Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ A Fragmented Tale ❯ In the Land of Hope ( Chapter 17 )

A Fragmented Tale by cursed l0ve

 

Chapter Seventeen: In the Land of Hope

 

 

King Mickey had gone home whatever way he had come, promising them he would return soon. Now at the Disney Kingdom, he paced along the red carpet inside his Library. He was frustrated with everything that was happening. It seemed that since they'd completed the prophecy, and there was always one more crisis to solve. When was this whole darkness concept ever going to end, he wondered.

 

`There might be more surprises, but I have a feeling once we defeat this one, and then it's all over,' he mused. `For good.'

 

How had he missed this? Everyone had been so focused on saving each other and completing the tasks to fulfill the prophecy that they hadn't realized they'd opened an easy path for this new threat.

 

`We might as well hand over everything to this mysterious shadow on a silver platter,' the King mentally growled. He clenched his gloved fists and stomped over to the shelves. Glaring at the various bookbindings, he searched until he took out one that looked promising. `Perhaps, there shall be something that would tell of this evil.'

 

But wait-

 

King Mickey furrowed his eyebrows, and pivoted around with the book still in hand.

 

`Or…' he pondered.

 

Walking over to the oversized table in the center of the room, he placed the book upon the surface and grabbed The Keyblade War. `There could be something I missed while reading this…' He sat down in the huge chair and propped open the book. Reading the short, summarized version of the tale written by an Anonymous, he realized that he might have found their suspect. The King looked at the date, `October, year unknown.'

 

`So,' he sighed. `There is no specific date to trace this from… How helpful you are!' He gripped the book. He was frustrated- frustrated and tired. He wanted to steal away into his bedchambers and sleep. He really needed sleep. Oh yes, that sounded so good. He shook his head of these thoughts and focused on finding the primary suspect.

 

King Mickey continued to read, `When Xehanort was a young Prince, around thirteen, a Sorcerer would often stop by and tell prophecies and tales. Most of the times, Donovan, fifteen, had sat down beside him, along with the Princess Keaira, twelve. They would sit by the fire, listening to stories about magic, and keyblades. The Sorcerer explained about the legend of the special keyblade- the Blade of Hope.'

 

Deciding he wasn't getting anywhere, he gave up. Slamming the book closed, he threw it against the table surface. He stood and stomped his way to the doors. Just as he reached the smooth, cold surface, he halted. Pivoting around again, he had a thoughtful face.

 

`Wait a minute…there's only one person we haven't heard of,' he realized. Running back towards the table again, he grabbed the book and flipped it open to the page. Skimming along the text, he paused at a word.

 

Sorcerer.

 

To make sure, he re-read it again, `… a Sorcerer would often stop by and tell prophecies and tales.'

 

“This is it!” King Mickey exclaimed, holding the book a mere inch from his face. He read further, ` They would sit by the fire, listening to stories about magic, and keyblades. The Sorcerer explained about the legend of the special keyblade- the Blade of Hope.'

 

Jumping in excitement, the mouse rushed out of the Library with the book in hand. He scurried down the Colonnade and rushed outside into the garden. There, he found Captain Goofy snoozing on the grass, and Court Wizard Donald quacking away with Lady Daisy.

 

“Donald! C'mere! I've got things to tell you! I need you to wake Goofy and meet me down at the Gummi Hangar! I want you and Goofy to help me on this one!” King Mickey yelled while running.

 

“Hmmph!” Lady Daisy crossed her arms and stuck her bill in the air just as the King paused at a stop in front of them. “King Mickey, have you no manners? I was talking to Donald!”

 

“Sorry, Lady Daisy. This is an emergency,” Mickey said, ruefully. “You understand.”

 

Queen Minnie's lady in waiting sighed and nodded as she walked past him towards the castle. The two males watched as she slipped inside before turning to face each other. Donald had an impatient look to his face. He had his arms crossed, and his hip was swayed to the right as his left foot tapped in rhythm.

 

“Donald,” King Mickey sighed, furrowing his eyebrows. “I thought you and Goofy were eager to travel with Sora again?”

 

Hearing the key bearer's name, Donald dropped his act and began quacking excitedly. He rushed over to where Goofy lay and began shaking him up. After three long minutes of failure, he gave up and raised his staff to the air screaming “THUNDER!” At the shock, the sleeping dog woke and looked around bleary eyed.

 

“Gawrsh, Donald! Why'd you have to go and do that?” Goofy whined, rubbing his eye with his fist.

 

“Hurry up! King Mickey wants us to help him!” Donald yelled, flapping his arms around. He paused and peered up at his companion as Goofy stood up. “And guess what?”

