Axel watched thoughtfully as the healer worked a soothing layer of ointment onto Roxas' skin.
It was hard to tell for certain but he was liking the young prince more than he'd expected. Despite his breezy assurances to his father, Axel hadn't really been looking forward to showing him around. Not that he had any objection to being a tour guide – he rather enjoyed that – but he'd thought the boy might be a spoiled brat. Plenty of Hyrian nobles were already starting to go that way, even after a short time of riches. But while Roxas was very much aware of his rank he also had very good manners. He also looked rather cute, if you looked past the burns and the peeling skin. Unfortunately there was a lot of that.
"Feeling better?" Axel said as he helped Roxas fold his headdress again. The blonde looked up at him with a smile, blue eyes bright and alert. Axel was a bit taken with his eyes, blue was a very rare color in Hyra.
"Much better. Thank you. Are you going to take me to the palace?" Roxas pulled himself up onto the viara this time, holding a canvas bag tightly in one hand. It held the ointments and medications the healer had sold them. Axel jumped up behind him and chucked the reins, sending the viara into motion.
"Oh, in time. I thought we'd see a bit of the city first." Axel said easily and Roxas took the opportunity to look around as they traveled.
Vdala was a beautiful city. Built primarily out of mud bricks, it was full of beautiful arches, domes and towers. Axel had always thought it was amazing what you could do with humble adobe and a bit of wood or metal scaffolding. The river allowed for gardens as well, and they paused at one of those as Roxas exclaimed in delight.
"Are those paopu trees?" The blonde looked back at Axel, who pulled the viara to a stop. The beast halted obediently. She had eaten and drunk in the morning and could go without food or water for as long as a week, although he wouldn't ask that of her without good cause.
"They certainly are. Would you like to see?" Axel smiled as Roxas slid off the viara eagerly. Then he looked at the bag in his hands with a frown. "Just hang that over the saddle horn. It will be fine." Roxas looked at him worriedly but obeyed as Axel slid out of the saddle. "Stay. Guard." He ordered the viara in his own tongue and the beast took on a watchful aspect. That was the main reason the strange animals were more popular than camels. Camels were very smart too but few of them could be trained as thoroughly as a good viara. Axel followed Roxas as he ventured into the garden. It was only a small residential one but it was full of trees. The paopu in particular offered beautiful shade and Roxas reached up to touch a waxy fruit before Axel cleared his throat. "Those are reserved for the poor." He said apologetically as Roxas glanced at him. "Taking them is a crime."
"Oh." Roxas drew his hand away. "I'm sorry. Are there many gardens like this?" He found it delightful. It was nothing like a Northern garden – the grass was harsh desert scrub, not thick green – but it was very pleasant. Several young women with babies were sitting beneath a copse of trees, enjoying the shade and chatting. Roxas couldn't make out the words but the distant sound of their voices reminded him of birdsong. They were wearing robes very similar to Axel's, but in many colors and with hoods and veils instead of headdresses.
"All over the city. The trees need plenty of watering, but the river gives more than we could ever take. And the trees give back a great deal of shade." Axel smiled as Roxas examined a few flowering bushes. They were carefully clipped to avoid the growth of the great, barbed thorns that made the bushes tricky to eat even for viara. "There's a much bigger garden at the palace." Axel mentioned after they had explored for a while. Roxas gave the shade a longing look before nodding.
"We should go see it then." He said positively and Axel smiled to himself, amused. Roxas sounded so young yet so mature. It made the redhead wonder.
"I'm curious. If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" Axel finally asked. Appearance wise he would have put Roxas at fourteen or fifteen but he seemed older. The blonde quickly confirmed that.
"I'm eighteen." He said and Axel eyed him, a touch surprised. "I know, I look younger." Roxas sounded grumpy and Axel blinked. He hadn't expected the boy would be able to read his expression under the headdress. But then, perhaps he'd just guessed.
"You sound eighteen." Axel said as he set the viara into motion again. Roxas clung to the saddle horn for a moment before regaining his balance, then laughed. It was a sweet, carefree sound.
"Cloud said I sounded like I was ten." Roxas said wryly and Axel had to grin.
