Prism Hearts 

 Chapter 3

 Radical Dreamers

 by Amazoness Duo

 amazonessduo@hotmail.com

 

 

 A bundle of clothes got tossed at Kairi shortly after she entered

 the dressing room of the band of part time entertainers and full time

 thieves, the Radical Dreamers. She stumbled back as the rather large

 dress threw her off balance. She held it out, watching it unfurl

 before her. The dress was made of enough cloth to make six of the

 outfits Kairi was wearing. She looked at it with a bit of

 trepidation. “I’m supposed to wear this?”

 

 “Of course! You’re playing the princess. You have to look regal and

 courtly,” Yuffie explained, opening a chest to get a few more props. 

 

 Glancing back at the dress skeptically, Kairi shook her head. “Isn’t

 it a little... big?”

 

 Yuffie looked back over her shoulder. “No. You’re just not used to

 wearing anything like that. You get used to it. If you’re gonna be

 playing a princess, you have to look the part. Trust me. I’ve had to

 play the princess now and then myself.” It looked like her words

 helped soothe some of Kairi’s concern, though truth be told, she

 hated playing the part of the princess. She preferred the prince’s

 outfit to that nightmarish gown any day. Sure, it looked pretty

 enough, but Yuffie was used to actually being able to move her limbs.

 She and Zidane had been set to flip for who was going to be the

 princess in the day’s play if Kairi hadn’t shown up, so she was more

 than a little grateful at the younger girl’s arrival. 

 

 “But I don’t know any of my lines!” Kairi said nervously, watching

 Yuffie pull out some prop swords. She suddenly realized the big

 difference between playing pretend and doing a play. You didn’t have

 to know what you were doing when you were playing pretend. She felt

 nervous, butterflies swirling about in her stomach as she held onto

 the large dress.

 

 “What lines? We’re doing ‘Sleeping Beauty’. You lie there for most

 of the play. You’re lucky we’re not doing ‘I Want to be Your Canary’.

 The princess in that has most of the best lines,” Yuffie explained,

 taking a few experimental swipes with the blade. She’d give that one

 to Locke. She preferred a shorter sword herself. Even if it wasn’t

 her weapon of choice, it did have a nice stage presence. 

 

 “Sleeping Beauty?” Kairi repeated, blinking.

 

 “Yep. Everyone needs a story that ends with a ‘and they lived

 happily ever after’ now and then. Especially with how things have

 been lately. Which is exactly why we aren’t doing ‘I Want to be Your

 Canary’. The ending isn’t the happiest, if you know what I mean.” The

 brunette ninja glanced back over her shoulder at the recently dubbed

 Keyblade Mistress. “Why? You don’t like ‘Sleeping Beauty’?”

 

 Kairi shook her head quickly. “No, I love it! It’s one of my

 favorites!” She could vaguely remember lying on her bed in her room,

 resting on her stomach with her chin in her hands, the lights off and

 a video playing. She could remember reciting the lines as the prince

 said them, as he made his way to Sleeping Beauty. Could remember her

 eyes tearing up, thinking ‘I want my happily ever after’. But that

 couldn’t be real. Sleeping Beauty was Princess Aurora. And she had

 met her at Hollow Bastion. She was one of the seven Princesses. So

 she couldn’t be some movie she had seen. Kairi tried to dismiss the

 thought. It wasn’t true. This was all real. That other place, that

 home was only an illusion. It had to be.

 

 “You better get changed. We don’t have much time. The people are

 probably already taking their seats.” Yuffie stood up, holding the

 pile of swords and belts. “As long as you don’t open your eyes when

 your supposed to be sleeping, you’ll do fine.”

 

 Kairi didn’t feel much better even with the ninja’s ‘helpful’

 advice. She turned to ask where to change, but Yuffie had already

 left. ‘Just think of it as another part of finding Riku and Sora. The

 sooner you get this over with, the sooner you can get back to finding

 them.’ Sighing, she began to take off her clothes, setting them on

 the chest Yuffie had retrieved some props from just a short time

 before. Setting her skirt down, she looked back at the dress. Just

 how was she supposed to get that thing on, anyway? It still looked

 too big for her. 

