Cinder-knight (bxb) ||completed

18th rule| you

The knight listened along carefully when the magician started pointing around the map, recalling few places where the witches would gather and what they would do in there. It turns out that wizards and witches were sworn enemies, although they were of the same species, so Pase being one of them was more than ready to help them in capturing the witch they were searching for.

But Eric didn't believe him, not even a tiny bit.

Unlike the prince, who would get swayed by words such as, 'poor', 'lonely' or 'depressed', Eric was more interested in protecting the one who had his heart rather than listening to some shady kid speak about outlandish conspiracy. Therefore, he continued to stare at his prince and nothing else, with his jaw clenched.

He hated how Prince Charming could be so naive to trust people who shouldn't be trusted. And as the sun dipped down, going astray while birds tweeted to form a sad low symphony, Eric stared at the side of his prince's face, getting lost in the medley of different hues that came together to form the most charming man on planet. (literally)

For few minutes, he was so out of it and he certainly didn't realise how the mage glanced and smiled at his star-stricken expression, muttering something like, 'I see someone's in love', that no one heard or acknowledged of.

"It's almost night," the prince suddenly brought up, "I suppose we'll get going then. Thank you for all the information, Pase."

The wizard shook his head, "No wait, I'm sure you guys don't have anywhere to stay. And there's enough space here, so I would be more than glad to take you in."

"Hell no-" Eric tried to say, but the Prince was quick to utter out, "Thank you so much. We appreciate it."

And just like that, Eric had to watch in horror as his prince got ready to sleep in the wizard's cavern, laying out the jacket the knight had given him on the ground and plopping himself down, while the knight was biting his lip with his eyes squeezed tight.

How the hell was Eric going to let his prince sleep on the hard ground with pebbles scattered, which, could probably hurt his soft graceful body?

But then again, the prince's words that reminded him of his place, rang in his head as he heard loud snores coming from the wizard who was sound asleep on the other side of the cave, much further away from where the prince stayed. And after a while, Eric saw how his prince also fell asleep, making him shake in frustration.

Will Pase try to hurt his prince at the devil's hour?

Will his prince break his back by sleeping on the ground?

Will his prince catch a cold, since there was no fire here to keep him warm?

Will his prince get bitten by mosquitoes?

But most importantly, will the wizard try to use a spell on his prince?

Eric wasn't sure, so he ended up unsheathing his sword and sitting right next to the prince's head, while his eyes focused on the wizard, ready to stab him instantly if he tries to do something funny. The knight knew he wouldn't get even an ounce of sleep that night, but it didn't matter to him in the slightest as the paranoia running in his veins prompted him to stay awake, like the coffee to his exhausted body.

Seconds went by. Minutes went by. Even hours went by.

But nothing happened.

Cries of loons, neighs of the horses hitched outside and the loud snores of the sleeping wizard overshadowed the soft mumbles of his prince, who seemed to be saying incoherent words in his slumber. While guarding him, the Knight would sometimes slack off and sway from side to side, but then he would snap out of it and remind himself that knights should not be lazy.

He looked back at the Prince, whose golden strands had covered his face, and when the knight unconsciously tried to tug one of them behind his ear, he stopped himself, seeing how contrast the parred skin of his palm was compared to the prince's smooth complexion.

Eric's hands were scarred since the wounds he would get by brandishing a sword would never be treated. But the prince was different, he had grown up in a life of so much wealth and power, therefore he would rarely get a wound since he didn't have to flourish a sword to survive every second. And even if he did, the royal board of physicians would be there to cure him as fast as they can.

In a way, it was saddening. Some might say being rich doesn't make you happy, but in Eric's opinion, he thought that being rich and unhappy was much better than being poor and unhappy. If you're rich, you will have desperate people whose lives you could mess up and still wouldn't be obliged to face the consequences, as those people will fade away like some unknown side characters.

But if you're poor, then you'll be the person to have your life messed up by a tyrant, who wouldn't give two fucks about you in any way.

Yet, Eric knew, prince charming was different. He had to be different, or the great persona Eric had created in his mind and fallen in love with, wouldn't be there anymore.

He shook his head and stood up, striding towards the sleeping wizard in slow steps, "Get up," he patted Pase's shoulder, making the boy in question whine and roll from side to side.

"Get up." he glowered, and after few minutes of groaning and moaning, the younger got up while rubbing his eyes with his fists, his green lips pouty, long greesy hair tousled beneath the expanse of his shoulder and butt.

The knight didn't say anything else and led the kid out of the cavern, glancing at the sleeping prince one last time before pulling the curtains down as the wizard whined behind him, "Why did you wake me up Eric? I was having one of the best sleeps ever!"

The knight envisaged a sight where he would punch the mage's ogre face to oblivion, but for now, he had to feign a smile, "Who told you my name?"

"Henry did!"

Eric internally rolled his eyes. He was certain the mage was lying, since the prince didn't know his name and kept on calling him anything other than his actual name. In the end, the knight thought to himself that maybe the wizard had used one of his magic skills to find out what his name was. With that thought in his mind, Eric parted his lips to speak.

"Can you wait here for a bit? Don't move and stay right here, okay?"

Pase seemed like he wanted to say something, but he didn't, and nodded with his eyes big and teary. Eric smiled at him and walked into the dark haven of trees, praying that the wizard wouldn't see what he was about to do. He knew a normal human wouldn't see anything in this darkness, but supernaturals? He wasn't sure.

As the black rings of mists surrounded him entirely, fear rose up in his body to the pinnacle. Every trudge he took towards the spot where the horses slept, made him relish on the way his vision became more and more frail.

The crickets taunted him menacingly. But once he felt the way one of the horses nuzzled against the crook of his neck, the fear in his mind faded away as he instantly felt rejoiced. He knew which horse this was, although he couldn't see anything.

Avianthan.

"You hate dark magic right?" Eric whispered, fiddling with her harness until he was finally able to untie the knot so that he could unhitch the mare from the tree, "And there's an evil wizard standing right in front of the cave."

The mare neighed before lunging towards the said place as Eric smirked evilly, feeling like the greatest mastermind in existence.