eden's end ; in the castle that never was

[tall_dark_and]

Riku's been a very daring boy.

This isn't a surprise really - trying to test his limits is a common practice for him. He's been even more reckless lately, ever since he was locked into the Shadow Realms. It's anybody's best guess as to whether he's doing this as a way to punish himself, or a way to find Sora more quickly.

Probably a mix of both.

He's been in the Castle only a few times, but he hasn't met any danger yet. He's easily sneaked in and out, and taken more than a few books from the library as a trophy. It's enough to give someone who's a little less smart a sense of false safety.

Riku knows better. But he's still acting as if he doesn't, anyway.

Maybe he just wants to see what happens.

So. The scene is set, and the player is placed. Now all that is left is to see the unfolding of events...

In the halls of the Castle That Never Was.

Comments

[x-marks-the.livejournal.com]

If either Riku or Xemnas existed in a world where the French playwright Tristan Bernard had lived, they might have heard the phrase, “In the theatre the audience want to be surprised - but by things that they expect.”

Xemnas knows that Riku has been here more than once, in spite of the fact that the Castle is forbidden territory, strictly off limits under penalty of immediate execution. Ostensibly, at any rate; to watch the boy look around, even take little momentos with him, has given Xemnas a great deal of amusement. Were he so inclined he could ensure that Riku never left the Castle again, because it's not any skill on Riku's part that's letting him get in and out so easily. No, it's Xemnas' word and obedient followers.

Actors must be prepared to improvise, but direct observation is the job of the audience. Riku may think he knows better, but that may also be his weakness. Unpredictability is something that cannot be known save for the fact that it exists. What precisely he should be wary of, or when it will come, is not something that Riku can be know with absolute certainty.

Keeping one's guard up for a long time without cease can be tiring, and sooner or later Riku would have made a mistake all on his own that no one would be able to ignore, entertaining though his actions have been. But simply watching from afar can be tiring as well, tiring and boring. While Riku might expect one of the others to try to stop him, perhaps the Superior himself making an appearance will be at least a bit surprising.

"You are certainly one to push your luck. How many times has it been now?" he questions, emerging from the deep shadow he's been standing in. "Surely you've not run out of reading material already?"