ahhh its been a month since i last posted a chapter :cursing: i should be shot for this!! lol
well everyone, this is *sob* the final chapter of Living Memories. it isn't very long, but it is the conclusion...until next time ^^ enjoy the final chapter everyone!!
Chapter 25: The Next Year
In time, the small village of Hacketsville was refurbished to an even better state than it was in before. There were now beach homes and small stores on the newly-paved roads and sidewalks. A small park was created dedicating the lives of the late King and Queen of the world.
Slowly but surely, Hacketsville returned to its normal state. It took about six months for the town to be completely finished, and the next building to be fixed was the castle.
The once tall, grey-stoned castle turned into a beautiful white, towering castle with gold roofing and wide windows. Three towers stood tall, the tallest of them being the balcony that wrapped around the entire tower to gaze at every part of the world. From that balcony, you can see the meadows, ocean, the village, and a distant mountain.
The ballroom inside had a grand staircase that curled at the bottom, white tiles, and a crystal chandelier hanging above, its lights reflecting on the tiles. The walls were paneled with mirrors, just like it was on the first day Jess arrived back home. The day where the newest maid, Malifa, actually was Maleficent in disguise. A small room with a glass door branched off into a small greenhouse.
It took a year to get everything back to the way it was before: normal. With the village and castle completely restored, life in Hacketsville seemed almost perfect.
Jess stood on the sandy beach and watched the waves of the ocean. She looked down to a pair of hands that appeared around her waist and looked up to see Riku behind her. He too was looking out at the ocean.
“Are Sora and Kairi leaving for the islands soon?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Riku said. He moved his head next to hers, their cheeks touching. “I’m staying right here with you.”
Jess smiled. “I’m gonna miss them.”
“I am too. But this is what they chose,” Riku said.
“It’s gonna be so weird not seeing them all the time. I mean, I’ve been with Sora since day one. Even though I don’t want to take Sora and Kairi away from their lives, I don’t want them to go. Is that being selfish?” Jess moaned.
“No. Well, at least I don’t think so,” Riku said. “You say their like your siblings, right?”
“Yeah, we are.”
“You’ve just gotten so close to them, that you don’t want to say goodbye. You want us all to stick together forever. I want that too,” Riku said.
“If I was never named Queen, it would have made things so much easier,” Jess said.
“Don’t say that. You’re the only one that’s left to be Queen. It was going to happen either way,” Riku said, stroking her hair.
“I know…”
Riku hugged her closer to his body. “You’ll make a great Queen,” he whispered in her ear.
Jess gave a small smile, but with that a tear dropped from her eye.
From behind Riku, she saw Kairi and Sora approaching. A wave of sadness came over her; they were leaving.
They stood silently for a minute, just looking at each other with sad eyes.
“This is it, huh?” Sora said quietly.
Riku nodded, and Jess lowered her head. Sora frowned and turned his head away from Riku and Jess’s. Kairi looked at the green grass beneath their feet, not knowing what to do or say.
Jess stepped out to Kairi first, still looking down at the ground. They looked up at each other, and hugged for what they thought would be eternity until they saw each other again.
“You guys can come here whenever you want. Just don’t wait too long,” Jess laughed.
“Same for you two,” Kairi said. “Especially Riku.”
Jess smiled and walked to Sora and took his hands. A small beam of light formed in between their hands.
“Don’t loose sight of your light,” Jess said.
“I won’t,” Sora said, and he hugged her as well.
He walked up to Riku, who was finished saying goodbye to Kairi. “Take care of her,” he said, eyeing Jess.
“You know I will,” Riku said. “I remember telling you that.”
“Yeah, but you don’t need to remind me now,” Sora said, looking back at Kairi. “I’ll always keep an eye on her.”
“Good. I don’t want to visit the Islands and see what mess you two are getting into,” Riku laughed.
“Very funny!”
“Sora, are you ready?” Kairi asked.
He turned to Kairi, and then back to Jess and Riku. “See you soon,” he said, and waved as he ran with Kairi to one of the gummi ships Cid built.
Riku and Jess watched as their best friends flew away in the ship, hoping that the next time they would meet would be soon, and that there would be no danger involved.
~*~
The next year…
It’s been a year since the village and castle were completely rebuilt, a year since life in Hacketsville restarted, and a year since Sora and Kairi departed from Riku and Jess.
On a distant world, thousands from the tiny worlds of Hacketsville and Destiny Islands, a dark figure stood on top of a cliff. The figure was concealed in the darkness, only the light from the moon was illuminating its silhouette. From inside its sleeve, a blade shot out, pointing at the ground. Another one formed from the other sleeve, and the figure stood still for a second more before turning around to a higher cliff above; the final climb until the top. The figure jumped and stabbed the blades into the rocky wall, and started to climb up. It reached the top, and there it stood as the rain began to pound harder on the ground. The blades disappeared, and a Keyblade appeared in its right hand. A bolt of lightening illuminated the sky, followed by the loud crash of thunder. The clouds above started to break apart quickly, and a blue heart appeared above the cliff where the figure stood…
Sora woke up in a cold sweat, almost jumping out of his bed. After taking a breath, he looked out to his window and saw that the sky was calm and cool. A voice kept ringing in his ear:
You are the one who will open the door.