A Princess of Heart? Part 4 (Sora X Reader)

Maleficent was unlike anyone you'd ever seen before.

Her skin was a pale green and her eyes were bright yellow. She was tall and thin. A long black gown hung from her willowy frame, but most of it was covered by a cape that clung to her shoulders and got wider as it went down her body, eventually the fabric spreading out on the ground around her like a trail. In her bony hand she held a staff of some sort. On the top was an orb that looked equally as sinister as she did.

But what surprised you the most were the horns. There were two that had sprouted on the top of her head. They were thick around the base and got thinner as it went up, ending with sharp points. You could not tell the color of the horns. Maleficent had a black fabric that covered them, along with the sides of her face and neck as well.

"You have come," Maleficent whispers. She sits on top of a throne. She leans back casually when she brings her yellow eyes to yours. "Good."

"You said you have information on Riku," you say, ignoring her searing gaze even as goosebumps materialize on your arms. "Where is he?"

Maleficent smiles. There is a wicked gleam in her eyes. "Ah, yes. Dear Riku. He is in immediate danger and you are so desperate to find him. Tell me, child, what is your name?"

"__________" you say, lifting your chin in defiance. "Now tell me where he is."

"We're not here to play games," Sora adds. "Either tell us or we'll be on our way."

Maleficent inspects one of her nails, which just so happen to be filed into sharp points like her horns. "I have terms that you must agree to in exchange for the information you seek."

"Well tell us!" Donald quacks. "We don't have all day!"

She peers at him through thick lashes, an amused expression crossing her face. "Yes, you have limited time. Such a feeling that fills you with sorrow, yes?"

Ignoring her mind games, Sora looks around the room before narrowing back on her. "Where's Pete?" he demands. "I'm sure he's around here somewhere!"

Maleficent laughs. Even it sounds evil. "Pete has become quite the nuisance. I got rid of him."

You don't want to think about how she "rid" of him. All you can think about is the time that you and your friends are wasting by indulging in her mind games. "What do we have to do to get information?" you ask.

"I want Kairi's keyblade. When the time comes for me to take it, you will not do anything to stop me. That is all I ask. If the four of you give me your word, I will give you the information you seek."

Sora's face turns red. "No! It's already in bad enough hands as it is! Who knows what could happen if it ends up in your hands!"

Donald and Goofy nod in agreement. Donald lifts his wand in defense.

Maleficent nods. Her face smooths over. "Very well. You may leave."

Sora and the others turn around.

"Wait!" you say. "What about Riku? I can't just let the darkness have him!"

Maleficent looks at me for a moment. A smug look crosses her face. "He will surrender to the darkness in less than two days, I'm sure. You will not be able to find the information to his whereabouts in time. Therefore, you might as well give up this charade."

"Wait a minute!" you say, and point a finger at her. "Did you take him? Are you the one controlling the darkness?"

Sora, Donald, and Goofy turn back around, waiting for an answer.

Seconds pass. Maleficent brings a hand to her chest. "Why, no. Unfortunately, even I am not strong enough. Whoever has your friend holds more power than any of us."

You turn to Sora and the others. "I have to find him," you plead. "I need the information."

Sora shakes his head, a sad look in his eyes. "If Maleficent were to have control of Kairi's keyblade there's no telling what she would be capable of."

Maleficent laughs. "You are all fools. What do you think is in store for your dear friend Riku if he turns to the darkness? He could be unstoppable."

"We have to do this," you reiterate. "We don't have a choice."

Sora looks to Donald and Goofy. They are looking at you. You give them a pleading look, knowing that if they refuse you will not be able to get to Riku in time. You can feel every second wasted is one more second that Riku suffers.

Sora looks at you. He nods. "Okay." He turns to Maleficent. "We agree to your terms."

Maleficent smiles. Her golden eyes light up in glee. "You will not stop me?"

"No."

"All of you?"

Sora nods. "We will not stop you."

Maleficent leaves her throne and saunters down to us. She circles the four of us. "Good. The deal has been made. I will give you your information. However, if you do try to stop me from taking the keyblade, I will end all of you. Permanently."

She smiles.

"Riku is in Twilight Town. You will find him there." She turns to me. "However, he might not be the Riku you have always known. Darkness does much damage to anything it grabs onto. And he is, in fact, a weak vessel. Go to him, for his time is nearly up."

With a swoop of her cape, she turns back to her throne.

"Where in Twilight Town?" Sora calls out. "That world is huge! We'll never find him in time!"

Maleficent looks over her shoulder at the four of you. "I do not know. Though I am sure there will be others to help you." She sighs, looking at Sora this time. "You always could find friends anywhere you went."

"That's because I care for others. If you would only allow the light to visit your soul, you could become so much greater," Sora says with passion.

Maleficent waves him away with the flick of her hand. "Nonsense. The darkness is so much more powerful. I shall keep it close to my heart." She sits back down on the throne. With a snap of her fingers, a crow comes from out of nowhere and lands by her side. "Remember, children, you must keep your end of the bargain. If not, I will kill all of you." She smiles sweetly. "You may leave now."

You and your friends do not waste time in leaving. Despite Maleficent's ominous threats, you are elated with happiness. You can find Riku in time! There is no way that anyone will be able to stop you.

I'm close, you think to Riku. Don't give up.

It does not take long for the gummi ship to reach Twilight Town. Unlike your first time at landing, this one is much smoother. The gummi ship lands without so much as a scrape. Goofy is pleased at his flying and Sora gives him a pat on the back, a proud look on his face.