"My second oldest brother said I have the brain of a twelve year old once." Axel said confidentially. "Of course, he's a hopeless prude – oh, look, see that place?" Roxas turned his head to look curiously and blinked at the beautiful women sitting on the balconies of a lovely building. It was the same mud brick as the rest of the city but it had beautiful arches designed to let in plenty of air. Canopies gave the women enough shade that they could wear light, gauzy robes and no veils. "That's my favorite whorehouse."
"Axel!" Roxas slapped his shoulder without thinking, then blushed. He didn't know the redhead well enough for that! But the prince just laughed.
"Ah, Roxas, haven't you ever been to a whorehouse? I'll have to take you." Roxas blushed darker although it was hard to tell with the sunburn. He'd never been to a whorehouse in his life. Cloud would have had five kinds of fits if he had. On the other hand, he didn't really need to worry about Cloud anymore. "That's a very good one. The girls there will have dinner with you, play cards or plaques and make you feel like the greatest man alive in the bedroom. And you won't leave with any unpleasant mementoes. It's very expensive though." Axel sounded regretful. "I only go there once in a while."
"Oh. Maybe not then." Roxas thought of his money situation with a wince. He was being paid a small allowance, dispersed directly to a bank account in his name from Cloud's embassy in Hyra. It would give him decent spending money but wouldn't cover too many visits to expensive cathouses. Axel glanced at him thoughtfully.
"Father would probably be willing to cough up a bit extra for me to entertain you. I'll talk to him about it." Axel smiled and Roxas marveled a bit at how easily he was reading the redhead's expressions even with the headdress obscuring his face. "If you're eighteen it's about time for the rite of passage, I think."
"I don't need that." Roxas said, a bit miffed. Did Axel think he was a virgin? Well, he was, but still. "But I – wouldn't object." Roxas glanced back but they were out of sight of the pretty women. It was probably just as well. Roxas turned his attention back to the city.
The passed through several districts, including a middle class neighborhood and then an open air market. Roxas found that enchanting. There were many tents set up and barkers were calling out the wares within, trying to entice people to enter the brightly colored tents. Axel had to maneuver the viara carefully at times and Roxas clung to the saddle as she did a strange three legged hop to avoid squashing a heedless child. Axel swore at the boy as the child scrambled off. The gesture the boy threw back was obscene and Roxas choked a little as Axel returned it. They finally made their way out of the market and went into an upper class neighborhood. Roxas was startled, though, when he realized it was not a human one. There were some humans on the streets here, mostly passing through or servants, but the inhabitants were clearly Jorta.
Roxas was really not familiar at all with the crab people. The only ones he'd met had been merchants from the city-states on the coast, and they'd kept a low profile. These Jorta were quite different. They looked like giant crabs but had a second set of arms beneath the first, with long fingered and agile hands. Their first set of 'hands' were actually claws, meant to tear apart prey and enemies. Most of the Jorta here, though, probably only used them to eat. Their creamy shells were carved and inlaid with precious metals and gems, and delicately tinted with colorings to create walking works of art. Scarves were wound around their bodies as well and Roxas watched, wide-eyed, as a pair of Jorta discussed something in a language that seemed to involve a great deal of clicking.
"You've never met Jorta before?" Axel said quietly and Roxas shook his head. Exchanging a few words with a trader hardly counted. "You probably won't have to deal with them much. They keep to themselves. If you do, though, remember to keep your face absolutely still. Jorta find human and T'assa expressions repulsive."
"They do?" That startled Roxas for a moment until he thought about the chitin. Jorta weren't capable of anything like human and plant people expressions. "Oh, I see. Do you know anything else about them?" Roxas was curious now and Axel laughed softly.
"Oh yes. I love languages and I'm very good with them." Axel rattled off a quick phrase in that odd tongue he'd heard, punctuating it with several snaps of his fingers. "Can you snap your fingers? It's not necessary for basic communication, but if you want to master the Jorta tongue you need to." Roxas tilted his head and easily snapped his fingers. He'd been able to do that since childhood. "Excellent! I can teach you sometime if you want."
