Chapter Twenty-Five: Sacred
"You've broken one of our most sacred laws," Roxas frowned as he stared at the blonde, Cloud, before him. "We are never to bring outsiders to our home."
"I had no way to get back," Cloud defended himself. "I had to rely on outsider help."
"The water would have led you," Roxas countered.
Cloud stared at his Prince sadly. They were sitting in a carriage on their way to meet Lord Gates. Leon and the others were in another carriage behind them under strict guard.
"The water on the outside is nearly dead, my Lord," Cloud informed him sadly. Roxas sat up straighter at the announcement, staring at Cloud in disbelief. "The closer to land one is, the less life you can sense. No one on the outside knows of the water's life and does not respect it. The only time the water comes alive is to create destructive storms and seek its revenge."
"The water is peaceful," Roxas denied, "and beautiful. It would never purposefully harm someone who loved it!"
"The people do not love it," Cloud countered. "They may say they love the sea and enjoy playing in the water, but never do they show that love like we do. They mistreat the water, pollute it, throw their dead and murdered into its depths."
Roxas turned away and looked out the window at the passing scenery. He couldn't even begin to imagine what Cloud was saying. How could anyone mistreat something as beautiful and important as the ocean? He had to be exaggerating things.
The rest of the ride was silent. Roxas was relieved when he saw the towering castle appear before them. The carriage took them as far as the doors and stopped. Roxas and Cloud climbed out of the carriages and waited as the others were led out.
Roxas turned to the guards. "You can go back to the city now," he told them. "I will take it from here."
"But my Prince…" One guard began to argue.
"They will not run," Roxas interrupted. "You know the laws; you may not enter this castle." He smiled reassuringly at his guards. "Do not worry; I'll be fine. I'll send for you when we're finished."
"Yes, milord." The guards bowed, casting suspicious glares at the outsiders before leaving.
Once they were gone, Roxas turned to the still-bound pirates. "I'll take those off when we get into the castle. Don't try anything; it's spelled to prevent any type of violence from taking place inside its walls."
"We have no intention of violence," Leon stated.
"Speak for yourself," Yuffie growled, tugging at her restraints in annoyance.
Roxas frowned at the girl, and she yelped as the ropes tightened around her wrists. She looked at Roxas in anger and surprise.
"Please, do not try to escape," Roxas said clearly. "I do not wish to hurt you."
Yuffie glared angrily at him but Roxas simply turned and started walking. Cloud and the others followed without another word.
The castle gates opened without any help as they approached. Roxas led the way into the courtyard. Waiting for them was Vincent. His long black hair and pale skin looked out of place amongst the luscious garden and colorful flowers surrounding them. The group stopped short as they came level with him.
"I was under the impression you were watching Sora," Roxas frowned.
"He would not appreciate my presence right now," Vincent replied. "He is safe."
"Hm," Roxas frowned at him. "Where is Merlin?"
"He's waiting for you in the Prayer Room," Vincent stepped aside, bowing slightly to the prince.
Roxas continued into the castle and up many winding staircases. Vincent hadn't followed the group, for which Cloud was grateful. He wasn't sure everyone could keep their tempers in check when around the man. He wasn't sure he could keep his temper in check around him.
Roxas pushed open two large doors and stood aside to let everyone in. The blonde removed the restraints as the pirates walked past him. At the far end of the room, an old man with a long beard sat, leaning against his staff. He stared solemnly at the newcomers.
Roxas took a seat next to Merlin while Cloud sat on one of the cushions before them. He glanced over his shoulder and gestured the rest of his friends to sit on the other cushions placed on the floor. Once everyone was settled, Merlin spoke, addressing Cloud.
"I have not seen you since your teenage years," Merlin began, "I had almost given up hope on you ever returning to us."
"It was not an easy task," Cloud admitted. "Especially after the gates closed."
"It was necessary to protect ourselves," Roxas interrupted, scowling. "My father made the right choice in closing the gates."
Cloud frowned at the young prince. "Even if it meant trapping our own people on the outside?"
"The water will lead them home," Roxas insisted stubbornly.
Cloud shook his head. "And what about the half breeds? The children born from our people and outsiders? What about kids like Sora and Riku? Their parents died before they could even tell them the truth about their heritage! I had to tell them!"
"Those are unfortunate consequences," Roxas agreed. "But sometimes you must sacrifice the few for the many. It's horrible that some of us were stuck on the outside, but most of us are safe now."
"Safe from what?" Cloud demanded angrily. "The outsiders think we're fairytales! And even if they did believe in us, they would never be able to find us!"
"And now they will never look either!" Roxas yelled back. "They'll never kill our royalty again!"
"Enough," Merlin interrupted firmly. Roxas glared mutinously at him but obediently stayed quiet. Cloud, too, stopped talking. "Whether or not closing the gates was a good or bad decision is a mute point now. It has already been done. What we must do now is not dwell on the past, but focus on the present." He pinned Cloud with a hard look. "You have brought outsiders to our islands."
"Yes."
"That is a great crime. Not only have you made yourself an outlaw, but now we must decide what to do with those who you brought."
