Roxas watched the man warily, feeling a nervous churning in the pit of his stomach. He knew that his name was by no means common; that was the reason why he'd been so hesitant in the first place. He had no idea how long he'd been unconscious. Were there rumors spreading abut his 'death' already? What would this Axel person do to him, now that he knew he was the prince? Even as kind and caring as he'd always been, Roxas would have been a fool to assume he had no enemies, even in his own kingdom.

But the redhead didn't move. He seemed to be thinking things over in his head, and Roxas really wished he would hurry up. The boy wanted to know whether or not he should try to escape, though admittedly he was in no shape to be moving around much on his own. His vision was still a bit hazy and dark, and the rest of his body felt warm and sleepy. He panted softly as his heart continued to race, hoping it wasn't too noticeable.

And then Axel did something he hadn't expected. The redhead had quickly stepped in front of him again, and his face took on a stern, scolding expression.

"If that's true, and you are who you claim to be, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" The tone rose, now somewhat more intimidating, and Roxas tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to sink even lower into the couch. If only it could swallow him up completely...

"WHAT SANE PERSON GOES RUNNING AROUND IN A STORM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS UNATTENDED?" the older boy continued, gesturing widely. "THAT'S JUST COMMON SENSE, KID! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! YOU PROBABLY WOULD HAVE IF I HADN'T FOUND YOU!"

"I..." the blond began, attempting to defend himself. "I know that, but-"

"NO BUT'S! THERE'S NO EXCUSE FOR SUCH CARELESSNESS, NONE AT ALL! IF YOU ARE THE PRINCE, YOU SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT YOUR IMPORTANCE TO YOUR PEOPLE! WHAT WOULD THEY DO IF YOU JUST UP AND DISAPPEARED ONE DAY?"

The last bit hit Roxas hard, causing him to look down and away shamefully. No matter what Demyx said before, he still felt like a spineless coward. He'd run away, and everyone would think he was dead. They'd lose all hope...

"AND ANOTHER THING, YOU-" Axel paused as Roxas's eyes began to water, his shoulders trembling lightly with sobs. He'd had no choice, but either way he'd failed his people. He'd almost died this time, even when he'd been trying his best to do what was right. Axel was right, Demyx was wrong. He'd abandoned them...

Roxas started when he felt strong, bare arms wrap around him, the skin cool where his was hot and quivering. Roxas looked up to meet calm, concerned green eyes, the warmth in them seeming to radiate straight through to his heart.

His tone was tender, if a bit tired. "Hey...I'm sorry, kid. I didn't mean to upset you or anything..."

"N-No," Roxas said shakily, leaning in to the firm chest that was pressed lightly against his. "You're right. I did something stupid, a-and I failed my people..."

"Not yet you haven't."

The crying blond blinked, and one of Axel's hands began lightly stroking his back, moving in calm, reassuring circles.

"You're still alive, so you haven't failed them. Now you just have to not do something like that again, and you'll be just fine."

"B-But I-"

Axel cut him off, shaking his head and hushing him firmly. "We can talk about that later. For now, you just focus on sleeping and getting better. Can't have you worrying yourself to death, can I?" The redhead then smiled widely, and Roxas had to admit that, even with his strange, wild red hair, gleaming cat-like eyes, and ragged clothes, Axel seemed like a nice person overall. Definitely odd, and yet there was something special about that; a confidence in himself and his words that the blond just had to admire.

The boy nodded reluctantly, and after a few more minutes of simply being held, Roxas allowed himself to be guided back down on the couch to rest. Axel told him that he'd been sleeping for at least a day, and that now the older boy had to go to work.

"Gotta keep the supplies coming in somehow. So yeah, I will be off at the mine until later this evening. There's soup over the hearth if you get hungry, and I've got a couple books lying around here if you get bored. Just try to take it easy today, alright?"

Roxas nodded again, sighing a little as he curled up on his side. He was out immediately, dreaming of friends and forests and brilliant red hair...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Axel smiled a little as he tucked the blankets up to Roxas's chin, smoothing the fabric absently. The boy had been so riled before, looking like he was ready to bolt after he told Axel his name. But the redhead understood. He was actually a bit relieved that Roxas had the good sense to be afraid, waking up in the home of a stranger. The child was far too trusting; that was showing more sense than he had wandering the woods the night before, that was for sure.

