The Price: Rejection Part 1

[eiahmon]

Title: The Price
Rating: R for the mansex even if it's not graphic.
Disclaimer: Disney and Square Enix own it all, though I wouldn't mind “renting” Xehanort for a while. He's just so cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute – even when he's summoning his keyblade and yanking out hearts with it.
Summary: Alternate ending to The Price: Discovery. Instead of supporting Xehanort, Ansem rejects him. Who will Xehanort turn to now?
A/N: Woobie!Xehanort strikes again! *takes out Angst Mallet and whomps Xehanort over the head with it* If this isn't your cup of tea, I advise you to bail now before you start reading. Oh and btw, this fic contains violence, violence, violence, violence towards the end. Don't say I didn't warn you!
A/N 2: Don't hate me for what I've done to Ansem in this, okay? *dodges bricks*

Part 1

Even stood outside the infirmary doors with Ienzo, Aeleus, and Dilan, waiting for Master Ansem to bring Xehanort out. They could hear the two talking inside, but the words were indistinct and impossible to make out.

"What did Braig have to say for himself, Dilan?" Aeleus asked evenly, and Dilan closed his blue eyes and shook his head.

"I'll explain later." he replied, nodding his head towards Ienzo "Little ears are listening."

"I'm not little!" Ienzo protested, leveling Dilan with his signature one eyed glare that was effective in getting most adults to back down. Unfortunately for Ienzo, it had no effect on his fellow apprentices; they were immune to it due to repeated exposure.

Even chuckled and opened his mouth, but whatever he had been about to say was interrupted by a raised voice inside the infirmary. The four apprentices looked at each other in confusion for a moment before the infirmary doors slammed open and Master Ansem stalked out.

"Dilan," the older man ordered "Release Braig immediately."

Dilan's jaw fell open. "Are you sure, Master Ansem? After what he did to Xehanort..."

"He did nothing." Ansem said as he continued down the hall away from them "You cannot rape the willing, so release him immediately." The man turned a corner and vanished from sight then, and the four looked at each other for a long moment.

"I guess I had better do what he says." Dilan said in bewilderment, and the lancer walked away, heading towards the castle's prison. Even and Aeleus looked through the open infirmary doors, and they could clearly see Xehanort lying on a bed inside, and they could hear him crying softly.

Even made a decision. "Aeleus, can you take Ienzo for a bit? I have something to take care of." The big man nodded, and he began to lead Ienzo away from the infirmary, while Even walked inside.

Xehanort was lying on his side, with his back to the door, and his entire body was shaking with sobs as Even walked up to him and sat down on the bed behind him.

"Xehanort?" he said softly, but the younger man gave no indication that he had heard or even noticed that Even was there. "Xehanort, talk to me. Tell me what happened." This time, he at least got an acknowledgment as Xehanort shook his head. "Xehanort, please. I can't help you if I don't know what happened. Why was Master Ansem so angry?" In response, Xehanort only cried louder, and Even stood up and walked around to the other side of the bed and knelt on the floor so he could look into Xehanort's face.

The newest apprentice's face was battered, bruised, and swollen from where Braig had struck him repeatedly, and tears were pouring out of his brown eyes that were filled with misery

"I'm a whore." Xehanort finally said between sobs "and Master Ansem says I deserved what Braig did." Even was only barely able to keep the shock from his face; why would such a compassionate man say something so cruel, to his favored apprentice no less? Xehanort then dissolved into tears again, and the senior apprentice pushed thoughts of his master aside; Xehanort was more important.

He stood up from the floor and went to speak to the doctor, though he had to pull rank to get her to tell him of all that she had found; the old scars, the calluses, the partially healed tears, as well as a few fresh ones that had been bleeding freely upon Xehanort's arrival in the infirmary the previous night. She then admitted that Xehanort was able to leave the infirmary provided that he rested for a the next few days. With that knowledge in hand, Even returned to Xehanort's bedside, and gently coaxed him into getting out of bed, though such a simple process was not without physical pain. After throwing a robe over his shaking shoulders, Even carefully began to walk him out of the infirmary.

