#in honour of me listening to manic for the past few hours

[eryiss]

Chapter One - Meeting

Summary: Laxus Dreyar, prince of Fiore, has been trapped in the town of Magnolia for months by order of his grandfather. After a failed attempt at leaving ends up with the prince injured, his grandfather punishes him by adding a new guard to his retainer team. An arrogant, up-tight, overly confident, handsome bastard named Freed Justine. [Fraxus | Fantasy AU]

This was originally written as a one shot for Fraxus day, but it got a little out of hand so here we are. It’s inspired by the Fire Emblem games, but I don’t know enough about the games to really call it an official AU, so I thought it best to just call it a fantasy AU. But if you know the series, you might catch some references.

You can read this on FanFiction, Archive of our Own, or under the cut. You can find the chapter list here. Hope you enjoy it ^.^

Chapter One: Meeting

"This is bullshit."

Laxus' words were practically spat out. The prince was sitting atop his bed, bandages wrapped around his otherwise bare torso, essentially pouting as he was forced to maintain direct eye contact with one of his retainers; Bickslow. He was vaguely aware that, leaning against the wall of his chambers, Evergreen was watching both men with an expression that would probably be equal parts patronising and amused. It made Laxus' annoyance at the situation worse.

He had been forced to chambers by his grandfather – and king – while the older man 'decided what to do with him.' Bickslow and Evergreen had been allowed to keep him company, and Bickslow had decided he would try to heal Laxus' injuries while they had nothing better to do. Hence why the two men were holding such intense eye contact.

Apparently Bickslow's magic worked better that way. Laxus didn't understand why, and Bickslow only explained by saying the eyes were the windows to the soul.

His injuries came from his own stupidity; he was mature enough to admit that. For the past few months, he hadn't been allowed out of the town that his castle looked over, and he had been getting somewhat stir crazy. Multiple times he had found himself in his grandfather's office, asking for permission to leave the bounds of Magnolia to do something – anything – in a place where it wasn't immediately obvious that he was royalty. Each time – even when the requests were rational such as when he wanted to camp for a weekend in a forest a half-hour's walk away from the city boarders – he was turned down under the excuse that it was best for his safety if he stayed. Every time, Laxus had felt his anger grow until he eventually snapped.

So he… ran away.

He resented the term his grandfather used, but it was basically true. He had convinced his retainers that it would be best for them all to get away, and intended to travel to the nearest city, have a small vacation there, and then return. It would have taken two weeks at the most and would have done the blonde a world of good. His plan had not gone as well as he had hoped.

Two things had gone wrong, as far as Laxus knew. One; the night guard who he had bribed for his silence had a change of heart and had gone to Makarov to explain what Laxus was doing. Two; there had been a very minor attempt at kidnapping him.

It wasn't as bad as everyone was making it out to be, really. Yes, someone had tried to kidnap the prince of Fiore on his first outing in months. Yes, at one point he had a sword to his throat that could have killed him. Yes, the three of them had been taken unaware and the fight had not been as easy as it should have been. But it wasn't as if Laxus had been taken; Evergreen's magic made quick work of most of the kidnappers and Laxus and Bickslow were by no means weak and vulnerable. Even the injures Laxus had gained had actually come from his horse being spooked and bucking him off, rather than the kidnappers themselves.

Annoyingly, the guards looking for Laxus appeared at the same time the kidnappers were forced to retreat. And they didn't believe Laxus' story about where his injuries came from, or about how long he planned to be away.

So now, he was essentially fucking grounded.

"Oh, that's what you think," Evergreen said, incredibly sarcastically. "I thought you loved everything about this situation and wanted it to go on forever. Oh you're so hard to read, Laxus. Thank you for the clarification."

"I can kill you Ever," Laxus grunted. "I'm a prince, I can have you beheaded."

"Firstly, no you can't. That hasn't been allowed for centuries," Ever laughed. "And secondly, if you killed me, the only friend you'd have in the world is Bickslow. Imagine that. Just Bickslow. Bickslow."

