Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy 7 is property of Square Enix and Disney
A knight in training had to mind his manners, a knight in training had to be neat and clean, and most importantly, a knight in training had to be obedient.
Obedient. The word made him cringe with distaste. He hated taking orders but he knew he had to be. He knew he had to follow orders and one day he would rise in the ranks and be under the commander of the knights. The commander, the prince of the whole kingdom, and his idol. Not just his idol, but his infatuation. Ever since he was a child he admired the prince, just like every other child he had known, but his was different. He didn't want to be like the prince, but instead, he wanted to be with the prince. Roxas knew then that he wasn't like normal children, especially normal boys.
Normal boys his age were discussing their opportunities in life and the girls down the road, specifically how to woo them. But Roxas, at the age of 12 had started training to be a knight in his backyard having decided that it was the easiest way to get closer to the prince. Roxas' family had been supportive of his decision to become a knight, not knowing the true reasons behind it, and were constantly helping him train, his brother especially. Sora, Roxas' older brother, could be found out back of their small house, armed with small wooden swords and the like, fighting with Roxas to help him become stronger. Sora's best friend, a full fledged knight named Riku, would often watch and give tips but stayed out of the fighting, preferring to make notes to report back to his commander, not that Roxas knew about that.
As it was, Roxas seemed to stand a better chance than the other boys who were competing to gain one of the coveted slots as an official Knight in training, but Roxas hadn't met his main opponent. A boy named Seifer.
Seifer was brutal and ruthless, but Roxas didn't know that yet. Nor did Riku, so he couldn't warn the younger boy. However, the prince knew and he watched. He waited for Riku at the castle every evening for his reports on the younger blond. What Roxas didn't know was the prince had seen him years ago and like with Roxas, it had been love at first sight. He was looking forward to adopting Roxas into the ranks of his Knights, but only if he could truly prove himself. Prince Axel had gone out into the town and had found one of the toughest boys he could. He issued him an open invitation to join his knights, but plainly stated, that like the other hopefuls he would have to prove himself in the initiation competition.
Truth be told, the prince wasn't entirely confident that his younger lover, or rather lover to be, could beat the older blond boy, but he hoped he would. The recently instated rules that only three competitors could join the training brigade, and there was tough competition. So why was Axel pulling in a tough competitor? To weed out the others of course. The boy was loud, and brash, and had a rather loud ego. He had been strutting around town all week bragging about the competition, and fighting those who tried to dispute his boasts of the prince inviting him personally. The number of competitors had already gone from twenty to twelve. Axel liked those odds a sight better than the previous ones.
Author's Note: This is part of my submission to Nanowrimo, so no, it's not great. I was worrying about quantity not quality when I wrote this. I'll post chapters as I hit a milestone (usually every 10,000 words) or when I finish a chapter. Feedback keeps me going, so I hope you enjoy this.
