Kingdom Hearts fic: All Strange Wonders - Chapter 1

[mistressofmuses]

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The first Sora heard of the moving castle was as a piece of gossip in the shop. It had been a slow day in Key and Blade, the small metalworks store his family owned. Sora was packing up a purchase for a customer while Xion wrote out their receipt, when a pair of women came through the door, already mid-conversation.

“—just this morning! Nearly gave him a heart attack, it did. It’s not right, a castle roaming about in the hills like that. Typical magic-users, not a care for us regular folk who don’t care for buildings moving around on their own. They’ve no business doing that.”

That was certainly a more interesting topic than Sora usually overheard in the shop, and he would have loved to eavesdrop further. Unfortunately, the customer he’d been assisting had a question, and by the time he’d answered it, the women had moved onto something else.

Though clearly they hadn’t been the only ones in Twilight Town talking about it, because that night at dinner, Roxas brought it up. “I heard something interesting in town today.”

“Oh?” their mother asked.

“Apparently there’s a moving castle up in the hills north of town. Mo-ving.” He enunciated each syllable. “It just appeared up there, and now it’s wandering around, by magic.”

Sora almost choked as he tried to speak with his mouth full. Xion passed him a cup of water. Finally he managed, “A couple customers in the shop mentioned it too. How does something like that get there?”

“That’s got to take a lot of power,” said Xion. “Having an entire castle moving around? Think how complex a spell that would be.”

“I bet it’s the Warlock of the Wasteland,” said Roxas.

Even their mother looked alarmed at that. “Let’s not jump to any wild conclusions.” She kept her voice firm, despite the fact she’d grown a bit pale. “The Wasteland is clear on the eastern edge of the country. I very much doubt the Warlock would come all this way for any reason.”

Sora hoped she was right. The Warlock of the Wasteland was the most powerful magic-user anyone had seen in centuries. Unfortunately, he was also dangerous. He’d plagued the country for more than a hundred and fifty years, and the sporadic news from the capital made it sound like his threats had grown more serious lately.

A few months before, one of the king’s advising counselors had been taken, supposedly kidnapped by the Warlock. A second council member had gone after the first, and had likewise not been seen since. The king had forbidden any further attempts at rescue. And the more time that passed, the less likely it seemed there would be anything left to rescue.

“If two members of the council, both heroes of the realm, couldn’t stop him, then what would keep him from going wherever he wanted?” Roxas asked.

“Please.” Xion rolled her eyes. “We’re pathetically below the notice of someone like the Warlock. With the kind of power he has, he’d have no reason to wander through the hills. Not here.”

“He could,” Roxas protested, setting off a brief, mild shoving match between the two of them.

Sora finished his dinner while their mom broke up the squabble with a stern glare.

He hoped Xion was right. Twilight Town was small and quiet, the kind of place where nothing interesting ever happened. And for once, that was likely a very good thing.

---

Over the following days, it seemed like the mysterious moving castle was the only thing anyone was talking about. Not that there was much competition.

Roxas had not been alone in his speculation, but to Sora’s relief, the castle did not evidently belong to the Warlock of the Wasteland after all.

The relief was mixed, though, as it seemed the actual owner was also wicked. He was similarly nameless, but soon everyone was referring to him as the Heartless Sorcerer.

As rumors kept spreading, soon people were talking about how not only was the sorcerer heartless, but that he stole and ate the hearts of others to make up for the lack. (Or possibly it was the souls that he stole, but pretty much everyone agreed that he was definitely eating hearts.)

The fear in the town was palpable; most of the townsfolk were reluctant to even go out after dark for fear that the Heartless Sorcerer would be hunting. Not that many people enjoyed being out after dark in the middle of winter, but even the holiday celebrations felt more subdued than usual.

“I don’t want any of you kids going out alone,” their mother told Sora, Roxas, and Xion. “Just until things settle down. But right now I don’t think anyone should be out by themselves.”

---

Even things as strange as a heartless sorcerer in a magic castle eventually became routine. People did stay off the roads at night, and traveled in pairs or groups, but otherwise things just settled into a new kind of normal.

Shortly after the new year, their mother gathered Sora, Roxas, and Xion together for a meeting.

“Now, I know that all three of you have been working in the shop, and it has to be clear to all of you that business is slow.”

They nodded. It was true. There’d been a small uptick in patrons right after the Heartless Sorcerer showed up. People had come in for small knives and charms for protection, plus there was the usual flurry of gift buying for the winter solstice. But after that, custom had all but dried up.