 

 Before Kairi could figure it out, the door swung open again. “Are

 you coming or not?” 

 

 Kairi dropped to her knees, covering herself as best she could, clad

 only in her undergarments. Her cheeks burned as Yuffie simply blinked

 at her for a moment. “Yuffie!” she cried. The ninja finally looked

 away, busying herself with something she apparently saw on the roof.

 She felt like she was going to die. This had never happened before on

 her island. The boys were always polite enough to knock first. She

 wanted to grab her clothes, get dressed, and leave. But she knew she

 couldn’t do that. She still had a play to do.

 

 “You were supposed to follow me, Kairi,” Yuffie said, still staring

 up at the roof. “But.. umm.. If you wanna change in here, that’s

 fine.” She closed the door swiftly. 

 

 Her head slumping in embarrassment, Kairi sighed. So that’s why

 Yuffie had left. She was supposed to go with her. This probably

 wasn’t the dressing room after all. But she was so worked up about

 everything that she hadn’t been paying attention. Grabbing the dress,

 she tried to get dressed as quickly as she could. When she was

 finally finished, she felt a little awkward. It was a little too big

 for her after all, but it didn’t seem too noticeable. But she still

 wasn’t used to such an extravagant outfit. She turned, trying to get

 used to the way it swished about her as she moved.

 

 “You look like a real princess, Kairi,” a voice said warmly from

 somewhere behind her. 

 

 The brunette whirled about, her eyes wide as she came face to face

 with Riku. He was grinning, a hand on one hip. “Riku!” She was

 breathless. It had been so long since she had seen him. Tears burnt

 at her eyes. She had waited to see him again for so long. 

 

 “But then, you really are a princess, so it shouldn’t be any big

 surprise,” the silver haired boy reasoned. 

 

 Kairi ran to him, nearly stumbling in the large dress. But she

 didn’t care. She just wanted to be near him again. To know that she

 wasn’t alone anymore. To know that he was really there. To hold on

 and forget all about other worlds and what was real or not. She could

 see him so close, smiling at her. Her arms tried desperately to hold

 onto him, but she passed straight through, stumbling to her hands and

 knees behind him. Her heart plummeted as she sat there, lacking the

 strength to even get back up. She hit the floor angrily with her

 fist, her vision blurring with tears. “Every time I see you...” she

 began weakly, “you aren’t really there. Riku... Please don’t leave

 me.” But there was no answer. He was gone, as suddenly as the wind.

 She closed her eyes tightly, her small body shaking with bitter sobs.

 He was always right there. But he was always a universe away. 

 

 A knock at the door punched through Kairi’s shroud of depression.

 “We’ve gotta hurry, princess! You’re on in less than a minute!”

 Yuffie called out.

 

 Slowly getting to her feet, Kairi sniffled, her body still shaking

 lightly. She wiped at her eyes with the sleeves of the gown.

 “Coming!” she called out, hoping Yuffie didn’t hear the tremble in

 her voice. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, trying to stifle

 the tears that were still unshed. “I’ll find you Riku. Wherever you

 are,” she whispered. Holding onto some semblance of being fine, Kairi

 hurried out the door. 

 

 Yuffie waited, leaning against the wall. She smiled when Kairi

 exited. “See? You do make a good princess.” She stretched, the sword

 in her belt hitting the wall. 

 

 Kairi blinked in surprise, unable to keep from staring at the ninja

 girl. “You’re the prince?” 

 

 “Yep.” Yuffie turned around, holding onto the cuffs of the prince’s

 jacket. “What do you think? We take turns with a lot of the parts. It

 helps keep us all on our toes. Though I have to admit, I much prefer

 being the prince to the princess. No offense. It’s just not my

 style.” 

 

 “I.. uhh.. it’s different,” Kairi said, smiling nervously. This

 hadn’t been what she had expected. She thought maybe the catboy would

 be the prince. His outfit looked regal enough. Or maybe the man with

 the bandana. But she certainly hadn’t been expecting Yuffie. But with

 how upside down things had been, she should have seen it coming.

 “Curiouser and curiouser,” she said to no one in particular. When

 Yuffie looked at her oddly, she just laughed. “Nothing. Let’s go.”

