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     1.2 +++ b/stories/prismhearts-07.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
     1.3 @@ -0,0 +1,741 @@
     1.4 +
     1.5 +
     1.6 +Prism Hearts
     1.7 +Chapter 7
     1.8 +Melodies of Life
     1.9 +by Amazoness Duo
    1.10 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
    1.11 +
    1.12 +
    1.13 +“Why did you come with me?”
    1.14 +
    1.15 +“Hey, that’s Ipsen’s line.”
    1.16 +
    1.17 +“Ipsen? Who’s that?”
    1.18 +
    1.19 +“Ipsen is a character from a play. But he’s a real life adventurer.
    1.20 +I think the play is based on his adventures. It kind of goes like
    1.21 +this: Ipsen and his good friend, Colin, worked at a tavern in Treno.
    1.22 +One day, Ipsen got a letter. The letter was so wet from rain that
    1.23 +most of the writing was illegible. The only part he could read said
    1.24 +“Come back home”. Nowadays, we have airships and stuff, but back
    1.25 +then, it was really hard to travel. He didn’t know why he had to go
    1.26 +back, but he had some time off, gathered his things, and set out on a
    1.27 +journey home. He walked a thousand leagues through the mist.
    1.28 +Sometimes he was attacked by vicious monsters, but he made it because
    1.29 +his friend, Colin, was by his side. And then, after much time on the
    1.30 +road, he had to ask Colin something. ‘Why did you come with me?’”
    1.31 +
    1.32 +“And? What was Colin’s answer?”
    1.33 +
    1.34 +“Only because I wanted to go with you.”
    1.35 +
    1.36 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
    1.37 +
    1.38 +I am surrounded by darkness. It’s all around me, dark and thick and
    1.39 +cold. I can feel it reaching out to caress me, its knifelike touch
    1.40 +raking across my skin, trying to comfort me. It’s the only constant.
    1.41 +The endless darkness; a deep and ancient sea that stretches out into
    1.42 +eternity. It calls to me, echoing throughout me. It wants me here.
    1.43 +I... belong here. Amidst the darkness. My home for so long. The world
    1.44 +I had known for most of my life. One of darkness and pain. It’s
    1.45 +familiar, a feeling that resonates within me. Isn’t this how I’ve
    1.46 +always been? Before the Destiny Islands, before I managed to escape.
    1.47 +But now it’s found me again. And it will never let go. The darkness
    1.48 +has me in its grasp. I won’t be able to escape a second time. I am
    1.49 +home now.
    1.50 +
    1.51 +No...
    1.52 +
    1.53 +No! I don’t belong here! I don’t belong to the darkness! I’m not
    1.54 +like that! 
    1.55 +
    1.56 +I shake my head. It feels as if a spell has been broken. There’s
    1.57 +still the endless night, but there’s something else. It’s still
    1.58 +pulling on me, but I’m not letting myself get pulled helplessly
    1.59 +anymore. I can move again. I feel like I’m waking up from some
    1.60 +nightmare. I won’t let this drag me down. I have to get out of here,
    1.61 +away from the darkness. Away from all this. 
    1.62 +
    1.63 +‘Running away again?’ a voice says, echoing all around me. I turn
    1.64 +around and around, searching for the voice, but I still can’t see
    1.65 +anything. It’s taunting me again, playing with my fears, trying to
    1.66 +break whatever confidence I manage to pull to myself. I ball my
    1.67 +fists, still searching. I won’t let it break me. Not now. I’ll find a
    1.68 +way out of here. Somehow. 
    1.69 +
    1.70 +I can still feel it reaching for me, the darkness reaching for
    1.71 +something inside of me. What scares me is that feeling of familiarity
    1.72 +that burns within me while I’m here. Like I’ve been here before. Like
    1.73 +I’ve felt this all before. But that can’t be; I’ve never been inside
    1.74 +of the darkness before. This place... Pieces begin to take shape. My
    1.75 +clothes are changing. They’re darker, more gothic. People begin to
    1.76 +surround me. Cold, dark. Heartless. These people are also familiar
    1.77 +somehow. Like I can almost remember them. How they never cared. How I
    1.78 +was always alone even when the halls were crowded. 
    1.79 +
    1.80 +‘Welcome home, Kairi,’ the voice whispers in my ear again. 
    1.81 +
    1.82 +I stare in horror as more of the world starts to take shape before
    1.83 +me. It all feels so real, as if I can step out into it. A world
    1.84 +created entirely of darkness. A world built upon pain and suffering.
    1.85 +Where loneliness was my only constant companion. A world where the
    1.86 +bright crimson of blood was my only escape from the endless darkness
    1.87 +that had imprisoned me. Names begin to tease my mind, of people and
    1.88 +places that I can’t know, shouldn’t know. This isn’t my world. I’m
    1.89 +not from here. I can’t be. 
    1.90 +
    1.91 +I search frantically for an exit. Any exit. I don’t care what the
    1.92 +voice says. I want to get away from here. I need to get away before
    1.93 +it becomes any more real. Before it chains me to it again. I won’t
    1.94 +let it take me back. I won’t ever go back. I refuse. I turned my back
    1.95 +on that life when I slit my wrists, breaking my bonds. But like an
    1.96 +angry dragon deprived of its treasure, it’s hunting me, yearning to
    1.97 +drag me back in its clutches, crushed and bloody. 
    1.98 +
    1.99 +My heart pounds in my chest, my body shaking. I’m gasping for
   1.100 +breath, an eerie chill sending frosty crystals flowing through me. I
   1.101 +shudder. I can’t let this happen. Desperation is stabbing into me, a
   1.102 +thousand needles, all incredibly intent. I have to get away. Now! 
