Happy Easter Sunday, everyone!
Okay, so I'm writing this just before getting ready to leave for a gathering, so I'm gonna have to make this quick. I'll probably come back later to change the notes when I have time, but for now, this is just a reminder that we have a Discord server where we provide updates on story progess, chat writing in general, stuff in pop culture and also provide pictures of baking (I love baking!). If any of this sounds interesting to you, the password is right here: 5RRcGwh
Alright, now on with the show! Allow us to proudly present chapter 13 of Before Kingdom Hearts: Shadows!
"You have the power, don't you?"
"You were named a champion. Your duty is to us all."
"There's only one side for us, and its against them.
"We can take our home back. Imagine it."
After the last two weeks in Radiant Garden, there were many things about its palace that still left Ryo in awe: It's sheer size, the resources it laid at his disposal that ranged from the practice field, to the library, to the bath house (Despite his initial misgivings, he'd come to enjoy the it) and the gardens (whenever the queen wasn't frequenting them). However, one thing above all else astounded him.
"Is there no place in this castle where I can meditate without fear of discovery or interruption?!" He fumed to himself under his breath as he made his way to the library. The gardens weren't nearly secluded enough (not to mention the queen was around them frequently), the practice field was too exposed and noisy, even the group's bedroom wasn't private enough for his needs. At this point, he was almost considering using the dungeons if he didn't want to look weird.
Which led straight to why he'd decided to visit the library. Having decided he'd wasted enough time on searching the castle for somewhere he'd be alone and undiscovered, he then came to the conclusion that practicing his swordsmanship or do some research was the best use of his time. He'd decided on the latter, figuring that he might find something to help him access some of his magic without harming himself.
That was his plan, anyway. As soon as he stepped into the library, he quickly realized that he had practically no hope. The library was massive; three tiered with bookshelves upon bookshelves upon bookshelves. There was absolutely no way he'd find what he was looking for by himself, and he was damned if he was going to ask the any of the staff working in the library to help him. The queen already knew to much as far as he was concerned, and while he was reasonably confident that she was keeping his secret, he had no problem believing that the other magicians would be so kind.
"Okay then, what do I do now?" He grumbled in his head as he stepped into the library. He was here now, and he'd been in the castle long enough that he couldn't pass this off as just exploring. He'd already visited the library a couple times without so much as picking up a book.
"I guess I'll just pick something and read." He mumbled, uncommitted and disappointed as he descended a flight of stairs and began checking out books.
"History, history, more history… I need to get into another section." Ryo muttered as he set down yet another history book. They weren't all history about the same thing, but he wasn't interested in history at the moment. He was interested in magic, but he figured those books wouldn't be in the library; too much potential for something to go wrong if the wrong person found the wrong book.
"Maybe I should look into history more. I doubt I'll be able to find anything on swordsmanship that I can use."
Ryo ultimately did not find anything of interest among the litany of history texts, and his luck didn't improve. Briefly curious as he was, it quickly became apparent that learning to bake wedding cakes was a waste of time for him for many, many reasons, and he turned around to quickly exit what he assumed was the cooking section.
More wandering, more failure and almost an hour later, Ryo was no closer to finding a book that looked interesting. He was just about ready to give up when he happened upon a familiar head of platinum blond hair that was rooting around in one of the lower bookshelves.
"Veris?" He asked, startling her.
"Oh, Ryo! Sorry, I didn't hear you coming." She quickly greeted as she rose to her feet. Ryo looked at the shelf she'd been examining.
"What are you looking for?" He asked, though he already had an idea of what the answer would be.
"I'm trying to find some books on magic. Leiptr's notes are okay, but I wanted to find something more formal." She answered before she started heading down another aisle, Ryo now in tow.
"What were you searching for?" She asked as she looked at a few more shelves. Ryo shrugged.
"Just browsing at the moment. Thought about looking for something related to magic too, but I figured they wouldn't have any books about magic lying around; Too much potential to go wrong." He answered. Veris pulled a book from the shelf and thumbed through it a bit before she suddenly made a face and put it back.
"I'd leave that one alone. It's a… well, just leave it alone. Anyway, I know there's some basic magic books in this section. I checked with the librarian before I came this way."
"If you find them, I might want to borrow them. Anyway, where's Barkos? He hardly ever leaves this place. And what's he researching anyway?"
"Second floor last I checked, and no clue. I haven't had the chance to ask."
Veris paused as she ran a finger along the spine of another book.
