Disclaimer: I don't own Natasha Bedingfield's Pocketful of Sunshine, nor do I own anything else.
The Black Thirteen
Stage the Fourth: The Reflection of Derised
A battle is imminent any time soon.
Both Kingdoms are on edge, waiting for the other to strike the first blow. In times like these, people should be just as anxious as the rulers. The class of knights especially should be on edge. However, two such of the class, the de Luz brothers, were concerned on other matters...
"Kairi!" Sora knocked on her door again, his knuckles red from knocking on the door so much. She had not been answering the door since she had rushed inside the castle. "Kairi, please talk to me!" He said, almost in a begging tone. Normally girls would be dreaming of the chance of having Sora, one of the most adorable boys around(not to mention heir to an insane amount of wealth and a person that was very famous due to his family's reputation), beg to them. Kairi was in a position that many girls would die for. She sure was taking advantage of it, too.
"Please!" It had been what, an hour or two she's been stuck in there? Sighing, he placed his forehead against the door, not knowing how to get Kairi to look at him. He wondered why he even cared, but he just did. He felt like an idiot with how he had completely blown it; he supposed he wanted to rectify his mistake. Well, at least Kairi didn't care about his status, because if she did, then she would know that he would probably be able to influence the King to fire her. Of course, he'd never do that, even if he hated Kairi. Which he certainly didn't.
He suddenly heard panicked footsteps from down the hall, and bit his lip, wondering if he should leave the door and go see what was up. Kairi could always sneak out and run away if he left there, but Sora needed to know what was going on. He was going to be a protector one day; he had the right to get into everybody's business. However, before he went to see what the commotion was about, the commotion came to him. It was three or four panicked servants mixed in with a couple of maids. Their hair was all over the place and their faces were red and they were panting, giving off the impression that they were rabid, and Sora caught himself half-expecting them to foam at the mouth any minute.
"Lord Sora! Their Majesties have something to discuss with you!" The four servants all said simultaneously, as if this has been rehearsed.
Sora glanced back at Kairi's door, then at the exhausted faces of the servants/maids. Shaking his head, he leaned his back against Kairi's door. However, as he did that, she just happened to open the door. Sora, not feeling anything supporting his back, glanced back and stumbled backwards(in seemingly slow motion), falling on top of the auburn-haired girl. Their faces both turned bright red, and they remained like that for awhile before Sora's brain finally started to function again, and he got off of her, holding out a hand to her.
"S-So-Sorry, I-I di-di-didn't k-know y-y-you w-were t-there..." He spluttered, his embarrassment taking control of his vocal chords and making him stutter like a fool. The brunette mentally cursed himself. Why was he such a failure around girls? Saint Nomura gave him everything; personality, looks, status, but the Saint didn't give him the charisma and charm he needed! How was he supposed to be a knight in shining armor when--Sora exhaled, releasing all of his momentary anger at the Saint with the breath. 'Saint Nomura, I'd love you forever if you give me an opportunity to make it up for Kairi!'
"Y-Yeah, o-okay..." Kairi said, as embarrassed as he as she took his hand, stood up and averted her eyes, locking them on the floor as if something interesting lie there. However, she didn't let go of his hand, and it didn't seem like either noticed that they were still holding hands. The maids, obviously appreciating this little display of accidental affection, didn't want to ruin anything by pointing it out.
"As we have said, Lord Sora," Said another maid who kept on glancing at their hands and giggling, "Their Majesties wish to see you."
"Lord?" Kairi questioned, turning her head so she was 'looking' in his direction. However, her eyes still did not meet his.
"Yeah, what's my new title about?" Sora asked, confusion displayed in his facial expression as well as his tone.
"That is what Their Majesties wish to discuss with you. If you would, follow us," They said, walking away. Sora began to follow, but stopped when he realized Kairi wasn't coming.
"Kairi, aren't you coming?" He asked, turning to look at her. She looked up at him, her face still having a tint of red splashed across her cheeks.
"Oh, no. The conversation you have with Their Royal Majesties is yours alone. Unless," Kairi grinned, her smile full of radiance that would make the sun green with jealousy, "You want me to come?"
"Of course! After all, they'll give you brownie points for entering with me, right?" He said, grinning as she laughed and suddenly, they both realized they were holding hands.
"Oh!" They both exclaimed, their blush returning to their faces. However, when they were about to say something, most likely going to embarrass themselves further, the servants and fellow maids(like Kairi--wow it was so hard for Sora to believe she was going to be working here!) came to them.
