mistressofmuses (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mistressofmuses) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
musefic2019-10-23 09:36 pm
mistressofmuses) wrote in musefic2019-10-23 09:36 pm
Kingdom Hearts fic: Fractured Moments - Day 23 - "Ancient"
Summary: Sora, Kairi, and a friend find a group of wise women.
[More of an excerpt than a lot of these have been, this is a part of one of the chapters of the long fic. (Set before "Ring.") Mari is sort of an OC, my version of the unnamed protagonist of the fairy tale "East of the Sun, West of the Moon." The three wise women turn out to be the Norns of Norse mythology.
Note in 2023: I wrote this before KH introduced canon characters named after the Norns, sobcry.]
Sora, Kairi, and Mari stepped inside, the warmth of the cabin washing over them. This was clearly the main room, a fire burning in a hearth across the back wall. To the right was a setup that Kairi thought was for weaving: a loom and a basket of wool, as well as skeins of woven thread. A woman was seated at the table to the left, and she rose as they entered.
“Hello, and welcome. I am happy to see you arrived safe.” She was clearly the one who had bid them to enter.
Mari answered, “Thank you. I came here seeking the aid of a group of wise women…” Here she faltered a bit, as if suddenly worried they’d come to the wrong place after all.
Kairi couldn’t entirely blame her; the woman in front of them was not what she’d been picturing. The term “wise women” had called to mind women like her grandmother, maybe. Older. This woman was perhaps in her thirties at most, gold-blonde hair gathered at the back of her neck.
The woman smiled, indulgent rather than judgemental. “I knew you were seeking my sisters and myself.” Then, calling over her shoulder, “Our guests arrived!”
A door along the back opened, giving a brief glimpse of a bedroom, before two more women entered. The fact that they were all sisters was immediately evident; in fact, if they hadn’t had different hair colors, Kairi would have thought they were identical triplets. One of the women had chestnut hair a bit lighter than Kairi’s red, and the other’s hair was black, but facially they looked the same.
Both the new women smiled and nodded to them. “Even knowing you would arrive, I am glad you have,” the woman with black hair said.
“Thank you,” Mari said, “But I only needed to ask—”
She was abruptly cut off when the black-haired sister raised a hand. “We will help you.”
The blonde said, “But your journey was not easy.”
The red-haired one finished, “So now we eat and drink, and you can recover before you continue.”
The sisters fed them, the first meal any of them had had in days that wasn’t pulled from a pack, or at best cooked over a campfire.
“Did you need more to eat?” the blonde sister asked once all the bowls were empty. Kairi had begun to think of her as the eldest, despite there being no apparent difference in their ages. In the same way, she realized she assumed the dark-haired one was the youngest.
Kairi was almost surprised to find that the answer was no. It had been the perfect amount of food; she wasn’t still hungry, nor did she feel like she’d eaten too much.
Both Sora and Mari also shook their heads. All three sisters smiled.
Mari took a deep breath. “I’m looking for the castle east of the sun and west of the moon.” The words tumbled out in a rush, as if she were afraid of being interrupted again as she tried to ask.
The red-haired woman lowered her gaze. “I’m afraid reaching the castle is not within our power.”
Mari looked dismayed, tears coming to her eyes, though they didn’t spill down her cheeks. “But—“
“We can direct you to a way to get there, don’t fear,” she said kindly. “But you must be prepared to go. What could make you seek such a place?”
Again, Mari’s words came out in a rush. “My husband. He was taken from me. It was my fault, I should have trusted him, and I didn’t. I didn’t know he’d been cursed, and so when I broke a promise to him, the curse pulled him away. He’s been taken to that castle, where a sorceress plans to force him into marriage. I have to save him. If only I’d—“
She was cut off again as the blonde woman said, “The past can’t be altered in the present. ‘If only’ does us no good when we must face what is. The past informs every moment of our present, and of everything that will be contained in our futures. And even those future destinies may echo back to create our pasts. But what has been done has been done. You went with the bear. You lit the candle. You kissed your husband. Wishing it to be different will not make it so. But you can change what is yet to be.”