It was a long, slow walk to Xehanort's rooms, and Even thought that maybe he shouldn't have asked Aeleus to leave as the big man could have easily carried Xehanort. Instead they had to contend with stopping frequently so Xehanort could catch his breath and wait for the pain to die down. When they finally reached the door to Xehanort's apartments, they found Braig waiting for them, wearing a smug smirk on his face. Xehanort shrank away from him and hid his face as best he could in Even's hair, while the senior apprentice simply glared at him. Xehanort kept his face hidden as they walked past him into the room, and Even was sure that his grip on his arm was going to leave bruises.

"Slut." Braig hissed, and the younger shuddered, which forced a pained whimper from his mouth.

"Stay away from him, Braig." Even snarled "That is an order." Braig only grinned smugly at them, and Even took great pleasure in slamming the door in his face after he had walked Xehanort into the room.

"Let's get you to bed." he said gently once the door was shut, and Xehanort only nodded wearily without saying anything. The maids had taken care of the bed, so there was no evidence of the previous night's events as Even helped Xehanort out of the hospital gown into his own sleep clothes. Once the younger man was tucked securely in bed under the blankets, Even sat down on the mattress beside him. He concentrated for a moment, calling up the ice magic that he had learned during the early part of his apprenticeship, and cooled his left hand down until it felt like ice itself. It wouldn't hurt his hand any, but it would function just perfectly as an icepack until he could make a permanent one. He then gently placed his hand on the worst of the bruising and swelling on Xehanort's face and was rewarded with a sigh as the throbbing and pain began to melt away.

"Get your rest, Xehanort." he said softly. Xehanort didn't reply, and a few minutes later, he relaxed into the sheets with a soft sigh as he fell asleep.

******

Even was awoken by the feel of a small hand patting his shoulder. He blearily blinked his eyes open, and a quick glance at his alarm clock showed that it was just after three in the morning. He then looked over to see Ienzo standing by the bed, and he couldn't help but notice that the child looked worried about something.

"What is it, Ienzo?" he asked sleepily as he sat up in bed and rubbed the sand from his eyes.

"Xehanort's crying." the boy said simply, and then he added in a whisper "I think Braig hurt him again."

Even immediately threw the blankets back, stood up, slipped his robe on over his pajamas and padded out of his apartment into the hall. Ienzo followed close behind as they walked the short walk to Xehanort's rooms. They found the door open, and Xehanort's muffled cries could easily be heard. They found the newest apprentice curled up on his bed, crying into a pillow. His night gown was once again hiked up past his waist, and there was some blood, but thankfully, not much.

Even cursed himself for leaving Xehanort alone in his rooms as he approached the bed, especially when the younger shied away from him when he reached out to touch his face.

Damn you, Braig! Even said inwardly Why must you do this to him?

"Xehanort." he said softly as he carefully sat down on the bed "Let me help you. I promise that I'm not going to hurt you." Xehanort didn't answer, but he didn't protest when Even gently took the pillow away, and the older apprentice felt a surge of anger when he saw the fresh bruises and swelling on Xehanort's face.

"Ienzo," he said a little sharper than intended "Get Xehanort a fresh set of pajamas from his dresser, then take them to my room and start the water running in the shower. You are to then stay in my rooms until I come back. Understood?" Ienzo nodded and the child did as he was told as Even carefully pulled Xehanort to his feet, which wasn't careful enough if his howls of pain were anything to go by. He then tried to walk him out of the room, but Xehanort had barely taken a single step when he gasped in agony and nearly crumpled to the floor. He clearly was in too much pain to walk. Even wrapped his arms around his shaking form and held him while he tried to figure what to do. He couldn't leave Xehanort in his rooms, but he couldn't carry him and walking him out was not an option. What he needed was -

"Even?" Even looked up to see Dilan standing in the bedroom door "Again?"

Perfect. Dilan could easily carry Xehanort the short distance to Even's own rooms. "Yes, Braig attacked him again. Could you carry him?"

"To the infirmary?"

Even shook his head. "To my rooms. I'll get him cleaned up and back to bed there. Braig won't dare bother him with me in the room."

Dilan nodded in understanding, and the lancer gently scooped Xehanort into his arms and carried him out into the hall and down to Even's rooms, where they found Ienzo, as well as Aeleus, waiting for them. Even and Dilan bundled Xehanort into the shower, scrubbed him down (As gently as possible.) dried him off, dressed him in the pajamas that Ienzo had gotten for him, and then laid him down in Even's bed. Through it all, Xehanort was silent and allowed himself to be taken care of, though he let out a frightened whimper when they went to leave him alone in the bedroom.