Cloud glanced over his shoulder at Leon and the others. They had remained silent during the small argument but now sat up straight and paid close attention.
"There is no crime on our islands, so we have no jails. Death either occurs by accident or natural causes; our people do not know capital punishment. No outsider has stepped foot on our land for uncountable years."
"In other words," Roxas grumbled. "We don't know what to do with them. We can't let them go because they know where we're located. We have no plans in place for this type of thing." He glared accusingly at Cloud. "We never expected this law to be broken." Cloud returned his glare with a steady gaze.
"You don't honestly expect us to stay here for the rest of our lives, do you?" Yuffie suddenly yelled, standing up angrily.
"I'm with the brat," Cid growled, chewing on his ever-present toothpick. "I may not have much of a life back home, but I still got one. I ain't staying just 'cause you freaks are paranoid bastards."
Roxas narrowed his eyes angrily at the two. The cuffs lying by the door suddenly twitched. They flew through the air and wrapped themselves tightly around Cid's and Yuffie's mouths. The two scratched at the restraints in shock, their eyes wide and angry.
"Your opinions are not required in this matter," Roxas shrugged casually.
"Prince!" Cloud exclaimed. He and Leon pinned Yuffie's hands to her side so she wouldn't scratch herself. Aerith was doing the same for Cid.
"Roxas!" Merlin scolded. "That was uncalled for."
"What? It's not like they can't breathe or something," Roxas pouted. "All I did was cover their mouths so they couldn't talk."
"Roxas, remove those cuffs," Merlin ordered. The teen prince sighed and narrowed his eyes at the two. The cuffs fell uselessly to the floor.
"Why you spoiled little–" Yuffie began. Roxas glared at her and the cuffs on the floor rattled threateningly.
"Roxas, enough," Merlin repeated. "They are guests."
"They are outsiders."
"That does not mean you may disrespect them," Merlin sighed. "This was a mistake."
"What?"
"You are obviously not mature enough to handle this type of situation."
"Excuse me?!" Roxas demanded, jumping to his feet.
"It is my own fault. You handle our people so well; sometimes I forget you are only fourteen and grew up surrounded by old prejudices."
"What?" Yuffie screamed. "That little brat is five years younger than me?! And he's in charge?!"
"So what if I'm only fourteen," Roxas growled. "You are so annoying."
"Why you little–"
"Children, please," Merlin shook his head. He stood up, leaning heavily on his staff. "Roxas, I'm afraid you can not be objective in this matter. Your mother and father will be returning home in two days and we shall discuss the matter with them."
"And until then?' Cloud asked.
"Until then, the outsiders will remain in this castle with me. Is that satisfactory?"
"We'll agree to that," Leon nodded.
"Not like you got much of a choice," Roxas mumbled under his breath. Louder, he said, "Fine Merlin, they're your responsibility." The blonde jumped from his chair. "I have other things to deal with."
"Lord Axel is out on a fishing expedition. He won't be back for a few hours."
Roxas flushed brightly. "Why would I care about him?!" Without another word, the prince stomped from the room.
"He is being courted?" Cloud asked in surprise. Merlin chuckled.
"It's rather amusing to watch."
Sora stirred, opening his eyes slowly. He flinched and groaned from the bright light, wanting it to go away. Above him, Riku chuckled. He placed a hand over Sora's eyes, allowing him to adjust to the light easier.
"What time is it?" Sora asked.
"Got me," Riku shrugged. "After noon."
"We should get up," Sora whispered. "I still want to see the others."
"Okay," Riku agreed. "Any idea where they are?"
Sora sat up, shifting around until he was semi-comfortable on the ground. "I thought you knew."
"I think Cloud mentioned something about meeting a prince and some lord guy."
"Roxas and the Lord of the Gates," Sora supplied. "I never actually met him but Roxas is awesome."
"Wow, a real prince," Riku teased. "I've heard you got to stay at the palace and everything."
Sora grinned widely. "Yup," he watched as Riku crawled around, gathering their clothes. "It's so much fun. And Roxas has been taking me around the city to meet people. Everyone's so nice."
"It's just like Cloud said, paradise," Riku pulled Sora to his feet, kissing him briefly before handing the boy his clothes.
"What's with the fancy clothes?" Riku asked, noticing the nice shirt and new pants.
"Roxas had them made for me," Sora explained. "He made me an entire new wardrobe."
"Are you kidding?"
"Nope. He's really into that kind of thing."
"Sweet. If someone gives you something free…"
"Take it and run, before they change their minds," Sora finished with a smile. "I remember." He kissed him once more, shaking his head. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Riku finished pulling on his shirt. He watched as Sora slipped his shirt over his head and waited for his face to be covered. Once the shirt was half on, Riku jumped forward and tickled his stomach, making Sora squeal and squirm away. The brunette pulled his shirt down and playfully kicked at Riku.
"Let's go," Sora ordered.
The two linked hands and left the woods together. They traded stories as they walked, explaining what had happened since they were apart. Sora couldn't believe Ansem and felt a great swelling of hate for the pirate for trying to kill Riku.
