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Fanfiction ► Here Comes the Bride



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madammina

Notorious White Mage Captainess
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Well... to be fair they were STARTING to shape up in the 1850's... but it still wasn't very good.

Now insert HCTB version of Riku.
 

madammina

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Yeah, but this was a chapter I've been planning on for a while. Then I've got a conversation, a death and a ball... and possibly Elanor, I'm not sure where to fit her now.
 

madammina

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Night 6

Riku, Sora, and Kairi were sharing a coach. One of the doctors was sitting on the top bench, but it wouldn't really matter. Riku was strapped up tight. As soon as they had gotten him far enough away from Emily's body, Riku had been forced into a white jacket that had sleeves that wrapped around the back. He struggled and glared at his two best friends, who were staring out the window uncomfortably.

“Just tell me you saw her, you saw Emily. And you believe I didn't kill her.”

“I do.” Kairi whispered. “I believe you didn't kill her.”

“Same here. Look, Riku, I know we've had our disagreements lately.” Riku snorted at Sora's attempt to apologize. “Okay... our friendship is really rocky right now. But I know you wouldn't kill anyone. Let alone a girl like that.”

“Apology accepted” for now. “Am I to assume they're taking me to an asylum?” Kairi and Sora just looked at him. “They're taking me to a place for crazy people.”

“Oh, probably.” Kairi said, then covered her mouth. “I'm sorry, I didn't-”

“Right now, the only person who I absolutely believe thinks me sane talks to a pet Raven, sounds like Maleficent, and channels dead husbands. I don't blame you.” Riku leaned back and faced the ceiling of the vehicle. “I'm tempted to take a nap. Are we there yet, or do I have time?” He glanced at Kairi and Sora's face. “What? I didn't sleep well last night.”

“We probably have some time.” Sora muttered. And with that, Riku closed his eyes and fell asleep.

“Sora... I... I want to go home.” Kairi whispered as soon as she was sure Riku was actually asleep. “I don't like it here. I don't like Constance that much. I miss our Ocean. I miss... I miss just being able to talk. And I don't like Riku being like this.” She bit her lip. “He can be the best of us, and to see him fall like this... And I just can't shake the feeling it's connected to why we're here... if we need to be here. Why can't we just go home.” It felt good to get that off her chest but...

“I... look, Kairi, I don't like it too much either. But I don't want to leave it when the world could get over run. We know there is evil here, especially around the mansion. That's why we were sent here, to keep it from turning into Darkness. And with those Heartless who were there when we showed up... I don't know. Then again, it's been almost a week and we haven't seen them since. But Mickey hasn't called us back to Radiant Gardens or Destiny Island so we're still needed here. And... And I want to go home too. I don't like that Riku is acting like this either, but we have work to do, and apparently no where else is in danger. But...” Sora sighed as Kairi pulled her knees up to her chest. “We need to stay. If we can leave, though, I promise. We'll leave.”

Kairi fell quiet for a bit after that. “How much longer?” she finally muttered.

Riku was roughly woken up about an hour later. The carriage came to a sudden stop and he careened forward, the straight jacket upsetting his sense of balance. As Sora and Kairi helped him sit up, the doctor grabbed him and pulled him out of the carriage. Riku turned towards a large stone...mansion like complex was the best way to describe it. It was nice looking to be sure, Gothic structure, lots of windows, even more greenery, but for Riku something just felt very... off. Riku couldn't place it as he was marched through the large but crowded and grimy lobby. There were people babbling, walking around mindlessly, and just generally acting insane but that wasn't what felt off to Riku. After he got through the lobby the doctors, Sora, and himself entered a smaller side room and removed the straight jacket and changed into other clothes while Constance and Kairi waited outside. Apparently men and women- even here in this asylum- followed this world's gender structures. If everyone here was either crazy or a doctor, what did they expect to happen? After winning a fight about cutting his hair, Constance and Kairi rejoined them and they wandered down a hall. Maybe he should just give up. Maybe he was just crazy? Riku walked through the worn hallways and by people in them until he arrived in what would presumably be his room. With a smirk, Riku noticed it was padded.

