A/N: What's this? A part two to FireLight? No way! Yes, my friends. Way. I liked this so much that when this idea popped into my head during geometry today (because god forbid I pay attention and raise my average over an 80) I decided, eh, what the hell. I'll give it a shot! So, here's to hoping you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do believe we've been over this before.
Chapter 1
In the Kingdom of Hollow Bastion, a three-day horse ride to the west of the joined kingdoms of Ne'erwas and Hartz, a messenger waited nervously in the antechamber to the throne room. The queen was quite notorious for her harsh punishments and the news the messenger bore would be none too pleasing to the woman. The man had reached the point where he was pacing back and forth when the doors finally opened to him.
He took a deep breath before cautiously entering the room, the large doors slamming shut behind him, enveloping everything in darkness. He took a few steps forward, the sound of his breath getting harsher and louder as he went. Finally, though, he felt the stone steps of the dais slam against his toes. Hissing in pain, he lifted his foot and started up the steps, torches igniting in the wall as soon as he did so.
The queen sat regally upon her throne, watching him with narrowed eyes. He quickly dropped to his knees, bowing his head, persistently avoiding looking her in the face.
"Your majesty, I come with news of the kingdoms of Hartz and Ne'erwas."
There was a long pause before she spoke quietly. "Well, then?"
"It appears that the scout was correct, your majesty. The Kings Roxas and Axel wed just over six months ago. Their militaries have joined, though it seems that they are only standing defensive. I saw no signs that they have any plans to mobilize. In fact, I did hear rumor that they are in the early stages of declaring neutrality."
"Neutrality," she scoffed. "You're telling me that the two most powerful kingdoms in all of Gaia have joined forces and they want neutrality? Impossible!"
"I only report what I see, majesty," the messenger offered quietly.
"And what news of the prince?" she spat, looking livid.
"I wasn't able to pinpoint the prince's exact location, your majesty. I did find a few who could qualify, but I just couldn't be sure."
She let out a cry of dismay, causing the messenger's head to snap up in panic. Their eyes met and he froze.
"Your incompetence will be your downfall," she snapped, sending a charge of magic his way. He had no time to scream before the power hit him and he dropped dead.
King Roxas of Nadie, the name they'd come up with to call the joined kingdoms of Hartz and Ne'erwas, sat in the one of the twin thrones in the castle's throne room. He would have been extremely bored, if not for the little show his rey was putting on for him. Axel was a fire-wielder, and he had so much power he hardly knew what to do with it.
The magic of over one hundred generations of fire-users ran through his blood and had been handed down to him when he was crowned king. The most magic he'd ever used had been when he'd saved Roxas' life nearly six months before, continually feeding the blonde as much energy as he could at one time for the span of an entire week. That particular trick hadn't even come close to tiring him out.
This, of course, was why Axel had found countless ways to use his magic, whether they be useful or not. For instance, at that very moment, the redhead was making little imps out of fire and having them dance around the throne room, merely to keep them entertained while they attended their duties. The only problem was that Axel couldn't access the extra raw power whenever he felt like it. It only came out when he was in dire need of it and there was no fooling the magic.
They set aside two hours everyday for their subjects to hold audiences, but things had been slow as of late. More often then not, the pair spent their time in the throne room talking or messing around with Axel's powers. Every once in a while, Axel's personal guard Demyx would add his own little water imps to the mix and the pair would have them dance together in an elaborate waltz. It always amused Roxas to no end and he was particularly fascinated because he'd never been able to make his own magic take a form like that. Axel had once informed him that he'd always been able to do it, though it used to tire him out a lot.
Today, though, was different. The doors to the throne room slammed open, leaving only a thunderous noise in its wake. A moment later, a black-haired man stumbled through the doors, looking dead on his feet. He was bleeding from his head and side and he could hardly stand up, let alone walk in a straight line. Roxas cast Axel a concerned look as the redhead banished the dancing flames. Axel nodded at Demyx and the blonde hurried forward, followed quickly by Roxas' guard, Zexion. They both caught the man under the arms and helped him closer to the kings, who were now both completely serious and ready for business.
