I lay in bed lazily, my fingers tracing Riku’s outline slowly. His arm rested over my shoulders as he gazed up at the ceiling. As I watched his chest rise and fall gently, I couldn’t help but keep smiling, and rested my head on his ribcage. He chuckled softly, and moved his hand up to play with my hair. “…I sure hope that answered your question now. Because I’m not sure how else I could show you after that,” I said quietly. His light laugh trickled out, and he replied, “Most definitely answered any questions I ever had. But more than that.” I looked up at him curiously. “You proved that you most definitely deserve me,” he breathed. I cocked my head. “Well then, we won’t need to do that ever again,” I teased. Riku affected a look of mock horror, and then we relaxed again, stretching out across the bed.
As the sunlight trickling through the window began to dim, I sat up and yawned slightly. Riku followed suit before asking, “Where do you think you’re going?” I smiled at his slightly hurt tone of voice. “We are going to dine with the Minister tonight to catch up on everything we’ve missed. That way, we can be left alone for the whole night tonight.” Riku grinned in understanding, and didn’t try to stop me as I jumped out of bed and began pulling clothes on. “Come on!” I laughed, poking my head round the door of my wardrobe. Riku just looked at me. “Get out of bed!”
Riku still refused to move. “Make me,” he said, deliberate emphasis on each word. I smiled. “Okay, if that’s how you want to play it.” I began to walk to the door. “Hey! Where are you going?” Riku asked. I stopped moving, my hand resting on the door handle, and turned to face him. “I don’t ever want to make you do something you don’t want to do. So, I guess I’ll be going to dinner without you.” Riku hopped out of bed at that, as I knew he would, and within seconds was dressed and ready to go.
We walked through the familiar maze of Lindblum Castle together in a warm silence. At the dining room, however, I turned to Riku. “I’ll go get the Minister. You go into the dining room and I’ll meet you in there in a minute.” Riku shook his head, and insisted that he look for the Minister instead. I watched him walk away purposefully, and couldn’t stop the silly little giggle that escaped my mouth.
“I’m glad you’re happy,” came a dark voice behind me. I whirled around, acting braver than I felt. “What do you mean by that?” I commanded. A figure dressed all in black slumped out from behind a pillar, his face hidden in the gloom. “It’s the two month…anniversary today.” Obviously able to tell that I was still confused, he continued. “Of his death? How could you…how dare you forget?” I took a step forward. “Zexion, I am so sorry! I didn’t realise…I didn’t know what the date was today…I…Zexion, please, I’m sorry,” I whispered. For now I knew who the dark figure was. My body felt hollow and numb. How could I have forgotten what day it was today?
Zexion sloped away, stopping at my shoulder. “Watch out. This…inconsideration problem of yours…I would hate for Riku to find out about it…” he murmured in a cold voice. I watched him disappear round a corner before I started to shake. I had been so happy…Now all I felt was a cold, cruel guilt. And what did Zexion mean by his threat? I stumbled into the dining room and took my seat, still chilled. It wasn’t long before Riku and the Minister arrived, and I smiled warmly. “Minister Artania! It has been a long time. I know that I speak for my husband, as well, when I say we are truly grateful to you for the admirable way you took control over the past few weeks. We are in your debt,” I said gracefully, and the evening progressed with the Minister explaining every event in Lindblum of recent history. I fought to keep the tone light, but I was struggling against the chilling feeling still creeping through me.
Squall jolted up. “What is it?” I asked. “Dinner… it’ll be soon.” I nodded. “Enjoy it. I’m not really that hungry.” Squall looked over at me, concern blatant on his features. “I just… don’t eat too much. Normally I go with one meal per day, but lately it’s been rude not to eat with you guys. I’ll just apologise later, they won’t mind. I can’t really stomach too much food, Grandpa Quan said he found fulfilment without food, and I’ve found it too. It’s just a case of… mind over matter.” Squall took my hand, and shook his head. “Vivi, you’ve…got to eat. I… won’t let you miss dinner.” I frowned up at the ceiling, and said: “How are you gonna make me? You’re not my grandpa.” Squall leaned in and kissed my cheek, and I shivered slightly. “If you come to dinner… I’ll give you more of those.” I thought it over, and slid off the bed. “I guess one more meal can’t hurt…”
We walked down the corridors to the dining room, where Haru and Riku sat at the far end in a deep… but one-sided discussion with Minister Artania. As we walked over, Haru looked up and noticed us, beckoning us over. “Minister, if I may interrupt for a second, we’d like to introduce two new members of our community. Vivi here taught me everything I know, and so will be appointed our Court Magician, and Squall (the taller one) will be a perfect candidate for the Commander of our guard.” The Minister looked us over (or in my case, looked over us) and nodded. “Fine choices, your Majesties. When will they begin?” Haru looked over at us and smiled in a friendly fashion. “Whenever they wish.”
