Okay, I know this is kindof like a slasher's dream alternate to this scene (at least it is for me...^^') But I couldn't help it. I mean, really. Am I not the only one who immediately jumped on the "XANTH'S A SEX SLAVE" bandwagon as soon as I was given the opportunity, but I mean REALLY? "They own me, Rook, body and soul"? I can't help it xP I can't stop myself from slashing these two, they are just so perfect. Anyways, my ranting aside, enjoy my fangirl mind running amok~3

Rook slept fitfully. The poison from the goblin bolt coursed relentlessly through his veins, causing the fever to rage relentlessly through his body. He would tremble, overwhelmed by cold, and pull the tilderwool blanket closer to his chin, trying desperately to ward it off. Then, only a moment later, he was burning; kicking the sheets away, the heat causing his brow to knit and his forehead to sear.

Rook was too lost in the fever to notice the gentle pad of footsteps, or the frail figure of a gangly youth step into the lantern-lit glow of the cabin. Xanth lowered himself beside the young librarian's bedside, eyes wide and pain-stricken.

'I'm sorry, Rook.' whispered the youth, hanging his head in his hands. 'This is all my fault. If I had known...Oh, Rook, if only I had known...!' A clear trickle inched its way down Xanth's cheek. 'I never wanted to hurt you, Rook,' he whispered, quiet voice cracking with emotion. 'You are the last person in the world I would hurt, Rook, my friend, my fellow librarian...' he trailed away, resting a cool palm on the librarian knight's burning forehead. '...my love.' he finished, nearly silent. For a moment, the tears along the youth's cheeks simply intensified, before, frustrated, his forehead came down against the wooden rim of the bunk in which his friend tossed. 'I'm worthless,' he sobbed. 'I'm a worthless, good-for-nothing, vile excuse for a friend...!'

'Xanth?' whispered a tired voice. 'Xanth, is that you?'

The tears immediately halted their flow. 'Rook...?' he breathed. If the young librarian had been roused, who's to say he hadn't heard Xanth's unspoken secret?

For a moment, his heart sank. '...How long have you been awake?' he asked hesitantly.

Rook's eyes flickered, his head bobbing meekly on his pillow. 'You...you are not a worthless friend,' he mumbled between weak lips. 'You're a...very good friend.'

Xanth let out an inward sigh of relief. The younger boy, at least, had not heard his confession. 'Oh, Rook...' he chuckled bitterly. 'Oh, but I am. All this is my fault. It's my fault you're sick like this. My fault you've suffered so much pain...everything is my fault, Rook..." He swallowed painfully, his voice dropping to a volume that even he himself could hardly hear. 'If you die, it's my fault.'

Rook looked up at the gangly youth, his eyes blurred and his tongue heavy. He smiled, his head rocking from side to side. 'I won't die,' he promised softly.

Xanth shook his head violently, burying his face in his hands again.

Rook frowned. The heat which tore through his body had not lain a finger on his heart. He did not feel as though he was going to die, although he had believed it several times over the days. His heart beat on, even if he sometimes felt like death. But how to convey that to Xanth, who seemed unwilling to accept that he would be alright in the end?

Xanth jumped when Rook rested a fragile, trembling hand upon his wrist. The librarian tried to pry Xanth's hand away from his face, but only succeeded in giving it a gentle squeeze. The older boy smiled despite himself and relaxed his arm, allowing Rook to guide it. The dark-haired boy gave the youth's hand a tug, and seeing that it followed, led it downwards over his chest to lay it gently upon his thumping heart. Xanth looked down at Rook, who smiled weakly up at him.

'See,' he said. 'I'm alright.'

Xanth shut his eyes, pressing ever so slightly on the steady beat beneath the younger boy's skin, and a smile played cautiously over his lips. Rook would live. He was strong.

The librarian sighed. Xanth opened his eyes, worried for a moment he may be uncomfortable. The younger boy's eyes were closed, and he lay perfectly still. Despite his hand over the gentle thrum of the Rook's heart, he began to panic.

'Rook?' he urged. 'Rook? Are you awake? Rook?' There was no mask of the anxious, frantic tone to the youth's voice. 'Rook, please be awake.'

'I'm not asleep, Xanth,' he chuckled feebly. A half-smile graced his pale, hollow-cheeked face. 'You don't have to fuss so much over me.'

