Princess

Chapter 6: Revelations

Naminé's statement didn't get the reaction that she thought it would. Sora stared blankly at her, a little confused. The others, with the exception of Pence, had to force smiles on their faces.

"See, Sora. And here you were worried you wouldn't find your family." Selphie said, trying to be cheerful. Finding Sora's family first, and without even searching for them, came as a big shock to her and Riku.

"I- I have a twin?" Sora asked, his voice coming out as a whisper.

Naminé nodded and then frowned, wondering why that was the only thing that amazed him. "You know who Roxas is, right?"

Sora looked confused. "No. Should I?"

Axel began pacing, looking for all the world that he would rather be anywhere but in that hall. "He's Prince Roxas Faire, the youngest son of King Zack and Queen Aerith." He said.

Sora stumbled backwards into Riku in shock. "W-what?! But I can't be! I'm not a girl!"

If the situation weren't so serious, Naminé would have giggled. Instead, a confused expression came over her face until she remembered one of the many rumors her friends have started over the years. "Oh, that. Sounds like Luxord and Xaldin's rumors spread further than they knew." She looked over at Axel, who continued to pace. "Lets not tell them about it or we'll never hear the end of it."

"Wait!" Sora blurted out. "I don't understand. How can I be the princess?! I wasn't born in April! I was born in February and I'm not a girl and wouldn't I remember having a twin brother? Or any brothers at all? I was only seven when I ended up at the orphanage with Riku. And-"

"With Riku or was he already there?" Naminé interrupted, the gears in her brain turning.

Axel stopped pacing to look over at her, wondering what she had thought of.

"With." Riku told her, remembering. "We were arguing as we walked around the streets and that's how they found us. I was…" He frowned. "I was trying to remind him about something."

"But you're certain you were together?" Naminé asked.

Riku nodded.

Selphie figured out what Naminé was trying to get to before Axel could. "You know Riku's family!" She said in a hushed voice.

Naminé hesitated for a moment before saying, "I think so. But first things first. Axel," She turned to face her red-haired friend. "Go get my uncle and the rest of the family. Get them to the Advisor Hall."

"Me?" Axel looked surprised.

"Is there anyone else around here named 'Axel'?" Naminé asked. "And anyway, you probably know the castle better than anyone else because of your Roxas-stalking days." To her amusement, Axel turned a little pink before her quickly turned and walked down the hall.

"Now," She looked back over at the five travelers. "Come with me. I think all of you should meet the Queen."

"All of us?" Pence asked, surprised.

Naminé nodded. "Come." She led the way back down the hall to the double doors of the Advisor Hall.

Sora searched out Riku's hand first and then Selphie's, wanting them by his side when they walked into the room where the Queen was. Selphie squeezed his hand affectionately.

"You'll be fine, 'ra." She whispered.

"I'm scared." Sora admitted in a whisper. "I don't know if I can do this."

Neither of them knew what to say to that. They moved a little closer to him to show that they would be there for him no matter what, while Pence and Kairi trailed a ways behind them, feeling out of place.

They walked into the large room and passed by several startled advisor's. Naminé brushed aside anything they said about the Queen not wanting visitors and opens the door.

Sora's throat went dry at the sight of the beautiful woman on the other side of the soon. Long brown hair twisted into a braid fell down her back, tied at the base of her neck with a pink ribbon. Her layered, pink and white skirt fell to above her ankles, covering most of her practical brown boots. Her simple dark pink and white top tied around her neck and was long enough to reach a few inches past her hips.

"Aunt Aerith," Naminé spoke, positioning herself in front of Sora as the Queen turned around.

Sad but gentle green eyes landed on Naminé's form and Queen Aerith gave her niece a gentle smile. "Naminé, what brings you here?" Her eyes flickered momentarily to Naminé's right to Riku, who defiantly met her gaze. "Who are your friends?"

"Oh, this is Kairi and Pence," The blonde girl pointed out the two. "And Selphie and Riku. And this," She stepped to the side so Aerith could see Sora clearly.

