Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Disney, Square-Enix or Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire. They rightfully belong to their respective owners.
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
Writing/Singing
"Foreign Language/Flashback"
-Scene Shift-
Chapter 7: Nameday
A young boy ran across the beach with an excited smile plastered on his face. He pushed his little legs to the limits as he reached his intended destination. In the mad, excited dash did the child stumble onto the sandy shore, yet he quickly got back up and resumed his run.
After a long day of school on the mainland, Sora was back on his home island to celebrate an important time of his life: his birthday.
'Wonder if everyone is here already.' Thought the now five year old boy.
Rounding the corner on the beach, the excited sprite saw a small gathering take place by forestation. The palm trees hung at just the right angles as the shade helped cover the majority of the area from the extremely bright sun.
By the one table was Selphie, Tidus and Wakka. The three of them were happy to attend the event. And not far away were their respective family members and guardians. And coming over from the wooden bridge was Riku and his father as they soon joined the others.
Looking at the assembled group, Sora tilted his head. 'Is she coming?'
From what he and the others knew, Kairi has been living with the mayor ever since he -Sora- found her lying on the beach the morning after that meteor shower earlier this year.
The young redhead was a very shy girl, in which both Riku and himself decided to do their best to bring her out of her shell. And there were two means as to why the pair did this.
One, for they wanted to have more friends. And two, because they wanted to learn more as to where Kairi came from.
No one knew where the redhead originated. Silent on her past as it supposedly brought bad memories. All that she could tell them that her home was long gone and there was no easy way in getting back there.
'Maybe she's running a little late.' Sora pondered as he drew closer to the small party. 'I did invite her to come while we were in school.'
"Ah, Sora. Good for ya to finally show up." Spoke a man with long black hair held back by a red bandana. He wore a white t-shirt on top of a pair of black swim trunks and sandals. And on his face was an interesting set of scars. "Some of 'ur friends were starting to get antsy on the cake and snacks."
"Sorry, Mr. Jecht."
Tidus' father jabbed his head over. "Now c'mon. The lot are waiting for all this to start."
Sora nodded as he went ahead of Jecht as he soon met and conversed with the party attendees.
After chatting with some of them, Sora met up with Riku.
"Hey, Riku."
"Yes, Sora?"
"You see Kairi yet?"
The young silver haired boy shook his head 'no'.
"Wonder if she plans on coming."
"I hope so. I wanna keep going with Plan Voyager."
Plan Voyager was something the two friends came up with sometime after meeting and befriending Kairi. The two boys had guessed the redhead came from someplace else. Not a different island, but a different World…
Or at least what Riku and Sora theorized and imagined.
The known World was suffice to say… too small. Just about everyone knew each other and the only time someone new came around was if someone was just born.
Kairi was the only exception.
So with their plan, they wanted to get past Kairi's barriers to not only learn more about her secret past but to also convince her to come with them on their journey out of their home world as their navigator.
Granted neither of them are ready at this very moment, but in the future. In the future, they want to prepare and learn everything they could to make their voyage beyond their World will run smoothly… as possible.
"Maybe if she shows up today, we can finally take her to the Secret Place."
"Yeah, maybe-"
"Hey, you two."
The two best friends looked over and saw the girl they were talking about walking up to them with a smile on her face.
"Kairi! You came!"
"Of course I did, Sora." Said the redhead. "Still thanks for inviting me."
"No problem."
"What took you so long anyways?" Riku inquired.
"Mr. Nomura merely wanted to see if I got my homework done before I was able to head over here."
The silver haired boy nodded, knowing the mayor was adamant on his ward getting the best education and getting things done accurately on time. The man didn't enjoy delays all that well, given the stories and accounts his father and Kairi shared every so often.
"Oh good, everyone's finally here." Sora's mother said with a smile. "Didn't know if we should officially get this started or hold off a little longer." She then stared at her son. "Now come on, Sora. Time to get the candles blown."
She gestured towards the other end of the table where the birthday cake was lit with five candles.
With a smile, Sora bounded towards the bench seat and stood on top of it to reach towards the cake. As everyone gathered, they soon sang the birthday song. At its end, Sora blew out his candles with no wish in mind as he got everything he wanted at the present time.
-Waking World-
Groggily waking up, Roxas slowly sat up in his bed. Bringing his hand towards his face, the greater Nobody rubbed his eyes in order to get rid of any crusties and whatnot that accumulated in his slumber.
