Sorrow's Promise

Chapter 10

I spent the next few days hanging out around the mansion and in town. Riku would usually disappear for a large portion of the day, but always offered to walk me into town first so that I could get coffee. I saw Roxas a couple of times, and we enjoyed spending the afternoons wandering around, talking and meandering in and out of shops. He even managed to talk me into trying his favorite flavor of ice cream. It was definitely an interesting taste, but the next time we met I stuck with my coffee and a cherry filled pastry that I had discovered from the same cafe.

I also took a little bit of time out of each day to visit Naminé in the white room where she always seemed to stay. We didn't have much to talk about, but it seemed like she had to be lonely up there, despite everyone's insistence that she was "very busy".

Every evening before bed, and every morning when I woke up, I would place my hands on the mirror and try again to make a portal home. Lying in bed at night, I wondered what I would even find if and when I ever made it through. The due date for my rent had already come and gone. If Aiden had decided I wasn't coming back, or if he had followed through on his threat, he might not have paid it. My landlord was pretty forgiving, but he probably wouldn't hold out for long before he had all my stuff thrown out.

Was Aiden still waiting for me? Had he been worried when I never came back to the apartment? Or was he relieved that he didn't have to deal with me anymore? Now that I was several days removed from our last incident, I found myself missing him. It was easy to ignore his faults when I wasn't around him, and just remember the times when he was sweet and funny and actually acted like he cared about me.

One day, when I was bored and wandering around the mansion, waiting for Riku to show up, I decided to go back down to the basement. I wasn't sure whether I hoped DiZ would be there or not. Part of me wanted to avoid him, since he still kind of gave me the creeps, but part of me wanted to see if I could slyly pry some information out of him about whatever he and Riku were up to. I guess the former feeling was stronger, though, because I breathed an involuntary sigh of relief when I walked into an empty room.

The computer was on, but showed only blank blue-green screens. I was extremely tempted to mess with them and see what I could find, but my fear of being discovered won out, at least for the time being. Glancing around the room, I noticed that there was a door to my left that was standing open for the first time. I had just assumed it was a closet or something, but now I could see that it led into another open room.

Poking my head in cautiously, I could quickly see that no one was there. The room was completely empty, but there was another door just like this one on the other side. I crossed to it, curious now as to what might lie beyond, and pressed the small blue button to the right of it. The electronic door slid open with a gust of air.

Now I found myself in a long, dimly lit hallway, the end of which was out of sight around a corner. What were they hiding down here? I lingered in the doorway for a minute, trying to decide whether to let my trepidation or curiosity take control. Finally curiosity won out, and I started slowly down the hall. I really didn't know what to expect to find at this point. Some kind of evil scientist's laboratory? A dungeon? A secret society meeting room? My imagination was running wild.

At the corner I stopped and flattened myself against the wall, then peeked around with just one eye. There was nothing to be seen except another identical door at the end of the hallway, and several giant, white, flower bud shaped objects along the opposite wall. They kind of looked like some sort of modern art to me, so I didn't pay them much mind as I passed. My focus was on that door. My finger was trembling slightly as I reached out toward the blue button. I quickly looked back over my shoulder to make sure I hadn't been followed, then swallowed my fear and jabbed the button.

When the door flew open, the whiteness of the room inside nearly blinded me. It was a lot like Naminé's room upstairs, but this room was larger and emptier, other than one, jumbo size version of the white flower buds right in the middle of the space. This bud was open, however, and much to my surprise, there was a boy that appeared to be floating inside of it, with his eyes closed. I stood with my feet rooted to the ground, unsure of what exactly I was seeing. Eventually I forced myself to move again, closer to the boy, until I could see his face more clearly.

I gasped audibly. "Zephyr?" My hand unconsciously went to the purple leather bracelet that I always wore around my left wrist. It couldn't be him, though. This boy did look just like him, except for the hair. That spiky hair meant that this could only be one person: Sora.

A throat cleared behind me, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I spun around to see Riku standing in the doorway, his expression blank. Naminé was there, too, back in the corner so that I hadn't noticed her when I came in.

"I, uh..." I fumbled to find an explanation for my presence. "I was looking for DiZ, and the door was open, so I just..." I trailed off, figuring the end spoke for itself.

Riku didn't say anything, just looked up towards Sora and sighed. I followed his gaze, still fidgeting with my bracelet nervously. I could see Sora's chest rising and falling as he breathed, so I knew that he was alive. Other than that, though, he was frighteningly still.

"Are you done here, Naminé?" Riku finally asked, without looking at the blonde.

"Yes," she answered timidly. "I was just about to close it up." Riku nodded his approval, and she pressed a button on the wall. The white petals began to slowly close, layer by layer, until the pod was completely shut and Sora was no longer visible.

I rotated reluctantly back around to face Riku, waiting for him to acknowledge me, wishing I could tell what he was thinking. Was he mad at me? He had proven himself pretty patient so far, but I still didn't know how far he could be pushed before he would snap.

When he finally spoke again, it was in the same calm, level voice that he almost always used. "I suppose it's time that I tell you the whole story," he remarked. "Let's go back upstairs, though. I don't want DiZ to catch you in here."