Living a Lie{The Cloaked Schemer & Evermore_112}
 

Roxas snuck quietly through the halls of the palace. 'So far so good....' he thought. His thoughts briefly went back to Sora, who was by now with his family. He hoped his mom wouldn't see through the trick they pulled. That would ruin everything.

He stopped to glance around a corner. He knew that sneaking around like this would only make him look more suspicious. So he took a deep breath to calm himself down. He was supposed to be acting like Sora. He ran a hand through his hair before pushing himself away from the wall he was leaning on. 'Just remember to act like you belong here at least.... Hopefully noone will call you out on being who you're not...' he thought.

He straightened the front of the robe Sora had given him nervously before turning around the corner and walking down the hall.

Axel bowed to the king and smiled. "Of course, he should be back from town anytime now." He said, smiling. God, just another day he could piss the boy off, and with his father's permission at that. It was like a sharpened sword! It would hurt, twice as much to be cruel to him. He exited the room and headed down the halls to Sora's room, spotting what looked like him he grinned. "Helllllo, Sora." He said and rose an eyebrow. "You are to do the nightshift tonight, for me. See, I have this terrrrible back ache and we're out of guards. Your dads orders." Gods he was such an arse to the boy. He loved it.

He then frowned as he got closer. Something wasn't right about the boy...

Roxas hadn't been expecting to run into anybody so quickly. He looked to see who it was and also trying to remember Sora's description of people. Let's see... This man was tall, red hair, and green eyes... Must be Axel. Now what did he say about him? Right. Axel seemed to take great pleasure out of torturing Sora. When confronted, don't look at him directly and try not to say anything that could make him get teased. But always do your best to remain polite. Right... He could do this.

He dropped his gaze to the ground. "Hello Axel." he greeted, keeping his voice low. He frowned though. He hated this. It wasn't like him at all. When confronted with a bully, he would always defend himself. Not just do nothing.He bite his lip for a second to prevent him from saying what he wanted to say. Instead he said, "If that is what my father said, then I guess I have no choice." He made sure to have his voice sound like he wasn't looking forward to it at all.

"A prince should not use such a sorrow tone." He said and smirked, but was still wondering what was different about the boy. The voice, a bit yeah. But the way he held himself. And... Axel was the king's foot soldier basically. The king thought more of Axel than he did his own son at most times. He grinned and walked to the boy, circling him. "Something is... off about you. Are you sick?" He asked, taking a step away to do his circling. "Nooo you're voice isn't raspier, it's just... different. What happened to you in town, Prince?" He asked, not going to let this go.

"I'm sorry..." Roxas muttered, clenching his jaw. He lifted his gaze lightly to see Axel had started circling him and he resisted the urge to just trip him and run. But he froze when he heard what was said next.Why was Axel so perceptive? Of course, neither him nor Sora even thought that anyone would be able to tell the difference between their voices. "... I don't know what you're talking about... Nothing happened in town."

Axel shrugged. "Fine, lie to your fathers right-hand man. But... I'll figure it out, Sora. I will." He said and then smirked, "Aren't you late for your lessons in the weaponry room?" He asked, wondering why he knew Sora's schedule. He was pretty sure it was so he knew when he was able to be annoyed, but, that probably wasn't true. Axel turned and walked down the hallway, having fulfilled his 'be an ass to Sora' quota for the day. But still, something wasn't right...

"I'm not lying!" Roxas exclaimed, unintentioinally raising his voice. He realized his mistake and took a deep breath. "... I was on my way there now..." he muttered. He raised his gaze when he heard Axel's retreating footsteps and glared lightly at him. 'Jerk..' he thought. He sighed and pulled out a map that Sora had given him. 'Now where's the weaponry room....' He scanned the map and nodded and headed off to Sora's lesson. This ought to be fun. Weapons normally meant fighting and that was something Roxas was good at.

