Chapter 30

“And you are…?” The queen blinked at him. “This is our friend, Sora…” As Goofy explained, she grinned. “Oh, it’s you, Sora! The king told me all about you in his letters. He said you’re a very brave young man. I’m Minnie, the queen of this land.” She curtsied as she introduced herself. “Nice to meetcha, Your Majesty. So, do you know where he is?” To Sora’s question, Queen Minnie only shook her head sadly. “Aw…” His shoulders slumped. “Your Majesty,” Donald asked, “what are the Heartless doing in your castle?” “Oh my… So those are the Heartless…” The queen sighed quietly, lowering her long lashes. “Don’t worry—we’ll take care of ’em!” said Sora. She smiled at him again. “I know I can count on you, Sora. Now, there’s something I’d like all of you to come and see. Would you escort me to the audience chamber?” “Yes, ma’am!” At the royal request, Donald and Goofy snapped their heels together and saluted again. Half a second too late, Sora did the same. “Oh!” Queen Minnie gasped. “I forgot to warn everyone else in the castle. We must be sure they’re hidden somewhere safe!” “Okay, we’ll do that first,” Sora said breezily. Donald didn’t take it as calmly. “Oh no!” “What’s the matter?” Sora looked at him curiously. “Well, there’s…in the castle…” Donald trailed off, as if it was hard to explain. Goofy filled in. “A-hyuck! Daisy’s here somewhere!” he said with a shrug. “Daisy? Who’s that?” asked Sora. “She’s Donald’s special sweetheart.” Goofy chuckled. “Really…? Donald has a sweetheart, huh?” “Wak! C’mon, we gotta go tell everyone!” Donald hopped irritably as Sora gave him a teasing grin. “We should probably split up,” Goofy suggested lightly. “I can make sure everyone knows!” Sora was eager to get moving. “No, you can’t. You’ll just get lost!” Donald snapped, shutting him down. “Are you just saying that because you wanna go see your girlfriend?” “Wak! You be quiet!” Donald shook his wand at Sora. “Hee-hee…” Queen Minnie covered her mouth, but a giggle escaped. “I’m glad to see you’re all such good friends. Sora, would you come with me? Donald and Goofy, you two make sure everyone is safe.” The trio looked at one another, then all saluted in unison. “Yes, Your Majesty!” Then Donald and Goofy hurried out of the room. “Now, shall we?” said the queen, and Sora led her to the door. Outside the library, the corridor leading to the audience chamber was still teeming with Heartless. “Your Majesty, can you run?” asked Sora. “Yes.” The second Queen Minnie replied, Sora took off—but perhaps because of her gown, she couldn’t actually run very fast. And on top of that, the Heartless began flocking to her rather than Sora. “Oh no—c’mon, Your Majesty!” He tried to get back to her side, but there were so many enemies that he could barely move. And then— “Holy!” With that resolute cry from the queen, white light flared around her and blasted the Heartless back. The word was a chant for a spell. “Wow, that’s amazing!” “Let’s be on our way, Sora.” She hurried to join him. Each time the Heartless surrounded them, they managed to fend off the creatures with Sora’s Keyblade and Queen Minnie’s magic, and finally they made it to the grand audience chamber. “Just one moment.” The queen lifted her hand before the doors. “When the trouble started, I made sure to seal this room.” The great doors glowed, and the magical barrier fell away. “Let’s go.” She quietly opened the door—but only found more Heartless swarming inside. “Oh, not here, too!” “We’ve got ’em!” They kept going just as before, fighting with the Keyblade and the queen’s spell to scatter the Heartless, making their way along the red carpet to the throne. “Ugh, gimme a breather…,” Sora complained under his breath as the queen dashed to the throne and fiddled with something behind it. Then the throne slid aside with a rumble, and brightness poured out from beneath it. “Whoa…,” Sora breathed. The light chased away all the remaining Heartless. “The room below is called the Hall of the Cornerstone,” Queen Minnie explained, turning back to Sora. Under the area where the throne usually sat was a staircase leading down. “Our castle has always been safe from invasion by evil worlds thanks to the Cornerstone of Light that we keep there.” “The…Cornerstone of Light?” Sora repeated. “This way, Sora.” He followed her down the stairs. The Hall of the Cornerstone was dim and gloomy, the walls overgrown with thorny vines. The tangle of brambles reminded Sora of something… Hollow Bastion when Maleficent had ruled over it. These were just like the thorns twining through the castle back then. “Sora!” Donald and Goofy came running down the stairs behind him. The queen turned to them. “Did you make sure everyone knows?” “We sure did, Your Majesty!” Goofy saluted her. “Thank you,” she replied, then moved toward a sphere in the center of the room. It resembled a giant crystal ball, except that it shone with light from within. “This is our cherished Cornerstone. But—the thorns…” She lowered her eyes in dismay. “This must be the work of someone evil. I don’t know what it could mean.” Before