"What is it that is so urgent, Maleficent?" came a cold female voice. It was hard to see which one of the dark figures it came from. The circular tower room that the dark fairy had brought Kairi into held no forms of light. Kairi shivered slightly from the cold. Her anger was wearing thin and now she was just frightened. Her eyes hardened again as she remembered that she was on her own; Sora had found someone else to protect.

Maleficent stepped forward towards the round table and sat in one of the high backed chairs. She tapped her staff on the ground once, and Kairi felt the floor beneath her disappear. She gasped as she was taken up into the air and placed down upon the center of the table. There were murmurs from all around, some in disapproval, others in excitement.

"What business is this, to bring a Princess to our meeting?" came a dark male voice. The owner leaned forward in his seat and glared up at the girl past bushy eyebrows.

"Gaston, you were unaware of the value of Princesses when your world was destroyed," Maleficent said smoothly in a cutting voice. It dripped with false sweetness and condescends. "But we are not hoping to reopen Kingdom Hearts. No, that has already been done by the Keyblade Master to rescue his dear friend, Riku and the King."

A hiss ran through the group at the mention of King Mickey. "He did not retrieve them, did he?" came that same utterly cold voice from one of the chairs. She did not move an inch as she continued, "If he had, we would already have been discovered."

"No, he only successfully brought back the boy who had proven useful to us last time around," Maleficent smirked at her own words. "Now, stop interrupting. You see Sora no longer holds refuge of Kairi's heart. He has chosen to let his love go somewhere else." There were a few nods of understanding, while Gaston stared at the wood puzzled.

"Kairi wishes nothing but to make sure he pays for his betrayal. Isn't that right, dear?"

Kairi bit her lip as her eyes swept the table. Though she could not see every face clearly, she knew that they were all staring straight at her. She tried to hold herself higher as she declared; "I want him to loose his heart from me, just like I lost mine from his."

Chilling laugher filled the stone room and echoed off the walls. The woman who had spoken twice now stood and Kairi was able to see her for the first time. The regal looking woman stood tall, a crown atop her head. Fabric concealed her hair and made the features of her face even more predominate. She would have been beautiful, had it not been for the sneer on her face and the cold touch to her dark eyes. "Maleficent, you cannot honestly expect us to join you on your silly crusade for this child! Had you not stated that we must seize this chance to make our move? It would be idiotic to go looking for the Key Bearer. I will not stand for this."

Maleficent glared coldly back at the dark eyes trying to intimidate her. A smirk was climbing across the dark fairy's narrow face as she replied coolly, "Are you truly just wishing to stay focused, my dear Queen, or is this a personal prejudice against Princesses?"

The Queen's nostrils flared and Maleficent cackled mercilessly. "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" she howled. The others around the table began to laugh as well.

"ENOUGH!" The Queen bellowed. The sound shook off the walls and silenced the room instantly. Kairi was holding her knees, afraid of the people around her. "I will not stand to be mocked for my sufferings. A Princess harmed all the rest of you in your pasts. I am no less. I am not laughing at you, Maleficent, for going on a rage for not being invited to a birthday party. I do not mock you, Gaston, for falling in love with a girl who picked a wild animal over the likes of you."

The dark faces that were staring back at the Queen did not stop her rant. She was sneering all the more as she went on down the list. "Lady Tremaine, your daughters were humiliated by your servant girl who stole all your chances for the life you wanted. Governor Ratcliffe, your entire search for gold, God and glory was ripped away by a savage girl!"

"Enough," came a hissing voice from one of the chairs. Kairi could see the outline of the creature, who appeared to loom taller than most of the occupants of the high backed chairs. It was crowned with what appeared to be two gigantic horns. "We all have a score to settle with those who got in our way. This girl," a gnarled, skeletal hand seemed to appear from the shadows to motion towards Kairi, "is just like the rest of us now. What does it mean if she was once a Princess? If she opens her heart to the darkness like we have… then she is no longer pure of heart."

All eyes were fixed on Kairi now. She closed her eyes, and tried to think of something else than all these shrouded figures glaring at her. She thought of Sora, fighting to find her. Then her mind replayed what she had seen that day and her fists clenched tightly. Slowly, she stood up on the table, her head held high. "What do you want, then, if not to open Kingdom Hearts?"

Maleficent silenced all with a wave of a hand before she replied, "Our goal is to take power back over our worlds, for it is our right. We all ruled the worlds in some way or form before the heartless came. Using heartless may be necessary to over throw the new powers that hold our worlds. You can see where your Key Bearer and King Mickey can get in the way." She smirked slightly before continuing, "It would do us a great help if you would eliminate both Riku and Sora. Then, my dear, we will make sure to find you happiness and love."

Kairi considered all of this. It was wrong to trust these people she knew that. But who could she trust? She'd have to look out for herself, no matter what happened. With a deep breath she closed her eyes and nodded. "I'll do it."

All the members of the table seemed to smile, though Kairi could not see all of their faces. She caught sight of the Queen eyeing her suspiciously. Maleficent stood and said in a booming voice, "Welcome, child, to the family." She cackled, while the others stared at the first dark Princess.

N/A - Hey ya'll! So sorry it took me forever to update this thing! I'm going to tell you right now, today's the last day of summer, and I'm determind to finish this today. There's only one more chapter after this one. Then an epilogue. Yes, I'm going to make you all have to wait for a sequel! I promise, more fluffy moments in the next one. Thank you all for your support, and that stuff. :D
Jacqueline Out.