"It wouldn't do you well to keep the King and Queen waiting!" Said a maid. Her high-pitched, squeaky voice snapped both of them out of whatever dreamy daze they were in.
"Yeah, let's go, Kairi," Sora said, grasping her wrist and pulling her towards the throne room. He had wanted to show around the castle and give her a 411 on everything she could possibly be curious about, but these stupid maids/servants were ruining his chance of doing so! Sighing, he supposed his tour with Kairi could wait.
-
"Your Majesties." Once they had arrived at the throne room, all the servants, maids, and Sora bowed deeply to the mouse-resembling King and Queen of Disney. Had they not been King and Queen and deserved better respect than assumptions, Sora would have assumed they were mice.
"Sora, we have very important news to relay to you," The King said, walking over to him, then noticing Kairi, and looking surprised. "You must be the girl who applied for a position as a maid here!"
"Yes, um," Kairi glanced at Sora and then said, "Lord Sora de Luz recommends me for the job!"
"Y-Yeah!" Sora said, nodding his head, "Yeah, um...she's actually a childhood friend of mine. Used to cook and clean at my parents' manor! Yeah, it'd be a loss for all of Disney if you didn't hire her." He laughed, hoping they didn't see through his lie. If it was one thing that was awful about Sora, it would be that he was a terrible liar. Then again, that might be a good thing, since knights weren't really supposed to lie, but Sora supposed it was just a little white lie. What harm could it do?
"Then we will make sure to add that when we look over your application, Miss Kasei. Lord Sora, we have upsetting news to reveal to you," The Queen said, a disheartening expression on her face. But Sora was ready to meet whatever bad news they were going to crank out. His brother was dead, his parents were missing...he was positive that his family situation could only get better from this point.
"We found your parents' bodies. It was murder, unfortunately. We found a letter on top of your mother's body, clasped in her hands. We did not read it, but you can whenever you wish," The King said, handing the letter to Sora.
To save himself from embarrassment, he pretended to read it. He didn't know how to read, but maybe he'd get Kairi to teach him later. That would be even more embarrassing, but he had to know what his parents wrote to him. He didn't want anyone to read it out loud to him, because the message inside was for his eyes and for his alone. After he pocketed the letter, he looked up and waited for Their Majesties to speak.
"Now you are appointed to Lord status. This means that you can disband your quest of becoming a knight and, as the letter describes, retire back to your manor," The Queen said quietly, "However, if you do wish to become a knight, then the King and I will hold your land until you are married and can have a lady to watch over the house."
"I see..." Sora bit his lip, then looked up and said, "No. I have to become a knight. Maybe my father wanted me to live a nice, cushiony life in luxury, but there are other people's memories I have to honor. Even if they seemed to have hated him, he's still my brother. I have to become a knight because he never could."
Kairi smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I think that's the right thing to do, Sora," She whispered, nodding her head in approval.
The King winked at Sora(who then blushed) and said, "Alright, please do not tell anyone of anything that was just discussed. We will look over your application once more, Miss Kasei. Lord Sora, I'm sure you wouldn't mind escorting her around the castle?"
"It would be my honor, Your Majesty!" Sora said, bowing again and letting a grin spread over his features. Taking Kairi's arm in his, he spun around and said to her, "Shall we, Miss Kasei?"
Kairi giggled and smiled, saying, "Yes we shall, my lordship."
Once they exited the throne room, she said, "It must be luxurious, living the life of a knight who is going to become famous one day. Special treatment from the King; everyone loves you..." Kairi sighed, "It must be bliss."
Sora grinned and replied, "It must be bliss being a pretty girl like you." Kairi blushed slightly, and then looked at him.
"It must be bliss having all of the maids drool over you!" She returned, sticking her tongue out as she thought that Sora possibly couldn't come up with a retaliation. But she was underestimating the squire--now Lord. A priceless grin spread across her face, she waited for a response that she thought would never come.
"Well, that must include you, right?" Sora asked, matching her grin and giving his own award-winning, trademark, goofy grin. He had overheard the maids talk about his picture-perfect smile. With the way they talked so highly of him (and how he overheard them often), Sora was surprised he wasn't a self-egotistical jerk by now. Perhaps the death of his family kept him humble.
"N-No, I..." Kairi frowned, realizing he had just trapped her. No, wait, maybe not. Her grin returning to her face, she replied, "Well, what if it does?"