I sat through the rest of the meal as quietly as possible while still remaining friendly, and simply spoke when someone addressed a comment to me directly. I couldn’t get Zexion’s threat out of my head…I hadn’t totally understood what he meant by it; did he really think that he could get Riku to leave me simply by telling him that I’m an inconsiderate waste of space? Especially not since I had told Riku that myself. He hadn’t seemed to care, judging by this morning…A smile played across my face again, before I realised where I was and pulled it away quickly.
Once we had all finished eating, I got up and walked away quickly. Once the door to my bedroom was in sight, Riku finally caught up with me and grabbed hold of my shoulder gently. “Hey, hey. What’s the matter?” he asked, peering into my face with a concerned look. I waved him away. “Nothing, don’t worry about a thing. Why would anything be the matter anyway?” I pulled out of Riku’s grip softly and pushed the bedroom door open, throwing myself onto the bed. “Because,” Riku explained from behind me, “you were…a lot happier, to say the least, before dinner.” He sat down on the bed beside me and sighed deeply.
I peeked round at Riku, and once I saw how worried he looked I sat up and took his hand gently. “Really, there’s nothing the matter. But guess what…we’re all alone, in our room. Nobody’s likely to disturb us until morning…” I smiled slightly. Riku grinned in understanding, and nibbled on my neck gently. My plan had worked; he had forgotten all about anything I could possibly be worrying about. But I wished I could take my own mind off that…Every time I listened to Riku’s deep, even, rhythmical breathing in my ear, the angry hiss echoed in my head… ‘I would hate for Riku to find out about it.’
The sunlight trickling through the net curtains woke me from my broken sleep. I stretched my legs until they fell out of the quilt, before finally opening my eyes. Riku’s face materialised, pale and drawn, staring at me as I slept. I sat up quickly, stroking his cheek lightly. “What’s happened?” I urged. He shook his head, his lips tight. I stared at him and hardened my gaze. He finally caved. “…You fell asleep,” he grunted simply. I was confused, and it must have shown, because a minute later he spoke again, “You fell asleep while we were…you…don’t you…I thought it was what you wanted.” Finally understanding what he meant, I nodded, fighting through the haze in my mind to speak, to explain somehow without worrying him. Riku swallowed, and as I was about to speak, he threw the covers back and dressed quickly, before heading out of the door without another word.
I woke up the next morning, and got out of bed. Squall had insisted that we push the beds together, so he could hug me. So we did. Now, I got up and put my clothes on, and then my hat. Feeling refreshed, I began to walk out of the room when Squall woke up. “Going…somewhere?” he asked, sleepily. I nodded. “Remember? I start work today.” Squall made a vague attempt at answering, before falling back to sleep. I turned around and walked out the door.
Making my way to the Throne Room, I noticed the guard had been stepped up slightly. I wondered as to the reason as I entered the Throne Room, noticing the absence of Riku and Haru. Minister Artania looked puzzled, reading a piece of paper. As I walked over, he handed it to me, and I scanned through it’s shakily-written contents.
“Minister Artania,
I am so sorry to ditch out on you at such an important time, but something very important and yet also unavoidable has come up. It has not been easy for me, ruling Lindblum – as you will know well – but I have finally come to grips with it. Therefore, it is with deep regret that I tell you that Riku and I have been forced to leave for matters of both a personal issue and our safety.
Please do not come looking for us under any circumstances. I hate to have to say that, but it is better for everyone concerned if you simply forgot about us. DO NOT COME AFTER US!
With regret,
Haru.”
I read the note through several times. They’d left. Totally out of the blue, and neither of us knew where. I looked at the Minister, who looked at me suspiciously . I shook my head. “I don’t know anything.” He looked sadly down, as did I. Squall walked into the room, and noted our sudden sombre mood. He was about to ask about it, when Zexion stepped out of the shadows. “Don’t bother. There’s no point. She’s not coming back. Just move on. I’ll take control, and from now on, what I say is law.” I looked up concernedly at Zexion, who had fastened his cloak’s hood above his head. “I think it’s time things changed around here.”
