A Heart Unbound

Chapter 7: Tangled in Unfortunate Truths(Part 1)

I zoned out on the Gummi Ship ride as my mind drifted off into a space that constantly reminded me of Master Xehanort.

"Xehanort. Master Xehanort." His voice echoed inside my head, and he endlessly flooded my mind with his old, raspy voice.

"The three of them made you what you are."

"What am I?"

"Number 13."

Number 13? What does that even mean?

"Look! A keyhole!" Goofy pointed to yet another elaborately gleaming keyhole towering over the Gummi Ship. Sora used the Keyblade to remove the keyhole from our path, revealing to us yet another new world.

When the light unclouded our vision, our sight disclosed a summery forest. The sun's rays shone through the blanket of emerald leaves above us.

"Wow! This place is beautiful!" I smiled and enjoyed the pleasant feel of the warm sun on my skin.

"It's warm too, not to mention." Sora chuckled.

"What are you looking at, cow?" Donald caught our attention as he insulted a glaring, white horse.

"Gawrsh, Donald. I don't think that's a cow." Goofy reported.

"It's a horse!" I cheered as I dashed over to it, yet again accidentally pushing Donald to the ground.

"Hana! Why do you always do that?" Donald criticized.

"I'm sorry, Donald. I just love animals so much." I gently scuffed the horse's nose as it kicked its leg with pleasure.

The horse clearly belonged to someone, for it was completely tacked up, saddle, reins and all. It even wore a strap across its chest that displayed an emblem of the sun, and the name 'Maximus' appeared engraved under it.

"Maximus! Is that your name?" I wondered as a cheerful smile stretched across my face. The horse, Maximus, nodded. "What a beauty you are!" Maximus neighed and rubbed his soft cheek against my own.

A sudden crackle of sticks caught Maximus's attention, and he instantly pranced in the direction of the sound.

"Aw, he's gone." I pouted.

"Good riddance!" Donald quacked as he attempted to lean against a seemingly moss-covered rock. Donald however fell through the hanging moss, revealing a hidden pathway behind it.

"Whoa! I wonder where that leads!" Sora curiously ran past the fallen Donald.

"I'm okay! Thanks for asking." Donald sighed.

"Are you okay?" I bent down and reached my hand out for Donald.

"Uh, yeah." He used my hand to pull himself up.

"Hana! Donald! Goofy! Come check this out!" Sora called excitedly. Donald, Goofy, and I followed Sora's voice out of the dark cave. A wide, circular valley of verdant grass and vibrant flowers blessed our vision. A small pond that took up about an eighth of the valley glistened in the sunlight as its water swished with the calming breeze. In the center of all the natural beauty, a colossal tower stood. The tower seemed rather old, for an array of ivy blanketed parts of it. Surrounding cliffs finished off the scenery as they supported the flow of a waterfall feeding into the gleaming pond.

"Ah!" Sora picked a single flower and bashfully ambled toward me. "Here, this is for you." The stem of the flower tickled the side of my head as he placed it softly in my hair.

"Thank you." I giggled as my cheeks turned red with glee.

"Gawrsh! There's someone climbing down that tower!"