Hello! I'm on a roll~! Yeehaw. I'm trying to think of a basic theme that represents Laura, and I'm thinking the piano piece titled "Finale - Working Together" from Piano Collections: Kingdom Hearts. I know it's a battle theme, but I enjoy writing about Laura in high spirits with that song. If you have any other suggestions for like... for instance, a sad piece or distressed piece to represent her character, let me know via review! It's soooo appreciated! :)

I only own Laura Letterwood and these ideas.

"Here blanketed by the darkness, sleep is safety. Sleep is eternal. "

His words lingered in Riku's head, taunting him, attempting to break his solid gaze toward the ceiling above him. Ansem had thrown so many strange statements toward him , but the words he cooed towards his resting being in the darkness before had lingered in his mind. For what reason did it bother him so? The darkness had kept him 'safe', so to speak, from denizens of darkness that had attempted to hunt him down over the years, yet it caused so much pain. The manipulation of darkness, to him, had caused all of the events leading up to that night. It bothered him each time the dark man's words came to his head before he slept, counting that night as the 23rd time it had happened that year.

Riku shifted his body towards the side of his bed, sliding his legs off of the bed and rocking up to a seated position. It bothered Kairi that he had come so accustomed to sleeping in his day clothes. Upon their arrival at the castle she made him swear to at least have his clothes readied for washing, which of course involved removing them. He took small bunches of the simple blue guest pajama pants that awaited him in his guest room (clearly Kairi's doing) into his hands. A small tinge of pink spread across his cheeks, which instinctively made him turn his gaze to his right.

"Hmph. They care too much."

He had to admit it. His friends truly cared for him and looked out for him in any way, even thought they heckled him day in and day out about his apparent 'grump'. Deciding that it was more than time to go for a short after-midnight walk, he raised himself off of the bed, carefully stretching his spine. It cracked lightly, straining his muscles once he regained his proper posture. He scoffed towards the strain.

"Guess I really do have to go for some exercise... this is embarrassing."

Walking silently towards the door, he slipped on the guest water closet slippers and carefully opened the door. He embraced the midnight crisp of the air that filled the hallway-balcony outside his door. With a gentle touch it slightly lifted his hair as he began to walk in the direction he remembered a large balcony to be found. He enjoyed the calm of the after hours of the night since it did not in any way mirror the noise of his usual daytime routines. He truly loved both Sora and Kairi to death, ready to put his life on the line in exchange for the safety of either of them, but their usual chatter wracked at his eardrums so. The constant suggestions, offers of opinions or rejections thereof, quarrels and apologies could easily drive him absolutely insane. Tilting his head upward toward the ceiling and the tall comical pillars of the castle, he thought of her.

It hadn't even been three days since she had joined the three of them. He caught onto how accustomed he was to only having a three-person group he could call his own once she had joined them so suddenly. It intrigued him how she had such good timing: it was the same day that they had received that letter from the King that they had found her washed up onto the shore. She had subconsciously created a portal of light from her world - or was it something else? Someone else?

"None of this makes sense. It just doesn't add up."

It picked at his brain and he frowned in annoyance. It just didn't make sense. She had had no experience whatsoever with the reality of different worlds yet she had been chosen to escape the fate of her own. She was either extremely lucky to have been chosen, or there had been more to her than meets the eye. Theoretically she could have had some sort of ties with the light if relatives, close friends or even passersbys had made direct contact with her heart. He shook his head.

'She said that her world was already full of darkness from the start. So... why?'

Their discussion with the King rang clear in his head. It disturbed him that his assumptions had always been so on the dot with the reality of their situation. It bothered him that his previous knowledge of the darkness itself was so far off of what the King had come up with.

"Donald! Goofy!"

Sora cried out toward his long time friends after more than a year since he'd seen them. Both the wizard duck and the warrior dog rushed toward the spiky brown-haired boy with plenty of joyful cries and welcomes. After a long embrace between friends, Donald duck jumped down from his friends' arms and gave Sora a look of disdain.

"You're still in your old dregs! What's the big idea? You in love with them?" Sora huffed with mock insult.

"Yeah, maybe I am!" He gave a small mischievous smile towards Donald. They both loved to push each other's buttons. This saying held literal meaning to Sora, and it reminded him quickly of his silly acts on the gummiship. Goofy snapped him out of his happy memories.

"Sora, how've ya been? Never mind this cranky duck," Goofy joked, leaning on his small, feathered friend for support. "We've missed ya!"

"Hey!"

