Axel purposefully avoided the servants that day, as well as that particular wing of the palace. When crossed, he would only mutter that he was very busy and move on. He was gruff and curt where he would usually be polite and amiable, and word of this spread quickly. Some of the servants would scatter when he came near, unless he addressed one specifically.

At the risk of alerting his parents about his unusual behavior, the redhead shut himself in his chambers and sat secluded for most of the day. He paced and read and tried to sort out his thoughts, but it seemed to no avail.

"Axel? Are you in here?"

Groaning, he attempted to bury himself further in his book.

As usually, it proved futile. The far door opened with a loud creak. "There you are." Demyx shut the door behind him, and, in moments, sat beside the prince on his bed. "Xion's all worked up in a frenzy, you know. She swears she's going to smack you hard the next time she sees you."

Axel snorted. "I'd like to see her try."

Demyx gave an awkward chuckle. "Right. Anyone who dares to raise a hand royalty is lucky to leave with his life."

"Oh please. Don't give me that rubbish." Xion was perfectly comfortable giving him a good slap every now and again. She'd started doing it as a child, and nobody saw any harm behind it. His mother had actually applauded such behavior, admiring a woman who wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. That, and it kept her own child from becoming too pompous or spoiled. It was true enough, though, that to seriously strike him would be problematic.

Demyx shrugged his shoulders and absently smoothed the silk covers next to him.

"It's not like you to treat a new servant so harshly, especially a little boy."

Axel forced his nose deeper into his book, trying to ignore the nagging in the back of his mind.

"Axel, please. Don't let your temper run away with you. You remember how nervous I was my first day. This is just like that, right?"

There was some truth to that. Strange as it seemed now, not long ago Demyx was a quiet, timid boy beginning his work at the palace. Axel made a mental note to himself to be careful with the Neko, lest he turn out just as Demyx was now. He highly doubted he could deal with twin annoyances on such a frequent basis.

But the point was made. Demyx had been shy and hesitant at first, and Axel had not felt angry or disrespected by that.

"How I choose to deal with that child is no one else's concern," he said simply, turning a dusty page in the book. His friend sighed heavily.

"I understand, just...please think about it, won't you? You were so kind to save him, but so much has happened...he may be caught up in how drastically his life has changed. He didn't mean to anger you. You know plenty of slaves get stolen away from their homes and families."

His piece said, the blonde servant rose to his feet and headed away.

The redhead sighed deeply, casting his book aside with a harsh throw. It smacked into the wall and slid down, landing open on its spine.

"Why must everyone berate me?" Could no one understand his frustrations?

Or maybe...maybe it was him after all. For some strange reason, he'd just want to smack that boy. In all his time growing up, Axel had never struck a servant. He'd never harmed one, or held the desire to harm one, save for a few childish occasions when he was angry at them as a boy. But he had never acted upon such feelings. The servants were his friends, his extended family. Even as a child, he knew that...

No servant had ever been rude to him, or even defiant, except perhaps Xion from time to time. But she was a girl, and she always did things for good, thoughtful reasons, even if he didn't always agree with her.

~Y~

Soon enough, he had reached the door to the prayer cell once more. Thankfully, he had encountered no one on the way to this hall. Though, as he drew closer, he could suddenly see why all too clearly.

Or rather, hear all too clearly.

A heartbroken voice sobbed pitifully behind the door, and Axel swore he heard something scraping against the door as well; the wood shook slightly, but did not budge open.

He was surprised, and his anger rekindled somewhat. It had been some time since he had left the boy here. Was he really still behaving this way? He wasn't so young that he could get away with this tantrum.

Drawing out the key, Axel calmed himself as best he could. He didn't want to terrorize the boy more than he already had. He thought of all his love and respect for the palace servants, for Xion, Demyx, Aqua, and the others whom he loved dearly, and tried to summon these feelings for Roxas, even though he didn't know the Neko well. He did want the boy's respect and loyalty, but sometimes, titles weren't sufficient to earn that. Sometimes, only kindness could really turn a stubborn person to your side.

The door opened with a creak, and he heard the sobs halt altogether. Axel started as a force knocked into his legs, then clenched around them so tightly he swore he could feel his circulation draining away. Acting on instinct, he drew out his dagger, preparing to slash out with it as he met wide, wet blue eyes.

Instantly, the little Neko gasped and fell back.

"No! Please! I-I'm sorry!"

