Hello, all! Finally, I have a chapter ready to be posted! XD
kingdomheartslover - the review you left me made me smile very much, and since I could not reply to it, I wanted to say thank you. :D
Thank you very much to all other reviewers from last chapter, as well. They ALL made me smile.
Don't be scared of the amount of text at the beginning of this one, because it tells a very nice story from the past. :D
Westcastle was large—one of the largest populated areas in all of Hollow Bastion—and positively bubbling over with life. From the deck of the tall, stone observatory tower, the impossibly gigantic, pointed towers of the castle were visible over the old trees of the wood. Twinkling lights emitting from windows like stars in the black night sky gave the common people faith that somewhere inside that castle, in one of the lighted rooms, their Queen was alive and well. Despite the distance of the lights, the sight of them made people believe that she was more than mere myth. Even seeing her in about Hollow Bastion meeting with citizens… she had an ethereal quality about her; the sort that made people question whether she was really there or not. Her long blonde hair hung like a silk veil down her back, and the waviness of it framed her pale, lively face. Somehow, it was easier to believe she existed on the sole evidence of the lights.
At that time, the infiltration of Hollow Bastion was just beginning. Since the age of ten years old, Naminé was the sole protector of Westcastle, and had long since gained full control of her powers. She made friends with others skilled in the field of magic from around the land—Sora and Riku, both from a small village in central Hollow Bastion, for example. Her magical daggers, which were forged in a deep crystal pit in the Dark Depths, couldn't hold a candle to the magical weapons they were able to consistently produce from thin air. Akiko, a witch roughly the same age as Naminé, was gaining prominence with every spell she cast, and Kairi, a girl from the northern town called Aurora, had appeared with a weapon similar to those of Sora and Riku.
The mystery of the Adherence had Naminé on edge. She knew she couldn't ask her friends to leave their own homes to come help her protect Westcastle—that just wasn't ethical. They had their own families to look out for. Naminé was strong, certainly, but so was the Queen, and they had somehow penetrated Hollow Bastion's protective magic. It was impossible to gauge how powerful they truly were, or how long it would be before Westcastle fell under attack. Still, regardless of the gritty details, Naminé knew they would come, and she knew it would be up to her to defend the town when they did. Normally, she was fearless in the most literal sense of the word, but something about that particular enemy made her uncharacteristically uneasy.
Protecting such a large town was a big job indeed. Without Hollow Bastion's magic, robust and pulsing behind her own, she surely would not have enough power. All citizens of Westcastle were alerted to the danger, as well as informed of what precautions Naminé would be taking. Spells would be cast over the entire area, for starters, and elementary protection spells would be available to all. She spent endless hours deep within the Royal Library of Westcastle, researching and preparing to cast the largest and most complex spell she ever had.
One quick sweep of Westcastle's perimeter was all that was left before she cast the spell from the top of the observatory. Even then, her magic enabled her to run at an accelerated speed; much faster than most ordinary people could run. She circled the town, and even searched through miles of tall-grassed land and woods, just to be sure that nothing would interfere with her spell. As she dashed through the woods noiselessly, wind sweeping her hair straight out behind her, the crackling of broken branches that were not caused by her prompted her to swiftly halt and dive behind an enormous tree. She held her breath, brain frantically launching into overdrive as she carefully scanned the area for even the minutest of magical presences.
What she found hit her like a punch to the gut. An enormous magical presence was lurking roughly fifty feet up the path. Why hadn't she seen it? Her eyebrows knitted together in anxious concentration. Several quick, silent tilts of her head, and she had fully surveyed the area. There was nothing out of the ordinary about that particular patch of woods, so there was certainly no reason for such a large magical presence to be in the vicinity. Either way, it was moving down the path toward Westcastle, so it was her duty to stop whatever was coming.
She lay in wait, concentrating every fiber of her being on whatever it was, and tightened her muscles in preparation to spring. A delicate breeze lightly ruffled her hair, nearly startling her completely out of her stance. The magic grew closer and closer, until finally…
Naminé leaped from her hiding place, and her aim was true—she landed smack against a blonde haired boy, with her daggers drawn and magic already rushing down the hilts and into the blades. He looked surprised, but not a bit frightened. In fact, he looked a bit like Sora and Riku; dressed completely normally with ordinary features and no magical devices on him whatsoever. The blue of his eyes reminded her of a cloudless sky, with flecks of deep, sapphire blue scattered within the paler color. She pulled her mind away from his entrapping eyes with difficulty, and they landed on the ground at last, with her perched on his chest and her daggers poised at his throat.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded, lowering her voice in an effort to sound fearsome. Despite her abilities when it came to combat, she was an extremely gentle person at heart, and scaring others wasn't her strong suit.