"What happened to you?" Axel asked. The man shook his head dismissively.
"We don't have time for that now," he mumbled. "The queen is coming! She will ask for the prince, but do not give him to her! Don't give her the prince!"
"The prince? You mean Sora?" Roxas asked, hands tightening at the thought of anyone trying to take his brother.
"No, our prince. He is here, in your midst and has been for a long time. Hiding. Do not give her the prince!"
"What do you mean he's been hiding? The queen of where?"
"The queen of nothing!" the man spat. "When the prince disappeared, she took over…but she's found him now. Do not give her the prince or she'll kill him!" With this last warning, the man lost consciousness, making both Demyx and Zexion grunt with the force they had to exert to keep him from collapsing face-first into the floor.
"Get him to a doctor," Roxas instructed the pair, who gave a nod and left instantly. As soon as they were out the doors, Roxas turned to look at his rey, whose eyes were clouded with worried thought.
"So…um…what do you make of that?" he asked.
"Well, apparently, we have a prince acting as a pauper," Axel said with a shrug. "What I'm really worried about is the killing part. We don't know which kingdom this is and we don't know where the strike will come from. What we do know is that they're threatening someone we've sworn to protect."
Roxas nodded solemnly, moving to sit on the arm of Axel's chair and sighing heavily. "If this person is trying to hide their identity, it's not likely we'll be able to get it out of them. They could be anywhere in Nadie, for all we know. With a population two million strong, it's a smart place to hide…" Roxas trailed off.
"But the man said this prince has been among us for a long time. Which means he was either hiding in Hartz or in Ne'erwas to begin with. Which means things were bad enough in his own home to seek refuge in a war-torn country," Axel said thoughtfully, picking up on Roxas' train of thought.
"Exactly," Roxas sighed. "That means whoever this person was had to avoid being out on the front lines at all cost, which shortens our list out considerably."
"To royals and the Royal Guard," Axel confirmed.
"And it can't be royals, because they would have to be in one of our family lines to rule here and I don't have any relatives with enough royal blood to rule outside of Hartz."
"Me neither," Axel shook his head.
"Which only leaves the Guard."
Axel grinned and shook his head, though he didn't look very amused. "One of the people sworn to protect us deserves a royal guard of his own. Irony, or what?"
"Yeah, it's ironic all right. Do you think we should just confront them as a group and then individually? Even if they don't answer honestly, we can't hold the real prince under a punishment when we find out. Diplomatic immunity," Roxas sighed.
Axel nodded, looking just as annoyed. "I'll call them, then." He summoned up a small flaming bird and whispered a message to it before setting the bird off to deliver his message. It flew high into the air and out a window, coming to rest-Roxas could only assume-above the center of the marketplace.
Axel's voice rang out loud and clear above everything, calling for every male member of the Royal Guard to assemble in the throne room. While slightly dramatic, it certainly was effective, and before long, the guard was assembled in the throne room, looking alert yet confused.
"Well, boys," Axel said with a grin. "It's time for a little twenty questions."
"What is going on, majesties?" Riku, the commander of the guard questioned with a frown.
Roxas leaned back, making sure to keep himself balanced so that he wouldn't fall off the side of Axel's throne. He felt Axel's hand press against his side, though whether it was supposed to be a comforting gesture or merely something to keep him from falling, he wasn't sure.
"We've received some…disturbing news," Roxas started, uncertain as to how much he should reveal.
"A messenger came from a neighboring kingdom, which one we aren't quite sure yet, to warn us to protect their prince…"
"Why does it matter to us whether their prince is safe?" a guard named Xigbar snorted.
"Kindly don't interrupt when I'm speaking," Axel said with a bit of warning in his voice.
"We care," Roxas spoke up before there could be any more complaints, "because we believe this prince is one of our own. The messenger informed us that the prince has been hidden among our ranks for quite some time now, and that means that Axel and I have sworn to protect him and he has fought for us."
"We believe that one of you is the prince," Axel said bluntly. The entire group stiffened and whispers broke out amongst them.