Breathing in and out in a rested manner, the Keyblader spoke. "Another dream about him."
Throwing the sheets off, Roxas eventually got out of bed and placed his feet on the wooden floor. Walking not far away from the sleeping furniture did he come to the locked up window. Soon getting it unlocked, he opened it to let a decent breeze of the cool morning air rushing into his bedroom.
"Another day in Winterfell." He muttered before turning back around to gaze at his guest room.
In terms of size, it was much like what he had from both the World that Never Was and the fake Twilight Town. It wasn't all that really big at all, just the right amount of space. There were a bit more pieces of furniture sprawled about in comparison towards the Organization's headquarters as said place was more spartan when thinking about it. Yet they weren't all that exciting and decorative like what he had in his digitized prison.
Then again this world was no Twilight Town.
These people were hardy and simplistic in nature. Decorations like the kinds Roxas had in his digitized room would be seen as superficial and unnecessary by the Northerners.
Rubbing his eyes as felt something within the inner corners of them, Roxas went about putting his new clothes on that had been gifted to him by the Stark family. He had preferred to stick with his Black Cloak as that held magical properties in which it never got stained in the conventional sense yet he himself admits to growing tired of wearing the same old thing over and over again.
He had asked if it wasn't too much trouble in wanting some new duds which the Starks went overboard in granting this request, gifting him nearly ten of everything. He was exaggerating of course. Just two or three of the basics. Boots, shirts, pants, undergarments and so on.
Roxas was originally fine with the attire he was given by the Forresters, but his hosts ended up going a little overboard on his new wardrobe.
All outfits sharing the same coloring of the typical Stark guard though apparently, one Sansa Stark had stitched a few of his clothing with the colors reflecting his Keyblades. His belt even had the imprints of his signature weapons, showing off the eldest Stark daughter her skills with a needle. Something he took note of and praised her well on, which resulted in further blushes and occasional stammers.
Overall they were the basic necessities required for Northern wear and the greater Nobody was quite appreciative of the gift.
Rolling his shoulders as he walked out of his room, Roxas stifled a yawn going down the corridor seeing several servants going about preparations for the coming week.
Traversing further down other hallways, the Keyblader passed by the occasional guard or servant. They gave their simple "hello's" and "good mornings" before going on with their own business.
'That's right, that King Robert guy is coming.' Roxas internally reminded himself, seeing how servants were working at a more rapid pace then the usual speeds when he had first stayed within these halls. 'When was it again? A week or two, right?'
With the royal caravan coming very soon, everyone was running about and working at high gear. No one wanted to disappoint the Royal family at all, thus all the stops had to be pulled for an extravagant Northern feast.
Shipments from White Harbor were brought in for varied spices on the cooking. Specialty meats from Karhold were supposed to arrive within the week. A large surplus of candles had come in yesterday, not just for the coming feast but also for Tyrion Lannister; due to him reading throughout the night.
Along with his drinking.
Now to his memory, this King Robert was a boyhood friend of the liege Lord Ned Stark. Many had spoken of Lord Stark's time in this other Kingdom called the Vale where both he and Robert had been fostered together, growing up to be brothers in all but blood. They had fought in two wars together and had overthrown the previous ruling family, the Targaryens, while taking down the rebellious Greyjoys.
And thinking on the Targaryens, Roxas was curious as to how this family had apparently once ruled with dragons. It was strange to consider but for someone in Roxas's shoes, dragons weren't exactly the most shocking, awe inspiring or even magical thing that he could ever think of. Then again, not many people had seen the crazy crap he had personally endured on top of viewing from Sora's perspective… so there is that.
Regardless of that matter, Roxas was curious as to what this Robert guy was like. Ned spoke of his "Father" Ventus being friends with both him and the King so Robert would undoubtedly see him in a similar manner to how Ned and Catelyn did.
And just like that, Roxas felt a slight headache coming on to him with all these thoughts racing through his head at a thousand miles.
From the coming king, to the Heartless that now plague these lands and to all this nonsense of his "father".
He didn't even feel comfortable with going with something like that, pretending to have a father.
'I need to clear things up with Ned very soon.' Rationalized the Nobody. 'He at least knows more of the truth than anyone else I've met so far. So what's more harm could come by adding more information to the pile?'
Soon enough, Roxas entered the Great Hall of Winterfell where the Stark family had all sat down for their breakfast. Or breaking their fast as they would say. Which was weird all things considered. Just call it breakfast. Arya and the younger of the kids had already taken to calling it that.