"Sora!" The Queen gasped, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. Her eyes widened and began to fill with tears. Hesitantly, she took a step forward. And then another and another until she was standing in front of him. She placed a finger beneath his chin and raised his head so he was looking her in the eyes. Then she raised her hand and gently touched one of his spiky locks of hair. "Oh, Sora." She whispered, throwing her arms around him and pulling him close. Tears flowed steadily down her check as she openly wept in joy and relief. "You're home. You're finally home."

Cloud grumbled as he poked at the remains of a splattered, burnt apple that had exploded in the oven. 'Damn that Squall.' He thought. 'I can't believe I let him distract me enough to forget!' With a growl of disgust he carried the pan over to the garbage can ad scraped off the remainder of the apple.

"Hey, Cloud!"

Cloud turned around, preparing to yell at Axel to get out of the kitchen. The image of what happened the last time the redhead tried to cook was all too clearly imprinted in his brain.

Axel recognized the look on Cloud's face and hurriedly continued. "Naminé wants you in the Advisor's Hall. I've got to find Demyx and Roxas too. Have you seen them?"

"Demyx is hiding out in the library." Cloud said. "But I haven't seen Roxas today."

"Right, thanks." Axel said, vanishing from sight.

Cloud laid the pan in the sink to be cleaned later and wondered why Naminé chose Axel as the messenger. Surely there was a servant she could have asked to do it. He left the kitchen and went straight to the Advisor's Hall. Walking into the room, he was directed to a side room where he spotted Naminé standing among a group of unfamiliar teens. And then there was his mom in the middle of the room hugging a short, brown-haired boy. The two separated and Cloud caught sight of familiar bright blue eyes.

"S-Sora?!" He asked, unable to believe his eyes.

Sora turned around and looked at him for a moment before his eyes widened in recognition. The whole room went still as Sora whispered, "C-Cloud?" And then he raised his voice a little and stepped forward. "Cloud?"

The next thing Cloud knew, he was tackled by a dark form and arms were being wrapped around his chest.

"I remember you." Sora murmured. "You're my brother. You're Cloud." He let go and took a step back, rubbing at his eyes. "You smell like cookies."

Cloud felt like laughing, but knew he wouldn't be able to. Instead, he stood there for a moment to look at Sora and take in the fact that his baby brother was back home where he belonged.

"Welcome home." He whispered.

Sora smiled up at him and then hugged him again, that time not letting go.

Blue eyes stared unseeingly at the wall before closing. Lips parted to allow a soft sigh to pass between.

"Long day?"

Roxas cracked open his eyes to peer up at Naminé, or, more specifically, the cup of hot chocolate she was holding. He took it from her and sipped at it for a moment before setting it down on the table. "Thanks Nami."

Naminé gave him a smile as she pulled out her chair and sat down. "So, Sora's home." She said after a few minutes.

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, I know. He was asleep in my bed when I came in. Cloud had to explain to me who the strange kid in my bed was."

"I sent Axel to find you." Naminé informed him testily. "When he couldn't find you I sent Yuffie to track you down. It's not my fault you were somewhere nobody else can find you!"

"Maybe you should look harder next time." Roxas snapped. "And learn to not send Axel of all people after me."

Naminé abruptly stood up, her eyes narrowed in anger and frustration. "Maybe if you'd stop hiding from Axel long enough to get your head out of your ass and admit to him that you like him we wouldn't have problems like this anymore!"

The kitchen door creaked open and Naminé and Roxas automatically shut up and turned to see who it was. Demyx stepped nervously into the room, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Uh, hey, guys. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" He asked.

"Nothing important." Naminé said coolly, sitting back down. "I was just explaining to Roxas how it's a good idea to let someone know where you're at in case something important arises."

"And I was trying to explain to Naminé how I'd like some peace for once without Axel running in to interrupt me." Roxas said, all but glaring at Naminé.

"Ohhh…" Demyx shied away. "Should I come back some other time?"