"We need to tell Roxas as soon we see him," Sora mused. "We probably should have said something earlier."
"We were a little busy," Riku smirked. Sora blushed but returned his boyfriend's cocky grin.
"I hope they're not still with Lord Gates. His castle is pretty far away. I don't think I know the way either," Sora sighed.
"I'm sure someone at the castle will know how to get a message to him," Riku assured. "Speaking of which…"
The trees parted, revealing the large, stone castle of the royal family. It wasn't nearly as extravagant as the castles in the outside world, but its beauty lay in its simplicity. The doors were made of polished wood and the walls decorated with a vast variety of art. Vines and flowers twisted around the castle walls, kept healthy and lush by numerous gardeners. Villagers came and went freely; whether they were doing business or just looking around and playing. One small family with three children was even having a picnic under a fully bloomed apple-blossom tree.
"It's beautiful," Riku commented as he looked around.
"Yeah, I think so too," Sora smiled. He waved at some people walking by, calling out hellos to his new found friends.
"Let's go find the Prince," Riku suggested.
"And why would you be looking for my prince?"
Riku and Sora whipped around and came face to face with none other than Axel. Riku lifted an eyebrow as he looked the eccentric redhead up and down.
"Hey Axel," Sora greeted, dropping the title. Roxas had ordered him to stop being so polite to the pushy lord. "Why did you tell Roxas you wouldn't be back until later when you're actually here rather early?"
"Because if I told him the truth, he would run and hide before I could find him," Axel explained easily. "This way, he's not expecting me back for a few more hours, which means his guard will be down."
"And you can pounce on him when he least expects it," Sora guessed the rest. "You're so mean, Axel."
"Did I mention how fun you are?" Axel teased, flicking Sora's forehead. "Who's your friend?"
Sora stopped pouting at the flick and grinned widely. "This is Riku. Riku, this is Lord Axel."
"Another Trapped?" Axel exclaimed dramatically. "How many more of you are there going to be?"
"One-thousand…"
"Two-hundred…"
"Twenty-three…"
"And a half," Riku and Sora finished together with a straight faces.
Axel looked between the two. "1223…and a half? How can there be half a person?"
"It's a baby, duh," Sora returned the flick from earlier.
"Well aren't you two peas in a pod," Axel laughed. "Well, come on then."
"Where?" Sora asked as Axel started walking inside.
"You wanted to see Roxas, right? He should be back by now…"
Riku and Sora shrugged at each other and hurried to follow the redhead.
"This is bad," Roxas stated.
He, Riku, Sora, and Axel were sitting in Roxas' room in the castle. Sora had introduced Riku and the two had proceeded to tell Roxas everything about Ansem and Sephiroth. The prince was far from happy and sat on a cushion, crossed legged, as he thought.
"I…I deal with the people," Roxas admitted at length. "I don't have the authority to declare emergencies. Stuff like this is for my parents."
"Where are they?" Riku asked.
"Gone. They won't be back for two days."
"Well then, you're just going to have to step up to the plate," Riku dismissed. "We don't have two days."
"Riku's right," Sora agreed. "For all we know, Ansem's here already."
Roxas nodded in agreement and sighed. "I'd ask Merlin, but he doesn't leave his castle for anything anymore."
"Why not?"
"It's believed that if the Lord of the Gates leaves the castle, the walls surrounding us fall. We'll be open to the outside world again," Axel supplied seriously. He was sitting on a table near Roxas.
"We've got to do something!" Riku insisted.
"We should get Cloud and the others," Sora suggested.
"There's no time for that," Roxas shook his head. "There are only three places on this island where you can safely dock a ship. The largest is where most ships dock and the second is where we keep the larger ships that we don't really use anymore. But the third place is on the opposite side of the island, where no one goes."
"There are a lot of superstitions about the forests and a lot of monsters live there. It's a dangerous place to be so most islanders are smart enough to avoid it," Axel elaborated.
"That's perfect!" Riku exclaimed. "No one would see him or his ship. And since he's not a true D.I., no one would be able to sense him either."
Axel snorted, trying to cover up his laughter. "Heh, D.I., how corny is that?"
"It's an abbreviation, Axel," Roxas snapped. "Now shut up, we have more important things to worry about."
"Whatever you say, Prince D.I.," the redhead snickered again.
"We don't have time to get anyone's help," Roxas decided. "I know the way."
"And if Ansem is there?" Sora demanded. "What are we supposed to do?"
"You could kick him in the shin," Axel teased. The brunette glared at him.
"We'll come back for help," Roxas continued. "But let's make sure he's actually here before we send everyone into a panic."
"Fine," Riku stood. "Lead the way."
A/N: Um…nothing to say. Chapter is up, life is okay…My favorite part was with Roxas and Yuffie arguing. Can you guys guess Roxas' power now? Besides be able to read people.
Oh yeah, as for Roxas only being fourteen and being courted by Axel. Back in the time period this story is set in, that stuff was common. So I didn't worry too much about it. And I needed Rox to be younger than Sora for a couple reasons.
I guess that's all. Until next time everyone, bye!!