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Kingdom Hearts: Dark Dawn	By : RotSeele Category: Kingdom Hearts > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 3168 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I do not make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 7
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Eight - Beast’s Castle

Kaoru came to suddenly and violently.
He shot upright and grasped Guardian as soon as the Keyblade appeared in his hand. Then he swung it toward the presence beside him as fast and as hard as he could, barely registering the feminine gasp of surprise at his sudden movement. In a split second, he willed Guardian away before the Keyblade could make contact with the pretty brunette woman, though he was sure she still felt the wind from his hand as it passed by her face. Her blue eyes were wide as she realized just how close to injury she had come, but she recovered remarkably quickly and focused on Kaoru.
“And here I was, going to ask if you were strong enough to get up yet.” she said with a brilliant smile.
Kaoru stared at her for a minute, blinking. “What?”
She sat beside him on the bed and put her hand to his forehead. She studied his face for a minute, then dropped her hand and pulled back, rising to pace around the other side of the room. She grasped dark curtains and pulled them aside, letting sunlight stream into the room. “When he brought you two back here, you were in worse shape than we originally thought. Honestly, what were you doing, wandering around in the forest after dark?”
Kaoru felt confused for a long while before he remembered what had happened yesterday. He remembered wandering the darkness with Rinally, finally escaping and ending up in the snowy forest, and then being attacked by wolves after dark and the strange creature that had saved them. “‘He’?” Kaoru questioned. “And who are you?”
“My name is Belle.” The woman turned and gave him a brilliant smile. Kaoru squinted slightly, but it wasn’t because of the sunlight. Belle herself seemed to be glowing with light, and the sight felt familiar to Kaoru somehow. It took him a moment to realize that Belle had the same bright light that Tae had glowed with just before their world had been destroyed. “And ‘he’ is the master of this castle. The Beast. He’s the one who heard the wolves hunting last night, and when he saw you, he saved the two of you.”
Kaoru remembered the monster that had surged out of the darkness, fighting the wolves in order to keep him and Rinally safe. “And my friend? Where is she?”
“She was in better shape than you, so she’s been up and about for a while. I suppose she’s in the library now. I can fetch her, if you’d like.”
Kaoru shook his head. It was just enough that he knew she was safe. He pushed back the quilt that covered him and studied his leg. There were no marks or scars where the wolf had bitten him, so he figured Rinally had had enough magic left to heal him fully. He looked up at Belle, who had busied herself now collecting his shoes and socks, which had been set under the table beside the window. “I’d like to go to her, if I could.”
“Of course.” Belle gave him another brilliant smile and handed Kaoru his socks and shoes when he swung his legs over the side of the bed. “That’s a Keyblade wielder for you; always fast to recover and the first back out on the front lines to fight.”
Kaoru paused in tying his shoelaces and looked up at Belle. “You know about the Keyblade?”
Belle’s smile lessened and became odd. Not bad, just odd. She studied Kaoru for a moment, tapping her lips with her fingertips. “You awakened to it recently, didn’t you? Otherwise you wouldn’t have asked me that question.”
Kaoru felt heat suffuse his cheeks. “It’s been a couple of days.”
“Ah, I thought so... What happened to your world, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Kaoru occupied himself with his shoelaces for a minute so he didn’t have to answer right away. He slid off the bed and rose, finding his legs steady and willing to carry his weight. Finally, he looked at Belle and began to talk. He told her about Paradise City, about the Heartless, about the inner voice that had spoken to him about his Keyblade, Guardian. He even told her about Tae, and what he’d seen minutes before his world had been destroyed. Belle listened quietly, sympathy showing on her face. When he finished, Kaoru looked at the ground. “You glowed with the same light. I saw it. You’re just like Tae.” he said, almost lamely.
Belle smiled. “A Keyblade wielder can innately sense the light within a Princess of Heart. It draws them to her, so that they can protect her. I’ve never heard of a Keyblade wielder who can see the light a Princess of Heart has inside her. That’s an incredible talent. Not even Sora can see the light of a person.”
Kaoru thought about that for a minute. He’d met Tae when they were in third grade, and something had just compelled him to go over to the new girl and offer his hand. He’d never known what that something was, but they had become fast friends, and he had always been the first to come to her defense when Tae was being bullied by their other classmates. He hadn’t actually ever seen Tae’s light until the Heartless came to Paradise City and destroyed it. He looked at Belle and asked, “So you’re a Princess of Heart, and you know Sora?”