"Sure. It sounds interesting." Roxas watched another Jorta and saw what Axel meant about the snapping. Jorta were constantly clicking their claws as they spoke, probably to convey emotions and emphasis. "My land doesn't have this many Jorta." Briefly, he wondered why. It was probably the heat. The T'assa plant people didn't mind cold at all compared to dryness, but the Jorta hated the cold. They also hated the T'assa and Cloud's kingdom had plenty of the plant people, so maybe that was another reason. "You don't have any T'assa here, do you?"
"Oh god no. They hate it here." Axel said, confirming Roxas' thoughts. "Don't get me wrong, they can live in deserts. They just don't like having shriveled balls."
"What!" Roxas turned to stare at the redhead and Axel grinned wickedly.
"Well, that's what I call it. You know those fronds they have on their back?" Roxas nodded. He'd seen and spoken to T'assa plenty of times. He even knew their language. "They shrivel up and turn into little balls in this heat. If they want to mate here, they have to immerse themselves in water. Well, so do the Jorta, but that's how they normally do it. And see, those fronds are like – like really big boobs on a woman, or full trousers for a man." Axel shrugged with a smile. "So when they shrivel it's very unattractive."
"Oh. Yes, they would hate that." Roxas shuddered a little as he remembered some of his interactions with the T'assa. They tended towards hedonism and were perfectly willing to cross interspecies boundaries. Although he strongly suspected the one who'd asked if he was willing to give her a backrub had been teasing him. Still, avoiding a place because of a cosmetic problem was totally normal for the T'assa.
"It's too bad really. They definitely add something. What, exactly, it's hard to say but it's definitely something." Axel smiled, remembering the time he'd been sent as an ambassador to the Tawny Islands. They were actually quite close, just a bit out to sea where the Virgin River emptied into the ocean. The climate couldn't be more different though. Blessed with plenty of rain, they were an important supplier of fruits and nuts to the mainland. T'assa were plentiful there and one of them had managed to get him into the most amazing trouble his family had ever seen. Axel still thought it had been worth it although his father would have begged to disagree.
The last neighborhood they went through was the mansions and gardens of the very rich. Guards stood at the gates and touched the hilts of their swords as they passed, although Axel was unconcerned. Roxas peeked past the wrought iron gates, seeing private gardens and even fountains in tiny courtyards. The city didn't have room for large estates but these were still quite luxurious.
It was nothing, however, compared to the castle. Made out of more mud brick, the castle had clearly been put together over a long, long period of time. There was a great courtyard in front of the palace gates and Axel pulled the viara to a halt beside a great sculpture. It was a pillar, reaching high into the sky and Roxas marveled at how smooth the sides were. The top and bottom were beautifully carved.
"You like it? It's the Pillar of Loyalty. Traditionally, the severed heads of traitors decorate the bottom of it." Axel gestured expansively at the landmark as Roxas looked at him wide-eyed. "It doesn't see much use though. The last time was in my great grandpapa's day. The royal bard's head ended up there."
"What did he do?" Roxas asked, interested. Axel's smile widened into a grin.
"Seduced great-grandmamma. Family legend says we're all descended from him, not great-grandpapa. It's hard to say for sure though." Axel gazed up at the pillar approvingly for a moment as Roxas thought about that. In his home, no child with dubious ancestry would ever inherit the throne. Noble blood was far too important. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.
The guards opened the gates for them as they rode up, saluting their prince by placing a hand over their hearts. Axel returned the gesture and Roxas copied him, wishing he knew more about manners here. Although from the few things Cloud had told him, Northern manners would be acceptable enough if alien. Gardens surrounded the palace and they were truly impressive, filled with fruit trees and flowers as well as pretty paved paths and pleasant benches nestled invitingly beneath the trees. But they didn't linger as Axel handed over his viara to the stablehands.
"It's getting a bit late. I was wondering. Did you want to meet the family tonight, or would you prefer a quiet dinner in your rooms?" Axel asked, looking at Roxas thoughtfully. The blonde looked tired and a bit strained despite his curiosity. Roxas hesitated a moment before managing a smile.
