that out as well. Looks like we have a plan though," Riku said.
"Well the worst thing that can happen is that we're flung forwards and backwards over and over and end up going nowhere in the end," Max said.
"No, I have a feeling about this one, like we can't go wrong here, as long as we keep our expectations in check anyway," Riku replied.
"So then you finally believe me that Atlantis is real, huh?" Kairi rubbed the bridge of her nose with her index finger and auspiciously grinned at him.
"Might be, yeah. I could easily argue that the secret lab was created by some mad guy who thought it existed just like Frollo," Riku said.
Kairi shrugged. Even if that were a possibility it didn't explain the symbols in the book but she would let it slide for now.
"Well a might is good enough. I'll get you around to my way of thinking eventually," she said.
Esmeralda stepped forward, clutching her hand to her chest. "Thank you, for all you've done for Quasi. I don't think there's even a way to completely repay you, but I think this might help."
She held her hands down to show them what was resting on her palms. They looked like jawbreakers but actually holding one in her hands revealed to Kairi that they were much softer.
"They're smoke pellets," continued Esmeralda. "I've used them in the past to get away from Frollo and his men but I won't need them anymore. Whenever you're in a pinch, these little things will come in handy. Make sure you use them sparingly."
"Thank you, Esmeralda. And don't think you're indebted to us or anything, it's just what we do," Kairi told her. She accepted the rest of the smoke pellets and divided them amongst her, Riku and Max.
"But you still saved my life, and I can't forget that. Is there any way we can help while you're gone?" Quasimodo asked.
Riku stroked his chin thoughtfully. "If you can dig up any information about the owner of that laboratory and the cathedral, that would be helpful, but don't stress over it. I don't really expect you to find anything since it's been so long but-"
"We'll do our best!" Quasimodo gave his affirmation confidently.
Kairi grinned at them before turning to look at the city landscape. It would most likely be the last day they would spend here. Residents of the town were either setting up their stalls for work, collecting their laundry from the lines hanging along each house or just starting to wake up. At the edge of the town stood a giant sparkling crystal pillar of ice, a symbol of what lay ahead for them. It would melt in time but the memory would stay and with it her resolve. She refused to be known only as a Princess of Heart, a piece among six others that were the key to the preservation of peace. No, she would become strong—strong enough to take on KRONOS and protect her friends.
Astra guarded and attack from Rhea and quickly spun around her, pressing her palm into her back and throwing her off her guard.
"You've got it!" Rhea said with a gentle smile. "Again now but faster."
"Okay boss!" Astra said playfully before sweeping in to attack again. Her Keyblade was met with tough resistance, and Rhea's guard was unyielding. This wasn't too surprising because she had heard things of how good Rhea was with her Keyblade, perhaps even more so than the other members. It was also somewhat disappointing then because she knew Rhea was holding back. When Rhea attacked her she knew it could be much worse, but no matter how many times Astra asked her to use her full strength, Rhea refused. Rhea's green hair swayed gracefully (for she did everything that way) to the side as she applied her own weight against Astra. This forced Astra backwards and allowed Rhea to swing her Keyblade at her. Astra parried against the attack more quickly this time and spun around Rhea to use her palm again.
"Perfect, you're doing better every day. I don't really enjoy fighting but even I can't deny that a quick spar every now and then gets my blood circulating," Rhea said.
Astra craned her neck to the side. "Does anyone here really enjoy fighting? I imagine we're all trying to make ends meet just so we can get home and enjoy the rest of the day as soon as possible."
Rhea laughed. "I suppose that's a part of it, but there are always exceptions. Take Desiree and Jill for example."
"Desiree…" Astra's voice trailed off.
"She told you."
"Huh?" Astra looked up in surprise and Rhea smiled sweetly back at her.
"Your heartbeat increased when you mentioned her name. I do have pretty good hearing," she explained.
"I know, that's the creepy part," Astra said. "You can also read other people's hearts, can't you? I remember you telling me that."
"I… try not to. What is in a person's heart is their own private matter. I have no right to interfere."
"But you knew about Desiree? You knew that wasn't her real name," Astra said looking up at a certain window just across the garden that they had been practicing in.
"My name… my past… it's all a lie." Astra could tell Desiree was having a hard time breathing as she talked, as if trying to accept the fabrication she was about to confront.
"I'm sorry?"
"It was all a construction for my own benefit. My name isn't Desiree Elegia Skye and I'm not rich. Truth be told, I'm not even sure I'm French," Desiree looked outside the window next to her bed to see the garden down below. "I don't really remember it but I was found as a baby on the coast, the edge of the world. I was adopted by a man and his wife living in the countryside. They were peasants but they had the kindest of hearts. They loved me as if I had been their own from the very beginning. I had later found out that the reason they had taken me in was because they had been unable to conceive a child themselves. Because we were poor, they could not afford to send me to school so they did their best to teach me themselves. During those times, bandits, poor and destitute, used to invade the countryside and did whatever they felt like. We were quite lucky they did not come to our door, at least, not until I was twelve."
