Kairi sighs as she sinks into her chair in her private studies. It’s been a few years since the Keyblade War, her coronation of being Queen of Radiant Garden, and reconstructing the broken world. The world came a long way with how it was Hollow Bastion to what it is now--the city is much better than it’s old self.
Being elected as Queen at the age of 19 to now, age 23 of the blooming world, Kairi rested her head on her desk. “Taking a nap, Your Majesty? I recommend you rest in your bed.” She turned her head to see her trusted advisor and a long lost childhood friend, Ienzo. He was her mage when her, him, and Aeleus--a trusted palace guard--journeyed together. Kairi signs again while tilting her head upright with her chin still resting on top of her desk. “A nap does sound nice right not, but I still have many things to do.” Ienzo placed a cup of hot coffee in front of her. “Surely the caffeine will boost your energy.” Kairi straightened her back then took a sip of the hot drink. “Unfortunately, caffeine doesn't give me the boosted energy I need anymore. Rather, it just speeds up my heart rate causing me to be jittery and use the bathroom more frequently.” She takes another sip. “Still, thank you for making this. You’re coffee is better than Dilan’s.” Ienzo tilts his head with an upward eyebrow. He takes the seat in front of her and relaxes. “Munny for your thought?” The young queen hummed in thought while looking at the coffee. She is having an internal debate whether or not to tell him what Master Yen Sid and King Mickey told her a few weeks ago. “Come in.” The door to Master Yen Sid’s study opened revealing Kairi in black long-sleeve loosely tucked in a floral A-line skirt paired with black ankle boots with silver buckles. Her hair has certainly grown in length; it’s already reached passed the middle of her back. “It has been a while, Queen Kairi. I trust things are progressing well?” The old yet still powerful Keyblade Master and Sorcerer asked. Kairi beamed a smile as she joined her master and comrade, King Mickey, at the table. “It has been a long time, Master Yen Sid, King Mickey. Restoring Radiant Garden was a tough process, but the world is much better. You two should visit sometime.” “Of course! I can’t wait to see how much has changed.” Mickey chimed. The trio caught up with things as of late until Master Yen Sid brought up the main reason why he brought his students here. “Kairi,” The serious tone in her Master’s voice has her full attention. “While it is great to hear you are ruling Radiant Garden with little problems, I believe that it’s time for you to consider marriage.” Kairi’s eyes widened as her lips parted slightly. “Pardon?” She looked to Mickey, who looked rather uncomfortable. “M-marriage? Don’t think it’s a bit sudden?” “Well,” Mickey started, “Master Yen Sid and I talked about it and we both agree that you should find a suitable man to marry and help you rule Radiant Garden.” “Are you saying that I can’t rule my queendom just because I’m a woman?” “No! We’re proud of you to be the rightful ruler of Radiant Garden, but…” Mickey has to be careful with his next words, “Don’t you think you should start considering getting married and having a family of your own?” Kairi opened her mouth to say something, but she caught herself. “...I have thought about getting married and starting a family, but nothing like this. Not to mention, I haven’t had the time as of late!” She looked down at her hands. “Besides, who would marry me and try not to take my world from me?” Mickey placed his hand on top of hers. “Kairi, we’re not asking you to find a husband right way. We’re just asking you to start considering it for the future.” “Kairi,” She slowly looks at her Master’s face, “You are an excellent Keyblade Warrior and astonishing Sorceress. With your strong heart and wits, you govern your queendom better than what the previous rulers did. You are selfless; however, you should also take the time to find a suitable husband.” The young queen looked down at her hands once more. “I suppose you are right. If I’m to continue ruling, I wouldn’t want to rule alone.” “You’re not alone! You have your advisors and guards to help you.” “Yes.” She paused. “I guess the only problem really is who will be my future husband and king. I don’t want to just marry someone who has intentions of overthrowing me for his selfish desires.” She let out an embarrassed smile. “I also hope none of you planned an arranged marriage for me.” “Oh, no! We wouldn’t do that to you! We want you to decide when you’re ready.” She smiled in turn. “Regarding who, there