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Kingdom Hearts: Dark Dawn	By : RotSeele Category: Kingdom Hearts > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 3169 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I do not make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
Eighteen - Tsenacommacah/Jamestown

They stayed together until they reached a point in the path that split, one heading toward Pocahontas’ village and the other heading to Jamestown. Rinally waved goodbye to Kaoru and quickly caught up to Pocahontas. By the time she turned around to check Kaoru’s progress, he and Thomas had already disappeared. She inhaled softly and gripped her staff tight, focusing on the trail before her. Beside her, Pocahontas remained silent, her face set in a determined mask. Nervousness was filling Rin, making her want to talk; she chattered when she was nervous. But she bit her tongue and pressed her lips together and focused on following Pocahontas through the trees. Eventually, Rin began to smell the welcoming scent of a wood-fire, and she soon could see smoke rising above the trees each time there was a break in the canopy.
“This way.” Pocahontas said, leading Rin down a new path. They hurried through the trees in a wide circle. Rin caught flashes of open ground beyond the trees, and in the distance she could see beautifully decorated tents that were arranged in a wide circle. People moved about between the tents, people with the same black hair and copper skin as Pocahontas. They moved with a sense of urgency, keeping their steps as quiet as possible just in case there were guards stationed out in the forest, or something worse.
Rin was pretty confident that she could take out a few Heartless on her own with magic, but she still would have preferred to have Kaoru’s Keyblade. Her role here wasn’t to stop the Heartless, but to stop the men who were preparing to attack Pocahontas’ people. If she could use her magic to make them think that the gods were choosing sides, or maybe make them even more afraid of hurting the native people, then she could protect everyone from getting hurt.
They traveled through the forest for a few minutes longer until Pocahontas brought her to a small rise. It was little more than a hill that pushed up from the forest floor, and it was completely exposed. Anyone could see them if they chose to look. However, it also had an unobstructed view of Pocahontas’ village and the surrounding area. Rin could see clearly for miles, and she could safely use her magic without causing any real harm to anyone. Pocahontas stood like a statue on the rise, her gaze turned toward her village. Smoke was rising from a dozen or so fires. It looked like the entire village was preparing for war.
“Stay here.” Pocahontas told Rin. “I’ll go down and see what’s happening. I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay. Be careful.”
Pocahontas gave Rin a bright smile, then hurried down the hill and disappeared into the forest. Moments later, Rinally saw her sprinting across the field, approaching her village. A cry went up, and the warriors that had once been milling about suddenly snapped to attention and readied themselves for the attack that hadn’t yet come. When they saw that it was only their princess, the warriors relaxed, but only slightly. They still were tense and wary, constantly looking over the land as if expecting a horde to come pelting out of the trees after Pocahontas. Then she disappeared from Rinally’s sight, and the girl settled down on the rise, resting her staff across her knees.
She wished that she could be in the village, where it would be far easier to defend the people. Nothing had happened yet, but there was a tenseness to the air that felt like something was waiting to break and let chaos loose upon the land. Rin looked to the sky, studying the bright blue. It was perfectly clear. She remembered Grandmother Willow’s words and inhaled softly, letting the air whistle out from between her teeth. “It’s waiting for the storm that’s the hard part.” Rin whispered to herself.
Rin wasn’t sure how long she was by herself on that hill. She changed her position and sat crosslegged, bracing her chin on her fist as she watched the village below. “Bored...” Rin sighed. She wondered what Kaoru was doing right now. Certainly it was much more exciting than this. Definitely more dangerous. She straightened as she noticed movement coming from the village. The figure looked slimmer and slightly smaller than Pocahontas, but then distance had a way of playing tricks on one’s vision.
Rin got to her feet but tried to make herself as small as possible. She held her staff at the ready, but she didn’t prepare any of her magic. She didn’t want to attack someone coming from Pocahontas’ village. It could be Pocahontas disguised, after all, or maybe a friend of hers. The figure disappeared into the trees, and then reappeared at the base of the rise. It wasn’t Pocahontas, but a slighter, shorter girl with shorter hair pulled back into a ponytail. Rin crouched, waiting, and when the girl crested the hill, she spotted Rin and let out a startled gasp before she slapped her hands over her own mouth. After a moment, she lowered her hands.
“Are you... are you Rinally?” the girl asked. Rin wasn’t the least bit surprised that the girl stared at her hair instead of her face.
“Yes.” Rin answered, fighting to relax. “Who are you?”
