Chapter Nine: Playing With Fire
"Cissa! Cut it out!" I laughed, holding my hands to my face as an impromptu shield.
She merely grinned, splashing me harder as we raced through the fountain together. We were both seven and far too old for such nonsense, not that we minded. Her amber eyes sparkled and I kicked up a spray of icy water, the both of us nearly passed out with the cold. Not that the weather ever stopped us before.
I knew this was the last free day we would have together. Tomorrow I would be attended to by a Lady in waiting who was specifically trained to teach me the arts of courtesy, posture, proper countenance, carriage and a load of other things that I didn't care to even memorize. As Cissa and I basked in the intensity of the frigid waters, we sat at the edge of the pool and watched the myriad of grey clouds troop by.
My father, the man who taught me to fight with archery and if need be my fists, had ordered the Lady to 'assist me'. I knew it was not his full decision, but the courts. It was simply out of his hands.
As fate would have it, we, the northern Kingdom, were the only Kingdom blessed with an eligible princess, while the eastern, western and southern kingdoms, bountiful with princes, were squabbling over who would take command of my father's empire. Suddenly my still budding abilities to produce a healthy heir were up for grabs.
I was torn from these thoughts, however, when a new burst of chilled water rained down upon Cissa and I.
"Hey!" Cissa cried as I wiped my eyes dry.
Before us stood Royu, his normally shy face streaked with mischief. I grinned and swept my feet under him, sending him sailing to his haunches beside Cissa, who blushed as his arm brushed hers.
"Why the long faces?" He asked, pulling Cissa and I close in a group hug.
"You know why." I answered rather coldly, my face downcast.
Royu was the son of a palace guard whom my father had a fond side for, I think because he had no sons of his own. Shaking his mane of scraggly brown hair, Royu grinned and splashed my face gently.
"No need to worry the last day we have away!" He stuck his tongue out comically, making Cissa giggle maniacally.
"Yeah," I smirked, shoving him headfirst into the pool and jumping up to cover any retaliation, "No wasting time."
Cissa beamed and dodged a tackle from Royu, whose mouth was opening and closing like a fish, his face soaked and eyes blinded.
I myself wasted no time bracing myself for an onslaught of laughter…
I awoke what I assumed was the next day, judging by the rumbles in my belly, sprawled out on Axels' bed with him asleep below, using the blanket and pillow I had been. Strangely, this made me smile, despite the daunting prospect of another day in this confinement. I ran myself and bath and found that when I returned, Axel had already left.
For the next few days this would be my routine. I would wake to find Axel sound asleep and would creep to the restroom to wash up. He would be gone upon my return and I would find a tray of whatever food he left. Picking here and there at it, I would soon abandon my meal and stare at the sky for as long as I could stand. Often I filed through my treasured baubles and memorized each photo in the album, each face and expression, the daytime and what we were doing. Or, at least, what Trixa or Rimina was doing, and the empty slot of space where I had once been. When I found myself too drowsy to stand it, I would curl up and fall asleep. Sometimes I would cry, silently and softly, but most times I was too numb.
Axel seemed to notice a trend of silence and reservation in the few instances he was around to watch me. I thought he wouldn't mind the silence, as he himself rarely spoke, but one day he woke me up early and told me to put on my black coat.
"Wha-" I yawned, still sleep deprived. "Why?"
"Don't question, just do it." He waited, tapping his foot while I fumbled at zipping up my coat. "Hood up." He reminded me and I complied somewhat grouchily.
He took me by the arm and led me out the ivory door into a hallway that looked more or less the same as his room. The ceiling, however, was almost too high up to spy and I felt my lips part in wonder at this place.
"Axel, where are you taking me?" I asked as we rushed along.
"Sh, the others will hear you." Axel hushed me, pausing to listen for footsteps that never came. "Rule number four, Lex, don't let anyone see your face. Got it?"
"Mhm." I nodded, freezing when he summoned a dark portal, my legs quivering.
"Don't worry," Axel pulled me to him and held me close, almost protectively, "The first time's always the worst."
I whimpered as the familiar poisonous air infiltrated my lungs and I clung to Axels' heady scent to keep it at bay. Black tendrils gripped my limbs and I gripped his arm tighter until the darkness dissipated with the sharp warping sound ringing in my ears.
"Where-where are we?" I wondered aloud, taking in the midnight streets and lazy lamplight all around us.
"It's called Traverse Town." Axel denoted, looking around himself as if for the first time as well, pulling a white card from his pocket.
As I scanned the deserted streets, Axel read over whatever was scrawled upon the note card and he nodded resolutely. "I need to take care of something across town."
I paused and regarded him warily.
"And I need you to stick around here," He went on, tossing the card in the air lightly and letting it ignite into flickering flames, only to crumple to ash below us. "Maybe buy yourself some clothes-"
He took my hand and placed a velvet black pouch of what I assumed was munny into my palm, closing it promptly. "Or just talk with some townspeople. Just remember, Rule number five: Don't reveal anything."
I nodded and pocketed the munny, only knowing half of what he had intoned. He turned to leave and I felt a lump of gratitude rise in my throat. "Thank you, Axel."
He lifted a gloved hand and waved it once, to acknowledge me before vanishing in a sphere of darkness.
