{brief meetings}

"I don't want to go," Naminé whispered as Roxas led her by the hand onto the dock. He'd visited her again after she'd gotten dressed, presenting her with a lovely mask made of white flower petals, sewn together with a thin red string. He didn't know what to do with her hair, so he got Axel to come in and help. She still wasn't sure what exactly they had done, but her hair was at least off the ground now.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking earnest. Naminé didn't know whether she believed him or not, but he was the only one who didn't seem to want to see her tied to the mast. He was nice, too. He never got too close to her, or made her feel uncomfortable, and she was actually beginning to sort of enjoy his company. "But you don't have to worry. It ain't such a big deal, and he's only taking you so you'll stop moping."

"I don't mope…" she murmured, flushing in embarrassment. Roxas glanced at her and laughed, turning his head to stifle it with his hand. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because you're lying?" Roxas shook his head and let her hand fall back to her side. She turned to look at him, and he nodded in approval. Her dress was white silk, so thin that she needed to wear another dress under it to keep herself veiled. If one looked close enough, there were faint flowers embroidered along the skin of the dress, hugging her waist and crawling up her chest. It was sleeveless, and Naminé felt a chill as the wind brushed her bare shoulders. She didn't believe she'd ever worn anything so revealing before.

"I don't lie," she said with a shrug. "I'm no good at it."

"Well, that's fine," Roxas said, "but you can't deny that you aren't exactly channeling sunshine."

"That's not fair." Naminé frowned, and she added in her mind, The circumstances don't really allow it, and you're not one to talk! But she was too frightened to say something so bold, so she simply hunched her bare shoulders, and touched her hair absently. It was done in an odd half bun that was gathered at the back of her head, made of three braids. A fourth braid wrapped like a crown around her head, leaving her forehead bare, and a fifth braid, this one very small, wound slimly around her loose hair that ran all the way down her back.

She could not understand how Axel had done it, and when she'd asked how he'd learned such an art, the man merely smirked.

"Life isn't fair," Roxas said quietly. "It's only right that you learn now. It'll save ya pain later."

Naminé glanced down at herself, and she gathered her skirt in her hands and swished it around dazedly. "Roxas, Axel said the crew is cursed," she said slowly. "That I'm cursed too. What did he mean?"

Roxas blinked, and he gave her a strange look. "Hell if I know." He shrugged. "And you're not cursed, don't listen to Axel. If anything, you're the most human thing on the ship."

"We're all human, though…" Naminé felt confused, and stupid. She was sure Roxas was lying, but she didn't understand his words. They made no sense to her. "I'm sorry, I don't really understand what you mean."

Roxas waved his hand dismissively. "Never mind." He screwed up his face for a moment as he frowned, and then he smiled. "He should be out soon."

"Why is he taking so long?"

"Vanitas generally believes that the world will wait for him through hell and terror, so he takes his sweet jolly time."

"Is that why the ship is called the Jolly Rodger?" Naminé asked curiously. It seemed Naminé was always curious.

Roxas laughed again and shook his head. "I actually don't know why it's called the Jolly Rodger," he said with a tap of his chin. "Don't think Vanitas named it, else it'd be Void Harbinger, or something like that!"

"Sounds nice," Naminé said distantly. She wondered what 'harbinger' meant. "When we come back, what do you supposed we'll do?"

"Sail?"

"Where?"

Roxas watched her for a long moment, his blue eyes scanning her face. He seemed unsure. "It really depends," he said finally. "We never have a set course unless Vanitas has a plan."

"He doesn't have a plan?" Naminé thought that Vanitas was being a very stupid leader. She kept this to herself.

"Well…" Roxas sat down at the edge of the dock, while Naminé was left to stand awkwardly. Axel, the fashion expert that he pretended to be, warned her not to do anything that might ruin the dress. It was so thin, it could fall apart if it was damp enough. "It's hard to explain."

"Can't you try?"