she could speculate further, a burst of green flame rose in front of the Cornerstone. “Wak!” Donald gripped his wand. The green fire coalesced into a figure—a familiar one. “Maleficent!” cried Goofy. “Well, well, well, what have we here?” the witch drawled. “If it isn’t the wretched Keyblade boy and his lackeys!” “We’re not lackeys!” Donald hopped in indignation. “Yeah, why don’t you face us fair and square?!” Sora added. “All in good time. I promise you won’t be left out of my vengeance. But you must be patient.” “Just what are you doing here, Maleficent?!” the queen demanded. “Ah, Queen Minnie. Radiant as always.” Maleficent gave her a polite nod, but not without a smirk. “Now, I’m here on a property venture. I want this castle for my own. Although it’s a bit too bright for what I have in mind. I think I’ll fill every room with my personal touch of darkness.” She spoke with a cruel, patronizing smile. “You’d better stop right now, if you know what’s good for you!” Queen Minnie told her. Maleficent reared back mockingly. “Oh, how frightening. Very well, I’ll stop—after the castle is mine!” With that, she vanished, but her parting cackle still reverberated through the hall. “Ooh, she’s the worst.” Sora resentfully crossed his arms. “Nothing like this has ever happened before,” the queen worried, lowering her eyes again. “I looked through all the records in the library but couldn’t find a single clue.” “Wak! But there’s someone who knows lots of stuff that isn’t in books!” Donald realized with a jump. “Oh yeah!” Goofy grinned. “Merlin the wizard.” “Yes, that’s perfect. Merlin might know something about this mess.” Queen Minnie raised her head, determined. “Let’s ask his advice.” “We’ll go to Hollow Bastion,” said Sora, and Donald and Goofy agreed. With the Gummi Ship, they arrived back at Hollow Bastion in short order. The trio ran into Merlin’s house but found no one there. “Hello? Anyone home?” Sora called. “Merlin!” “The castle’s in danger!” Donald and Goofy tried, too, but only silence answered them. Just as they turned back to one another, Merlin’s voice sounded from empty space in the room. “What is all that racket?” With a little poof! of white smoke, the wizard appeared. “Oh-ho, so it’s you three. Hmm, it seems you’ve grown a bit more dependable since I last saw you.” “Really?!” Sora drew himself up proudly, while Donald, deadly serious, went straight to Merlin. “There’s big trouble at Disney Castle!” At that, Merlin’s bushy white eyebrows rose a bit. “What sort of trouble?” “Maleficent trouble! She’s there!” Goofy stood beside Donald. “Heartless, too!” “Dear me…” Merlin folded his arms as Donald told him the rest. Queen Minnie was still standing in the Hall of the Cornerstone, gazing up at the precious glowing sphere, when she thought she heard Donald’s voice from somewhere. As she searched for the source, a puff of white smoke rose beside the Cornerstone. “Oh my…!” she murmured in wonder. “Wak?” “Whoa!” “A-hyuck?” The trio was suddenly back in the room, this time with Merlin. “Better to get a look for myself,” Merlin said with a sly smile, peering at the Cornerstone of Light. “Mm-hmm… Interesting…” Queen Minnie looked up at him anxiously. “What’s happening, Merlin…?” “Well, it’s not good,” he replied, deep in thought. “In fact, I’m afraid it’s quite serious.” “What should we do?” Sora asked. “Hrmm…” Then Merlin nodded and waved his hands to cast a spell. With another cloud of smoke, a gleaming white door appeared in the corner of the room. “What’s that?” said Sora. Merlin observed him and then the queen before answering. “That is a gateway to a very special world. Someone beyond that door is responsible for what’s going on in Disney Castle—I’m certain of it.” As he spoke, Donald stepped closer to the gate and began knocking on it here and there. “We knew you’d be able to help, Merlin!” Goofy joined Donald at the door. Sora followed. “Whoever it is, we better go get ’em!” “Now, just a moment!” said Merlin as they were about to leap through. “The perpetrators must be stopped, of course. But there is an even more important task. Somewhere in that world, there should be another door identical to this one. I believe our enemies are utilizing that other door, and as long as it remains open, the castle will be in grave danger. Sora, you must find that door, and when you do, lock it up tight with your Keyblade.” Sora listened diligently to this and nodded at the instructions. “Got it.” “Now, pay attention, all of you,” Merlin said, continuing his lecture. “You are heading into a very particular world. Once you discover why, the nature of it may tempt you to do something dark. You must resist that temptation at all costs.” That made significantly less sense to Sora, who responded with a blank expression. “What’s that mean?” “You’ll understand soon enough. I have faith in you lads!” The trio nodded and returned their attention to the door. Beside them, Queen Minnie stood with her hands clasped as if in prayer. “I’m counting on you, Sora.” “Leave it to us!” he replied, and then he opened the portal.