"Uhm," Sora gave his reins another sidelong look. "How do I make him go?"
Prince Riku twisted in the saddle, his lips quirking up at Sora's predicament; it wasn't often he'd seen the other so out of his element. "Tap him with your heels. Gently, or he'll think he's allowed to run. Here, wait." Riku steered his own mount alongside Stormfall, who'd started forward at a walk. "The reins will tell him how to move, just pull to the side you want him to go." He demonstrated by twitching his own reins to one side, then the other. "Both back to stop. I trained them myself, they'll respond to the lightest touch, so there's no need to yank."
Sora scowled. "I wouldn't yank. I just didn't know how."
Kairi chuckled from her place in front of them, and Riku let out a huff. "What he didn't tell you," Kairi added, "is that you'll have to hang on with your legs. You can grab his mane, too, if you need to. Prince Riku, may we run?"
Riku urged Star Seeker back alongside Kairi. "There's a stretch coming up that's suitable."
Sora tapped his heels experimentally, and found himself grabbing the horse's mane as he broke into a bouncy trot. Still, he was quick to catch up to the prince and Kairi, and he felt himself adjusting his balance to match the grey's stride. "This isn't bad!"
Ku looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?" There was a mischievous twinkle in his aqua eyes that Sora recognized, a hint of the challenge he remembered from their sparring sessions. "Well, from here, we'll race." He pointed to a copse of trees in the distance. "To there."
Kairi surprised them both as she let out a joyful whoop and spurred her mount forward. "Better keep up!" she called as she passed them.
Blue eyes met aqua ones just before they both surged forward in a burst of speed. The gallop caught Sora off-guard even more than the trot had, but he tightened his legs around the horse and leaned into it, finding the balance of the new stride as hooves pounded into the ground. The wind whipped at him, stealing his breath, and he laughed at the feeling of exhilaration. It was better than burgling, and a quick look to his side found silvery hair streaming back from Ku's face, his expression a near mirror to Sora's own. That was even better, to have his old friend at his side again.
Kairi was still lengths ahead of them, so it was just the two of them. Riku caught his glance and grinned, urging his horse faster. And the prince hadn't lied—Stormfall could keep pace with Star Seeker. They stayed like that, racing side by side, until the trees drew nearer, and Riku's mount began pulling ahead. The gap between them grew, and Sora wondered if Riku had been holding his horse back all along, and if so, what that meant.
He didn't dwell on the thought.
Kairi was already pacing her mare at the edge of the trees when Riku pulled up, letting his horse drop into a tight trot. Sora was last, but not far behind the prince, panting and grinning.
"That was amazing!" he gasped. "Can we do it again?"
Ku smirked. "When we go back. Come on, we'll go a little farther." His eyes darted around, surveying the area. "I wanted to take you somewhere quieter." Kairi and Sora fell into step behind him, Kairi sending the brunette radiant smiles as they followed his lead, through and then beyond the trees, to a sizable rock formation. "Here," Ku murmured, guiding his horse through a crevice between the rocks.
It was narrow going, for a few minutes, rock walls close on each side, but the path opened up into something like an oasis, with a watering hole at one side, and grass blanketing the ground. Ku dismounted and led his horse to the pool, and waited until his companions had followed suit before piercing them both with a calculating gaze.
"So tell me, who are you?" his eyes landed on Kairi first. "And why are you here? Both of you."
Kairi looked at him with a gentle smile, while Sora shifted next to her, shuffling a toe along the ground. "I told you—" Sora started, but Kairi cut him off.
"It's as I said. I am Princess Kairi, of Destiny Island." She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "As for why I am here, it is mostly a diversion. As I said, it has been very long since I have seen my home. It is thanks to Sora, that I am even here at all."
Sora's eyes widened, but Prince Riku's attention was still on Kairi. "How do you mean?"
Kairi's expression turned distant. "I was trapped, for a very long time. He found me and released me, but I'm sure with time, I'll be captive again. For now," she smiled, "it is nice to be free for a time. Because he helped me, I of course returned the favor. Sora said, more than anything, he wanted to be with his best friend."
Riku snorted and turned to Sora. "She's not a genie, Sora."
Sora scratched the back of his neck, at a loss. "She granted my wishes," he mumbled. But, catching a wink from Kairi, he pursed his lips and kept the rest of his thoughts to himself.
Ku quirked an eyebrow. "And quite a way to do it, don't you think?" He turned back to Kairi. "If you are in danger, perhaps my father may be of some help. I'm certain we have people to spare."
Kairi smiled at him, although her voice sounded sad. "I'm afraid it is not the sort of matter to be solved in that way." Her eyes flicked to Sora. "I can always hope that the danger has passed for good, this time."
Riku hummed in agreement, and turned to retrieve a bundle from his saddle. "I thought we could sit here, at least for a little while," he explained, shaking out the blanket. "Away from the palace." He looked at Kairi, and then to Sora. "I think, if you have gone this far to help Sora, I hope I can trust that you aren't like the others who frequently visit."
