Kingdom Keepers: Once Upon a Dream

Prologue

A/N: Hello everyone! I'm Julie! You might've seen me in the KK world writing fanfiction in the old days of yore (kingdomkeepers365 on FFN, kingdomkeeperofthelibrary on AO3), or more recently at my tumblr account of the same name as here, my instagrams juliethebibliophile and akingdom_of_keepers, making memes and ranting about our fave kids, reviewing my rereads of the books on my youtube juliethebibliophile, or on Children of Light as Willa!

Regardless of whether you know me or not, hi! Little introduction, I've loved Kingdom Keepers for close to ten years now, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon! I can usually be found ranting about my love for Wilby, or making memes about Finn's attitude towards Philby. 

Anyways, I first started posting this story about a year ago on AO3 and fanfiction.net, but after not getting a ton of reads there, I learned that Wattpad is the primary spot for KK fanfic now, so I've cross-posted the story to here. I'm gonna post everything I have so far in one large chunk, and then update about once or twice a week what's left. I'm super proud of this one and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it!

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He sits in the center of the Magic Kingdom, late at night, staring up at the giant castle. The kingdom is glowing, each building illuminated with a thousand tiny lights, and radiating all the magic that had always been promised to anyone who stepped foot in these borders. The boy smiles, surrounded by his six closest friends, all of them laughing as they recount the different times they've been here.

There are a million things to focus on, but the only thing he's really aware of, making him feel warmer than the humid Florida night air, is the girl holding his hand and resting her head on his shoulder, her dark brown hair billowing down his back and tickling his neck. Her eyes are focused out in front of them, and so he turns to look at her; she is the most beautiful sight he's ever seen, or that he'll ever see; no one will ever make him happier than she does, he's certain. She turns, noticing his gaze, and chuckles at him before they exchange smiles, and turn their attention back to their friend, going on about some new computer software he's been researching.

The boy closes his eyes and breathes a sigh of relief. Closing out all other senses, he can hear nothing but the sound of his friends' laughter. Around them, characters that most people believe to be fictional, walk through the kingdom. From princesses and princes to talking animals to fairies: they are all there, enjoying their home. The boy knows that, more than anywhere else, this is his home too.

Someone suggests they all go on a ride. There are shouts of agreement, and he joins in, but really, he'd rather stay right where he is right now: bathed in light, these people that he thinks of as a family around him, this girl on his shoulder. Just then, he can't feel her on his side anymore, and he looks up to see her standing above him, holding out her hand. Feigning exhaustion, he falls back in despair, laughing as she rolls her eyes, before accepting her hand and joining the rest of the group.

She gives him one final look before they all run past the castle gates, ready to go on with an adventure that only they know the thrill of experiencing. As they run, a breeze brushes his face, his girlfriend squeezes his hand, and all around him is pure joy: this, he is sure, is how he always wants it to be.

Just then, Finn Whitman wakes in his bed, panting with excitement, trying to understand the details of what had just happened.

Strange dream he thinks, before pulling his blanket up a little further, and going back to sleep. He'll forget it all by morning.

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A/N: That's all for the prologue! See you at chapter 1 when we get this train rolling.