Sora laughed. It was visible in plain sight that his two adventurous companions from the years past had matured quite a lot. He found Goofy to be a tad bit more battle-hardened, if it were to be possible - in the past, he had a knack for clumsiness, naivety and of course, over kindness. He saw the same dog as he traveled with back then, but this time his back was straight, his eyes proud. His outfit seemed to show a little more seniority with his top half suited with armor. A small badge adorned his left breastplate which had clearly shown he was 'top dog'- Sora laughed internally at his own pun.

"Well you know... I've been, well, me!" Donald rested his hands on his hips, giving him a one-eyed look.

"And we know what that means! Getting into trouble and all that, aren't you?" Sora gave him a nervous grin, raising his hands in front of his chest and waving them slightly.

"Aw, no way! Top cookie right here. But where's the King, anyways?" Donald spat.

"Wouldn't you like to know! Show some respect!"

"Aw, Donald, a'hyuk! I don't think the King minds little ol' him too much."

"Yeah, Donald! He's my homedo- err, mouse?"

Behind the three friends and their laughter, Laura turned to face Kairi expectantly. She was extremely nervous upon their arrival, both from the thrill of space travel and by the immensely strange castle they had entered. Never would she have thought to have seen walking broomstick servants in her lifetime escorting her from the landing dock to the courtyard, let alone a talking dog and duck. It brought her heart aflutter, her brow becoming slightly clammy from the overwhelming series of events that had raised her strings sky high.

"You okay, Laura?" Laura swallowed her nerves, and nodded with a small smile.

"Yeah! I'm just trying to take everything in right now. One moment we're on some islands, then we travel through space beyond light speed, and then we're in some sort of castle that looks like something from a dream!" Kairi laughed slightly, taking Laura's left shoulder in her hand comfortingly.

"I know how you feel, trust me. I used to be in the same boat as you were, but in this kind of life you have to simply... prepare yourself for the strangest things!" Laura placed her hand on hers, thanking her.

"Yeah, really! Guess I'll have to start thinking like you do."

Their small talk was cut off by Riku coming in between them both. He turned to face both girls. Laura could almost sense a tiny shard of excitement within the drone of a boy.

"We should probably head down the visiting hall to the throne at the end. They're most likely in the other room waiting for our arrival." He pointed through the girls to both the throne at the end of the long, red carpet at the end of the room and to the small adorned door to its right. Laura nodded, taking Kairi's advice.

"Sure! I'm kind of nervous, but it's exciting." Riku flashed her a small smile, something she found surprising.

"We all are. So let's get walking."

Immediately after what Riku said, Kairi took a hold of Laura's hand, leading her quickly down the red carpet. The carpet greatly contrasted the white marble walls of the castle, and she gasped in amazement at the simple but beautiful architecture of the visiting hall. Her eyes held complete and total excitement towards the beginning of her own adventure, and Riku enjoyed this. It reminded him of Sora's eagerness, but held a little less hyperactivity and jumpiness than his brown-haired best friend.

Kairi's heart skipped beats while she walked down the red-carpeted marble floors. for once in her life, she was able to accompany her best friends on an adventure, no matter how short lived it could be. In her heart she knew that they would most likely ask her to either stay in a safe place or return home, yet she did not care since she could say that she at least entered another world on her own accord.

"So I'm guessing that you three travel to different worlds a lot, then?" Kairi smiled. she could see that Laura was trying so hard to keep her overwhelming emotions under control.

"The boys have traveled to plenty more worlds than I have. Usually they'd tell me to stay home to be safe, but I'd sneak about now and then!" she gave Laura a wink and she laughed. Riku gave a short chuckle in front of them, lazily resting his hands in his pockets.

"More like becoming the damsel in distress 'now and then'." Kairi scoffed in mock annoyance. Laura caught on to her mocking towards Riku's usual behaviour.

"Thanks, Riku! Laura must think that I'm some kind of ditz!"

All three teens laughed at the situation and they reached the throne where Donald, Goofy and Sora stood. Well, Sora wasn't exactly standing. Instead he kept shifting his hands uneasily in his pockets, fixing his collar, dusting off his baggy pants and ruffling his hair. Donald gave him comments along the lines of his appearance being unable to get any better and Sora shot him a duck joke back. Goofy calmed them both down as the door to the right opened.

