Vexen's fist collided hard with the table.
"Damn that little fool!" Somehow, he had managed it. Roxas had managed to escape with his life after all. It was astounding, infuriating...
Drawing out the box he had kept hidden in that room, the old blond unlocked it and flung it open, staring at the old, decaying heart inside. The plush velvet was now stained with dark, dried blood, and Vexen took the dead organ into his hand, squeezing and digging his nails into it harshly.
He would have to deal with Demyx later. The old sorcerer wanted to act fast and squash this little vermin before he posed any more of a threat to his plans. He didn't know who the red-headed boy was, but he had pinpointed the exact location of the cabin and the surrounding forest.
He must think he's so clever, the brat. Thinking he's escaped me for good, no doubt. Well, we'll see how long his luck lasts...
Vexen chucked the heart away, hearing it squish as it hit the wall and slid to the floor, leaving a new mess on the stone. But he didn't care. The spell he was planning to use did not require a heart, or that many ingredients, really. It was a spell using his own personal element, ice, and would only take a bit more of the prince's hair to seal itself on him completely.
Too bad he didn't have any of the redhead's hair or blood, he thought absently. How precious that would be, seeing that the two boys obviously cared for each other. To take control of that body and watch his rough, calloused hands wrap around the prince's skinny throat, crushing it until no air would ever flood those little lungs again. And that bittersweet betrayal that would grace his dying expression...
But alas, some things he could only dream...
Draining the cauldron, Vexen gave it fresh water and set the bottom alight again, waiting until it came to a boil and bubbled once again. Then he made his way to the dusty old shelf nearby, littered with dust and cobwebs here and there. He brushed them aside mercilously before scanning the titles on the bindings with his finger.
"Ah yes. Here we are." he said, pulling a particularly large book away and opening it on the table. Its binding was a deep, dark blue in color, with the words "Spells of the Cold: 1" written in elegant font across the cover. He needed no book mark to find the page in question. In truth, he almost didn't need the book at all.
"Let's see. 'A dash of melted frog's eye...'" And he read off the few ingredients, pulling them from his stocks and pouring them directly into the cauldron. And just as he added the final touch, another strand of hair from the dwindling supply in the tiny bottle, the liquid turned pitch-black, and began to seep more cold fog into the room. The temperature dropped several degrees, and Vexen could see some residue forming on the bottles and vials around the room.
Stirring a red and orange potion in a medium-sized bowl on the side, the old man smirked evilly.
"Now...Let's begin..."
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Axel sat in the living room, eating a plate-full of the delicious food he had painstakingly made earlier. It was a bit of rabbit meat and steamed vegetables, which had taken a bit of planning to arrange beyond the usual soup and beans, but it had been well worth it. As he glanced back over his shoulder and down the hall, Axel only wished Roxas had gotten a chance to taste it too, while it had still been pipping hot.
Once the food was ready, Axel found the little blond still sleeping like a rock, completely dead to the world after his working and spell-casting earlier. The redhead didn't have the heart to wake him, so he closed the door and just ate alone that night, agreeing to set aside some leftovers that he could cook again later when Roxas was hungry. Axel just hoped that he would like what he made.
He couldn't bring himself to be irritated with the boy anymore. Even when Roxas made mistakes or caused trouble, it only made him more endearing to the older boy. Roxas always tried to do his best, especially when it came to helping others.
Axel sat there, watching the fire dance and crackle brightly, as he absently thought of his sleeping guest and stuffed another bite of food into his mouth, chewing avidly. It was a little on the stringy side; he hadn't had the right ingredients to marinate it in to compliment the taste. But it was still a nice, healthy meal, and certainly good for two growing boys who needed a break from the usual.
Suddenly, there was a strange cracking sound in the air, startling Axel a bit. It was brief, and not very loud, so when Axel looked up and around, he had no idea where the sound had come from. It only took a quick glance out the window, however, to see that it wasn't just something he could ignore.
"What the hell!" he spat, seeing the glowing red light of another fire as it slowly began to consume a nearby tree. Axel concluded that it must have caught on a dead branch in this dry weather, but where had the spark come from? There was no lightning that he had heard, and everyone he knew in the area had better sense than to leave a fire unattended with so much dry brush lying around.
The redhead cursed to himself, running to the kitchen and grabbing a bucket to fill. Once it was sloshing with water, he made his way as quickly as possible back to the front door, slamming it behind him. Now hopefully he could put the fire out before it spread and put the whole forest in danger.
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The sound of the door slamming out front brought the little blond out of his deep slumber. He looked up towards his door hazily, starting to rub his blue eyes and sit up more in bed.