Axel sat at the dinner table later that night, not quite sure what to think. There was a slight problem with Sora. If it WAS Sora. He seemed extraordinarily different yet exquisitely the same. He touched his lower lip and smiled at the king as he finally entered. Axel stood as the King sat then he also sat. "How was your day, sire?"

"As good as yesterday and not as good as tomorrow. How is the training coming along?"

Axel nodded and then smiled, showing that the training he was going through as an apprentice armorwielder was coming along nicely. "I do have a question sir. Has anything happened to Sora recently, he acted very... oddly earlier."

"Not that I know of, I'll have to keep a closer eye on him. I'll ask the maids to listen in. he should be here by now actually, has he gotten lost in his own castle?"

Roxas actually enjoyed the classes Sora had to go through. They got his blood pumping and adrenillan flowing for the most part. Some were boring, of course. But he enjoyed it all the same. And he managed to get to each class while only being late by a few minutes. He'd be sure to get there on time tomorrow. He just hoped Axel wasn't going to start pestering him again. It'd be hard not to end up snapping on him.

He glanced quickly through the hallways and pulled out his map again. He scanned it quickly before heading to the dining area, knowing he was already late. He stopped outside the door to make sure he was composed before he entered silently. He glanced around and seen Axel and the person he assumed was the king. He was silent for a second before going over to the table. "Sorry I'm late..." he said, dropping his gaze as he took his seat. "I was taking a stroll around the grounds briefly before heading over here." He hoped that excuse would work, because that was the only one he had.

Axel frowned as the male sat in the wrong spot. See, he wasn't crazy! Something was wrong... different.

The kind coughed and rose an eyebrow. "Son, may I ask why you're sitting in a knights seat and not your own. You know the son always sits to the left of his father. What is wrong with you today? And out frolicking? Are you a girl, Sora?! What would your mother say!?" He asked and then slammed a hand on the table. "WHERE IS THE MEAT?!"

The cooks and maids started coming out with platters of food, bowing and the likes to both the king and the prince. "There you are, Sires. Enjoy your meal." The head cook said and bowed.

Roxas felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Great. He already messed up in front of the king. He kept his gaze dropped as he moved to the proper seat. "I'm sorry... I was lightheaded all of a sudden and wasn't thinking properly..." he muttered, not wanting to even glance at Axel. He was sure he knew something was up and he really needed to make sure he didn't figure it out. But he knew for certain that he most definitely did not like the king. He smiled lightly at the people serving the food, remember at least Sora would have done that. He hoped that would help ease any suspicion on him.

He was certainly kind enough to the servants that it threw Axel off enough because Sora was strange and annoying as it was. And cute. Wait, no. not cute, that's not what he meant! He blushed and looked down at his plate, picking at his potatoes and meat like he did every night. Little did the king know that Axel was not 'manly' in the way he ate. Steak and potatoes were not his fancy. he actually quite enjoyed salads and fruits on the nights he was alone. And he would often go to the kitchens during the middle of the night to knick such foods for himself.

Roxas picked at the food on his plate for a few seconds before risking a glance at Axel. He managed to keep a surprised look off his face when he seen that he was blushing. 'What's he so embarrassed about?' he thought, dropping his gaze back to his plate. He took a few bites of the meat on his plate and actually found it to be quite delicious. It was actually a lot better than the meat his mom used to make for him... Not that he'd tell her that. He always made sure to complement her cooking... No matter how bad it tasted.

After the king was done, he stood and left, without saying a word to either of them. He always got more progressively grumpy throughout the day. Axel looked at the male across the table from him and rose an eyebrow. "I thought you hated pork?" He asked and then rolled his eyes. "Whatever makes you seem so different, it's got to stop. You're even scaring me now." The red headed male said and then grabbed the apple off the males plate before handing him his tray of meat. "There you go, you carnivore." he said and bit into the apple. The prince always got all the good food.