Laxus chuckled a little, seeing Bickslow's eye twitch as he continued focusing on healing the prince. He couldn't be sure, but Laxus could just see Bickslow raise an arm towards Evergreen's direction and the blonde expected that a certain finger would be raised towards her. He was glad that he had the two of them with him, or he would be both bored out of his mind and stewing in his anger. Also he was fairly sure that fucking horse had broken a rib when it kicked him off, and that would have hurt a lot more without Bickslow's healing.

God, what would happen if they lost their position for helping him. Well, he just wouldn't let that happen.

"You got any idea what they're gonna do?" Evergreen asked, and she was looking at Laxus so obviously was addressing him.

"Who fucking knows," Laxus sighed, wanting to run a hand through his hair but stopping himself so the healing could be continued. "Guards at the doors to my chambers, not even allowed out of the castle, let alone Magnolia. Which is gonna fucking kill me because I can't deal with staying inside this fucking town let alone this stupid fucking old-"

"And we're done!" Bickslow chimed, and Laxus cut himself off by the sudden chill that overtook him at the absence of Bickslow's magic.

"Doesn't feel fucking done," Laxus grunted, looking at the scabs and cuts on his arms he knew Bickslow could have healed.

"Well, maybe if you weren't being such a grumpy bitch then I'd make all your injuries go away. But you are, so suck it up," The healer grinned wide and manically, looking towards Evergreen. "And if I remember correctly, I was your only friend for quite a long time, and look how you turned up," He paused, looking Evergreen up and down. "Actually, she's right. If you turn out like that then you're screwed."

"Asshole," Ever snapped, but Laxus saw her smiling a little.

A small but playful argument occurred between the two retainers, and it allowed Laxus some time to think to himself. He should have known that this would happen in some way, it wasn't as if he would return home from his two weeks away to cheers and forgiveness and a parade to honour his successful attempt at running away. It would always end up in this situation, although being confined to his bedroom wouldn't have been as bad if he hadnt seen the aforementioned room for a week as he had intended.

He continued to spiral into a mess of anger – aimed at both himself and the situation he found himself in – for a little while as Evergreen and Bickslow continued to argue with each other; he wasn't listening so couldn't tell what exactly they were picking at anymore.

The situation was broken when the two large doors to Laxus' chambers were pushed open, slamming against the walls they were attached to. He saw Gildarts, one of Makarov's most trusted knights and retainer, swagger through the doors that he had opened with far too much gusto. Normally, Laxus would have gotten pissed at someone storming into his room without permission, but Gildarts was almost definitely acting on the king's orders and, as the king was kind of pissed off at Laxus, he didn't want to make it worse.

"Your gramps wants to see ya, kid," Gildarts grinned, apparently knowing Laxus wasn't gonna risk biting back on his slight taunt. "You really pissed him off, y'know."

Laxus stood, walking to the door. He spared him a glance as he muttered. "Thanks."

The two men walked through the large, lavish halls of Magnolia Castle in silence, with Laxus walking a few steps in front of Gildarts. He made sure his face was devoid of any emotion, partly because he was trained to hide his feelings from his youth, and also because if he got control of himself now, he was less likely to explode when face to face with his grandfather.

When they reached the king's office, Gildarts stood to the side of the door, assumedly so he could stand guard. Taking in a breath, Laxus pushed open the doors and walked into Makarov's office.

His grandfather was sitting behind his large wooden desk, which had stacks of paper on one side and a large lamp on the other. The king looked up at the entrance of his grandson, removed the glasses he was wearing and looked at the blonde with an expression that screamed 'disappointed but not angry.' Laxus bristled a bit at this, because he knew his grandfather was just as volatile as he was and he was pissed, not just disappointed. This was the façade he wore when he was acting as a king rather than himself.

So he was dealing with King Makarov and not his grandfather. Great.

As he walked further into the room, he saw that there was another man standing to the side. He was facing the king, so Laxus couldn't see his face, but he had long green hair and was wearing typical swordsman's armour: predominant black fabric with silver lining, and small plates of armour over vulnerable parts of his body but not enough to limit his movement. He also had a red cloak over his shoulder, which connoted a high rank. Laxus didn't recognise him, though.