Dilan stepped out while Even returned to the bedside. "Xehanort," he said softly, a bit surprised that he was acting so caring towards anyone other than Ienzo "we're not leaving you. We'll be in the next room if you need us, and Braig will have to go through us to get to you." He pulled the blankets up to Xehanort's chin and brushed a few strands of damp hair from his face. "You are safe with me, Xehanort. This I promise you." Xehanort nodded slowly, and Even put him to sleep with a silent sleep spell before he left the bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind him, and joined the others in the sitting room. Ienzo was asleep on a couch, but Dilan and Aeleus were wide awake. Even sat down in a chair next to them, in front of his small brick and stone fireplace, and asked the question that had been plaguing him all day.

"What did Braig have to say earlier, Dilan?"

Dilan shook his head again. "He swore that Xehanort had been willing the entire time."

"That was not willing." Aeleus stated firmly, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the bedroom where Xehanort was sleeping "If that was willing, then Xehanort has the largest masochistic streak in Radiant Garden."

Even snorted in derision. "His fear, depression, anxiety, and sadness say that he is not. Now what do we do about it? One of our number has been badly hurt, repeatedly, by another one of our number. Master Ansem refused to do anything about it, which essentially gave Braig carte blanche to do whatever he wants to Xehanort."

"Which means that it falls to us to protect him." Aeleus said firmly "This abuse cannot be allowed to continue, and continue it will, if we do not act."

"The biggest difficulty that I see if keeping Braig away from Xehanort." Dilan added "Braig's rooms are just down the hall, and we all work and study together."

"Hmmm..." Even frowned thoughtfully. Maybe it was time to use his title of Senior Apprentice for something. As long as Master Ansem didn't override him... "Xehanort will stay with me then. I promised him that he was safe with me, so I will let him stay in here until this is resolved. Dilan, I'm going to have to ask you to test you patience and be Braig's lab partner." Previously Xehanort had been Braig's lab partner, and now Even had a pretty good suspicion that it hadn't been just studying and lab work that the pair had been doing. "I know that you want to reduce him to a bloody smear for what he's done, but we can't retaliate against him in any way. Doing so may cause Master Ansem to do something that Xehanort ultimately will regret. Aeleus, you can work with Ienzo from here on out, which will leave Xehanort to work with me. It that acceptable to you two?"

Dilan and Aeleus nodded in agreement. "Shall we go back to bed then?" Aeleus asked.

"Let's." Even replied as he stood up from his chair "Dilan, would you mind taking Ienzo back to his room? I would do it myself, but I don't want to leave Xehanort alone for an instant tonight."

"Of course, Even." Aeleus walked to the door and held it open so Dilan could carry the sleeping Ienzo out into the hallway, and once the lancer had gone, he looked back to Even, who was still standing by the fireplace, leaning on the mantlepiece.

"You know that you, Dilan, or myself will always have to be with Xehanort?" he said gravely "Braig won't give up on his favorite toy so easily. We won't be able to leave Xehanort alone at all."

"I know." Even said quietly "Even if we manage to keep Xehanort safe for months, the second we drop our guard, Braig will go after him again."

"What will we do then?"

"I do not know."

"We cannot allow Braig to lay his hands on Xehanort again."

"No, we cannot."

"But we cannot protect him forever either."

Even didn't say anything. The blond simply looked at Aeleus, and after a long moment, the red head nodded and walked out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Even sighed heavily and walked back into the darkened bedroom. From the faint light of the city below that was coming through the large windows, he could see Xehanort sleeping peacefully in the middle of the large bed and hear his quiet breathing. He watched the younger sleep for a moment before a jaw cracking yawn reminded him that he had to be up soon. Grabbing a spare blanket and pillow from the closet as well as his alarm clock from the bedside table, he went back out into the living room, leaving the bedroom door open, and made himself a bed on the couch that Ienzo had recently vacated. It wasn't as near as comfortable as the actual bed, but it would do.