And of course Jon and his direwolf Ghost weren't present, either eating earlier than the rest of his family or wanting to do so afterwards.
It irked him to see that, all things considered after having that personal talk between himself and Jon back in Karhold. But now wasn't the time to bring up his own personal opinions on the matter. Much as hated doing that.
"Ah, Roxas. Hope you slept well."
Ned was the first to notice Roxas's arrival, the rest of the family all turning to greet him as well.
"More or less." Roxas said with a shrug. "Morning everyone."
"Morning." Rickon said cheerfully, before returning to wolf down his platter of eggs
"Easy there, Rickon. Those eggs aren't going anywhere." Roxas said.
"Ah, let him eat." Robb said fondly, ruffling his youngest brothers hair. "Little pup needs to eat if he wants to grow up big and strong like Father and I."
Rickon nodded happily, stuffing a piece of bread into his mouth.
"Rickon, chew what you already have." Catelyn chastised, leaning over to wipe her youngest child's mouth.
"Yeah, you'll choke and it's not gonna be pretty." Arya said as she fed Nymeria a piece of bacon.
"Yes, just like that time with the lemon cakes." Ned said casually, making Arya look to her father in mock-outrage.
"Father! I thought you promised you wouldn't tell anyone that." Arya whined with Ned smirking behind his cup.
"So that's why there weren't any Lemon Cakes a month ago." Sansa said in an accusatory manner.
She loved Lemon Cakes just as much as Arya did. Hells the whole Stark family had an unnatural liking to the damn sweets. Practically started from Ned's younger years with Lyanna getting them hooked on the treats. Their Grandmother, Ned's mother, Lyarra Stark also adored the soft pieces of goodness.
And of course things were cemented a little more with her mother loving them as well when growing up. Though Catelyn only had them for special occasions as she didn't want to spoil herself by having them all the time.
"Well then, consider yourselves lucky I have been planning on making more." Catelyn remarked, giving Arya an eyeful with the little She-wolf having the decency to look sheepish after being outed. "Your Name Day I believe would be the perfect opportunity for a large one, wouldn't you say?"
Immediately, Arya's eyes brightened with joy. "Truly mother?! You're not jesting?"
Catelyn failed to keep a straight face, smiling lovingly at her most rebellious child.
"Only the best sort of gifts for my children."
In this entire time, Roxas stood in slight confusion. He had heard of it back when he, Jon and Robb departed from Karhold but nobody actually clarified to him what it was.
"Nameday's." Roxas murmured. "Like a birthday, right?"
The Stark family heard the question, looking to the Nobody.
"What?" Robb asked for his family.
To his knowledge, Name Days were much like birthdays. Yet there were some differences than what he normally knows.
For instance, Name Days are given on the exact day one is given their name. Now generally babes are instantly named on the day they were born. Yet there are old records that Beyond the Wall, the Wildlings -or Freefolk they refer themselves as- delay the Name Days days, weeks, months or possibly years after the babe was initially born. This was because of the harsh climate which some think naming their newborn is unnecessary at the given time.
Especially if some of them wouldn't last very long in the harsh winter climate in the True North.
"Namedays are like Birthdays, right?" Roxas repeated once more. "You know, celebrating someone's date of birth?"
They pretty much gave the Keyblader a look like he suddenly grew another head or something of similar manners.
"A birthday…" Ned murmured when he held a reminiscent gaze, a soft smile stretching onto his face. "Ventus once said the same thing to me and Robert during our travels."
"So what is a birthday?" Arya inquired.
"Well, Roxas explained it best. It is when one celebrates the date of their birth. Usually with family and friends. Ven spoke of it back during the war. Basically Namedays and birthdays are one and the same where Roxas comes from."
"Oh~" The youngest of the Stark children all let out in interest. Well mostly Bran and Arya. Rickon continued eating away at his plate, occasionally tossing some to Shaggydog.
Roxas at this point had seated himself at a chair that was pulled up for him, with a servant placing a plate of eggs, bacon, oatmeal and other small trays for him to eat.
Now Roxas didn't pay that much mind on Arya's birthday, even though he noticed her dropping some hints ever since his return from Karhold. He was attentive, but wished he would have remembered what exactly she possibly wanted from him.
"So what do you guys normally do on a Nameday?" Roxas asked.