 

Goofy looked down in an innocent puzzlement. “What?”

 

“WE GET TO GO SEE SORA!” Donald shouted.

 

“Gawrsh! You don't say?” Goofy gasped. “Well then, let's get goin'!” He stretched his long limbs and trudged towards where King Mickey stood.

 

“Come on, you two! Sora's waiting for us!” King Mickey announced, scurrying into the small sculpture that led down to the Hangar. The other two followed behind. “I'll explain everything to you on the way! We have no time to lose!”

 

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“I'd never have thought this world was beautiful,” Aleron murmured, taking in the scenery. “And, it's hard to believe that this is my home- my true home.”

 

“Yeah, this was what it looked like before the war. Somebody put all of this under a terrible spell right when it started. The spell called the winds and increased the temperatures so that every living thing was scorched under the sun. It also called forth the sands,” Enya spoke up, taking a stride beside her sister.

 

Looking up at the fiery redhead, Aleron asked in uncertainty, “Just how old were you back then? How would you know this?”

 

Enya chuckled, “You forget, I've lived here all my life. I heard stories here and there. Also, I saw it happen; a memory as horrid as this is hard to forget. I was only two.”

 

“So that means you're nineteen now, right?” Aleron asked in conviviality. She plastered a small smile on her face.

 

Enya gave a nod, “You're seventeen, aren't you?”

 

“Yep!” Aleron giggled.

 

“I remember you were born in the springtime; in April.”

 

“Yes, that is right.”

 

“So, you won't be eighteen for another ten months. What a pity.”

 

“Oh yeah, it's still June. This whole thing felt like forever! I thought it might be September by now! And…” Aleron scrunched up her face in puzzlement. “What do you mean, what a pity?”

 

“Well, yeah. It's only been a bit past two weeks. And it means you can't take the throne, yet,” Enya said, sighing. Aleron halted.

 

 

“The throne!” she yelled in surprise. Everyone paused in their stride and was all looking at her. Enya burst out laughing. Beside her, Matty smirked.

 

Ryo walked up to them. He placed a glove-free hand on Aleron's shoulder and spoke, “Did you forget…” he grinned. “That you are a Princess?”

 

“WHAT!?” Riku screamed. Everyone brought his or her stare on the silver-haired teen.

 

The three Chasers were laughing now. Enya was the first to finally calm down. Smirking, she pushed Aleron lightly. She said, “Don't worry about it. We're not going to force you to take the throne. You know merely nothing about this land anyway, and I'm sure you would prefer to return to the islands.”

 

“Hey! What's this about Aleron being a Princess? How come no one told me?” Riku yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the dirty blond. Aleron started at him with wide eyes. Aleira smirked at her best friend.

 

“Riku, you idiot,” Sora chuckled. He clenched his stomach as he tried to hold in his laughter. “I guess you were probably all spacey during this whole journey!”

 

“Eh?” Riku recoiled. The look on his face sent everyone roaring with laughter. His eyebrows began to twitch in annoyance. “You guys! Stop laughing at me!”

 

“Sorry! It's- chuckle. Just- chuckle. SO- giggle. Funny!” Aleron waved her hand in his direction while holding her stomach. She watched as Riku crossed his arms and glare at her with his jaws open in amusement. She burst in another round of giggles.

 

Riku looked over at the others, silently begging for help. The chasers all shook their heads and Sora had to cover his mouth. Kairi grinned at him, clasping her hands behind her back. Aleira had both of her hands covering her mouth at attempt to block out her giggles.

 

“Okay!” Aleron took a deep breath and straightened her composure. Closing her eyes, she counted to ten and opened them again, smiling. Riku gave a huge sigh of relief. She averted her eyes before she could go in another laughing fit. “Yes, I am a Princess. I'm Enya's younger sister, and Xehanort was our father. Remember now, Riku?”

 

Riku seemed to be in a deep thought, and before long, everyone thought they saw a light bulb go off over his head. He nodded his head, “Yes. Now I recall those facts.”

 

“Told you he was spacey!” Sora yelled, pointing at his best friend.

 

“Cut it out, Sora!” Riku hissed, glaring at him. Sora stuck out his tongue before crossing his arms and trudging on.

 

“Come on, we have to return to the village. It is time for Likannaka to have a heir on throne,” Enya announced, continuing on the long, narrow, dirt path.

 

“Likannaka?” Aleira asked.

 

“The name itself means Hope. It is what we call this world,” Ryo spoke from behind the teens.

 

“Wow, I like it!” Aleron grinned. “Likannaka.” She tested it on her tongue.