"Then..." Sora racked his mind for a response, "I'd have to tell you that I think you're pretty attractive, too. But that's only if you drool over me. ...You don't, right?"
Glancing at each other, they both started to laugh at how ridiculous they were being. Besides, Sora couldn't help but feel as if Kairi was an attractive individual, even if their social classes clashed. Who really cared about marrying within their own class anymore? Sora didn't want to marry some airheaded ditz who only wanted him because he could buy her expensive jewelry or would make a great trophy husband. That would be awful.
"Oh, Sora, you're so funny," Kairi said, giggling slightly, "I really hope I can stay here. I couldn't stand where I used to live." Her face turned serious as she shuddered slightly. The laughter out of her eyes had been completely drained, and her face turned slightly pale. Sora frowned, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, that's all over now," He said in a soothing voice, knowing that something terrible must have happened to her in the past. The way all of her vivacity had just disappeared at the mention of where she used to live was a giveaway. He wasn't going to pry into her personal life; when she told him, she told him. "Whatever had happened to you in the past, I swear I won't let it happen to you again."
"Promise?" She asked, looking up at him, the life returning to her once more. Like watching winter explode with life as it turns to spring. Truly a sight to behold, just like Kairi. Breathtaking.
'Wow, she's really pretty.' Sora thought, knowing he had established that fact sometime in the appraisal shop. But he just needed to reinforce it, because...wow. It was almost like she wasn't human. But that was impossible; the only people he had met with inhuman-like qualities lived at the Disney castle.
"Sora!" Kairi said a bit loudly, stopping and looking at him so he snapped out of wonderland, "Promise?"
"Huh?" Sora blinked, and then he knew that Saint Nomura answered his prayers; giving him an opportunity to be charismatic. 'Thank you Saint Nomura, thank you!' He mentally exclaimed. Sora was never going to fall asleep in church ever again.
Sora knew that this was his opportunity to be chivalrous like a knight, like all of the stories he read about, about all of the knights in shining armor slaying foul beasts for a fair maiden in distress. Even when he had been little, he always wanted to be a knight in shining armor and people would tell stories about him. Roxas hadn't been interested in that kind of stuff as much. But, anyway, that all didn't matter since Roxas was dead.
If he was going to do this, he was going to do this right. Kneeling down, he took her hand and looked up into her sparkling indigo eyes, "On my honor as your faithful knight, Miss Kairi Kasei, I give you my word that I will not let any harm befall you." Kissing her hand and letting go of it as it flopped to her side. Standing up, he noticed that her face could not possibly get any more red than it already was. For a moment, Sora actually thought he said something wrong.
It took Kairi awhile(honestly, Sora felt like he had been standing there for months) to snap out of her stupor, but when she did, she smiled radiantly and said, "Thank you." The sincerity of her words just made Sora smile as well. Now he was sure that this was what a knight was all about. Being some girl's knight in shining armor and sticking up for the one that everyone was against.
"Well, I have to show you around the castle now!" Sora grasped Kairi's hand, and hand in hand, they began his tour around the castle.
"Your Majesty!" The throne room doors were shoved open by two very tan nobles, clad head to toe in garb that made them look as royal as the one they were speaking too. Naminé, currently seated at the throne with Roxas standing beside her, leaned forward slightly to hear the nobles, "We've received terrible news from Sanubia!"
'Sanubia?' Roxas questioned to himself, remembering he had heard of that place once, 'Oh right, it's a place in Bikanel Island. It's a small island in between the two continents, but the island has spilt alliances. Or so I heard, anyway.' Not wanting to say anything because Roxas really didn't remember the situation over at the island, he looked at the Queen, whom gasped.
"Oh no!" She said, sounding distraught, "What happened?!"
"Princess Rikku got kidnapped!" One of them replied in a thick accent, saying, "Druca pycdyntc; gethybbehk uin Bnehlacc!"
Roxas rose an eyebrow at the different language; then remembered that back at the Castle of Atlantica his teacher had taught him that on Bikanel they used a different language, called 'Al Bhed'. However, since Bikanel was spilt territory(and not many people visited there since it was mostly all desert), his teacher had only really gotten into the basics. Roxas could say 'hello', 'nice to meet you', and 'goodbye', but that was all his capabilities got into to. He could barely understand the language, let alone speak it.