   1.103 +
   1.104 +‘Kairi...’
   1.105 +
   1.106 +No... Leave me alone. I don’t know you! 
   1.107 +
   1.108 +‘Kairi, dear...’
   1.109 +
   1.110 +Please, just go away! I clutch my head, crumbling to my knees. I
   1.111 +don’t belong here! Don’t you see that?! I never did fit in. I never
   1.112 +belonged. I couldn’t survive in the darkness. It was too much for me.
   1.113 +It left me broken. Why couldn’t you see that? I had to leave it. I
   1.114 +had to get away. 
   1.115 +
   1.116 +“Kairi,” she says, her hand on my shoulder. 
   1.117 +
   1.118 +I scream. That world shatters around me, breaking like a dropped
   1.119 +china doll. I fall, plunging through a world of splintered glass. I
   1.120 +don’t know where I’m going or where I am. But I can’t help feeling
   1.121 +some faint relief to get away from that nightmare. Even if I’m only
   1.122 +trading it in for another. 
   1.123 +
   1.124 +I am surrounded by darkness. It’s all around me, dark and thick and
   1.125 +cold. I can feel it reaching out to caress me, it’s knifelike touch
   1.126 +raking across my skin, trying to comfort me. It’s the only constant.
   1.127 +The endless darkness, like a deep and ancient sea that stretches out
   1.128 +into eternity. It calls to me, echoing throughout me. It wants me
   1.129 +here. But I will not stay here. I’m getting out of here. I won’t let
   1.130 +the darkness consume me. I have too much I still need to do. Sora and
   1.131 +Riku need me. I won’t play the helpless princess this time. This
   1.132 +time, I’ll protect you. Both of you. I promise. 
   1.133 +
   1.134 +Even in the darkness, there is light. I just have to find it.
   1.135 +There... So far away, so faint it could almost be my imagination. But
   1.136 +it’s there. Because I believe it’s really there. I have faith that
   1.137 +the light is waiting for me. Because I know what the light in my life
   1.138 +is. Riku and Sora. They are my light. And I carry them with me
   1.139 +wherever I go. So no matter the darkness that surrounds me, there
   1.140 +will always be light in my heart. 
   1.141 +
   1.142 +I run to the light. And run. And run. It seems so far away. My
   1.143 +muscles ache and burn, the darkness clawing at me as I run, trying to
   1.144 +drag me back. But I won’t let anything keep me away from them. I’m
   1.145 +going to save them. No matter what it takes. The light... It’s so
   1.146 +beautiful. So warm. It caresses me as I finally reach it. And for
   1.147 +just a split second, he holds me. It’s all too brief, but I burn it
   1.148 +into my mind, etching every half-remembered feeling into my soul. One
   1.149 +day I’ll have that forever. It won’t be snatched away from me. I’ll
   1.150 +hold onto him until the sun falls from the sky and even longer. 
   1.151 +
   1.152 +One day...
   1.153 +
   1.154 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   1.155 +
   1.156 +
   1.157 +Light... Bright and jarring. It cascades around me harshly, bathing
   1.158 +everything in its judgmental glow. As if accusing me. ‘You, girl from
   1.159 +the darkness, you are not welcome here,’ I can almost hear it say. My
   1.160 +eyes ache and shut instinctively tighter, trying to drown out the
   1.161 +brilliant glow that surrounds me. ‘Just go away...’ I beg. But it
   1.162 +ignores me, seeming to focus even more on me. 
   1.163 +
   1.164 +We always cherish light. It is beautiful. It is right. It is good.
   1.165 +But we never stop to think that if anything were held to the light,
   1.166 +that it would wither and burn under its touch. Without a filter, the
   1.167 +light is too blinding, too strong. The blazing light and the cold
   1.168 +darkness are both ends of the extreme. One isn’t simply salvation
   1.169 +while the other is ruin. Both can destroy you. Both can protect you.
   1.170 +The darkness can be just as beautiful, can’t it?
   1.171 +
   1.172 +Perhaps there are more similarities than I’d ever realized...
   1.173 +
   1.174 +But now, the light is making me ache and burn. I curl up, trying to
   1.175 +shut it out. I fall short in its harsh view. I am not of the light,
   1.176 +it tells me. I don’t belong here. It will wash me away in its light
   1.177 +until I’m nothing more than the hint of a shadow. 
   1.178 +
   1.179 +This is wrong. Of course I’m from the light. I wanted to escape the
   1.180 +darkness, didn’t I? This should be welcome. This should be freedom.
   1.181 +So why am I so afraid of it? Why isn’t it welcoming me with open
   1.182 +arms? Why am I being turned away? What’s wrong with me? Tears start
   1.183 +to burn at my eyes as I shut them tighter. ‘Please,’ I call out.
   1.184 +‘Help me...’ Isn’t the light supposed to save you? Isn’t it what
   1.185 +dreams and hope are built from.
   1.186 +
   1.187 +‘No...’ Comes its response, reverberating through me. ‘Nothing can
   1.188 +save you. You are too entangled by the darkness. You are darkness.’
   1.189 +
   1.190 +‘No! Please, don’t send me away! I need help! I’m all alone...’
   1.191 +
   1.192 +But the light ignores me. It doesn’t wish to have me so close
   1.193 +anymore, dirtying its gorgeous rays. So it simply casts me out.