"Take a seat, Laxus," Makarov stated, voice somewhat tired. It grated on the blonde's nerves.

"I'd rather stand," He grumbled a little, wanting to have a small amount of power in the conversation.

"If you must," Makarov leant forward. "As I'm sure you've realised, I am not happy with your behaviour over the last few days. Not only did you willingly go against my orders for you to stay in the city, which I did to keep you safe," Laxus rolled his eyes at that. "But you also took your retainers, and therefore put them both in danger with you."

"I wasn't in danger," Laxus muttered.

"You were nearly kidnapped Laxus, that's essentially the definition of being in danger," Makarov snapped, and now there was no doubt that Makarov was angry at him, not just disappointed. "You were reckless, you were childish, and you put your retainers in danger just because you can't handle a small amount of control being taken away from you."

"Small?" Laxus gritted his teeth. "I haven't left this fucking town in months."

"People in that 'fucking town' are going through a lot worse than that, and they don't throw tantrums over it. Get over yourself," Makarov snapped, his kingly façade slipping. "Clearly, what you've done isn't acceptable and it can't happen again. After looking at the problem from a few angles, I believe that the best way to stop this is-"

"You're gonna keep me in the castle," Laxus snapped. "Or in my chambers or tie me to my fucking bed or whatever. Stop fucking around and tell me."

"Don't interrupt me, brat," Makarov snapped again. "As I was saying, that the best way to stop this from happening again is to admit that, perhaps, I misjudged the effects of keeping you in magnolia. I didn't expect it to mess with your head as much as it did, and I clearly didn't expect you to do something so reckless as to run away-"

"I wasn't trying to run away!" Laxus yelled his protest.

"Clearly your freedom is more important to you than I expected," Makarov continued as if he hadnt heard Laxus' claim. "So, I'm going to work on a way to allow more freedom while keeping you safe from potential attack."

Laxus quietened at that, not exactly sure how to respond. The idea of Makarov admitting he was wrong wasn't farfetched – he wasn't irrational – but to hear him do so after Laxus had pissed him off was confusing. It was clear that Makarov was still angry at him, and whatever his plan was wasn't going to be as simple as him saying things can go back to the way they used to be. But, with how much he was craving more freedom, he expected any punishment he might have to take would be worth it.

"From what I've been told, you were taken unaware by the kidnappers," Makarov continued. "That, to me, suggests that there is a problem with your retaining team."

"You are not replacing them!" Laxus spoke up, teeth gritting again. "It was my fault they were distracted."

"I don't doubt it," Makarov glared at his grandson. "I know you have a good relationship with Evergreen and Bickslow, and I don't hold it against you. I was the same at your age. But I believe that, given the target you now have on your back, having two retainers – one of whom focuses on healing – is not effective. Hence why Mr Justine is here."

Makarov nodded towards the knight who was still standing in the room, a little behind Laxus. The blonde looked back, to see he had a stoic expression on his somewhat fragile features; the man himself didn't seem fragile, Laxus could tell this from a glance. He looked back to his grandfather.

"Don't recognise him," Laxus stated. This was unusual, he knew of almost everyone working in the castle, even if he didn't speak to most of them.

"Mr Justine here has been working through the rehabilitation program, and is one of the most successful participants," Makarov explained, and Laxus had to fight a roll of his eyes. So he was one of Makarov's little pet projects. "As you can tell from his uniform, he's gained the position of a knight, which he has had for quite some time. He's a good fighter, effective with a sword and has the mind of a tactician. Which is why I believe that he will be effective when he takes control of your retainer team."

"No," Laxus stated, tone not leaving room for argument. "He's a fucking criminal! And you want him to follow me everywhere? Are you fucking kidding me?"

"He is as much a criminal as you are," Makarov spoke calmly, cutting off Laxus before he could speak. "By going against my orders and leaving Magnolia, you technically committed treason. Therefore, you are a criminal."