Mari stared at the woman, wide-eyed as details of her story were told to her. Kairi’s breath caught in her throat, and she felt her heart flutter. Next to her, Sora’s expression matched hers.
All three of the sisters looked to them, and meeting their eyes in turn, Kairi didn’t think they seemed so young. She’d thought wise women must be old, and in those seconds their eyes seemed impossibly ancient.
The woman was speaking again. “The past is no stranger to me. But do not go to the castle east of the sun and west of the moon concerned with what has been; that is a way to become trapped. The past will have gotten you there, but you must be there because you are seeking your future, do you understand?"
Mari swallowed, visibly. Her voice was very small when she said, “Yes, I think so.”
It was the apparent middle sister, the red-head, who said, “The castle east of the sun and west of the moon is the domain of the sorceress who took your husband. She is dangerous, and will not take kindly to anyone attempting to snatch away what she believes is her rightful victory over him. And over you. We can give you what you need to succeed, but you are the one who must save him.”
Mari nodded, stronger this time, lips pressed thinly together.
The red-haired sister turned to Kairi, then to Sora. “You have something you are seeking as well.”
“Our friend,” Sora said. “Riku. He vanished, and we need to find him.”
“He has not been here,” the blonde said. “I’m sorry.”
Kairi tried not to let herself feel the disappointment. She’d known how unlikely it was that he would be here, but she’d still hoped.
The black-haired sister said, “My sisters and I wish to help all three of you. We will do what we can. Each of you may ask one question, and each of us will answer one question. You will rest here. And then we will do our best to send you away on the correct path.”
“Thank you,” Sora said.
Kairi did not know who these women were, though it was clear they weren’t human. Or not entirely.
When the eldest sister got up and went to Mari, the girl didn’t resist as she was led toward a seat across the room.
The dark-haired sister stood and nodded to Kairi, “Would you come to the fire with me?” she asked.
“Of course,” Kairi answered, standing. Sora reached up and gave her hand a brief squeeze. She smiled at him before following the woman over to where the fire was burning in the hearth, leaving Sora at the table with the final sister.
[previous chapter] [back to the first chapter]
[More of an excerpt than a lot of these have been, this is a part of one of the chapters of the long fic. (Set before "Ring.") Mari is sort of an OC, my version of the unnamed protagonist of the fairy tale "East of the Sun, West of the Moon." The three wise women turn out to be the Norns of Norse mythology.
Note in 2023: I wrote this before KH introduced canon characters named after the Norns, sobcry.]
Sora, Kairi, and Mari stepped inside, the warmth of the cabin washing over them. This was clearly the main room, a fire burning in a hearth across the back wall. To the right was a setup that Kairi thought was for weaving: a loom and a basket of wool, as well as skeins of woven thread. A woman was seated at the table to the left, and she rose as they entered.
“Hello, and welcome. I am happy to see you arrived safe.” She was clearly the one who had bid them to enter.
Mari answered, “Thank you. I came here seeking the aid of a group of wise women…” Here she faltered a bit, as if suddenly worried they’d come to the wrong place after all.
Kairi couldn’t entirely blame her; the woman in front of them was not what she’d been picturing. The term “wise women” had called to mind women like her grandmother, maybe. Older. This woman was perhaps in her thirties at most, gold-blonde hair gathered at the back of her neck.
The woman smiled, indulgent rather than judgemental. “I knew you were seeking my sisters and myself.” Then, calling over her shoulder, “Our guests arrived!”
A door along the back opened, giving a brief glimpse of a bedroom, before two more women entered. The fact that they were all sisters was immediately evident; in fact, if they hadn’t had different hair colors, Kairi would have thought they were identical triplets. One of the women had chestnut hair a bit lighter than Kairi’s red, and the other’s hair was black, but facially they looked the same.
Both the new women smiled and nodded to them. “Even knowing you would arrive, I am glad you have,” the woman with black hair said.
“Thank you,” Mari said, “But I only needed to ask—”
She was abruptly cut off when the black-haired sister raised a hand. “We will help you.”