Xanth gazed down at the younger boy with a relieved sigh. 'Don't frighten me like that, and I won't fuss over you.' he said warmly, pushing the sweat-drenched bangs from the librarian's forehead. Rook's eyes flicked at the gentle touch.

'...Xanth...after I leave...will we still be friends?' he asked quietly. 'You won't...forget about me?'

Xanth didn't respond. He looked down at the frail librarian, gazing up at him through fever-fogged, concerned eyes. His head ached. Friends? After all Xanth had done? Not only was it impossible for him to stay as long as Orbix Xasis had him in his clutches; but knowing it was his fault Rook had been stuck with a poison bolt, he was unsure if his conscious would allow him to remain close to the younger boy, let alone his Master. 'Rook...' he whispered, pausing to swallow a painful lump in his throat. 'I don't...I'm not sure that can happen.' He lifted himself awkwardly to his feet, shifting his position so that he could sit beside Rook's fever-stricken body on the tilderwool bunk.

The librarian's eyes clouded with confusion. 'Why?' he murmured. 'Will you really just let us go, once we've left?' There was an unmistakable hurt in Rook's eyes that left Xanth frozen, heart aching in his chest.

'Rook...' the older boy pressed a gently cupped hand around the librarian's face. 'If there were some way I could forget you, I would do it in a heartbeat.'

Rook stared blankly up at the awkward youth, confusion blurring his already muddled thoughts. He could think of nothing to say to respond to his friend. Xanth wanted to forget him, but couldn't? Was that supposed to be a good thing, or a bad thing?

Rook's head was spinning. 'Xanth, don't forget me. Please,' he raised a trembling hand and placed it over Xanth's, holding it against his burning cheek. 'If you were to forget me, I don't know what I'd do.'

Xanth's eyes burned with sadness. 'Oh, Rook...' he whispered, voice trembling. 'I couldn't ever forget you. Not even if I tried.'

The younger boy's eyes cleared, and he looked almost satisfied. 'Good,' he grumbled. 'Trying to forget me, you great oaf...'

Xanth chuckled sadly, a trickle of tears returning to his face. 'Rook...' The young librarian looked up as the older boy spoke. Xanth gazed down at Rook's face, trusting and warm, and everything he'd been holding back in the marvelous year they'd spent together bubbled to the surface of his skin. He placed a second hand over Rook's free cheek, and leaned slowly down towards him.

Rook's eyes were wide as he felt the cool blush of his companion's lips press against his own. His mind came to a screeching halt, and for a moment, the dull throb of his shoulder was completely forgotten. Xanth's lips felt delightfully cool over his own, his mouth widening and closing in such an agonizingly slow motion that Rook's body urged to press him faster. His heart stuttered in his chest. Xanth...? He though wildly. Xanth...! He was too shocked to move, although if he could, he was unsure as to what he would do; although the kiss had come out of nowhere...Rook wasn't sure if he wanted it to stop quite yet.

Xanth felt Rook's lips, hot beneath his, not responding but not resisting to his slow, kneading motion. He must have terribly surprised his companion, and yet he didn't stop; he couldn't. Earth and Sky, what had come over him? Xanth shifted to lean away, horrified at his own actions; but as he pulled his lips from the younger boy's, he felt Rook's weak arms wrap around his neck.

'Where do you think you're going...' breathed the librarian, a blush coloring his determined face. 'I'm not done with you yet.'

Xanth looked down at his friend in shock. 'Rook...are you-AH!' He flailed his arms as the librarian yanked him over. He lost his balance, tumbling over sideways and landing directly on top of his weak companion.

Xanth stretched his arms out, holding himself above the younger boy. He realized with a start the position he was in-straddling the librarian's waist, a hand on either side of his bare shoulders, while Rook's arms stayed firmly around Xanth's neck. 'I'm-I'm-' he stuttered, desperately searching for an apology. It wasn't until he noticed the younger boy's face when he fell silent.

Rook gazed up at Xanth, his eyes half-closed, dazed. His eyebrows were knit ever so slightly, giving him an alluring, lustful look. His lips were parted, cheeks flushed a rosy pink rather than the hollow pale they had been for the past week, his chest rising and falling.

Xanth barley dared to breathe. Rook's eyes bore into him, begging silently for him to continue. Trembling, Xanth leaned down once again to press his lips to the librarian's. This time, Rook's eyes shut, and his face tilted upwards, prepared to receive.