 

“So,” Riku began, “Who's the heir?”

 

“Enya,” Matty simply answered.

 

“Of course, if not me, then who else than Enya?” Aleron said as if it was the most obvious thing.

 

 

“O' woe is me! I have to wear those fancy things, oh joy!” Enya spoke sarcastically.

 

“Aw, that can't be so bad,” Sora said, taking pity.

 

“Well, you could start your own fashion trend,” Aleron suggested.

 

“Yeah! Enya, we'll help you!” Kairi squealed in excitement.

 

“YEAH!” Aleira jumped in.

 

Enya sighed, “Oh, alright!”

 

“Yay!” Aleron, Aleira, and Kairi ran and danced in circles, holding each other's hands.

 

Riku rolled his eyes and looked away, “Girls!”

 

“And you like one of them!” Sora yelled over the noise.

 

The three girls stopped. Riku tensed.

 

`Damn you, Sora!' Riku swore.

 

Aleron walked over to the brunette and smacked his head with her fist before placing them on her hips. “Sora, you're going to get it from US really soon if you don't stop picking on him!” she reprimanded without thinking of the consequences.

 

“Eh?” It was Sora's turn to recoil. Suddenly, his bewilderment turned into a sly smirk. He crossed his arms behind his head before shifting and placing an arm across his chest and resting the elbow of the other on it and rubbing his chin with his hand. “So…”

 

Aleron backed away. She bit her lip nervously. “So, what?” she asked quietly.

 

Sora placed his fists on his hips and mocked Aleron's posture as it was moments ago. He bent close to her and grinned. “US?”

 

“Um, yeah?” Aleron asked, not understanding his point.

 

The brunette straightened up and turned to Riku, who was right behind him. “She said `US' meaning YOU and HER,” he explained in his best friend's face.

 

“Heh? Yeah?” Aleron called out from behind Sora. “What are you getting on about?”

 

Sora smirked at Riku, who was beginning to sport a very faint pinkish hue on his cheeks. “I KNEW IT!” he yelled, bouncing around. “I'm tired of this, so I'm going to fix it!” he said, raising a finger to the air, with his other fist against his hip. He walked over to Riku and grabbed his wrist, dragging him over to where Aleron stood.

 

“Huh?” Riku eeped out as he stumbled in his steps. He watched in amusement as Sora grabbed Aleron's hand and then forced Riku's and Aleron's to clasp together. The result had the two holding hands.

 

“We've been walking back for two days now, and I thought you two would confess back there. I was wrong and this was taking too long, so there!” Sora explained proudly. He walked over to Kairi and wrapped his arm around her waist before walking ahead of the others. Riku and Aleron were left behind, staring at their entwined hands like they hadn't realized what had just happened.

 

“Come on, you two! Stop staring and get moving!” Ryo called out from a distance.

 

Aleron and Riku both snapped out of whatever trance they were in and looked up at each other. In a flash, both of their cheeks were crimson red. Turning away, they walked on to catch up with the group. They hadn't realized they were still holding hands.

 

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It was midnight, and they were extremely exhausted. They had been walking for hours on end, and have yet taken a break. Ryo finally announced to make camp, and everyone slumped to the ground.

 

“Come on, there's a river not many yards away, and there's plenty of firewood to find over in that cloister of trees. Once we've set up camp, you can rest,” Ryo spoke as he realized that he was the only one still moving around.

 

Every single one of them groaned. Sora stood up and grabbed a pot that they'd gotten at a village the other day during one of their stops. He went in the direction of the river. Kairi and Aleira paired up together and went in the western part of the forest to gather some branches. Enya went after Sora, carrying a bucket. Matty and Ryo went in the northern part. Suddenly, Riku and Aleron found themselves alone.

 

The dirty blond sighed and stood up, surveying the area. She kicked away rocks and dragged several logs from underneath bushes. She placed each log in a circle big enough to fit a fire in the center. Rolling the last log in place, she looked up to find Riku kneeling in the center, placing stones in a smaller circle around where the fire would be.

 

Riku felt her watching him and started to feel self-conscious. His muscles tensed and his stomach started to flutter. He tried to focus in finishing putting the stones down. Once he did, he stood up and went into the direction of the river to find Sora. He didn't know what he would do in her presence.

 

“Hey Riku! What are you doing?” Sora asked as he approached the teen.

 

Riku noticed Sora carrying two buckets of water and seemed to be struggling a bit. Shaking his head, he reached for one and turned around towards the direction of camp.

 

“Riku?” Sora asked.

 

“What?” he replied, not looking back over his shoulder.

 

“Is everything okay? You didn't answer my other question.”

