A/N: Okay. Explanation time. I know, I'm sorry. I'm a terrible person for letting this story – as well as so many others – sit for years. The thing is, I was procrastinating, I had no internet, no laptop, and no flash drive to write the chapters at home and then upload them at the library. Then something big happened personally that caused me to move, followed by me going to college. So, that's my excuse for being such a bad author. But now I've graduated, and I've got my own laptop in an area that has wifi so hopefully I can finally finish these stories. And sorry for how short this chapter is. I need some time to get back into the flow of writing something other than papers that I need a decent grade for. Have fun!

Xemnas stood frozen. He had no idea what his master was going to say. Saïx had noticed his slave's reaction and stopped, turning to face the lord of the Eastern Ring. "He was sent over to me, as lords do tend to trade slaves for supplies and other slaves if necessary. Do you happen to have a short staffing of good slaves, Lord Axel?" Saïx asked, looking dangerously angry. Xemnas was confused, barely covering it up. Xemnas had only just became his property, but he had come from this very castle. Lord Axel glanced between Xemnas and Saïx, anger showing very clearly on his face.

"No, I'm not." he responded, before quickly turning on his heel, leaving Saïx and Xemnas in the hallway. Saïx watched him go, embers glowing in his topaz eyes. Once he was well enough away, Saïx moved, calling back to his head slave to follow him.

When they returned to their rooms, Xemnas quickly attended to his master's nightly undressing rituals. Once his master was snugly wrapped up in his bed tunic, he proceeded to do the same for himself. As he was doing so, he asked his pensive master why he looked so sullen.

"Why does Lord Axel seem so keen on you?" Saïx asked, looking like he was asking the question rhetorically.

"I'm not sure, my lord." Xemnas replied, not really wanting to answer. He bustled around the room, putting out the candles that were strategically placed around the room to give ample light for its occupants.

"And why does King Roxe suddenly seem to think we're good friends? We've never been close with my land being so far away from the palace."

"I wish I could answer that, Master." Xemnas drew the curtains, the night air feeling quite chilly this late at night. He returned to the bed, being wrapped up in his master's arms as Saïx sighed.

"And you, acting like you're wound up beyond belief." He sighed again. "There's nothing for you to be scared of, Xemnas. I'm here to protect you and there's nothing anyone can do about it. I've already marked you as my head slave and requested one less room for our company, verbally confirming that you are considered mine in more ways than just as the head of my slaves."

Xemnas was quite for a while, picking up on the unspoken command for him to respond with an acceptable answer. "I... don't feel comfortable talking about it now."

"We'll talk more when we return home." Saïx replied after his own moment of silence before they both decided to turn in for the night. The giggling from the next room told them that Roxas had snuck into his brother's rooms and they were catching up on lost time. "I have to remember to see if I can somehow trade for Roxas. Sora seems to have missed his company." The pit in Xemnas' stomach grew heavier than it was this morning when the two boys were finally reunited after quite some time apart. He didn't know how his master would react when he changed the orders to have him transferred instead of the blonde. He didn't want to even begin thinking of how angry the two boys would be when they heard.