“Unfortunately, I’m afraid that means it’s been getting more and more difficult for the shop to support all of us. I think it might be for the best if you were to get apprenticeships elsewhere.”

Sora had no idea what to say to that, and it didn’t seem like Roxas or Xion did either.

“Sora,” she continued, “You’re the eldest, and so if there are no objections, I’d like to keep you on in the shop. Someday you’ll inherit it, and this might be the best opportunity for you to start learning more about the business.”

He nodded a bit numbly, but at the same time was relieved at the prospect. He’d worked in the shop for years; the idea of having to go somewhere else was vaguely terrifying.

“Roxas, Xion. Sunset Deliveries is taking on new apprentices right now. In addition to their courier service, they also take on odd jobs around town. It’s a wonderful way to get experience, and can give you an opportunity to try out several different types of work. If you find something you particularly enjoy, then you’ll have a trade you can move toward.”

Roxas and Xion didn’t seem overwhelmingly excited, but both agreed that it was what was best for the shop and the family.

After that there wasn’t much else to be done, and both Roxas and Xion packed their things to move into the company’s dorms at the other end of town. Sunset Deliveries had a nice building set aside for new apprentices to live in, since so many of the town’s youth worked there at some point.

This would be the first time since he was a very small child that Sora wouldn’t live with his siblings. The little house behind the shop felt terribly empty as soon as they were gone.

---

As with moving castles and rumors of wicked sorcerers, living and working without Roxas and Xion became a new routine.

Learning more of the business besides just working the sales counter meant that Sora didn’t have time for much else, including missing his siblings.

There were other workers who worked in a smithy outside of town, making the rough metal objects that would ultimately be sold at Key and Blade. But the items from the smithy had little resemblance to the finished products. Sora found that he actually quite enjoyed doing the finishwork. He filed, shaped, and polished the knives, tools, charms, jewelry, and other things they sold; fit them to handles and sheaths and embellishments; strung them on fine chains for wearing or display. The chance to make every item into something unique was the most rewarding thing about the store.

It was silly, and maybe a bit embarrassing, but he spent long enough in the shop alone that he took to talking to the wares as he worked on them. Sometimes he could just tell what an item was meant for, and part of him wanted the items to know it, too.

He’d talk to some of the small knives about their bravery, about how just their presence could give the wearer enough confidence not to even need a weapon. Others weren’t intended for self-defense, but for domestic use, so Sora praised them for their usefulness. He’d tell the ornate little locks and keys how trustworthy they were, how good they were at keeping secrets. He made a lovely amethyst necklace that he said was worthy of gracing the neck of an heiress, and flattered delicate little charms that they were as lucky as anyone could hope them to be.

But it was lonely. Sora was left to tend the shop on his own while his mom was busy with administrative tasks, or sourcing materials for the pieces he was making. And Sora’s work had proven to be quite popular, with several satisfied customers sending their friends to the shop afterwards.

He heard several glowing comments on his work:

“I think I got my first good night’s sleep in weeks! Finally a lock that won’t let that old door swing in on the first stiff breeze.”

“I swear, since I’ve had this knife with me I haven’t been even a little afraid on my way home each night, heartless sorcerer or no!”

“My herb garden has never looked better! I’ve never had them grow so well indoors. It’s like they love that little sculpture.”

It was a relief for the business, of course, especially after such a slow couple of months, though it started to wear on Sora, to make the wares and mind the shop to sell them. Even having one of his siblings there part-time would have been a relief.

Sora hadn’t seen either Roxas or Xion in a couple of months. They’d both gotten settled, and Sora imagined they were as busy as he was. They wrote notes to both their mother and to Sora, and always said they were doing well, learning all kinds of interesting things. It wasn’t the same as seeing them, but Sora was just glad they were happy.

Sora did sometimes consider trying to go and visit them, but always seemed to talk himself out of it. He was worried they were busy, or would be out on a delivery or some other job. He didn’t want to go all the way across the town just for them not to be there. And working long hours in the shop left him exhausted most days. The idea of having to leave seemed less and less appealing, especially as the dismal grey winter stretched on and on.

The days blurred together until his mother reminded him that the Equinox was coming up. A celebration of the first day of spring, and so far the weather seemed to be as keen to celebrate as everyone else. And almost more importantly, Key and Blade would be closed.

That seemed as promising a day as any: Sora resolved that he would go visit Roxas and Xion. They should also have at least part of the day off from their apprenticeships, and so he’d have no excuse not to.

