Ni No Kuni One-shots

Ray of Hope

Ni No Kuni 2 AU: Revival of the Heartlands. Original/Fan Character x Canon Character (Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum x Violet Adriana Regencia)

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She sat on the ledge just above their refuge. A small lamp was all the light she had aside from the distant breaking of the dawn as she faced eastward. The kingdom below lay shrouded in darkness, its skies tinted a malicious shade of magenta through the faint light.

She sighed and pulled her blouse tighter around her shoulders. After the attack on Evermore, escaping citizens fled to the mountains between the kingdom and its neighbor Ding Dong Dell.

By the looks of the skies over other kingdoms, these Warriors of Shadow have attacked the other kingdoms too. The Reign of Darkness has begun.

Of all times, why did it have to happen now?

"Violet?" a young voice asked from behind. "What are you doing up here so early?"

Violet turned toward the speaker. "I could ask you the same, your Majesty," she replied to the blond, blue-eyed half-grimalkin behind her.

"It's dawn."

"I know..." she replied, turning back around.

King Evan sighed lightly in exasperation. The soft breeze whistled through his silky ponytail as he walked to the ledge beside her. "One of those dreams again?"

No response from the inky-black-haired half-grimalkin.

He frowned at her lack of response. In the few days that he'd known her, he'd learned it was unlike her not to speak of these visionary dreams.

"Sorry... I–"

"Do you think my arrival here was a bad omen...?"

King Evan paused, mid-apology, to process her statement. He blinked a few times at her forlorn expression.

"What?" he asked when his mouth caught up to his brain. "Whatever would make you think that?"

"This is the second time you have been forcefully removed from your throne after the appearance of a mysterious stranger claiming to come from another world. First Roland, now me. Not to mention the appearance of the Horned One and Doloran's misguided quest to revive Allegoria. I... I just can't help but feel like this is my fault somehow..." Violet tucked her knees up to her chest as she gazed down at the tainted kingdom below.

King Evan's frown deepened. He breathed another sigh, adjusting the sheath of his sword to better sit beside her on the cliff ledge. He stared off into the distance for a moment, letting the wind ruffle his hair.

"I don't think that is true."

Violet turned her emerald gaze to him. "Huh?"

"Roland was not an omen to me nor my citizens. In fact he was a bringer of hope, a messenger of peace. If anything, the thunderstorm that day was more of an omen to me than anything else. You may not remember many details, because your views of the tale were through your mind's eye, but Alisandra brought Roland to this world to save it rather than hurt it. Who's to say whoever or whatever brought you here intends the same?"

Violet's eyes widened slightly, a tear pricking the edge and balancing on her lash line. Rays of sunshine reflected in her irises as the dawn sun began to rise over the ocean beyond Evermore. The wind rippled through her hair and clothes as the meadow's morning mist began to form in the valley below them.

"Yes, you arrived a few days ago," King Evan continued reaching up with the edge of his cloak to wipe away her tears, "and yes, Hau Ling did describe a woman of your physique in his vision describing the attack. However, there was no mention of the woman until the very end of the vision, where it appeared repairs were being made. It was only after Leander described you to me that the connection was made."

Violet pressed her lips together in confusion. She had been studying with Leander in the spellworks just before the attack. She could only pray he escaped unharmed, hopefully back to Hydropolis. He hadn't been told about the vision's contents until Violet was present and explained she had experienced a similar vision.

King Evan turned his gaze toward the sunrise, and she followed, as he added, "I don't see you as an omen. Rather, I see you as a ray of hope."

The landscape below appeared apocalyptic. But the sun shone through the malice-stained skies all the same, bathing the pair in golden light.

King Evan took his red cloak from his shoulders and placed it around hers. "Come now. It's cold and the others must be wondering where we are."

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Words: 737

Based on my future AU for Ni No Kuni 2, Revival of the Heartlands. RotH is in its second version and is still in the writing phase, but I thought I should explore the characters a little more, leading to this. This might actually be used as a basis for a scene in RotH. 

Canonically, it is implied that Evan marries his fellow protagonist Tani, but we don't actually know. From this ambiguity came Violet Adriana Regencia, my fan-character for the series.