Here is the next chapter of Surpass the Stars! I saw the KH3 box cover and I am kinda salt Namine was put by herself but I'm also glad she's on the cover at all, though I wish she got an outfit redesign.
Chapter Summary: King Mickey proves to be a wonderful confidante.
Disclaimer: Don't own KH
Chapter Two: Moving Forward
It seemed to take forever and pass within moments all at once, her eyes being blinded by multiple colors, until Namine and King Mickey landed on the castle grounds of Disney Castle. She stumbled a bit as King Mickey steadied her. She gave him a look of thanks while someone approached. Queen Minnie surveyed her husband and his guest curiously, and Namine felt shame overcome her—not knowing how to introduce herself to the gentle queen.
However, Queen Minnie saved her the embarrassment.
"Welcome back." She greeted. She turned to Daisy. "Would you mind asking the brooms to prepare some tea and cookies for our guest? She has had a tiring day."
Daisy nodded and went off to see the brooms. Queen Minnie smiled at Namine.
"I trust my husband has helped you with your things?" she asked. Mickey looked bashful.
"Gee I'm sorry Namine! I didn't even ask how much you were carrying. Let me help you!" Mickey held out his hands to take her one pouch and Namine blushed in humiliation.
"I-it's okay, Your Majesty. I only have this one bag with me." Namine assured him, clutching her beat up pouch.
"Surely you brought all your art with you. I thought you were a talented artist." Mickey stated, looking confused. Namine shook her head.
"No. I left those behind. I didn't want to have any of my old sketches with me anymore." Namine's eyes narrowed bitterly at the thought of her desolate presence in her own sketches. Queen Minnie and King Mickey shared a look before turning their attention to the blonde-haired girl.
"As long as you're happy with it I suppose…" Mickey said uncertainly. Minnie luckily knew what to say.
"Perhaps a change of scenery is necessary for inspiration. At times, artists need to broaden their horizons to fall in love with their artwork again." Minnie suggested. Namine smile at the queen in thanks.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Namine said. Queen Minnie clasped her hands together.
"The tea should be ready now. Why don't we go inside the study and relax?" the queen smiled.
"Great! The brooms always make the best cookies! You'll certainly like them Namine." Mickey told her. The two royals led the blonde through the palace, commenting on certain artworks and statues and the history behind them. Namine listened attentively, a serene smile on her face, letting the King and Queen talk about their home. She wondered if one day she could have a home she built herself and was proud of to show to others.
'One step at a time, Namine…' she reminded herself.
They arrived at the study where the tea and cookies were already waiting for them. Mickey bounced over to the plate while Queen Minnie walked gracefully to her seat. She handed Namine her a tea cup filled with tea before readying her own cup. Mickey was already putting many sugar cubes in his, and Namine hid her smile at how childlike the king was at times. During the war, he was always so cool-headed and a leader. To see this laidback side of him was very refreshing and made him more human.
"Please help yourself, Namine." Queen Minnie gestured to the cookies. Namine's mouth watered at the smell of fresh baked cookies. She shyly took one and plopped a bit in her mouth. Her eyes widened at the burst of cinnamon rushed upon her taste buds like a piece of heaven.
"This… this is amazing! Your enchanted brooms did this?!" Namine exclaimed, not quite believing enchanted brooms could do so much. The king and queen chuckled at her interested expression.
"You'd be surprised what a bit of magic can do. We may have enchanted the brooms, but the magic has allowed them to become more intelligent and individualized with their own unique personalities. I learned it from my courses in Sorcery with Master Yen Sid." Mickey chuckled.
"You mean he had to teach you that when you misused magic to do your chores, my dear husband." Minnie was quick to remind him. Namine and Minnie giggled as Mickey glanced at his wife sheepishly.
"Right… I was young and foolish then. I didn't realize how powerful magic can be. Like the Keyblade, magic itself is its own autonomy and if misused, can have its own consequences."
"Magic is alive?" Namine asked, taking a sip of her tea.
"In a way—the keyblade chooses its wielders while magic can punish those who misuse it with interesting results. You remember Maleficent and her dark magic—it was more volatile and lashed out at you. It is fueled by anger and darkness within you—keyblades cannot function with dark magic as its essence because it's so unstable and that is why when a keyblade wielder goes dark, they must craft their own keyblade out of darkness as their old one will be destroyed from lack of balance and serenity." King Mickey explained. "Keyblades are crafted from magical energy—they are pieces of light that magic materializes into form."
Namine gazed down at her hands in dismay.
"I've never felt light like that inside myself." She admitted quietly. Mickey patted her hand.