"Ed'c ymnekrd, E bnuseca Rikku femm pa ugyo! Tu oui ghuf fru gethybbat ran?" Naminé replied, looking to the two men. She then gave Roxas a look of an apology; she somehow knew he was feeling left out. But he trusted the Queen, so he knew that she wasn't plotting to kill him or insulting him behind his back to these nobles or anything.
"It was Gippal!" The other one shouted(and Roxas was really quite glad they were speaking in a language he could understand this time), looking absolutely angry, "We know it was him!"
"Prince Gippal?" Naminé tilted her head and then said, "Ah! I'll make sure Rikku is returned to Sanubia safely. I will send my knights to retrieve her, and as soon as they make it there safely; I will alert you of her condition."
The two bowed and then quickly rushed out of the room as quickly as they had, murmuring words of gratitude to the Queen. As soon as they were sure the nobles was out of earshot, Naminé turned to Roxas and said, "Bikanel Island is an island between Disney and Square, and we each have allied with half of it. Princess Rikku is the Princess of the half that is allied with us, while Gippal is the Prince of the half that allied with Disney. It seems that Princess Rikku has been kidnapped by Prince Gippal. Roxas, I really hate to impose anything of you..."
He sighed, how did he know the Queen was going to ask him of this? "...But you want me to go." When she nodded, he sighed again, and immediately she adopted an apologetic look.
"Roxas, please believe me when I tell you I offer my deepest condolences, but you are one of the few I honestly trust," She said, her words full of sterling quality. Roxas had to grin at that, and he felt prideful. The Queen trusted him the most?
"Alright, Naminé." It wasn't like Roxas could just say no to the Queen, her ruling went above all else. "But, it's dangerous to send all of us. It would leave you unprotected." He would rather stay by her side, but he knew that she had to be her eyes and ears in Bikanel.
"I am thinking of sending just you and Axel. He is well adjusted to the heat and his senses are keen as well; especially his eyesight. I believe he will be of great help to you. Besides, you both are friends," Naminé said calmly, as if she had already known this was going to happen and planned it beforehand.
"A-Axel?!" Roxas spluttered, his eyes widening slightly, "Useful? Naminé, I think you may be mistaking him with someone else..." Axel and he joked around constantly. There was never a time when he saw the redhead serious, or useful(except for the purpose of jokes).
She smiled softly, folding her hands on her lap. "He may be your best friend, but I am afraid there is a lot you do not know about him." Then, she tilted her head as her smile adopted a sadness to it, "He keeps a cheerful front, but inside he has been wounded deeply."
Roxas frowned. He was going to ask Naminé what she meant, but he decided that Axel or even she would tell him sooner or later. 'He's been...wounded deeply.' He repeated her words in his head. It didn't seem possible that Axel could be 'wounded deeply'; but the Queen did not lie.
"So...when do we leave?" He asked, crossing his fingers and hoping that she would just laugh and say, 'Just kidding! You're not going anywhere!' Being in a desert was somewhere he did not want to be. He just wasn't used to the harsh climate. The Castle of Atlantica had been surrounded by plenty of springs, waterfalls, and lush vegetation.
"Hmm," She seemed to think for a moment, then hopped off the throne. "Follow me." She walked out of the throne room, and towards the library. He followed her, curious as to how a library could pertain to Sanubia. Maybe it was time to read up on history.
To say that the library was the biggest thing he had ever seen would be an understatement. It had everything you could ever ask for: to Naminé's favorite picture books when she was a child, all the way to a giant history book containing all of the events that had occurred up until today. In fact, there were some scribes over at a table who noticed the Queen; bowing in respect before sitting down and scribbling madly down on their pieces of parchment. There were some comfortable-looking chairs scattered about the massive place, all accompanied with tables that had an oil lamp on them. They saw Zexion sitting at a table and playing a game of chess with Lexaeus, but it seemed that the latter was losing quite badly due to the fact that Zexion was reading a book while waiting for the taller man to make his move.
Zexion was hard to beat at chess. Or at anything requiring intelligence for that matter. Roxas always considered himself smart, but when you met Zexion, it was like you were talking to a person who belonged on a higher plane. The guy was so intelligent that it was uncanny. He actually learned how to read by himself; and he even taught Naminé and Larxene, too! No wonder he was not only the Queen's knight, but her tactician as well. Zexion looked up to see both blondes, and they waved at him. He just nodded his head in return, and turned back to the chess board.
