The warmth of summer soon faded away, drifting like the leaves falling from the trees.
Axel no longer wanted to watch the seasons turn alone, and often he no longer had to.
The rainy season came, bringing torrents of rain that washed away any signs of desolation from the dryness of summer.
Deep in Axel's heart he wished he could stop the seasons from changing, dreading the next spring-summer. It would be then that Roxas and Xion would be married, and though the new masters of the household would still live in the villa, Axel would feel like Roxas was gone forever.
In the time they spent together, Roxas had continued teaching Axel to read. At this point, he was able to understand many basic and some complex sentences. Before retiring to bed, Roxas often read aloud to him, and Axel would savor the sound of his voice.
"Axel, I want youto read to me tonight." Roxas decided one night.
Axel's heart thudded. "N-no, I don't think I can..."
"Of course you can, you're a very fast learner." Roxas assured, pushing a scroll toward him.
"But I don't understand what any of the poetry means." Axel insisted.
"You don't have to understand it, just read it." Roxas persisted.
Axel unfurled the scroll, poring over the words. Each word came out like a newborn child's step, shaky and unstable.
"Axel, you're doing great." Roxas placed his hand on Axel's knee.
Axel knit his brows, falling over a word he hadn't seen. Roxas patiently said it for him, and Axel repeated it.
At the end of the poem, Roxas grinned. "You did very well."
Axel blushed and looked away, mumbling, "It was nothing, you taught me all of it..."
Roxas scratched the back of his head shyly.
A knock on the door jarred them from their embarrassment, and Axel jumped to his feet off the bed.
"Roxas, open up." Ventus demanded.
Of course the door was unlocked, and Ventus ignored his own request by opening the it.
"What is it, Ventus?" Roxas sighed, pretending to read the scroll.
"Vanitas and I are meeting up in the subura tonight for a bit of fun out on the town; are you coming along?" Ventus offered, though it sounded more like a demand.
"What? Of course not!" Roxas rolled the scroll back up. "I'm not getting involved in your shenanigans, especially not after the terrible hangover I had after you two got me sickeningly inebriated."
"Oh come on, it'll be fun." Ventus threw an arm around Roxas, shocking him for a moment. "Your slave can come, too."
"What makes you think I want to go anywhere with you and Vanitas, much less the subura?" Roxas insisted.
"You need a load off from all this boring studying," Ventus said, "besides, your wedding is in the late spring; don't you want to relish being a bachelor?"
Roxas became discontent at the reminder of his betrothal to Xion, but Ventus didn't notice.
"Of course you do, no man likes being tied down like an animal." Ventus finished.
Axel's mouth twitched at Ventus's words, but of course he didn't take them into consideration.
"How do you plan on getting out?" Roxas mentioned.
"I'm just going to sneak out." Ventus answered as if it should've been obvious.
"You're going to get caught," Roxas sighed.
"Come on, you're so boring. I know you don't want your duties as the future household master, so why don't you just take this time and relish in still being young and free from those duties? You don't even have to pay for a prostitute, just come out with us." Ventus persisted.
Axel could see Ventus had struck a nerve in Roxas, for now he considered the request.
"I suppose I do have to keep you out of trouble..." Roxas said reluctantly.
Ventus grinned. "Great; we sneak out an hour before midnight."
As Axel remembered, the walk from the villa to the subura took at least an hour. At midnight they arrived in the city that seemed as if it were half awake.
Vanitas leaned against a building near the entrance to the subura, an impatient expression on his face.
"What took you so long?" He demanded.
"The stick-in-the-mud almost wouldn't come with us," Ventus replied, irritated.
"Why didn't you just leave him at home, then?" Vanitas insisted.
"He needs to just unwind, don't you think? Besides, he's going to be tied down to Xion in the spring, then he won't have any time for us at all." Ventus explained.
"You're lucky to obtain such a young virgin for a wife," Vanitas said to Roxas, "if I were given her hand in marriage, I would be more than thrilled to deflower her."
Roxas sneered in disgust. "I'm only here to keep you two out of any legal trouble."
"Fair enough. Shall we go to my favorite brothel this time?" Ventus offered.
"'This time'?! You've sneaked out more than once?" Roxas's eyes widened.
"Uh, of course...? Seriously Roxas, do you really think I'm as moralistic as you?" Ventus laughed at the absurdity.
"I-I suppose I had hoped you had some rationality..." Roxas admitted.
"Ha, Ventus has rationality?" Vanitas cackled. "Anyway, lead the way to your preferred place."
