Yay! I was able to get this chapter up sooner! Fair warning: it may seem rushed. I had started writing this and with some new ideas coming up, I had to keep writing that I got off-book. I hope you all enjoy this!

Chapter 7:

KAIRI POV:

I was alone. Sora, Riku, and the King were all placed in different rooms, I guess to respect privacy among genders. My room had a single, deep red, canopy bed. The walls were lined with pictures & curtains, and the floor was covered by a burgundy carpet. I had no idea what to do next so I decided to wait for Sora, Riku, and the King to come get me. I just also felt insecure about going out by myself. In that dark hallway, I just felt like I was being watched by unseen forces. I just couldn't bring myself to look for the others' rooms.

In the meantime, I explored some things in the room. There were pictures, perfume, alcohol, and a small box, which aroused my curiosity. I opened the box and a small spinning couple appeared accompanied by a sweet tune, much like a lullaby. After a moment, I closed the box. When I turned around, I was …not scared, but amazed at what I saw. I gaped at the sight of a glowing, misty orb that emitted a soft, blue light.

"You won't hurt me will you?" I thought last minute that it was stupid to ask. It probably couldn't understand me or reply to me. Seeing how it didn't attack me yet, I figured it was probably harmless. For some reason, I also felt warm and safe around this glowing orb. It's presence didn't feel threatening, like an angel. "Can you help me find a gypsy that's living here? We need to find the source of the darkness and neither Yen Sid nor Merlin can find out it source."

The glowing orb edged towards me then turned around, floating to the door. I assumed it wanted me to follow it. I followed it to the door. The orb floated through the door and I heard the keyhole unlock. Was it locked before? I didn't realize it was locked until now. Why would Ramsey lock it? I set the suspicion aside and exited the door. My once insecure feeling of entering the hallway was replaced with warmth and security. I didn't bother going to find Sora, Riku, and the King's room. I followed the orb.

SORA POV:

"Now what?" I asked Riku, rather impatiently I realized a bit later, as we waited in our room. King Mickey was placed in another room. Ramsey said that King Mickey is "not a human, just a talking animal". I paced back and forth tired of the waiting. I didn't like this Ramsey guy, he had a dark feeling around him…to me. But I'm pretty sure the others must've felt the same.

"Enough of that," Riku ordered, "If you're that anxious about Kairi then we'll go get her."

"It's just that I don't think it would be okay for her to be alone in a place like this," I was just feeling concern. Actually, I thought that most of Ramsey's sharpness was towards Kairi…he was rather suspicious in his behavior…he is a butler after all and I didn't think one would act like that. Kairi, I could tell, seemed tense with him in front of us. He just has that gloomy aura that makes you feel tense and unsafe.

"I get what you mean," Riku replied, "How 'bout we just go out and find that gypsy?"

"Alright, we should also get the King." I went to the door and tried to open it. It was locked. I didn't understand why it was locked. Why were we locked into the room? This was too complicated for my mind to comprehend a rational reason for this. With this thinking, I stood at the door for a few seconds.

"You ok Sora?"

"Yeah," I turned to him, "The door's locked. Well, it's nothing that the Keyblade can't unlock." I tried to keep positive. I summoned my Kingdom Key and pointed the blade to the small keyhole. A thin stream of light shot out from the blade's tip and penetrated through the keyhole, unlocking it. I returned my Keyblade and opened the door. King Mickey was standing there.

"I was just about to get ya!"

"So was I!" King Mickey replied

"Have you seen Kairi?" King Mickey nodded a no. We joined him and followed him two doors down to Kairi's room. He knocked but there was no answer. King Mickey took a peek for us. When he looked at us again, he gave us a worried look. "She's not there!"

"Are you sure?" I asked. King Mickey nodded.

"She must've gone to find the gypsy!" Riku said.

"Well then let's go!" I urged. As we turned to go down the hallway, Ramsey appeared at the far end. We all stopped in our tracks and froze. Then a second figure appeared…coming from a Corridor of Darkness! The three of us rushed into Kairi's room and cracked the door to hear the conversation.

RIKU POV:

"You said to call if anyone came here and might ruin my plans?" that was Ramsey's voice. He seemed to be confirming something.

"Yes?" the voice of the unknown person was smooth but deep and dark.

"Three people by the name of Sora, kairi, and Riku, and a talking mouse called Mickey is here. I fear they may get in the way of my plans."

"Thanks for informing me," said the male, "Do what you want with Sora and Riku. But we need Kairi." He said 'we', that means that there are more like him. Sora fidgeted.

"What would they want with Kairi?" whispered Sora.

"I don't know but keep quiet for now. We might get some more info from him." I understood his concern for her. I care for her too but in a more friendship way. I can tell they both have feelings for each other, they just haven't admitted it to each other yet.

"Very well," replied Ramsey, "I shall get her for you."

"You do that," replied the unknown male, "I'll return shortly." Shortly after this, distinct footsteps could be heard making its way to the room. Unfortunately, we were too late to react and the door swung open; Ramsey stood tall in front of us.

"She's not here!" Sora said defensively.

"Is that so? Well then, I won't dally here any longer, and take care of some important matters first."

"You're not worried about us leaving?" I asked calmly, hiding my confusion.

"Well, I don't assume that you know where your friend is. So you won't find her right away. With that said, I must depart." Ramsey turned to walk away. Suddenly, Sora summoned his Kingdom Key and swung at Ramsey. I was expecting Ramsey to fall down from the impact of the hit, but I was shocked to see just a pale blue wisp of smoke floating where Ramsey once stood. Then, as fast as it happened, the blue smoke manifested itself into Ramsey. He was a ghost!

"I see you will be more trouble than I thought," Ramsey raised his hand and some kind of invisible force pushed the three of us back. This caught me off guard and surprised me. We flew back and hit the wall. The door slammed shut and locked. I stood up immediately. We had no time to waste. I unlocked the door with my blade and forcefully pulled Sora and the King up.

"Let's go."

Well, that's it with Chapter 7. I'll be typing up my next chapter as soon as possible. do feel like my chapters have been getting a bit boring so I'll try to make it more...interesting. I'm not really the one to type up some chapters before getting to the action. I'm more to the point and so I get impatient when i read or write chapters like these. But I'm pretty sure it should be getting interesting soon... Read on if you want to know what happens. Oh! And don't forget to review! ^_^