   1.194 +
   1.195 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   1.196 +
   1.197 +I lie there for a long time, trying to make sense out of things. I
   1.198 +don’t care enough to open my eyes and find out where I am. That’s
   1.199 +secondary. I’ll figure it out later. I hope. It doesn’t matter where
   1.200 +I am, anyway. It’s not like I’ve had a well-designed plan through all
   1.201 +of this.
   1.202 +
   1.203 +The darkness longs for me. The light rejects me. I feel a cold chill
   1.204 +pass over my body at that thought. The light that can save me won’t
   1.205 +let me near. The darkness is even now creeping after me, trying to
   1.206 +plunge me back into its depths. It’s hunting for me. And I have
   1.207 +nowhere to run to. No sanctuary that can protect me.
   1.208 +
   1.209 +I shudder on the cold floor. I’m all alone. 
   1.210 +
   1.211 +No... ‘Remember what you said, Kairi? I’m always with you, too,’
   1.212 +Sora had said right before he had been dragged away from me to
   1.213 +someplace far off. Yes. I am not alone. I place a hand over my heart.
   1.214 +My boys are right there with me. No matter where they are. I’m not
   1.215 +alone. If the light turned its back on me, then I Don’t need it. All
   1.216 +I need are Riku and Sora. If I can’t believe in the light, then I’ll
   1.217 +believe in them. I will find them. I will save them. And they will be
   1.218 +my shelter from the storm that threatens to consume me. As long as I
   1.219 +have them, I’ll never let the darkness swallow me. 
   1.220 +
   1.221 +“Ohhhh...” someone groans beside me. “I’m starting to think
   1.222 +travelling by Gummi Ship from world to world isn’t half bad. Sure, I
   1.223 +got motion sick from it. But I didn’t wake up wondering where the
   1.224 +hell I was.”
   1.225 +
   1.226 +“One of these days you’re going to wake up naked in a hotel room
   1.227 +thinking that and I’ll prove to you that it can be a good thing,”
   1.228 +another voice pipes in.
   1.229 +
   1.230 +“Relm, watch your hands,” the first voice warns. 
   1.231 +
   1.232 +“Oops... Sorry,” comes the gleeful response. Relm doesn’t sound
   1.233 +sorry in the least. 
   1.234 +
   1.235 +Well, at least I know Yuffie and Relm are both still with me. I
   1.236 +don’t have to go on alone after all. I slowly open my eyes, the world
   1.237 +a blur around me. How long was I out this time? Where will I find
   1.238 +myself now? My head swims, still reeling from my sudden brushes with
   1.239 +both the light and the darkness. My heart wavers. I still don’t know
   1.240 +where I stand. Grandma used to tell me there was always light. But if
   1.241 +the light wouldn’t accept me... 
   1.242 +
   1.243 +Now is not the time to be thinking about these things. First things
   1.244 +first. I need to find out where I am. Somehow. “Where are we?” I ask
   1.245 +after a moment, flipping some hair from my eyes. 
   1.246 +
   1.247 +“Maybe you can ask them,” Relm suggests, pointing behind me. 
   1.248 +
   1.249 +The concerned look in her eyes tells me I probably won’t want to ask
   1.250 +whoever it is. Yuffie just watches on with a ‘why does this sort of
   1.251 +thing always happen to me?’ look plastered on her face. I slowly
   1.252 +turn, hesitant to find out. Sure enough, I doubt these people are
   1.253 +interested in telling me directions to find my lost boys. There are
   1.254 +at least seven women in the hallway, all wearing armor and bearing
   1.255 +swords and shields. The one in the lead holds a rather hefty sword
   1.256 +and sports an eye patch, presumably a testament to the many battles
   1.257 +she had been through. I swallow nervously. “You wouldn’t happen to
   1.258 +know where I could find a silver haired boy, would you?” I try a
   1.259 +smile, but it’s lost on the soldiers. 
   1.260 +
   1.261 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   1.262 +
   1.263 +Yep. I’m officially hating this by now. I lie on my cold, hard bunk
   1.264 +in the dungeon, my hands behind my head. If I had more materia, those
   1.265 +knights wouldn’t have stood a chance against me. Of course, Beatrix,
   1.266 +as I’d learned was her name after the fact (my jailer won’t shut up
   1.267 +about her), soundly trounced me while Kairi and Relm sat there
   1.268 +worthlessly and squealed like little girls when the knights grabbed
   1.269 +them. So one could say the odds weren’t exactly stacked in my favor. 
   1.270 +
   1.271 +I roll on my side and hit the wall with my fist. I’m supposed to be
   1.272 +a legendary hero. The greatest ninja that ever lived. Some hero I’m
   1.273 +turning out to be. I can’t even save Relm from a couple stupid
   1.274 +knights. And Kairi, I hastily add. Not like I have any vested
   1.275 +interest in Relm. Of course not. I laugh aloud. What a silly thought.
   1.276 +That little pervert isn’t getting to me. I mean, sure she’s awfully
   1.277 +sweet and she has this way of riling me up, and her eyes have this
   1.278 +way of taking over your soul... 
   1.279 +
   1.280 +I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts. Whatever the case, it
   1.281 +doesn’t matter. I couldn’t come to her rescue even if I wanted to.
   1.282 +Which I don’t. I’m stuck in the dungeon, alone, weaponless. At this
   1.283 +rate, the universe will be swallowed by Heartless before I can ever
   1.284 +get Kairi to the Doorway to the Light. But at least I’m trying! Not
   1.285 +like Leon and Aerith. Both staying home to cuddle with their love
   1.286 +bunnies while I work my ass off trying to get the Keyblade Mistress
   1.287 +to fix everything. And I’m not out here just because I don’t have
   1.288 +someone! I wouldn’t be doing the exact some thing as them if I had
   1.289 +someone to wake up with and cling tightly to and... Of course not!