She stopped here and gritted her teeth hard. Astra placed a reassuring hand on her back and gave her a warm smile. Desiree looked at her for a moment before whispering, "They slaughtered them. Like animals, they took enjoyment in murdering them. My adopted parents had refused to give them what they wanted. They chose to stand up and be brave, and they paid for it. I think something snapped in my head at that point. I realized that there was no justice in the world, no light that the shadows couldn't reach. My parents had hid me under the dining table at the time. Had they bothered to look, I would be dead too. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something glistening in the candle lit room. Back then I saw it as revenge. I slowly reached for the knife that had fallen along with a few other items as a result of my father struggling with one of the bandits. I grabbed hold of the handle firmly and… I killed them. I killed the two that were there. The first hadn't expected to be stabbed in the back of the leg and by the time the second man had come into the room, I had already killed the first. I showed him no mercy. I remember plunging the knife into him over and over. By the time I was done I was covered in blood, four corpses surrounding me."
"I… I'm so sorry. I would think seeing your parents murdered would drive anyone mad," Astra said. Now that she said it, she could only imagine how Luna felt.
"It did. I refused to talk for a week when they found me lying on that pool of blood. I also refused to eat but they forced it down my throat regardless of my refusals. I remember the taste of the food even now. They gave me normal things like bread and cheese but it all tasted like iron in my mouth. The week passed by and I had started to accept my fate. I wanted to be brave like my parents had been in those last few moments of their lives. I was soon taken to an orphanage which I spent a year in. I didn't really care much about mixing in with the other kids that were there.
"It was a year before I was taken in again by another family. The head of that family, Charles Jean Stefan Skye, was a wealthy man, a complete contrast to my previous life. He took me to Paris, and I immediately fell in love. It was a city walled off from the rest of the world like my own heart but the culture and architecture was dazzling, a love letter to my soul. Every street I turned, there was something surprising waiting, something telling me to not give up. But it was not all paradise. My status as a daughter had been relegated to that of a maid as I was made to serve the Skye family. It seemed the parents of the household had no interest in having a daughter, why would they when they already had one? Her name was Desiree Elegia Skye, eleven years old and spoilt to the brim. Her parents gave her almost anything, while we maids and servants were given whatever they didn't eat. I didn't complain though. It was a nice comfortable room they gave me and a roof above my head. In addition, to serve one of the wealthiest houses, one who was quite close to the king might I add, was one of the greatest honors one could ask for.
"But I digress. The story is no longer my own but hers. I am merely the observant. Desiree, the real Desiree, she was not like her parents. She was thankful for the things she had in her life but not greedy. An innate unnatural kindness lived in her that I had not seen since my parents. She would come down to the basement level where we servants lived whenever she had the chance to and sneak in food she had brought from the kitchens for us. Most importantly, she had developed a special affinity to me and loved me as if I were her actual sister. I snuck out of my room many times and went with her at night to a beautiful bridge where the moonlight reflected on the water's surface. For that reason it was called Moonlit Bridge or, more informally, Lovers' Bridge. Desiree and I would just watch the moon from afar and talk. We talked about our lives and one night we even ended up dancing. It was a strange and happy jig to a usually romantic bridge but it was so inappropriate that it just worked. We called it dancing in allegro. I somehow ended up telling her how my parents died. The pain was too much to bear by myself and I wanted to let it out. I felt that I could trust her but as I was talking, I felt like she would back away frightened or call me a monster or something like that. I tried to walk away first but she grabbed onto me and hugged me. I felt her arms wrap around me and her head lean against my back. It was the most memorable moment of my life. It also happened to be the last night me and Desiree saw each other."
"What do you mean?" Astra felt she wasn't contributing much by asking the same question repeatedly but she was too intrigued by Desiree's story to think of something else to say.
"A series of events happened, none of which I think the household expected. Charles and his wife had been suspected of treason against the royal family. The one who claimed to have this evidence was one Claude Frollo. He was a man that the King trusted above all. Apparently the Skye family had conspired with gypsies, using the underground tunnels underneath the manor to sneak them into the city. The king's men soon performed a search of the house…"
"Did Frollo falsify evidence?" Astra asked.
"He didn't need to. He found exactly what he was looking for. It turned out that Frollo had been right, although I have no idea how he came to find out. My guess is that he hadn't known. It was pretty well known that there had been disputes between Charles and Frollo over something. I had even heard that they used to be good friends but something happened that turned them into the most bitter of enemies.
"But they found the evidence they were looking for, not in an underground tunnel but rather a person. Charles hid the evidence on his own daughter's person while she was unaware." Desiree could hear the audible gasp emit from Astra's mouth.
"But why? I don't understand."