are a few potential suitors.” Master Yen Sid stated. Kairi only blinked in response. “Perhaps the other Keyblade Warriors would be best.” Her eyes widened. “As in Sora or Riku?!” “There’s also Lea...and Ventus.” Mickey added despite being hesitant to say Ven’s name. The young queen frantically looks between the two. “I can’t impose such a heavy burden to Sora or Riku! They have their own lives and homes in Destiny Islands! And-and Lea is ten years older than me! He’s 33!” “As you know, there’s really no age limit in love and in marriage.” Her Master’s words caused her to blush. “T-true. But still! And Ventus is technically the same age as Lea. He...just looks young because he’s been asleep so his body didn’t physically age that much.” Not to mention, Ven is also Lea’s best friend. Kairi looks up when her master lets out a chuckle. “You have a point. We will not force you to choose and you don’t have to rush.” “Right.” It’s been a week since she met with her Master and the King; she still thinks about what they said about her getting married. Sure, she had thoughts about it--back in Destiny Islands, she figured she’d marry someone she loves and have a family of her own while being the Mayor. After she found out about her original home world--Radiant Garden--is in need of another ruler, she was given this position. Naturally, this caused internal conflict of the young redhead. The Keyblade War against Xehanort just ended and not even a month later was she called by her Master and the King to discuss her position as the Queen. The Restoration Committee thought she’s a suitable person being she is a Keyblade Warrior and the Princess of Heart of Radiant Garden. They also knew that she’d be uncertain since it’s a heavy burden. Regardless, she took the position because she felt it was the right decision. It’s not as if she was entirely alone; the Restoration Committee and Ansem’s old Apprentices helped her regain her old memories of what the world used to look like and use that data to transform the world to a more modern one. There are still elements of the old world present, but for the most part it’s changed. Ienzo noticed that his young queen has been spacing out more than usual after she returned from her meeting with the old Sorcerer and the mouse King. The youngest apprentice and advisor thought it they discussed something that requires careful consideration. As of late, she’s been spacing out to the point where he has to repeatedly call her name out and give her a look of worry. “I’m fine, really! I just have a lot on my mind.” She says each time he asks her. “Clearly.” He isn’t the only one to notice; the other apprentices and former Organization XIII members also noticed. Since her return, they’ve seen her trip over nothing, they’d hear her mumble some things to herself. She also distanced herself from Lea, or is at least a little awkward towards him. “Did I do something to upset you?” Lea asked her right after a meeting ended. “No.” She blinked at him. “Really? Then why do you distance yourself from me then?” He leans in close to her face and she only blinks. Right when she was about to say something, he pulls away. “Could it be that you’ve finally fallen for me?” “Excuse me?” She gave him a look while crossing her arms. “Oh, this outta be good.” Braig joked. “Now, I knew this would happen, but I can’t blame you. I mean, who could resist these charms?” Lea places a hand under his chin and gave a grin to prove a point. Kairi only gave him an unimpressed look. “I’m not sorry to disappoint you, Lea, but you’re charms aren’t enough to make my heart flutter.” A smile made way. “And that’s coming from a Princess of Heart.” Snickers and stifled laughs were heard as the older redhead gaped at his queen. Kairi only wrinkled her nose in mirth as she spun around and walks away with Ienzo and Isa smirking. “Oh~! Rejected by Her Majesty herself!” Edym taunted. One day, Kairi realized that her guards and advisor weren’t in the palace. Ienzo is attending business with Even about the new science department, Lea and Isa are with Leon training the new recruits, Edym is checking on the water systems, Arlene is checking on the electrical systems, Dilan is busy with preparing food for the day, Aeleus is patrolling the grounds, Braig is with Cid discussing on new weapons, Rould is checking on the business markets, Lumiara is checking on the landscaping. Taking this chance of finally being alone, the young Queen decides to visit Aerith and Yuffie to discuss about some things. “Man that Leon is a pain. He’s even worse than you, Isa.” Lea said. “You’re