   1.290 +
   1.291 +“And she’s much, much more talented than Sir Steiner. Why, Lady
   1.292 +Beatrix was our pride and joy at the last tournament. The Knights of
   1.293 +Pluto didn’t even want to challenge her. It was really very funny.
   1.294 +They were all...” The guard drones on. She had explained earlier than
   1.295 +she doesn’t mind guard duty. I think I can see why. She takes a
   1.296 +sadistic pleasure in slowly killing the prisoners. 
   1.297 +
   1.298 +I pull my pillow around my head, trying to drown out her incessant
   1.299 +ranting about Lady Beatrix. I’m still pissed that Beatrix stopped me
   1.300 +in the hallway. I could’ve at least gotten through her and then been
   1.301 +taken down by the guards. Or they could’ve all ganged up on me or
   1.302 +something. It’s embarrassing that it only took Beatrix. Now Relm’s
   1.303 +images of me are probably shattered and I’ll never be her hero again.
   1.304 +Not that I care, mind you. Nope. Not in the least.
   1.305 +
   1.306 +I wonder where they took Relm and Kairi. We were split up after our
   1.307 +clash in that hallway. Oddly enough, It seemed like they had been
   1.308 +expecting us. Everywhere else we had been, we always seemed to wind
   1.309 +up there by accident. But this time, they were ready. They seemed to
   1.310 +want Kairi for something. So she’ll be safe for a bit, at least. If
   1.311 +they need her, they can’t harm her. But what about Relm? She isn’t in
   1.312 +the dungeon. Where would they have taken her? I hope she’s all
   1.313 +right... I won’t forgive myself if she got hurt because of me.
   1.314 +
   1.315 +And where is Rikku? I remember the wave crashing around us. She was
   1.316 +holding onto one of my arms and Relm was holding onto the other. I
   1.317 +tried to hold onto both of them, but I was getting thrown about and I
   1.318 +couldn’t keep my grip. My heart skips a beat at the thought of her
   1.319 +being lost someplace in this infinity. But she has to be out there.
   1.320 +She probably just didn’t get stuck in the same place we did. Yeah.
   1.321 +That has to be it. I hope.
   1.322 +
   1.323 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   1.324 +
   1.325 +I watch Yuffie in her cell for a while. Oh, my poor girl. Her ego’s
   1.326 +wounded. I’m just thrilled she’d fight for me, win or lose. But she
   1.327 +doesn’t see it that way. She’s got to be the best. But usually she’s
   1.328 +better about turning things around and pretending she’s gotten away
   1.329 +with what she wanted to. Snatching semi-victories from the jaws of
   1.330 +defeat. But she still looks cute, even languishing on her prison bed.
   1.331 +The guard unlocks the door for me and I slip quietly into Yuffie’s
   1.332 +cell, not wanting to disturb her dark thoughts. Not yet, at least. 
   1.333 +
   1.334 +I wonder what you’re thinking, my beautiful ninja. Are any of your
   1.335 +thoughts about me? Is there any room in that guarded heart of yours
   1.336 +for me? I sure hope so. I’ll keep trying until I can find out for
   1.337 +sure. 
   1.338 +
   1.339 +Leaning forward, I nuzzle the crook of her neck, delighting at the
   1.340 +feel of her soft skin against my nose and lips. She flinches
   1.341 +instinctively, but it’s too late. There’s nowhere to escape for now.
   1.342 +She must really be out of it if I could catch her by surprise like
   1.343 +this. I nuzzle deeper as she curls up on the small bed, trying to
   1.344 +escape me but only succeeding in pressing against the wall. I giggle
   1.345 +as I slowly pull away, watching the mortified look on her face. Her
   1.346 +cheeks are a cherry red, her eyes as wide as twin moons. 
   1.347 +
   1.348 +“Relm,” she gets out weakly. 
   1.349 +
   1.350 +“Didja miss me?” I ask, grinning as I lean over her curled up form.
   1.351 +The great and mighty Yuffie, slayer of monsters and master thief. And
   1.352 +here she is cowering before me, with nowhere to hide. Weird how a
   1.353 +young artist from another world could do that to her. Not that I
   1.354 +mind. The irony makes it all taste even more delicious. 
   1.355 +
   1.356 +Slowly she manages to piece together her sarcastic, independent
   1.357 +exterior. Her eyes narrow and she places a hand on my forehead,
   1.358 +pushing me back so she can sit up. I try to push back, but she’s too
   1.359 +much stronger than me. I sigh and step back, crossing my arms. “Oh,
   1.360 +right. I hate having the use of my right arm. It’s much better when
   1.361 +you’re hanging off of it,” she replies sarcastically. 
   1.362 +
   1.363 +I pout. “Well, I was going to get you out, but if you don’t want
   1.364 +to...” I sigh, turning my back to her. It takes a second for that to
   1.365 +seep in for her. 
   1.366 +
   1.367 +“Get me out? What are you talking about?”
   1.368 +
   1.369 +I turn around to face her again, smiling brightly. Oh, I can’t stay
   1.370 +mad at her for long. Even if she can be selfish and arrogant and...
   1.371 +Ahem. Okay, maybe I can stay a little frustrated with her, but that’s
   1.372 +different. “I’m her majesty’s royal artist. One of the knights found
   1.373 +a picture I had and they decided the queen should see this ‘wee
   1.374 +girl’s’ abilities for herself. She made me do a portrait, which I had
   1.375 +to make up a lot for because she isn’t very easy to look at for long,
   1.376 +and she liked it so much that she decided to give me a job instead of
   1.377 +throwing me in here.”