"Oh, I don't know," Kairi said slyly, settling down on the blanket, "I think I might have a little in common with them. After all, I would hate to come all this way and not see Prince Riku, the excellent swordsman, in action."
Sora's face brightened at the suggestion. "Yes! We haven't sparred for ages, let's go!"
Riku bit his lip. "It's not exactly something I do as an exhibition. And I didn't bring any practice swords."
"Are you sure?" Kairi asked, at the same time that Sora let out a noise of disappointment.
"Come on, Ku! We can use sticks, just like we used to."
Kairi chuckled. "I thought I saw something like a sword in your pack." She looked pointedly at Riku's saddle, and the prince was surprised to see two hilts peaking from beneath the saddle's flap.
With a shrug, he pulled the swords free. "Fine then, if you insist."
Sora accepted his with awe, examining the strong metal in his hands. "This is a practice sword?"
Riku adjusted the grip on his own sword. "Are you going to stare at it all day or are you going to fight me?"
Sora grinned, shifting his attention to his childhood friend. Even better than racing, this competition. They began without preamble, both dropping into their fighting stances, circling each other. There was no measure to take, as their previous battles returned to the forefront of their minds. Sora struck first, lunging at the prince, who parried it easily. "Come on!" he called.
The world narrowed to the two of them again, exchanging blow for blow, the sound of clashing metal ringing through their small world, marking the passage of time along with the sweat trickling from them both. Even when Riku struck him, Sora didn't concede. Riku had always been the better of them at this, but Sora was always honing skills that could be useful later on, and he landed a few hits of his own. Their eyes met with fire, and Sora ducked, kicking Riku's feet out from under him. The prince's recovery was quick, as they stared over each other's blades, both leveled at the other's throat.
Kairi's applause pulled them back into reality.
Sora and Riku's panted breaths gave way to laughter as they lowered their swords, stepping forward to hug and pat each other on the back, as they had always done on the streets.
"You've improved," Riku chuckled, pulling back.
"You, too," Sora wheezed, following Riku to where he retrieved a skin of water. "I really missed you, Ku." He squeezed Riku in another hug, before accepting the water.
"Yeah," Riku murmured, breathing in the scent of his friend. "Yeah." They stood close for a few minutes, recovering, and Riku felt a smile on his face.
Kairi caught his eyes and beamed, as if she knew something he didn't. But Riku couldn't keep himself from looking back to Sora, standing at his side as an equal. For the moment, at least.
"We had better go back," Riku declared, once they'd caught their breath. "It's almost time for lunch."
"Oh, good!" Sora exclaimed. "I'm hungry. We'll race again, yeah?"
Riku chuckled. "Of course. We have to beat Princess Kairi, this time, though. It wouldn't do for the prince to lose on the faster horse."
Kairi scoffed. "We'll see about that!"
o - o - o
Xemnas frowned down at the map. Destiny Islands was indeed a far-off country, and, as Kairi had stated, earned much of its income from the sea, with a few exports of dyes and spices. Even their country had some trade with the Islands, especially in dyes, as he'd discovered in a volume of old trade records.
The Royal Genealogies had also confirmed the existence of Princess Kairi—or so it seemed. That one was still suspect to him, because the family tree showed a "Princess Kairi" in every generation—albeit without the usual accompaniment of a roman numeral to distinguish each one. On top of that, the brief physical descriptions were all the same—blue eyes, auburn hair. In a country where dye was commonplace, he expected it wouldn't be difficult to duplicate such a color. Still, it was no hard evidence against the mysterious princess.
"Saix." Xemnas turned to his servant. "I need an almanac for Destiny Islands. She mentioned a storm driving her from her country, I need proof." The scarred man bobbed his head in a nod as Xemnas scratched out a note bearing the almanac's order. "And another thing." Taking a fresh sheet of parchment, he scrawled another letter. "Be sure this is delivered to Princess Larxene. Take a horse, if you must." Xemnas dripped wax onto each document, before stamping his seal onto them.
Saix accepted both documents with a bow. "Your majesty." Xemnas watched his servant tuck them away and leave to execute his master's orders, before turning to the window.
In the courtyard below, Prince Riku's unmistakable hair caught the afternoon sun, returning from the morning ride with the visiting princess. There was a rare smile on his face, the expression so unusual to the prince's face that Xemnas had to do a double-take.
He stepped close to the window, staring down at the trio dismounting from their horses, studying them. Along with the smile, was an easiness to the prince he could see, even from up here. The set in his shoulders was relaxed, and though Xemnas knew the boy was keen on his horses, this was different. He was never so unguarded among other people. Golden eyes hardened as they took in the princess. If Riku did show her favor, his goals might be a little more challenging. He glanced at the servant boy Princess Kairi had gifted the prince.
Well. That was interesting. "What's this?" Xemnas mused aloud. "A servant riding that horse?" Perhaps it wasn't the princess he needed to remove from the palace, after all.