 She held out her arm to Ninja Prince Yuffie, who obligingly took it

 and led her off to the stage. 

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

 “So she has the Keyblade. I don’t see how that affects anything. The

 other was unable to lock away the Heartless even with his Keyblade. I

 doubt she will be any more successful,” an effeminate man said,

 brushing his hair back over his shoulder.

 

 “It is a cycle. One we must break. There will always be those

 searching for ways to stop the darkness. But it is an inevitable

 cycle of loss and suffering. When will they learn to simply succumb

 to it? One cannot triumph over darkness. One can only start the cycle

 over again. But if darkness reigns, then the cycle can end. Only then

 can their be piece,” an oddly tranquil voice added. 

 

 “Because they refuse to see the futility of their efforts. Despite

 what is taken from them, they continue to march onward, believing

 that what they do is ‘right’. Perhaps if they truly understood what

 they stand to lose, they would not be so willing. That boy, Riku, he

 understood. He was willing to side with darkness to get back what he

 had lost, the heart of that girl. Sometimes extreme measures must be

 taken. Who is worthy of deeming what is ‘good’ and ‘evil’. Such a

 fine line exists. It is merely how far you are willing to go. That

 boy showed that he was willing to go further than his friend for the

 girl. Even to the heart of darkness. Perhaps we can use that,” a

 woman mused.

 

 “What can one little girl possibly hope to achieve? I’ll end her

 little nightmare now and send her to a place of eternal nothingness,

 a shrine she can spend eternity enjoying. Oh, I’ll be the most

 wonderful court artisan she has ever seen, making for her a palace of

 emptiness.” The man punctuated his statement with a maddening laugh.

 

 At last, a silver haired man spoke. “No. Not yet. She has further

 she must go. She may yet prove her usefulness to us. Her importance

 goes far past being one of the seven princesses. She is the final

 piece to this puzzle. She is the key to it all.”

 

 “But, Sephiroth, don’t you think it much wiser to get rid of her

 before she can cause any trouble?” the woman asked.

 

 “No. She is at the heart of all of this. She isn’t our enemy. She is

 more important to our success than any of you know.” With that,

 Sephiroth turned away from the others. He had business to attend to. 

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

 ‘Dear diary,

 I’m starting to get worried. Tidus and Wakka found a hole today on

 the island. Not just some deep hole in the ground or anything. An

 endless hole. Like it leads to nowhere. Like someone took some

 scissors and cut out that part of our island. Wakka dropped his beach

 ball down in there and we all waited around for a sound of it hitting

 anything at all, but nothing happened. It was like it was just gone.

 It’s scary. I shudder just thinking about it, and I’m under a nice

 heavy blanket right now. Weird, huh? I usually hate blankets because

 they’re too stuffy. But it’s been so cold and windy and rainy outside

 that mom brought them out again. 

 

 The only good thing I can see from all of this is that cold and

 rainy is perfect snuggling weather. So I need to head over to

 Quisty’s house soon. Maybe we can snuggle up under her covers and

 just forget that there’s any scary hole or that Kairi’s missing or

 that the weathers getting worse. That’s easy to do in Quisty’s arms

 anyway. It feels so warm and safe when I’m with her, like I know

 everything’s all right. Even her worrying doesn’t seem to matter. It

 just makes me wanna try harder to take away all her worries. It’s

 almost like a game. To try to make her smile when something’s on her

 mind.

 

 I didn’t realize how good a study Quisty really was. She can quote

 me before I even say anything, like she knows what I’m gonna say

 before I say it. I thought it was so cool when she did that! It lets

 me know that she’s paying more attention to me than to those silly

 books of hers. She said it’s because she knows me really well, so she

 knows what I’m thinking a lot of the time. It’s nice to know someone

 does because sometimes I don’t even know what I’m thinking about.

 There are so many things to think about! It’s hard to sort them all

 out sometimes. 

 

 Oh, on a really sad note, I think they’re gonna cancel the Destiny

 Islands Festival! Please say it isn’t so! I always love the festival.