"That doesn't necessarily mean you cannot channel magic. Keyblade wielders channel the magic around them while beings like you, Merlin, Donald, and Yen Sid are more like always charged magical batteries. So far, only Master Yen Sid and myself have been able to do both to an extent, but in the end, I had to forego advanced sorcery in order to become a full-fledged master and Master Yen Sid had to give up his keyblade to transcend the magical boundaries. You've noticed that you can still do some spells, haven't you?" Mickey asked. Namine furrowed her brow, thinking.
"I can still make dark portals from time to time, but I can no longer manipulate memories if that is what you mean." She answered. Mickey made a "hmm" sound.
"It is probably because you are no longer connected to Sora and Kairi since you have your own heart now instead of a being that is created out of their essence." Minnie suggested.
"Roxas, Xion, and Axel can't make dark portals anymore either." Namine said.
"That's because as masters, they can only channel the magic around them now. Their abilities in dark magic would have to be learned again through a dark sorcerer." Mickey replied. Namine raised an eyebrow.
"But you're saying I can do it because I'm a 'battery'?" she inquired.
"The reason you've never held a keyblade unlike Sora, Roxas, Xion, Riku, and everyone else is because you have always had a strong magical core inside you. A Keyblade materializes out of a pure light inside. However, since your birth and dealings with dark magic, your magical core has constantly been in turmoil and rejecting pure light, but you're aren't pure dark either. Magic is its own force and often fights to dominate other substances in the body. That is why Sora only can practice combat magic and not move on to more advanced sorcery like Yen Sid or Donald who can transfigure and create. A magical core would form and fight to dominate the light inside him. Magic and light are two different forces and while there is light magic and dark magic, Magic inside a body fluctuates too much to always stay focused on the light within. It corresponds too much with the magic in the air to the point where a sorcerer can get sick or moody from too much exposure too differing forces of magic. That's why Donald sometimes loses his temper easily or Maleficent gets tired after being shot too much by light magic. Master Yen Sid is even weary at times with fluctuating magic when it doesn't match the magic in his core."
"So… I'll never hold a keyblade then…" Namine felt small. Would she be doomed to always be in Sora and the others' shadows? Her fingers clutched her dress tightly, her knuckles turning a stark white. Seeing her face, Mickey and Minnie rushed to comfort her.
"Namine, I want you to listen very closely to what I am going to say." King Mickey got her to look at him. "Despite on what you think, your worth does not equate to whether or not you can wield a keyblade."
"B-But…" the blonde stuttered, tears coming to her eyes. Minnie held her hands.
"There are other paths to take worth more than just being a keyblade master." Minnie spoke softly to her. She squeezed Namine's hands. "Trust me, when my husband first got his keyblade and could fight, I was left feeling helpless, wondering if I would ever be able to be good enough for him since I didn't have my own keyblade. I wrestled with feelings of worthlessness for a long time before I realized that the universe needed my husband, yes, but my home needed me just as much. My subjects needed a strong Queen to stand tall while the King wasn't present. Mickey needed a wife who could hold her own while he did his part in the war. I wasn't worthless because as much as the universe seemed to need my husband, my husband needed me to fight in my own way." Minnie told the young girl with gentle eyes.
"Huh-huh! And you're still my best gal!" Mickey gazed at Minnie lovingly. "Definitely your spirit is stronger than any keyblade master's that's for sure!"
Minnie gave him a grateful smile, and then she turned her attention back to Namine.
"Just because you don't have a keyblade doesn't mean you can't rise to greatness in your own way. Everyone's path is different, but that doesn't make anyone's less important." The queen said. Namine's lips quivered.
"I-I am tired of being left to the background while everyone else has their own story. I've always hinged my life on others—I just want to live for myself now." Namine hiccupped. Mickey and Minnie exchanged looks before surveying her like two loving parents trying to comfort their child.
"Do you think they don't care about you?" Minnie asked. All three of them knew who she was referring to. Namine shook her head.
"I know they care… but my bonds are not as strong with them as they are with each other." Namine admitted, feeling her heart break. "I know it's not their fault. They've been through so much together that each of them has their own bonds with their own groups." She sniffled. "But I've never had that. Instead of concentrating on myself, I've spent all my existence trying to make everyone else happy. And I've gotten my thanks, but…"
"It's not the same as having your own friends." Mickey finished for her. "It's not the same as making your own life and experiencing things for yourself."
Namine nodded, wiping some of her tears.
"Gee, Namine." Mickey spoke. "I never realized this was how you felt. I never even thought you might feel differently than happy, and that was my mistake." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Can you forgive me?"