Naminé shook her head. "No, come on in and get some hot chocolate. We're done, I think."

Demyx smiled unsurely and made himself a cup of hot chocolate before joining the two at the table. "So, how's Sora settling in? His friends aren't too angry about us dragging him away so fast, are they?"

"Well, Riku's busy keeping the trio off his back. Remember them always talking about their girly baby brother? They're pretty sure that he's him." Naminé said. "It makes sense, since Cloud recognized him and he and Sora got sent to the orphanage together."

"But… how?" Demyx asked incredulously. "How did they get sent to the orphanage in the first place? And why didn't they remember anything?"

"Mom's looking into it." Roxas said. "She and dad are calling in some favors. They've even got General Sephiroth coming back early."

Naminé thoughtfully ran her finger around the rim of her cup. "You have to remember that ten years ago there were so many kids who lost their families that any kids lost out on the streets were automatically taken to an orphanage. What I'm curious about is why Sora only remembers Cloud and no one else while in most cases the orphans don't remember anything at all. It's what makes it so hard to find their families."

"We'll be able to find the family's of Sora's other friends, right?" Demyx asked.

"I don't know." Naminé admitted. "Maybe."

The three took a break to sit in silence and sip at their drinks before Demyx changed the subject to something a little more cheerful.

"So, how are things going for our upcoming ball? Anything exciting being planned?" He asked Naminé.

"Aunt Aerith wants to announce Cloud's engagement to Princess Rinoa, but we all know that Squall won't let that happen. Although, I will have to let him know about it ahead of time."

"You devious sneak." Demyx said, sounding proud of her. "So what else?"

Naminé shrugged. "I don't know. She'll probably announce Sora's return. Riku's too, since he's Sephiroth's son."

"I never understood that." Demyx remarked, interrupting her. "Kadaj and them always called him their brother, but their Sephiroth's nephews and Riku is Sephiroth's son."

"They grew up together." Naminé explained. "Sephiroth was always gone and Riku was always stuck with them and their mother. Those three have always considered him their brother because of that. Anyway, back to the ball. She wants you to play some of your music, Dem."

"Awesome!"

"I thought you'd say that, so I've already set your performance time." Naminé said. "Which reminds me, Axel has a treat for all of us, but especially for Roxas. A special performance."

Roxas turned a little pink and glared at Naminé, but said nothing. He knew Naminé would only tease him away from everyone else and Demyx wouldn't say anything because of the blackmail that he had against him.

The door creaked open again and Cloud softly stepped into the room, not at all surprised to see the three of them. "I see the three mice have snuck into my kitchen again." He remarked. "Have room for two more?" He moved to the side a little to reveal Sora standing behind him.

"Plenty of room." Demyx cheerfully said. "Want a cup of hot chocolate?"

"No thanks," Cloud said, walking over to the table.

Sora followed closely behind as if afraid to get too far from his older brother. Cloud bent down to say something to Sora, who nodded and then hurriedly took a seat between Naminé and Roxas. Cloud busied himself with making Sora's drink.

"Couldn't sleep?" Naminé asked him.

Sora shook his head. "I got too excited. And then someone woke me up just as I was falling asleep and then I was wide awake, so I went to go talk to Cloud and he brought me down here. Do you guys come down here every night? Cloud made it seem like you do."

Naminé and Roxas exchanged amused looks.

"Well, you're related to Demyx for sure." Naminé said teasingly. "You two both talk a lot."

"Hey!" Demyx exclaimed. "I do not talk a lot! Well, maybe sometimes, but I don't talk a lot all the time!"

Sora looked curious. "Do you have panic attacks too?" He looked up and thanked Cloud went the blonde set down a cup of hot chocolate in front of him. Then he turned his attention to Demyx.

"I do. Hey!" He looked at Sora as if seeing him in a new light. "Now I'm not the only one! This is great! Well, not great, but at least I'm not the only one now. Ha! Now Axel can't make fun of me anymore because then he'd be making fun of Sora which would be like making fun of Roxas since their twins and Axel won't-- Mmmph!" He glared at Naminé and licked her hand so she'd take it off his mouth.