"Axel?" Roxas wondered if he had heard right. After a minute or two of silence, he shrugged and began to cuddle back up in his blankets. Perhaps Axel ran out to take care of something...and if so, Roxas was not about to go and bother him. He still felt very drowsy as it was.
He stared at the wall for a minute or two, smelling the remnants of supper in the kitchen and smiling faintly. He felt bad for missing out on Axel's cooking; this was probably the first time they had made anything other than canned food, and Axel had been bragging that his rabbit was world-renowned. Roxas chuckled. He highly doubted that, but still, it was nice to leave the food up to Axel for once, and he could tell his friend really wanted him to enjoy it. Maybe if he got up now, he could sit with him and have some. It couldn't be that cold already...
As much as he wanted to get up, though, Roxas lay there, curled up in his blankets against the cool in the room. He couldn't bring himself to move for several more minutes, and as he stayed there in silence, he thought about how he still hadn't heard the front door open and close again. Or had that just been his imagination after all?
Roxas leaned on his arm as he pushed himself up, looking back at the door pensively.
"Axel? Are you-"
Then he stopped, shivering as the chill in the room seemed to become more noticeable. It was unnaturally cold, even for the time of year, and Roxas drew the blankets tightly around him, looking around curiously.
"Could it get any colder in here?" he wondered aloud, frowning. The feeling seemed to be spreading, slowly but surely, and as he looked around, Roxas saw the window fogging up as well, confirming his suspicion. Maybe Axel's fire had gone out, or he had left the door open?
And then there was a pain in his heart, harsh and colder than even the room seemed to be. Roxas gasped and clutched his chest tightly, wincing as the pain began to spread up his breast and down his arms.
"W-What is this? What's happening to me?" he cried, hearing a new hoarseness in his voice. It was like his organs were freezing on the inside, halting his breath and forcing him to double over in pain, panting harshly. As his eyes creaked open and looked up, they widened in alarm as a thick sheet of ice began forming over the walls and windows, trapping him in a cage of ice as the crushing feeling in his body persisted. That couldn't have been natural!
Roxas tried getting to his feet, but found that standing was even more painful. He was still weak from earlier, and he quickly collapsed back onto the bed, crying out softly in pain and exertion. It was getting to be too much for his body to take. The blond could barely think straight as he concentrated on the crushing, freezing hand that seemed to be gripping his lungs harshly now. This had to be the work of dark magic of some kind, and Roxas let out a small, pained gasp as he realized the only sorcerer that could possibly be powerful enough to enact such a strong spell from so far away.
Vexen!
Fear contorted in the pit of his stomach, and his shaking doubled to the point of spasms. Vexen knew he was alive! He had to, and now he was trying to kill him off quietly in the night!
"No! Axel!" the boy screamed, but his voice was so hoarse now that it barely sounded above a whisper. It felt like a kick in the gut every time he spoke, but Roxas called for help until he couldn't hear himself anymore.
With one hand still clutched in his shirt above his freezing heart, he reached the other out to the door weakly, feeling his eyelids drooping heavily over tearful blue.
"A-A-Axel, p-please...help..."
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The redhead came in, sweating and tired. It was hard work, but he managed to put the fire out in time. It was really lucky that the tree in question was relatively secluded from the others, so he was able to keep the flame isolated until he could douse it. That solved one problem...
But where had it come from? There was no lightning, and something like that done as a prank was probably the stupidest, most irresponsible thing he could imagine someone pulling. Only a fool would do something that could possible set the whole forest on fire! But Axel had found no evidence of anyone out there before, and certainly nothing to start a fire with. It was quiet and empty. Very strange indeed.
He settled himself down on the couch and sighed heavily, tossing the bucket away aimlessly, not caring where it landed. He winced slightly as he heard the clang of it smacking against the wooden floor, only now hoping he hadn't woken Roxas. Even if the boy had been sleeping for a while now, with all the work he had been doing in the past couple of days, well, Axel wasn't surprised. He could sleep for as long as he wanted; there would be plenty of time to finish up tomorrow...
Just as Axel reached over to pick up one of his books, intent on catching his breath for a moment, he became aware of sudden chill that had fallen over the whole room. He shivered harshly, looking around, dumbfounded, then back at the door to make sure he had closed it properly. Then to the fire. A cold this biting almost didn't seem possible!
"How the hell did it get so cold in here?" he growled, rubbing his arms a little. Cold things had the tendency to put him in a foul mood, and he was certainly working his way there now.
Soon Axel just couldn't take it anymore. He got up and walked down the hall, to the closet where the spare blankets were kept, intent on covering himself and stuffing up every crack in the doors that he had to. Anything to warm up the place! Just as he shut the door again, holding a nice, warm, woolen blanket over his arm, his eyes caught sight of what looked like a thick sheet of ice...creeping over Roxas's door. The wood was almost blue itself.