They continued on, and saw Lady Larxene sitting on a deep forest-green chair, reading Marquis de Sade. She didn't seem to notice them, so the Queen quickly hurried on. Past experiences told Roxas to not bother Larxene while she was reading, because that resulted in either a bloody nose, black eye, or both.
Finally, the blonde Queen made her way to where all the maps and atlases were located. There was a table right in the middle of the space that all of the bookshelves made, with a bright light shining on it from a nearby lamp. The Queen taking the liberty to blow the lamp out; as she didn't want it to tip over and the whole thing to burn down(Naminé had told him something like that would have happened in the past if it weren't for Axel who was miraculously in there at the time--though Roxas wondered what that meant. Did that mean that Axel...?). On the table was a world map, and she gestured to it. "Here is Bikanel Island."
"Sanubia's a place in Bikanel, right?" Roxas asked, looking at the map. It was closer to the capital of Square; where they were now, than to the capital of Disney, where his supposedly Satanic brother lived. He guessed it probably took two weeks or so to get there by boat if the weather permitted.
"You need not worry about it, Roxas. It all began over the dispute over Home and which Al Bheds, those that live in Bikanel, were going to live there. Home is the name of the shelter for everyone living in the harsh climates, but sometime back, my ascendants were quite greedy. They wanted to kick out those allied with Disney out of Bikanel, since it was closer to our territory and should be our property. But those who allied themselves with Disney resented us for kicking them out of Home, and now the Al Bhed are allied on different sides because of it. Although, our side has still retained Home, but we hear attacks from Home, saying that the Al Bhed allied with Disney want entrance to their ancestors' home and are willing to fight for it."
Knowing that she had just given a history lesson involuntarily, she added, "Since the island is under spilt alliances and because of the issue of Home, that calls for constant fighting. I suspect that is why Prince Gippal kidnapped the Princess; to stop all the fighting."
"So what you want Axel and me to do is somehow reconcile the two nations using our charming personalities and dashing good looks?" Roxas asked, grinning. She gave him a quizzical look which made him burst out in laughter. The expression on her face was purely priceless. He couldn't describe the expression on her face--but it was definitely something he wished he could have captured on paper.
"Now matter how charismatic and handsome you both think you are, I think it is going to take a little more than that to make two countries that have been at war for years to establish peace. All I am really aiming for is to make sure that the Princess is well-established in Bikanel."
"You..." He looked rather surprised, "...don't want us to rescue her or anything?" No damsels in distress? No knocking down fire-breathing dragons? No...nothing?
"Not necessarily, no." The Queen tapped her chin for a moment, and then tilted her head and said, "You see, what I think is that if Prince Gippal kidnapped her in order to stop the fighting, then that means he is willing to conciliate with Sanubia. If I could leave the throne in order to go myself, I would, but I cannot."
"Let me get this straight: You want us to trek all the way down to Bikanel, check up on the Princess, and then come back here?" Roxas rose an eyebrow. No valiant rescue attempts? Nothing? Here he was, hoping for some action, too.
"I also want you to deliver a letter I shall write later to King Cid." Naminé bit her lip, and Roxas could have sworn that he saw tears glistening in her eyes, "I want to stop this war more than anything, Roxas. Even if it is making peace between two nations every year, I want this to stop. I know there will always be people who will hate Disney...but eventually, this war is going to take a toll on King Mickey and myself and something terrible is going to happen to both you and your brother. If this does not stop I will be forced to send you out to war and--"
"Naminé," Roxas moved over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. It would be too awkward if he embraced her. Especially since he could see that the scribes from that table were watching them keenly. Even if Roxas was well-known and at the higher end of nobility, he and the Queen were from completely different classes. It would be kind of forbidden for him to offer nothing more than a hand on the shoulder, a smile, and some comforting words.
Before he got to say any of those comforting words, however, she just shook her head and took a step away from him. Clearing her throat, she looked up at him, her eyes all dry. It looked like she had perfected the art of controlling her emotions, as was expected of one of the royal family. She had to be strong for her country, she had to be the column in which everyone could depend upon. But there was only so much weight a column could bear before it started to crumble, and Roxas didn't want to see her break down. Although, she was mentally strong, and he didn't think she would break that easily. Even if she did look rather fragile, like a doll. "At any rate, the time taken to travel to Sanubia is around two weeks or so, depending on the weather. Some scholars I have spoken to earlier predicted that the weather be nice and sunny and the sea calm."