This time, Rook was ready. When he felt his companion's lips touch onto his, he went immediately into action. His hands moved from holding Xanth's neck to winding into his hair, his fingers weaving between soft the strands. He opened his mouth, inviting in the older boy's tongue. There would be no slow kneading in this kiss. Startled by his companion's sudden and forceful transition, the control shifted rapidly from one boy to the other.

Before long, Xanth was pressing into the kiss. He probed every corner of the younger boy's mouth, entangling their tongues. His hands stroked down from the librarian's face and danced over his bare chest.

Rook broke the kiss with a startled gasp. 'Earth and Sky,' he panted. 'What are we doing?'

'I don't know,' breathed the older boy, 'but I'm not done with you yet.'

Rook moaned as Xanth's lips fell to his exposed neck. He kissed the length of peachy skin, nipping at a sensitive spot above the younger boy's collar bone. 'Nn!' Rook knotted his fingers into the youth's sandy hair, causing the shaggy gold strands to stick out in random directions. 'X-anth...don't-!' A whimper slipped from his throat.

Xanth stroked the younger boy's chest, caressing his jaw with his lips. The gentle noises escaping from the young librarian made his body hot and impatient. 'Rook...' he murmured. 'We shouldn't...I can't...' his protests were silenced as the younger boy pulled his face away from his heaving chest.

'Stop talking.' he breathed.

Xanth's heart leapt as he was pulled forward into a heated, open-mouthed kiss. His mind flashed with violent memories. The youth trembled, pushing his friend back. 'Rook, you don't understand.' He whispered, turning his face away. 'My passion, and...' he paused, choking on the word, 'my...my love...they are not mine to give. But if I could, Rook, I would give everything to you...!' His hands shook as he brushed the dark, tangled hair from the face of his companion. 'I would give you everything, Rook, my body, my heart...even my life.' His head fell forwards, defeated. He rested his cool forehead against the shoulder of the stunned librarian, the shaggy, sandy-colored hair masking the pain in his eyes. 'That's why...Rook...I can't.'

Rook stared down at the youth, unsure how to respond.

Xanth jumped as the dark-haired boy wrapped his arms around his shoulders and pulled him into his chest. His eyes widened as he felt the librarian's lips press gently against the top of his head, over and over again. This time, rather than feeling the steady thump of Rook's gently beating heart, he heard it.

Xanth's ear was pressed softly against the casual, easy Thump-thump, Thump-thump, Thump-thump of his friend's heart. The rhythm soothed him. His eyes closed, a single hot tear running down his face.

'Show me.'

'...What?' Xanth looked up at the young librarian, confused.

'Show me your body.'

Xanth stared up at Rook, bewildered. Show him his body? Surely he couldn't do that. The scars were far too prominent, the evidence all too impossible to misread. If he were to show Rook his body, everything would come into clear focus. He would have to show his friend everything; every last horrible, violent burn, score and carving.

Xanth took a deep breath in. '...Okay.' he whispered.

Rook's arms loosened. He let his hands fall away. '...You don't have to force yourse-Nn!' the librarian was cut off as Xanth pressed their lips together.

'Don't say that.' grumbled the older boy. 'You're getting me to do something outrageous. Be happy about it.'

Xanth rose wearily to his feet, stepping into the center of the dimly-lit sleeping cabin. He raised a hand to the rim of his ragged tunic, then paused. Was this really all right? Would Rook push him away, faced with all the deep gashes and dark burns? When he realized what loving him would cost...the wrath of Xanth's employer...would he still want to try? And if Orbix were to find out, what would happen to Rook?

Xanth's first clenched around his tunic. He closed his eyes, raising it slowly over his head. Several long, harsh scars came into view. As he discarded his tunic beside him, he turned to face the librarian with a solemn expression over his haunted face. Rook's eyes could comb over the youth's chest and stomach for the first time.

As his eyes searched over Xanth's half-naked body, he raised a hand to his lips in horror. 'Xanth...I...' He covered his eyes, his head lolling forwards. Hard as Rook tried, he could not erase the horrible image.