Belle nodded. “He rescued me when he first started wielding the Keyblade. I and six others were kidnapped and held imprisoned so that the door to Kingdom Hearts could be opened. Sora freed all of us and allowed us to return to our worlds. We’ve remained in contact ever since.”
“So you know where to find him?”
“I have an idea where he might be, but that’s all I can give you. If he’s not on Destiny Islands, he’ll be at Radiant Garden. Unfortunately, I have no way of contacting him, and he doesn’t come to visit as often as he used to.”
Kaoru frowned. I guess there’s no other choice. If we want to get anywhere, we’ll have to go back into that place. He shivered. If we do go back there, what’s going to happen to us this time, though?
Belle gestured to the door of the room. “Shall we go collect your friend and get you two something to eat? I’m sure you can’t stay long. I wonder why you came to this world, though... it’s been relatively peaceful.”
Kaoru chose to say nothing and followed Belle out of the room. They emerged into a long hallway decorated with stained glass windows and curio tables topped by azure vases filled with fresh flowers. A red carpet was laid on the stone floor, lending some color to the otherwise grey stone hallways. Kaoru looked around curiously. For a castle that only boasted two residents, it was scrupulously clean. Something moved out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned his head to look, Kaoru only saw an empty hallway. He frowned and focused on Belle.
“Are you alone here with the Beast?” Kaoru asked, lengthening his stride a bit to catch up to her side.
“Oh, no.” laughed Belle. “There are many others here in the castle besides us. You might not see them; they can be very shy around strangers. But they’re my greatest friends and companions. Once they get used to you, they’ll show themselves.”
Kaoru made a soft noise. “Do they distrust strangers that much?”
Belle shook her head, a sad smile dancing upon her face. “No... it’s more that the strangers are afraid of them. It’s hard to explain... You see, this castle is cursed. Everyone in here, except for me, is under a sorceress’ spell. The Beast, the entirety of the castle staff... so they are no longer human-looking on the outside.”
Kaoru blinked, confused even more by her explanation. Still, he didn’t ask anything more about it, figuring that he would find out when he was meant to. “Can they be freed?”
“Oh, yes. The spell can be broken. In fact, it has been broken, for a long time now. But for some reason, the spell renewed itself, and we can’t figure out why.”
He heard the sadness in her voice. Kaoru looked up at Belle and noticed lines to her face that he hadn’t seen before. It wasn’t age that wore on her; it was frustration and sadness. He didn’t want to ask what she meant by her words, mostly because he didn’t want to know the answer or any details. He was pretty sure he could figure it out for himself, anyway. Why else would a young woman live in a castle with a beast if that beast wasn’t actually a man? He kept his mouth shut as they headed down from the hall to a grand staircase and from there into a huge foyer. Belle led him across the shiny floor to another doorway. She held the door open for him and as Kaoru entered, he saw that they were about to enter an even bigger room than the one they were just in.
Bookshelves lined every wall, nook, and cranny. Books of every size littered the shelves, some untouched and dusty, while others showed signs of use. Kaoru squinted at some of the titles, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of the language. He recognized some words, but he wasn’t sure if they held the same meaning to him as they would to Belle. He followed Belle through the library, gazing with awe at the sheer mass of books. As she passed a table laden with open books, Belle passed her fingers over the pages as if she were caressing a lover. There was longing in her eyes, longing to be able to sit at this table and read those books, which she probably had been doing before she went to play nursemaid to him and Rinally. They headed up a flight of stairs to the second level of the library, and Kaoru was greeted to the sight of Rinally sitting on the floor with her legs folded under her, studying a huge tome with weathered pages. Beside her a small teacup with a chip in its rim leaned over the book, its little eyes running over the words.
Kaoru couldn’t help the huge grin that bloomed on his face. The scene was so comical that he could barely hold back the laugh that was tickling its way up his throat.
Rinally looked up at that moment. Her entire face lit up with joy at seeing him, and with a cry of his name, she leaped to her feet and rushed him. Kaoru caught her in a tight hug and the laugh finally escaped, filling the room with sounds of mirth and joy. Rinally joined in, leaving Belle looking at the two with a small, happy smile on her face. The small teacup bounced over to Belle and looked up at Kaoru with wide eyes.
“Oh!” Rin pulled back from Kaoru and knelt, picking up the small teacup gently in both hands. “This is Chip. He’s been keeping me company while you took your nap.”
Kaoru felt his cheeks color. “I wasn’t napping.” He nodded at the teacup. “Hello, Chip.”