"So we're leaving tomorrow then, right?" Roxas said, with almost a sigh. He didn't want to go, but since he had to, he might as well get it over with. Besides, Axel was going, too. It wasn't like it was going to be painstakingly boring if his best friend was there with him.
"Hmm?" She blinked, looking surprised, then shook her head, "No, of course not! I need to go over these plans with the rest of my knights, my royal retainer--" He zoned out when she began to list some people he didn't know or cared about, but then zoned back in when she was done listing the people, "--I also must write that letter and that should take at least a day or so. You should go to Axel and tell him what I have just told you. You both should start preparing. Hopefully it will not be a long trip; it should only take about a month if time is used to it's prime and the sea continues to be calm. There is also a matter I must take up with the Captain of the boat you will be riding on. The seas have been notoriously rough lately, and not to upset you or anything, but--"
"There's been this rumor that there's this giant kraken type monster lurking underneath the surface." Turning around to see who had interrupted her, it was none other than everyone's favorite redhead, Axel. Their favorite only because he was the only redhead they all knew, if you exclude what's-her-face who was hanging out with Roxas' brother. "Yo," Axel waved at them both.
"Oh! Axel, how long have you been here?" The Queen asked, stepping forward.
"When you announced your secret," Axel said, raising an eyebrow. Roxas turned to Naminé, confusion written on his face. What secret had she divulged to him? He didn't remember anything, unless she had said something about Bikanel he wasn't supposed to know?
The Queen turned scarlet, and she said, her tone hurried and panicked, "Wh-What secret d-did I-I tell?!" It was cute to see the Queen all flustered like that, since she was normally so calm and composed.
The redhead chuckled at this. "You didn't. But judging by your reaction, you do have a secret, little miss Queen."
Naminé looked rather shocked at first, and then she narrowed her eyes as her face grew red. Not in embarrassment this time, but in anger. Axel seemed to be awaiting her temper exploding--but it never came. The Queen wasn't the type to let her temper snap.
"You may think what you wish," She said calmly. It was hard to believe that she could regain her composure so quickly, "but I assure you that I have nothing to hide."
"You know, Axel, you sure like to pry into other people's dirty laundry. I don't see you showcasing any pieces of your past," Roxas said, crossing his arms.
Axel held Roxas' gaze for a moment, then mimicked him and crossed his arms as well, and closed his eyes. "Well. My name is Axel, I have red hair, green eyes, am incredibly handsome and have a personality to die for; every woman wants to be with me and every guy wants to be best friends with me, which means you're very lucky, Rox, and I like to tell people they need to commit things to memory because I have an obscene fear of amnesia." He opened an emerald eye and then asked, "Got it memorized?"
"But everyone knows that Larxene hates you--" Roxas started, but the Queen held up a hand to signal that the blonde knight was getting a bit out of line.
"That is enough, Roxas. I am sure you would mind us prying into your personal life," She said, and then smiled slightly and, in an attempt to make the situation lighter, added, "Or else your life must be boring." She laughed slightly, and Axel chuckled as well. Roxas smiled and even laughed a little. He loved hanging out with the Queen and Axel; they always knew how to make him laugh. But now that Naminé was getting older, apparently her responsibilities as a Queen were getting to be more of a burden and she couldn't just relax that much as she did when she was younger.
But what really got Roxas annoyed was that they(meaning the scholars and retainers and whomever else aided in rule 'behind the scenes') were trying to push marriage onto her all so that Square could have a King and that rule could be shared. It wasn't that he didn't want her to be married off or anything (Come on, why would he care? He was just her knight.), but he had seen some of the candidates the retainers wanted her to marry. Half of them were over forty. The other half were asinine jerks that seemed as stupid as their name sounded. One such in particular that stuck out to Roxas: His Illuminating Royal Highness Best-at-Everything-so-he-Might-as-Well-be-God-in-Fact-I-Think-he-is-God Prince Stuffyhead Jerkface Bigego SnobbyMcSnob III--oh, right, that was the name of every applicant.
At any rate, (How Roxas' thoughts had a mind of their own) their little gigglefit was interrupted by one of the guards who had stumbled upon the scene. Who Roxas didn't particularly like, only because this soldier guarded her room. At night. But everyone had assured him that he was a good, clean guy that needed this job to bring his family out of the slums. No matter how much Naminé tried to sugarcoat everything, there were those in Square that were awfully poor and would die to even see the Queen in real life.