Roxas's eyes were wild and unfocused, not really seeming to see any part of the prince except for the dagger still clenched in his hand. It was as if he were locked in a waking nightmare, and as he scrambled back away from Axel, his back slammed into the stone wall of the prayer cell, forcing a wince from him as well. The redhead sheathed his dagger and stepped forward to reassure him, but the Neko trembled violently at the movement, and with every step closer, it became more pronounced.

Just as Axel reached the pitiful creature, standing high above him, Roxas curled into a ball and pressed his head to his knees, fisting his hair and pulling mercilously.

"I-I'll work for you, I promise! Just don't hurt me! Please!"

"I won't hurt you." Axel knelt in front of him, hesitating only a moment before he grasped the Neko's shoulder. The trembling jumped for a second when he made contact, but surprisingly it didn't grow worse. Roxas's cries fell to soft mumbles, but he repeated them again and again like a mantra.

"Let me out. Don't h-hurt me. I'll do whatever you ask."

Axel sighed. He used his free hand to push down on the Neko's knees.

"Look at me, Roxas."

The boy still shook, but obeyed quietly, his eyes growing clearer. Axel was relieved when he saw that the trance seemed to be breaking.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I came here to talk." Roxas looked at him, disbelief and fear still in his eyes, but the redhead continued. "I did not mean to upset you, but you must understand that regardless of how you got here, you are here now. I took you from the slavers' market to be my personal servant. I can give you some time, if you need to adjust slowly, but you must be willing to work."

"As a...personal servant?"

The redhead nodded. "I intended for you to start slowly by working in the kitchens, since that is what you mentioned. Most importantly so you could become familiar with the other servants. Then, in time, you would serve me and me alone, unless I ordered you otherwise."

"I...see." The Neko lowered his gaze for a moment, and the prince studied him closely. In the low light, Roxas was pale as a sheet. How he had avoided the itching burn in the harsh, unrelenting desert was beyond Axel. But it wasn't unappealing to him, somehow...

His eyes widened a bit when he noticed blood on the boy's hands. It spread freely from the tips where the boy's fingernails used to be. Only jagged fragments of the nails remained now.

Alarmed, the redhead reached out and took Roxas's wrists, examining his hands more clearly. "What have you done?"

The Neko, who had looked up at this last gesture, flushed nervously and looked away from him.

"I-I...I'm afraid of the dark. When you locked the door, I panicked..."

To Axel, it sounded ludicrous. He glared at the Neko. "Why should you fear darkness? It cannot hurt you. And now you can't do anything until the healer has cleaned and bandaged these!"

"I-I'm sorry! I can't help it! I couldn't see and I was frightened!" Pulling his hands away, the boy covered his eyes and began sobbing again.

Axel was tempted to bite back, feeling his anger flaring. But he calmed himself slowly, breathing deeply. Roxas needed compassion and understanding to open up, just like Demyx said. Shouting at him would only spark another fight.

Cautiously, he patted the boy's shoulder, willing himself to calm down at the same time.

"It's alright. We can work around this, but...why are you so afraid of the dark?"

The Neko paused a moment, hugging himself and looking at the floor. While he did that, the prince glanced around the room impatiently. It was quite empty, as it had been earlier that day, save for the little cot that sat in the far corner of the room. The straw mattress was dusty and hard, covered only by a thin sheet stained by patches of brown and red rust. The walls were completely bare of windows; the prayer cells were designed to seclude and focus the occupant, so it was only right. The redhead glanced back at the door, eyes widening again to see a new decoration; long, harsh scratches in the wood. Lined with darkening, rusty blood. As if this boy had tried to claw his way out in sheer panic.

Had that happened?

Axel saw that Roxas was still looking away, biting his lip. He reached out and gently turned that face toward him.

"Don't turn from me when I ask you a question." Blue eyes met green with only the tiniest spark of defiance. It was buried, though, beneath the fear and distrust. Axel sighed. "Please tell me."

Roxas swallowed, but relented.

"I have always been afraid of it, ever since I was little. Bad things hide in the darkness, and being in it myself makes me feel trapped and alone." Axel saw sorrow in the boy's beautiful eyes as he spoke. "Where there is no light, there is no hope. Only loneliness."

"And you fear loneliness?"

Roxas sniffled. "Yes. I do not wish to seem ungrateful, but..." His eyes misted over, and he covered them with his hands again. "I miss my home. This place is so cold and and dark and lonely. P-Please don't say that I must stay here, in this room. Even with a light, I don't want to be in here."

Axel felt his heart twisting again, both for and against this boy. Perhaps he had been forcibly taken from his family. It could also be that Neko were a lot younger than they looked, and Roxas was still a child after all.