Laura gulped. This was the moment that everything would most likely be explained. The three teens hadn't exactly explained their reason for the visitation to this King, yet somehow she felt the matter to be extremely important. She could picture the King's image in her mind: A tall, broad man with a snow white beard. A large golden crown adorned with many jewels of different colours. On his body he would have a regal cape of royal red or blue, or even both. White fur with black spots would trim his regal cape, and underneath, a strong suit of armor to match Goofy's. She paused for a second to judge whether or not that looked about right in her mind, and then gave a small nod to herself. On his legs he would have velvet pants tucked into King-like boots. On his hands he would possess many rings. Within his right hand, a royal staff or sword would hang. Yeah, that sounded about right. He'd also have big, round black ears -

'Wait, what? Big black ears?'

Laura's train of thought crashed into the river below once she realised how wrong she'd been to assume this King's appearance. Out from the door walked two small black mice-like animals, one clearly male, the other clearly female. The male, whom she assumed to be the King, wore attire similar to Sora's with more red and yellow hues than Sora's black and blue. He wore no crown on his head, but instead possessed two big black round ears. His shoes were yellow and quite large despite his size. Both mice had long black tails. Following behind him in a ladylike disposure was who she assumed to be some sort of high lady - no, she was most definitely the Queen. On her head, unlike her King, she wore a small golden crown with small jewels. She wore a fluffy, feminine pink ballroom gown, accented by her white gloves and white crystalline slippers.

The Queen courteously bowed towards their guests, which all five had graciously and politely returned. The King looked toward both Sora and Riku, nodding his head with a smile that seemed to suit both himself and his Queen. Riku smiled wide.

"King Mickey!" The short King walked in a waddle-like way towards the boys, looking up to them and smiling once again.

"Well hello, folks, I see you've received my letter! And in good time, too," he looked back towards his cheerful Queen, who had been chatting with both Kairi and Laura, "shucks, we've been running ragged trying to get things all straightened out in terms of our discussion." Sora's face became curious.

"Yeah, you weren't very descriptive in your letter to us:
"My dear friends, we have grasped some very disturbing news. My master and friend had foretold of some strange happenings and we must meet at once! Blah blah blah... sincerely, King Mickey." Riku covered his face with his hand in embarrassment because of Sora's casual attitude towards their King. Mickey didn't seem to mind, though, since he nodded. His face became more serious.

"You got it. The thing is, I find that our discussion will be kept more confidential in my study room. Come," he turned on his heels, raising his hand to show he wanted them to follow him. Riku nodded toward Sora, who gave him the same look. Both Donald and Goofy readied themselves to follow.

"Right, let's go." The two teenage boys and their mouse king were about to make their way towards the King's office door when the Queen raised her voice.

"Now excuse me! I think you're forgetting something, Mickey." her stern but soft tone stopped the King straight in his tracks. The Queen pointed towards Laura like a mother to her child. All five boys turned their attention towards her. Laura's cheeks became slightly pink in embarrassment. She never liked to be the center of such serious attention. The king broke the small silence.

"Oh, shucks, I'm so distracted, I apologise!" he made his way over towards Laura, taking both her hands into his.

"Oh, well, I, um, err-" He began to shake her hands rather enthusiastically, which caused her cheeks to turn a darker shade of pink. She stammered quickly in lack of knowledge of what to say.

"I've been waiting to meet you! It's quite a surprise to see you join our plans so soon!" She gave him a confused, wide-eyed look but he simply smiled and continued.

"So! This is..." he looked up toward her, moving to her side so that she was once again in everyone's path of attention.

"Um, my name is Laura, s-sir. Laura Letterwood from Manhattan." she bowed toward him hesitantly. He gave her a reassuring smile. Kairi and the queen gave each other looks that displayed their thoughts of men and their ignorance.

"Well, miss Laura, you need to come with us! We have much to talk about." and with that, King Mickey lead Laura along with the four others into his office with a quick shut of the door. Kairi turned to the Queen, worried.

"Oh, Minnie..." The Queen raised her glance towards the ceiling, her gloved hand covering her eyes.

"Oh, my dear, you have no idea."

The darkness is perfectly capable of destroying a person, even down to their last shred of hope. It is extremely difficult for a person to keep mental stability when holding 'control' of the darkness. Like the light, its power is derived from an infinite plain of energy, yet factors unknown give the use of darkness a completely different experience. People find themselves wanting more. They strive and greed for the power. They find themselves on a higher level than their peers. Soon after they find that the original power they thought to seek is no longer enough. It's that feeling that drove him to the point of giving into Xehanort's heartless and succumbing to the seductive call of the darkness.

It sickened him to look back on the horrible things he had done to both people and worlds alike. He took hearts away to satisfy his possessed greed and destroyed countless worlds. It was all that was asked of him by his 'master', yet it made him feel like an abomination even then as he walked the open moonlit hallway.

Locks of straight, blonde hair caught him out of his trance.