At the first sign of dawn of the next day, Axel's door opened to find Roxas joining Lexaeus.
"What makes you think I'd give him to you so easily?" Lexaeus grumbled to Roxas.
"I understand you won't want to give up one of the finest gladiators you've ever owned, but I promise I will complete the necessary payments for him." Roxas assured.
Lexaeus glared at Axel, then shifted his gaze to Roxas. "I want all the money for him up front."
Roxas's face turned pale, and Axel's stomach dropped. Perhaps they weren't getting out so easily.
"O-of course..." Roxas produced his pouch of gold and tugged it open. He poured the gold coins into Lexaeus's meaty palm. The entire sum of Axel's worth fit in Lexaeus's hand, spread across his thick fingers.
Lexaeus sifted the coins through his fingers into his other palm. He nodded approvingly before cramming the gold into his pocket and trudging into the tiny cell. He gripped the back of Axel's tunic and prodded him toward Roxas.
"He's yours now, but neither of you can leave until after today's games." Lexaeus said gruffly.
"We had an agreement, I demand you to let us leave now." Roxas protested.
"You're forgetting something important: you might be a freeman, but you belong to this gladiator school. That means you'll follow the rules until you can earn your freedom." Lexaeus corrected.
"But I've earned my freedom, and I've paid for Axel's!" Roxas insisted.
"If you can make it out of today's games alive, then you're free to go; I don't see the problem with my offer." Lexaeus affirmed.
Roxas pursed his lips, silently agreeing with Lexaeus's requirements.
Lexaeus reached out his large fist and pounded on the wall, jarring Hayner from his sleep. "You've put me behind schedule now," he said to Roxas pointedly. He ambled down the hall, continuing to unlock doors and pound on walls to wake the gladiators.
Roxas looked at Axel with an expression of worry. Axel smiled back assuredly, and Roxas's worry melted.
Axel panted, the sweat on his body growing sticky under his armor. He shuffled to the other side of the arena, waiting for Roxas to meet him in the middle.
From the far end of the thin tunnel, Roxas sprinted to meet with his lover. Roxas threw his arms around Axel, and Axel nearly collapsed into him.
"You really didn't give in today, did you?" Axel chuckled breathlessly.
"We had to give them one last good show, didn't we?" Roxas replied, his breathing also ragged. "Would you like to sleep in my cell tonight before we take our leave of this place for good?"
"Of course I would," Axel agreed.
He leaned on Roxas's tiny shoulders as the two exited the arena to be loaded onto the cart to return to the school.
Waiting for them in the cart was an exhausted-looking Marluxia. His eyes were barely open as they approached him.
"Axel, I've never seen you looking so thrilled to lose." Marluxia observed. "And I don't believe I've been formally introduced to your opponent."
"Ah, I suppose it is better late than never to be introduced." Axel smiled. He thought to himself, And of all days, to meet him on the day we're both leaving... "This is Roxas, son of Ansem the Wise."
"It is a pleasure to meet you." Roxas bowed his head.
Marluxia sat up a bit straighter. "If you don't mind me asking, what is a noble doing here in the arena?"
"It's a long story, but I suppose today of all days is when we should begin to be truthful." Roxas admitted. "My father purchased Axel months ago as my personal slave, but in that time we became friends and eventually..." Blush spread across his face, dispersing to even the tips of his ears.
"He is my lover," Axel finished.
Marluxia cracked a sly smile. "Interesting."
Axel could feel himself burning away. "I suppose...but Lexaeus and the others in the school do not know of our secret affair, and we intend to keep it that way, even though the two of us are leaving tomorrow. Oh...I suppose no one's supposed to know that information, either, though Lexaeus knows."
"Axel, we've known each other for some time, and you can trust me with your secrets." Marluxia nodded genuinely. "Though it's a shame to see you go."
"Thank you, Marluxia." Axel sighed. He climbed into the cart, pulling Roxas in after him.
Roxas curled up against him, tracing patterns into Axel's sweaty skin.
Marluxia chuckled and closed his eyes. "Young love..." He mused, and drifted off to sleep.
Lexaeus returned from the arena with Demyx and Hayner, and he nudged them roughly into the cart. Roxas sat up and shifted a bit away from Axel, but they discreetly held onto each other's hand as Lexaeus prepared the cart to leave and as they traveled down the road to the school.
"Mm...Roxas..." Axel hummed as he stroked Roxas's cheeks with his thumbs.
Roxas panted, gazing into his lover's eyes. "Axel..."
Axel rocked his hips slightly to the rhythm of Roxas's movements, each motion sending stronger surges of pleasure throughout his body.
Roxas clenched his fists as he came, the bliss rippling through him. Axel tilted his head back and bit his lip sharply until he could taste blood, stifling his noise as the sensation pulsed through every inch of his body.
Roxas's elbows buckled and he crumpled into Axel with a satisfied sigh.
"I love you so much," Axel whispered, caressing Roxas's hair.
"I love you, too." Roxas breathlessly replied. "Do you think everything will work out tomorrow?"
"I believe so." Axel agreed.
"But if it doesn't, does that guarantee we still have each other?" Roxas wondered.
"The bitter truth is that there is no guarantee that we will have each other forever, but the hope inside us is what drives us to create the outcome." Axel replied. He pondered for a brief moment at where his sudden bout of wisdom had come from, since had only been an uneducated slave for most of his life.
Roxas chuckled, drawing circles on Axel's skin. "When did you get so wise?"
"Since I fell for the son of the teacher." Axel jested.
Roxas squeezed Axel's sides lovingly before their eyelids drooped and they slipped into slumber.
