Disclaimer: Once upon a time, a teenage girl was skipping through the forest with her best friend. Her friend spied a stack of documents tucked away beneath the roots of a fallen tree, tied with a muddy ribbon and covered in water stains and dirt. She knelt down and picked them up, brushing away the dirt. Awe came over her as she stared at the wonderful papers, and the other girl noticed what she held. They were beautiful, and an unfamiliar greed came over her. "Darah," she murmured. "Give them to me." The other girl glared up at her. "No, Sarah. I found them, and I will keep them," she stated. "But it's my birthday, and I want them," Sarah protested, and killed Darah. She didn't get the papers anyway. A short, hairy man came and took them away. So no, I don't own the rights to Kingdom Hearts. My name isn't even Sarah. How very sad...
Marble halls were nearly silent. Echoing softly were the footsteps of a cloaked figure, advancing quickly on the door to the outside. Find Namine and bring her here. I expect her arrival by the end of the month, so be quick. Axel shook his head, striding more quickly down the hall.
The hell was Xemnas playing at? It wasn't Axel's job to keep track of the servant, so he had no idea where the hell she was. Zexion was the only one who paid any attention to her, and he was off on another continent, which would take too long to get to anyway.
The redhead pulled his hood up and pushed through the large stone doors at the end of the hall. Two weeks ago, about, Namine should've been in Midgar. As far as he knew, she wasn't given any other assignments since then, so it wasn't too unlikely tat she'd still be there, or in the general area. There were a number of towns near the city that might've been able to keep her entertained for long enough, and it usually took around 3 days to get to Midgar from Vastra, where they all stayed the majority of the time. Green eyes turned up to the sky, thanking his luck that Namine had a tendency to linger.
He looked back down, and lazily surveyed the scenery.
Vastra was on top of the mountains, shrouded in mist and thick greenery. It was difficult to find, and with the limited magic possessed by the immortals, they had made it inaccessible to mortals. Even animals couldn't cross the threshold unless being brought in by one of the 'gods' or Namine. But of course... Namine rarely spent her time in Vastra. No, it had never been a nice place for her. She liked the peace, but she preferred the peace of a small town to a large mass of ruins.
Besides that, Axel noted to himself as his eyes landed on a blonde throwing daggers at a target, Larxene and Namine had never gotten along very well.
The redhead hesitated, debating whether or not to approach his old friend. Bringing up the subject of the other blonde never really went well, but Larxene knew Zexion well enough that she might be privy to the girl's location as well. He ran a hand through his bright spikes, but sauntered toward the "storm goddess".
She arched a brow at his arrival, gripping one of her knives tightly.
"What do you want?" She greeted. Axel grinned in response, knowing not to let the attitude get to him.
"I was hoping you knew the whereabouts of a certain servant," he hedged, being careful not to even mention the girl's name. Larxene still sneered, crossing her arms and jutting her hip to the side.
"That little bitch? She's in Destiny."
"Destiny? Where the hell is that?"
"Geez, Axel. Full of stupidity today. It's this shitty little town by the sea, kinda near Midgar."
Axel frowned. "Well, how was I supposed to know?"
Larxene raised her brows in surprise. "Oh, hell. You really didn't hear about it, then. Zexion sent her to stay indefinitely, to keep an eye on a certain boy over there, Roxas. Apparently, he's a keywielder waiting to happen, so she's just there to make sure nothing comes of him."
The redhead's blood chilled at the reminder of those demons on Earth, and his eyes turned nearly icy. Frightening, all things considered. Larxene sighed. "Axel, relax. He's just a human, alright? He can't hurt you, and even if he could, we know how to fight them now. It's not gonna turn out like last time. Never again. So stop being a pussy and get your ass back to whatever the hell you were doing before you started bugging me."
Axel frowned, but turned back to the path and headed for the stables. He was pretty sure that the nice white horse was still there, and hopefully it was well-rested. Though they were lucky that Namine was actually on the same island as Vastra, she could very well be on the other side entirely, and it would be a long trip.
To his relief, the creature looked energetic and ready to go, so he hopped on and rode it out.
I was born in a town by the forest, nearly a century ago. My mother gave birth to me on the floor of our kitchen, without a midwife. She died soon after having me, and I was left with my father, Koscel, to raise me. It wasn't a particularly difficult life. Dad loved me, and I loved him, and we took care of each other as best as we could. Both of us worried sometimes if it was good enough. Still, we were happy.