 And Quisty and I were gonna dance under the stars, too! I had the

 dress I was gonna wear all picked out and everything. But the adults

 are all saying that the weather’s bad and that too much has been

 going on lately so we shouldn’t have one. But that’s exactly why we

 should have one! To cheer everyone up! That way everyone can have

 something to enjoy, to let them relax. Well, if they adults aren’t

 gonna throw the Island Festival, then maybe we can throw one

 ourselves. Yeah, I’m sure Tidus and Wakka would help. If I can drag

 them from that underwater ballgame they made up. And maybe Quisty

 will help, too. We can make our own little festival! We’ll still

 dance under the stars, Quisty! It’s my promise to you! Booyaka!

 

 Love,

 Selphie Tilmitt’

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

 Surprisingly, Kairi found herself able to quote nearly all of her

 lines, seeing the scenes unfold before her as she did. Even the

 Radical Dreamers seemed impressed, not having expected much from

 their stand in. She was a little shocked, but overall proud of

 herself, glad to actually contribute to the play rather than just

 being another prop. And so she was slightly disappointed when it

 finally came time for her to fall into her endless sleep. But even

 lying there, she could follow along with the rest of the play, her

 mind supplying the lines even as the other performers were saying

 them. Kid actually did a good job of getting rid of her accent when

 she was performing, giving Kairi trouble following exactly who was

 saying what at times. Nonetheless, the play had overall been a fun

 experience so far. She almost wished she could go along with the

 Radical Dreamers. The thought of performing with them, travelling to

 all sorts of different worlds, seeing so many new things, it was all

 very appealing to her. But she couldn’t let that tempt her. She had

 to find Riku and Sora. Then she would tell them all about her short

 stint on stage.

 

 Despite feeling rather good natured about things, Kairi found

 herself getting more and more nervous as the play began to near its

 end. She knew far too well what happened at the end of Sleeping

 Beauty. This would be her first kiss, even if it was just a stage

 kiss. And the thought of it being with Yuffie had her worried. She

 still didn’t even know who she wanted her first kiss to be with, Riku

 or Sora. But it didn’t look like she’d have to worry about that for

 much longer. She almost wanted to rush off the stage, but she lay

 there paralyzed, almost as if she really was under some spell. 

 

 Yuffie did make a good prince, at the very least. So if she let

 herself pretend this really was Sleeping Beauty, that she really was

 the princess, then it wasn’t too bad. It was only when she remembered

 that she was Kairi that she got all nervous about it. She was nearly

 counting down the lines as it neared the play’s climax. Locke was

 playing Maleficent, which helped the stand in actress disassociate it

 with the Maleficent who had used her along with the other seven

 princesses to open the final keyhole. If just the thought of the

 sorceress didn’t make her want to shudder, the thought of Locke

 playing her would almost be funny. 

 

 And then it was time. Her hands held on her chest squeezed

 themselves tighter. She could hear Yuffie’s final exclamation as her

 ‘prince’ got ready for their kiss. She could feel the butterflies

 returning with a vengeance, tickling the inside of her stomach as she

 lay there, eyes shut tightly. What should she do? She couldn’t ruin

 the whole play, right? And it was just a stage kiss. But.. but...

 

 The ninja’s lips pressed warmly against her own delicate lips, both

 soft and firm at the same time. The young princess blushed furiously

 as she felt herself get pulled into a sitting position, Yuffie’s arms

 around her. The crowd burst into applause. When Yuffie finally pulled

 away, Kairi could only sit and stare, stunned. Wow... Kissing wasn’t

 such a bad thing after all. She was already having thoughts of trying

 it again with Sora or Riku when she finally found them. She blushed

 when she looked up at Yuffie, the other girl looking down at her with

 all the princely concern in the world. She really was a good actress.

 Kairi had almost forgotten that it was just a play. She smiled up at

 the ninja, trying her best to look love struck by her prince. 

 

 The rest of the play was a blur for Kairi, her mind on other things.

 There wasn’t much to say during the play’s closing segments anyway,

 so it didn’t matter too much that she was daydreaming throughout it.

 She finally found herself backstage, though this time she remembered

 to get to the dressing room before changing. 