"It's mainly a simple affair, Roxas. Nothing outright grand like what most Houses do in the South." Robb answered. "In the North, we do little as they have big results by their ends."
"Huh." Was all Roxas could respond to. Really, how else was he to respond to it? He never had a birthday or Nameday to begin with so really all he could do was sit there and listen.
The only thing remotely close was the actual day he was given his name by Xemnas. Yet he never celebrated it at all.
"So… these Birthdays." Sansa spoke up, testing out the word herself. "What are they like from where you come from?"
Roxas shrugged. "A little bit of the South and the North's versions you guys talked about. Varies on most families, especially when one gets older. There are some that don't even care much for there own or just have it their own way. Varies from person to person really."
"Then what of you?"
"Hmmm?"
"You've had birthday celebrations, as you would call it?"
"Not really." Answered the Nobody. "Never really bothered in celebrating at all if I'm honest."
That...wasn't what the Stark family was expecting.
If he was right on his math, his birthday was the last day in his digital prison when he was forced to merge with Sora. Granted he was able to free himself shortly after his Somebody's awakening, but it was for a short period of time before their confrontation some weeks later.
"I see… Well that's too bad." Robb said with a frown, a sentiment shared by the others.
"Are there any differences with Birthdays and Namedays?" Bran asked.
Roxas thought to himself for a moment. "You guys get gifts, right?"
They all nodded.
"Then not much-" Roxas then paused, thinking on it for a moment. "Well… there is one thing, I think."
The Starks all shared curious looks. "What is it?"
"A song."
"A song?"
"A simple one, but relevant."
The Starks held varying thoughts as they wondered what this particular song was exactly.
"How does it go?" Arya asked.
Roxas wanted to when a coy grin formed.
"Wouldn't want to spoil it until the big day." Teased the Nobody.
"Can't you tell me?"
"Nope~"
"Aw come on." Arya pleaded.
"Now, Arya. Let Roxas do this song of his on your name day." Robb said. "It's not far along. You can wait it out till then."
Arya pouted, crossing her arms in annoyance which faded when Robb pulled on her cheek leading her to playfully bite at his hand. The eldest Stark child pulled his hand back and playfully glared at his youngest sister.
With breakfast done and over with, Roxas exited the dining hall before going on with his normal routine for the day.
Walking by the stables, the Nobody briefly saw a pile of wood; which a small flash of a memory passed through his mind. One of Sora's time on Destiny Islands prior to his journey as a Keybearer. Which he and Riku had wooden swords to spar and play with.
And another quickly passed through. It seemed foreign, yet oddly familiar to him. It filled him with a sense of longing nostalgia though it left just as quickly had the memory entered.
He wasn't sure what to make of it, but it gave him an idea on what to get for Arya.
Humming in thought, Roxas approached the pile of wood looking it over.
'Seems enough on size, length and pieces.' He thought, mentally measuring things out. 'I believe these could work.'
Now all he needed was a knife… or several other tools. Regardless, it was time to get to work.
'Now where's the carpenter and Mikken again?'
Hearing the sound of steel meeting heated steel, Roxas glanced over to see said blacksmith working diligently on an armor plate that needed repairs.
Walking over to the smith, Mikken struck his hammer down once when he heard trudging footsteps through the ground stop before him.
Looking up, Mikken blinked at seeing the lad known as Roxas standing before him.
"Ah, Roxas." Mikken greeted politely. "What can I do fer ya?"
"Hello, Mikken. I was wondering if I could borrow some tools."
"Tools? What fer?"
"I'm planning on making Arya something." Roxas said. "It's for her Nameday."
Mikken was surprised by the statement only to grin a moment later. "Of course, lad! For a moment I thought ye wanted me to make another sword or something like that."
"Not the first time, I take it."
"And surely won't be the last."
"Right."
"And what is it you wanted to make for Lady Arya?"
"Something special, which I believe she'll love a lot."
The smither chuckled. "Granted it's coming from you, believe she'll love anything ye get her."
Roxas nodded. "So about those tools…"
"What do ya need?"
"I need some carving type of tools." Roxas explained. "Something that could help with more… intricate details."
Mikken rubbed his chin in thought. "For metal or wood? If it be metal, then you best be doing yer gift here at the forge."
"Wood." Roxas answered.
"Then I've got the perfect set for ya." Mikken stood and walked over to his table and wall of tools. He began gathering specific knives, picks and other curved tools.