The boy looked a bit confused; then angry. "Is it a crime to pass through these woods?" he asked acidly, his aggravated look becoming a bit more disdainful. "You don't own this land, I'm sure?"
She breathed a sigh. How dense could he really be? "Anyone from around here knows that I protect Westcastle and its surroundings," she explained snappishly. "In times like these, come near here with a magical presence like yours and you're just asking for trouble. Everybody knows that."
He stared at her, mouth dropping slightly open in disbelief. "You're not serious. Well, let me clear this up right now by saying I'm not from around here."
She tightened her grip on her daggers, pumping them even more with magic. They grew brighter and more threatening, and she saw the boy glance at them quickly and nervously. "Why are you here, then?"
"Passing through!" he insisted indignantly. "Honestly—"
"Stop," she commanded, drawing her weapons closer to his throat. "Tell me what I want to know."
Before she even noticed the gleam in the boy's eye, he blasted her backward with a shield. Never had she been caught off-guard before. The open air rushed uncomfortably around her, enveloping her in a way she was not familiar with. Her body twisted, muscles flexing, and she landed on her feet in a bit of a crouched position and poised to attack—just in time to see him draw his very own weapon from thin air.
It was a keyblade, just like Sora's.
"I mean you no harm… don't make me use this, Naminé."
Her breath caught in her throat as her heart skipped a beat. "How do you know my name?"
He smiled a little, the warmth in it startling her a bit. "It's difficult to live in this land and not know of you."
Instantly, she dropped out of her stance, and her weapons stopped glowing. She slid them into their sheaths, belted at her sides, just to ensure that he understood she didn't want to fight. "Who are you?"
"My name is Roxas."
"It's at the bank," Naminé whispered in Roxas' ear so quietly that he almost didn't hear it. "Why didn't I see it before?"
It was dark, and they were strolling, in an attempt to appear normal, down a small side street. Every house along the way was dark, its inhabitants either frightened, in hiding elsewhere, or dead. Streetlights that once illuminated the unpaved paths along the side of the road no longer shone brightly to guide those travelling at night. Somehow, Naminé knew instinctively where she was going.
"Because it's pitch black out here," Roxas quipped quietly, keeping one hand firmly clasped on Naminé's shoulder as she guided him through the dark.
Unable to abate a small smile at his attempt, she sighed, "That's not what I meant at all."
Adding just the slightest bit of pressure, he gave her shoulder a quick, reassuring squeeze. "I know. I just wanted you to feel better… I care about you."
"Everything important is hidden there!" Naminé muttered, exasperated. Her quick change of topic—getting back on task—Roxas was used to. She never was one to talk excessively about her emotions, and with a statement which simply invited her to share her feelings, it was no wonder she hastily reverted to the matter at hand. "Important legal documents are stored there… mostly, it's just huge filing cabinets stored in the vault with everything else… but they could easily hide a sphere there."
Roxas, a bit disconcerted due to the dark, bit his lip. It certainly was uncomfortable walking without knowing where he was going! "It's not exactly the most likely place," he tried at comforting Naminé a bit. "I mean, if I were trying to hide something important, there's no way I'd leave it under the protection of a mere vault in a world like this one. On Earth, that might work most of the time, but here… it would just do no good." Satisfied at his effort, he felt less nervous than he had just before he said it.
Her thoughtfulness was communicated through her silence. For a moment that felt like an eternity, she didn't speak, and the only thing Roxas could hear was the slight crunching of their footsteps on the path. The moon, merely a sliver, was the only visible light. "That… Roxas, it can't be the only thing they have guarding it," she realized. "They wouldn't!"
"What else could be there?" Roxas wondered aloud, though he definitely had an inkling of what she might be implying.
She exhaled slowly. "I think there might be cameras, traps… and Adherence members."
"Makes sense, I suppose," he agreed unwillingly, wishing that infiltrating the bank could be as easy as first anticipated. "What are we going to do?" He hated to pressure her when he knew she was feeling down, but at the same time, a plan was essential.
It seemed she had already decided on a course of action. "We have to get it tonight," she told him assuredly. "Delaying at this point in the game would be a mistake."
Despite his uncertainties, Roxas followed her, treading carefully as they hurried through the darkness.