---

The first day of spring was uncharacteristically lovely. Sora remembered plenty of years that had been marked by heavy, wet snow moving in the night before, leaving the cobblestone streets slick and miserable. Or else bitter cold snaps that left everyone ushering in spring from inside their warmest winter attire.

Sora pushed away the slight disappointment at the pleasant day. It was ridiculous, but he’d half counted on the weather giving him an excuse to stay in. But since it hadn’t cooperated, he had no reason not to go visit his siblings. And he knew that was still a ridiculous thing to think, because he wanted to see them, of course. So he had nothing to complain about.

Before he left, he picked up a pair of small knives he’d finished. Each of them was short, not a weapon so much as a tool, the kind he’d praise for their helpfulness. The spring equinox wasn’t really considered a gifting holiday, but it was fairly common to give small tokens to friends or family.

Sunset Delivery’s apprentice dormitory was on the west end of town, just about the farthest spot from Key and Blade. Twilight Town wasn’t large though, so it would be at most a twenty-minute walk.

Walking out of the house, through the little side yard that went around the shop, felt strange. Sora rarely left the house except to go into the shop, so leaving it behind, the door locked, seemed wrong. Like he was leaving the place he belonged.

He’d left early, but Market Street was already packed. It felt like he was practically the last one to head toward the center of town, with how many people jostled past him. Everyone was heading for the Common, the central square where most of the festivities were happening. There were plenty of smaller gatherings and parties as well, but the bulk of the food and drink and dancing would be there.

Sora weighed his options, trying to decide between following the crowds or aiming for the smaller back roads and alleys to avoid most of the people. Somewhat reluctantly, he decided that letting the foot traffic sweep him along was probably best. It might be worse once he’d crossed the Common and had to go against the flow of revelers, but for now, this would be fastest.

He’d been right about the drinking and dancing. The Common was crowded with couples and families and friend groups. There were pairs dancing, as well as some larger, traditional group dances. It was all accompanied by an enthusiastic band, playing selections of traditional melodies.

The clock tower, the tallest building in the Common, gave a cheerful chime that rang out over the sound of the music. Ten o’clock.

Sora paused at the edge of the square in a sheltered alcove, trying to catch his breath. Maybe he had been cooped up in the shop for too long; the number of people was completely overwhelming.

“Hello there.”

The voice startled him and he glanced around, sure that whoever it was must have been speaking to someone else, someone just to his other side, maybe. But no, he was alone.

He finally focused on the man who’d spoken. Sora didn’t recognize him. Twilight Town wasn’t quite so small that he would claim to know everyone, but he thought he’d at least recognize just about everyone who lived there, especially the ones near his own age. And this man would have stood out in any crowd.

His hair was a bright silver, cascading down past his shoulders. His clothing was finely tailored, more so than almost anything else Sora had seen, even on a holiday like this. It was all in shades of deep, steel grey, with accents of intensely bright blue-green. The stranger’s eyes were a paler version of that same blue-green. Almost too pale, as if they were made of glass, but still beautiful.

“Um,” Sora said, realizing he was probably expected to make some sort of comment in return.

“I did mean you,” said the stranger, giving a crooked half-smile that looked entirely too charming. “Enjoying your first day of spring?”

“Um… yes,” Sora managed. “Lovely weather.” He wanted to kick himself. That was small talk so pathetic it would have hurt to use on a customer, to say nothing of an attractive man inexplicably trying to start a conversation.

The stranger glanced up at the clear, cloudless sky. “For once,” he agreed. “Do you want to maybe get a drink? It looked like there was a stand doing a brisk trade in cider.”

Sora felt blood rush to his cheeks, and knew he had to be turning scarlet. He looked away. “Um.”

“Or if you don’t drink, that’s all right too. I’ve heard wonderful things about that bakery by the clock tower. ‘Plaza,’ I think it’s called? What’s your name?”

“S-Sora,” he stammered out. He wanted to get cider with the stranger, who really was astonishingly handsome. But more than that, he wanted to run away.

“Nice to meet you, Sora. Are you on your way somewhere?”

“Yes,” he said, glad to be on firmer conversational ground. “Visiting family.”

“Well, don’t let me keep you. I apologize if I made you nervous.”

It wasn’t you, Sora wanted to answer. I’m just like this.

Instead, he nodded.

“Maybe I’ll see you again,” the stranger said. “Safe travels.”

Sora rushed away along the edges of the Common after that, refusing to look up and risk eye contact with anyone else. He wondered who that man could possibly have been. He really had been lovely, and completely out of place.