As the morning rays crept across the floor, Axel was gently woken by Roxas as he opened the door to their freedom from the school.
With anxiety settling in their stomachs, neither had the desire to eat before leaving. The large door to the school echoed across the empty halls as it opened, and Axel glanced at his prison for truly the last time.
Hand in hand, the two ambled down the road. Axel remembered it was quite a trip all the way to Ansem's villa, and marveled at the thought of Roxas traveling to the school alone and on foot for those long hours.
By the time they had reached Ansem's villa, the anxiety had begun to be replaced by hunger, but both had their minds on mending the past before eating.
Roxas's hand trembled as he reached to knock on the door. The gentle sound of his knuckles against the wood seemed to be too quiet to cause a stir in the house, but as quickly as he had knocked the door was flung open by Naminé.
"Roxas!" She cried, throwing her arms around her brother. "We were so worried..."
"It's alright Naminé, I'm alright." Roxas assured.
She yanked him inside, leaving the door open for Axel to enter the house.
"Where have you been? You've been gone for months!" Naminé demanded.
Roxas glanced at Axel briefly and sighed. "I suppose if I must begin telling the truth, then I should begin with you."
"Wait, we've just gathered in the dining hall for the midday meal; come tell us all at once." Naminé decided.
"What about Axel?" Roxas asked.
"He can come too, it doesn't matter; we've just been so worried about you." Naminé replied, dragging him down the hall.
Axel followed as Roxas was propped up in front of the family he had abandoned several months ago.
A mixture of disbelief, astonishment, and joy pooled in their eyes. Even Ventus's eyes glimmered with joy at the sight of the brother he had cast off.
"Roxas, where were you?" Ansem wondered gently.
Roxas inhaled deeply. "As you know, I ran away several months ago; and long before that, Ventus and I had that altercation at coena, revealing the affair I had with my-with Axel. But the reason I ran away in the first place was because I had fallen so deeply in love with Axel, and I would stop at nothing to have him by my side again.
"At first, I did not see an error in my ways, but Axel soon made me realize that I had been foolish not to think things through. In truth, he is the one who told me to return and explain myself to you, and to everyone who deserves an explanation.
"Father, I'm sorry I threw away the entire life you had planned for me, but the truth is that I do not care for that life. The life I want to live is one where Axel is with me.
"Ventus, I'm terribly sorry for wronging you in any way. If you truly wish to inherit everything that Father had wanted me to inherit, then I have no objections to signing everything over to you."
The room grew heavy with a thick silence. Ansem and Ventus exchanged glances.
Finally, Ventus stood and cleared his throat. He glared harshly at Roxas first, but then he sighed and hung his head in exasperation. "Roxas, forgive me; I should've been honest from the very beginning instead of holding this awful grudge against you. I should've known it was never your fault that Father had chosen you over me. I'm so sorry."
"I forgive you, Ventus. You are my twin, after all." Roxas opened his arms for Ventus, and Ventus allowed himself to be held.
"Roxas, if this is truly the life you desire then I have no objections." Ansem declared. "Still, I hope you are much more responsible in your decisions from now on."
"Yes, Father." Roxas agreed.
"Are you sure you want to leave everything to Ventus?"
Roxas smiled at his brother and nodded. "I have no need for wealth; love is my wealth."
"Then you have truly become a wise man." Ansem said.
Ventus cleared his throat. "Um, so long as we're being honest now, I have a few other confessions to add..."
All eyes turned to Ventus. Seeing him in this state baffled Axel, as if he had changed entirely since his brother's absence.
"My slave Terra and I also had an affair, but I did not treat him the way I should have treated someone I cared about. Because of this, he ran away with a prostitute I had been seeing in the subura named Aqua. I lost two people I actually cared about because I did not care enough to try. But now...now I want to change that, especially if I am to be the household master." Ventus confessed. "Also...you understand I have been spending much of my time with Vanitas..."
A sly smile spread across Roxas's face as he pieces Ventus's words together. Ventus noticed his brother's giddiness and he immediately turned red.
"Are you sure you want to ask Father for advice in love? After all, he hasn't been remarried since Mother's death..." Roxas hinted.
"I think I can figure out what you are trying to tell me, but if we are being honest then I really think Roxas should help you." Ansem decided. "Now, may we enjoy our meal in peace?"
"Of course." Roxas agreed, sitting down with his family.
Axel's stomach growled, and Ansem motioned for him to sit down at the table with them.
After the meal, Roxas explained the rest of his plans to speak with Lord Xaldin while Axel wandered out to the lot in the garden where Ansem had his wife and slaves buried.
Most nobles did not understand why Ansem insisted on giving his slaves proper burials, but Axel understood Ansem's true kindness.
He knelt at the small grave given to Larxene, touching the ground with his fingertips.
Axel felt a bit nervous speaking to the dead, but he believed she could hear him. "Larxene, I am deeply sorry we never truly got along. I admired your strength as a warrior and as a woman, and I hope you have the same strength in the afterlife.
"The coin I had fought with you over was given to me by Roxas because we had had an affair. He gave it to me as a gift, saying one day I would use it to begin my days as a freeman someday. I wish I could've given you the freedom you deserved on earth instead of giving it to you here, but I hope you are at peace now. Forgive me for the trouble I caused with you, I never meant for it to end this way..."
A slight breeze brushed through the lot, swaying Axel's hair. He glanced at the sky, seeing storm clouds rolling in. A crackle of lightning etched its way across the sky, and Axel couldn't help but smile at the knowledge that Larxene had heard his voice.
Translations
- Veritas Amara Libertas - Truth is a bitter freedom