"No, he can't." Naminé spun, her skirt swirling at her knees, and she stifled a shout. Vanitas looked as he normally did, with a slight difference in his clothing. He wore that wretched mask, and in the gleam of the sunset, she could see her pale and frightened face reflecting back at her. "Roxas, get back on the ship."

Roxas glanced up at the captain, his eyebrows raising. He glanced away, his eyes flashing to the horizon with something like fear, and he scrambled to his feet. "Pardon, captain," Roxas said, nodding curtly to him. He gave Naminé what she assumed was a reassuring pat on the head, and he then he left. She stared after him sadly, feeling very lonely all of a sudden. She couldn't recall anyone ever treating her quite like Roxas had treated her.

Vanitas took Naminé by the arm and led her off the dock and onto the road. She followed hastily, her heels clicking against the stone. "If you try to run, you'll regret it," he warned her as he attempted to make his hold on her look more casual, and less like he was kidnapping her.

"I won't run," she mumbled, awkwardly twining her fingers with his. His fist was clenched so tightly around her small hand, she had to turn her face away so he wouldn't see her cringe. "I'm no good at running anyhow."

"Anyway," he corrected, and Naminé glanced up at him sharply. "Dimwit, you aren't a pirate, speak like a lady."

"You're a pirate," Naminé said blankly. "Why do you speak proper?"

"Properly," he corrected again, his head jerking down at her. "Who taught you how to speak, a plebe?"

"Why does it matter…?" She'd actually only recently picked up this way of speaking, thinking that she'd simply been doing it wrong for years. It wasn't like she'd ever met anyone aside from Larxene to teach her street talk.

"You are a lady, kitten, so act like one. No one will take you seriously if you talk like you just came off a pirate ship, so pretend like you didn't, and be a lady."

How, she wanted to ask. How do I do that? But she kept herself silent, and walked onward.

"You look like a fool." Xion grinned, her smile stretching behind her crawling black-lace mask. It felt itchy on her flesh, and she scratched at it constantly until Terra had grabbed her hands and reprimanded her. Terra had ended up fetching a handmaiden to redo Xion's hair, and it now curled loosely, the braid Terra had done still remaining.

"Shut up." Terra scowled and shrugged. His armored arms chinked. As a knight, he had to dress the part, but he wasn't on duty, so he only donned the guards on the arms. The rest of him was a plain black doublet and dressy trousers. He didn't like to draw attention to himself.

"Why is it that I have to dress all nice and pretty, while you get to be all casual." This was untrue, the doublet was fancy enough to be considered formal, and he really didn't look as foolish as Xion felt. She was wearing a long red frock, sleeveless, with a high black lace collar that stretched over her shoulders. Needless to say, it was uncomfortable.

"You best not make me regret begging to mother to let you come," he grumbled, but Xion could see a smile. Xion rarely saw Terra unhappy, but perhaps he did that on purpose. He always had a smile for her, even when she could tell he was tired, or angry.

"You won't have to worry about me once Aqua comes," Xion said. "I'll sit like a good girl, and watch you two make lovey eyes at each other, and drink wine." Xion grabbed at a glass from a passing servant, and raised it to her lips to demonstrate, but Terra snatched it away quickly and carefully.

"No wine," he said sharply. "Drink water, or coffee, but nothing made from fruit."

Xion gave him a vexed look. "But why?" She wondered what she'd eat, if not fruit. Meat, she supposed, but she wasn't particularly interested in the roasted pig they were serving. Truthfully, she'd been planning on snatching an apple, or a pomegranate once Terra had left her alone.

"Because I'm your brother, and I'm asking you not to." He gave her a long look that reminded her of a puppy in some odd way, and she scowled at him. He won and she knew it. She'd feel too guilty to eat any fruit now.

"Well it's not like it's poisoned!" Xion huffed, brushing past her brother and moving toward the tables. Everyone was dancing and shouting now, and no one really cared for eating, so she found an empty table easily. The crowd was astonishing, and the noise was nerve wracking. She'd only heard Terra because they were standing near the outskirts of the party, and they'd been huddled together.