   1.378 +
   1.379 +“You convinced them with a picture?” she asks, blinking. Then she
   1.380 +considers. “Well, you are really good. That fire you drew seemed real
   1.381 +enough. So I guess that makes sense.”
   1.382 +
   1.383 +I narrow my eyebrows. “They wouldn’t have found the picture at all
   1.384 +if they’d been keeping their hands to themselves. But then, in a
   1.385 +place with a band of female knights, you have to wonder.” I wait
   1.386 +anxiously for her jealous reply. She wouldn’t want anyone touching
   1.387 +me. Or harassing me. Or anything like that. Not when she can do all
   1.388 +of that herself. Right...?
   1.389 +
   1.390 +Yuffie grins. “Must be your kinda place then, huh?”
   1.391 +
   1.392 +I can only stare at her. I’m trembling. How could she say that to
   1.393 +me? Does she really think of me like that? I only want her to know
   1.394 +how much I like her. I wouldn’t do that with anyone. I just want her
   1.395 +to know... I don’t know how else to do it. I’ve never been in love
   1.396 +before. This is all so new to me. I can’t even see her anymore. I
   1.397 +only see a haze as tears fill my vision. I yank the picture they’d
   1.398 +found on me, one I’d drawn the night I met Yuffie. I crumple it up in
   1.399 +my hands, tearing and ripping. I want to destroy something beautiful.
   1.400 +Something that meant so much to me. Unable to get out any words, I
   1.401 +make a muffled sob as I toss the pieces at her, turning and running
   1.402 +as fast as I can away from her. I don’t care where I go as long as
   1.403 +it’s away. Far, far away. I sob weakly as I force myself to run. When
   1.404 +you get hurt, when your heart bleeds, that’s what tears are. I hate
   1.405 +you, Yuffie. I hate you. Because obviously I’m nothing more than a
   1.406 +stupid little perverse kid to you. And I hate myself for not being
   1.407 +good enough, worthy enough of you. So I run. And I cry.
   1.408 +
   1.409 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   1.410 +
   1.411 +I blink, watching Relm burst into tears and run off. The prison door
   1.412 +slams shut behind her, the guard more watchful than I thought. Not
   1.413 +that I’d be able to escape right now even if she wasn’t paying
   1.414 +attention; my mind’s on other things. 
   1.415 +
   1.416 +I kneel down, sifting my fingers through the ripped and crumpled
   1.417 +picture on the floor. How she could destroy something she’d spent so
   1.418 +much time creating is beyond me. Whatever I did, I must have hurt her
   1.419 +immeasurably to get that kind of reaction. To see her shred something
   1.420 +that she had given life to. Slowly the image begins to take shape
   1.421 +under my fingers, the angry rips and tears defiling the beautiful
   1.422 +image. Me. She had drawn me. A portrait that’s more gorgeous than I
   1.423 +could ever pray to truly be myself. That’s what the guards had seen,
   1.424 +what had prompted the queen to keep her out of the dungeon. It’s
   1.425 +lovely. Or it was. Before I disgraced it. Before I signed its death
   1.426 +sentence and left it to die in its creator’s usually gentle hands. 
   1.427 +
   1.428 +She drew me. She wanted me to be the subject of her amazing talent.
   1.429 +She looked at me with those shining eyes, filled with love and
   1.430 +adoration. And all I could do was slap her in the face because I’m
   1.431 +too much of a bitch to accept it all gratefully. I didn’t realize how
   1.432 +much it would hurt her. I didn’t mean to...
   1.433 +
   1.434 +What have I done? “Fuck...” I mutter, hunching over, my short hair
   1.435 +drooping as my head nearly touches the floor. Good one, Yuffie.
   1.436 +She’ll never let you save her now. Now it looks like you’re the one
   1.437 +who needs saving.
   1.438 +
   1.439 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   1.440 +
   1.441 +Kairi sighed. She looked out a large window, the only escape from
   1.442 +the room she was stuck in. But to escape this prison, she would need
   1.443 +angel’s wings. She slumped against the windowsill, watching the doves
   1.444 +come and go as they pleased. If only it was that easy for her. The
   1.445 +room was beautifully furnished. But it was still a cage to her. She
   1.446 +wanted to soar free. To escape all of this. 
   1.447 +
   1.448 +The young princess fidgeted uneasily. She had been separated from
   1.449 +her friends and placed in these chambers. Two maids had ‘helped’ her
   1.450 +change into an elegant pale lavender dress and then left her there.
   1.451 +She wasn’t used to dresses. They were too confining. She liked to
   1.452 +have room to run and be free. ‘Mom always wanted me to wear dresses.
   1.453 +But they weren’t my style. I only wore the one’s she’d buy me a few
   1.454 +times and that was only to appease her,’ she thought. The memories
   1.455 +had come to her unbidden. But there was something else, as well.
   1.456 +Someone older, shaking his head in disgust. ‘The princess is a
   1.457 +tomboy,’ he had said. And then someone laughing. Her... father? But
   1.458 +she hadn’t had a father, had she? Not in that place where her room
   1.459 +existed. But somewhere else, she had been raised by her father
   1.460 +instead of her mother. ‘She takes after her father,’ he had said,
   1.461 +smiling. He had a warm smile. Everyone had loved him dearly. 