Naminé make a disgusted face and wiped her hands on her pajama pants. "Gross, Dem. Real mature."

"Serves you right." Demyx replied, taking a sip of his drink to get rid of the taste of Naminé's hand. "Ick." He made a face. "Your lotion tastes horrible."

"You're not suppose to eat it, smart one."

"Well maybe if you wouldn't stick your hand in my mouth I wouldn't."

"I did not stick my hand in your mouth. You licked it when I put it over your mouth."

"Same difference!"

While Naminé and Demyx continued to bicker, Roxas leaned closer to Sora and whispered, "It's times like these that it's easy to see that those two are twins."

Sora looked surprised. "Twins?"

"Runs in the family." Cloud said, sitting down between Sora and Naminé. "Mom had a twin brother."

Sora hesitated a moment. "Had?"

"He… passed away a few years ago." Roxas said. "That's why Demyx and Naminé live with us. We don't talk about him much anymore. It's too upsetting."

"O-oh." Sora stammered. He began strumming his fingers on the table. "So, can I got and see my friends tomorrow? I don't like being away from them for too long and Riku doesn't do too well in new places without me and Selphie around. He gets mad at people too easy."

"What about the other two?" Cloud asked.

"Them too." Sora said. "I don't know them as well, but they're really nice and I don't want to leave them all alone. It wouldn't be fair after dragging them all the way out here."

"You'll see them during breakfast, I'm sure." Naminé said. She and Demyx had finished their argument and were ready to rejoin the conversation. "Everyone usually eats breakfast together in the dining hall. It's where Axel always manages to catch Roxas off guard."

For the second time that night Roxas blushed. "He does not!"

Demyx grinned. "No, she's right. You get some food in front of you and from that point on nothing matters but eating that food."

Sora turned to Roxas with wide eyes. "You do that too?!"

His statement brought forth giggling and chuckling from the others while Roxas groaned.

"Okay, twin-ly habits aside, I have a question." Naminé said. "I have to ask; am I the only straight one in this room?"

Sora looked around at the guys in confusion and then back at Naminé. "Huh?"

Naminé giggled. "Well, Cloud is desperately in love with Squall, Roxas is in denial about how he feels about Axel, and Demyx goes into a panic attack whenever he doesn't see Zexion every few hours."

(Demyx scowled and muttered, "I do not.")

"So what about you, Sora?" She asked.

"Me?" Sora looked surprised. "I like Riku. We're together again, you know. We had this big dumb fight, but everything's okay now. He gave me this too." He proudly showed them the crown necklace.

"Aww, that's sweet." Demyx cooed. "Zexion gave me a book once, but I think that was just to get me to stop talking."

The five of them stayed up for a while longer to talk and tease one another before they gave in to sleep and went to bed.

Two weeks breezed by with a sort of hectic business. Naminé found herself running all over the palace helping Queen Aerith arrange things for the upcoming ball while helping out Sora and his friends. Demyx divided his time between Zexion, practicing for his performance, and spending time with Sora. Roxas was hidden away for most of every day thanks to his training with Larxene. He spent his free time with Sora or hiding from Axel. And Cloud was finally out of the kitchen and back out training with his huge sword, which made Squall and Zack both very happy.

Riku and Axel were not happy. Riku was getting dragged around everywhere by his "brothers" and got roped into helping them out at the stables. He barely had five minutes each morning to talk to Selphie and Sora before he was dragged off. And since they had different lunches and dinners were "family time", that was the only part of the day that Riku could see Sora.

Axel's problem was different but the same in a way. He had plenty of opportunities to see Roxas at different times of the day, he was just unable to ever find him. At breakfast he got stuck sitting down at the end of the table with Kairi, Pence, Xigbar, and Xemnas while Roxas sat with Sora surrounded by family. And during the day when he could usually hunt Roxas down in a matter of minutes, the blonde was nowhere to be found. To add to his stress, he had to show Kairi around.