Deep, long scars sliced through the pale flesh; the youth was riddled with them. Across his chest, back, and stomach, there were scars dashed over his body like a scattered pile of dry tilder-grass; above his navel and under his chest, there was a horrible burn, still angry pink though long healed; several sets of long, curved scraps that looked as though they were made by fingernails; and three distorted areas of flesh swarmed with tiny scars, looking sickeningly like bite marks.

'That's not all, Rook. You've only seen the beginning.'

Rook looked up at the sound of Xanth's voice, eyes growing wide. 'They... they get worse?' he asked in horror. Xanth nodded, his face stoic.

'This may frighten you.' he warned the librarian. 'And...It's not easy to explain. But now that you've seen my chest, I can't very well stop.'

Rook watched the older boy in terrified awe as he reached a hand to his thin cloth trousers and undergarments, letting them fall to the floor.

Rook gasped. He twisted away, a tremor racking his body. 'Oh, Xanth...!' he sobbed. 'What have they done to you?'

Xanth turned away from Rook, unable to watch as the dark-haired boy broke down. 'They've marked me, Rook.' he whispered. 'They've marked me so I can never escape.'

Rook peered through his fingers at the youth, who had averted his gaze and was watching a crack in the dimly lit room with far-away eyes.

Xanth swallowed hard, reaching down to collect his tunic. 'That symbol shows ownership,' he continued hoarsely. 'It is designed to tell those who look that I am no more than property; no more than an item to be owned.'

The librarian's hands fell from his face. As Xanth lowered himself on the sleeping bunk beside his friend, he took hold of Rook's trembling fingers and placed them just above a set of claw scratches. He felt Rook's hand twitch, as though he wanted to pull away; then, as he began to notice the steady thrum of Xanth's heart, he realized what the youth had intended. Xanth was returning the courtesy of a beating heart, a promise that regardless of situation, he was alive.

'...So you do belong to the Guardians.' Rook's fragile voice shattered the silence. 'You really were a spy. Stob has been right this whole time.'

Xanth's heart stuttered. He hesitated. '...Yes. I am the property of Orbix Xasis. He sent me here to sabotage you, like all the others.' Xanth's throat stung. He pulled his hands away from Rook, shifting to avoid the librarian's eyes. 'No other parties have reached the free glades because I've been stopping them. These hands are filthy with librarian blood.' Xanth stared down at his palms in pure hatred, his face twisting into a bitter scowl. 'And for all that I've done, I'll only be able to return to the Tower of Night knowing that I carried out another task for that torturous, murdering son of a bitch. Knowing he led me out here with full understanding I could be killed, and knowing that by doing so I'd found the one person I didn't want to hurt, the one place I didn't want to leave, and that I let it all slip away!' The youth threw out his arms in frustration, his body trembling.

Rook stared at his companion. He'd realized that Xanth was different, and he knew that it was odd how all the apprentices past himself and his party had failed to reach the Free Glades, but was Xanth really capable of killing them?

Xanth startled as Rook's finger traced the deep scar on his inner left thigh, which drew all attention away from the fact that the scarring was far more severe around the waist and thighs of the Guardian. The mark was eerily familiar; and yet bore a significant difference to its usual design. The familiar, screeching Gloamglozer-the mark of the guardian-had been carved deep into the soft flesh with a sharp blade, leaving it impossible to heal or hide. The mark was universally known throughout the edge as the symbol of the Guardians of Night; only rather than just the harsh, screaming face, there were other additions. Chains bound the neck and horns of the beast, making the scream look of anguish over fury.

'...When they did this to you...you were awake?' the librarian asked, a tremor in his weak voice.

'Yes,' Xanth replied. 'Everything they did to us was under our full consciousness. Every burn, tear and scar I've felt to the harshest degree...' The youth placed a hand over the intricate carving. 'To the Guardians, to be feared was to be respected. The only way to ensure the loyalty of a slave was to inflict them pain.' Rook watched as Xanth's eyes clouded, his lips tightening over his teeth. 'When those marks were carved, when we were very small...several of us came very close to losing consciousness from the intensity of the pain.'

Rook's stomach turned. His childhood in the sewers was nothing compared to this. It was impossible for Rook to even imagine what kind of things Xanth had to live through as a small boy. And as a slave to Orbix Xasis! He shuddered at the thought.

Xanth refused to face the librarian, sure that he must hate him. He had confessed to everything-being a guardian, a spy, a murderer, even. No going back. He was exposed; transparent. Now Rook would surely push him away.