   1.462 +
   1.463 +Holding her head, Kairi tried to sort through the contradictory
   1.464 +memories. Was she a princess who had lost her memories? Or was she a
   1.465 +girl so desperate to escape her own life that she had drowned in
   1.466 +fantasy? It was like two separate lives were trying to piece
   1.467 +themselves together inside of her. It was taking its toll on the
   1.468 +brunette. She was starting to have a hard time telling which way was
   1.469 +up. 
   1.470 +
   1.471 +“Why do you care so much about what’s ‘real’?” a voice asked.
   1.472 +
   1.473 +Kairi whirled about. A young blonde girl stood before her. She had a
   1.474 +bandage over one of her eyes and she wore a hospital gown. 
   1.475 +
   1.476 +“What is Real, anyway?” another voice asked, coming from the bed.
   1.477 +The girl on the bed looked exactly the same as the other girl, though
   1.478 +she wasn’t wearing the bandage. “Is Real what everyone tells you is
   1.479 +real?”
   1.480 +
   1.481 +“Or is Real what you believe in your heart to be true?” the other
   1.482 +girl continued. 
   1.483 +
   1.484 +“Who are you?” Kairi asked, looking back and forth between the two
   1.485 +young girls.
   1.486 +
   1.487 +“She’s Maya,” the one with the bandage said, pointing to the girl on
   1.488 +the bed.
   1.489 +
   1.490 +“And this is Aya,” the one on the bed said, hurrying up to her
   1.491 +sister’s side. Both girls giggled and bowed to Kairi.
   1.492 +
   1.493 +“We’re Eve,” they said in unison.
   1.494 +
   1.495 +“Oh...” Kairi responded, not understanding in the slightest. She
   1.496 +shook her head, looking out the window. “I don’t know what’s real
   1.497 +anymore.”
   1.498 +
   1.499 +“Is Real what everyone around you decides is real?” Maya asked, her
   1.500 +head tilted to the right.
   1.501 +
   1.502 +“Or is Real what you decide is real?” Aya asked, her head tilted to
   1.503 +the left. 
   1.504 +
   1.505 +“You both sound like Harle.” Kairi closed her eyes, trying to focus.
   1.506 +This was all confusing her more and more. 
   1.507 +
   1.508 +“Eventually you’ll need to make a decision,” Maya explained.
   1.509 +“Whether you’ll accept reality or remake it altogether.”
   1.510 +
   1.511 +“Whether you will live or die. Awaken or dream. Love or hate. After
   1.512 +all, these things are all two sides of the same coin. You cannot have
   1.513 +one without the other,” Aya adds, resting back to back with her
   1.514 +sister. 
   1.515 +
   1.516 +“But can’t you choose the light? Can’t you have one without the
   1.517 +other? Must it always be both? Love and hate, life and death, light
   1.518 +and dark?” Kairi asks, nearly pleading. 
   1.519 +
   1.520 +Maya shakes her head. “These things are all interconnected. They
   1.521 +aren’t all completely different notions. They’re all dependent on
   1.522 +each other. Each of these ‘opposites’ is entwined in a lover’s
   1.523 +embrace that you couldn’t hope to untangle. Without one, the other is
   1.524 +meaningless.”
   1.525 +
   1.526 +“After all,” Aya continues, “how can you really, truly love if you
   1.527 +don’t know what it’s like to be hated? For you to live, someone must
   1.528 +die. For you to awaken, you must have been dreaming.”
   1.529 +
   1.530 +“Without darkness, there is no light,” the twins say in harmony. 
   1.531 +
   1.532 +Kairi opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She was speechless.
   1.533 +The twins’ words spun around her, leaving her dizzy. 
   1.534 +
   1.535 +“Everyone’s waiting for your answer, Kairi,” Maya said softly.
   1.536 +
   1.537 +“Don’t disappoint everyone. The show’s just about to begin,” Aya
   1.538 +added. 
   1.539 +
   1.540 +A knock at the door drove Kairi out of her stupor. She bolted
   1.541 +upright. “Coming!” she called. She turned back to the girls to ask
   1.542 +them something, but they were already gone. “Where did they go?” she
   1.543 +asked, blinking. The only way out of the room was the window. And
   1.544 +unless they grew wings, that wouldn’t be a very good choice. 
   1.545 +
   1.546 +“There you are. You must be another one of the girls that Kuja had
   1.547 +brought to the palace. I assure you, I’ll try my hardest to make sure
   1.548 +your stay is a pleasant one,” a woman with dark hair said as she
   1.549 +entered the room, followed by a much younger girl with purple hair
   1.550 +and a horn on her forehead. “I’m Princess Garnet Til Alexandros the
   1.551 +17th. This is Eiko Carol. We wanted to check in on you. We’re
   1.552 +terribly sorry for the inconvenience.”
   1.553 +
   1.554 +“We thought it would be better if you saw us first instead of being
   1.555 +traumatized by Kuja inspecting you,” the younger girl explained. She
   1.556 +spat the name with disgust. Apparently she didn’t think very highly
   1.557 +of him.
   1.558 +
   1.559 +“Why am I here? What’s going on? I really need to get going. My
   1.560 +friends need me. I have to find them,” Kairi said. She wanted to make
   1.561 +them understand somehow. Her words couldn’t convey the urgency in her
   1.562 +heart. She couldn’t afford to get sidetracked. Not now. Not with Riku
   1.563 +and Sora so close.
   1.564 +
   1.565 +“You’ll be able to leave as soon as Kuja has finished. In the
   1.566 +meantime, we’ll make you as comfortable as we can,” the princess
   1.567 +explained politely. She was genuinely apologetic, feeling personally
   1.568 +responsible for the delay in Kairi’s journey, whatever it may be.