He was roused by the shrill ringing of his alarm clock barely an hour later. He reached out and awkwardly slammed his hand down on the button to shut the alarm off and, despite how tempted he was to go back to sleep, he dragged himself out of his makeshift bed and walked into the bedroom to get ready for the day.

Xehanort was still asleep, and in the gray light of the early dawn, the bruises and swelling on his face looked much worse than they had the night before. His right eye was nearly swollen shut, his nose was so badly swollen that he likely couldn't breathe out of it at all, and he had a large lump on the right side of his jaw. Even made a mental note to make him a never melt icepack as soon as possible as he pulled his black pants, white dress shirt, gray vest, and purple ascot from his dresser drawers and walked into the bathroom. Normally he took his time in the shower, luxuriating in the feel of the hot spray, but this time he rushed through, and afterward he hastily wrapped his wet hair in a towel and dried himself off before getting dressed.

As he tied his ascot around his neck with practiced ease – he'd been wearing them since the age of twelve – he cast his thoughts to Xehanort and Braig. Braig had told Dilan that Xehanort had been willing, yet Xehanort's behavior suggested otherwise. No willing participant in such activity acted so frightened. Yet, what if... Even frowned as a possibility occurred to him. What if Xehanort had been willing at one time and then changed his mind? But why would anyone allow such a thing to be done to them, and why did he change his mind, if, in fact, that was the case?

It seemed like Xehanort had some explaining to do.

With a sigh of resignation – he was sure that he was not going to like the upcoming conversation – Even finished brushing his hair out and walked back into the bedroom.

Xehanort hadn't stirred, and the brightening light in the room allowed Even to see the dark circles around his unbruised left eye as well as how thin and sunk in his face looked overall, despite the swelling. How had none of them noticed that Xehanort was looking so ill? Even was loathe to wake him, since he so obviously needed the rest, but they needed to talk, and he really didn't want to just leave the room without telling him that he was going first. He knew that Dilan would attach himself to Braig at the first opportunity and never leave him alone, so hopefully Xehanort would be safe while they were in the lab.

Hopefully...

"Xehanort." he called softly as he gently shook the younger apprentice's shoulder "It's time to wake up." Xehanort only whined and buried his face in the pillow, so Even gently shook him and called him again. The younger grumbled something and one brown eye cracked open and looked up at him.

"Even? Why are you in my room? Am I late?" His one eye widened, while the other barely moved due to how badly swollen it was. "I am late, aren't I?" Xehanort bolted upright in bed, but whatever he had been about to do or say was interrupted by an agonized cry as the sudden movement aggravated his injuries.

"Easy, Xehanort." Even said as he carefully sat down on the bed and wrapped one arm around his shaking shoulders in support. "You're not late. You've been excused from the labs for a few days."

Xehanort's mind seemed to catch up with him then. "Oh." he said quietly while his face crumpled. He looked as though he was trying his hardest not to cry. Even pulled him close, offering silent comfort, and after a moment, Xehanort spoke.

"You want to know what happened between me and Braig." he said quietly.

Even nodded. "It would help if I knew the entire story."

Xehanort shuddered, and after a brief hesitation, he reluctantly repeated his story, the same one that he had told Ansem the previous day. Even listened silently as the words poured from Xehanort's mouth, and he could clearly hear the undercurrent of fear in the younger man's voice. The senior apprentice knew why; he had related his story once already and had been rejected by the man that had for all intents and purposes adopted him as a son. If the master had rejected him, there was no reason to believe that the master's oldest protege wouldn't do the same.

Even owed Ansem much; he would be the first to admit it. He had been twelve when he had been taken to live at the castle, to get him away from a family that put entirely too much pressure on him to succeed. He had been a depressed, exhausted, emotionally stunted wreck that had run himself into the ground trying to meet his parents and grandparents' impossible standards when Ansem had taken him in. It had taken him months to relax (Much of which was credited to the then nine year old Dilan, who had also been removed from his family two years prior.) and even now, fifteen years later, he still had difficulty connecting with other people. It was why he had been asked to look after Ienzo, Ansem had hoped that raising a child would help him related to other people better. It had succeeded to some degree; Even loved Ienzo like he was his own son, but other people still gave him fits.

