Title: The Garden
Genre: Romance/Fantasy
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I no own
Summary: His father had three months to buy him back from Master Riku. For now Sora was stuck in an enchanted palace with a cursed Beast. – RiSo
UNBETA'D. BEWARE OF ERRORS.
X: AND AIMED TO KILL HIM
He stared at Sora's comatose body. It had been nearly a week since the boy had been placed under the spell he had on him. Things were becoming more worrisome as the days flew by.
Axel moved the boy's body around, just as Pence had instructed him, in order to prevent bed sores from appearing. He hadn't been totally against the task at first, and was utterly shocked at how light the boy was the first time he had done it. But now he became anxious whenever it was time to do it. Worry formed in this stomach. He sighed as he finished and placed the blanket back over the teenager's body.
"It's discouraging." Roxas's voice came from the doorjamb, but years of being snuck up on taught the tall redhead not to jump in surprise.
The blond sauntered his way further into the bedroom. It wasn't unusual for the servants to wander into the bedroom nowadays. The longer Sora slept, the more hope they would lose. It was almost typical, as if they had half expected this to occur. Sora's appearance in their lives had almost been too good to be true.
Axel shook his head of those thoughts, "He'll wake up. He's stronger than he looks."
Neither man was certain of who he was trying to assure.
Large blue eyes peered up at him from beneath thick lashes, and a pouty mouth gave a thoughtful frown. Many years ago Axel would've have taken this opportunity to swoop down and land a kiss on those lips. However, lately it was a miracle if the other man would let him touch him at all.
The redhead finished tucking in the teenager and smoothed out the sheets one last time. He stood up straight and headed for the door, planning on passing by his ex-lover without a word.
"Axel." Roxas's voice was small, and had the room not been so silent he wouldn't have been heard.
With a heavy sigh, the redhead paused on his exit, waiting to hear whatever it was the blond wanted to say.
"If he—if this all works out… if the curse is broken... do you think we can be how we once were?" The question was nearly whispered, as if he were afraid to say it too loudly.
There was a brief pause between the two men. The air between them became heavy.
After what felt like an eternity, Axel answered. "It could've remained the same this entire time Rox. Don't—" He cut himself off before continuing again, "Ask me this again when we're free of this curse. Okay?"
"Yeah, okay."
Sora awoke to a weight on his chest. One of the small monsters with antennas was trying to crawl over him. Sighing, he gently shoved the thing off and sat up. How long had he been in this place? It was difficult to judge time with no light coming into the room.
The little monster stared up at him with its large yellow eyes. It was probably the same one which had been keeping him constant company in his cell. Whether it was some sort of body guard or companion, the teenager had yet to tell.
He wondered why he wasn't hungry. One would think that he would be ravenous at this point, but he was perfectly content. Maybe someone was keeping his body well nourished.
The only good thing about any of this was that Maleficent had yet to see him again, not since his first day here. Or maybe it was only mere hours ago? The lack of time was going to make him insane.
That was probably what the witch-fairy wanted, for him to break and lose it, for him to turn. He would not allow the darkness to overwhelm him. He would not let it get to him.
The small creature huddled next to him, body swaying to a silent music. It seemed happy with Sora.
"Hey," the sound of his own voice made him jump. It was too loud in such a suffocating silence. Still, he plowed onward. "What is it about me that you like?"
The thing had no mouth, but its eyes smiled and it nodded its head up and down at him.
The boy smiled back, and placed a hand on top of its head, surprised by how soft and smooth the thing was.
"Can you do me a favor?" He asked the thing in a low voice.
It nodded its head up and down enthusiastically.
"Do you think you can help me bust out of here?"
The creature nodded against before sinking into the floor and scurrying under the heavy door which kept Sora hidden from the rest of the world. There was the sound of the lock being jimmied, and for a moment he was scared that it might have been Maleficent, but when it slowly began to be pushed open, he was surprised to see himself.
No, that wasn't right, it wasn't exactly himself. It was a shadow version of him, with glowing yellow eyes and no definition of any of his features, and wisps of darkness steaming up off of it. The creature had mimicked his looks as best as it could.
For a second he was taken aback, before giving it an insecure grin. "Wow, you, uh…really like me, huh?"
"Yu—" The thing nodded, its voice was soft and low. Almost sounding like a child's voice. It was a little unnerving. "Yuh-ess."
Sora stood up, fluffing up the hair at the back of his head in thought as he carefully made his way over to the shadow version of him. If this were a trap then he would be in big trouble, "What's your name?"
The creature pointed at him.
