Sanctuary

Chapter 8: Freed

The sound of his own heartbeat was suffocating. It felt like it was about to be ripped out of his chest. He pulled his dagger out from Laxus' stomach, picked up his sword and ran from Laxus' sight. He continued running until he reached the museum exit and ran some more.

What is he doing here? Why did I have to run into him? Why Laxus?!

Freed quickly wiped away at his eyes to clear his vision. The rain had turned into a drizzle and Freed had no intention of running anywhere but forward. He stopped inside an alleyway a few blocks from the museum. He was panting heavily, trying to collect all of his thoughts.

"Freed!"

A voice from the other side of the alley caught Freed's attention. When he turned he saw a man, a bit shorter than him, making his way toward him. He had short silver hair and grey eyes. He looked almost younger than Natsu.

"Run into any trouble?" he asked.

Freed hesitated. A million thoughts were running through his head at that moment.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," he replied. "Did you get the cuff?"

The man pulled out the black silk bag. He dumped out the silver snake headed cuff onto Freed's hands. Freed pulled it closer to his face to inspect the artifact.

"Wonder what's so special about it." He continued to examine it, "Nice work Alexander, the boss will be pleased." He threw it back at the boy and made his way outside the alley.

It's best if I keep the incident with Laxus to myself.

Freed and Alexander walked until they reached the familiar town of Moonlight. They walked past the center of town where Laxus and Freed had first fought the soldiers, past the cathedral where Laxus fought Isaiah. The two stopped at a large mansion near the end of Moonlight. The mansion was different from the rest of the town. The town was dark and broken. The mansion looked like it had just been built. The lights gave an elegant aesthetic to it.

Alexander pushed the door open and Freed was met with a lively environment. The mansion looked almost like a palace on the inside. It was crawling with members of the Twin Snake's guild. It looked as though their guildmaster was throwing a party, for what occasion Freed had no idea. It seemed to be a common occurrence in this guild. Freed moved towards the staircase.

"I'm going to change. Give the cuff to the guildmaster and let him know I'll be right down" Freed ordered Alexander. He nodded, walking down the hall to the main room. Freed walked upstairs and was met with a large hallway splitting the mansion into many other rooms. He walked four doors down and entered his room to see a man sitting on his bed.

"Welcome home."

Freed closed his door, walked straight to his closet and started pulling his sweater off. The man shifted his legs off the bed, placed his elbows on his knees, and rested his chin on the palms of his hands. He was watching Freed strip attentively.

The man was tall. Just like Alexander's, his hair was silver and his eyes matched. His hair was short, with a middle split and an undercut. He was dressed for the occasion downstairs, under a black vest he wore a burgundy dress shirt with a black tie. His jawline was sharp and his facial features would be considered above conventionally attractive.

Once Freed had changed into a white tank top and sweatpants, he walked over to his bed. He hovered over the man, who was now looking up at him. He climbed onto his lap, straddling him, and wrapped his arms around his neck. Freed was looking into the man's eyes, their faces inches apart.