Must have been, to even bother talking to you, the snide voice in his head mocked. Sora shook it off, and found the correct street that would take him to the western edge of town.

The crowds had thinned somewhat, making it easy to make his way to the dorms.

The building was set back from the road, behind a low-walled courtyard. A few young adults sat on a bench, chatting with each other. Sora recognized Hayner, Pence, and Olette. He cautiously raised his hand in greeting.

“Hey. Are Roxas and Xion here?”

Hayner gave him a slightly odd look that Sora couldn’t quite understand.

Just my luck, Sora thought. They headed into town and I missed them.

“I think Roxas is still inside,” Hayner finally answered. “You can go in. But tell him to hurry up; we’re waiting on him.”

“Thanks.”

Sora headed up the low set of stairs toward the front door.

“Third door on the right!” Olette called helpfully.

Sora headed in through a small entryway, then past a few doors on either side. Most of them were still open, and he could see each room was set up with two to four beds, and a few small shelves and drawers for personal belongings.

The third door on the right was also open, with Roxas sitting against the head of what was clearly his bed, writing something.

Sora almost sagged with relief, seeing his brother for the first time in far too long. He knocked on the doorframe, but didn’t wait for Roxas to look up before he rushed into the room.

Roxas dropped the paper he was writing on, but managed to collect himself well enough to catch Sora when he nearly collapsed on top of him. All the vague reluctance Sora had felt about coming to see his siblings evaporated. Roxas awkwardly returned the hug, until Sora pulled away, and sat a couple feet away on the side of the bed.

“Hey Sora. What was that about?”

“Just… glad to see you, I guess,” Sora said. “I feel like it’s been a long time, alone in the shop. I’ve missed you and Xion.”

“Same here,” Roxas said. “Of course we miss you. I’m sorry we haven’t been by, it’s just been… busy.”

Sora waved it off. He wasn’t upset about that. “The shop has been too. Mom has me doing the finishwork for a lot of the pieces, and business has definitely picked up.”

“That’s good to hear,” Roxas said.

“Where’s Xion?” Sora asked, glancing around as if she were somehow hiding in the room. He didn’t even know if Roxas and Xion were roommates; the bed on the opposite wall didn’t have anything to indicate its owner.

“She’s… out.”

“Already in town?” Sora asked. “I have to go back that way anyway. Oh, and Hayner and the others were outside waiting for you, by the way. If you know where she went, I can go meet her.”

Roxas chewed his lip for a moment.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Sora asked, eyes narrowed. Roxas looked guilty, an expression Sora could recognize on him a mile away.

“Xionisn’there.”

Sora blinked, trying to parse that into an actual set of words. “What?”

“She isn’t here!” Roxas said. He clapped a hand to his mouth, like he could somehow pull the words back.

It was clear from how he said it that Roxas didn’t just mean that Xion wasn’t in the dorm.

“What do you mean she’s not here? Is she okay?” Sora asked.

“She’s fine,” Roxas assured him. “At least her last letter said so.”

“Letter? Where is she?”

“Out in the eastern part of the valley,” Roxas said. “She’s still on an apprenticeship… just not here.”

Sora didn’t even know what else to say. Fortunately, Roxas filled the silence.

“We both started working here, right? And it’s been fine, I like it. Hayner and Pence and Olette and the others are my friends, and I get to see them every day. I like that we don’t do the same things all the time, that we do a lot of kind of random little jobs around town. But Xion was bored.”

“And?”

“We had a weird job, way up in the middle of nowhere into the valley, playing courier for a woman who lives out that way. Turns out she’s a witch, and—”

“Xion got cursed by a witch?” Sora asked, halfway to his feet. As if he had any business trying to break a curse.

“No!” Roxas protested, waving him back down. “Xion is fine! She just… stayed there. She met Naminé—she’s the witch—and Naminé said that Xion had a lot of magical potential. The kind she should seek out training for.”

“Xion has magic?”

“Yes. Stop interrupting me. Naminé said she should get training, because she could be a really good witch someday, but Xion said she didn’t know who could train her, because there aren’t any magic users in Twilight Town. So then Naminé offered to be her teacher, and Xion stayed. She’s been there about a month or so, now. I’ve traded letters with her a couple times, and she says she loves it there, and that she’s learning so much.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” Sora wanted it to just be a question, but it came out sounding small and hurt.

“Xion doesn’t want mom to find out, not yet. She wants to figure out how to tell her. But since you’re still at home, we were afraid you’d let it slip.”

