Disclaimer-I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts I or II.

Notes- It's raining like crazy... well it's slowing now, but it's still raining. I decided to write another chapter... mind you, at the time I am writing this, I still haven't posted chapter nine, because I still can't upload. So, without further ado, the milestone tenth chapter:)

(Update- Chapter nine was posted yesterday, the 24th)

Chapter 10- Rendezvous

The sound of raindrops hitting the windowpane reached her ears. She stirred, sitting up and looking out at the diluted rays of sunlight that shone from behind the clouds. She sighed deeply and flopped back onto her bed. She thought of him.

Sora... you make me feel safe... feel loved... I am eternally grateful for you coming into my life. You saved me.

Sora was woken by the rain as well. He stood up and stretched, reaching for his robe. He wrapped himself up in the soft material and went into the bathroom. As he splashed cold water in his face, he thought of her.

It is my... what's the word... calling. I must stay with her and protect her for as long as I can. She needs my love. Fleur, I will forever be by your side.

He rinsed out his mouth and went back to his room. He took his clothes off the floor and put them on, feeling the absence of the key. At this, he went over to his desk and took the key out of the drawer, placing it back around his neck. He tucked it into his shirt and walked into the hall.

Fleur finally pulled herself out of bed. She blinked a few times and rubbed the corners of her eyes. She tied her hair up in a messy ribbon for a temporary hold. She went behind her screen and changed into a blue dress. This was a lighter, more summery dress. It was to her knees, the torso was fitted while everything below the waistline was flowing. It was a light blue with lace accents around the strapless top. She slipped on some plain brown sandals and sat at her vanity, taking her hair back down. She brushed it a bit and then returned it to its ribbon, leaving it in a simple ponytail. She stood and walked into the hall.

And there they met. As they both exited their rooms at the same time, the rain immediately stopped and the sunlight pierced through the glass on the other side of the hall. He watched as the rays made her skin shimmer. She watched as they danced through his perfectly messy hair. The birds began chirping. For what could have been forever, they gazed at each other. Then, finally, he spoke.

"Good morning, Fleur." He stated, sounding so much like a gentleman.

"Good morning, Sora." She said back. Another silence, and things became awkward.

"Did you sleep well last night?" He asked, knowing that she may not have. She refused to answer. Instead, she began crying lightly again. In one swift motion, he closed the five foot gap between them and took her in his arms. She buried her head in his chest and clutched his shirt in her fists. He continued to hold her close, stroking her hair to calm her. Her tears stopped after not long, and no more words were spoken. They descended the stairs to the foyer, then into the dining room. Hilda was there, wiping off the table from Roselin's meal.

"Can I get you two some breakfast?" Hilda asked in her warm old voice.

"That would be lovely, Hilda. I'll just have some tea, but Sora might be hungry. Do you want something, Sora?"

He thought. Sure he was hungry, but he could decide what it was he wanted. He nodded to Fleur, and she could tell he was thinking.

"How about some toast and eggs? Sound good?" She suggested.

"Sounds great!" He said to them both.

"Sure thing." Hilda scuttled out of the dining room and into the kitchen. A few minutes later, she returned with two cups of tea and Sora's meal. Fleur sipped her tea while Sora ate his breakfast, and then they both went out into the garden again. Once there, Fleur sat down under a tree and motioned for Sora to sit with her. He did so, and they sat silent for a few minutes, before Sora once again broke the silence.

"Fleur... what is that place you hid me in last night? Some sort of secret hallway or something?" He asked her, being very straight forward and to-the-point

"Oh... that... Well, see... I'm not allowed in the library. Roselin thinks that if I get tooclever, I may try to escape her... so she tries to keep me out of there. But her guard agreed to build me a secret passage if I promised I wouldn't try anything sneaky, so we made a deal. After all, I only want to use it to try and find out about my parents. That's all, really. So, what you saw was the entrance to the passageway from my room. I go there a lot at night. So... does that answer your question?" She ended her long explanation.

"Yeah, it does..." Sora paused. He wasn'tone bit surprised that Fleur had something like a secret passage in her room. "Can I see it? I would like to go to the library."

"Okay. Next time I go, I'll knock on your door four times, then pause, then two more times. Then just come to my room when you're ready, ok? Oh... and bring the key you found the other day. I think I know what it might unlock." She smiled. A leaf fell from the tree they were under. She picked it up and turned it in her fingers, admiring its red-orange color. "It's almost fall. We should get you some warmer clothes made... Yajai should be able to help us."

Sora smiled at his memories of his previous visit to the seamstress. He would probably have to dig through the mountains of fabric to get to her, only to find her sleeping again. He chuckled, thinking of what pleasantly odd dispositions the people in the castle had, besides Roselin. He had met Roselin's guard, Sholto, the seamstress, Yajai, the cook whose name he still didn't know, Aya and Hari, Fleur's friends, and Hilda, Fleur's other servant. For the first time, he realized how much he did like it at the castle, despite Roselin's black cloud that seemed to hover over everything when she was around. He chuckled one moreand looked up at the sky. Fleur yawned, then stood up and stretched.

"Let's go see Yajai. We need to pick out the fabrics for your fall and winter clothes." Fleur told him. Then she paused. "Wait... stand up." He stood. "Close your eyes and hold out your hands." He did so. She issued further instructions. "I'm going to give you something. Don't open your eyes until I say so. And don't follow me, okay?" Sora nodded. Fleur placed a slip of paper in his cupped hands and ran off. Seconds later, she reached the double doors back into the castle. Before she closed them behind her, she called back to him.

"Open your eyes and read it!" She yelled. Then she closed the doors, running up the stairs and back into her room. Sora opened his eyes and unfolded the paper. He read it to himself.

Meet me in the garden tomorrow afternoon, 1:00

I'll bring the food, you just need to show up

He refolded the paper and looked up. Instructions for a rendezvous.

Notes- I enjoyed writing this chapter. I think Sora and Fleur become much closer through Fleur's suffering, although I hate to make her suffer... but it makes for a good story.And don't worry, things will eventually get better for them both. When? Not even I know that. R+R! I love reviewers!

-VarekaiSoleil