"Oh fuck off," Laxus growled, knowing Makarov was baiting him for a reaction. "When I was a kid, I slammed the doors too much when you told me not to, was that treasonous too?"

"Technically speaking, yes," Makarov wouldn't break eye contact with Laxus, making the blonde bristle again. "But that is beside the point, Mr Justine is no longer a criminal in my eyes and therefore he is no longer a criminal in any law in this country. I trust him and he has proven himself to be both reliable and effective in his work. As far as I'm concerned, that's all that matters."

"What if I say no," Laxus crossed his arms. "Or what if Bicks or Ever have a problem. They ain't gonna like some random criminal telling them what to do."

"From what I know, Bickslow and Evergreen have already formed something of a friendship with Mr Justine here, so I doubt they'll have any problems with him joining your team," Makarov explained, and Laxus frowned. He didn't know that. "And as for your opinion on it, I won't be taking it into account. Just like you didn't take my orders into account when you ran off because you wanted to stretch your legs. But if you continue to act like a child and fight with me about this, I may take your recommendation to keep you restrained to the castle on board. Thank you for that."

There was a great urge to tell his grandfather to go fuck himself that Laxus found himself fighting, and the only thing stopping him was the fact Makarov was going to follow through on his threat if he was pushed enough.

The blonde turned to the man who was apparently now part of his retainer team and glared at him openly. He didn't know exactly what the man had done to get him arrested and subsequentially put into the rehab program, and he knew that his grandfather wouldn't tell him if he asked. But the fact he was here – and had been taken into the castle's jails; that was the only way people got into the rehab program – meant that it wasn't a small crime. Laxus felt his distrust of the criminal wearing knights armour was justified.

The knight, Mr Justine, looked back at Laxus with an unreadable expression on his face. Neither said anything, and if Laxus wasn't as good at hiding his emotions then he may have squirmed a little under his gaze. The criminal seemed to be assessing him while maintaining eye contact. It was disturbing.

"I expect you to treat him with the same amount of respect you give to your current retainers, Laxus," Makarov commented, standing up and walking to the door of his office. He gave Laxus a pointed glare. "I have to ask you both to leave now, I have work to do."

Mr Justine nodded, bowed and gave the usual goodbye that Makarov was given. Laxus didn't speak to his grandfather as he walked out of the office, and when the door was shut behind them both he looked towards his new retainer with an expression of distrust across his features.

"Gramps said you can look after yourself," Laxus stated, arms crossed. "You agree with that?"

"I'm a better knight that most people here," The man spoke for the first time, voice smooth and confident. "I'm qualified to look after you."

"Prove it. Go to the courtyard and beat me in a fight, hand-to-hand."

There was a moment of silence before the knight spoke again. "No."

"Fucking typical," Laxus muttered. "Why the hell should I trust you as a retainer if you don't have the balls to fight me."

"That isn't the reason I don't wish to fight you," Mr Justine spoke, and Laxus was annoyed that he believed the man. Nobody who spoke that confidentially was scared of a fight. "While you're still recovering, you will have an excuse to why you don't beat me. If the only way to earn your respect is to fight, it will be when neither of us have the luxury of saving face if we lose. So when you've recovered, then I will fight you. Is that acceptable?"

Laxus bit back the urge to use his title as prince against him. The cocky son of a bitch thought he could beat Laxus? And he was confident enough to be acting like that? Bastard. Still, taking away the smugness of his face would be pretty fucking cathartic.

"Fine."

"Very well," Mr Justine turned to walk away, but stopped himself. He looked back to Laxus with the same expression on his face. "I feel I should let you know, for full discretion, that me and your current retainers met and became close when the three of us were part of the king's rehabilitation program, which you seem to not respect."

Laxus' eye twitched. He didn't know that either.

"I can't imagine why they wouldn't mention it to you," The knight continued. "You seem so open to the chance of someone changing who they used to be," His face split into a spiteful, almost cruel looking smile. "Good day, your highness."

He turned on his heel and walked away. Laxus ground his teeth together, felt a rush of anger flow over him, before storming off in the opposite direction.

Bastard.