"Now I often use some of these on the guards and handles on most of me weapons. So they'll work well on whatever you got planned."
Gathering the necessary items on by one, the smither set them onto a nearby table. Mikken then placed them all onto a leathery cloth and wrapped them up, once with the cloth and the second with a strap.
"Here ya are, Lad." The blacksmith handed the tools over to the young man with Roxas giving him a nod of appreciation.
"Thanks. I'll be sure to return them once I'm done making Arya's gift."
"You better 'cause I have a few items I need 'em for." Mikken said, giving him a one eye glare. "Though if ye be having troubles, feel free to come by and speak with me."
Nodding and giving his thanks, Roxas made his way back to the piles of wood and gathered what he could in his arms. From there he slowly made his way back towards the guest houses where he resided during his stay here in Winterfell. It took a while in getting there as he awkwardly ascended the stairs and traversed the small halls. And it was a little difficult opening the door to his quarters.
Once using his foot to close the door behind him, Roxas soon deposited the materials on his bed. From there he went to the nearby desk and pulled out some paper, a quill and a bottle of ink.
Thinking back on his strange memory, Roxas began musing as to how to make it. He could carve out the way it was… or he could try for something else.
Now he wasn't a wood carver or artist, not in the slightest even though he was very proud of those ice cream stick figures and houses he made from all that sea-salt ice cream he ate back with Axel and Xion. So he figured simplicity would do for this carving.
'For now, I gotta at least try to scale everything out as best as possible.'
-Few Days Later-
Though the preparations for King Robert's arrival went on, all of that stopped for a brief moment as everyone prepped a small celebration for Arya's Nameday. A proud growing little She-wolf of ten and two.
Or twelve as Roxas plainly stated. These more simpler ways of speaking in regards to speaking on certain topics was starting to catch on.
While not large in affair, it was still joyous and fun in the Northern way with the household, servants and family all throwing together a small party for their wild little wolf who smiled at it all.
Her family had already given her trinkets and gifts that she loved… and tolerated for the night.
With her mother… dolls… just like the year before and the one before that. And boy did she go through those fast, either through target practice or giving them to a random commoner to give to their daughter who would appreciate them more than she could ever give it.
Ned on the other hand gave her something discreetly, earlier in the day that made her squeeze her father to the point of nearly choking him. Riding breeches. She planned on wearing those out to ribbons.
Sansa, in a surprising display of her own way of caring actually gave her all the lemon cake that she was served. Arya gaped and grumbled at the guilt welling up at taking something she knew her sister loved as much as she did. So, in false begrudgingly, Arya forcefully placed the Lemon Cakes back on Arya's plate ending with the elder sister simply hugging her and wishing her a happy Nameday.
With Jon, he had told her-her gift will be ready sometime later as it couldn't get done soon enough. But he promised her that once it's ready, he'll give it to her immediately and not a minute later.
This merely quite curious as to what Jon's gift was more than ever.
Robb figured with her archery skills already better then Bran's, he gifted her a new pair of gloves tailor made for archery, expecting her to hit center targets only.
Bran and Rickon… were younger than her so she didn't expect anything out of them though she was surprised by the two when they had managed to get more sweets made as they had apparently requested it from the kitchens in secret. This of course made Catelyn slightly annoyed but Ned simply said to let them be, citing Arya's Nameday as an excuse to gorge themselves just a bit more.
Suffice to say, neither boy will see lemoncake for a long time.
And speaking of Lemon Cake, the large one made for Arya's Nameday had come out with Roxas handing out a few sheets of paper to the family along with those who were capable of reading.
Telling everyone else to follow along, Roxas started a new tradition to the World of Westeros.
"Happy birthday to you."
The Starks followed along as well as they could.
"Happy Birthday to you."
Now the servants.
"Happy Birthday dear Arya~ Happy Birthday to you!"
The last one was with a cheer, everyone clapping a moment later.
Short and simple. But it was just right. Catchy to.
And as they all sung, Roxas had quickly brought small candles onto the lemon cake and lit them up. Once ending, they saw the little display Roxas had done as he smiled at the birthday girl.
"Now Arya, time to blow out the candles." Roxas said before a teasing tone surfaced. "Oh and don't forget to make a wish with it. Don't tell anyone or else it won't come true."
"Is this another of those traditions from where you come from?" Arya inquired.
"Yup." Roxas nodded.
"A wish." Arya whispered to herself.
