The Queen Of Hearts (Kingdom Hearts Story)

In The Deepest Darkness There Will Be Light

Worried emerald-colored eyes caught his attention first. A tanned girl sat beside him, half of her dark brown hair was tied up into two buns while the other half is let down.

When seeing that her blue-eyed friend is awake, she smiles. She zips a sweater over her sleeveless black shirt and beige shorts to guard her body from the faint chill in the air. She offers him a hand and releases a relieved sigh.

"I'm glad you're okay, Sora" she says, lending him a hand.

Rather than accepting the hand offered, he stares into the distance. The two had not escaped the darkness yet, but he felt relieved just to have her by his side. While looking into the distance, he felt himself crack a bit. He didn't understand anything.

Was this all a dream or not? Could he really dream of something so surreal and terrifying. If it wasn't for his friend, he would still be sinking into the deepest abyss. If it wasn't for his friend, it's possible that he could have died.

Tears welled up in his eyes. He submits to the rush of overwhelming emotions filling his body. He curls into himself, clutching his head in his hands as he starts to shake. The shaking from his body lessens as he feels a pair of arms wrap around him.

Sora closes his eyes and takes a deep breath as he calms his racing heart. He takes her freckled hand into his and traces over it with his thumb, the mere contact relieving him slightly. He can tell that she is still worried for him, so to relinquish this he works up a grin.

She smiles back and pulls him back onto his feet. The two finally start to take the entire area into account. As expected, they are surrounded by darkness, only the littlest of light shining from overhead. They stand atop a green platform with a young woman on it.

Hair as black as night, skin as white as snow and pursed red lips. An apple is held in her left hand and her eyes are closed as though in a deep sleep. As Sora takes in his surroundings, there is one question he asks on a loop, like a broken record.

"Akira, where are we?" he eventually voices.

He winces a bit when hearing his own gravelly voice. It was weak, and his throat dry. Akira takes little notice of this, instead focusing on the unusual terrain. She faintly shrugs her shoulders, a bit absent-minded and scatterbrained. She did not know much more than Sora, having only awakened a few moments before Sora.

"I don't know" she answered simply.

She started to shiver, but not from the chill. It felt as though there were eyes watching their every move. Sora recognized the shift in Akira as she became attentive.

He looks around warily as he feels the air grow thick. The silence and tension is cut by a light voice addressing the two. The voice was just above a whisper, sounding far off.

"So much to do, so little time..." The voice commented.

Sora and Akira found it difficult to question anything anymore. Everything was so obscure. Even the new voice was enigmatic with its message, words that hold little meaning to the two.

"Take your time. Don't be afraid. The door is still shut" the voice assured.

It felt as though the voice heard their confused thoughts, but did little to answer any of their questions. Despite the two still being unaware of what was happening, they did ease up a bit, the voice somehow comforting them. Sensing this, the voice spoke up again.

"Now, step forward. Can you do it?"
The voice questioned.

Sora and Akira share a wary look. It was a simple command, a bit too simple. They communicate with their eyes, shooting curious looks and urging the other to step forward. The air became thick once again and the two could tell that the disembodied voice was impatient.