I had known early on that my father wasn't perfect. It didn't take long to learn who all the women were that he took upstairs every other night. It wasn't difficult to figure out why some nights, he'd leave home with 100 gil and come back with 500, or nothing. I sometimes found beer laying around the house, and I'd know. He never tried to deny it, either. He simply did his best not to let it get in the way of a healthy, family relationship. I always thought he did a good job, every other night when he'd tuck me in bed, check for monsters in the closet, kiss my forehead and turn out the light.
Unfortunately, it didn't take long for him to pay the price of such a lifestyle, and he came down with a sexual disease. He battled it for two years, growing weaker as the time passed us by, until I was 12, and his body finally gave in.
I buried him by myself.
His grave was in the backyard, marked by a make-shift cross I made from bits of wood I had found, and I made sure to cover it in flowers.
For the first week, I was frightened. After all, I was a young girl without parents, without a job, without anything, really, except a roof over my head. How was I supposed to get food? How could I possibly make money, when gambling was too risky and I had no talents? I hadn't realized that money was to be the least of my worries, as short-sighted as I'd been at the time. The food turned out not to be a real problem, luckily. I grew vegetables in the garden outside, and one of the boys in town, Ventus, always found the time to slip me a meal, every day.
Ventus was unusual. He wasn't a sweetheart, could never be called a gentleman, but in his own way he was perfect. I'd had a crush on him since I was 8 years old, and played with him sometimes during worship when we got bored. After Dad died, he tried to help me through it, even though sometimes he got sick of dealing with the emotional wreck I'd been. I don't think he realized just how much I appreciated it, but he knew he was helping on some level. Soon enough, he grew to like me, too. Sometimes he'd swear that as soon as we could, we'd get married, and I'd be the happiest girl in the world.
We were young. Anything was possible.
It only took two months for Namine to become an important part of the Strife family. Upon Cloud's return, he'd been surprised and wary, but even he had warmed up to her quickly. Tifa finally had someone to whom she could impart womanly wisdom (since Kairi already had a mother for that), and Roxas... well, Roxas wasn't sure if he'd found a close friend or a crush.
He did know that he admired her. For such a sweet girl, she had a very blunt honesty to her when she wanted to. She was stronger than she looked, and she wasn't afraid to work. She was interesting, and he knew she was keeping secrets, but her attitude didn't reflect it at all, and it was easy to forget.
So did he like her?
Did he love her?
Roxas kicked a small stone out of the way as he trudged down the road toward Twilight Town, not intending to make the full journey, but enjoying a long walk on his own, so he could just... think. As much as he loved his family and friends, sometimes he preferred being alone. It was more peaceful that way. Better for contemplation.
The distant beating of horse hooves grabbed his attention, and he curiously peered down the curving road, unable to see the creature yet. Not many people bothered coming to Destiny, unless they were from Twilight Town. The townspeople, however, rarely used horses to travel such a short distance. Most of them liked to take the opportunity for a long walk, just like the blond, and there were very few places to keep a horse in Destiny anyway. The road didn't continue past the small town either, so nobody just passed through.
Roxas strained his ears, listening carefully to the beating of the hooves. If they were fast and heavy, the horse was probably galloping, and something bad had happened, or urgent news was coming. If they indicated walking... which they did, he concluded, there was no telling what was going on.
Soon enough, though, the horse and its rider turned the corner. The horse was magnificent. Large, bright white, and well-groomed, the only thing keeping it from looking perfect was the slight drag in its gait, indicating some degree of exhaustion. The rider didn't look much better, and had to be sweltering in his black cloak. His bright red spikes were drooping, and he had a frown set on his lips. Emerald eyes lazily scanned the area, almost missing the blond boy. When he did notice the blond, he tugged a smile (or a smirk, perhaps?) onto his lips and his eyes flicked over the smaller body almost imperceptibly.
"This is the road to Destiny, right?" He called out, hiding a snort at the way his sentence sounded. What a weird name for a town.
"Yeah. You have business here?" Roxas confirmed, offering a smile in return. The redhead nodded in response.
"Is there any place I can keep my horse? We've come a long way, and she needs a good place to rest for a little while, if you don't mind."
"Well, I don't mind, but I don't own the only stables in town. You'll have to talk to the blacksmith about that, but don't let him trick you. He's always got money in mind, and he'll try to make you pay. Don't bother with it. Just give him a good glare and he'll back down." The blond paused. "How long are you going to be here?"
Axel frowned. "I don't actually know. A week at the very least." The two males began heading toward town at a slower gait, and conversation turned casual. It was nice, though Roxas could tell that something was off about this guy. Not necessarily bad, just off. It was probably going to bother him until he could figure out what it was, but he had to mentally remind himself that he shouldn't get into other people's business. It just wasn't his place.