Sora couldn’t really argue with that. He would have tried his best, but he was terrible at keeping secrets. Knowing that he wasn’t supposed to talk about something made it that much harder not to. “I guess.”

“Please don’t be upset. It’s just that we know mom will worry. Naminé is great, but it’s so far out in the valley, past the Heartless Sorcerer’s castle, and you know she’d panic about it. That’s also the real reason I haven’t come to visit. I promised Xion I’d keep it a secret as long as possible, at least until she learns enough to make it really obvious she has to stay there. But I knew that if you asked…”

“You’d spill the whole thing?” Sora raised an eyebrow. Considering how fast Roxas had blurted it out, neither of them had any business criticizing how bad Sora was at keeping a secret.

“Yeah,” Roxas admitted, fidgeting with the edge of the blanket. “It was easier just to pretend we were both so busy that all we could do was write. I’ve been able to copy her handwriting for years.”

Sora just sat for a moment, absorbing it all the best he could. His younger sister, off to be a witch? He was proud, even if it hurt a little that they’d kept it from him.

“Please try not to tell mom? Xion will tell her, she’s just not ready yet.”

Sora nodded. He would try his best.

“But what about you?” Roxas asked. “We’ve been worried.”

Worried? “What for? I’ve been all right. The store has been keeping me busy, but that’s a good thing.”

“I think busy is an understatement. The shop is doing more business than it has in years! I’ve heard half a dozen people raving about their purchases, and I was trying to figure out how mom had been able to afford to hire a new artisan, when things were so dire a few months ago that she couldn’t keep us all there. Then it turns out the new artisan is you. That’s too much for one person. Sora, you look exhausted.”

Sora had been tired, but he just shrugged. “Things will slow down, I’m sure, and I’ll be wishing for the busy days again. It’s probably just the equinox, people buying gifts. Oh! That reminds me…”

Sora rummaged through his bag and pulled out the pair of sheathed knives he’d brought. He handed one to Roxas.

Small as it was, the blade was sharp. The hilt had a little image of a key tooled into it, a little reminder of “home.” The second knife was identical.

Roxas took it and slid the blade from the sheath. He made an appreciative sound in his throat as he eyed it closely. To Sora’s relief, he did not foolishly test the sharpness against his hand. “This is really good work.”

It was nice to hear; Roxas was familiar with the quality of what they sold. Sora shrugged. “Something to remember me by,” he joked. “I hope it’s useful. I think I’ve learned a lot in the last few months.”

“This is definitely better than some of the other finishworkers would have made. No wonder people have been happy with what they’ve been buying.”

Sora averted his eyes, but glowed a little under the compliment. He and Roxas were close enough, but it was still rare for his younger brother to genuinely praise him.

He handed Roxas the second knife. “I made one for Xion, too. But… you’ll probably see her first. Would you give it to her for me? So she remembers her poor brother, toiling away in the family store. Maybe she can use it for… I don’t know, witchy things.”

“Of course I’ll give it to her.” Roxas sighed. “And these really are nice. But are you happy at the shop?”

“Of course.”

“I like doing deliveries and odd jobs. I get to meet people, and spend time with my friends. Xion didn’t like that, but she loves what she’s learning from Naminé. But you just seem… resigned. Like you don’t think you can do anything else.”

“I belong with the shop,” Sora said. He’d had the thought just this morning, and it felt true. He had no idea what else he’d even do, if he were given the choice.

“Do you?”

“I don’t know what mom would do if I left.”

Roxas threw his hands up. “She’d make it work! Or she wouldn’t! But that shouldn’t be the thing keeping you there.”

Now Sora started to fidget with the blanket. This was uncharacteristically serious for his younger brother. Maybe Xion running away for her own happiness had rubbed off on him.

Down the hall, a door slammed. Seconds later, Hayner ran up to the door. “Roxas, are you coming? We’ve been waiting out there forever.”

Roxas swung his feet to the floor and scrambled up. “Yeah, I’m coming. I had to talk to my brother, but we can go. Sora, do you want to come with us?”

Sora shook his head. He didn’t need to be the awkward fifth wheel in the group, and it seemed likely they were heading to the Common or to one of the smaller parties somewhere. Either sounded overwhelming.

“All right. Will you at least think about what I said?”

“Of course,” Sora promised. He would think about it, but that didn’t mean there was anything he could do about it.

He followed them out of the dorms and onto the street. He let their group pull ahead, chatting and making plans, while he turned toward the shop and home.

[next chapter]