The teenager gave a puzzled frown. "Hmm. We'll call you Anti-Sora, since you're the exact opposite of me. Look wise that is." His face split into an easy smile.
Anti-Sora smiled back, although the look wasn't as assuring. "This way." He whispered while turning and leading Sora out into a large, dark, dank, hallway.
The temperature dropped twenty degrees compared to how it was in his tiny cell. It caused him to shiver.
Somewhere afar there was the sound of a child crying. Their wretched sob echoing throughout the place.
The sound caused cold fear to gnaw at the pit of his stomach. What was a child doing in a place like this? Unless, of course, it was one of Maleficents tricks. But, she did not know that Sora had managed to get out of his cell. Nor did she know that he was escaping. Only Anti-Sora knew, and unless he – it— was one of her spies, then no one should be aware.
The sobbing grew more violent.
"What is that?" He hissed to his shadow version, bright blue eyes darting everywhere, making sure that there was nothing near them. The only other company he had, aside from the shadow creature, was the green fires on their black sconces, flickering listlessly.
Anti-Sora struggled with his words as he answered as honestly as he could, "Ri…ku."
The teenager's gaze snapped back over to where he was hearing the crying, "Lead the way."
His shadow version nodded, walking how he usually did, on his hands and feet, crouched forward so that his body was curled. It looked uncomfortable, yet he somehow managed easily.
They stuck close to the walls of the dank corridor, the air around them smelled dank. Their footsteps echoed too loudly for Sora's liking, and he found it odd that they had yet to run into any other creature of some sort. Still, he could feel dozen's of eyes on him, possibly the shadow monsters which had haunted him for weeks prior to his abduction.
For the most part they were harmless. They only watched, and rarely did they ever approach.
The two stopped suddenly before a door identical to the one from Sora's own cell.
Anti-Sora shaped its clawed finger into a key, pressing it into the lock and fiddling with the handle as best as it could before the door finally snapped open. Quickly, it moved away from the door, half protecting Sora as they stared into the cell.
"Please, leave me alone," The child's voice inside hiccupped. "I've been here for so long. Just leave me alone."
It was heart breaking, and the teenager felt a knot fill his throat at the sound. Taking in a deep breath to calm his nerves, he pushed open the door a bit more in order to take a look inside.
Curled up in a corner of the small cell was a boy who couldn't have been older than eight years old. His head was pressed firmly onto his knees, and his arms were wrapped around his legs to cushion his head. He had hair so fine that it almost looked silver; it fell over his shoulders haphazardly.
The teenager took in a sharp breath, "Oh God." His voice trembled.
The little boy's head shot up at the sound, large green eyes filled with tears, most of which cascaded down his round face. His eyes became wider at the sight before him, and he stood on wobbly legs, using the wall as support. "Sora," His lower lip quivered. "You finally found me. Your heart finally found me."
The teenager rushed up to the child, scooping the smaller boy up in a tight hug. He burrowed his face into the child's soft hair, "I found you." He agreed, "And now I can take you back to where you belong."
"Thank you," The little boy whispered, his small hand grasping the back of the other's shirt tightly. "Thank you so much."
Master Riku stared down at the nearly lifeless body. Carefully, he untucked the sheets which Axel had meticulously placed on the teenager. He glanced over at Naminé and noticed she was doing the same, Axel beside her.
At the doorjamb was Zexion, ordered to keep watch of the trio in case anything went awry. He, Pence, and Selphie were give specific instructions to pull the trio out if it looked as if they weren't going to make it.
Pence sat at the foot of the bed, staring at the vanity mirror above the dresser. The fairy had set it up so that it would be used as more than just a looking-glass, it would be a way for them to watch and make sure nothing went wrong.
Heaven forbid anything went wrong.
"Ready?" Naminé's voice was barely above a whisper, as if she were afraid to break the somber mood in the room.
All of the men nodded.
Riku climbed into the bed, grasping Sora and dragging him closer to his side so that the other two can slide into the large bed as well. He kept his hold of Sora's hand, noting how Naminé copied him, and Axel grabbed her hand.
"Remember," The Master's voice was its usual growl, "If you notice any imminent danger, anything that could kill us—"
"Pull you out," Pence finished for him.
"But not without Sora." Selphie stated as she came in balancing a tray carrying a pitcher of water, along with four glasses in her hands. The group would be thirsty when they came back.
"Close your eyes," the fairy ordered sternly. She then began a soft chant in a language unknown to them. It felt like an eternity when she whispered, "Open them."
They were in a corridor of a dark, dusty, dank, and cold manor of some sort.