She sat alone for a while, tearing holes in the tablecloth with a knife. She'd began carving flowers into the wood when she saw a streak of white bolt past her. Looking up from her creation, she watched as a small girl, dressed head to toe in white, dropped to the ground a few tables away and crawled underneath one. Xion blinked and looked around. No one seemed to notice the girl aside from her, and the party went on. Laughs and screams and music melted together in a pulsating thrum.

Xion stood, dropping her knife onto the seat, and she drifted curiously to where she'd seen the girl disappear beneath the tablecloth. Someone caught her by the arm, and Xion turned slowly. A man, much taller than her, with a skinny torso and a long face watched her with eerie blue-green eyes. His hair looked almost like silver, cut to the ears and jagged, like it'd been done hastily.

"Excuse me," he said, his voice panicked. "Sorry, I did not mean to bother you, but I'm looking for someone."

Xion was at a loss. She didn't talk to people much, only really Terra. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out, and she felt a blush creep at her laced neck. The boy continued without her reply. "He's smaller than me, brown hair, really spiky? He's wearing a motley mask, like a fool, and it has a large smile on it." He stared down at her expectantly, and Xion thought back to when she'd been observing the party goers. She'd seen fool masks, a few of them, but none of them were motley. She shook her head, and his hand slid from her arm.

"Oh," he said, and then he walked off. Xion almost shouted to him, almost smacked him and called him rude, but he was not Terra, and so Xion put a farther distance between herself and the stranger.

She knelt down beside the table and pulled the cloth up. There she found the girl, hugging her knees to her chest, her eyes wide with shock. Xion managed a small smile. "Do you mind if I intrude?" she asked, watching as the girl's eyes darted around.

The girl finally looked Xion in the face and shook her head. Xion smiled wider and crawled under, letting the tablecloth fall behind her. The girl stared at her, her mouth agape, and Xion wondered if she had been crying. She couldn't imagine why else the girl would be curled up under a table.

"Are you alright?" Xion asked. The girl simply stared at her, her eyes bulging out as if Xion had said something horrendous. She nodded after a short moment. "Well, why are you hiding, then?"

The girl closed her mouth, and she looked away, squirming a little under Xion's gaze. "I…" Her voice was hushed, and Xion almost didn't hear her speak. "I wanted to get away from him. He didn't notice, so I thought maybe if I just got away from it all long enough to think, I'd…"

"You wanted to get away from who?" Xion didn't like the sound of this. Maybe she could get Terra to help the girl.

The girl stared at her for a long moment, her eyebrows furrowing. She shook her head fast. "No one," she said, "I'm sorry, I have to go. I shouldn't have left."

"No, wait!" Xion gasped, scrambling to catch her arm, or leg, or something to stop her, but she'd already slipped out from under the table.

Aqua did not know what to expect when she stepped into the yard. The party was too big for the ballroom, and she could hear the roaring from a kilometer away. She'd walked, but she found she had no trouble with the glass slippers. In fact, it was easy, much easier than she'd expected. She stood at the gate, her fingers digging into her silken skirts, and she frowned. She didn't feel like herself, not at all. The faerie must have put a spell on her when she'd cleaned her skin and hair and made her look beautiful. She'd seen her reflection in a pond when she'd neared the gates. She looked too pretty to be human.

Her slippers clinked against the cobblestone, and as she entered the throng, she felt eyes on her. This scared her immensely, and Aqua reached toward her hip, but she grasped nothing, and a crushing panic enveloped her. Everything was hot, and bodies pressed up against her as they moved in frantic motions. The song was too screechy for her ears, and the air seemed to be getting thicker and thicker.

She thought she'd have been sick if it hadn't been for the song that started up. It was a familiar, lilting tune that made her sway as she walked, and the crowd parted for her. She was sure it was a spell, but it felt strange knowing that people were noticing her, especially because she was usually so invisible. A violin whistled in her ears, and she smiled to herself. Everything was fine.

