Black boots clicked on the pavement, the girl paused for a moment and let out a heavy sigh.
“Where are you?” Kairi continued to wonder worlds, trying to find Sora. Everyone else told the dark amber headed girl that it wasn’t safe to wonder different worlds, but nothing Sora ever did for her was safe. Her sky-blue eyes scanned the empty streets of this world. She adjusted her pink sleeveless zip up hoodie and her pink and black skirt before resuming her strides through the surprisingly modern world. Most of the worlds she visited were full of magic and fantastical creatures; this one was much more modern and colder. A grey overcast sky didn’t offer any hints of pleasantries as the dim light bleakly illuminated the rows of buildings and streetlamps.
After turning down another row of buildings Kairi noticed something that stood out. One of the buildings had a courtyard and looked more like a school. Kairi doubted Sora would ever step foot inside a school but maybe it was worth checking out, if anything she had to start looking rather than wondering the streets.
With a little bit of force, the iron gates opened, the gate wasn’t locked and only the weight of the metal held it shut. Kairi was worried to find that the doors to the school were similar, no lock on the main entrance. The inside only offered more questions, the main hall was large. Checkered flooring and aqua green wallpaper greeted her.
“Hello?” Only the paintings on the walls could offer a reply. With her echo filling the large hall Kairi quietly entered, feeling like she was being watched. She closed the door behind her and summoned her key blade into her hand. The golden weapon adorned with flowers and a star shaped fruit on the pommel radiated warmth into her hand, that small comfort was all she needed to continue into the hall. She looked at the paintings as she made her way to the winding staircase near the back of the hall, it went up to two different indoor balconies. Those balconies were also lined with more paintings and numerous oak doors to venture into; they all looked identical and offered no hints on what might be within them.
“I don’t have a choice; I’ll have to check them.” Trying to bolster her courage Kairi threw open a door. The hall was dark, only the light from the main hall offering a little bit of sight into it.
“Uh, maybe the next one.” Her conviction wavering Kairi opened the next door. Once again only the dark greeted her. She let out a sigh. “It can’t be helped I suppose.” With a little magic she summoned a playful ball of light that danced around her head. Its soft glow held back the dark just enough for her to see where she was going as the two of them walked into the hall.
The hall matched the main area, checkered flooring ran for what seemed like forever and the walls had even more paintings and doors to explore. Only then did Kairi notice that the paintings were repeating. Finally realizing something was wrong the girl turned down the way she came, she broke into a jog and tried to hurry back to the exit. The ball of light struggled to keep up with her and Soon Kairi was running in the dark. Her heavy steps echoing in her ears as she raced back to the main hall. Suddenly a man was in her path and with no time to avoid him she rammed right into him. They both let out a grunt before the man’s voice filled the halls.
“My dear! A young lady like you should be more aware of her surroundings.” Kairi started to apologize, taken aback by his sudden appearance and her actions. As the little ball of light caught up to her the soft white light illuminated some of the man’s features. His brilliant red hair and blue tinted glasses were vibrant, almost a matching color to the union jack blazer he wore. White pants and a black shirt along with a white handkerchief wrapped around his neck completed his simple but patriotic outfit. His grin was wide and highlighted his bold teeth in the soft lighting. Kairi felt uneasy around him.
“I-I’m sorry I just needed to-” The man waved a cane in front of her, in had a ruby on the handle.
“Tsk tsk, it’s not proper to stammer in front of your elders. Where did you go to school?” The odd question took her for another surprise.
“School? Well I didn’t have a chance to finis-” He slammed his cane on the ground. The loud clack ringing in her ears.
“Didn’t finish school?!” His composure didn’t change, he still had this air of superiority about him. “Any good modest lady needs a strong foundation; this simply won’t do!” Kairi let out a gasp as he grabbed her hand and started to lead her down the hall. With a forceful tug she pulled it back.
“No! Fira!” She called to the elements, looking for their protection as she quickly threw the magic spell at the strange man. The flames crackled and bathed the walls in raging crimson light as the ball flew at him. With a loud thud the ball came to a halt, suspended in air as it raged in its still prison. The man’s grin only grew wider, going from cheek to cheek.
“My little ducky, that might have worked in your world.” He spun the cane in his hand before touching the suspended flames with the ruby; the fire sputtered out and left only the soft white glow from the other magic Kairi summoned. “But you’re in my world now, and in Moddie’s world young ladies have manners.” He slammed his cane against the flooring, the loud clack ringing in Kairi’s ears again. It grew louder as he did it again, she covered her ears with her hands but the ringing continued. With her focus stunted by the noise the little white ball dissipated. Leaving Kairi in the darkness as the man continued to assault her senses until she couldn’t bare it anymore. The young key blade master collapsed on the floor, at the mercy of her assailant.
Kairi’s vision started to come back, slowly she blinked as the ringing in her ears subsided.
“Wha?” she meekly mumbled as she roused her head. Her focus slowly came back, the main hallway she entered coming into view. After a moment she recognized the main door she entered, she tried to bolt upright out of her seat but the chains that held her to the chair stayed firm.
“Up again so soon dearie?” The same mocking voice from before filled her ears. The chair was spun around with surprising force and Kairi found herself up-close with the same man from before.
“Who are you?” Kairi struggled against the chains, unable to summon anything while her arms were bounded.
“Oh ducky I’m Moddie! Owner of this fine world that you run amok in. A young lady such as yourself really shouldn’t be wondering in different worlds.” Kairi looked away from the man and continued to pull her arms free.
“You can’t keep me like this!” Mad Mod chuckled and stepped back from her, pulling his cane out of his jacket.