"Your Majesty," He said, bowing, clearing his throat and glancing at Roxas and then at Axel, "Sir Roxas, Sir Axel, it is an honor to be in your presence. I have a message from His Majesty King Cid of Sanubia. I just received it moments ago." He handed it to the Queen, and she was about to open it, when Axel stopped her.
"Wait. It could be a trap," He said warily, snatching the letter from her hands.
"How could it be a trap?" Roxas asked.
"You'd be surprised. This letter seems pretty thick; not like a normal letter, unless the King decided to send you a present. Who gave you this letter? Did you receive it from a valid ship?" Axel asked, looking at the guard.
"I don't know, I was given it by one of the Black Thir--" He stopped when he received suspicious looks from Axel and Roxas, so he corrected himself, "--from one of Her Majesty's royal guards so it seemed legit," The soldier said, sounding nervous.
"Who?" Naminé asked.
"The one who was playing a type of lute--"
"SITAR!" They heard a correction being yelled out over the other side of the bookcase. Promptly, all the scribes shushed him. Roxas rolled his eyes. That was none other than the carefree musician Demyx. How he was knighted was a mystery. He was the weakest member of the thirteen, and even if he wasn't--he was the group pacifist. Normally he handled errands...like delivering letters. Quickly the group moved over to the tawny-haired musician who was reading a book about music. (Although...it didn't look like he particularly understood it)
"Demyx, where'd you get this letter from?" Axel asked, gesturing to the letter.
Demyx just shrugged and said, "I dunno. You see, I was playing my sitar outside and my sitar case was open and some kid threw that and some money in it. It was addressed to Her Majesty so I was like 'Hey! Why not deliver this to the Queen!'"
"You are one of the most idiotic people I know, tying with Roxas for first place," Axel said with an exasperated sigh. The Queen and he laughed when Roxas shouted out a "Hey!", but Axel just patted the blonde on the head and said, "Now, now, Roxas. Children should be seen and not heard." The blonde in question just sighed in frustration. He knew Axel was joking, but still! Sometimes he hated being the youngest. Except for Naminé, but anyone that made fun of her(except him, he always got off easy), well, let's just say they'd receive hateful glares from the entire castle staff. Word got around the palace like a fire to a forest.
"Shouldn't we open it?" Naminé asked, clasping her hands together and stepping forward, "In case it is a letter from His Majesty?"
Axel rose an eyebrow. "You're telling me that you're trusting some guy we don't even know? I don't think so." He looked like he was about to rip it, but Naminé shook her head and took a step forward.
"But what if it is!" She said, frowning.
"Naminé, trust Axel on this one. You and Demyx both are too trusting. There's obviously something bad in that letter and by you opening it, you are going to get an explosion in your face or some kind of air disease and will be bedridden," Roxas said with a hint of concern in his voice. There had been plenty of times (too many, actually) when Demyx got swindled and accidentally let someone enter the castle. Although the guards had been wary, any of Naminé's personal knights could override anyone else's decisions besides from her own. There were also some other exceptions, like if they got a visit from one of her relatives. Which barely happened. In fact, Roxas didn't really think they were on good relations. Except for her Uncle; he forgot his name but whenever she talked about him it was always good things. It was Uncle Cumulus--no, Uncle Stratus...Uncle...something or other. It didn't matter too much.
"Don't blame this on me!" Demyx said, placing the book on music back, "I did nothing wrong! I mean, it could be that the King decided to send her a present! I love presents, and Naminé probably does too! I don't know when her birthday is, but..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Roxas interrupted him with a look of awe. "You get presents on your birthday?" Naminé and Demyx looked surprised, and even a couple of scribes looked his way. Axel, however, had a staid expression on his face.
"You never received presents on your birthday by your old family, Roxas?" Naminé asked, frowning and tilting her head. Of course, he did now because she insisted that they hold a party for everyone of her thirteen knight's birthdays (and in turn, they held a big bash for her that was always fun), and half the time everyone bought him a present. The other half they made up some stupid, complex excuse for being lazy and not getting him one. Which was fine, he didn't really need all the gifts he received anyway; but it was a nice gesture.
"My parents hated me, so of course not. They always preferred Sora. It was always Sora," He said, a bit of loathing in his tone, "Whatever I did, it was never good enough to get noticed. My parents were always concentrated on Sora. They send him to the King's castle, and they send me to some baron's castle, one where I can't receive as good training as I would if I were with Sora in the King's castle. I was always walking in his shadow and--"
"Relax, Rox," Axel said, making Roxas take a deep breath. The blonde hadn't meant to pour out all of his feelings into that mini soliloquy of his. "I've received birthday presents before--but they were all handmade and feminine," The redhead said, as if to make the blonde better.