The song ended fast, and suddenly there was a boy before her, fiddle in hand, and a toothy grin on his face. "You clean up bloody fine!" Ven cried, and Aqua stumbled back, surprised by his sudden appearance. His bow was clenched tight in his left hand, and Aqua finally realized why he kept the sword hidden. In crowds like this, no one expected a weapon. It was clever.

"Thank you," Aqua choked out, still stunned to see him. He was wearing a mask made out of oddly shaped leaves, and his eyes glowed bright blue beneath the swarm of green. "You know, this is supposed to be a masquerade. If someone I only met once could recognize me so easily, who's to say someone else might not?"

Ven shrugged and slung his fiddle over his shoulder, where it bobbed on a strap, and he slid his bow into his belt. "I'm a rare breed, Aqua," he said with a broad grin. "I see what others don't. It's like a special gift."

"I'm sure." Aqua smiled, feeling better with the company of Ven. She didn't know him too well, but he was a friendly face in a sea of strangers. "Are you here with anyone?"

"Nah," he said with a shrug. "All my friends are really restricted. They're kind of not allowed here."

"You have friends in the north?" Aqua's eyebrows raised, but Ven simply smiled and nodded.

"I've got friends in weird places…" He trailed off, his eyes landing on someone behind Aqua. She blinked and tilted her head.

"Ven?" she asked, waving a hand in front of his face. His eyes flashed to hers, and Aqua stepped back. Terror gleamed on the surface of them, rippling like water. He shook his head fast, and spun around.

"I have to go," he gasped, disappearing into the crowd. Aqua stood still for a while, bodies bumping into her, and she was left to ponder what had spooked him so.

She didn't have to wonder long. A sharp tapping on her shoulder gave her the answer. She turned, her glass shoes clicking loudly, and she blinked at the boy who stood before her. He wore a shiny black mask that enveloped his entire head, and nothing of his face could be seen. Aqua felt a chill, and she took a short step back before she remembered her manners.

"Hello," she said, as loudly as possible over the din. "Did you want something, sir?"

"You could say that," he said, his voice low and void of emotion. Aqua swallowed her fear, telling herself that she was strong, and she smiled.

"Well, I'm all ears."

"Oh?" He sounded more amused now. "Gosh, that's nice to know. I know a guy who wears them around his neck."

Aqua must've given him a horrible look, because he walked right off after that. She watched him, feeling her fright melt into anger. What had the boy bothered her for? To scare her? It'd worked, and Aqua hated that. She spun around and pushed through the crowd, hoping she'd find Ven again. After searching for longer than she should have, she found him applying ice to the bruised face of another boy, this one a brunet.

"I've been looking for you!" Aqua gasped, pulling up a chair and dropping beside him. Ven said nothing, but the brunet glanced at her, a smile gracing his fat, bloody lip.

"You look like an angel," he remarked, and Aqua leaned back, hoping her mask contained her shock. "Gods, Ven, is this that Kai girl?"

"No," Ven said, his mask keeping his expression even, but Aqua could see in his eyes that he was amused. "This is Aqua."

"Aw, no fair," the boy whined, pouting a little. "I want to meet Kai. Is she coming tonight?"

"No, she's kind of…" Ven looked down. "She's really mad at me right now. I said some dumb stuff that I shouldn't have, and even though it was true, I think I really hurt her feelings."

"You don't know how to speak to girls."

"And you do?" Ven laughed so loudly, Aqua couldn't believe this was the same person who had been terrified only twenty minutes before.

"What happened?" she asked, peering at the boy's face. His cheek was swollen, and growing purplish.

"Took my mask off to breathe," the boy said with a shrug. "I guess people just don't like my face around here. Luckily Ven found me, and we lost them."

Aqua gazed at the boy, at a loss for words for a few moments. When she opened her mouth to speak, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around fast, tensing up at the contact, but it was only Terra, or at least she believed it was. His face was plenty hidden, but the quirk in his smile gave it away. She relaxed a little.

"Where were you?" she blurted, pushing his hand off her.

"Looking for you," he said, his eyes looking her up and down, and he frowned. "You look different."