“Come on, I'm not dangerous.” He started to say to his keeper as he turned around. The man shoved him in though, and as Riku stumbled back, he saw a man hanging from a noose a few feet into the corridor. Riku got up quickly and ran to the door, but it was slammed in his face and Riku pounded in futility against it. “LET ME OUT!!!”

Sora and Kairi retreated a bit as Riku's yells and poundings came from behind the door. Constance was escorted somewhere by Ezekiel and the two friends moved to somewhere that Riku couldn't see them from the window in the door.

“It's... probably normal for someone to yell like that if they're locked in there.” Sora offered. Kairi just 'hmmed' “I mean, if I-”

“Mist- Sora, just drop it. Let's just go outside, I can't stand it in here... it's too gloomy.” Sora couldn't help but agree with her, so they departed to the open air garden outside.

“Yes, Ezekiel, he's really insane.” Constance was forced to stand here in Ezekiel's wood paneled office that reeked of varnish. It wasn't her home, and Ezekiel knew it. He was one of the main endowers of the asylum and was on the board of directors.

“He seemed well enough when he was being set up. Up until he was locked in, actually, but most people have issues there.” Ezekiel took a sip of tea, but did not offer any to Constance. Constance wasn't sure if she wanted any anyway.

“He's harmless, up until last night when he suddenly ran through the halls claiming that a woman was pounding on the glass of the mirror in his room. He seems oddly open to the idea he may be insane, but after last night I just didn't want to take any risks. He may be my guest, but I don't want him to harm anyone else.”

“Other then Emily, you haven't had any long term guests in the Mansion since you returned from... Africa was it? Yes, I know about Emily, even before this morning. You had to take care of her for over a year, did you think no one would blab?” He smirked. “I love it when your face turns red. It means I got to you. I don't want a cut of what you have planned, my operation is working fine, but just keep in mind that no guests before this and Emily's death will make people suspicious.”

“She went mad after George chose me over her. There's no mystery in that. You were a witness to how she was shrieking. The fact Riku seems so distraught over her death only means he is insane.” She smirked back. “Don't underestimate me, Ezekiel King.”

“And don't underestimate what a fool with an idea can do either, Constance Hatchaway.”

Riku had stopped yelling shortly after Sora and Kairi had left his line of sight. He just paced now. 8 feet any way around the room... If he wasn't crazy before he was locked up, he would be soon after spending some time in this tiny room. At least he could try to get some sleep, the floor was kinda soft...

Riku settled down on the floor. He closed his eyes and just as he was about to nod off...drip something warm fell onto his face. Riku went to brush it off, but found it sticky. Drip now another drop fell on his face. With a sigh he opened his eyes to brush it off, and as he looked up he saw something.

Blood.

Riku scrambled back a bit and as he looked towards where he had been lying down he saw a man there, with his wrists cut and a knife lying next to him. Riku's breath coming in shallow gasps, he backed up to the wall of the room and glanced outside. The hanging man was back, rotating slowly. Another person, a woman, walked by his window, giving off short jolts of electricity. Riku began to pound on the door again.

“LEMME OUT! LEMMEOUT!! PLEASE! PLEASE!! LET! ME! OUT!!!”

Sora and Kairi walked back inside after one of the inmates began to harass Kairi. While neither understood what he was implying, the impression was rather vulgar. After Sora glared at the man, Kairi and himself wandered back to Riku's... cell. To Kairi's relief, Riku had stopped yelling but instead was evaluating a wall.

“What'cha do- What are you doing, Riku?” She asked, suddenly quite solemn.

“Trying to figure out if I should summon Ansem.” Was the completely serious reply. “If I do end up going crazy that will probably happen anyway. At least you are forewarned.”

“Riku... you're joking, right? PLEASE tell me your-” Sora moved forward towards the door

“You can't see it, but there is a man with slit wrists in this room. Blood is also dripping from the ceiling.” Riku plowed onward in a tone no different from ordering lunch. “Another man is hanging out in the hallway while a woman is giving off electric shocks. It appears that the shocks were an accidental death, but the rest seem to be suicides. And then there were a few suspicious people I saw when we walked in. I didn't get a good look so they could be patients but...” He turned around sharply. “I'm starting to think I'm crazy now myself.” He gave a grin that was slightly off. “Will you let me get back to my work?”