lucky it’s not me being in charge of training the new recruits.” The bluenette remarked. “Yeah. You would have scared them off!” Edym remarked yet shrunk when he saw the bluenette’s glare. Ienzo only rolled his eyes, but then stopped in his tracks. “Her Majesty?” The other men stopped to follow their youngest member’s line of vision. Their young Queen is standing in front of the fountain in the Main Square. It appears that she’s in a daze for she doesn’t sense their presence. “Wonder what’s she doing here.” Lea remarked. “Queen Ka--HMMMPH?!” Lea quickly covered Edym’s mouth. “Quiet, you idiot! We shouldn’t let her see us!” He roughly whispered. “Indeed. We should follow her and see what she’s up to.” Isa suggested. Ever since Kairi accepted him back into their homeworld and gave him a position as one of her personal guard, he re-learned to care for her. Even he questions his Queen’s behavior. Ienzo conjured a stealth spell to conceal their presence and mute their noise to the others. Kairi already sensed their presence and knew that Ienzo would use a spell to hide them as they trail her around. She decides to play oblivious and let them follow her...to a certain degree. “Queen Kairi!” She turned her head to see the ever energetic Yuffie and the ever calm Aerith approach her. “So why did you call us?” “How about we talk somewhere private? I don’t want to talk about it out in the open.” “Is something wrong, Your Majesty?” “Yeah! You’ve been out of it ever since you got back from Master Yen Sid’s place.” Yuffie suddenly leaned in too close for Kairi’s comfort. ‘What did he do?” Kairi sighed with her shoulders slacking. “C’mon. Let’s go somewhere else.” She began walking with the others following. “Don’t you think this is a little weird? She’s just hanging out with those two.” Edym stated. “Her Majesty hasn’t been herself as of late and if she’s going to tell those two, we may as well listen in.” Ienzo stated. “Who knew little Ienzo was nosy.” Lea teased. “You of all people should know how nosey I can be. I am merely concerned with Her Majesty.” “They went inside that cafe!” Edym informed. “So what did you want to talk about?” Aerith asked after they ordered their food. Kairi looked outside of the windows; she can sense the others are coming closer. She conjures an illusion to throw them off. “Ugh, Queen Kairi? Everything okay?” Yuffie leans in closer to the young queen’s face. “Yeah. I’m just making sure there aren’t people trying to eavesdrop.” The other two women look at each other. “What’s going on?” Kairi took a moment before speaking. “Remember when I met with Master Yen Sid and King Mickey?” The two nod their heads. “They suggest that I start finding a suitable husband and future king.” “WHAT?” The cafe became silent at the sudden examination. “Sorry about that.” Kairi said. The patreons carry on with their agenda as the others recovered. “So marriage?!” Yuffie whispered. “Well, if you think about it, she is young and in her prime. Sooner or later, she’ll have to have a family of her own.” Aerith reasoned with Yuffie nodding. “And to pass it down to the next generation.” The ninja added. They paused to say thanks as a server brought their food to the table. “What else did they say?” Kairi took a sip of her drink first. “Master Yen Sid said that Riku, Sora, and Lea are good suitors, but I’m not really sure.” “You know, I thought you and Sora would have hit it off.” Yuffie says. “I don’t deny that I had feelings for him. However, after training with the Keyblade and then the War with Xehanort, I don’t feel the same way towards Sora.” “And Riku?” Aerith hinted. “I had some feelings for him too. Actually,” Kairi’s face turned a shade of light pink, “I started developing feelings for him during my training. He taught me many things and then I got the feelings all of a sudden.” “How do you feel about them now? You three haven’t seen each other often anymore.” “Yeah.” The young queen leaned back in her chair. “I don’t have romantic feelings for either of them anymore. Not to mention, I feel bad for placing a heavy burden on either of them. I know that Sora isn’t one to sit still and fill paperwork; he can make some irrational decisions if not given enough information. Riku, on the other hand, is more of a conservative type. Patient and logical, yet he can sometimes get too caught with himself about the past.” “Lea?” Yuffie suggests. “You do realize he’s ten years older than me, right?” “So? There’s no age limit when it comes to love.” Kairi made a face causing the other two to giggle. “There are plenty of couples with major age differences