Now as Xehanort finished his tale and fell silent, shivering in fearful anticipation, Even realized (While silently kicking himself for not doing so sooner.) that Xehanort was a child in many ways. He was physically grown, but his life experiences and available memories only added up to two years, leaving him a bit immature at times and woefully naïve at others. He had no idea that he had been taken advantage of, no idea that he had been the victim of repeated rape. Ansem's reaction had not helped matters either, leaving Xehanort to believe that it was all his fault.

A knock at the door to his sitting room interrupted Even's thoughts. Xehanort let out a frightened whimper, and Even gently hugged him in reassurance before he stood up from the bed and walked out of the room to answer the door. He opened it to see Braig's smug grin as the marksman stood in the hallway.

"What are you doing here, Braig?" Even said, careful to keep his voice down.

"I'm here to meet my lab partner." Braig replied with another grin, though this one seemed a bit more... lecherous, which left no doubt in Even's mind what he planned to do if given the chance.

Too bad Even wasn't going to give him that chance. "Lab partners have been switched, and you're working with Dilan now. I told you last night to stay away from Xehanort, Braig, and I meant every word. You are not to speak to him or touch him in any way."

"I wonder what Master Ansem would say about this?" Braig said thoughtfully, his single yellow eye alight with lust.

"I don't need his permission to change the lab partners around!" Even snapped, fed up with Braig's attitude "And if you say a word to him about it, I'll have you cleaning out the prison cells – the occupied ones – for the next year! Now, stay away from Xehanort!" Being the senior apprentice did have its perks, including the rights to discipline the others, though this was the first time Even had ever threatened to do, well other than the occasional scoldings and groundings for Ienzo on the rare occasions that the boy acted like a normal child.

Braig tried to push past him into the room, which forced Even to brace himself against the door frame. "C'mon Even, I just want to see him!"

"Leave Braig!" Even snarled and a blast of frigid air threw the marksman across the hallway to land in a heap at the base of the opposite wall. At that moment, Dilan appeared, and he gave Even an apologetic look before he hauled Braig to his feet and dragged him down the hallway and out of sight. No sooner had they gone than Aeleus and Ienzo showed up.

"I'm not going down to the labs." Even told them quietly "I'm staying with Xehanort until he's well enough to return. I don't think it's safe to leave him alone at all right now."

Aeleus nodded. "Would you like me to have breakfast sent up for you two?"

"That would be wonderful, thank you. Having lunch sent up would be even more so. I want the three of you to meet here for dinner, as having the four of us here would probably make Xehanort feel safer." Aeleus nodded again and led Ienzo away to the labs to begin the day's work, while Even went back to the bedroom as he wished, and not for the first time, that the apartment doors had locks on them.

When he walked through the bedroom door, he found Xehanort sitting curled up in a ball of misery in the middle of the bed, arms wrapped around his legs with his head down on his knees, crying. He had obviously heard the confrontation at the door. Even sat down on the bed and held his arms out, and Xehanort hesitated only for a moment before he crawled into the offered embrace.

"You have nothing to fear, Xehanort." Even said soothingly as he gently rocked the younger apprentice and stroked his hair "Dilan, Aeleus, and I will protect you, and Braig will never touch you again."

"You're... you're not angry with me? You're not going to call me a whore?" Xehanort asked in a tiny voice, and Even suddenly wanted to go beat some sense into his master for the way he had treated his once favored apprentice, but he had to settle for trying to comfort the distraught person sitting on the bed next to him.

"No, Xehanort. I'm not going to do what Master Ansem did. You're not at fault for what Braig did to you. He took advantage of you and hurt you, and he will never do it again as long as I draw breath."

"It's not my fault?"

"No, it's not. All you did was make a bad decision, a decision that Braig should have never asked you to make to begin with. He is to blame, not you." Xehanort looked into Even's green eyes for a long moment, as if he was searching for any hint of deception, and upon finding none, dissolved into a fresh wave of tears and laid his head on the elder's shoulder. Even allowed him to cry himself out, and after several minutes, Xehanort sat up, sniffling a bit still, and mopped at his face with his pajama sleeve just as a soft knock sounded at the door.

"Go wash your face." Even instructed quietly, and he helped Xehanort stand up and walk into the bathroom before he went to answer the door. This time, it was a servant bearing a serving cart with breakfast, which was laid out on the small dining table in the kitchenette. Once the servant had gone and the door was firmly closed behind him, Even took the time to make that ice pack, which he then set aside for later. Xehanort came out of the bedroom then, gingerly patting his battered face dry.