“No!” Sora yelled, but before he could go on, Kairi tugged on his sleeve. He turned to see the angelic form of Constance walk down the hall, followed by Mr. King.

“Mister Sora, Miss Kairi, are you ready to go?” Constance asked sweetly. Mr. King was just watching them interact with an odd expression on his face.

“No, Miss Hatchaway.” Kairi whispered, as she looked at the floor. “I don't think Mis- Riku should be here.” She looked up. “He's not doing well here, and he was acting much better at home. And we're reasonably sure he didn't kill Emily.”

“REASONABLY!?” Riku shouted through the door. Everyone ignored him.

“So, let's just take him home. Sora and I can keep an eye on him. He's harmless anyway.” Mr. King was smirking slightly now, but Constance appeared to be thinking.

“Let him out, Ezekiel. I will still pay you, but Miss Kairi is right.” She turned around to face Ezekiel. “Riku, though he has a tendency to imagine things and wake people up at night, is fairly harmless.” Mr. King said not a word, but gestured to a near by worker who unlocked Riku's door. The first thing Riku did was stagger over to Kairi and kiss both her cheeks.

“Thank you. Now, Sora, find me a blindfold. I'm NOT walking through that lobby again.”

After Sora, Kairi, Constance, and Riku got into the carriage, they rode in silence. Kairi made them stop once in New Orleans- she wanted to get some candy for Riku -but no one said anything else until they arrived back at the manor. Riku staggered out of the carriage first. He limped over in a straight line to the small porch in front of the house before collapsing on the grass. Taking deep breaths he stared up at the blue sky starting to turn orange under the setting sun.

Kairi was next. She stepped gently out of the carriage, and walked slowly and ladylike up the path and took a seat on the porch furniture. Riku lifted a hand up, and she placed a piece of chocolate candy in his hand which he almost immediately devoured.

Sora restrained himself from jumping out of the carriage, but he did run across the lawn and sat down on the edge of the porch. Kairi snuck him a piece of chocolate too. The three friends savored a moment of peace while Constance walked up the path. Her shoes finally stopped their clicking in front of them.

“Dinner is in an hour or so. What are you doing until then?”

“I'm skipping dinner.” Was Riku's immediate reply. “I'm just going to take a walk and then go to bed. May I still sleep in Rolly's room?”

“That's fine. Miss Kairi?”

“I... I think I may go back to my embroidery. I need to think.”

“Don't forget your stem stitches. Sora, may I talk to you?”

“You have GOT to be kidding me.” Riku was standing in the conservatory staring at a black coffin covered with dead plants and wreaths. Riku could not remember seeing it in the mansion before.

“Lemmeout! Lemmeoutofhere!” Riku stared at the coffin which was moving as a hand was trying to push the top off.

“Yep, I'm crazy.” Riku smiled at his own assured insanity and was about to move on, when Claude landed on a music stand near the coffin. “Claude” A gentle smile appeared on his face. “Is Leota around, or are you just exploring?”

“I'm exploring, Claude decided to come along.” Leota arrived silently behind him, her bare feet making no sound on the carpet. “I'm glad to see you're back.” Riku turned to look at her, she was so pale now she looked green.

“Glad to be back... but I'm starting to think I am crazy.”

“I heard.” Leota glanced around the room, unsure what to look at, before looking at Riku. Tentatively she reached out for his shoulder. She gave it a small squeeze, a squeeze of friendship, of caring, of understanding. Riku moved in closer, and tried to keep from crying. “Shh... I understand. I do. Just... Come on, let's sit down.” She managed to move him away from the coffin and eventually found some seats in a nearby corridor. She waited as Riku finally was able to break down crying into her shirt. After a while, his sobs quieted down.