"Hey… Are you doing okay?" She suddenly asked, catching Ryo off-guard a bit.
"How do you mean?" He asked back.
"Well… last night, it looked like you were having a pretty bad nightmare. You didn't say anything, but you were tossing and turning a lot." She revealed. Ryo grimaced a bit as small flashes of the nightmares in question raced through his mind.
"I'll be okay. It's just bad dreams. They've passed before, these ones will too." He replied. Veris gave him an odd look in response, but didn't press the subject any further.
"Well, this is a pleasant surprise."
Ryo and Veris jumped a little at the voice as they whirled around to face its source, to which Ryo felt a brief jolt of fear, followed by suspicion and resignation.
"Good afternoon, your majesty." Ryo greeted Queen Arryn. The queen looked as stately as ever, with a hint of curiosity this time.
"Oh, my apologies, your Majesty. Good afternoon." Veris quickly greeted, seemingly a bit flustered. That was probably a more appropriate emotion to encountering the queen of a kingdom in a palace library that Ryo's, though he at least had the grace to keep it out of his voice and demeanor.
"And what might you two be searching for?" The queen inquired.
"Oh, well, I'm trying to learn more about magic, and the librarian said I could find them around here." Veris explained quickly, nervousness scrawled across her face. The queen looked at her a bit strangely for a second before she strode past Veris and began glancing about the shelves.
"What's she…" Veris started before the queen waved a hand through the air, causing three books to suddenly slide off their shelves and float into the crook of her arm. Veris' face was one of awe as the queen turned back to the budding mage, sporting a mischievous smile as she held out the books to Veris.
"Year One Magical Theory, The Four Stars: Fundamental Elements of Magic, and Practical Application of Magic. I believe that is sufficient for a beginner." The queen informed Veris as she handed the books to her with a ghost of a grin on her face. Veris' eyes widened.
"Th… Thank you, your highness." She stuttered before hurrying off to start reading.
"And what might you be searching for?" The queen asked Ryo. Her tone was a bit pointed, but Ryo couldn't guess about what.
"I'm just browsing at the moment, your majesty. I thought I might check with my friend Barkos and see if he's found something interesting. If I have your leave…" Ryo replied, trying to wriggle his way out of the encounter, only for the queen to hold up her hand to silence him.
"I think we're overdue for a private discussion." The queen stated pointedly.
"Regarding what, your highness?" He asked carefully.
"About your problem. We discussed it in the dungeons." The queen continued. Ryo could tell by her tone that she wasn't fooled by his evasiveness, nor would she entertain more of it.
"Very well. Do we have it here, or…" Ryo began to ask, only to be cut off by the queen holding up a hand as she strode away. Ryo frowned, but followed her as she made her way through the library until she reached a large bookshelf in the northwest corner of the first floor. Ryo wasn't sure this was more private than where they'd been, but his questions were quickly laid to rest with a wave of the queen's hand. The bookshelf began to shimmer before it slid to the side, revealing a secret entrance.
"You know, I should have figured there'd be at least one of these in this castle." Ryo muttered under his breath as he followed the queen, suddenly wishing he had his sword as the bookshelf closed behind them.
They didn't have to go far until the pair reached a lavish private study. High ceilings, two more bookshelves as high as they could go, a massive ornate desk and a throne of a chair behind it. Ryo could see several books, opened and unopened lying on the desk, as well as many papers. Most of them were neatly stacked, but there were a few stray ones here or there. On the right-hand wall was a large window, through which sunlight streamed.
"I trust we have enough privacy?" The queen asked rhetorically as she strolled over to the window and opened it a crack.
"Forgive me, it gets rather stuffy in here without this open. Now then, where should we start?"
Ryo didn't say anything. Given this was a queen he was speaking to, he knew he should say something, but he didn't. He couldn't really think of anything to say, nor did he want to. What was there to talk about? Trying to draw on his magic physically hurt him, and he severely doubted that there was some magical cure for it.
Clearly, the queen wasn't interested in letting it lie.
"What happened to you? What wounded you in such a way as to cripple your magic?" The queen asked bluntly. Ryo quietly gritted his teeth for a moment before he met the queen's gaze.
"With all do respect, your majesty, why should I tell you that?"
"I understand why you wouldn't be quick to divulge that information, but I do sincerely wish to help you if I can." The queen replied, holding her hands out in a placating gesture. "That said, I cannot help you if I don't know what happened to you in the first place. Since you have avoided me until now, I believed a more direct approach was needed."