"What reason would they have to search an eleven year old girl? That is what he thought, but he underestimated how thorough Frollo could be. As they say, he left no stone unturned. When he finally found what he was looking for, he took the entire family into custody. At the trial we attended, the judge presiding overheard several testimonies from people who had claimed to have witnessed Charles declaring his hatred for the king among other such things. Frollo had even managed to get some of the servants to testify to the same effect, though I have little doubt in my mind that he bribed them. What is funny however is that not once during that trial did he produce the evidence that they had found on Desiree. Almost like he was trying to hide something that may have proved detrimental to the prosecution."
"You think there was something incriminating about Frollo in that evidence?" Astra asked.
"I have my theories," Desiree avoided the question skilfully. "But the testimony alone was enough to find the Skyes guilty of treason and conspiracy against the king. They were to be treated like traitors, hung at dawn in a public execution with their names disgraced. Of course the only one I really felt for was Desiree. She had been abandoned and set up by her father, though I can't even be sure that Frollo would have spared her even if she hadn't been set up. As she was escorted out of the courtroom by guards, she looked at me. Out of everyone there, she looked at me and mouthed 'I love you'. I broke down then and there… I wanted to be there for her in her final moments, but in the end I… I couldn't do it. I couldn't attend that execution and watch my sister be hanged. I couldn't be brave and stare into death's morbid face. Even now I wonder what she was thinking in those final moments."
"Not that you were abandoning her. I know what you're thinking. No one's expecting you to be brave at a moment like that, especially not her. I don't even think superman could do that." Astra watched as hot fresh tears strolled down Desiree's cheeks.
"I know. I know she would have wanted me to be happy, but back then all I felt was anger and hate. Hate for the servants who had betrayed her, hate for Charles and his wife for using their own daughter, though they were dead so I could do nothing to them, and hate for Claude Frollo who took her away from me. A thirteen year old girl should not feel that much hate but I did. After the manor closed down, the servants who had no family were left homeless. That included me. At first I thought of banding with them but I had too much hatred for the ones who had sold Desiree out even if it wasn't all of them. I won't lie. I wanted to kill them all and get revenge. No, it was worse. I wanted to torture them until they confessed that what they had done was wrong and then I'd kill them. I would fashion myself as a phantom, the remnant of what was left of Desiree Elegia Skye and I would make them suffer. But the longer I dressed in Desiree's clothes, learned her habits… the more I became her. It wasn't just that, I wanted to become her. My old self was nobody. She was damaged and had suffered too much pain to ever function properly. I wanted to start a new life but more importantly, I wanted to keep her alive. If the old me were the one who was dead, like she should have been when those bandits had killed her parents, and Desiree was still alive, I could live my life for her. We would always be together. Two souls intertwined in allegro."
"And that's when you seriously thought about becoming Desiree," Astra said nodding her head. "But you said you wanted to take revenge. What became of that?"
"The Keyblade and Moira's Crescent found me. I can't say I ever deserved thing but I think it originally belonged to Desiree. She passed it onto me without even knowing it. That's our bond right there. Whenever I look at Montmartre I can't help but think that it could have been her here instead of me. It hasn't been easy being her either. My hatred and sadistic nature mixed with her kindness and created something in between. It was when I fought Sora that I that I finally came to the realization that I wasn't doing a very good job being her. I was disgracing her name and memory."
"Well, just between you and me… you are actually the most fun person to be around with here, you know, when you're not psychotic. If that was how Desiree was too then I think you're doing a pretty good job," Astra said. "You really need to tell me how to tame Lysander. He's a bit too wild sometimes."
Desiree chuckled. "Thank you, Astra. You know, I do feel better having talked to you about this. I hope you didn't have anywhere to be."
"Not really, but you do. There's a whole world out there for you to discover yourself and you have a family to help you do it. You couldn't be brave back then, that's fine, but be brave now. Take that step outside this room and confront your fears… or you risk losing both Desiree and yourself."
"Astra… that was pretty cool coming from you," Desiree said giving her a smile. It was a real one, not the sarcastic sickeningly sweet ones she used to give. If anything it showed that she was already taking that first step.
"Hey, I'm always acting pretty cool and don't you forget it. Oh, you don't need to leave immediately if you want to. Take your time," Astra insisted as Desiree tried to get up.
"I'm being put to bed by a newbie, how shameful of me," Desiree said, nevertheless allowing Astra to lay her onto her bed.
"You know, you still haven't told me your real name, Miss. Skye," Astra said, managing to slip the bed covers over Desiree's body.
I know I just acted like a complete troll there and cut you off from knowing her name. Ah, it's probably not important anyway. So next time we'll be joining Sora and Luna again as they head to a new world. Oh and Big Hero 6 got announced for KH3! Looks like I made the right choice to use The Incredibles instead (few!). Anyway, until next time folks, see you then.