"Your investigative skills astound me, Terra," Aqua said sweetly, a bitter smile on her lips. "Have you ever thought about solving crimes? You'd be breathtakingly good at it."

"Wow, attitude!" Terra gave her a playful shove on the shoulder, and Aqua's eyebrows raised. She pushed him back, not as gently, and he stumbled back a few paces. "What has you all in a mood? You look nice."

"You don't like it," Aqua said with a sigh. "I know you don't."

"I never said that," Terra said with wide eyes. "You look nice."

"But you don't like it."

Terra groaned, and he shook his head. He looked toward the two younger boys, who were watching the show with amused gazes. He jerked a thumb to Aqua, who stood with her arms folded across her chest. "Do you see this?" he asked, huffing. "I have to put up with this every day."

"Sounds like fun." The brunet smiled, but it simply made him look even more out of it than he already was. Aqua wondered if he was concussed.

"It is when she doesn't hit me." Terra laughed, and Aqua glared at him.

"You hit me too," she grumbled, and he simply smiled wider.

"You're the only girl I'd hit, but that's only because you'd get angry with me if I treated you like a normal girl." He draped his arm around her shoulder and continued to smile at her discomfort. "Also, it's true, I don't know how I feel about how you look. It's strange. But I do like it, don't think I don't. I like you no matter what you look like. Do you want to know why?"

"You're probably going to tell me?"

Terra rolled his eyes. "I don't care what you look like, Calder. You're perfect all the time."

Aqua stiffened at his words, shocked and confused, and she glanced up at his face. He wasn't smiling anymore, and Aqua found herself very warm, warmer than she'd been when all those bodies had been pressed against her. She looked away quickly and shrugged his arm from her shoulder, her skin erupting in fire where his flesh had met hers. She didn't like this feeling.

"One day, Terra, you're going to find a person you can't flatter," Aqua murmured, feeling her blush fade. Her heart was beating hard.

"I don't flatter," he said. "I tell the truth as courteously as I can."

"Gods know you're courteous," she sighed. She turned back to the boys and smiled. "Anyway, sorry, this happens a lot."

"I enjoyed the show." Ven grinned, his eyes flashing between the two elder teens.

Aqua blinked at him confusedly as he turned his gaze elsewhere, leaning far over the side of his chair to get a better look. "What?" she asked, glancing at Terra. He shrugged. "Oh! Ven, this is Terra. Terra, this is Ven and…" Aqua looked to the brunet, who smiled brightly.

"Sora," he chirped, holding out a hand. Aqua took it carefully, and pulled back fast. The name sounded familiar. She blinked at Terra, whose jaw had gone rigid, and she nudged him. He looked down at her and shook his head.

"You shouldn't be here," Terra said, his voice solemn. "You're an idiot for showing up."

"You have not known idiocy until you've seen us drunk," Ven said, a lax smile on his lips, but Aqua could tell he was worried beneath it.

"Well, Terra's a pretty big idiot," Aqua said with a wry smile, "so I'd put my money on it."

"Aw, that's mean." Sora pouted, his bloody lip jutting out oddly. Aqua sat down beside him and shrugged, smirking up at Terra, who didn't seem to even notice the quip.

"I'm not kidding," Terra said darkly. "If you're caught here, you'll be thrown in jail."

"Do you know how many times I've been caught here?" Sora asked, his dazed eyes fluttering closed as he leaned back. "Well, not as much anymore, but when I was little I used to get caught all the time. Always too slippery for them to hold me though."

"I'll get him out of here once I find his pet," Ven said, his grin so wide, and his eyes so alight, he looked sort of unsavory.

"Pet?"

"My friend," Sora corrected, shrugging. "Ven doesn't like him too much."

"I like him fine," Ven said. "It's just fun to bother him."

"It's not nice."

"Well if he trusted me a little more, maybe I would ease up." Ven frowned and stood, his eyes stuck somewhere in the crowd of dancers. "Excuse me for a sec, Terra, Aqua." He bolted into the crowd, and Aqua turned to watch him.

"Strange kid," Terra muttered, his gaze still on Sora, who smiled lazily up at him. "Put your mask back on before someone recognizes you."