as long as one isn’t a minor.” “True.” “The age difference isn’t the only thing, is it?” “Partly. I’ve always considered Lea to be like the older brother I never had. Even when I don’t completely remember the past, I do remember that he and Isa would always babysit me. When I joined the Organization, he was assigned to look out for me. Then came the training together then the war and now, he’s one of the royal palace guards. “ Kairi took a bite out of her scone and chewed slowly. “I did thought about him as a suitor. He’s one of the original residents before the Fall. He helped build the world it is today. He’s there when I needed someone to talk to. As you know, he’s like fire. It can be hard to maintain sometimes and it can go out of control in the next moment. I know he isn’t like that, but I don’t want to burden him as well.” “So does this mean Isa is also out of the question?” Yuffie asks. “Isa?” Kairi took a moment to think about it. “Hmm...I’m not sure. He is best friends with Lea. He’s loyal, I admit. He’s stern and reserverved. Although I’ve seen him go Berserk before and it’d be hard for anyone else to snap him out of it. He hasn’t gone Berserk in a long time, but who’s to say that he won’t go Berserk and harm the innocent? Plus, I think he deems himself unworthy for all of the things he did during his time in the Organization. Every now and then, he’d talk about what he did in the past and still have some guilt within him.” Kairi made a face. “They also suggest Ventus since he’s about my age. If you really think about it, he’s actually ten years older than me like Lea and Isa.” “Ventus, huh? I don’t know him too well so I don’t know what to make of him.” Yuffie shrugs. “I feel the same way. I mean, he’s a nice guy. He definitely reminds me of Sora and a little bit of Riku. However, he and Roxas are identical in terms of looks. Like, exactly identical. Surely there are few differences such as their personality and eyes.” “Then what’s wrong with going out with him?” Kairi hesitates. “Appearance and personality aside, I’m not sure about him. He’s been through a lot and I’m not sure if he would consider dating me. What’s more is to consider being king of this world.” “Okay. If not those three, then maybe Edym?” “Edym, huh?” Kairi suddenly giggles. “I don’t think he’ll like the idea of doing a lot more activities and services than he does now. He hates doing paperwork, he may not be the brightest of the bunch or the strongest either. He’s mostly aloof, but he knows when to get serious. To be honest, I can’t see him as a king.” “Yeah! He’s perfect as the Royal Jester!” “Yuffie.” Aerith lightheartedly scolder. “Then how about Ienzo?” “Ienzo?!” Kairi is quite taken aback. “Oh yeah! He’d be a good match!” “But-!” “Think about it: he’s the closest age to you. You two know each other since you were kids. Man, I remember you two were very close that I wished you two would get together later on.” Aerith places her drink on the table. “In addition, he fought along with you during your journey. You two fought side-by-side against Young Xehanort and won. He’s your advisor so he knows you the best out of everyone.” “He’s really smart.” Yuffie adds with a tone. “He’s tactful.” Aerith adds. “He’s quite the looker especially when he uncovers his face.” Yuffie waves her hand in the air and Kairi’s jaw dropped with a laugh. “Oh my gosh!” The redhead covered her eyes laughing. “See! See! Even you agree! You know he’s quite attractive” Kairi, her face covered with one hand, shakes her head while laughing. She sighs then drinks her iced coffee. In the meantime… “Dammit, Kairi!” Lea shouts against the songs they’ve been trapped to listen to. Edym is singing along with a little dance. Isa and Ienzo have their arms crossed with the occasional twitch of the eye. “Can’t you get us out?” “Her illusion magic is unfortunately superior than mine. Knowing her, she probably casted a double illusion spell that could be far worse than this.” “UGH!” Lea slammed his palms against his ears to block this noise. “Seriously, Your Majesty! You should give him a try! Besides, who else would be more fitting that him?” “That is true….I just don’t think he’d be interested in me.” Aerith and Yuffie exchange glances. “Trust us, Queen Kairi.” Aerith grabs her hand for reassurance. “I’m sure he feels the same to you.” “Eh? How can you tell?” “For someone who’s very bright, you can be so dull sometimes” Yuffie sighs with shake of her head. “What do you mean?!” “How about this: starting today, pay more attention to Ienzo. See how he acts around you and what you do and