"Of course, Your Majesty." Namine said, feeling guilty that she made the King sad.
"From now on, you can count on us being friends of yours." Mickey promised. He turned to Minnie. "Right Minnie?"
"Of course. You've done so much for us in the war. It would be an honor to consider us friends." Minnie told her. Namine smiled through watery eyes, feeling warm.
"T-Thank you, Your Majesties. You don't know how much that means to me." Namine told them sincerely from the bottom of her heart. Mickey then jumped up, clapping his hands.
"Now then! It's time to get your ready for your journey!" Mickey announced. Minnie and Namine looked at him confused.
"Journey?" they parroted.
"Remember Namine, just because you don't have a keyblade doesn't mean your story is over! Why, I think it is time for Master Yen Sid to find an apprentice to pass on his talents in sorcery." Mickey explained. Namine's eyes widened.
"A sorceress? Me?" Namine pointed to herself in shock. Queen Minnie smiled.
"It would help shape your magical core and cleanse it from all the dark magic you've been using." Minnie added.
"Best fix that soon before you develop depression. You've been surrounded by light magic with all your friends it could've made you really sick eventually. Luckily you've been only using portals." Mickey told her. "A magical core is like a human's body—it can be filled with toxic energies and needs to be cleansed or flushed out every once in a while."
"But do you think Master Yen Sid will take me as his student?" Namine asked them. She didn't understand how they weren't nervous with asking a living legend to tutor her.
"I have no doubt he will say yes! He doesn't want to admit it, but he loves teaching and misses company from time to time! You'll be an amazing apprentice!" Mickey assured her. He raced towards the study door and opened it, causing Donald and Goofy to tumble inside the study from leaning against the door. "Great timing, fellas! It's time to ready a ship for Yen Sid's tower!"
"Yessir!" Donald and Goofy saluted, rushing off to do the king's bidding. Namine giggled at their antics. Mickey shook his head.
"Those two sometimes I swear…" Mickey said, but he had on a fond smile.
"They were just concerned." Namine tried to defend them even though she was bothered they heard things she was hoping wouldn't get back to Sora or the others. Minnie saw her look and took her hand.
"We will tell them to not say anything." Minnie promised, and Namine relaxed her shoulders. "I hope though that you will tell everyone the truth about how you feel soon."
"I will try. I just need to get settled first." Namine told her. Minnie nodded, smiling at her in a motherly fashion, and Namine felt at ease. Minnie, Mickey, and Namine journeyed to the launch port where Chip and Dale were readying the ship while Donald and Goofy waited for the king. The stood straight when they caught sight of him, saluting him. Mickey gestured for them to relax.
"Aw fellas, you don't have to do that all the time!" Mickey waved it off. Donald and Goofy relaxed. "Hold down the fort for me while we're gone, will you?" he asked. Donald and Goofy eyed Namine before nodding. Namine squirmed.
Suddenly, the blonde girl was knocked over, and she gave a yelp. Crashing to the ground, she groaned before her face was covered in slobber.
"Pluto! There you are!" Mickey said, letting Namine know who exactly tackled her. She tried to raise herself up, but Pluto wasn't having it. He laid down on her, licking her face continuously.
"Garwsh, he sure likes you Namine." Goofy said, amazed at the dog's behavior. Donald crossed his arms and hmphed.
"That dog likes everyone." He remarked.
"Pluto! Off boy! Let her stand!" King Mickey ordered his dog. Pluto gave her one last lick before getting off of her. Minnie helped her stand and Namine put a hand to her head to ease the throbbing. Meanwhile, Pluto was looking up at her with his tail wagging.
"The ship is ready, Your Majesty!" Dale called. Mickey grinned.
"Time to get going!" Mickey announced. Mickey, Minnie, and Namine walked towards the gummi ship and were surprised when Pluto followed.
"Don't worry, Pluto! I'll be back soon!" Mickey reassured the dog. Nonetheless, Pluto ignored him and ran into the ship, his tail rapidly wagging. Namine couldn't help but giggle as the dog turned and looked at them expectedly.
"I think he wants to go, Your Majesty." Namine said softly, not wanting to offend the king. However, Mickey laughed instead of being upset.
"Alright, boy! You can come!" Mickey conceded. Pluto barked happily and went to gently tug Namine into the ship with her dress in his mouth. Namine stumbled at the dog's force, but it still didn't wipe the grin from her face.
Not much happened in this chapter, but I wanted to establish magical cores and magic in relations to keyblade wielders this chapter. I hope it was easy to understand, if not, I am more than happy to explain.
Please let me know what you think!
Replies to Reviewers
KnightLawn- thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!