Axel stared dismally out the window, wishing that the weather reflected his mood. Sitting nearby was Kairi, who looked like she'd rather be anywhere but in that room. He glanced over at her and then looked away, wishing that his dad would think thing's through for once in his life and not rely on gut instinct when deciding something important like adopting a teenaged girl.

"She's the daughter of one of my best friends." King Reno had told him. "I promised him that if anything were to ever happen to him, I would take care of her. Now I find out that she's still alive while he and his wife are gone. If I can do anything to help her, I'll do it. Once I get through to her foster parents I'll talk to her. If she agrees, then you'll have a new little sister."

'Yeah, little sister. Just what I need.' Axel thought sarcastically. 'Damn it! I don't know anything about girls! Except for Naminé, but she doesn't really count. I've know her for years. And she introduced me to Roxas.'

"So, you wanna go down to the training field?" Kairi asked, gently breaking through his thoughts. "I haven't been out there yet, but the way, umm, Xig…bar? was describing it made it sound interesting."

"Maybe later." Axel grumbled, still looking out the window.

Kairi disappointedly looked down at her shoes. 'What should I say? He looks so… sad…'

"Kairi?" Naminé's sweet voice drifted in from the doorway. Seconds later she stepped into the room carrying a bundle of papers. For the first time in a long time she was wearing sweat pants and a tank top and her hair was pulled up into a messy bun. "If Axel's being a depressing idiot then you can come with me. I could use a little help."

Happily, Kairi joined her and lightened some of Naminé's load without looking back at Axel. Together the two walked down the hall and talked.

"So, how is castle life treating you?" Naminé asked. "Is Axel treating you alright?"

Kairi nodded. "He's been really nice, showing me all over the castle. He has been a little depressed lately though."

"Ah, that would be because of Roxas." Naminé said with a frown. "Those two have been best friends since the day I introduced them. Axel's liked Roxas as more than a friend for a few years and now Roxas feels the same, but he's in denial."

"Sounds like two of my friends back home. They're always fussing, but you can tell they really like each other."

"Wow, sounds exactly like Roxas and Axel."

Kairi giggled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's funny. You can find similarities in people who live in completely different places and live entirely different lifestyles."

"Hmm." Naminé agreed. "People are people."

"So, where are we taking these?"

"Banquet Hall. Aunt Aerith wants the decorations finalized for next week."

"And it's getting done just now?"

"Seems that way. It gets super crazy around here when parties are being planned."

As if to demonstrate Naminé's point, Yuffie went running past with a handful of ribbons. Moments later, a large red creature ran after her, growling and snarling. The odd scene didn't deter the two girls from continuing on to the Banquet Hall.

End Chapter

DONE! (collapses across desk) It took forever to get this chapter finished. The only part that I had an easy time writing was the kitchen scene with the Faire kids. With the way things are right now, I have no idea how long it'll take me to finish the next chapter since I am (once again) stuck. There are some scenes I need to do before I can hit the ball, in which more important things happen, and then I need to clear up a bunch of questions that have yet to be answered.

So, if anyone had any questions that haven't been answered in the story yet, then feel free to ask so I can make sure I answer everything. And as always, constructive criticism is welcome.

As for when the next chapter will be done... I have no idea. Things are getting crazy here lately with Game Night every Friday night. Not to mention it's my Senior year and I've got 2 projects I still have to finish, Senior Awards ceremony is this Wednesday (and will be a mind-numbing 2.5 hours, but I have to go to it in order to be able to do Senior Skip Day), I've got to decide what kind of laptop I want (any suggestions?), and attempt to organize my friends for a barbeque after graduation. Yay. I'm just glad that I have A's and B's in all my classes so I can exempt my final exams. Especially the English one. There is no way I'm sitting in a classroom for 3 hours to do a 500 question exam. No. Frickin'. Way.

And there's my rant for the day.

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By the way, the red creature chasing Yuffie is Red XIII.