“I am Nakoma.” Nakoma glanced around them, as if realizing how exposed they were. She knelt down and Rin followed suit. “Pocahontas sent me. Her father, Chief Powhatan, refuses to let her leave the village now. The white men have been spotted approaching from Jamestown. It’ll be a few hours more before they reach us.”
“Did she tell you what I’m here to do?”
Nakoma nodded. “She did. She said you were one of the gods sent to help us. You would call down a thunderstorm or something and stop the white men from destroying our village.”
Rin smiled slightly. “Eh, close enough. I’ll do what I can to help. It might be safer if you evacuated everyone, though. Took them somewhere to hide that would be easily defended.”
Nakoma shook her head. “We’ve taken the children somewhere safe, but the warriors and the chief are determined to protect what is ours from the invaders. Pocahontas tried to convince her father otherwise. She said that you and a boy had come to help us.”
“He went to help stop the fight in another way.” Rinally said. She didn’t feel like revealing to Nakoma that Kaoru was trying to help Thomas free John Smith and stop the brewing fight on the other side. “I’m here to help you as much as I can.”
Nakoma looked over Rinally with a skeptical gaze, her eyes once again lingering on Rin’s pink hair. Rinally twirled her staff, making Nakoma jump. Rin smiled. “Yes, it’s really pink. Yes, it’s real. Now, what else did Pocahontas tell you to do? Certainly it wasn’t just to run up here and tell me she’s pretty much a prisoner in her own village?”
Nakoma’s eyes narrowed slightly. “No, not that. Not just that.” she corrected herself. “She wanted me to help to sneak you into the village. If you’re there, then maybe you can help us more. At least, you’d be able to ensure the white men would stop their advance if they saw the power you could wield.”
It occurred to Rin that Nakoma didn’t believe for one minute that Rinally was going to be of any use. She was only helping because Pocahontas had asked her to, and she was honoring her friend’s request. It didn’t matter if Pocahontas had described what Rin had done, or what she could possibly do; Nakoma had already made her decision based on what Rin looked like. That got Rin’s back up, of course. She hated people making assumptions about her based on her appearance alone. I doubt they’d assume the same about Kaoru if they saw him with his Keyblade. she thought sourly. She disliked the fact that she was always the ‘lesser’ of the pair, when in truth she just might be the stronger one.
“All right,” Rinally said at last, “take me to your leader.”
Nakoma frowned deeply. “We don’t want the chieftain to-“
“It’s an expression. Let’s go.”
Nakoma huffed but turned away and started down the hill. Rinally followed, staring at Nakoma’s back. They headed through the trees, moving carefully and slowly. Nakoma looked this way and that, searching for guards or watchers or anyone that might alert someone to their presence. She gestured for Rin to follow, then hurried across the open space between the forest and the village. Rin sucked in a breath - never before had she been so self-conscious about her pink hair until now - then quickly followed Nakoma across the open space. Since there was no alarm raised, and no one yelled at them to stop, their flight across the field as filled only with the sound of their hearts thrumming in the ears and the exhilaration of panic at possibly being spotted. Both of them reached the first tent of the village and practically hugged it as they caught their breath.
Nakoma crouched down and Rinally followed suit. “I’ll go first,” Nakoma whispered. “I’ll signal you to follow. Do whatever you can to stay out of sight.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice.”
Nakoma glanced at Rin with a raised brow, then darted around the tent to another one. She edged out, looking this way and that. Then she signaled for Rin to join her. Rin hurried to catch up with Nakoma, and this was how they crossed the village. There was only one moment of pure panic when a warrior spotted Nakoma skulking about and called out to her. Rin ducked back around the current tent she was hiding behind and held her breath, fighting not to breathe too loudly or make an inadvertent move that might draw the warrior’s attention to her. Nakoma was perfect in her act, smiling shyly at the warrior and speaking quickly to him about why she was running about when there was a war about to happen. Rin heard Pocahontas’ name dropped a few times, but when Rin leaned out slightly to gauge Nakoma’s progress, the warrior’s expression told her that there was no chance of Nakoma wiggling out of this situation.
It was the one thing that Rin didn’t want to have happen. The more time they wasted here, dealing with this warrior, the more likely it was that they would be taken unawares. Even if there were warriors watching for the settlers’ approach, it wasn’t likely that Rin would end up in a prime position to deal with them, if this warrior wouldn’t let Nakoma go.
“Please, Kocoum.” Nakoma said, edging on desperate. “You know I wouldn’t be out here unless it was important. I just had to get something for Pocahontas. You know how she gets if she doesn’t have something to distract her.”
“I know that quite well,” responded the warrior, Kocoum. “But Chief Powhatan’s orders were clear. If I make an exception for you, then everyone else will want to leave to get something.”