I began to wander in and out of shops, wondering why on earth anyone would be open at this hour. Cheered by the thrill of open air nonetheless, I greeted people and chatted over little things that would never have crossed my mind over the past few days.
"Man, we've been having the worst weather lately," A shop keep named Cid commented as I purchased a potion for the heck of it. I fingered through the pouch Axel gave me- and found over 50,000 munny!
"Really? I'm just passing through, what's it like here normally?" I asked breathlessly, thanking him as he handed me a small brown paper bag.
"Oh, I thought you looked new," Cid nodded, scratching his nose momentarily. "Well, its-"
"Hello kupo!" I gave a start as a little white creature with a huge red bulb hanging over its head and an enormous red nose appeared out of thin air. "Take a look at my wares kupo! Great gummi ship supplies kupo!"
"Get atta here!" Cid waved the poor thing away and I winced as it scurried up a set of attic stairs indignantly. "Sorry about that… say, what did you say your name was?"
"Ugh…" I felt my heart sink. Rule number five, Lex, rule number five. Axels' voice chimed in my head. "Thanks for the supplies, I really have to go!"
I called over my shoulder as I sprinted through the door, leaving Cid to shrug his shoulders and wipe his glass counters clean. Sighing with relief, I wandered farther down the street, eagerly drawn to a clothing store. There I was ambushed by a young woman who ushered me around her store, pulling things off hangers seemingly at random for me to try on. Well, as if I objected.
In the end, after what seemed an hour or two of sifting through piles of clothes, I bought several skirts in red, blue and white. I also found three shirts with the same flowing design and a silver blue lightweight jacket. To complete my wardrobe I found a quicksilver and baby blue dress with black straps that barely reached my mid thigh, also purchasing a white slip for underneath and for use as a nightshift.
Waving goodbye to the saleswoman, I exited the store with my arms full of bags. A late night street side café was open and I enjoyed hot tea and biscuits, wondering where in this world Axel was.
That's when I began to wander.
Up the streets I walked, past cafés and shops, not bothering to pause to wave at passersby's. Eye's open, I ambled along until I reached a deserted square. Scanning the area to be sure he wasn't anywhere to be seen, I was drawn to a radiant gold fountain. It depicted two dogs, a lovely cocker spaniel and some mutt gazing at one another adoringly. Strange, I thought, dog love…
"Huh?" I turned as multiple warping swirls of darkness morphed into a dozen or so heartless.
These weren't the average Shadow's I was used to, for that matter. Each was clad in a loose blue tunic garnished with a strange heart shaped emblem. Their faces were hidden behind silver helmets and their feet moved clumsily about in silver boots that clanged noisily as they scampered around.
Dropping my bags, I reached for my quiver and rained arrows down upon one, missing on several attempts before bringing it down. But my smug grin of success was wiped literally off my face as the horde of clamoring halfwits simultaneously charged right for me.
Whilst I was occupied with dodging their nasty silver claws, their numbers seemed to double in the blink of an eye. I hadn't nearly enough arrows to take out this entire fleet!
"I told you to stay put!"
I was both terrified and relieved as Axel appeared in the midst of the scene, slicing through the enemies with his Chakrams like a knife through warm butter. They began to storm him and I slung arrow after arrow until my quiver was light as air upon my back. A ring of fire had immediately surrounded us, in order to keep these vermin from escaping I had thought, but when it did not die down once the threat was over, my heart began to sink.
"Axel…" I watched as he finished the last of the little knights, nearly doubled over and breathing rather unevenly.
"Rule number six: don't wander off!" He snapped, straightening, towering over me while his beryl eyes glared menacingly.
I turned to run but found only fire, drawing nearer at that, the closer Axels' burning face reached me. Biting my lip to keep from screaming, I lowered my head and waited for whatever cruel punishment awaited me.
"I could have lost you."
I blinked as his broad hands pulled me in and his arms wrapped around me like scorching prison bars. His chin rested on my shoulder blade and I placed my hands at his back, not quite knowing what to do. Was he still angry? He looked like someone eager for initiating decapitation and now he was embracing me.
"I'm alright." I assured him, patting his back gingerly.
"Get your things," He said stonily, retracting his arms and summoning another portal, "It's time to go home."
I shuddered at the thought of another wave of darkness but collected my bags nonetheless.
Later that night as I emerged from the bathroom in my nightshift, I sank snuggly into bed and watched Axel as he slid his thumb over the tip of his index finger, summoning a flame to flicker on and off, on and off, on and off on the tip of his thumb like a lighter. Although his mood was foul to say the least, the oddity of it all made me giggle a bit.
"What?" He stopped suddenly, eyeing me suspiciously.
I tried to smother my laughter with my hand, which proved useless. "Nothing… I-I just… you're like a kid who's bored with an old toy."
There was a short pause, just before I smelled smoke as the tip of a lock of my hair burst into flame. Before I even had time to scream, it smothered itself and the only trace of fire was the charred remains of my already raven tips.
"I'm not bored…" Axel said between bouts of laughter, rolling on the floor, "I got you!"
Without another word, I heard a loud "Oof!" as my pillow collided with his smirking face.
"Goodnight Axel." I smiled contently.