"Keep order in front of your kings!" Riku snapped, sending his troops a glare. The mutters instantly stopped and several had the grace to look embarrassed.
"Majesty, my rey, if I may?" Riku requested, still looking angry.
"Go ahead, Riku," Roxas granted.
"Even if you do find out the identity of this prince, what will you do?" he asked.
"We have reason to believe that the prince is in danger," Axel spoke up. "We'll do everything in our power to protect him. We won't force him back to his own kingdom, but we won't keep him against his will either."
Riku didn't look very satisfied. "But…" he said slowly.
"Yes?"
"What if this kingdom decides they want to fight for him?"
"Then we will fight," Roxas said simply.
"For a person who isn't even your subject?" Riku asked, looking slightly aghast.
"Even if he isn't a subject, he is our ally. He's helped us for this many years, hasn't he? We will protect him and if that brings us to war, I fear for the challenging kingdom."
"Because we might be peaceful now, but we were bred with war in our blood," Axel added, a fierce look in his eyes that wasn't often there. "If they wish to fight, bring it on. We will crush them into the ground." They all looked a bit impressed at Axel's words, several standing up straighter as if ready to fight right that moment. Axel was a very charismatic person.
"Hopefully things won't escalate to that level," Roxas said, trying to calm down the testosterone levels. "We just want you to know, if you're the prince we're looking for, that we won't betray you and that we know how much we owe you."
"So…" Axel said slowly. "Does anyone want to fess up?" The room was completely silent for a span of about half a minute before Roxas sighed and nodded.
"Very well, then. But don't think we're going to stop looking. You can go." They trooped out, Riku staying behind, his bright eyes serious and pensive.
"What's up, Riku?" Axel asked, dropping his regal posture and taking Roxas' hand without a thought.
"I'm…I'm not quite sure what to make of this situation, is all," he said. "I don't like the thought of a nameless kingdom attacking at any time."
Axel shook his head, leaning forward slightly. "They won't attack right out," he said. Riku frowned, looking doubtful.
"What makes you so confident of that?" he demanded.
"Hartz and Ne'erwas were the two most powerful kingdoms in Gaia. Both our militaries were so far ahead of the rest, not to mention all of our citizens have been taught war since they were small children. Joined together, we're almost unstoppable and this kingdom will know that. They'll be careful not provoke our wrath, I think."
"It would be foolish to be so headstrong," Riku advised quietly.
"We know that," Roxas sighed, rolling his shoulders to try and loosen the sudden tenseness that had gathered there. "We aren't saying we shouldn't be prepared for anything and everything, but I don't think we have to worry so much just yet. Your concerns are reputable, but not quite necessary just yet. If there comes a time when they are, I assure you, you'll be among the first to know."
Riku nodded, not looking very much appeased, but more like resigned. "Very well, Majesties. If you'll excuse me, I left Sora under the care of Yuffie…"
Roxas laughed out loud and Axel said, "We completely understand. Go ahead." He turned on his heel and strode across the room, but just as he touched the doorknob, Roxas called out, "Riku, I'd like you to compile a folder for every male member of the Guard and bring it to us at your earliest convenience." His shoulders tightened for a moment before he answered, "Yes, majesty," and left.
Roxas let out a huge whoosh of breath and slid off his perch into Axel's lap, leaning his head against the redhead's collarbone. Axel let out a content sigh and wrapped his arms around Roxas, squeezing him gently.
"What do you make of this whole debacle?" he asked quietly.
"I don't know what to think," Roxas admitted. "I just don't know." Axel nodded, one of his hands slowly stroking up and down Roxas' back.
"It is just a huge mess, isn't it? I guess all we can do at this point is hope that man wakes up and can give us more information."
"And things were just starting to calm down and become normal," Roxas moaned.
"Normal? Since when are we normal, Roxy?"
The blonde allowed a laugh to bubble over his lips, leaning his face up to kiss his rey sweetly.
"You do have a point there." Overhead, the clock tower chimed three times.
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A/N: My cat is sitting on my arms again. It quite hurts because she's resting all her weight on one paw. I think I might have a paw-shaped bruise before the night is out…review!