Ahllixe sighed and clutched Veni the Shadow close to her chest. She was still surprised that she found the courage to stand up to Vanitas. She wondered how this burst of bravery came to her; it felt natural, like she was used to doing this. She wondered if she inherited this characteristic from her Somebody. She also wondered what else she could've received from her.
"Hello, Ahllixe." Ahllixe turned and saw Xehanort approach her. "Are you ready for some more training?"
Ahllixe smiled as the thrill for more knowledge pushed away her concerns. She nodded, and Xehanort summoned a corridor of darkness, which Ahllixe happily skipped into. The light on the other end wasn't as intense, and when Ahllixe stepped out of the portal, she saw that it was already night. She looked up at the sky and smiled at the millions of stars shining above her. She set her eyes forward and gasped with awe at the gleaming, white castle in the distance. Its radiance seemed like it could be seen for miles, giving off a pleasant glow.
"What a pretty castle." Ahllixe said breathlessly. "I bet someone really important lives in a place like that."
"Indeed." Xehanort said, stepping out of the corridor of darkness. It disappeared after he stepped out. "Someone with a special power lives in that castle."
"Really?" Ahllixe said. "Who?"
Xehanort silently gestured for Ahllixe to follow him as he walked in the direction of the castle. Ahllixe spent another moment gazing at the castle before hurrying after him. They entered the mile-long courtyard. Halfway through, Ahllixe stopped at the large fountain in the center of the courtyard. She smiled and climbed onto the stone ledge to peek over at her reflection.
But what she saw wasn't her. Instead, the girl staring back at her had long, brown hair and amber eyes. Ahllixe gasped and reached up to touch her hair. The water rippled, and the long brown hair was suddenly cut extremely short, giving the reflection the appearance of a young boy. Nevertheless, those two kids looked almost identical to each other and her.
"Come, Ahllixe." Xehanort called. "We have much to do today, and you mustn't spend it all admiring yourself."
Ahllixe gulped and quickly struck the fountain water, causing the young boy's image to abruptly distort. It changed, and she finally saw her reflection. Ahllixe sighed and hurried back to Xehanort's side. She held Xehanort's hand, hoping he couldn't feel her nervous shudders. They climbed the Mount Everest-sized staircase to the front door. Ahllixe squirmed excitedly, eager to know what was on the inside of this beautiful castle. Xehanort noticed this and summoned a corridor of darkness. Ahllixe's eyes dimmed with disappointment as she reluctantly entered the portal.
It dropped them off at a ginormous ballroom. Ahllixe gasped in delight and ran deeper into the ballroom. She spun around, gazing up at the large, bejeweled chandelier dangling about her until her head went dizzy.
"It's beautiful!" Ahllixe giggled as she stumbled around. "So, who lives in this place?"
Xehanort looked around the room. "A princess."
Ahllixe's eyes lit up. "A princess! Really?! What's her name? What does she look like?"
Xehanort chuckled. "An animated child, you are. I will answer your questions one at a time."
The two walked out of the ballroom and stood at the balcony looking over the grand entryway.
"Every living organism in this universe has a heart: people, animals, and even worlds. In every heart, there is an equal balance of light and darkness. If a heart consumes more darkness than light, they perish. It is dangerous as well for a heart to be consumed completely of light." Xehanort said. "However, there are a selected few, seven maidens, whose hearts are filled with the purest, sweetest light."
Xehanort pointed below, and Ahllixe looked and gasped in delight. A woman with golden hair and blue eyes, wearing a beautiful white dress, walked across the entryway.
"Wow..." Ahllixe said, awed by the woman's beauty. "Is she one of them?"
"Indeed." Xehanort said. "One of the seven Princesses of Heart: pure lights, devoid of darkness. After the worlds were split, the Princesses of Heart came into existence. Everything had been consumed with darkness after Kingdom Hearts disappeared and the χ-blade was destroyed, but those seven maidens restored the worlds back to light through the pureness of their hearts."
"Kingdom Hearts? χ-blade?" Ahllixe said, her eyes going cross-eyed. "What are you talking about?"
"Ah, another subject yet to be explored. That will be reserved for another day. All you must know for now is this: the seven Princesses of Heart are crucial to what I have planned. In order for things to move forward, I need what's most important about them..."
"You mean... their hearts?" Ahllixe gasped. "But why? What do you need their hearts for? How do you even extract a heart from a body?"
"More questions that must wait for another day; my old soul grows weary. Let us return."
Ahllixe nodded, shivering with anticipation for this knowledge. Xehanort summoned a corridor of darkness, and the two entered it.