Chapter 2

Chapter II

The Plan

Alexandra stayed in her room for days, refusing food and visitors. In the pit of her stomach there was an empty burning sensation. She knew that she was falling into a depression, and she really didn’t care.

Day by day she sank lower and lower. As the winter season approached, she sat huddled under a thick winter blanket, half frozen and in the dark. She refused to let anyone start a fire.

Knocks on the door came frequently, some from servants and others from messengers. From what she put together, the ally kingdoms were all at the brink of declaring war of Rauros. She didn’t care though.

As the months rolled on, and winter became spring, she still sat there, by herself in her room. Most of the time she slept, always dreaming of Sora.

One day her hibernation ended when a sharp rap came upon her door.

“Go away,” she said into her pillow. The door opened and the blankets were yanked off of her bed. She looked up in surprise to see who the culprit was. Cordillia stood there with her arms folded over her chest.

“Up,” she said, grabbing Alexandra’s arm and pulling her into the bathroom. Cordillia started the faucet on the bath tub and pulled Alexandra in front of her three way mirror.

Alexandra let out a small gasp at what she saw. Her pink and black hair was tangled and matted in places, her eyes were dull and she had bags under her eyes. Her face was dirty. Cordillia turned off the water.

“In,” she commanded. Alexandra quickly undressed and got into the tub. Cordillia gave her soap and a wash cloth. As Alexandra washed, Cordillia paced back and forth. At times she stopped altogether and just stared into space, searching the future.

“Cordillia,” Alexandra asked, “What are you thinking about?” Cordillia sighed and looked at Alexandra wearily.

“We’re breaking Sora out,” she said. Alexandra’s head perked up.

“What?”

“We are going to break out Sora and then we are leaving The Palace…for good.”

Alexandra stared at Cordillia in awe. She had though of this many times in her depression, but never put it into action. She though about leaving the castle and it scared her a little bit, but it also excited her. She would be free from her duties and free to be with Sora…forever.

“When?” she asked.

“Soon,” Cordillia said. Alexandra got out of the tub and put on her robe and went over to Cordillia.

“How can we?” she asked “the dungeon is very heavily guarded. I'm sure that my mother wouldn't want anyone breaking in...or out.”

Cordillia blanked out. Alexandra waited patiently waited for her to come back to reality. She knew that she was seeing something important and that it would be crucial to their mission. When Cordillia came back to, and she was panting.
“Well,” she said, smiling slightly, “I guess that we shouldn't do that one. You think of plans and tell them to me and I will tell you if they are doable.”

With that she stood up. “By the way,” she said, “You should go and see your mother. She is worried about you.”

Alexandra sat there for a little while and thought of ways that she could help Sora escape. She thought of endless ways that she could, but her head rejected them all. Finally she settled on one, solid plan. Roxas could conjure a spell that would transform her into the queen and then she would go to the dungeon and would get Sora out. Smiling with happiness at her newfound plan, she put on her evening gown and went down to dinner.

The palace was ablaze with celebration on behalf of Alexandra’s return to the palace. After telling many people that she was fine and briefly hugging her mother, she finally got away from the party. She walked into the courtyard, enjoying the pleasant cool breeze blowing on her face. She walked over to the wall where she first saw Sora, smiling in remembrance of the day. She remembered his twinkling eyes. She felt a deep longing for his company. She ran her hands over the smooth bricks. Her hand hit a dent in the bricks and she looked at the wall. Carved into the bricks was one solitary word.

Alex.

Her heart jumped into her throat and she felt faint. She looked for somewhere to sit down, but never made it. She was unconscious before she hit the ground.

She awoke in what appeared to be the library. She was surrounded by books, but she was on a bed, so she knew it was Roxas’ chambers. She saw a soft light and heard the soft murmur of voices. She got off of the bed and headed towards where the light was coming from. She rounded a bookshelf and saw Roxas and Cordillia standing close together. They were arguing.

“I am not sure if she can,” said Cordillia, “it is just a theory.”

“Well,” said Roxas, matter-of-factly, “we should test her on it.” Cordillia shook her long white hair and leaned in closer to Roxas. Alexandra could no longer hear what they were saying to each other. She took a step forward and knocked over a small table with a stack of books on it. The books fell with a loud SNAP! Roxas and Cordillia spun around and looked at Alexandra.

“Uh, hi,” she said timidly “I was just…uh…seeing what you guys were doing.” They looked at her, their eyes seeing through her lie.

“Well,” Cordillia said, “come on over here!” Alexandra walked timidly over to where Roxas and Cordillia stood. When she got there, she saw that Roxas had fear in his eyes.

“What’s going on?” she asked, “Why are you guys looking at me like that?”

Cordillia sighed. “We have a theory to test out, but first there are some things that you should know. First off, you are not really the queen’s daughter.”

Alexandra stood in shock, “What do you mean?”

“I found you on the shore of the beach when you were only a few years old. I brought you back to the palace. Your m-…the queen never had a daughter and decided to keep you as her own. Your real mother was never found.”