"You're not going to the labs?" he asked quietly as Even beckoned him to sit down at the table, which he did, very carefully, though he still hissed in pain between his teeth.

"No," Even replied as he sat down as well and began to fill his plate "I'm going to stay with you until you can return to work, and then you and I will work together from now on."

"Why?" Xehanort had filled his own plate, but he only stared down at it and pushed his food around with his fork.

Even took a big gulp of his coffee, just the thing he needed after the events of the previous night. "Because you don't deserve to be hurt that way. No one does, and if Master Ansem will not protect you, then I will. Now if you do not eat your food instead of playing with it, I will sit you on my lap and spoon feed you like a baby."

Xehanort looked up in shock at that last statement. "You wouldn't!"

Even took another drink from his mug and unfolded the newspaper that had been delivered along with the meal. "I would, and I have. Just ask Ienzo the next time you see him. Now eat, or else."

Xehanort took a bite of his scrambled eggs. "Happy now?"

Even looked over the paper for a brief moment and then turned a page. "Not until that plate is clear. You are underweight, and that cannot stand."

Xehanort Hmphed! but did as he was told, and for a while the only sounds in the room were those of forks clinking against the plates and the rustling of Even's newspaper. After several minutes, a yawn from the younger made Even look up to see Xehanort nodding his head as he tried to stay awake, and a quick glance at his plate showed that he had eaten most of what he had put on it. He really needed to eat more, but he was clearly exhausted, so food could wait; he needed to sleep.

"Come Xehanort." Even said gently as he stood up from the table and carefully pulled Xehanort to his feet "Let's get you back to bed."

Xehanort didn't protest as he was walked back into the bedroom and tucked into bed. He fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow, and Even silently repeated his promise to keep the younger safe as he quietly left the room and fetched the ice pack after wrapping it in a small hand towel. Manipulated the magic that he had used to make it, he molded it to fit over Xehanort's face, so all of the swelling was being touched. He would leave it there for a short while and give it a chance to bring the swelling down a bit before removing it. He then left the room, quietly shut the door, and settled himself into his favorite window seat with a book and waited for time to pass.

Xehanort slept most of the day. Even woke him briefly for lunch, but then he went right back to sleep after eating, which made the elder wonder how long it had been since he had last had a full night's sleep. In the mid afternoon, Dilan, Aeleus, and Ienzo returned from the labs, and the four of them spent a quiet two hours until dinner time reading books and discussing their latest research. Just before seven in the evening, Xehanort wandered into the sitting room, still looking very tired and groggy, but Even was pleased to note that the swelling and bruising on his face had begun to go down. Promptly at seven, a servant appeared with dinner for the five of them, and Even had to threaten Xehanort will a lap feeding again.

"He'll do it too, Xehanort." Ienzo stated emphatically, his cheeks stained red with embarrassment "So you had better eat like he says." Dilan and Aeleus chuckled with amusement, and Xehanort conceded defeat and began to eat. He cleared his plate like he'd been told, and then he began to talk about going back to his own rooms so he could go back to bed.

"You're staying here for now, Xehanort." Even said "It's not safe for you to be alone, so until it is, you're going to stay with me."

"But I don't want to intrude..."

"You're not intruding. I'll do whatever needs to be done to keep Braig away from you, and that includes letting you stay here. Now why don't you go take a shower and get ready for bed?"

Aeleus tossed his napkin down on his empty plate and stood up from the table. "I'll get your things from your room for you, Xehanort." He then walked out of the room as Xehanort stammered his thanks. In short order, Xehanort was bathed, dressed in clean pajamas, and tucked back into bed. Even fussed over him like he did Ienzo, smoothing out the blankets, brushing his hair out of his face, replacing the ice pack, and asking him if he needed anything.

"I'll be in the other room if you need me, alright?" he said as he sat on the bed "Come get me if you need anything, I don't care how small it is or if I'm sound asleep." He stood up and began to walk out of the room.

"Even?" Xehanort mumbled, well on his way to dreamland already.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

Even smiled gently, even though he knew that Xehanort couldn't see it. "You're welcome, Xehanort."