Though she doesn't know it, Arya has basically become the first ever person in Westeros and the entire world over to make a wish on her Nameday/Birthday cake. Many within the hall were gazing at this gesture with intrigue, clearly wondering if they should replicate this whole ritual of sorts.
Smiling to herself, Arya blew out essentially Westeros's first birthday candles with a grin.
"What did you wish for?" Rickon asked in curiosity and wonder.
Arya was about to answer when she recalled Roxas's words.
Holding a finger up to her lips, Arya smirked at her youngest brother teasingly. "Secret."
Roxas chuckled alongside Ned. And Catelyn thought the moment was cute.
"Well with that done, I believe you have one gift left to get."
Arya looked to the Nobody who walked out of the hall. Coming back in, Roxas had his arms behind his back.
Grinning slightly at Arya's eager face, Roxas held it out before him.
Bringing out the gift, Arya gasped in joy with stars marrying her eyes.
In Roxas' hands was a Keyblade… well a wooden one in all honesty.
Now the Nobody couldn't gift her with a legitimate Keyblade, but that didn't mean he could've given her a replica of one.
It was the basic, old fashioned Kingdom Key he, Sora and Mickey possessed; though it wasn't colored in the classic shining silver handle and teeth with bright yellow guard (or reversed in King Mickey's case). He did use different colored woods to differentiate the aforementioned sections with a black leather strap wrapped around the hand.
On the guard was Arya's name roughly carved into it by Roxas though the more intricate and detailed carvings of the two Stark sigil wolves on either side of her name was made by someone more skilled than him.
And the only thing missing from a traditionally styled Keyblade was the keychain. He honestly tried making the wooden chain, but he kept failing in making the links properly. And given the odd memory he saw, the wooden Keyblade in that had forgone the keychain.
Arya damn near knocked Roxas down with the tackling hug she gave him, wrapping her arms and legs around him as he felt the breath squeezed out of him.
"I love it! I love it! I love it!" She cheered with utmost glee.
Roxas only smiled, a feeling of warmth washing over him.
"Happy birthd- I mean Nameday, Arya."
Arya only squealed in happiness, dropping from Roxas while holding her newest gift.
"I have my own Keyblade!" Arya declared aloud with joy
Her brothers and sister had gathered around her, with Arya not helping but show off her new toy though she did pass it around for them to look for themselves.
"Are you sure you should've given her that?" Catelyn questioned in a low tone, standing beside the Nobody.
"Yes, I'm sure. Why wouldn't I?"
"It would put the wrong thoughts into her head."
As much as Catelyn found the gift irritable, she couldn't deny her own motherly love watching her youngest daughter shine with such happiness and delight. It's what every mother wants to see out of her children.
Catelyn only sighed in resignation.
"I just hope she doesn't cause any trouble with that."
Overhearing this, Ned spoke. "Knowing our daughter, she most certainly will." He chuckled. "Question is: when will it happen?"
Catelyn felt her shoulders slump at the thought of it. "Please, Ned. Do not tempt fate in such a matter."
Ned merely shook his head a little as he watched Arya swing her new gift around. Though this stopped with Roxas having to go in to warn her a little as to not hurt anybody.
Ned had briefly thought Arya would've dismissed him and kept on playing. Yet he was mildly surprised on how quick she was to listen to him. She nodded, promising to practice with it carefully to make sure she got just as skilled as he was without breaking this gift.
Unbeknownst to the patriarch, this was merely something Arya obeyed from her secret teacher due to the many days Roxas taught her swordplay.
Roxas only copied what he had seen Robb, Jon and Ned had done and ruffled her now unkempt hair. Arya only smiled bashfully, hugging Roxas once more before doing the same to the rest of her siblings for such a great and best Nameday.
Ned could only lean back in his chair, a feeling of content and peace washing over him.
'I wish this could last a while longer.' Thought the Warden.
Ned wasn't wishing for the birthday of his youngest daughter to last longer. No, it was the time of peace.
Sure most of it was disrupted upon the arrival of the Heartless. But it was slowly being manageable with Roxas' help. And with his assistance, things are being stable.
Yet there was this feeling inside of him that things are changing. And they aren't for the better.
Maybe it will. Only time will tell. All Ned had to do was play the Game in a safe manner.
-Later-
Ned stood with Roxas in his solar, the two standing by the burning fire.
They were silent for the most part upon entering, making small talk with Ned thanking Roxas for putting such a large smile on his youngest daughter's face.