 

 Her kitten was still waiting for her, having wandered about

 backstage for a while. It seemed to know the layout rather well. “I

 guess you have a good sense of direction, don’t you, kitty?” Kairi

 laid the dress down, glad to be back in her own clothes again.

 Kneeling down, she  scratched behind the kitten’s ears. “I really

 need to come up with a name for you. Hmm... Boco sounds better for

 Chocobos. And Mog for Moogles. What are good cat names? You don’t

 look like a Duchess. But you do have a lot of energy. And you are

 kinda bouncy. So how about Tigger?” The kitten lowered its head. It

 didn’t seem to like the idea. “Shadow? But that’s not really a girl

 cat’s name.” Her face lit up. “Jessie! I’ll name you Jessie.” The

 kitten seemed a little surprised by the name, but didn’t otherwise

 complain. “Good.” Kairi hugged the kitten. “Jessie it is.”

 

 “You did a good job there,” Kid said, reverting back to her accent

 now that she was out of costume. “Didn’t really think you had it in

 you. If you ever need a place to stay, we’d be glad to have ya.”

 

 “Really?” Kairi grinned. “Thanks! It was a lot of fun. I’d love to

 again sometime. If I didn’t have something really important to do

 right now, I’d love to go.” It would be great to have Riku and Sora

 in the audience, to run into the crowd after the play and see what

 they thought. 

 

 Kid shrugged. “Hey, I understand. Sometimes there’s just somethin’

 you’ve gotta do. Ya can’t let anythin’ stop ya. You’ve gotta be

 single minded about that sorta thing if you’re ever gonna get what

 you’re lookin’ for.”

 

 “Trying to steal away my princess? Back off, Kid.” Yuffie laughed,

 entering the room, clothed in her short green top, khaki shorts,

 white stockings, and yellow scarf. 

 

 “Ya can’t stop a master thief from getting what she’s got her eyes

 set on,” Kid replied, grinning. 

 

 Kairi blushed furiously at their comments. She usually didn’t mind

 being the center of attention, but this was just a little strange for

 her. She tried to ignore it, focusing on Jessie instead. The kitten

 was once again struggling to get out of her arms, most likely to get

 over to Yuffie. But she held on tightly, not wanting to have to pull

 the kitten away again. Jessie began to meow again, still wrestling

 with her.

 

 “Well, if you two are leavin’, I should probably be headin’ off

 myself. I’ve got some things I need to take care of back home.

 ‘Sides, the Radical Dreamers aren’t much if we’re missin’ two of our

 mates. Kind of hard to put on a play with only three people,” Kid

 said, her hands behind her head. 

 

 “When this is all over, we’ll have to all meet up again somewhere.

 We can’t have this be our last performance.” Yuffie smiled faintly.

 

 “I’m not callin’ it quits yet. When we’re all done, we’ll get back

 together for a huge reunion performance. Everyone’ll wanna come to

 that. We ain’t done yet,” Kid replied, grinning. 

 

 “You got it!” Yuffie nodded eagerly. “Good luck out there, Kid.”

 

 “You, too, Yuffie. See ya around, princess.” The thief winked at

 Kairi as she headed out the door, bringing another faint blush to her

 cheeks. 

 

 Yuffie sighed, leaning against the wall. “So where to next?”

 

 Kairi looked up suddenly, feeling a tinge of panic. “I thought you

 knew. You were one of the heroes searching for the Keyblade, after

 all. You do know, right?” she asked hopefully, eyeing Yuffie. 

 

 “Of course I do,” Yuffie said nonchalantly. “I’m just trying to

 decide which would be the best place. Besides, that was usually

 Aerith’s place in things. She was the one who figured everything out.

 But don’t worry about it. I’ll figure something out.” She smiled

 reassuringly. Kairi didn’t seem to have complete faith in her. 

 

 A scream from somewhere outside caught their attention. Both girls

 turned. Something sounded like it was coming down the hallway. Fast.

 Yuffie ran to the door, peering out. Her eyes went wide and she

 slammed the door shut, locking it. 