******

Even was surprised that, during the course of the next several days, Master Ansem never demanded an explanation of why he had switched the lab partners around. Nor did he ever say anything about Xehanort not staying in his own rooms. Maybe no one had told him. Maybe Even's threat to Braig had been enough to make him keep quiet.

Xehanort returned to the lab three days after his release from the infirmary, and he kept himself glued to Even's side whenever Braig was near. Just being in the same room as the sharpshooter made him shake in fear, a fact that Braig ruthlessly exploited while still staying within the boundaries that Even had set down. He didn't speak to Xehanort or attempt to touch him in anyway, but he went out of his way to walk close to him, and sent him leers and lecherous grins whenever their eyes met.

"It will be alright, Xehanort." Even told him quietly one day as they cleaned up their work station "We won't let him touch you." Xehanort gave a small nod to show that he heard, but the look in his eyes made it clear that he didn't entirely believe what had been said. Once they were finished in the lab, they washed up for dinner, and, in what had become the norm during the previous couple of weeks, Xehanort sat himself between Even and Aeleus at the table, while Ienzo sat on Even's other side, and Dilan sat across from Even, leaving Braig to sit between Dilan and Ansem. The seven almost always took their meals together, and while Xehanort, Even, Dilan, Aeleus, and Ienzo chatted away about books that they had read, events in town, their work in the lab, and many other things, Ansem and Braig had only each other to speak to. If one of them tried to speak to the other five, whatever they said was acknowledged and then dismissed.

Finally, Master Ansem had had enough.

He slammed his cutlery down on the table and stood up from his chair. "What is the meaning of this... disrespect!" he demanded. The conversation between the five came to a halt, and they all turned their heads to look at their master in unison. None of them said anything, and Even felt his lip curl in disgust. The so called Ansem the Wise had no idea why five of his apprentices were shutting him out, when it should have been obvious.

"Well?" Master Ansem demanded again.

"You support that.. rapist." Even stated evenly, pointing at Braig, whose single eye flashed with sudden anger "We do not. Until you acknowledge that Xehanort is a victim here, we have nothing to say to you or Braig."

Master Ansem's normally genial face twisted in anger. "How dare you! Braig had been with you since you were all children, and you dare to accuse him of such a thing!"

"It is not an accusation if it is true." Dilan said firmly, and Even saw Xehanort begin to shake slightly out of the corner of his eye.

"So you would rather stand by and believe that whore's-" Ansem – Even couldn't in good conscience think of him as Master Ansem anymore – pointed directly at Xehanort, and the younger man flinched back in his chair as if he had been physically struck " - lies than support the man that you grew up with?"

"They are not lies." Aeleus spoke up "I have every confidence that Xehanort is telling the truth, and the sooner that you realize that and lock Braig up in the prisons where he belongs, the better off we will all be."

"I guess I was mistaken in taking Xehanort in, then." Ansem said in a low tone "If this is what my good deed has gotten me; disrespect and a whore spreading lies to cover up his promiscuity."

Even heard a choked sob, and Xehanort's chair crashed to the floor as he leapt up from the table and fled the room in tears. Even calmly patted his lips with his napkin, tossed it down on his plate, and then stood up from his chair and began to walk out of the room to follow Xehanort.

"Even, I did not dismiss you from the table." Ansem said dangerously, but Even didn't acknowledge that he had heard; he simply walked out. Behind him he heard three other chairs being scooted back from the table as Aeleus, Dilan, and Ienzo also left the table to follow him. They caught up with him in the corridor, and the group split up to search for Xehanort, with Ienzo accompanying Even.

They found him in one of the unused wings of the castle. It had once housed servants during Ansem's grandfather's time, but Ansem's father had cut back on the castle staff and plowed the time, money, and labor saved back into the towns that surrounded it. They were easily able to follow his footprints in the thick dust to a room that was empty save a few rickety chairs, where they found him on his hands and knees in the middle of the floor, heaving up what little dinner that he had been able to eat. They knelt down beside him, and Ienzo placed a hand comfortingly on his shoulder, while Even held his hair out of the way and rubbed his back until the heaves had ended. Then without a word, Even pulled him back away from the mess until they were sitting on the floor next to each other, and like he had that morning in his bedroom, he wrapped his arms around Xehanort's shaking form and gently rocked him. Xehanort cried into his shoulder, clinging to the material of Even's shirt in a white knuckled grip, as if he was afraid that Even would vanish if he let go of him.

