Welcome. This was a request from a Gaian for their own comic series, which I am completely in love with. It's called Paradox and though this fic is AU only involving the characters, the Paradox world is a bit more involved and so very interesting. If anyone would like a link to the comic, PM me and I'll send it to you~ So, without further ado, I do not own any of these characters or their wonderful comic. Enjoy!

Pale blue eyes opened to the grit and dinge of a prison cell. Slowly, a boy sat up from the dirty floor, his bright blue hair mussed and dirty and his once-clean, white shirt covered in splotches of unknown substances. He rubbed his head and blinked a few times, adjusting his vision to the low light of his surroundings. As realization dawned on him of exactly where he was, he quickly crawled to the rusted bars, grasping one in each hand. His nose poked through the small space between the bars as his eyes darted around the outside world.

From his vantage point, he could see a long, wooden desk with papers scattered over it and an accompanying chair pushed off to the side. On the opposite wall of where he was sat the door to apparent freedom and an uncovered window next to it showing a rich, warm sunset beyond his grasp. In the distance, he could have sworn he saw a castle or palace of some sort, but his vision was soon blocked by a pair of legs. Looking up, the bluenette grinned sheepishly to the guard.

"Get up," the soldier said roughly, pulling a dangling set of keys from his pocket.

Sitting up straight, the boy watched curiously as the guard unlocked his cell door, then looked to the man himself. "Where are you taking me?"

Instead of answering, the guard simply snapped a heavy collar around his neck. The attached chain was promptly used to jerk him forward, out of the cell, and it took every bit of coordination he had not to fall face-first into the cement floor. With only a moment to get his bearings, the blue-eyed boy was pulled from the small prison-- more like a shack-- and toward an arching bridge that led to the palace he had glanced at briefly before.

"I don't want it." A quick wave of the hand and a young girl, dressed rather provocatively for her surroundings, was pulled away by two men, both of whom were dressed in uniform.

The one who had ordered the female away rested his chin on the palm of his hand and gave a heavy sigh. His free hand came up to casually brush long, chocolate bangs from his pale face. He was perched in a throne-like chair, legs crossed and a bored expression adoring his face. "Have all the good ones been used?"

A third soldier bowed to the boy, who couldn't have been far out of his teens, if at all. "Lord Thomas-"

"I told you, don't call me that," the tempered boy snapped. His gleaming, red eyes narrowed at the man in front of him. "Horrible name and it's not mine. The name's Tommy."

"My apologies, sir." The guard continued with his message. "There is one more we caught earlier this morning. He's a bit...different."

"Different how?" The brunette sat forward, eyes trained carefully on the other.

"He's not from around here, that's all we know."

"Foreign? Hm..." Tommy sat back and crossed his arms, giving a small shrug. "Well, maybe he'll do."

"Would you like us to bring him in?"

The royal boy rolled his eyes. "No, I want to see a picture first."

"Sarcasm acknowledged, sir. He'll be in shortly." With that, the guard gave another, quick bow and turned, quickly leaving the throne room.

"Honestly," Tommy muttered to himself, now alone in the ornate room. He looked around, by now having every detail of the place memorized. Heavy, black drapes and sheer, white curtains framed large windows to his left, opening to a wide expanse of land. Black-speckled, grey marble pillars held a high ceiling from which a silver chandelier hung, decorated with hundreds of white taper candles. His golden throne chair stood gleaming in the setting sunlight, a rich, red carpet leading from his seat to the dark cherry double-doors. Just as he was studying the black, gothic-styled door handles, the doors swung open and two people entered; the first a guard and behind him a peculiar looking boy, who must have been the foreigner the other guard was speaking of.

"Here he is, sir," the hard-featured man said, yanking the chain forward. The action caused the younger boy to be jerked forward and thrown to the floor.

"Ow," he hissed, sitting up and rubbing his forehead. "Do you have to be so rough?"

"Silence," the guard hissed. "Who do you think you are to speak in the lord's presence?"

"Lord?" the boy asked, blinking and turning to lay his pale eyes upon the brunette for the first time. "So this is like a castle."

"Palace, actually," Tommy said, a small smirk curving his lips. "Though, a castle would be much more enjoyable."

Curious, the blue-haired boy tilted his head. "Why's that?"

"Simple," the older one waved a hand nonchalantly, "palaces don't have torture chambers."

Stunned into a brief moment of silence, the prisoner took another look at the boy before him. He was thin, if not unhealthily so, and very pale. He was dressed in nearly all black, with some small, red accents, but not extravagantly so; if you had said he was a commoner, anyone would have believed you. Other than his guards, of course. Actually, he looked more like he had just come off the streets than the actual prisoner. So he was this land's lord, and a sadistic one at that. Who wants a torture chamber?

"Should I leave him, sir?" The guard looked to Tommy, his eyes unwavering, waiting for the other's decision.

The smirk widened into a devilish grin and the sun hit Tommy's eyes just enough to make it seem as if they were glowing. "He'll do fine."

"Fine...for what?" Just as soon as he had been captured, the blue-eyed boy was released from his chains and the guard was gone. Surprised at the soldier's speed, the captive turned from the closing door back to his new master.

"What's your name, boy?" Tommy stood, towering over the still-seated one.

"Dake," the bluenette replied, tilting his head to look up.

"Interesting name for an interesting boy." The lord stepped slowly toward Dake, like an animal approaching its injured prey.

The hungry look in the predatory boy's eyes sent a chill down Dake's spine. He knew a little of these people, but a large part of them was still a mystery. Of course, he'd heard rumors of them being cannibals, though others insisted that they simply ate the meat of animals raw. Regardless, those teeth looked sharp enough to rip quite a few things off.

"I'm not that interesting," Dake insisted, leaning back slightly as Tommy came within reach and kneeled down in front of him.

"Strange hair, strange name, strange personality. Sounds pretty interesting to me."

"What's wrong with my hair?" Dake asked, studying a few strands between his fingers. Maybe it was a strange color to these people, blue wasn't exactly the norm around here, but he wouldn't go so far as it call it strange.

"Not important." Tommy stood and motioned for his prisoner to do the same. "Follow me."

Rising to his feet, Dake trailed behind the lord. There was something about the brunette that both intrigued him and made him wary. Perhaps it was the perverted look in the red eyes, or maybe something deeper; something more animalistic.

Poor Dake. I like his hair, anyway. So, we have foreign kid, captured and taken to a perverted king. We all know where this will lead. Read on~