"Please… I don't want to be standoffish, but it's been a very long day." He offered and Axel nodded.
"It's not a problem. You can meet everyone tomorrow." Axel thought the meetings would go better anyway once Roxas had a full night's sleep. And he still looked pretty bad, between the sunburn and the aftereffects of the heatstroke. No one would blame him for not coming to supper. "Let me show you to your room." Axel led the way briskly, then caught himself and slackened his pace a bit for Roxas. He habitually moved swiftly, almost running, but the blonde had much shorter legs.
Roxas felt a bit scornful as he looked at the palace furnishings. The basic construction was simple but with the influx of wealth from the arcane silver, the royal family had started decorating the palace in an ostentatious style. Pretty tiles had been inlaid into the walls and the oil lamps were chased with gold and silver. It reeked of the nouveau rich and that was something Roxas hated.
"A bit overdone, isn't it?" Axel's voice held a note of laughter and Roxas blushed, hoping the redhead hadn't read that in his expression. "It's a huge improvement though. My brother says the old lamps were just pottery and the servants tended to break them. Can't break these." Axel gestured with one hand as they passed by a little sitting room. Roxas glanced in, seeing a colorful mural of birds in flight on one wall. "And the murals are better too. The old ones… well, the artists were enthusiastic but not skilled. I actually saw a few of those, before father had them repainted. Most of this was done before my time."
"Ah." Roxas decided to keep his opinions to himself. He really wanted to make a good impression on Axel, although he wasn't sure why. "It's very nice. Very cool." That was true. The abode castle was the cooled beautifully and very pleasant, with plenty of windows. Roxas thought he might enjoy living here, once he redecorated his room at least.
"It is, isn't it? And that's mostly without cooling spells, although we do put a few on when the summer heat is at its worst." They finally reached the royal wing of the castle and Axel jerked abruptly to a halt, Roxas almost running into him. Then the blonde had to flatten himself to the wall with a yelp as one boy almost ran into Axel, darting past with a second in hot pursuit. "Brats! I'll be telling your mother!" Axel shouted after them but they ignored him completely, yelling at each other. "Ugh. Kids." Axel muttered something unflattering as Roxas wondered who the boys were. There met no one else, though, and soon Axel was pushing aside a curtain. "This is your room. Do you like it?"
"It's beautiful." Roxas was fudging a little, although the room was quite nice in an overblown way. It was decorated mostly in warm red and saffron yellows, with a large overstuffed divan covered in pillows and very comfortable looking chairs. A low, beautiful table was decorated with an intricate mosaic made out of beautiful exotic woods. There was a magical lamp made of red glass and gold to the right of the couch, positioned to give light to a late night reader. Great arches gave a beautiful view of the garden. For a moment Roxas wondered what would happen if it rained, but then he saw the screens that could be pulled into place to stop the rain from entering the room. With a place as dry as this, that was probably all that was needed. "Thank you very much Axel. I appreciate your hospitality." Roxas turned and met the redhead's gaze, smiling up at him. The prince smiled back, his bright green eyes warm. "Would you like to join me for supper?" Roxas offered. Meeting the whole family would be a bit much, but just Axel would be different. And he really needed a friend in this alien place. Could Axel be the one? They were almost the same age so it seemed likely. The redhead's smile widened and he nodded.
"I would love to. Let me go talk to the servants." Roxas tucked his bags away, settling into the room and taking a quick peek at the bedroom. The large, luxurious bed met with his immediate approval. So did the way the windows let air in to breeze over the sleeping area. It would be nice and comfortable at night. When he came back out Axel was carrying a small tray of food to the table. "They had some curry ready. I hope it won't be too hot." Axel sounded concerned but Roxas laughed.
"Don't worry, I love hot food." He said confidently. It was a boast he was soon ruing as he actually tried the chickpea curry. He had to eat quite a bit of the flatbread to help quench the flames. So did the yoghurt, particularly when he mixed it into the curry. He and Axel chatted as they ate and Roxas began to learn a bit more about the people of Hyra… just enough to know that he had a lot more to learn. But hopefully Axel would be there to teach him.
Roxas had a feeling that he would be a friend.