Ventus led them down the streets. Though Axel understood the people drowning in poverty around them, he felt his skin crawl knowing Ventus and Vanitas were here for entertainment and thought nothing of them. Axel averted his eyes, though he knew it was wrong to ignore their silent pleading.
Ventus suddenly stopped walking while Axel had been encased in thought, and he stumbled Roxas, whom stumbled into Ventus.
"Hey, tell your slave to watch where he's going if he doesn't want a whipping." Ventus said. "Here it is."
Axel's breath caught in his throat when he realized this was the same place Terra had taken him months ago when he first found out about his and Aqua's affair. Come to think of it, Terra hadn't come with them to the subura...Axel began to panic at the sudden possibility that Terra could be here, and would be very close to getting discovered by his own master.
Ventus yanked the rope that rung the bell for service, and the procurer approached them.
The procurer was a greasy-looking man in about his forties, with hair the color of wet straw and scheming eyes.
"Evening gentlemen, what can I get for you tonight?" He stepped aside, letting Ventus and Vanitas in. Roxas hung behind Axel, and Axel peered his head inside a bit.
"The usual for me, Vexen," Ventus replied. He glanced at Vanitas. "Actually, I might want to shake it up a bit; I'll take Aqua, as will my friend Vanitas. At the same time, of course; I'll pay extra for the service."
Roxas sneered in disgust again.
"What about him?" Vexen nodded to Roxas while counting the coins he had been handed.
"He won't be participating." Ventus stated.
"Alright then. I'll go fetch her." Vexen turned away.
Axel's skin crawled. Was Aqua with Terra right now?
Soon Aqua appeared to escort the two away, when she caught eyes with Axel. Though he knew she would've liked to stay to speak with him, it would've been too suspicious. Instead, they exchanged a brief sympathetic glance. Aqua mouthed the word "stay" to him.
"So Aqua, I turned eighteen in the summer; ready to take it from a real man now?" Ventus boasted.
Axel saw the brief dissatisfaction in Aqua's eyes before she answered, "Of course, Ventus."
The remaining men decided to take a rest near a single fig tree on the other side of the street. Under its wilting branches, they leaned on each other. Axel glanced off in the direction of the brothel, seeing Terra slip out into the alley. He turned to Roxas to see if he had noticed, which he hadn't.
Roxas's eyelids drooped, and soon he fell asleep on Axel's shoulder.
"Wake up," Ventus ordered, kicking Roxas awake with his sandal.
"H-huh?" Roxas groaned. "Oh, you're done, good. Come on, we gotta get home." He stumbled to his feet.
"Why? The night is still young, we still have so much to do." Ventus insisted. He grabbed Roxas by the tunic and dragged him along. Vanitas followed, looking smug and satisfied.
Axel lagged behind, going back across the street to meet Aqua.
She wrapped a thin shawl around her shoulders when she approached him. "Axel, please tell Terra this: 'Hic sont leones'. He'll understand what it means."
"What does it mean to him?" Axel asked.
"Aqua, who are you talking to?" A familiar voice asked from inside the brothel.
In the doorway appeared Marluxia, whom Axel recognized immediately from his flowing salmon hair.
"Axel?" He gawked.
"Marluxia," Axel breathed, grinning a bit, "Though I had heard you were in compliance with this, I never thought I'd see you."
"I never thought I'd see you again," Marluxia added. "I suppose you're still working for the man who purchased you?"
"Where else would I be?" Axel joked.
"You seem livelier, though; what happened?" Marluxia asked.
"My new master-my new friend," Axel corrected himself. "Things have turned out surprisingly better than I had expected."
"It's good to see you like this, but you will be punished if you do not return to him. Good luck, Axel." Marluxia nodded, heading back inside.
"Thank you for delivering my message to Terra." Aqua smiled, kissing Axel on the cheek in thanks.
"It's no trouble. Good luck to you." Axel nodded, and he ran off to rejoin Roxas.
The party returned before daybreak, and Axel carried Roxas's tired and limp form to his bed. He lay him under his blankets, smoothing his hand over his golden spikes. Smiling, he returned to his own bed in the servants' quarters.
Terra was awake, which surprised him.
"Aqua said she had a message for you," Axel began.
"What is it?" Terra asked.
"'Hic sont leones'. She said you'd know what it means."
Terra nodded, a grin spreading across his face. "I do understand; thank you, Axel."
"What does it mean?" Axel asked.
"It means that I'll finally be able to leave this hell." Terra grinned.
Translations:
- Hic sont leones - Here be lions, meaning uncharted territory