Yet when Roxas had requested he speak to Ned in private, Lord Stark was surprised by the intense and even apprehensive gaze the younger man held.
So Ned could only do the logical thing and acquiesce to Roxas's request.
"Now what was it you wished to speak to me about?"
Roxas didn't answer at first, eyes remaining on the dancing flames of the fireplace when he sighed.
"Is this about Robert's arrival?" Ned guessed.
"No it's not, Ned."
"Then what is it?"
"It's about what we talked about earlier." Roxas said. "Down in the crypts in front of your sisters statue."
It took a bit for the Warden to remember the specifics of that conversation.
"What is it about you being Ventus' son that troubles you?"
"It's that I'm not."
"But you are. You are his son. Hells you look and sound exactly like him."
"And I'm telling you I'm not." Roxas said firmly. "I already told you this. Remember? Down in the crypts?"
"And how can you say it so?"
"Because how I was made was not through Ventus."
Ned looked down to Roxas, thinking back to their conversation in the Crypts below. He honestly still had trouble grasping at the fact that Roxas wasn't Ven's son even though so much pointed to him being so. He did say that he had no memory of his mother, nor had ever heard a mention of his father. That he had no mother or father.
But so much said otherwise. His look alone was a dead giveaway but then there were the Keyblades, how he carried himself at times and the fact that he immediately recognized his Wayfinder Ventus made for him. How was it that he was not Ventus's son?
"Who I am… What I am is more complicated than you could ever imagine."
"...And what would that be?"
Roxas hung his head for a moment. "You remember how Heartless are made, correct?"
Ned nodded.
"What if I told you there was more to that. What if I told you that when a person loses their heart, depending on their strength of will, something else can be born as well."
Ned couldn't hide the distrubed and even frightened look at the mere thought of another being like the Heartless being born from a person.
Roxas went on. "When a person with a strong enough will lose their heart, two things are born. The Heart leaves and goes on to become a Heartless. But would you wonder what happens with the body? The shell?"
Stark only shook his head.
"Well, a Nobody is born. A being that was never meant to exist." Roxas said plainly. "All they have are the memories of who they once were with the inability to feel anything. No emotion of happiness, anger, sadness, joy, none of that. Only the memory of it."
Roxas gazed up at Ned with a somber smile.
"How do I know I'm not this Ven guys son? It's really simple Ned. I am a Nobody." Roxas stated. "A being of Nothingness. And I derive from a Keyblader named Sora. Not Ventus."
-End Chapter-
AN:
Quite the small chapter, I know, but felt this needed to be done given the long… long road ahead of us.
So if you guys are wondering on the whole Nameday bit here and why I seemingly brought it up all of a sudden, I should tell you that I'm using this detail from the books. When rereading stuff on my copies of A Song of Ice and Fire series, there was a detail pertaining that Arya's birthday/nameday came up sometime before King Robert's arrival to Winterfell. Don't know exactly how far back it was, but did want to include it for some little story purposes.
In a way, this is part of the last few days of the good life for the Starks before everything goes downhill with how the series turns out once King Robert arrives at Winterfell.
Speaking of, it's just right around the corner for y'alls anticipation.
Free Man Writer: Hoo boy, things are gonna kick into high gear now that we've arrived at the beginning. I got a fire under my ass and a burning sensation on the tip of my fingers. We're gonna really get as much done as we can before Life kicks us in the gut stopping our momentum cold.
Jeb: Now for recent news… Kingdom Hearts 3 Re:Mind has officially came out! For Playstation players…
I would be excited to play it, but unfortunately I'm an XBox player so I have to wait an extra month to finally get my hands on the DLC.
FMW: I have it and it's wonderful to play through it once more on critical with it kicking my ass at how poor of a gamer I really am. Still awesome. Sorry J, couldn't resist.
Jeb: Well at least I'll have a month to get ready to play it as I need to finish Critical Mode as the DLC is supposed to be REALLY hard on certain bosses.
FMW: Indeed, and with the game I've been starting to shape up my own KH stories.
Jeb: And I agree. This latest DLC has given us a great number of ideas to mold our respective works. Not just on combat, but on discussions and motivations. More insight to them all. And neither of us can't wait to delve into those and put them into our respective works.
FMW: So stay soon for more!
Anyways, be sure to review this story guys! Would like the criticisms. Please and thank you!
R&R