"What the-"
Before he even finished the thought, he was at Roxas's door, jiggling the handle and knocking with mounting panic.
"Roxas? Roxas, what's going on in there?"
The door wouldn't budge in the slightest, and as Axel leaned against it, he shivered, feeling the cold, heavy ice pressing against the frame, keeping him out. He growled and cursed when he became aware of a faint voice answering him from inside. It was soft and pained, and completely indecipherable. Not good.
"Hold on, kid! I'll get you out! Stand back!" Not stopping to question anything, the redhead began slamming his shoulder into the door hard, listening as little bits of ice began to crack and break off. They clattered to the floor, shattering like glass under him, but just as soon as he removed one area of ice, another would grow over that and take its place. The ice was growing thick in many places; the cracks were filled, and the ice inside was spreading past, making the wood under his feet slick and dangerous.
No use! Axel growled miserably to himself, beginning to feel the bruises on his shoulder aching. The damn thing isn't budging!
Axel rammed the door harder and faster, but it never seemed to work. He slid a bit on the floor as he stepped back for another try, and almost fell back and hit his head, if he hadn't caught the door handle and held it tightly to keep his balance. There was no noise from the room inside, and when Axel called out again, there was no voice to answer him this time. There was only cold silence, broken by the occasional sounds of slamming and shattering as Axel kept trying to force his way inside.
After a minute or two, the redhead stepped back and planted his feet firmly. This really was getting him nowhere.
Aiming one hard kick at the door, he managed to hit it right as the ice was reforming. The door groaned in response, creaking as it fell backwards into the room and onto the ice, making the shattering even louder. Axel raced into the room, immediately feeling the bone-biting cold pulsing through his very being.
It didn't take him long to find his quarry; the prince lay cold and unmoving on the bed, already half encased in a sheet of ice.
"Damn it, kid! Hold on!" The redhead was at his side in an instant, punching the ice as hard as he could to break the casing. It hurt his fists like hell, but he had nothing else on him that would help and he couldn't spare a moment to grab something.
First he freed Roxas's chest, then his legs and ankles, quick to beat away at the ice before it reformed. Once that was done, he hoisted the unconscious teen into his arms and raced clumsily out of the room, slipping straight to the fireplace in the main room.
"Roxas!" He set the boy down on the floor, as close to the fire as he dared, and looked over him nervously. Roxas was even paler than the night Axel had found him, with a cold, bluish tint that showed most prominently on his lips. On his exposed skin, Axel could see bruises from the ice; all dark, angry purple marks that looked so wrong.
And, most concerning of all, Roxas wasn't shivering anymore. He wasn't really breathing or moving much at all.
Axel pressed his head to the boy's chest, feeling nothing. Everything had stopped cold, just as he'd feared.
"Damn it, Roxas, snap out of it!" the older boy barked, slapping his frozen cheek. He whimpered when that warranted no response. What was he going to do?
Panic was growing steadily inside him, more of it by the second, when a sudden idea came to him. It might be a little awkward, but if it could save Roxas's life, then he wasn't going to worry about that now.
Axel tilted the blond's chin up slightly, waisting no time as he smashed their lips together.
Roxas's were limp and cold, but moved apart easily for him when prodded, and Axel quickly began exhaling into his waiting mouth. His breaths were warm and shaky, nervous beyond nervous, but Axel hoped that they would work. He only paused occasionally to catch his own breath and to press down on Roxas's chest; a technic he'd learned in case someone was drowning. He just hoped it would work now; there wasn't time to try something else...
Come on, Roxas. Breathe. he begged, pressing further into the boy's mouth, cupping his face tightly with one hand. Please...Please don't leave me.
Blue eyes shot wide; for a second, staring unflinchingly into his own.
Axel practically leapt away, helping Roxas to sit up as he coughed harshly and buried his head in the redhead's chest, using him as a support. Axel rubbed his back comfortingly, leaning in and sighing with relief as the main danger seemed to have passed. He calmed the hard pounding of his own heart, repeatedly telling himself that it was alright. Roxas was alive.
When the blond finally stopped coughing, Axel propped his back up against the couch and got up quickly.
"Hold on, I'll get you something warm." He piled blanket after blanket onto the shivering prince, before warming up some water in a mug and bringing it back to him. "Here, drink this." He held Roxas's shaking hands in his own and helped guide the mug to his lips, watching quietly as he drank deeply.
When the mug was finally set aside, Axel pulled him in for comforting hug, feeling himself quiver slightly when cold arms wrap around his waist.