say. You’ll be surprise!” “Hm...I’ll give it a try.” Both women smiled at each other. Kairi looked out the window and can see that her men are still trapped in her illusion. She almost felt sorry for them. Almost, but not enough. She finishes her meal then puts the money on the table. “Well, I best head back. I have many things to do.” “Do you want us to walk you back?” “No. I’ll be okay. I need some time alone to think about what we talked about.” “If you say so.” The three of them said goodbye outside of the cafe then parted ways. When Kairi is in a secluded area, she snaps her fingers to break the illusions. A grin crept onto her face as her guards and advisor lay on the floor defeated. Well, Edym looks happy. “So, how was the music?” “You knew we were following you!” Lea accused. “Of course!” “If you knew, then why didn’t you say anything?” “Because I knew you’d try to eavesdrop anyway.” “What was so important that you had to trap us in your illusions?” Kairi posed in her signature carefree and flirty stance. “I’m not telling. If it was so important, I would’ve already told you guys.” The four men sigh, but follow her back to the palace. Like what Aerith and Yuffie told her before, Kairi became more observant towards Ienzo. She didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary until one meeting she had with the rest of the staff--the Restoration Committee, the Former Organization XIII members, and other residential community representatives. During this meeting, they are discussing possible trades with other worlds aside from Destiny Islands and Disney’s Castle. Kairi herself has thought about such action since there are only so much that those two worlds can provide. There’s the issue with the land beyond the Outer Gardens--the Heartless has returned. “I will personally conduct an investigation to see how grave the Heartless are. So please, inform the locals that they are not to go beyond the borders. We’ve suffered many losses as it is.” Kairi writes a reminder in her own agenda. “Anything else about this subject before we move on?” She looks across the room then lands on Ienzo who opens to speak. “I have a theory.” At her nod, he proceeds. “We have two Keyblade Master, yourself and Lea. While you two are powerful in your own rights, Her Majesty’s Light is strong enough to eliminate countless of Heartless.” Kairi irks an eyebrow upward. “You’re suggesting that I expand my Light throughout the world.” “Perhaps not the entire world because not everyone is able to travel beyond the border. If you expand your Light to cover the Kingdom, then we’d have less to worry about our citizens being victims to the Darkness.” Kairi nods with a sigh. “While that is a great idea, you have to realize that I can’t be the only one to maintain the Light. The people in this Kingdom also retain some Light within themselves. I can, however, provide a barrier with my own Light as the primary protection. I also ask that the People aid me to strengthen the barrier.” “We are always willing to aid our Queen for the benefit of our Home, but how can we help with you the barrier?” “As I said before, all of you hold a fraction of Light that will never go out. So long as you believe in me and what is right, the barrier will get even stronger. Naturally, we will have backup plans in event that something happens to the barrier but I will talk more with Leading Scientists Even and Ienzo.” She sees the two said men nod their heads. “When we come up with solutions, I’ll be sure to inform you all.” Kairi offers a smile of reassurance. “Now, onto the next topic.” As she looked down to her agenda, she also saw a glimpse of Ienzo smiling. Is it just her or was his smile different? The long meeting ended on a good note; Kairi and her guards watch the representatives leave the meeting room. The young queen finally stood up to stretch. “Shall we have lunch in the garden?” Ienzo suggests. “That’d be nice.” They all have lunch outside where the weather is perfect. Kairi took the time to look Ienzo; she made it seem like she’s looking at something else. “Is something wrong, Your Majesty?” Kairi inhaled then took a sip of her iced tea. “I’m thinking about your idea. It’s logical and achievable, but we’ll need something more than just Light.” “Hey now. We just got out of a meeting--a long meeting mind you. How about you ease your mind for a while, huh?” Lea suggested followed by a yawn. “He’s right. While we covered important topics, you need to rest.” Isa adds. The young queen hums in response as she sips her tea again.
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