Sora blinked and obliged without comment, his fingers fumbling at the blue ribbons. Aqua moved closer to help him. "What's going on?" Aqua asked as she quickly knotted the ribbon. "Is he a criminal?"

"No," Terra said quietly. "He's… I guess you don't know much about our neighboring kingdom, right?"

"Only that war stuff in the history books, and some myths," Aqua said hesitantly, glancing at the boy in the motley mask. He was quiet now, and she was sure his bruises had inspired a headache.

"Yeah, we kind of hate each other. I don't know why, and I don't really care to know, but it's really dumb. We have a truce that only stands as long as we stay in our own kingdoms."

"So he's from the Skylands?" Aqua looked to boy and tilted her head. "In the books there's a legend that says they can fly."

"Legends say that we bathe in the blood of virgins," Terra said dryly, and Aqua waggled her eyebrows at him.

"I knew there was a reason your skin is so flawless," she laughed. She heard Sora laugh from behind his mask. "I'd like to see the Skylands…"

"You should come," Sora chirped. "No one would know you're from Red Bay. Plus you look like you're from one of the isles."

"Do I?" Aqua looked at Terra, and he shrugged.

"The hair," Sora said, reaching over and picking up a bouncy blue curl. "Distant relative to the Folk?"

"What?"

"The Fair Folk, he means," Terra said slowly.

"I know what he means," Aqua said, scowling. "I meant that I don't look anything like a faerie."

"Normal people don't have blue hair," Sora said, and she could almost hear him smiling. She wondered if he was drunk and concussed. He sounded so silly.

"No one's ever cared much before." Aqua looked up at Terra, who was glaring at Sora through his mask. "So who is he? A relative of the cloud king?"

"His son," Terra said, his voice still carrying the heaviness of solemnity. Aqua blinked and looked to Sora, who was rocking in his chair, his motley mask eerie in the flicker of lanterns, the smile too large for its sharp angles.

"You're a prince?"

"I guess," Sora yawned and stretched his arms. "Not a good one, I'll tell you. I'd run away and live on one of the isles if I could. Maybe the Isle of Sleep. I like sleep, and the people there aren't as drugged up as you'd expect."

"You've been to the isles?" Aqua gasped, her interest piquing. She almost forgot her courtesies. "I mean, my lord."

"You don't live in the Skylands, so you don't have to call me that." He laughed, and Aqua managed a weak smile. She'd never known anyone truly royal before, and she had no idea how to act. "And the isles… they're really something special. Nothing like it is here. People dance on the streets, and sell potions, and there are priestesses that sing hymns of magic."

Aqua stared at him through her glass mask, and as she did she tried to imagine it. In her mind, children played in the streets, and sang of mages of old, and some would make magic, and others would make words, and some would dance before a pond, before a weeping red tree, before a lake of ice.

The music of the party around her died, drowned by the sound of death drums.

Party time. Woot woot.

I'm still puzzled over White Knight. I think I'm going to split this chapter, and work my magic a little better on it. Like, it's already ninty chapters. What's a few more? I won't update until I have all that done though.

So Game of Thrones is over until next spring, and I'm forced to deal with the spoilers I've been given. DID SOMEONE SAY AEGON TARGARYEN? The picture for him on the wiki page is super attractive. He looks like Riku, actually, 3D version. I can't wait for the show version of him, I hope he's as attractive as Harry Lloyd was with Viserys. Guys, Viserys might've been a monster, BUT HARRY LLOYD MADE HIM AMAZING. He's ten times less likable in the books just because we don't have that fabulous acting to make him seem human.

Wow, guys, are we EVER going to meet these ominous faeries everyone is talking about? Why does Vanitas have Hook's ship, for realsies, water you doing, Dani? WHEN ARE THE TWEWY CHARACTERS COMING IN, DANI?

I amuse myself so easily, I can't take it.

I actually made a shitty map for this story, so I could keep track of places. I'd show you guys, but it's not too great, so...

-Dani