Kingdom Hearts; The Dark's Keeper

Chapter X; The Heart Beneath Shadows

Yuki pushed against the heavy doors the led into the familiar white halls of what she hoped was the now empty Castle Oblivion. She didn't have the slightest clue why the doors were so large, it really seemed more a hindrance than anything to her. Slowly entering the entryway she scanned the surrounding area. It seemed empty, but that was no guarantee.

Yuki glanced over her shoulder and out the door. She smiled softly and motioned toward Naminé, who nervously stood at the doorway. She slowly entered, her arms drawn close to her as she made her way to Yuki.

"Well, I'm not certain. But I'm pretty sure neither of the organizations have been here for a while. We should be safe." Yuki said. She gently placed a hand on Naminé's shoulder. Naminé jumped slightly turning to Yuki, her blue eyes wide with fear. She blinked a few times before nodding and looking around again. "You ok?" Yuki asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Fine, just nervous." Naminé answered without hesitation. Yuki frowned as she looked around again. She always hated hearing how scared Naminé sounded. She seemed afraid of everything. It was something Yuki wished she could stop.

"Right. They kept you prisoner here, didn't they?" Yuki asked quietly. Naminé nodded, her attention remaining on the world around her, rather than on Yuki. "Well, if you want we can find a different world. I'm sure the guys at Hollow Bastion wouldn't mind helping." Yuki suggested. Naminé quickly shook her head.

"No, here is probably better. I-I'm a Nobody anyway. They wouldn't help me." She insisted. Yuki frowned placing a hand on her hip.

"Yeah, I'm a Heartless and they don't a have a problem with me." She pointed out. Naminé only smiled softly, as if amused.

"You're special." She said softly.

"And so are you," Yuki said without a thought. She frowned looking down at the ground. Naminé hadn't been the only one to insist Yuki was something special. In fact, most of the other Heartless said similar things, at least the elite ones. Yuki hadn't met many of the Nobody's, but the few she had met seemed to have the same thought. Zexion had even said there was something odd about her. And of course DiZ, he always called her a monarch. That was probably the strangest of the things she had been called.

Yuki glanced up at Naminé once again. The blonde Nobody was still looking around, her fear less apparent now. She looked somewhat calm for the first time since they had left Twilight Town. She had been with DiZ for some time. Yuki wondered if he had ever explained himself to Naminé. Not likely, since he considered her nothing but a monster. But, it was worth asking.

"You know, that DiZ guy called me a monarch more than once," Yuki said. She paced away from Naminé going to the stairs. Naminé watched her, turning just slightly as she waited for Yuki to continue. "I didn't really think much of it at first. But now," Yuki trailed off. It seemed too strange, there was no reason for it.

"But now what?" Naminé asked curiously.

"Does that actually mean something?" Yuki asked looking up at Naminé. Naminé glanced away before nodding.

"Yes." She said quietly. Yuki blinked in surprise, her eyes widening. If that meant something if he hadn't been lying, did that mean she was something more than a simple elite?

"But, I thought I was the lowest ranking of the elites." Yuki said. Naminé shook her head.

"You were told that so you'd cooperate." She explained. "They really had no control over you. You can control them. You're, you're the queen." Naminé said. Yuki stared at Naminé in shock. She had never heard the term used, but it felt wrong. She didn't control anything, and she certainly didn't think she was a queen. She couldn't handle that sort of responsibility. Not with her mind being a mush of half forgotten memories.