Yuri didn't understand the point of all the fuss. The wound was already much better—she didn't feel much pain at all, and it had barely been a day! Keeping her disdainful thoughts to herself was difficult, but she didn't want Riku to overhear, or he'd be furious. Knowing that her friends were out sneaking, fighting, and stealing made her antsy to get out of the castle. Kairi had situated herself on the balcony of the spare room Yuri was situated in the moment everyone else left, and she hadn't moved since. Her irises were completely black as she watched their friends diligently; listening carefully to their thoughts and keeping a walkie close by in case she needed to contact someone.
After spending about an hour bored out of her mind, Yuri summoned Kyo, the reliable librarian, and asked him to pull as many books about magical spheres as he could. She couldn't imagine how anyone, even Riku, could object to reading. Then again, paper cuts, she thought icily. Kyo returned quickly, carrying a large pile of heavy books with thick spines. Some of them looked quite ancient; pages discolored and crinkling. Nonetheless, she thanked him, and grabbed for the book on the top of the pile as Kairi entered the room, squeezing her eyes shut as water trickled slowly down her cheek.
"Using my power for that long is a bit on the painful side," Kairi murmured, covering her watering eyes with her hands.
"Are you okay?" Yuri looked up from the massive book spread across her lap immediately, and became a bit worried.
Kairi nodded, and slowly opened her eyes. "I'll be fine," she answered, biting back a cringe as her eyes stung. "How are you feeling?"
Bored, anxious, pissed, jealous… her mind lingered on the last word as a stab of pain from her wound chastised her ungratefulness to be alive. She flinched noticeably, and, predictably, Kairi flipped out. "Are you still hurt? Is there something I can do for you, Yuri?" Kairi fawned over her, suggesting all sorts of foods and medicines, and it took Yuri nearly ten minutes to convince her that she didn't need anything at all. The only thing I need is to get out of here.
See, you think you're being careful, but not careful enough, Riku sighed in her mind. I can hear what you're thinking. You need to stop it.
Yuri rolled her eyes. Riku, I'm absolutely fine. There's no reason for me to be left behind.
Don't lie, I just heard you think about how much it hurt. Keep resting, Yuri, please.
She hated to act childishly, but she knew the only way to persuade Riku to let her out was to aim low… very low, to be exact. Why don't you want me out there? Is it that you want more time alone with Hana?
Are you insane? Riku spat. She's falling all over the place because she's forgetting things, not to mention glaring at me all the time. You think I want to be around that?
Well, you're out there actually doing something; helping… you're with someone who I think you used to have feelings for, and unless I'm mistaken, you're somewhat enjoying the hunt for spheres, and you're glad I'm here and not out there with you—
Stop, Naminé commanded. Stop it. Don't force the rest of us to listen to your fight.
Butt out, Naminé. Am I missing anything, Riku?
Only the most important thing.
And what is that? Yuri demanded bitterly.
The thing where I'm completely in love with you. How could you think I would enjoy being here without you?
"Kairi stopped watching us," Sora suddenly whispered.
Yuffie gave him a look. "Why is that important?"
He squeezed his eyes shut, and shook his head quickly, sending his floppy brown hair flying. "I'm not sure how I knew that."
Yuffie shrugged. "Either way, we've got to free this village before daybreak. Let's get going!"
They crept through the tall grass, Sora still mystified as to how he knew Kairi had stopped watching. He heard Riku and Yuri fighting, but did his best to tune it out. They were both so stupid sometimes! Somehow, Yuffie managed to move with a bit more grace than Sora, and the village was less than a mile from where they hid.
He watched Yuffie's eyes calculate where the first guard they would need to kill was standing through the darkness. Sora knew using a night vision spell would be very risky indeed, but couldn't help being tempted. Listening very carefully, he heard footsteps, soft and muted by the dirt, and the whizzing of a shuriken flying through the air. There was a groan of pain, and a sudden thud—she had already felled the first guard.
"See? I told you—assassin," Yuffie hissed.
"Shut up," Sora whispered.
"Can you believe Yuri told me to butt out?" Naminé seethed at Roxas. "She—"
"Calm down," Roxas suggested. "She's just… well, you know her. She worries."
"That does not constitute rudeness."
"Cut her a bit of slack… she'll apologize later," Roxas assured her.
"Look… the bank." He felt Naminé gesture directly ahead of them, and could see a small glint of moonlight across the glass walls which made up the front of the building. It was ghostly, frightening, and beautiful all at once.
"Let's go," Roxas murmured determinedly.
And now we're all done with filler things, I swear! XD Next chapter will be longer, and you can consider that a promise. It will also be up much quicker.
Review/Favorite, cause you know I love it! :D
Thank you,
Lulala