The Age of the Heart

Istar glowered at him, "How the hell should I know?! I wanted the place destroyed. Alice and Nova are the ones who know how to restore it."

Alice's eyes fluttered and opened slowly. "Mmmm....Van...I'm sorry.."

 

"Alice, your awake" Auran said as he smiled down at her, with a side glance at Istar telling him to stop talking

 

Istar quickly pocketed the shard as Alice sat up, rubbing her head, "Hmm? Oh...so you weren't a dream...that's good. I didn't want to wake up and be alone again. Let me guess...Nova's gone again..."

 

Auran nodded "Yeah she left a while ago, i gotta take you and Istar to Kingdom Hearts, but first, what is Lladranna?" He said as he looked Alice in the eyes

 

Alice's hazel eyes darted around his face and blinked rapidly. "Lladranna is...my home...it's gone Auran...why would you want to know about it?"

Istar gave Auron a 'I told you so' look and patted the pocket he'd tucked the shard into.

 

"Because i know hardly anything about you, or where you came from..." Auran said, looking at the roof

 

Alice's eyes took on a distant look and she stood, shaking off the memories. "It was just like any other world....Oceans...mountains....vallies....towns and cities..."

Istar laughed, "Don't forget Castleton and the Marshals and their stuck up crap. Not to mention the Sorcerer's and Sorceress' Towers. Please the Tower Community is full of incompatable, betraying jerks. Oh, and..." he shut his mouth and stared wide-eyed at Alice's murderous glare.

 

Auran looked from Alice to Istar and back to Alice "And what?" He said

 

Alice sighed and avoided their gazes, The Dark...a foreign thing that was killing my home. Istar's destruction of Lladranna...was to save it...and yet we knew there was another way. Before Nova died, we beleived she could obtain the power dwelling in the Brithenwood Garden and use it to defend and heal our homeland...but..." she trailed off and Istar picked up.

"Nova was murdered before her eighteenth birthday. Along with their mother and my parents. Alice was captured by the Dark and held captive for seven years...."

 

"Oh... Im so sorry Alice..." Auran said, looking down at his feet, his face completely out of sight

 

Alice shook her head and shoved Istar away from Auran's ear, "I'm alive and Nova is fine with being dead and all. Being in the Dark's hands...let me figure some stuff out and learn a lot about the darkness. For a Keyblade Master of light...my body has a higher tolerance of darkness now. I'd thank the master of that Dark Nest but...I killed him when I escaped."

Istar grinned, "Back when she was training, Alice was a real hothead."

 

Auran kept his gaze at the ground. "I'm still sorry i asked, it wasnt my right" He said quietly

 

Alice smiled gently, "No...it's good to re-visit the past. Keeps me in shape. At least...keeps me smart." Alice grinned and folded her arms behind her head, "I don't see the point in gettin' sad about something we have no control over. What's done is done."

Istar watched her with a blank look, "Well that's different...I was sure she'd get mad."

 

Auran looked up at Alice and smiled, taking his hood off, his dark green hair falling into his eyes. "Your right" He said softly

 

Alice pulled on a lock of his hair, "Nice. C'mon you two, we've got a lot of work ahead of us."

Istar groaned, "Awww.....work..damn. Well...I suppose." He disregarded Auran's hair and Alice and his relationship.

 

"Wait, what work?" Auran said as he hugged Alice

 

Alice laughed, "Navigating Kingdom Hearts silly. It's no straight shot and a lot more powerful Heartless and other creatures live inside it. It may be light but a great darkness lives inside it.

Istar smirked, "I see someone is new to the program."

 

Auran smiled. "Heh oh yeah, im up for a challenge" He said as his eyes sparkled with excitement

 

Alice smiled, "That's the way." Her usual cheerfullness returned on a whim. As Istar noticed easily she wasn't excited to go. "Kingdom Hearts....this should be interesting. I heard the place mirrors what your heart shows it. But there are a lot of stories about the place so who knows what's real."

 

Auran stood up and created a sword out of pure energy. "This will be fun" He said cheerfully