Sorrow's Promise

Chapter 40

Springlock02:  No, sadly, I didn't get the reference, but it was still funny.  :)  Glad you're still enjoying the story!

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I woke lying on my face, my pulse pounding through my temples. Groaning, I pried my eyes open and found myself staring at an unfamiliar purple stone wall. I picked my head up off the cold, hard floor slightly, and began to test out my limbs to make sure everything was still working alright. They were a bit stiff, and some spots were painful like they had been scraped or scratched, but other than that I was in one piece. What had happened, anyway? My memory of the last few minutes before waking was a little fuzzy. Oh, wait, I was in the snow, and Mr. Blue Hair had showed up...

I rolled over and sat up suddenly, which sent my head into an excruciating spin that made me gasp. As soon as I had recovered, I looked around wildly at my new surroundings. A prison cell. I was most definitely in some kind of jail, or dungeon, with one large, barred opening looking out into a stark white hallway. Immediately I thrust my right hand out in front of me to create a corridor out of there, but nothing happened. I tried again, this time flicking my wrist to summon my Keyblade. Still nothing. I could feel fear rising in my chest. What had they done to me? Why wasn't anything working?

"Are...you okay?" asked a small, female voice. "You've been unconscious for a while. I was...a little worried."

For the first time, I looked outside of my cell and realized that there was another just like it right across the hall. An auburn-haired girl wearing a pink dress stood at the bars, her face pressed up against them, watching me.

"Well, my head is killing me, I think some stupid Dusks tried to eat me alive, and none of my magic is working," I replied bitterly, examining the wounds on my arms and legs. "So I guess I've been better."

"Oh," the girl responded quietly. "I'm...sorry."

I glanced back up at her, feeling bad for snapping. "I'll survive," I remarked in a lighter tone. "Thanks for asking. I didn't mean to sound so...angry." Seemed like anger had become a much more common go-to emotion for me lately.

"That's alright. I'm sure you're scared, just like I was when I first got here."

I had heaved myself to my feet while she was talking, and now stepped closer to the bars so that I could see her better. "Kairi?" I exclaimed. "You're...you are Kairi, aren't you?" I don't know why it took me by surprise. Obviously, I had been kidnapped by the Organization just like she had, so it made sense that we would end up in the same place.

"Um...yes..." Kairi answered uncertainly. "How do you...know who I am?"

"Oh. I, uh...I'm a friend of Sora's. My name's Meli. We've been traveling together, fighting Heartless, and looking for you."

Kairi's face lit up. "Sora's looking for me?"

"Of course!" I exclaimed. "He was so upset when he found out that Axel had kidnapped you. We've been trying to find a way into the Realm of Darkness to get to you ever since."

"The Realm of Darkness...is that where we are?"

I shrugged. "Well, I assume. That's where we figured the Organization was hiding out, anyway." I leaned forward to touch my forehead to the metal bars and glanced up and down the empty hallway. "Have you seen or heard anything that might point to where we are or what they're up to?" Not that there was anything I could currently do about it, apparently, but I still wanted to know.

"Not really," Kairi sighed. "After Axel grabbed me, I got away and ended up in some place called Twilight Town. But he found me again there, and took me back into the darkness. Then we ran into Saix, who apparently Axel is scared of, and Saix ended up bringing me here."