Roxas barely glanced up as the king left the table. He wasn't expecting him to say anything, so wasn't surprised when he just left. But he did turn his attention to Axel when he was spoken too and he made sure to put a confused look on his face. "I'm scaring you?... I don't even know what I'm doing..." he said, keeping his voice down low. And of course Sora hated pork. It was there, written clearly in the notes. Roxas on the other hand, loved eating meat, so he didn't really mind when his apple was taken. He was silent for a few seconds when the plate of meat was handed to him. ".... Thanks?..."

"Thanks? Now I know you've gone insane. A true Hamlet. No killing Daddy, you hear?" He asked and rolled his eyes, then glanced away at the door. He looked back at the boy and glared. "I don't know what is different with you but something is up, why don't you just tell me so we can go on out merry way? I promise not to tattletale too much."

Roxas frowned lightly. He knew for a fact Sora would have said thank you in that situation.. Maybe just not to Axel?... That might have been a mistake. He dropped his gaze quickly when he seen the man glare at him. It made him very uneasy and he was trying hard not to show it. He shook his head slowly. "I don't know what you're talking about. There's nothing different about me."

"Where are all the snide comments? The small cheeky grins that only I get? What was with sitting in the wrong chair and liking different foods? What is wrong with you... or... who are you?" He asked and then sighed. "It doesn't matter, I've only got to deal with you during history and that's it, so... I will see you tomorrow, unless you forget where your class is." He said then turned and walked out of the room.

Snide comments? Cheeky grins? This was the first Roxas heard about these. He was just told by Sora to keep his gaze downcast around Axel and speak polietly to him. The uneasy feeling in his stomach grew and before he could even make a comeback, Axel had already stood and left. His frowned deepened for a second before he pushed his plate of food away, suddenly not hungry. He stood as well and left the room. He was going to have to go back to his room and work on the proper way he should act towards the redhead from now on. There was no way he was going to risk getting caught by him. Not now, after he's made it through a day of being here.

The next day found Axel sitting in his class, once again waiting for Sora. However he wasn't late yet to the pre-breakfast class. He flipped through worn pages and tapped the desk quietly as the teacher glanced out the window. "It's going to be a dreary day..." He said quietly and Axel yawned, prying his eyes open for the lesson that would happen for the two. He was the kings right hand man but he was still a student within the castle.

Roxas sighed lightly, rolling over in bed. It was true that he wasn't a morning person, and unfortunently for him, Sora was. So, he forced himself out of bed and got dressed, still half-asleep. He trudged his way through the halls towards the classroom, trying to wake himself up enough to act how he was supposed to. But he was finding it difficult to keep his eyes open as he entered the classroom. He made his way silently to his seat, glad he was on time at least.

Axel ran his thumb over his lower lip as the professor began the lesson. There were bags under Sora's eyes, he was tired and groggy with a fake woken smile. He looked between him and the professor throughout the class and when it was over he rested a hand on the boys shoulder to hold him back for after class. "Talk to me. I know we don't always get along... But I don't know if I can stand picking on you when you're not acting like yourself."

Roxas had struggled to keep his eyes open during the entire period. But as the end of the class drew closer, he became more and more awake. He glanced at Axel and knocked his hand off his shoulder and he took a step away from him. "Well... You don't have to pick on me then." he said, wanting to go get something to eat.

THAT was the Sora he knew. He smiled and tilted his head. "There we go, that's more like it." He said and laughed. "Move on slow poke, I'm starved." He said and then headed towards the eating hall, it was less of a dining room because it's dark drearyness when not turned into a ballroom. It was just a table with chairs and occasionally food. They were not a very festive people.

Roxas raised an eyebrow lightly as he followed after Axel. That was more how Sora acted? That couldn't be too hard, now that he actually knew how he was supposed to act. He didn't really like being called slow though, but he decided to let the comment pass.
When he got to the eating hall, he frowned lightly. This didn't look very comfortable to be eating... But if this was how things were done, who was he to complain.