"A-Axel...H-He knows..."
Green eyes looked down at him, puzzled. "Who?"
"V-Vexen! He k-knows!" Frightened blue eyes met his, and a shaking hand clutched in his shirt desperately. "H-He tried to k-kill me! He knows, a-and he-"
"Shhh, Roxas. Calm down," the redhead whispered. "Now, how do you know it was him?"
"T-That ice magic! T-That's his element! It was-sn't normal, A-Axel! He had to have-"
Axel pressed a firm finger to his lips. This whole thing was clearly upsetting Roxas, and as much as he wanted to have his say, he was in no fit state to rave about it like this.
"It's alright, Roxas. You're safe," he said, hugging the boy's head close and petting his blond spikes softly. Roxas didn't protest much; he seemed to still be in a state of shock over what happened. Slowly, his shivering grew into small sobs, and his fist clenched tighter in Axel's shirt, clinging for comfort and understanding that the redhead could not fully give. He wanted to give it, for sure; but right then, neither of them had the answers he was looking for. The silence was somber, but not altogether unpleasant, and Axel sighed as he felt warm, wet tears soaking through his shirt at the shoulder.
"I t-thought you w-wouldn't come..."
"I know," he whispered, cuddling him closer. "But I'm here. I'm not gonna leave you, kid. Got it memorized?"
Roxas sniffled softly, half chuckling in response.
The two of them sat that way for a very long time; countless minutes felt like hours to Axel, and he cherished them. The circumstances weren't ideal, but he reveled in the chance to cradle Roxas closely in his arms and speak simple, but comforting words from the bottom of his heart. And soon enough, the prince had cried himself back to sleep, exhausted emotionally and physically by his terrifying ordeal. Axel smiled sadly as he brushed the soft blond bangs away from his eyes, and hoisted him back into his arms.
The fire was slowly dying away, barely more than glistening embers now. Axel blew out any candles left lit and carried Roxas back to his room, laying him tenderly on the bed. He would be damned if he left the blond alone after what had happened, and even a quick check of the boy's room didn't sway him in his decision. The ice seemed to be melting back and away on its own, retreating from the door completely now that its target had been removed. At least the room would still be usable, but Axel refused to put Roxas back in there. No, he would have to be more watchful, more careful from now on...
He closed the door to his room and silently dressed Roxas and himself for bed. Axel winced as he ran his finger over one of the purple bruises, growling a little at it. It made him angry to think someone would try to hurt his Roxas. Whoever tried to hurt him or take him away would have to go through Axel first!
Wait...what?
Axel rolled over and watched him for a long time, relieved to see the gentle rise and fall of his chest and feel the growing warmth beside him again. Every now and then, he would stop himself and wonder, 'what am I thinking?' Roxas was and always would be royalty, and he was just some hermit; some nobody who had been kind enough to give him shelter. Even if Roxas loved him back, it couldn't have been more than brotherly love. And even if what Axel wished for was true, that the boy loved him in that way, they would never be able to live together.
It just wasn't done, and besides, Axel loved living in the forest, away from the crowded towns and busy markets. The one person he really loved to be around was Roxas...
Axel sighed heavily, rolling onto his back after a while and starring up at the ceiling blankly, resting his head on his arms. Whether or not he was going in to work tomorrow, which he probably wouldn't be now, he needed to get some serious shut-eye. There would be a lot to discuss in the morning. So, with some difficulty, his eyes slid shut, and he tried to dream of pleasant things. Like summer, ice cream, and splashing in the river with a certain sky-eyed blond...
And as the night wore on, the two boys ended up cuddled together with Roxas's head nicely wedged beneath his chin...
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Vexen was practically seething, snarling as he shoved the book off the table in a rage. In the cauldron, he saw that Roxas had managed to escape him again, and now he was sleeping peacefully, nestled up close to that blasted, interfering redhead.
"I will get you, you brat!" the old man hissed, swiping his hand just above the cauldron's surface and causing the foggy image to quiver and melt away. "You and your little friend!"
He was far too tired and angry to continue then. It wouldn't do for him to be up all night and appear weak and slovenly before his people. And there was still time enough to dispose of the boy before his next birthday. With this and various plots still buzzing around in his head, Vexen replaced his ingredients and emptied out the cauldron before retiring to his room for the night.
In due time, he would have those fools regretting the day they had ever tried to stand against him...
You know who Vexen reminded me of in this chapter? Rasputin from Don Bluth's Anastasia. This is supposed to be more like Snow White, and yet I just had to make it longer by making three, count em, three attempts to kill off Roxas. What can I say? Three is a magic number.