The young Guardian looked bitterly down at the carving on his thigh, trying to remind himself as he had a million times before that he was no more than an object to be owned. He couldn't love Rook. And even if he had never fallen into Orbix Xasis's clutches, he was still nothing but a lowly individual unworthily of the young Librarian Knight. The fact that he could be here on Lake Landing at all was a blessing; why couldn't he be satisfied with that, instead of strive for more than he deserved, lust after someone he could never have?

Xanth was pulled from his thoughts as he felt Rook's warm lips brush against his shoulder blade. The Librarian's arms threaded around his scarred body, his chest pressing into Xanth's back. His head rested in the crook of Xanth's neck, warm breath dancing over the Guardian's skin. He shivered.

'Rook...' he started, 'you're not...not mad?'

'Mad about what.' said Rook simply, nuzzling deeper into the older boy.

Xanth felt a wave of gratitude wash over him. 'Rook, I...' he turned to look over his shoulder, halting at the face the young librarian was wearing.

Rook leaned closer, pressing his nose against the older boy's cheekbone. 'Thank you.' he whispered.

Xanth flushed a deep shade of crimson, causing his companion to grin evilly. Rook leaned forward to kiss the older boy, their lips pressing softly together. Xanth's wide eyes flicked shut. His hand drifted upwards to cup Rook's overheated cheek, pulling him closer.

For a moment, an overwhelming sense of surrealism washed over the cabin. The two boys-Guardian and Librarian, the sworn enemies of the Edge-sitting so closely they were nearly one body. Two passionate groups, taught from birth to kill each other, and yet there sat Xanth and Rook: a trapped young Guardian of Night and a determined Librarian Knight, the picture of complete impossibility, woven together in their intimate romantic embrace. The Librarians and the Guardians weren't supposed to love each other; they were supposed to loathe each other. The boys went against everything that was "natural" throughout the Edge. And yet there they were, flooding the room with their impossible situation.

It was Rook who finally pulled away. He sank into Xanth's shoulder blades, exhaling slowly as he did so. His voice came from his throat in a hesitant murmur. "…Xanth? You don't really have to go, do you? You can stay, right?"

Xanth could feel Rook's hand trembling against his back.

'…You can stay here…with me, can't you, Xanth?'

He swallowed hard. "No, Rook, I can't." his voice cracked weakly. Rook breathed deeply in, letting his mind calm and his judgment clear. He wanted to be sure—100%— before he spoke his next words.

'...If you can't stay here, Xanth, then I want you to mark me. Not with burns or scars or tears like they did to you…' Rook guided the older boy's hand to his chest. 'I want you to mark me here.'

Xanth stared at him. 'Rook, I don't know if I…can…'

Rook shook his head.

'If you're going to leave me here, knowing I condemned you to death, then you at least have to hear me out. I need you to make me yours, Xanth. Please.' Xanth flinched as the librarian's hand came to rest across his scar on his thigh.

'Rook, I don't understand this. I've never known…sex with love…' His voice trailed away as Rook drew increasingly closer.

'Then allow me to teach you.' breathed the librarian.

Xanth found himself lost. The touch of his friend's skin was overwhelming. He did not resist as Rook pulled him forward, nor did he recoil as the librarian sprawled his body out beneath him.

'Take me, Xanth.' He breathed. 'Take me and don't ever let go.'

Rook awoke with only the feeling of being cold.

The fever had mostly quelled, leaving his body feeling weak and frail. Was it that the fever had left him that way, he wondered, or was it the Guardian, who's absence was now so painfully clear after rousing from the blessing of sleep?

Rook wrapped his arms around his frigid body, allowing himself to feel the soreness in his limbs and the throbbing in his muscles. He absorbed the crippling hollowness of being left without a word, exposed, alone, and hurting.

He's marked me, thought Rook. And now he's gone. Rook's fingernails dug into his shoulders. Was it always this cold in the sleeping-cabin?

He glanced over the floor. Though his clothes were strewn about, untouched, the Guardian's garments had vanished. Rook breathed in, shutting his eyes. A hot trickled slipped from beneath them. The librarian clenched his fists tighter and held his breath.

He's marked me.

This is NOT the end, I promise xP there will be more chapters in the near future, and I am hoping for a happy ending =^^= i looove this pairing~3