   1.569 +
   1.570 +“And when is that going to be?” Eiko asked irritably, raising her
   1.571 +arms. “He’s always so vague about it and he never answers me when I
   1.572 +ask him when I can go home.”
   1.573 +
   1.574 +Garnet smiled softly and gently cupped the younger girl’s cheek.
   1.575 +“Soon, Eiko. I promise. I’ll ask him again for you. I’ll get you
   1.576 +home.” She didn’t seem to notice the purple haired girl’s cheeks
   1.577 +burning underneath her fingers or the deep gaze that Eiko was giving
   1.578 +her. She leant forward, kissing near Eiko’s horn. 
   1.579 +
   1.580 +“Princess Garnet, your mother wishes to see you,” a maid said from
   1.581 +the doorway.
   1.582 +
   1.583 +Garnet nodded. “I’ll be right there.” She turned back to Kairi and
   1.584 +bowed. “Again, my apologies for keeping you here. If there’s anything
   1.585 +you need, please ask.” Turning, she left the room. 
   1.586 +
   1.587 +Eiko watched her leave. Sighing dreamily, she slowly came back to
   1.588 +earth. If only Garnet would pay attention to her! 
   1.589 +
   1.590 +“What’s going on?” Kairi asked again, pleading with the younger
   1.591 +girl. She walked over, kneeling to look the purple haired girl in the
   1.592 +eyes. 
   1.593 +
   1.594 +Sighing, Eiko let her arms fall to her sides. “You’re being kept
   1.595 +here because of some guy named Kuja. He’s got the ear of the Queen,
   1.596 +so she’ll do whatever he says. Apparently the kingdom is in big
   1.597 +trouble unless he can find the ‘Prism Heart’, whatever that is. He
   1.598 +says it resides within a girl with a beautiful heart. They checked
   1.599 +Princess Garnet, but it wasn’t her. So he’s been scouring the world
   1.600 +for this girl. That’s how I wound up here. Some Alexandrian Knights
   1.601 +sought me out because I’m the last of the summoners. Kuja thought
   1.602 +that might mean it might be me. But they checked and I don’t have it
   1.603 +either. But they still won’t let me go home. None of the girls he’s
   1.604 +taken here have gone home yet.” She looked back at the door. “Not
   1.605 +that I want to go home yet, anyway. Not without Garnet. But she's too
   1.606 +worried about her mother to come with me.” The little girl crossed
   1.607 +her arms, frustrated. 
   1.608 +
   1.609 +Kairi closed her eyes. Great. So she was stuck here. A prisoner in a
   1.610 +gilded cage. What was she supposed to do now? Riku and Sora needed
   1.611 +her. She couldn’t be wasting time while a kingdom searched for some
   1.612 +mythical girl. “So.. You really like Princess Garnet, huh?” Kairi
   1.613 +asked after a moment.
   1.614 +
   1.615 +“Yep. You better keep your hands off of her. She’s mine,” Eiko
   1.616 +responded, her eyes narrowing.  
   1.617 +
   1.618 +“I.. What? No! Of course not!” That wasn’t exactly how Kairi had
   1.619 +meant her question. She could only stammer a response, taken off
   1.620 +guard. 
   1.621 +
   1.622 +“Good! Now you know. Anyway, I better go find her. She always gets
   1.623 +depressed after she talks with her mother.” As if stating it aloud
   1.624 +helped her to remember, Eiko now looked very concerned. “Bye!” She
   1.625 +waved over her shoulder before scurrying out the door, the little
   1.626 +angel wings pinned to her dress bobbing as she ran.
   1.627 +
   1.628 +Kairi rested her face in her hands. Something out there didn’t like
   1.629 +her. That had to be it. God, Fate, or Whatever seemed to have it in
   1.630 +for her. Which was definitely going to make things more difficult.
   1.631 +
   1.632 +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   1.633 +
   1.634 +“You’re moving too quickly, Selphie. You just need to let yourself
   1.635 +move slowly, like the ocean waves,” Yuna explained. She demonstrated,
   1.636 +closing her eyes and moving beautifully on her toes. She and Selphie
   1.637 +were barefoot on the beach, the waves lapping around them. The spunky
   1.638 +brunette had come to Yuna requesting that she teach her how to dance.
   1.639 +It was too cute to turn away. Not that Yuna was ever good at turning
   1.640 +anyone away to begin with. Lulu chastised her about being too easy
   1.641 +for other people to manipulate, but she couldn’t help it. She wanted
   1.642 +to make people happy. She wanted to help if she could. And besides,
   1.643 +if Selphie wanted to dance with the girl she loved, it only seemed
   1.644 +right to teach her. It would be romantic to see Quistis and Selphie
   1.645 +dancing together under the moonlight. And Yuna could be a tiny part
   1.646 +of that because she had helped it come about. 
   1.647 +
   1.648 +“Hmm... Okay. Like this?” Selphie asked, twirling about again. The
   1.649 +world spun around her as she twirled about, finally coming to a halt
   1.650 +as she nearly stumbled in the ankle deep water.
   1.651 +
   1.652 +Giggling softly, Yuna covered her mouth. “I think...” she began
   1.653 +quietly. “I think that you have just a little too much energy,
   1.654 +Selphie.”
   1.655 +
   1.656 +“What’s wrong with having too much energy?” Selphie asked, pouting.
   1.657 +It had always served her well before. But now it was making this all
   1.658 +so difficult. She was having a hard time restricting her movements
   1.659 +into soft, flowing motions. She was too used to moving about. 