"Handmade presents are my favorite!" Naminé said, "It shows that you really care and want to put some thought, effort, and time into making something instead of going to the market and buying something."
"It's amazing," Demyx stated airily, "that we can suddenly go from exploding letters to presents like that..."
"Oh, I believe it was me that instigated this tangent. I apologize," Naminé said, and then turned back towards Axel, who still had the letter in his hands. "Why will you not open it, then? If something gets out of hand I am sure my lovely three knights can handle it," She said, smiling as Roxas and Demyx beamed, while Axel didn't buy her bait.
"No, I don't think so." The redhead then ripped the letter in half, and they heard a crackling, exploding noise in the process. From the letter dripped egg yolk. Egg yolk. "See? This would've exploded all over your face. How weird that someone stuffed an egg in here instead of a bomb. Probably some stupid prank by a poor child."
"It makes me so sad to know that some of my people do not like me," Naminé said, holding her hand up to her heart. "Although I suppose there is nothing I can do about it."
"Yeah, 'cause you can kinda die if you go out there in your hoity-toity clothes, with all due respect, Your Majesty," Demyx said quite bluntly, which made Naminé and Roxas glare at him. Being a noble, Roxas would fit in the category of wearing 'hoity-toity' clothes. Out of the four standing here, he and Naminé were the only people who were in the aristocratic society--or at least, had aristocratic families. He forgot how Axel was knighted--actually, he didn't forget, he was never told (which would make another thing that he didn't know about the redhead), and Demyx...Roxas didn't even know about Demyx.
The only thing the mullet headed boy was good at was playing the sitar. And being thirsty. If there was a most annoying thing about Demyx, it would probably be that he needed constant hydration, on top of the other aspects of him that were equally as annoying. His only shining quality was that he was a pacifist; and a good musician if he wasn't trying to annoy people.
"She doesn't need to be reminded about that," Roxas said quickly, seeing the smile drop from her face. "At any rate, Demyx, can you please be more careful next time before going off and handing things to Naminé that could be dangerous?" Roxas didn't even know why he was saying this, because everyone lectured Demyx all the time but he never learned.
Instead of answering, Demyx just asked, "You know what I don't get?" Axel was about to respond with 'Everything', but before he did, the brunette quickly answered his own question with, "Why you get to call Her Majesty by her first name, but if I do that or if Axel does that, she'll explode."
"Like I said," Axel said, looking a little smug with himself as he grinned that grin that said that he knew exactly what was going on no matter how hard someone tried to hide it, "She has a secret that she's not telling anyone."
"A secret!" The brunette's eyes lit up, "Ohhh, can I know, can I know?!" He asked, jumping up and down slightly.
"Well, I suppose." Naminé bit her lip, and then leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Demyx gasped and then looked shocked. He then proceeded to jump about in his excitement of knowing the Queen's secret.
"I got a secretful, a secretful of sunshine--wait, that's not how it goes..." Demyx seemed to think for a minute, "I got a pocketful, a pocketful of secrets...no, that's not it either. Hmmm..."
While he was thinking on what the song was, Axel just sighed and rubbed his temples as he looked at his best friend and mumbling, "Just as I stated, too trusting."
"Oh, this reminds me!" Naminé said, turning towards Roxas and Axel, "Speaking of secrets, there is something you both must know about Princess Rikku..."
If you're really clever, you can probably connect the dots and tell who Nami's Uncle is. It doesn't really matter too much since you'll find out later anyway.
Also, there is a specific reason why I didn't add in translations for the Al Bhed (the italics) portion of the chapter. It's because this story is about Sora and Roxas, and while it's not told in their perspective, it IS centered on them, and for the beginning of the story, everything YOU know is just what Sora/Roxas know and what people tell them. Of course, later on it gets more complicated, but...That's the reason why I don't provide translations; because if they don't know something, then you don't. Besides, whenever something is spoken in Al Bhed, someone will state the translation anyway. If you want to look it up yourself, then go ahead.
For some reason, I don't like the way this chapter turned out. I spent about five hours revising it. It came out way too wordy for me. (And you know me; I'm WORDY)
This chapter was such a doozy...