“Hello.” replied the teacup shyly. “It’s nice to meet you. Rin’s told me so much about you. Are you really a Keyblade wielder? Are you here to help us?” His voice was so close to a little boy’s, Kaoru wondered if the little teacup wasn’t actually a boy, and if he wasn’t actually one of the castle’s cursed inhabitants.
“Chip,” Belle admonished gently. The teacup flushed and dipped his rim in apology.
Kaoru smiled. “It’s okay. Yeah, I really am a Keyblade wielder. And I’d like to help you, if I can figure out what’s going on.”
“I’ll help you too.” Rinally said with a smile. “After all, I’m his back-up.”
This seemed to brighten Chip’s mood, so when Belle offered to get them something to eat, Chip volunteered to go with her. As soon as the two left, Rinally turned to Kaoru. Her head tilted as she studied him, looking him up and down, from head to toe.
Kaoru smiled and shrugged. “I’m okay.”
“You do look a little better. You slept for a long time. I was starting to wonder if you’d ever wake up.” Rin hugged herself, still watching him.
“I think I have you to thank for that. You healed me, didn’t you? As we were being saved and maybe a few times after?”
Rin nodded. “I didn’t have much left, but I focused everything I had into the healing spells I had left. After the Beast brought us back here, Belle took over caring for you. When I was strong enough, I helped out. You were in a real bad way, Kaoru. I don’t think it was from that wolf’s bite, or the cold.”
Kaoru frowned and tilted his head. Considering he hadn’t been aware of what was going on after he’d passed out from the cold and the pain, he didn’t have a single clue as to what she was talking about. In his unconscious state, he wasn’t aware of anything that had been done to him and he didn’t feel any different. He hadn’t even dreamed, or, if he had, he couldn’t remember them. But if Rin said he’d looked terrible, he was inclined to believe her. “I feel fine.” he said at last.
“You definitely look better. I’m wondering if it’s because we went in that strange world in between worlds without any protection. I’m not a Keyblade wielder, so I don’t think I was as affected as you. But I really think being in that place for a long time messes with you.”
“Makes sense,” Kaoru agreed. “It’s a place of pure darkness with only a little bit of light here and there.” He looked at his hand and flexed his fingers. “I think my armor protects me a little bit, but...”
“But?”
“I think it was protecting you, too. It was splitting its protection between the two of us. Only someone with an affinity for darkness might be able to travel those ways without protection.”
“Well, if you haven’t figured it out already, you’re aligned with Light. So Dark-aligned spells and places are going to affect you heavily. Not always badly, of course. But... but we’re going to have to go there again, aren’t we? If we want to leave here.” When Kaoru remained silent, Rinally blew out a sigh. “And what happens if you go down again?”
“Maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll get stronger. I just got my Keyblade a few days ago.” Kaoru pointed out. Then he pointed to the huge tome on the floor. “What’s that?”
“That? Oh.” Rin smiled brightly. “It’s a spellbook. It’s full of magic spells that I’ve never even heard of before. I’ve been trying to memorize them, learn them, because, obviously, I’m not gonna be able to take the book with me.”
“Did you learn anything else? About this castle, or Belle, or the Beast?”
Rin nodded slowly. “Yeah. Apparently, the Beast is actually a prince, and this is his castle. A long time ago, so Chip told me, the Beast and everyone used to be human. When the Beast refused to help an old woman, she cursed him and the inhabitants of this castle. Turns out the old woman was actually a young woman, and she was a powerful sorceress. She told the Beast that if he didn’t learn from his mistakes and find someone who saw the good prince beneath the selfish beast by the time the last petal fell from this enchanted rose, he would forever be stuck that way. Well, Belle came along, and she saw the good prince beneath the selfish beast, and she even fell in love with him. Then she was captured by Maleficent and held prisoner. That’s how the Beast met Sora the first time. The second time, Sora helped him fight Xaldin, one of the Organization XIII, and because of Belle’s love, the spell broke. And it stayed broke, at least until a few months ago, when the prince suddenly became the Beast again.”
Kaoru nodded. That explained why Belle seemed so sad. Her love for the Beast hadn’t dwindled in the slightest, so why had the spell reengaged? And it seemed the Beast hadn’t regressed into what he’d been before he’d met Belle, either. Kaoru folded his arms over his chest and stared at the floor, thinking. Rinally kept silent, her fingers twined together and held close to her stomach.
Kaoru finally looked up at Rin. “The spell reengaged because someone made it. If it wasn’t the Beast and it wasn’t Belle, then it has to be someone else.”
“But who?” Rinally asked.
“I think that’s what we’re here for. To find out and stop them.”
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- 9
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Kingdom Hearts: Dark Dawn