"It will be alright, Xehanort." Even murmured soothingly, but the younger man gave no indication that he had heard. Once his cries had tapered off into sniffles and hiccups, Even stood him up and began to walk him back to their room, with Ienzo holding Xehanort's free hand.

Later, as he was putting Xehanort to bed, the first thoughts of leaving began to flutter into his mind. The blond frowned; leave Radiant Garden, the only home he had ever known, that any of them had ever known? Where would they go? How would they get there? Even had known for years that there were other worlds out there, but he hadn't the slightest idea on how one would go about traveling to a different one. Besides, if things became unbearable in the castle, they could simply leave it and move back into town. They could end their apprenticeships at any time if need be, though Even admitted to himself that he really didn't want to do that if at all possible. But if it came down to a choice of keeping the position that he had held since the age of 12 or taking Xehanort somewhere where he didn't have to worry about Braig's intentions or Ansem's anger, then dropping the apprenticeship easily won out.

Xehanort whimpered softly in his sleep, and Even spent a moment soothing him as he wondered how he had become so protective of the younger apprentice in such a short time. Maybe it had something to do with his realization that Xehanort was still a child in many ways, or maybe it was because it could have been any of them in his position. If Even had been repeatedly used and abused by someone that he had once trusted, he liked to think that one of the others would have been there for him like he was there for Xehanort.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts, and Even gently brushed a few stray strands of Xehanort's hair out of his face, and then he got up to see who was knocking. Opening the door, he found Dilan and Aeleus waiting on the other side, so he let them in, and they sat down around the fireplace as had become their habit since Xehanort's release from the infirmary. Ienzo curled up on the couch next to Even and said in a quiet voice:

"I don't want to eat with Ansem and Braig anymore, Even, not until they stop saying such cruel things about Xehanort."

"We're not going to, Ienzo." Even looked up at Aeleus and Dilan, who nodded in agreement "We'll either eat in here or we'll go out." They drew wages as apprentices for their work (Though Ienzo's was closer to an allowance than a wage.) but since their room and board was provided, they didn't spend all that much, which meant that they could easily afford to eat out for every meal if they wished.

They talked about their work in the lab for a while longer, but their hearts weren't in the conversation after the events in the dining room, so Even asked Dilan to stay with Xehanort while he put Ienzo to bed. Looking after Xehanort demanded a great deal of the senior apprentice's attention, but he still made time to spend with the boy that was his son in all but blood. The child had been quite distressed at the treatment that Xehanort had been receiving from Ansem and Braig, as it showed a side of the normally benevolent ruler and cheery marksman that he had never seen before. It didn't help that things in the castle had become noticeably tense in the past two weeks; one couldn't help but notice it, and many were wondering when the pressure would finally explode.

"Even," Ienzo asked after he was in bed "Can't we just... take Xehanort and go somewhere else?"

Lords, even the child was thinking about leaving. "I do not know, Ienzo. I have thought about it myself, but I don't know where we would go or how we would get there."

"Xehanort is hurting so much."

"I know, child."

"Is there any way to make him feel better?"

"Only time has a chance of easing that kind of hurt." And getting him away from his abuser and the abuser's enabler. Even added silently. Granted, Ansem had not known what Braig had been doing, but his refusal to see that the sharpshooter was in the wrong once he found out essentially gave him permission to do whatever he wanted, and Even knew with a certainty that if given the chance, Braig would pounce on Xehanort the instant the opportunity presented itself. Xehanort would never be safe as long and he – or Braig – remained in Radiant Garden, and they all knew it.

Once Ienzo was asleep, Even returned to his own rooms, and Dilan told him that Xehanort was sleeping peacefully before the lancer left to seek his own bed. Aeleus had already gone to his own rooms, so Even readied for bed himself before he climbed into the twin sized bed that the castle staff had moved into his bedroom on his request. It allowed Xehanort to use the larger bed, which was necessary as his sleep was often restless, and on a few occasion he had nearly fallen out. Even on the other hand, didn't move much in his sleep, so he could make do with a smaller bed just fine.


-- Part 2
Back to the Main Archive