   1.660 +
   1.661 +“There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s part of what Quistis likes
   1.662 +about you, I’m sure. But it does make it a little harder to dance
   1.663 +together if you’re always a step before her,” Yuna warned softly.
   1.664 +
   1.665 +Selphie bit her lip, thinking it over. She finally smiled and nodded
   1.666 +eagerly. “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Yuna! I wouldn’t be able to do
   1.667 +this without you. Quisty will be so surprised!” She giggled, hopping
   1.668 +from foot to foot.
   1.669 +
   1.670 +Yuna giggled herself, energized by Selphie’s enthusiasm. She nodded.
   1.671 +“All right. I’ll do my best to make sure you’re ready in time for the
   1.672 +festival. Just watch me for a moment. You need to be able to move the
   1.673 +way you want to, the way your heart wants to. But if you go too
   1.674 +quickly, then it isn’t soft and romantic, and you don’t get to savor
   1.675 +it.” Closing her eyes, Yuna bowed to her practice partner before
   1.676 +beginning to dance, moving lithely in the shallow water. She moved
   1.677 +with a dancer’s grace, elegant and beautiful, almost seeming to walk
   1.678 +on the water itself as she skitted about. The long sleeves of her
   1.679 +half-kimono skimmed over the water as she twirled about, hopping here
   1.680 +and there. 
   1.681 +
   1.682 +“Booyaka! Yuna, you’re really, really good! I wanna dance like that
   1.683 +with Quisty.” Selphie sighed happily, already imagining the two of
   1.684 +them moving with each other along the beach. She watched Yuna
   1.685 +intently. ‘I want to be able to do that!’ she thought eagerly,
   1.686 +clapping. Yuna twirled and danced along the water, a beautiful sprite
   1.687 +on the shore. And then she tripped and plunged face first in the
   1.688 +water. Selphie stopped mid-clap, sweatdropping.
   1.689 +
   1.690 +Getting to her feet dizzily, the soaked girl didn’t look up to face
   1.691 +her student at first. How embarrassing! How was she supposed to teach
   1.692 +Selphie how to dance when she couldn’t even stay on her feet herself?
   1.693 +But her mind started to ignore that as her foot swished around in the
   1.694 +water, searching for what she had tripped on. She finally found
   1.695 +something soft and yielding under the water, deeper where she was now
   1.696 +that the tide was coming in. It must have dragged something with it.
   1.697 +Yuna pushed again. What was it? Something pushed back. “Ahhhhhh!!!”
   1.698 +Yuna screamed, flailing her arms as she fell back into the water. She
   1.699 +gazed in shock as a figure slowly rose from the water.
   1.700 +
   1.701 +Spluttering, a drenched catgirl emerged from the tide. Her lungs
   1.702 +burned. How long had she been underwater? Where was she, anyway? This
   1.703 +didn’t look like El Nido. And why had that girl been kicking her?
   1.704 +That wasn’t very nice at all. And most importantly of all, where was
   1.705 +Yuffie? But before she could answer any of these questions, she had
   1.706 +other things to contend with. “Stay away from Yuna!” A brunette girl
   1.707 +yelled as she ran towards her. In her semi-conscious state, Rikku
   1.708 +could do little to defend herself, let alone to argue. She turned to
   1.709 +try and explain, but she could only cough up seawater. And before she
   1.710 +could do anything else, something was arcing through the air. It
   1.711 +connected with her head in a fireworks display of pain. Collapsing
   1.712 +back into unconsciousness, the cat girl slumped into the waves again.
   1.713 +
   1.714 +“That was a pretty wimpy monster,” Selphie noted disappointedly,
   1.715 +holding her nunchuks at her sides as Rikku floated in front of her.
   1.716 +
   1.717 +“She’s going to drown,” Yuna said worriedly. She pushed forward
   1.718 +against the water, dipping her arms under the catgirl, pulling her up
   1.719 +so she could breathe. Straining, she dragged Rikku to the shore,
   1.720 +slumping next to her on the wet sand. She breathed heavily,
   1.721 +exhausted. 
   1.722 +
   1.723 +“Why are you saving that monster?” Selphie asked, blinking in
   1.724 +confusion.
   1.725 +
   1.726 +“She wasn’t going to hurt me. She was too weak to. She just washed
   1.727 +up here. I don’t think she’s a Fiend. The poor girl looks too weak to
   1.728 +stand, let alone to do anything else. She needs my help,” Yuna
   1.729 +explained, slowly catching her breath as she lay next to the catgirl.
   1.730 +
   1.731 +“Oh..” Selphie nodded thoughtfully. She laughed nervously. “I think
   1.732 +I might have something important to do when she wakes up. If she
   1.733 +wasn’t going to hurt you, she might wanna hurt me if she remembers me
   1.734 +smacking her on the head.”
   1.735 +
   1.736 +Yuna smiled a bit. “Yeah, you can practice what I’ve taught you.
   1.737 +I’ll take her back to my house. I’ll try to help her recover there.”
   1.738 +She turned to the catgirl, watching her breath uneasily on the sand.
   1.739 +Strange things were happening on the Destiny Islands. Very strange
   1.740 +things. But whoever this weird girl was, maybe she could help her.
   1.741 +Somehow. She looked like she needed the help. Yuna brushed some of
   1.742 +the water from Rikku’s whiskers. Poor kitty. “I’ll help you,” she
   1.743 +promised quietly. Rikku’s breathing seemed to steady somewhat, her
   1.744 +cat ears perking up. “I promise.”