#rikunami day 2022

[kaicean]

it’s a promise. 💫 // happy rikunami day 2022!!

[phoenix-downer]

Earth and Sea

~1200 words. Riku/Naminé. Arthurian Legend/Camelot AU. Angst, Romance, Bittersweet Ending.

Summary: Riku has done all he can to prepare Sora to be king, and Naminé rises from the waves to bring him home.

Happy RikuNami Day 2022! This is a continuation of my Camelot AU, this time focusing on Riku and Naminé 🌊

The waves of the sea gently lapped against the shore, pulling the moonlight reflected on their watery surface to and fro. It was one of those perfectly tranquil nights where all was right in the world and nothing could spoil Camelot’s bliss. 

Riku strolled back and forth on the beach, a triumphant smile on his face. “At last Sora is acting like a king.” He grinned to himself. “All it took was meeting his queen for him to learn ambition. Maybe I should’ve arranged for it to happen sooner.” 

He stopped his pacing and scratched his chin. “Of course, I already knew they would meet like this. It’s not like I could stop fate, no matter which way time flows for me.” He resumed his usual nightly walk along the shore. “And on a night, five years from now…” He frowned. “No, six? Wait, it has to be four. That’s right, it’s after the Battle of Bedegraine…Wait, that already happened.” He touched his head. “What’s wrong with my memory this evening? It’s almost as if…”  

He gulped and looked to the sea. He’d long since outgrown senility, and thus there was only one reason his memories of the future (well, his past) might be faltering so.

A golden light glowed from deep beneath the waves, and an angelic, lilting voice carried to him from the depths of the sea. “Far from day, far from night / Out of time, out of sight / In between, earth and sea / We shall fly, follow me…” she sang.

“Naminé,” he breathed. So much of her magic was sound-based, and indeed her very name meant the sound of waves. So of course her siren’s call came to him in the form of song. 

Her voice was slightly closer now and the glow from the sea was brighter. “Dry the rain, warm the snow / Where the winds never blow / Follow me, follow me…”

“Naminé, no, not yet,” he told her. He’d known this day would come for a long time, but he wasn’t ready. There was still so much he wanted to help Sora with. Surely he had a little more time.

But she ignored his pleas and continued her song. “To a cave by a sapphire shore / We shall walk through an emerald door / And for thousands of evermores to come my life you shall be…”

She was speaking of her abode beneath the waves, of course. He’d visited it many times as he’d taught her everything he knew about magic. And now, it was time to go home to her for good. 

He knew this, he knew his fate, and yet so stubbornly fought against it. “Naminé,” he pleaded, “Can’t you wait a little longer before taking my magic power? I just need to tell Sora a few more things.” 

She emerged from the waves, looking as majestic as always. Her hair graced her shoulders like a golden veil, and her eyes were the color of the sea at twilight. Her dress ebbed and flowed in the breeze like the sea on a windy night, and she fixed her even gaze on him. She was ancient and yet the very image of youth and beauty, and he found himself dry-mouthed before her. 

“Riku, it’s time, my love,” she said softly, a hint of sadness in her eyes as she cupped his cheek. Her touch was ever so gentle, ever so affectionate.

He placed his hand over hers. “I don’t want it to be.” 

She smiled sadly. “You knew this moment was coming. And besides, Sora will never truly be king if you’re always there to make sure he never stumbles. He’ll be alright now that he has Kairi.” Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment and then reopened. “Your time in Camelot is through, Riku. You’ve done everything you can to prepare him. The rest is in his hands.” 

She opened her mouth to sing again when he stopped her, the panic surging through his chest.  “But did I tell him about Roxas?” He scoured his thoughts, his foggy memories, then sighed deeply. “That’s right, I did. But Roxas and Kairi, did I warn him about Roxas and Kairi?” 

She shook her head. “And it’s best that you didn’t. Let him have these years of happiness before all that happens. Sometimes foresight is more a burden than an aid.” She looked out to the sea. “And besides, things might be different this time around. You don’t know that they’ll make the same mistakes. Kairi was so torn up about what happened the first time that I think she’ll choose differently, even without her memories to guide her.”

“That’s true,” he conceded. Maybe things really would turn out differently this time. 

“Riku,” Naminé said, her voice melodic and soothing like a lullaby, “I cannot delay any further. It’s time. I have to take you with me now or you’ll perish.” 

This was their tragic secret: Naminé would forever be seen as the enchantress who stole Riku’s life away and sealed him under the sea when really, she was the guardian angel who spirited him beneath the waves to save him from certain doom. 

“I know,” he said, sparing one last look in the direction of the castle. “You must do what you must to save me.” He very nearly went with her and then stopped. “But what about Vanitas? I didn’t warn him about Vanitas and I have to…” He started walking towards the castle, and Naminé gasped and grabbed his hand.

“Riku, please, we must go now!” she cried. “Please, give me permission to finish taking your powers.” Tears spilled out of her lovely eyes. “If you don’t, you’ll die, and I…I can’t bear to lose you.”

He smiled sadly at her. “What was I supposed to tell him anyway? I can’t remember.”

It was a playful joke, of course. She wouldn’t fully take his memories and powers without his permission. She understood this and relaxed, the tension leaving her body as she returned his smile. “Only you, only I,” she sang, “World farewell, world goodbye, to our home, ‘neath the sea, follow me.”

He couldn’t think of a better way to lose his memories of the future and his powers then with Naminé at his side, gently lulling him to a peaceful sleep in her abode. He reached for her hand, and together they stepped into the shallow surf, the sea tugging them home. 

As they waded further in, he turned back one last time to say, “Goodbye, Sora. I can’t remember the future anymore, and that means I don't know what sorrows and joys lay ahead of you. I can only wish for you in ignorance like everyone else. But I will say this: I hope you have a long and happy reign.” He smiled and shook his head, because while Sora was passionate and had a good heart, he needed to use his brain sometimes too. “Oh and Stick,” he said, using his affectionate childhood nickname for Sora, “Remember to think…”

Naminé gave him a gentle kiss on the lips to protect him until they reached her home, and with that, they disappeared beneath the waves. 

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A/N: This story is inspired by the musical Camelot which is in turn inspired by the book The Once and Future King which also inspired the Disney film The Sword in the Stone. 

Naminé’s song is the song from the musical sung by Nimue and is called “Follow Me,” and Riku’s responses were also inspired by Merlin’s responses during the song (I would highly recommend giving it a listen, it’s just so hauntingly beautiful). The song has always just struck me as such a RikuNami song, especially with the “earth and sea” line, so I’ve been wanting to write something for it for a long time. Now I finally got the chance, and it was fun to continue the Camelot AU as well.   Thank you for reading!