Deep in the woods, two figures cut through the leaves, along the rough roads. Axl takes the lead, clearing the way for the young man behind him. No words were spoken between them since the start, only the rustling sound of the grass on their steps. Still, Axl slows down the pace, protecting at the corner of his eyes.

Apparently, the battle has drained out the last drops of Reid’s energy, as his face pales like paper, the steady breath now struggles for air. Holding the bandaged wound, he frowns. Drops of sweat rolled down, soaking his dark hair. Even though the wounds send waves of pain, Reid clenches his teeth, not letting out even the slightest sound. He doesn’t want to waste any minutes nor let him see his vulnerable moments. But none of those efforts were enough to pass Axl’s observation. Years have trained this man well enough to know just from his breath. “You still want to continue?" Axl stopped. The next thing Reid knew, Axl had grabbed his hand, strongly rolling up the sleeve before he could say anything. At the moment, his brows are slightly furrowed, and countless crimson injuries bloom in his sight. Tracing down, the culprit of Reid’s pain leaked some trails of blood under the white bandages. From all this, the fact that Reid was still able to walk is already a miracle.

“Continue like this? Do you even know what you did to your body?" Axl growled in fury. Waves of melancholy, of fury at Reid, at himself, flooded his mind. The hand in his hand was cold as ice, too fragile as if it could break at any moment. “I don’t care. I need to save him.” Reid struggled to say simple sentences. His voice lowered with no strength left. “What?” The dark eyes caught the sight of Axl observing the wound seriously, “ Weren’t your masterpiece?” Axl flinches for a second. Without saying anything further, he pushes down on Reid’s shoulder, forcing him to sit down on a log. The hands easily roll up the blouse, revealing the entire dazzling wound on his limb. “Wh-what are you doing?” Reid fell in surprise, instinctively trying to push Axl away. His hands barged into the rockhard chest, a thing he had never noticed before.

“Don’t move or I have to tie you down.” Axl fixed his deep black eyes at embarrassing Reid.

Being in a weakened state, struggling will give him no use. He is no match for the strong hands pressing him down, the only option left is to compromise. In his blurry mind, he can feel the big hands expertly remove each layer of the bandages, relieving the utter pain carved into the skin. The wailing of pain helplessly escapes the dry throat. Notice the trembling body under his hands, the frown can’t help but deepen. As quickly as he could, he changed the bandages to save Reid from infection. “L-leave me.” Reid groaned. They could never know how far he has forced himself to fight. Pressing down all the pain, speeding up the blade in those hands to protect everyone. An effort enough to push him to the edge of death and throw away the life, they have tried to bring back. None of that matter, this wasn’t the first time he got injured. But this time is far worse. “You really are stubborn.” Axl smiled challengingly, “Mind if I lock your mouth?” God knows what kind of method he could use. Reid falls into silence.

Reid is finally stabilized after his wounds are treated. A sign of life sparks on his face. Let out a deep sigh, Axl's stiff shoulder, alas, could be relaxed. They have crossed the Averi border and have a few miles left to reach their destination. The less time is wasted, the better the situation. The black eyes drifted to the sight of the man, leaning on the tree with sweat covering his forehead. For the first time, the distant feeling in him has disappeared, disappeared, leaving only a warm, unexplainable feeling. The dark eyes could hardly open, looking at him in confusion. With a quick motion, Axl wraps Reid in his cloak, carrying him effortlessly on his back. The warmth of Axl slowly spread over him, easing away the coldness. He wants to struggle to escape, but none of them could match the steady back he has. Leaning on his back, Reid quickly drifts into a sound sleep. “Eventually you are just a boy," Axl laughed to himself.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

If only they could stop at this moment.

Soon, the sight of Sylvester’s mansion appears before Axl. A few steps away from a new battleground, to the monster, he has served for years. The only difference now, he is no longer alone, no longer be tricked. “3 guards ahead and 2 hiding on the tower.” The voice on his back warned. Since when he… Axl surprise. But then again, is Reid. For him, this is nothing.

Getting through that gate without attracting any attention is indeed a challenge, especially with that many guards. For Axl, a sudden appearance after days of disappearing at this moment definitely raises suspicions, not to mention Reid, a complete stranger. The two fall into contemplation. Suddenly, a faint sound echoed, a raven resting before Axl. “Orville? Aren’t you supposed to be next to Lord Alderic?” Peeking from Axl’s neck, Reid was surprised to see a black raven jumping around in excitement. He was sent to Hyram a few days ago to announce the return of Alderic, yet, the raven was being hunted when he reached the mansion. Having no choice but to hide, Orville has been separated from its master. The worries it carries are enough to lose some feathers, transforming it from the mighty raven of death into something barely different from a poor sparrow. Seeing Orville like this definitely makes Axl cry with joy. Orville would normally ignore or, at worst, attack whenever he saw Axl. Orville the raven flies toward them with happiness. “Orville!” But instead, the black raven rests on Reid’s head, to everyone’s surprise.

“Can you tell it to go somewhere else…”

“I wish I could...” Orville, you damn raven.

“Orville here means the North Lord is in danger,” Axl observes the guards seriously, with Orville nodding intensely on Reid’s head. “How do we get in?” Reid sighed. Axl paused for a moment, trying to swallow down his dry throat. Never in his life, had he had this much determination and bravery as he has, “I have an idea... but you won’t like it." “Wh-” before Reid could answer, Axl lifted him up on his hands, carrying him to his chest. In a split second, Reid is leaning on the warm embrace. Such gestures as carrying a treasure. Orville quickly hides under the cloak.

“I will kill you, Axl,” Reid’s face blushing from embarrassment. “You can do whatever you want after this,” Axl one hand stroking his hair to the back, revealing the long scar, the other tightening the holding. Lowering his head, he whispers, “I need you to be good and play this with me.” He covered half of Reid’s face, only leaving the lips.

“Axl, long time no see.” The guard is greeting Axl as he steps out of the woods. Blades are already ready to strike when they notice a person on Axl’s hands. “Oh, never know I’m this famous.”, Reid could feel a light laugh falling on his head. The same cold laugh he heard the first time they met at the castle. The bottomless eyes scan through the blade threateningly, “Who are you holding?" they cautiously ask, just to get a challenging laugh from Axl. “This?” He places on Reid’s head a kiss while piercing at the others, “My lover.” The answer surely sends everyone into utter astonishment. The reputation of Axl in Hyram is infamous enough that even an ordinary act of his could be illegal, and no one could question the motive. And now, all of a sudden, a lover. Under the thick cloak, Reid could explode from the loud noise of his heart. But he knows... though making no sense, this answer could explain the absence of Axl in the last few days. They would think he was busy with this "lover,” not actually betraying the master. Still wearing the same cruel smile, Axl shows no sign of difference. As if Axl earlier was a different person. Feeling the doubt from the guards, Reid sighs quietly. I will regret this... Gently, Reid held Axl’s neck lovingly, resting his head, acting like they were unseparated lovers. The smile on Axl's face deepened as he arrogantly walked to the gate. Until a guard, still in alarm, warned, “I can’t let you i-” Axl, this time, glanced at him coldly. A devilish smile carved, “Who are you to question Lord Arioch Sylvester's loyal guard.”

With that, they successfully got into the mansion without a scratch… Only Axl got a punch from Reid.