 

 “What is it?” Kairi asked, immediately regretting the question as

 soon as it was out. Her heart pounded in her chest as something heavy

 hit the door. She held the kitten closer, though she didn’t know if

 it was to comfort Jessie or herself. 

 

 “Heartless. And lots of them. There’s no way we can fight our way

 through all of those.” Yuffie refused to let herself panic. She

 wasn’t the panicking type. But there certainly didn’t seem to be any

 other options. They were locked in there until the Heartless finally

 broke in. She glanced around, but there weren’t any ways out.

 Sighing, she pulled out some shurikens. She couldn’t stop them all,

 but it didn’t mean she was going to give up. “Get behind me. I’ll

 stop as many of them as I can. Run when you get the chance,” she

 commanded.

 

 Kairi shook her head. No. It wasn’t going to end like that. There

 was so much more she needed to do. She couldn't get caught by the

 Heartless now. She had already lost her heart once. Back then it had

 gone into Sora. Now it didn’t have anyplace to go. It would simply be

 consumed. And then she would never find Sora and Riku. But there

 didn’t seem to be anywhere for them to go. And the Heartless would be

 in at any minute. 

 

 ‘Just believe they aren’t there. They can’t hurt you if they aren’t

 there. If you’re safe and sound back home, then the Heartless can’t

 get to you,’ a voice whispered in her head.

 

 Kairi bit her lip. She didn’t ever want to go back there. Being

 there was so confusing. It scared her, made her question just what

 was real. And she couldn’t afford to falter in her beliefs. Not now.

 But there was no other choice, was there? The pounding on the door

 grew more insistent. Yuffie got into a fighting position. ‘She’s

 going to sacrifice herself for you. And then they’re going to get you

 anyway. Damn it! Make you your mind already!’ Kairi closed her eyes

 tightly. No matter how much she didn’t want to do this, it was their

 only chance. “I’m not here. I’m back home. In bed. The Heartless

 aren’t here. I’m back home.” The pounding on the door stopped.

 

 When she opened her eyes again, they were gone. She was no longer

 backstage. She was sitting on her bed again, surrounded by her dolls

 and pictures. A doll of Yuffie was lying on her lap. Kairi sighed

 shakily, holding onto the doll. What happened to everyone else when

 she was here? Did she just disappear from where she was? Did

 everything else still exist when she was here? Did she even want to

 know?  

 

 Getting off the bed, Kairi walked to the door, pausing before it.

 Biting her lip, she slowly reached out for the doorknob, taking a

 hold of it. Was the person still there? Would the door open? She had

 to find out what was going on. This was all getting far too

 confusing. She turned the doorknob slowly. Nothing. It was still

 locked for her. Sighing, her hand fell away from the door. 

 

 Walking around the slightly cluttered room, Kairi kept hugging the

 Yuffie doll. It might not be much, but right now it was the only

 company she had. And somehow she felt better holding onto her dolls.

 They had always been such a comfort for her, these people she had

 crafted out of fabric and wishes. She closed her eyes, forcing that

 thought away. No, they were real. She hadn’t just made dolls of

 people in her imagination. These were all real people somewhere far

 away. They were all still out there, waiting for her. But she

 couldn’t get back to them if she was stuck in her room. She had to

 find a way out. 

 

 She looked out the window, but it was too dark to see anything

 outside. It had to be late, wherever she was. Resting her head

 against the cool glass, the princess tried to collect herself. This

 place had to be a dream. It couldn’t be real. But why did she keep

 coming back here? And why was it so familiar. Her eyes closed as she

 strained to remember. A birthday party. She could remember a birthday

 party. A recent one. She remembered sitting at the front of the

 table, the cake being placed out in front of her. She had just turned

 fourteen. She’d gotten a cute sweater for it. And a few Disney DVDs

 she had been wanting for the longest time. But who had been there?

 She tried harder to remember, trying to see the rest of the table.

 She had been there, of course. And... An older woman she could barely

 make out. She was smiling so warmly, watching as she blew out the

 candles, her hands clasped together as if in prayer. Her mother. It

 had to be her mother. Her heart ached at the thought that she

 couldn’t even remember her mother except for this small glimpse. What

 kind of woman was she like? Did she make her mother proud? What kind

 of relationship did they have? Judging from the smile, her mother had

 been happy, at least during her birthday. 

