AN: Woo-hoo! I'm back, with my handy, beaten up and not-so-dandy notebook! So…much…editing…
Disclaimer: I've yet to acquire the rights to anything you recognize, but if anyone is feeling generous, I won't have the heart to say 'no', of course.
Previously:
But a thought kept nagging at Roxas, and it intensified by the minute, especially when they would pass the seldom maid or other servant in the many halls, who, as Axel passed, would bow or curtsy their lowest and drop their heads, uttering a quiet, "your Majesty." Axel didn't acknowledge this except with a growing grin.
Roxas stared up at him, still clinging to his neck. It couldn't be, could it?
But he had no time to wonder more, as Axel came to a stop before ornate double doors that began to open.
It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkened space; the candles—hundreds upon hundreds of them—seemed to flicker and fade in a reverence. Roxas didn't know what to expect behind the doors, but what he saw upon their opening was certainly surprising to him. His cerulean eyes widened at the sight before him.
The high vaulted ceiling, candles all around, the ornate columns and sculpted walls, the magnificent chandeliers and arched passageways—these things only registered vaguely in Roxas' mind; these things were second to his main focus. It was the people—the perfectly sculpted, milky skinned vampires—hundreds of them, dancing within, that caught the young boy's attention as his grip on his keeper's neck loosened, his mind too stunned and too busy observing what was in front of him. There were so many and they were all so…beautiful, so elegant and graceful and richly dressed that Roxas felt suddenly embarrassed at wearing only a simple linen shift to such a place, forgetting he had nothing else for a moment. It was a ball of some sort, surely. There was dancing and laughing and a dark magic seemed to permeate the very air. Damasks and velvets and brocades abounded, twirling and swaying in mesmerizing rhythm with their owners as they stepped together in a flawless sync. The light was dim and flickering, casting mysterious shadows that seemed to dance apart from their beautiful owners, all swan-like limbs and deadly fangs and spun-sugar hair. Music he had not been aware of made itself known to his ears, a dark waltz in this scene from a gothic fairytale.
And then suddenly, it all stopped. The music was cut and the sparkles cast by the many jewels of the many ladies shimmered in place, and all of the dancers stopped, still as stone, to look at the newcomers.
"Majesty," they all cooed reverently, dropping their heads as they bowed or curtsied their lowest, stepping aside to create a path right down the middle of the crowd.
Roxas thigh throbbed. A chill crept down his spine.
He looked up at Axel who nodded slightly with a placating smile, accepting their welcome.
"Axel…!It's you! The vampire king…!" Roxas blurted out incredulously into the silence. He instantly regretted it: although it was barely above a whisper, the entire magnanimous ballroom obviously heard. There were gasps and Roxas saw shock on some faces, disapproval and disgust on others, and still fear on more. No one spoke to the sovereign of all vampires like that.
The chill intensified and fear coiled itself in the boy's belly.
But Axel's demeanor never changed. He stayed just as merry, if not a bit sardonic, as he had been and, with a wink at the youth, said:
"Caught me, Roxy."
Roxas' heartbeat sped up then. He still didn't know enough about Axel for his comfort, but he certainly knew that this was not the vampire king he had believed had taken over his village and land and people. Confused and frightened of the creatures around him, Roxas willed himself to shrink as he curled himself tighter in Axel's arms.
But Axel was not one to be shaken. With a calm and regal dignity, he proceeded to walk the path created for him and his charge by the mass of vampires, who once more, bowed or curtsied as he passed, only the boldest daring to take a quick peek at their sovereign's human, blond and lily white and dressed so simple and pure. Roxas watched with a certain fascination as they passed the many attendants of the ball.
Without delay, the pair approached a short staircase that led to a raised dais at the far wall of the marble room. Upon it sat a single throne, adorned with gold and velvet and furs. But Axel did not ascend the little stairs, turning around instead to face the gathering of vampires, who had moved to keep the proper space from their king.
With a motion too quick for Roxas to see, or rather realize, Axel slid him from his arms and onto the cool marble tiles, twirling him around once for all to see as the nightdress fluttered about his skinny legs like a chiffon gown, a motion through which Roxas stumbled awkwardly, his knees buckling beneath him, until he realized he could stand on his own, if but a little. The bite in his thigh ached and the darkening burgundy stain on his gown above the knees embarrassed him.
"My human, Roxas," Axel spoke, addressing all present. Though the words were spoken softly, there was a glass edge to them, sharp and threatening, looming with a tangible presence long after their audible tender had faded into thick silence.
Curious, hungry eyes wandered Roxas' body as he shakily stood before the vampire gathering. His scent tantalized them, speaking to them of his youth and virginity, of his fragility and fear, but also of his bond to their sovereign, which kept them at bay. Look, look, but never touch, it said.
After a short eternity of Roxas fidgeting from the deep cold of the stone beneath his feet and the judgment of a thousand eyes that sent icy shivers down his spine, the silence thick and tense, Axel lifted him into his arms again, cradling him as he took them up to the dais and sat upon his throne with the boy on his lap, the white gown mingling with the velvets and covering them like a blanket.
