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She lost her star charm.
Where, she did not know, but could probably guess. It had been on her bracelet when she arrived at the party hall, but gone when she returned to her hotel room.
She was sad that she was not able to stay to see who won her painting, but the only part of her that suffered for it was her ego. The last bus for her ride back departed shortly after midnight, and unless she wanted to spend the night wandering the streets of an unfamiliar city, she had no choice but to leave when the clock struck midnight.
She made the journey again the day after in search of her lost charm only to find nothing. Naminé hadn’t expected to, honestly, but it was a disappointment all the same. A tiny thing like that could have easily been lost anywhere.
The sun was setting as she sat on the front steps of the building, indulging herself with a moment of dejection as the clocktower tolled in the distance. She counted only six this time. Pity. She could use a little extra luck.
“I guess you were right after all, Roxas.”
Her words were rueful, but her thoughts were not. She had not been expecting to speak with either the young king or his twin brother, given the number of high profile attendees at that event while she was just a lucky orphan whose artwork managed to capture the attention of the right people at the right time.
But spoken with Prince Roxas she had and… she was surprised with how easy it had been. She had simply let her heart guide her words and it was as though by meeting him she was finally able to fulfill a promise she made a long time ago.
What promise that was, and to who, she could not say, but that was alright. It was a feeling she knew she would cherish for the rest of her days.
Naminé sighed, turning her bracelet on her wrist with a finger. Maybe her star charm was fair enough of a trade for a memory so precious. That meeting had been like a dream, so it was inevitable that she would eventually wake up.
Well… there was no helping things was there? She had spent her last day in this city searching rather than touring as she’d meant to.
Having accepted that her charm was not to be found, she rose to her feet and stretched. She had things to do, after all.
But when she saw the person standing at the bottom of the stairs and looking up at her, she had to stop, blink, and rub her eyes.
“Roxas?” She knew she had said she’d hoped that she would be able to meet him again, someday soon, but she never would have thought this soon.
“Hey.” He held his hand up in greeting. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” There was a pause as he rubbed the back of his head. “Now that I say that out loud it sounds kind of dumb. I didn't even know if you were still in this city…”
She resisted the urge to giggle as she descended the stairs, step by step. “You were looking for me?”
“I was.” Roxas reached into his jacket. “I think this belongs to you?”
And there, in a white organza fabric bag, was her yellow star charm.
“My charm,” Naminé gasped. “I… I’ve been looking for it all day. Where did you find it?”
“In the party hall. Next to your painting.”
Of course that was where she had lost it. Naminé beamed as she peered at the charm through the sheer mesh. The clasp was broken, but that was alright. She would be able to replace it easily when she got home. She was so happy that, without thinking, she threw her arms around him and gave him as tight a hug as she could manage. “Thank you so much!”
“You’re welcome.” Much like the night before, his grins were surprisingly boyish. Charmingly so, especially now with the blush on his cheeks.
Naminé supposed that she should be embarrassed too. It wasn’t like her to be going around hugging people she barely knew, but she was just… so happy. She had her charm back, of course, but Roxas… He had picked it up and spent an entire day wandering the city to return it to her in person.
This realization just made these strange tender feelings of hers all the warmer. “Would you like to get some ice cream?” she asked. “My treat.”
“I can never say no to ice cream,” Roxas admitted, grinning. “I know a place that just opened nearby...”
She smiled back. How could anyone have guessed that this day would turn out so well? “Sounds like a plan,” she agreed, “Why don't you the way?”
When I arrive at where you are, we may not appear to be as we were... But we'll make another promise to keep.