 

 Who else had been there? She could see a shadow sitting next to her,

 watching her opening her presents. The shadow flickered in her mind

 as she tried harder to remember who it had been. But no matter how

 hard she tried, it refused to clarify. Giving up on the shadow for

 the moment, she began to focus on who else had been there. Slowly,

 she saw the rest of the table, expecting to see Riku and Sora sitting

 there, watching her. But it wasn’t so. The table was empty. Her eyes

 opened wide. “No one... No one was there?” she asked quietly. But her

 birthday parties on the Destiny Islands were always so much fun!

 Everyone came and there were presents and cake and games and... It

 didn’t make sense. Surely she had friends to invite, games to play.

 She was pretty and popular and everyone liked her. So why the hell

 would she spend her birthday alone except for her mother and some

 shadow of a person she couldn’t remember?

 

 Her eyes teared up, memories of endless loneliness filling her,

 sapping at her heart. The hopelessness and despair felt like

 crystalline shards buried within her heart. “But mama, no one will

 come. No one likes me. Why would anyone want to come to my party?”

 she heard herself saying. Opening her eyes, she saw another room

 outside of the window, her mother’s room. There she was, crying on

 her mother’s lap. Hateful, lost, bitter tears. And her mother looked

 heartbroken as she tried to wipe away her hot tears. 

 

 Kairi backed away from the window as if it was something alive and

 dangerous, staring. “It’s not like that. It isn’t like that at all,”

 she said desperately, her voice barely above a whisper. “I do have

 friends. I’m not all alone.” 

 

 “Then where are they now, Kairi? You made up all of your friends.

 Except for mom. She’s your best friend. She’s your only friend. How

 could you just leave her by killing yourself?”

 

 Looking up, Kairi could see the shadow of someone on the other side

 of the door. The voice was back, whoever it was that happened to be

 behind it. “I didn’t,” she argued, her voice shaky. Her wrists were

 burning again, fire tearing them apart. But she refused to look at

 them. Maybe if she ignored it, it would go away.

 

 The voice on the other side of the door laughed. “That’s your answer

 for everything, isn’t it, Kairi? To ignore it, to pretend. Whenever

 you can’t handle something, you just run away. It’s too much for poor

 Kairi to handle, so she’ll just run as far as she can and never look

 back. That’s why you can’t open the door. Because you can’t face

 reality. You couldn’t handle life so you just turned your back on it.

 You embraced your fantasies, ignoring everything that might hurt you.

 Isn’t that the way it’s always been?”

 

 “Leave me alone!!!” Kairi screamed, her whole body trembling. Tears

 stung her eyes, turning her vision into a liquid nightmare. She could

 feel her tears dripping down her chin, falling to the floor below.

 She couldn’t stop from crying, the voice finally getting to her. 

 

 “I told you that you couldn’t handle it, Kairi. I don’t think you’re

 ready to open the door yet. Why don’t you run away back to your

 fantasies. They’re safe and cozy, aren’t they? Oh, wait. No, reality

 is beginning to intrude on them, isn’t it? The heartlessness of the

 real world is starting to take its toll, to intrude on your little

 wonderland. Go ahead and run away to your dreams, Kairi. Because

 pretty soon, there will be nowhere left to run. And you’ll have to

 open the door. Because when the Heartless consume all of your

 fantasies, real life will be the only place left to turn.”

 

 Kairi slumped to her knees, sobbing painfully, hugging herself. She

 didn’t always run away. She was trying to find Riku and Sora. She

 would never give up on them. She wouldn’t run away, no matter how

 tough things got. But her voice escaped her, having disappeared in

 her haze of tears. She wanted to prove the voice wrong, that she

 would never give up. But her tattered heart couldn’t help but wonder

 if the voice was right. 

 

 Lost in a storm of tears, Kairi didn’t see the room grow distant. It

 stretched further and further into the background until it had faded

 away altogether. Lost in a typhoon of dark thoughts, the princess

 didn’t feel herself slowly drifting away to somewhere else. Anywhere

 else. Just as long as she was far away from that room.