“Just this once? I’m on my way back right now. I won’t leave again. It’s for Pocahontas.”
Rin saw how Kocoum’s eyebrows drew together. His lips thinned into a line and he frowned at Nakoma, who looked just on the edge of desperate. She was holding her calm facade beautifully, especially for one who was under pressure, but cracks were starting to show. She glanced toward the tent where Rinally was hiding, then back at Kocoum. When Kocoum’s eyes slid toward the tent, Rin knew he’d noticed Nakoma’s motion. His face became stony and he turned toward the tent. He pushed Nakoma behind him and readied a hunting knife. Nakoma made a sound of protest and started to try and reach for Kocoum’s arm, to try and pull him back, but the warrior was too quick and too strong. Rinally didn’t have anywhere to go; he would catch her even if she tried to run. But she couldn’t get caught.
A shrill cry went up from the edge of the village, like that of an eagle. Kocoum stopped and turned toward the sound, every line of his body drawn and taut, ready for action. Nakoma turned to look too, her eyes going wide. Kocoum grabbed Nakoma by the shoulder then, hissed something into her ear, then gave her a light push away from him. Nakoma took a few steps away and watched Kocoum run down the center of the village, vanishing into the distance. Rin waited a minute, then stepped out from behind the tent and hurried up to Nakoma. The woman’s face was set into a decidedly miserable expression, her eyes glistening with tears.
“Are you okay?” Rin asked.
Nakoma rubbed her fist against her eyes and took a deep breath. “I wish we didn’t have to fight. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, especially Kocoum.”
“You like him?”
Nakoma’s lips drew into a thin line.
“You like him.” Rin said with a smile.
Nakoma looked at the pink-haired girl with an unreadable expression. She looked like she wanted to cry, scream, and laugh in pain all at the same time. “I do, but... but I’m not the one he wants.”
“So who does he... oh. Oh. Ooooh.” Rin covered her mouth with her hand as understanding washed through her. “I see.”
Nakoma nodded, taking a deep, calming breath as she did so. “He asked for Pocahontas’ hand in marriage. Her father, Chief Powhatan, gave his permission. But Pocahontas doesn’t love him. She doesn’t... like him like I do.”
“Can’t you tell him?”
Nakoma shook her head.
“Why not?”
“Because it just isn’t done that way. He’s already made his choice.”
“So? People change their minds all the time. Pocahontas is pretty, sure. She’s got lots of things going for her, least of which are the size of her... well.” Rin’s lips twitched into a smile. “Well, she is a princess. And who doesn’t want to make it with the princess? You just have to tell him how you feel, and if he’s too thick to see it, then he doesn’t deserve you anyway.”
Nakoma just stared at Rinally for a minute, her mouth slightly open as she gaped at the girl. Rin smiled sweetly and innocently. Finally, Nakoma shook her head, pushing away whatever she had been about to say. “Follow me, and stay close.”
Nakoma took off running again, this time not bothering to be sneaky or subtle. Rin kept up with her, clutching her staff and looking toward the direction Kocoum had run off in. Smoke was rising in the distance, from where Jamestown lay. She could hear the slow roll of drums, calling the men to war. Nakoma ran faster, as if she were racing time itself. Rinally tried to go faster to keep up, but Nakoma had longer legs. Finally, the woman stopped and pointed toward a range of trees surrounding a hill. Rinally stopped beside her, doubled over to pant for air.
“Go there.” Nakoma pointed toward the hill with more insistence. “Go there, and you’ll be able to see everything. I have to go get Pocahontas.”
“Okay.” Rin said, panting. “I’ll go there. Don’t get caught.”
Nakoma smiled slightly and took off in the other direction. Rinally watched her go for a minute, then took a deep breath and ran for the trees. As she ran, she looked toward the open field and saw the warriors of Pocahontas’ tribe crouched among the low grasses and the few trees that were clumped in the field. Beyond them was a long field, maybe a mile across, and then another stretch of trees. Rin could see shadows moving within the trees, man-shaped, with a strange protrusion which looked like some sort of stick. She shivered, put her head down, and ran with all the speed she could muster toward the hill, praying she would make it in time.
Kaoru, please be okay. Please be alive. I don’t know if I can do this without you. Stopping Heartless is one thing; stopping a war is something entirely different, especially when you’re only one person and no one thinks you can do anything.
She reached the hill and climbed up it, falling to her knees on the crest of the hill. As she knelt there panting, Rin looked out onto the field and clutched her staff, feeling as though she was watching the calm before the storm.
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- 18
- 19
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Kingdom Hearts: Dark Dawn