Luckily for him, Axel's business had to do with him, and it wasn't long before the question came.
"Do you know a girl named Namine?" The redhead drawled lightly. "I need to give her a message." Roxas' eyes lit up and he smiled.
"Yeah, she's living with my family and I. I'm Roxas, by the way." Axel had tensed up, staring oddly at his companion, and disgust welled up inside him. The light brat. Shit. Figured the kid would be just his type, too. Stupid, 'pure' hearts... He froze, an idea slowly blooming within his mind, and his lips curled up in a wicked smirk as he shook Roxas' hand.
Corruption could solve this. It wouldn't be as easy as if he'd tried to corrupt a normal boy, but it was certainly possible. Spread a little taint, a little sin, and no more need to worry about a rising key-wielder.
"I'm Lea."
Bright blue eyes cracked open, squeezing shut again quickly as the sunlight proved to be too intense. The girl uncurled herself from the little ball she'd gotten into, stretching so hard that her arms and legs trembled, as she groaned a little. She went limp again, and slowly managed to get her eyes open, squinting a little and blocking the sun with her hand A cool breeze swept over her, and she pushed herself up with one hand.
She was resting by the side of a large cliff, a little sore from having fallen asleep on the rocks, and before her was a large valley and forested mountains. Everything was green and gold, warm in the midst of summer, and two falcons soared over the winding, jumping river.
Lovely.
A smile curled onto her lips as she sighed, and she reluctantly forced herself to get her eyes all the way open. She pushed herself up and onto her feet, brushing off her shirt and skirt, letting the soft fabric brush her shins. Bare feet wiggled a little as she rose her arms and stretched again.
"Let's see," she murmured, tapping her chin. "Nearest town... is... Holska. Holska is..." She peered out at the valley again, and shuffled to the edge of the cliff. Her toes curled over the edge and she estimated a 400 foot drop. "Down."
And she jumped.
An hour later, she strolled into a small town tucked away at the foot of the mountains. Holska. She ruffled her short, dark hair and frowned. Something was different. Wrong, somehow. The town hall, just barely visible over the rooftops, looked old. Elliot Finch's house, a small wooden cottage, wasn't next to the river anymore. It was gone. The road was less soft than it was before, and the trees were so much more mature, so much bigger.
How... how long had she been asleep?
The longest she'd ever slept was one month, but this had to have set a new record for her. Houses were gone. New houses stood. The townsfolk had probably passed on by now, and would she have to explain who she was to them again? What was the relationship between mortals and immortals anyway? Surely, even as everything else had changed, this one thing would have remained the same. She couldn't imagine why it would ever change.
Nevertheless, she could feel that something was different. It was more than just the town. Something inside of her felt... empty, in a way. Smiling was a little less easy, and worry gripped her heart. This definitely wasn't good. She needed to find another immortal, and soon. She didn't want to be in the dark about the world's current affairs. In fact, it might be best not to even mention what she was to anybody. Maybe she could subtly bring up the other immortals in conversation.
Curiosity spurred her on, and she wandered into the town. She gathered a few suspicious glances, but just grinned at them and waved, moving on until she found what looked like a tavern of sorts. Creaking caught the attention of the inhabitants of the tavern as she swung the door open, and she lightly jumped into one of the bar seats, next to a middle-aged man with dark brown eyes and a heavy brow. She called for a water and swung her legs casually, facing the man beside her.
"Hey there. My name is Xion. What's yours?"
A/N: Well, as you should already know, the italics aren't Axel anymore. I'm pretty sure you can guess who it is (even though Ventus just randomly got thrown in there, which I do apologize for), and it's going to stay that way until I say otherwise. Just confirming it. :) And yeah, the chapter is definitely shorter than the first few. I'm sorry if it's too short, but they'll be coming out more quickly this way anyway, and honestly, as long as it's more than 2500 words, I don't care too much about the length. It will fluctuate a good bit.
Anyway, I didn't get a single review this time, so here's the deal. If you don't review, I will just continue to write when I feel like writing (based purely off my mood, and fairly sporadic). However, for each new review, I'll write an extra 300 words that day. It adds up, guys, and could even push me into an inspired frenzy (it's happened before) resulting in way more than 300, so if you want faster updates...
Hmmm... what else? Well, here's a question! So ya know, if you want those faster updates, you could answer it. ;D Anyway, the characters! What d'you think of them so far? Are they OOC, or are they too bland, or should I just keep on keeping on?