"I appreciate the offer, your majesty, but that's information I am not willing to part with." He answered, trying his best to keep his tone even and respectful, though the queen's expression indicated that it wouldn't have mattered anyway.
"Then I take it you don't want to use the vast resources available to you to at least stop your powers from crippling you? I do understand that you may not want to share, but I do genuinely wish to help you." The queen argued back, frustration beginning to creep into her tone.
"What, out of the goodness of your heart? I'm not buying it; not with how hard you're pushing for it. You think that whatever happened to me could happen to you or any of the mages in this castle, and that terrifies you." Ryo shot back, more viciously than he may have intended. The queen looked taken aback, though Ryo didn't have the good grace to stop. He was too worked up now.
"Well, you can forget all those worries, since I doubt you'll be stupid enough to…!"
Ryo stopped himself. He'd almost done it. The one thing he had been vehemently avoiding at all cost for years, and the queen had almost dragged it out of him, though not in the manner she'd likely intended.
And that was all she was going to get. All of this was going back into the deepest recesses of his memory, where it belonged, and where it wouldn't get him killed.
"I'm done here." Ryo suddenly declared before turning to leave.
"What happened to you?"
Ryo paused, frustration bubbling even more as he closed his eyes and continued to tamp everything down.
"Not 'what happened'; it's 'What did I do'." He growled in his head.
"Nothing you'll need to worry about. If you want to help someone, Veris needs it a lot more than I do, and she'll actually want it."
The queen's gaze narrowed, but she stopped and slowly sucked in a breath through her nose before letting it out slowly. Ryo's see-sawing emotions were quickly scattered like a colony of mice darting for cover as he recognized that he was pushing the queen's temperament; a queen who also commanded a small legion of magicians and was obviously an accomplished one in her own right, and thus was in a unique position to make his life very difficult if she felt like it. That said, the sum of his interactions with her indicated she wasn't so petty as to wield that power in a situation like this.
Did he really want to chance it though?
"Can't really do anything but chance it." He grumbled grimly in his head, though he did force himself to calm down a measure.
"I apologize. That was out of line." He said, genuinely feeling contrite.
"But you still won't let me or anyone else help you." The queen pointed out, to which Ryo just slumped a bit.
"I can't." He said simply.
"You won't." The queen countered.
"It really is can't, not that I'll ever be able to explain why." Ryo thought to himself, even as the queen pressed forward.
"What do you think you're protecting yourself from?" She asked pointedly, though it didn't seem like she was anticipating a real answer anymore.
"What kind of question is that?" Ryo thought to himself. Well, it was obvious to him what he was protecting himself from, but he knew that wasn't what the queen meant.
"Alright then, a change of tact; what do you want?" The queen tried, which caught Ryo off-guard, because he had the distinct sense that the queen would actually give to him whatever his answer was.
What did he want? Having his magic back would be nice, but the queen couldn't give him that. A good night's sleep maybe? That would come in time. Nightmares came and went. A new home? Veris, Garren and Barkos could find a place here, but Ryo knew his wasn't. Besides, his gut told him that, however comfortable and well fitted they may or may not have been to living in Radiant Garden, his gut told him that something was going to disrupt such a possibility.
What did he want right now? What was something he regularly wished he had? What did he need?
He wasn't even sure of what that
"… What I want now is some peace and quiet, I think... To just be left alone; to think in silence. That's all I want right now." Ryo realized as he turned around. He felt tired again, but it felt different now. The queen eyed him neutrally before she finally spoke.
"Somehow, I don't believe that being left alone is what's best for you. Nevertheless, I can recommend one place; check in the brick closest to the northeast corner of the west-most wing of the castle."
Ryo blinked. She didn't seriously just tell him about a secret passage or something, did she? She had to be pulling a fast one on him.
"You're serious?"
"Very much so."
Doubt still lingered in his head, naturally. Even still, the prospect still felt too good to pass up.
"… Why?"
The queen's answer was silence, though it spoke volumes. If silence is what Ryo wanted, silence was what he'd get. Nonetheless, he appreciated it, and while he knew this wasn't going to be the end of the queen's attempts to figure him out, he could deal with that if it meant he had could get some privacy to try and sort out what was going on with him.
"Thank you." He finally said before turning to leave. He wasn't going to check the location the queen had told him yet. He'd save that for tomorrow.
For now, he needed to get some shuteye.
Thank you for reading, please review, hope to see you on Discord, and we'll see you next time!