The man managed a soft smile, and took the Neko's hands again. He was careful not to brush the remnants of the nails, seeing Roxas wince at even the slightest contact.

"I am not much accustomed to it," Roxas blinked up at him curiously, slowly calming himself as his master spoke. "I...apologize...for treating you so harshly. My own behavior escapes me somewhat, though I am sure we two are both weary after this day. The duties of royalty often weigh on the body and mind together. It can be quite taxing...though I'm sure you would know nothing of that...Not that I think servants do not tax themselves as well. It is simply a...a different stress, I think," he conceded, still attempting to gauge the servant boy's reaction. What was wrong with him today?

Realization dawned in those big, blue eyes, and either Axel's sight had betrayed him, or he had seen the slightest upward twitch at the corners of those lips.

"O-Oh...I think I understand." Roxas inclined his head uncertainly. "I-I apologize too. I did not mean to upset your highness, or to seem ungrateful." The Neko's gaze swept over the room. "I'm sure I will love it here." This time, he smiled long enough for the prince to see, though the expression did not meet his eyes.

The next few moments passed in silence, rather awkwardly as well. From the prince's confused apology to Roxas's bare acceptance, the feelings in the room were very mixed. As he thought more and more about it, and watched the little cat boy struggle to draw his own conclusions, Axel decided that he was rather cute. Cute enough to keep, if only for now.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the doorway. Axel frowned.

"What are you doing here, Xion?"

The girl gave him the briefest look, before striding over to Roxas and kneeling down beside him. The boy watched her warily, quickly becoming curious as she pulled a small, wrapped parcel from her pocket.

"It's not much, but I wanted to give you something." She deposited the gift into the boy's hands quickly, almost causing him to drop it. "Think of it as an apology, and a welcome to the palace."

The prince raised an eyebrow.

"You were going to do this whether I approved or not, I take it?"

With a proud look, she straightened and stood, brushing herself off. "Someone had to be civil to him. Really, Axel, I have never seen you react that way. It is unbecoming of the prince of our great country."

"As it is unbecoming a servant to openly defy her master." That earned him the privilege of having her tongue stuck out at him. "But you will notice, I make no move to punish you."

She shrugged back. "My words and actions caused no harm. Nothing is worth punishing, my prince," she quipped back. Not angry; it was closer to teasing, as was his tone. Nevertheless, she approached him, and hugged him, letting him follow suit only seconds after. The two smiled, oblivious to the curious, almost shocked expression from Roxas.

"If I see you behaving that way again, prince or no prince, I'll feed you to the buzzards."

Axel chuckled. "You'll have quite a job with that. But very well." He turned to see Roxas, who looked confused and appalled to hear such words spoken to the prince.

"Xion, go to the kitchens and tell Aqua to fix something hearty. We might as well get him fed properly."

The girl smiled, bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement, and made her exit, flashing the Neko a bright smile. Roxas looked back down at the package in his hand.

"Open it later. There is much to do, even if you cannot work. First, I must show you the palace so that you won't get lost." Axel was certain he would otherwise. The boy was small and apparently very fragile. The redhead vaguely wondered what exactly had he gone through, that had put him in this land.

With a smirk, the ever-curious Axel stood just as Roxas did, watching the boy brush himself off and put the little parcel in his pocket. That cat tail swished behind him, more relaxed now. Even the boy's ears were up and twitching; not scared or tense, but alert. Axel began to wonder about those too. How would it feel if someone were to reach out and touch them?

He acted. Axel walked over to the Neko and reached out a hand.

Roxas flinched back. "P-Please...not my ears..."

Axel blinked. "Why not? You allowed Xion to touch them, did you not?" he asked, scratching lightly at the base of the left ear. The blonde stiffened, at first, but as the touch continued, his eyes soon drooped low. Axel smirked as the boy submitted, relaxing into him slightly. He let the Neko support himself against him as he scratched and stroked the velvety ears.

Roxas's head tilted to the side for a better angle. A soft purr pouring from his throat.

"See?" the prince chuckled, glad his intuition about cats was right. "I won't hurt you. If you accept me as your master, and work hard, you will want for nothing here. You will not be lonely or mistreated."

Soft blue eyes raised, boring into him with yearning and hope.

"I-If this is to be my home...then I will do so, Master."

The prince smirked. "Good, kitten. I expect great things from you."

Without another word, Axel gently cupped the boy's cheek and tugged him forward, pressing their lips together.