Of the mass on the floor, a few distanced themselves from the rest and came forward, nearly a dozen males in splendid robes not unlike their king, ranging from festive to demure, and a lady in an elegant frock of deep golden satins. Caught between fright at the new onslaught and curiosity as to the nature of these gleaming personages, Roxas shrank into his smiling master's vestments, all but his bright eyes, resigned to keep their sparkling vigil from the cover of silk and velvet. The fiery haired king looked upon the hiding boy fondly and stroked his hair with a leisurely hand.
The company bowed deeply in a practiced, fluid motion, dropping their heads in respect to their monarch.
Axel shifted his willowy frame until his lips were close enough to Roxas' ear. "My high court," he whispered innocently, and Roxas shivered as the pull on his wounds was tightened. Axel's ghostly smile sent flutters to Roxas' gut, cherubic cheeks coloring with discomfiture at his inability to suppress his awkward emotional stirrings.
Straightening, Axel introduced his high court individually, though Roxas paid little mind. Another bow and they dispersed, leaving the king and his charge to each other as the music was started again and the merry dancing resumed as though the weighty interlude had not taken place.
"Majesty…"
Axel looked up from his observation of his timid human to acknowledge one of the high court who had lingered, a male with long silver hair that hung gracefully at his back, loose but for...
"Is that a plait in your hair, Riku? Your Sora's work, I presume?" Axel remarked with barely hidden delight.
Roxas felt the words and bubbling laughter that spread through Axel's chest. His vampiric keeper was speaking. He allowed his curiosity to override his fear for the moment and looked down the dais to see a man who he remembered briefly as one of the privileged few who Axel had mentioned by name.
Though his black robes distinguished him from the others in the room and his contrastingly pale hair seemed to glow for it, Roxas eyes were swept to his face that was only partially visible; a black sash covered the man's eyes, giving him a sinister appearance. The only color apparent on him was a small blue bow hanging at the end of a skinny braid resting on his shoulder.
Riku, as Axel had called him, appeared to raise a brow at the king's comment, but then dropped his head slightly and let his serious lips take on a humble smile that suddenly brought warmth to his presence and banished the chill that that had set over Roxas. Though the boy could not see Riku's eyes, the fine animation of his face had the boy suspecting that they were cast down in an odd sort of humility.
"Yes," he said, annoyance creeping its way into his voice. "My charge is responsible for this…festive…accessory."
"And were is the boy?" Axel pressed lightly.
"Clearly brushing up on his disobedience; I intended—!"
"Master!" a youthful voice called out.
Roxas watched alarmed from his perch on Axel's lap as Riku seemed to cringe at a small figure pushing through dancing crowds towards them.
"Master!" the newcomer called again.
"Come here, Sora!" Riku said sternly without bothering to turn his head. "Where have you been all night? I told you to stay by my side this night."
"I'm sorry, Master! I wished only to tell Althea how lovely her hair looked without the nesting birds when Mina stole my slipper and handed it to—!"
"Enough, child! How many times must I tell you? You cannot speak thusly to a lady and…"
As Riku continued to scold the boy, Roxas observed. The boy, Sora, appeared to be about his age, with a bed head not unlike his own, which, unbeknownst to Roxas, was the cause of the great displeasure on his silver haired master's face, along with the kiss-mark on his cheek and his snagged stockings.
With a small gasp, Roxas realized that the boy was human like himself! His ruddy cheeks were quite unlike the marble visages of the vampires and revealed, along with his stabilizing breath, that he was warm and living. A human!
Axel, who had been watching the exchange in front of him with lazy amusement, looked to Roxas and brushed blond tresses from his forehead.
"…furthermore, you will be punished for your misbehavior towards your master, Miss Althea, and his Majesty. Is that quite understood?"
Sora began to apologize languidly sometime between admonitions, but his idle litany suddenly became a spastic torrent upon hearing "Majesty," complete with haphazardly low bows to the king punctuating what were now sincere words of contrition.
Roxas giggled despite himself.
"Sora…" Axel began, brow raised.
"My deepest, sincerest, most…most lugubrious—illustrious!—beggings of—"
"Sora! That's quite enough," Axel said sternly, though the corners of his dark-rimmed eyes betrayed his disinclination for real incense. He continued more kindly: "You may redeem yourself by becoming friend to my Roxas."
Sora brought himself to a standing position once more and the two human children met eyes for the first time then. Roxas was too stunned at first to be apprehensive as was his nature, but the smile Sora gave him was so genuine, so candidly warm, that the young blond could do nothing but return a shy smile of his own. Although the blond knew not what his future held, if he were allowed a friend in this alien place—and a boy his own age, at that—perhaps…perhaps it would not be so frightening, even if it were certain to be strange.
Roxas held onto that warmth as Axel spoke to Riku of what the boy presumed were political or some other such serious matters, as both vampires sobered in their exchange. He settled himself comfortably against his fiery-haired keeper's body, to tired to follow any more goings-on in this mysterious new place; the little human was content for the moment to watch the glistening dancers twirling in the fluttering lights.
PS: Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing, even after a year of hiatus on my part! It's brought me back, so thanks for being so awesome and keep 'em coming! ^_~