"Great, how are we supposed to find him?" Axel asked, scarred face glancing behind them. His heart was beating rapidly due to nerves, which caused him to freeze and touch the center of his chest, eyes wide. He had a heart.
The other two were silent for a moment, ears straining to hear any type of human noise.
It was odd for the Master to have such poor hearing. And his eyesight was dimmer than usual.
He rubbed his head and paused. There was not fur, but hair. With a slight tremble, he brought his hand— his very human hand— down before his eyes. He knew that there were occasions in the manor when he would revert. But it was surreal to be his true self in a place like this.
"Don't be disillusioned." Naminé's voice was like an anchor, causing both men to snap their gazes to her. "This may be one of Maleficent's tricks. She may have realized that we have arrived."
This bit of information sobered their moods of wonder. Extinguishing any positive emotions they were keeping locked up securely behind their hearts.
Taking a tentative step forward, the fairy stared out into the darkness. "Riku, where's Sora? Focus."
The Master gave her a frown, before doing as she had ordered. It was difficult to understand exactly what she meant. But then he began to notice it, a buzzing sensation starting at the pit of his stomach and making its way up towards his brain. It was faint, almost as if the object creating it were far away.
"He's…above us…no…give me a moment." He furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. He needed to focus, to pinpoint that light which was spreading throughout his being.
How was he able to find Sora? He knew the answer, and it frightened him.
But – there! His thoughts were suddenly cut off by the beckon of light against the smear of pure black. It was moving, running toward something.
Without thinking, Riku began to sprint, ignoring the exclamation escaping his two companions.
At the end of the corridor were a set of spiraling stairs which sprawled both up and down. He checked and made sure the other two were still with him, and then began his descent.
Sora held Child-Riku tightly as he and Anti-Sora fled from vulture looking monsters that they had stumbled upon while trying to find a way out of this place.
The small boy clung onto him for dear life, and his shadow form threw black flames towards the vulture's every chance he got, but it was still not enough.
The monsters cawed. It was a piercing sound which, after a while, would cause the ears to bleed. It felt like an entirely hopeless situation, but Sora kept his eyes open as he noticed a door at the end of the corridor. Perhaps it was the door to freedom. He could only assume so.
He lunged for the door, taking Anti-Sora with him, and slamming it snuggly behind him, ignoring the scratches of claws and beaks against the heavy iron.
Child-Riku shook violently in his arms, taking in small gasps of breaths which felt harsh against the teenagers' collar.
"Okay, okay," Sora breathed, rubbing soothing circles on the small boy's back. Now what? There were stairs before them and bird monsters behind them. The question was: to go up or down? Did it even matter?
There was the sound of stomping coming down towards them from above. Sora swore quietly at the sound, deciding that it was just better to hide underneath the stairs than to run down them and risk an even bigger chance of being caught.
"Be very quiet, okay?" He told both child and Anti-Sora, crawling into a small niche hidden by shadows. Luckily the birds had stopped in their attempt of opening the door, for now.
The teenager held the little boy close to him, nearly smothering him in the processes.
The stomping feet made it to the landing and then stopped.
"Is he nearby?" A voice which was sarcastic and painfully familiar asked in a low tone.
Child-Riku squirmed in Sora's arms. Managing to get loose, trying to rush towards the voice.
"Yes," another voice replied. One that Sora had only had the pleasure of ever really hearing in his dreams. It made his heart ache, and tears to spring to his blue eyes.
The little boy was let go of and rushed ahead. "Axel!" He cried, attaching himself to the lanky redhead's form.
"Whoa!" said man gapped in shock. Slowly, he lifted the boy off the ground by his armpits and stared at him with large eyes. "This isn't right, you're—" His green eyes glanced over at the grown version near him.
Sora made his way out of the niche next, "It's not an illusion." He assured both the trio.
Riku's heart froze at the sight of the other, and before he realized it, his arms were around the brunette's form. He held him close, relishing in the hug that he received in return.
"You came for me," The teenager's voice was hot against his neck.
"I would never not come," He whispered into soft chocolate locks.
Naminé stared at the miniature version of her godson before her. "So…you're the missing piece are you?" She asked with a soft smile on her face.
His green eyes peered at her from his position at Axel's side, enjoying the feel of the older man's hand running through his hair. It had been so long since he had seen the servant, and he had never realized how much he missed him. "Yes. I am."
They were all too busy with each other to notice Anti-Sora smirk and shimmy off into the shadows.
TBC
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Revamp written: 1/12/12
Originally written: 10/14/11