Burn It Down

Summary: Living a royal life isn't easy. (How did I live without you?) Living one while holding high importance, then suddenly having unwanted attention is even worse. (Let me help you.) Meeting someone you can't stand not being near…that's even worse. (…I love you.)

Warnings: None for the moment. Unless you count a cliffy. Then yeah. There's a cliffy. Most of the time, it'll be Roxas's POV, too. It might switch to Axel's to fill in some holes later on, but I'll always let you know who's talking.

Chaptaire One: In the Arms of the Enemy

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Where should I start this? Yes, at the beginning, no doubt. But where is the beginning? I guess I could start with a few days before troops invaded our castle, unbeknownst to us. But maybe you'd want to know a little more about me first?

My name is Roxas. Right now I'm twenty, almost twenty-one. Where I'm going to start this story was when I was fifteen, five years ago. I am still second heir to the throne of Radiant Garden, but if something were to happen to my cousin Sora, and I was first in line, I would decline the position.

I'm happy where I am. Not that my family exactly knows where I am…

Yeah. I told a little white lie. So what? They don't own me. I can do whatever I want. Whatever I want. And they will never, ever know.

Anyways, to describe myself back then, I had short blonde hair that sticks up everywhere in the front, and vibrant blue eyes. Come to think of it, I still look like that, but taller than a fifteen-year-old. But what's different is that I was very arrogant back then. You might think of me as the 'stereotypical prince-wannabe', to everyone except for my family. At least that's what Axel kept calling me.

Axel? Nope. Not now. You'll learn about him later.

I considered my family myself and three other people: Sora, Riku and Kairi. Sora was my cousin, Riku our best friend (his parents were very high up in society and therefore we met him), and Kairi was Sora's betrothed. She was a very nice girl, and was always pleasant to be around.

I didn't count the King and Queen as family; they never treated me as more than a boy who was necessary in the country's wellbeing. So I treated them the same. They weren't my real parents anyway.

Now, I'll start the story how I remember it happening.

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It was a nice day out, in my favorite month. November. It was nice because it was snowing. I loved to look out the window in the winter. There was just something calming in the tiny snowflakes that distracted my mind from all the turmoil in my country.

A few weeks ago, our war got worse. News kept coming in that troops were getting closer to the castle, from Hollow Bastion. Everyday got worse and worse, more people dying, more towns being destroyed. And the single worst thing about it: We could do nothing to stop it. It made one feel helpless.

I looked around as I heard footsteps falling close to where I sat, near the large window in the Radiant Garden castle.

"Hello, Sora," I greeted my cousin as he sat next to me, staring out the window.

"Good afternoon, Roxas," he chirped back at me. One of the many things that made Sora who he was, was that he always seemed to be in a good mood. Even through all this strife, his light never dimmed. Often, I found myself wondering how he couldn't get depressed.

Sora then looked at me, his brown spikes bouncing as he moved. "Listen, I have something to tell you." His permanent smile had left his face.

"Is something wrong?" I asked immediately, knowing the answer.

"Yes. Please come upstairs with me," he said, and without another word, he got up and walked down the hallway, turning right.

I imitated his actions and followed him up the grand staircases, and some minutes later we were in his bedroom, as he closed the door.

"What is the matter?" I asked.

"I've heard mother and father discussing some things," he said.

I sighed. His mother and father were the King and Queen. They were genuinely nice people, and cared for their country. But something made them dislike me. At least that's what I figured, because they had always been distant with me, or rather, they acted as if I were less important.

"And did they discuss something that your ears should not have overheard?" I asked.

"…"

"Sora, I won't tell on you. We aren't five years old any longer," I encouraged him.

"I…I suppose not. Thank-you," he said, a sheepish grin on his face.

"Now tell me what you heard," I demanded.

"They were speaking of how those soldiers of Hollow Bastion are getting far too close for comfort. This has been bothering me for many weeks. What do we do if they actually make it to this castle? I do not want to seem a coward, but…I would rather not die, either way," he spoke in a rush.

I was careful to keep my expression emotionless. The truth is, I was extremely frightened, like he was. I did not know what would happen if, or perhaps the right term was when, the soldiers got here. I suppose there would be a fight, but I did not know what they wanted with the royal house.

Honestly, I did not know why we were in a war with them. The King and Queen always said it was too complicated for both Sora and I, and we never questioned them.

I guess it's my fault that I was too frightened of the answer to ask.

War is not that complicated a thing. One side does something to anger another side, and the two clash. There is not always a clear reason, but one does not attack another for no reason at all.

After a few thoughtful minutes, I answered my cousin to calm him. "I suppose we would fight, too."

Sora's brow furrowed. "What?"

I sighed. "You know how to fight. I know how to fight. Is it that much to fret over?"

"I suppose that's all well and fine…but what if we both get…" he couldn't finish his sentence.

"Then someone else will be appointed as heir. What do you think? Either way, it does nobody any good to fixate their thoughts on such morbid aspects. Relax, Sora, for there is much too small a chance that they will even get past the gates," I declared with false confidence.

But that was precisely where I made my mistake.

I watched the next few days come and go just as one might watch the rain falling. It was inevitable that the horrific day would come that troops from Hollow Bastion would reach our capital, and try for the castle.

When they finally invaded, the only thing I remember after killing about five soldiers, were hands around my waist, and somebody pulling me backwards. Soon somebody struck me hard in the head knocked me out, and all was black.

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A/N: Okay. There's Chaptaire One. Hope you enjoyed it. If you didn't…well, I'll eat your guts. While you're still alive. Oh, I'll manage it. So anyways, reviews are appreciated. Although, either way, this story continues whether or not you review at all. I only wrote this story because Sics told me that I needed to write an AU for AkuRoku. Since I've never written AU before. And AkuRoku is my favorite pairing. So yeah. And holy cheese on rye, I might even update tomorrow night. If I'm lucky. I have a band concert. Nyah. Well, either way.

The end is near… -Revalations-