“I have no intentions of keeping you like this, my little duckling. After a first-class lesson from Professor Moddie himself you will be an upstanding citizen of this dazzling world!” He spun the cane in his hands before slamming it on the ground, the impact caused the gem to spark and a distracting glow emanated from it. Kairi started to feel drawn towards it but she forced her gaze away. Her resistance fading as Mad Mod pushed the gem closer to her face.
“Come on now, just a little peek and you’ll be just as educated as any proper lady should be.” Kairi couldn’t help but open an eye, the glow from the gem catching her attention. Soon both her eyes were fixated on the ruby as the glow and swirls invited her towards it.
“That’s it, no more fight out of you. Time to behave.” With his words sinking into her mind Kairi couldn’t stop Mad Mod from starting his lesson plan. In the span of minutes Kairi was caught up many school topics that Mad Mod deemed worthy of teaching. The gem glowed while her past training on fighting and magic were replaced with a heavy skewed history towards British views. History and math, basic home skills, a very extensive etiquette lesson. Way too much for one person to remember but Kairi felt it all being crammed into her mind. Her eyes fixated on the spirals that pushed out the memories and thoughts that Mad Mod didn’t think to be useful in his world. Soon Kairi’s whole mission was pushed out. Kairi couldn’t help but smile as she stopped worrying about finding someone as memories of the local area replaced silly fantasies of visiting different worlds.
Her body felt so heavy and the glow of the gem felt so good in her mind and muscles. Her arms tensed and relaxed, her eyelids fluttered as she fought to keep them open. Mad Mod let out a snide laugh.
“That’s it my ducky, forget all that rubbish. You only need to think about the good times, about London proper.” Kairi’s head swayed with his words. “Now, sleep.” Kairi’s head dropped, her resistance gone and her mind open for Mad Mod to write as he saw fit. Soon Kairi wasn’t a warrior at all, she was a small-town girl lost in the big city. Her head filled with fashion ideas, young naivety, proper manners, a respect for her elders, and most importantly, no idea she was in a different world. “You’re my finest work yet, would you like to meet the new lady?” Kairi mumbled, head still in a haze. Mad Mod raised an eyebrow and placed a hand over his ear. “What’s that? You’re not ready yet? Oh but of course ducky! You simply haven’t gotten ready yet!” Mad Mod tapped the ruby gem against Kairi’s shoulder. The sleeping girl didn’t wake up as her clothing changed, her heavy boots became purple heels with a strap. Her skirt and sleeveless hoodie merged at the waist, turning into a heavy cotton material and dying a rich purple, sleeves introduced themselves as her zipper and belt became simple white lines going down her front and around her torso. The hood shrunk and bunched up, a simple thick collar at the top of the dress. Her whole outfit now a rich purple, nude makeup applied itself to her face. Mad Mod wiped away a tear.
“Perfection, I daresay there’s no one else in the world that can match my works.” He started to walk to the other side of Kairi before pausing. “Well, it is my world after all!” He busted out laughing, with a tap on her other shoulder the chains melted away and Kairi started to rouse her head once more.
“Huh? Where am I?” A confused girl started to open her eyes. After a few blinks she could make out checkered tile flooring and art hung along the walls, a large wooden double door was in her view as well. The girl rubbed her head, running her fingers through her amber hair as she tried to remember what happened. Was she looking for something? Where even was here? Her blue eyes spotted someone just coming into her view. A man with a strong chin and fiery red hair, his wide smile put her at ease and his union jack jacket reminded her of home.
“Oh my, poor little girl. I found you collapsed in the entryway, were you trying to get out of the storm?” The girl had to think for a moment.
“Storm? There was a-” It was her first night in the big city, she thought she was so lucky that the storm didn’t cancel her train but that meant once she got out of the station the rain was already so intense, she had no sense of direction in the new city. “Oh! The storm! My apologizes sir I just had nowhere else to go.”
“That’s quite alright my ducky, my home is open to any looking to learn.” The girl crossed her legs.
“So, you’re a professor?” The man chuckled to himself.
“In some manner, no my real passion is for designing. I can see you have an eye for it as well from your outfit.” The girl could barely contain her excitement, this was her moment.
“Ah! Yes! Thank you, sir! I came to the city to work in the fashion industry myself.” The man stroked his chin, pondering for a moment.
“Are you sure it wasn’t to find someone?” The girl cocked her head, what an odd question to ask. Maybe it was a test.
“The only person I wanted to find was someone willing to introduce me into the field, and that jacket screams of someone that knows designs. Please let me work for you!” The man continued to rub his chin, heavily weighing his options. He then thrusted out his hand.
“The name’s Moddie, I could use a girl like you as a model.” The girl jumped out of her chair and gave the man a polite hand shake.
“Nice to meet you! My name is...is...” The girl was suddenly trying to remember something so basic when something else unexpected happened. A large key suddenly appeared in her hand! The golden key adorned with flowers nearly hit Moddie! The girl started to panic when Moddie firmly grabbed her hand.
“It’s alright Janet! Everything's fine, now let’s just throw out that unsightly thing and I’ll show you around your new office, hmm?” Janet was worried, so many questions ran through her mind but after looking into Moddie’s eyes she felt a comfort wash over her.
“Please, lead the way.” Holding Janet’s hand Mad Mod led her to the front doors. She tossed the gaudy looking key in a waste bin near the door as Mad Mod opened the door. Revealing a sunny day and a bustling street filled with people dressed similar to the two of them. As the door closed the key blade winked out of existence, likely never to be summoned again.
Therandom500 it features a short but sweet story about a girl having an unfortunate run in with a very patriotic villain.