The blonde said, “But your journey was not easy.”
The red-haired one finished, “So now we eat and drink, and you can recover before you continue.”
The sisters fed them, the first meal any of them had had in days that wasn’t pulled from a pack, or at best cooked over a campfire.
“Did you need more to eat?” the blonde sister asked once all the bowls were empty. Kairi had begun to think of her as the eldest, despite there being no apparent difference in their ages. In the same way, she realized she assumed the dark-haired one was the youngest.
Kairi was almost surprised to find that the answer was no. It had been the perfect amount of food; she wasn’t still hungry, nor did she feel like she’d eaten too much.
Both Sora and Mari also shook their heads. All three sisters smiled.
Mari took a deep breath. “I’m looking for the castle east of the sun and west of the moon.” The words tumbled out in a rush, as if she were afraid of being interrupted again as she tried to ask.
The red-haired woman lowered her gaze. “I’m afraid reaching the castle is not within our power.”
Mari looked dismayed, tears coming to her eyes, though they didn’t spill down her cheeks. “But—“
“We can direct you to a way to get there, don’t fear,” she said kindly. “But you must be prepared to go. What could make you seek such a place?”
Again, Mari’s words came out in a rush. “My husband. He was taken from me. It was my fault, I should have trusted him, and I didn’t. I didn’t know he’d been cursed, and so when I broke a promise to him, the curse pulled him away. He’s been taken to that castle, where a sorceress plans to force him into marriage. I have to save him. If only I’d—“
She was cut off again as the blonde woman said, “The past can’t be altered in the present. ‘If only’ does us no good when we must face what is. The past informs every moment of our present, and of everything that will be contained in our futures. And even those future destinies may echo back to create our pasts. But what has been done has been done. You went with the bear. You lit the candle. You kissed your husband. Wishing it to be different will not make it so. But you can change what is yet to be.”
Mari stared at the woman, wide-eyed as details of her story were told to her. Kairi’s breath caught in her throat, and she felt her heart flutter. Next to her, Sora’s expression matched hers.
All three of the sisters looked to them, and meeting their eyes in turn, Kairi didn’t think they seemed so young. She’d thought wise women must be old, and in those seconds their eyes seemed impossibly ancient.
The woman was speaking again. “The past is no stranger to me. But do not go to the castle east of the sun and west of the moon concerned with what has been; that is a way to become trapped. The past will have gotten you there, but you must be there because you are seeking your future, do you understand?"
Mari swallowed, visibly. Her voice was very small when she said, “Yes, I think so.”
It was the apparent middle sister, the red-head, who said, “The castle east of the sun and west of the moon is the domain of the sorceress who took your husband. She is dangerous, and will not take kindly to anyone attempting to snatch away what she believes is her rightful victory over him. And over you. We can give you what you need to succeed, but you are the one who must save him.”
Mari nodded, stronger this time, lips pressed thinly together.
The red-haired sister turned to Kairi, then to Sora. “You have something you are seeking as well.”
“Our friend,” Sora said. “Riku. He vanished, and we need to find him.”
“He has not been here,” the blonde said. “I’m sorry.”
Kairi tried not to let herself feel the disappointment. She’d known how unlikely it was that he would be here, but she’d still hoped.
The black-haired sister said, “My sisters and I wish to help all three of you. We will do what we can. Each of you may ask one question, and each of us will answer one question. You will rest here. And then we will do our best to send you away on the correct path.”
“Thank you,” Sora said.
Kairi did not know who these women were, though it was clear they weren’t human. Or not entirely.
When the eldest sister got up and went to Mari, the girl didn’t resist as she was led toward a seat across the room.
The dark-haired sister stood and nodded to Kairi, “Would you come to the fire with me?” she asked.
“Of course,” Kairi answered, standing. Sora reached up and gave her hand a brief squeeze. She smiled at him before following the woman over to where the fire was burning in the hearth, leaving Sora at the table with the final sister.
[previous chapter] [back to the first chapter]