“Riku.” She sighed. “Do you know what a Seer is?” Riku shook his head, still buried in her shoulder. “They can see the future among other things. I just... I just wanted to check.” Riku gave a morose hiccup. “Let's get you to Rolly's room. I think you need a little sleep. And I heard Mary makes a very good pie.” She stood up, and grabbed Riku before he could overbalance. “Let's go.” And she helped the still recovering Riku down the hallway.

Constance took the seat that Kairi vacated when Kairi went inside. “Sora, what are you thinking?” Sora put his hands behind his head while he thought.

“That... I like it here. I mean, I miss my home. But there is some nice things here. The city is beautiful, for example and -” he cut himself off. He couldn't admit it. She was very pretty, and she was so nice for letting them stay here while they were looking for what was wrong. She didn't know what a keyblade was and she seemed sincerely worried about Riku... Sora stood up, and sat next to Constance. He tentatively reached out to hold her hand. She didn't resist, and he smiled as he held it.

“Thank you.” Sora finally whispered. “Thank you for letting us stay here, and for taking care of us, and for taking an interest in Kairi and for caring for Riku and-” She squeezed his hand.

“Normally I'd say this is southern hospitality but, Sora, you have something interesting about you. I'd gladly put you up here in my mansion as long as you wanted to stay here.” Nothing more was said until dinner, nothing needed to be. The two sat together, watching the sunset fall over the city of New Orleans.






----
What you (Specifically) liked, didn't like, and how I can improve. Comment Please!
 

madammina

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Anything specifically about this chapter you liked or didn't like? (I do appreciate the comment on the plot though)
 

Lanydx reborn

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Thing I like: Riku not going to the nuthouse and showing Sora and Kairi more homesick. What I bugged me the King guy. Don't know why but he creeps me out.
 

madammina

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Ooh... Ezekiel King. And, er, he's kind of supposed to. He's not mine. You can read about him here.
The King and the Courtesan, a Thriller fanfic - FictionPress.com (Warning: Language and mature content contained in the link.)

He's not from this time period... sort of. The original Ezekiel is in modern times. This version of Ezekiel has always lived in the 1800's, but otherwise functions very close to his original counterpart.

And Ezekiel and Constance have a history together. It's why she's the only one who can refer to him by his first name (though it's not a sign of affection)

I'm glad you like Riku going home and Sora and Kairi being homesick. It's been a LONG few days.
 

madammina

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I can link you to what I wrote, but it's spoilery for what I plan to do with HCTB.

Alrighty then. Anyway, Ezekiel was just supposed to cameo, but he just keeps on popping up. I think he's had more screen time then Rolly or Harriet now. (sigh)
 

TwilightRiku_13

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Okay, that was really great. I really liked that Riku did not end up in the asylum. I also liked that Sora and Kairi are showing some homesickness. I also liked the description of Riku in the asylum; that was really good. What I do not like are Constance and Ezekiel. Those two are really starting to piss me off with all their plans and bad intentions. Can't think of any improvements; everything was good. Anyway, great job, and I look forward to more.
 

madammina

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Okay, that was really great. I really liked that Riku did not end up in the asylum. I also liked that Sora and Kairi are showing some homesickness. I also liked the description of Riku in the asylum; that was really good. What I do not like are Constance and Ezekiel. Those two are really starting to piss me off with all their plans and bad intentions. Can't think of any improvements; everything was good. Anyway, great job, and I look forward to more.

1) I'm glad you're glad that Riku isn't in the asylum. He has LOTS to do outside of the asylum though.

2) Yeah, I thought I should have some moments where it's just them (Sora and Kairi) I should note I've been writing this for almost 2 years, but it's been less then a week for them.

3) I've had an idea of what Riku would see in the asylum for a while. I'm glad I could get it worked out in horrifying detail.

4) Ezekiel - who was just intended to be a minor character- should stay out until Night 10. Now, how many chapters it will be until Night 10 is another matter. He was actually supposed to make his only appearance in Night 10. Anyway, if you're sick of Ezekiel you won't see him for a bit and I don't think he'll appear after it (except for possibly one scene)


What did everyone think of Riku and Leota interacting? I haven't seen anyone comment on it yet. And how about Sora/Constance?
 
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