There, in that moment, you want to go to Sora. You want to wrap your arms around his waist and hear the thump of his heartbeat. You want to revel in his embrace. His lips would be only inches away and you could lift your head up and...

"__________, are you okay?" Donald quacks. "You've got a faraway look on your face."

Your cheeks turn red from embarrassment. "Y-yes, I'm fine. Thank you."

The four of you exit the gummi ship and find yourself in front of a train station. You glance around at the area- it's large and spacious- and marvel at the sunset in the sky. It's beautiful- a mixture of reds, oranges, purples, and pinks. Sora stands beside you. When you whisper "beautiful", he nods and says "I know" but he is not looking at the sunset. He's looking at you.

"Sora..." you say to him. There are so many things that you want to say to him. You want to tell him how compassionate he is for others. You want to tell him that he is fearless. There is a light inside of his soul that you don't think could ever be snuffed out. You want to tell him that it's beautiful- his soul. But you don't have the words to say it with.

"Yes?" he questions. His face is soft and serious when he looks at you.

You shake your head. Fear gets the best of you. "Thank you for accompanying me. I know that I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, Donald, and Goofy. I owe you guys big time."

Sora nods and smiles, but you can see the disappointment there. "I would do it all over again for you. I don't regret a minute of it."

You smile. You can feel the truth in his words.

"Guys, look!" Goofy snorts. "It's Hayner!"

A wide grin breaks out on Sora's face as he turns around and embraces the boy called Hayner. His blonde spiky hair is partly slicked back on his head and he's wearing camouflage pants. When he catches you staring at him, he gives you a small wave.

"Hayner." Sora lets go of him and turns to you. "This is ________."

Hayner smiles. "It's nice to meet you. So, what are you guys doing here? I didn't think I'd see you around for a while."

"A couple days ago ___________'s friend Riku went missing after a fight with the darkness. We've got information that he's here in Twilight Town. We've come to save him," Goofy says proudly, puffing out his chest.

"Is that so?" Hayner says thoughtfully. "Well, things have been pretty strange around here. Those heartless creatures have been terrorizing everyone again. If the darkness has your friend, you're going to be in for the fight of your life."

Donald and Goofy groan. Sora sighs. You don't know what to say. You knew that this wasn't going to be easy. Whoever is controlling the darkness is powerful beyond any means. You only hope that what Sora said was right- that the keyblade will come to you when you summon it.

"Where's Pence and Olette?" Donald asks. "After all this is over, Pence owes me a game of cards."

"They're back at the hideout." Hayner points to the gummi ship. "When I heard the touchdown, I came to investigate." He puts in arm around Sora and you. "Come on, you guys. It's not safe to be out in the open like this with all the heartless around."

"What?" Sora exclaims. "You know we can take 'em!"

Hayner chuckles. "Right. I know. But I can't and I'd prefer to get to the hideout. It's about the only place around here that isn't infested with those bloody creatures." He leads us to an alley. "Besides, we can work out a plan to get your friend back."

You and the others are just about to take a turn onto another street when who you think to be Olette and Pence come barreling down another street. Their faces are wide with fear and their clothes are cut into pieces. They look like they've just fought for their lives.

When they reach you, Olette nearly falls into Hayner's arms. He lifts her up and cradles her face in his hands. "What happened?" he says to her.

"A boy... there were heartless... so much darkness... we ran," Pence panted out. His face was ashen and he looked like he was about to fall over.

"A boy?" you say. Fear grips your stomach.

Pence nods. "He said his name was Riku."

"Oh, no!" Goofy shouts.

"Poor Riku!" Donald cries out.

Sora grabs you. It's only then that you realize that you almost toppled over. I'm too late, you think wearily. The Riku I know is gone. There is a pain in your heart that would have sent you to your knees if Sora had not been holding you up. You try to catch your breath but it's useless. I've failed.

"That's not all," Pence croaks out.

Everyone looks up at him expectantly. Pence's face has grown dark with dread. Your stomach clenches as you wait for him to speak again. Sora holds onto you even tighter. Hayner even looks up from consoling Olette.

"There's a girl with him. I-I've seen her before but I can't remember her name. But there was darkness everywhere. I think she might have been controlling it," Pence says.

Sora winces. "What did she look like?"

"Red hair, blue eyes. I-I remember meeting her before. She was nice. But now... now there's darkness inside her. She-she was hurting people, Sora. And she enjoyed it."

Sora's face pales and then it is your turn to hold him up. He is shaking beneath you. Despair clouds his blue eyes and you wish more than anything that you could stop it. But you can't because you're grieving. All of you are grieving. There is nothing left to do but fight now.

"I... why has she done this?" Sora says softly. He looks up at me. A tear falls down his cheek. You wipe it away with your thumb. "The darkness... it's turned her into a monster."

You are afraid of the answer, but you speak anyways. "Who? Who is she?"

Sora looks away. His lips tremble when he speaks:

"The only person that could be strong enough to do this. The only person that I can't hurt. Because I can't. I can't do it, ______. I can't hurt her." He is pleading with me.

Your hearts stops. There is only one person that could cause Sora so much grief. There is only one person that he could not be able to kill. She is the girl whose picture is on the cave wall in Destiny Islands. She is the girl that Sora loved so deeply. The pieces all fit together so perfectly now. She is the one.

Kairi.