 

“Huh? Yeah, sorry. It's nothing.” Sora raised an eyebrow, but didn't press it further.

 

Once they arrived back, with Enya following behind. They all placed the three buckets in front of a newly lit flame. Everyone else had already returned with firewood, and Matty had lit up a pile.

 

Aleira sat beside Aleron on a log, while Sora went to sit with Kairi on the one to their right. Riku and Ryo sat on the one opposite. Enya and Matty took the one on the guys' right. They all watched the growing fire in silence for a long moment.

 

Observing the seating arrangements, Sora leaned towards Kairi to whisper in her ear. “Hey Kai, notice Riku and Aleron?” he asked.

 

He watched as Kairi looked around, placing her glance first at Aleron on her left, then at Riku on her right. She leaned into his ear. “Yes, what about them?” she whispered back.

 

“I think Riku's avoiding her, or something…” Sora said quietly. Kairi nodded.

 

“Yeah, but look. They're stealing glances,” she replied just as quietly.

 

Sora observed the two before answering Kairi. “Heh, yeah. We gotta get them together,” he whispered.

 

“Yeah, you said it was Riku that got us together, right?” she asked, looking at her boyfriend.

 

Sora looked back at her and grinned. “Yeah, now we have to return the favor!” he said a little too loud, but not loud enough for the others to hear.

 

“I agree, we better start now,” Kairi giggled. “Every chance there is, we will get them to confess!” she whispered sharply. Sora nodded and wrapped his arms around her.

 

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“Hey Aleron,” Aleira whispered. “Riku's staring at you.”

 

“Huh?” Aleron said, shifting in her seat. She flickered her sight over and through the fire where she caught his eyes quickly flicker down. She glared at him for a moment to make sure the lights weren't playing tricks on her. He hadn't looked up again.

 

“Riku kept staring at you, and it seemed like he was thinking,” Aleron repeated, and then explained further. “See, he just realized you caught him!” she giggled quietly.

 

Aleron looked over at her best friend with a grin, “I see that.”

 

“So…” Aleira whispered, studying Aleron's thoughtful face.

 

The dirty blond was staring at the ground, wondering why the boy sitting across confused her. Hearing Aleira's teasing tone, she looked up again. “What?” she answered.

 

Keeping her voice low, the curly-haired girl asked, “Do you like him?”

 

“HUH?” Aleron recoiled, almost toppling over the log. Everyone snapped up at her in surprise. She risked a glance at Riku and caught a worried façade on his face. She glared at Aleira.

 

Aleira's smirk deepened as she looked away in triumph. `So, Aleron likes him. I'll have to find out from Sora if Riku feels the same.'

 

Aleira peered at Aleron, making sure she was occupied. Aleron had gone back staring at the fire with a thoughtful look. Shaking her head, she turned towards Sora, who sat right next to her on the other log.

 

“Hey Sora, can I ask you something?” Aleira whispered.

 

Sora looked up and nodded, “Yeah, what is it?”

 

Aleira looked around. Enya was talking to Matty. Ryo was consulting Riku, who was getting an annoyed look on his face. Aleron was spacing. Kairi was listening in. She grinned as she focused back on Sora. “You know what's going on with…” She dropped her voice. “…them, right?”

 

Both Sora and Kairi's faces brightened up as they realized they had another person in on their plans. Nodding, Sora grinned. “Yes, they like each other, but they just can't seem to confess. So, we were gonna try to get them to,” the brunette spoke quietly.

 

Aleron grinned mischievously. “Perfect!” She observed the group and noticed Riku was glaring suspiciously at them. She waved at him before turning back to Sora. The boy had noticed when she waved and was waving at him, too. “We better let it go for now. He seems to be getting suspicious.”

 

“Yeah,” Sora said, nodding.

 

“COME ON, YOU GUYS LET'S DO SOMETHING!” Kairi jumped up and yelled. `This better distract him,' she thought silently.

 

They all groaned.

 

“I was about to go to sleep!” Aleron whined, looking at the girl with puppy eyes.

 

“Me too!” Enya seconded.

 

“And I,” Ryo said.

 

“Me as well,” Matty nodded.

 

“Yeah,” Riku sighed.

 

“Kai, you are too hyper for your own good,” Sora said, shaking his head. He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “But that was a good idea! Riku'll think otherwise about what we were doing.”

 

Kairi giggled and hugged Sora. “I know,” she whispered in his ear.

 

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End Chapter Seventeen.

 

A/N: Whoo! It's more of a filler. They're on the way back to the village where they first met our three favorite chasers! ^-^

 

 

Next time- Chapter Eighteen- The Queen