Axel sighed as he turned to gather his things for work. Of course, he had no idea what Roxas was even doing out here in the first place. He should probably have been asking all sorts of questions, even demanding to know what the future ruler of the kingdom was doing so far from the castle, and all by himself. Either someone seriously needed to be fired, or there was something far more complicated at work here; something Axel couldn't even guess at...

He'll tell me when he's ready...

The redhead refused to hear the details until his charge was well enough to relate them. Even if he thought he could now, he would stress and that could make his condition all the worse.

Slinging his bag onto his shoulder with ease, Axel took one last look at his living room before departing. The little blond still lay asleep on the couch, and Axel smiled as his gaze drifted to the picture of his mother sitting above the now darkened hearth. Her gaze was warm and tender as always, and he bid her a quick, quiet goodbye before slipping out the door and locking it tight.

The mine was a decent walk from his cabin, the path lined small stones laid out just before the entrance. It was quiet in the early morning, all except for a soft snoring sound that drifted lightly on the air. Axel recognized it immediately, and moved to the couple of large carts sitting by the cave entrance. Inside the far left one, he found a familiar figure curled up inside.

"Luxord, don't you ever go home? Time to get up, time's a wasting," Axel said unsympathetically, kicking the cart and jostling it a bit.

The man blinked at him briefly and groaned. Axel crossed his arms.

"Don't give me that. If I've gotta be up working now, then so do you, you lazy bum..."

"Morning, Axel," the old blond replied, yawning a bit before a vicious little smirk crossed his face.

"I didn't think you'd be here today. So why'dya skip yesterday? Got a new girlfriend, do ya?"

Axel blushed faintly at the thought, but punched the guy lightly in the arm as he turned to go. It wasn't a secret that the man hadn't had a girlfriend in years.

"Get real, you bastard."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Roxas woke up again a few hours later, when the sun was finally shining high in the sky, its beams glistening through the windows and into his eyes mercilously.

The boy sighed softly. He'd promised Axel that he wouldn't dwell on his problems, and he was perfectly happy to block them out any way he could, so he explored the books on the nearby table and sought for something distracting. There were various subjects scattered about, all in thin volumes, but nothing that particularly captured his interest. So, after heaving out another sigh, the boy got to his feet and searched for the kitchen.

He was still a bit weak and light-headed on his feet, but Roxas was happy to see he was improving rapidly. He placed a tentative hand to the wall, leaning on it for support when he needed, and in a short time, he managed to located the little kitchen.

And by little, he really meant little. The room was small, almost small enough for one person only to work inside it. There was a counter on which to prepare food, a bin to dispose of the garbage, several pantries, and a bucket for water. Upon closer inspection, Roxas was surprised to find a little gap in the sink with a small pipe contraption on the side.

So this place did have a bit of plumbing. He had originally thought the castle was the only place to afford such a luxury, though he noticed that the difference between the cabin and the castle's systems was that there was no place for him to take care of any...business.

The blond flushed lightly at that. They were supposed to go outside for that?

What if it's raining? Or snowing? He wondered nervously, shuddering just a bit.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Roxas looked around the small space, opening pantry doors and cabinets hesitantly in search of a bowl and spoon. He met the contents of most with disgust; it seemed that it'd been sometime since Axel had gotten around to any cleaning around there. One door revealed a perfect cobweb in all its glory, and Roxas let out a small 'eep' and shut the door quickly, having glimpsed the large spider that made it all too clearly.

"What a mess!" the boy said aloud, glancing around disapprovingly with his hands on his hips. He couldn't eat, or even rest, knowing there was this ungodly mess in the kitchen! Heaven knows how clean his utensils would be, if he could ever find them!

Luckily, Roxas had quite an extensive knowledge of cleaning. It turned out that Vexen's 'punishments' just helped to reinforce his obsessive cleaning habits over the years...

So, with that bold exclamation, the boy set himself to work. He found the pantry containing the mop and broom, and placed all the supplies in the water bucket to carry with him. He'd wash it out again later, after he was satisfied that the kitchen was clean.

"I'm sure Axel won't mind," he said softly, settling by the counter and ringing out the sponge. "I'll be doing him a favor, after all..."

He would surely be surprised, to come home to a clean house for once. Roxas was sure he wasn't too sick to do that. There had been times, back at the castle, when he'd been forced to work even when he was weak and feverish, and he'd managed to survive that somehow. This would be just fine...

Singing a little tune to himself, the blond cleaned away, uncaring as he worked late into the afternoon...