The Idea of You (Bdoc Royal AU)

Chapter Nineteen: A Peaceful Stroll

[Day 20]

As the afternoon sun began to dip down, Bdubs asked if the other prince would join him on a stroll around the palace grounds before dinner.

Doc happily accepted, so hand in hand they headed out.

It was a gorgeous evening, one of the best Bdubs had seen that month.

The air was comfortingly warm, and occasionally a light breeze would rustle his hair. After spending the day in his garden, this felt like the perfect way to end it.

"So what did you do today?" He asked, looking up at his fiance.

Doc hummed, slightly tilting his head up. "I finished that series you liked."

Bdubs excitedly gasped, swinging their hands. "What did you think?"

"I enjoyed it. The concept was well executed," he explained. "Thank you for introducing it to me. Perhaps- Perhaps I gave fiction too harsh of a critique."

"It brings me great joy that you enjoyed it so much. The series, it means a lot to me," he whispered, lightly squeezing his hand. "You know, I feel like we've talked more about me than you. What're you interested in?"

The hybrid thought for a moment. "There was an old branch of our army that's long since been disbanded. It was deemed unlawful because of their tactics and there were allegations of attempted treason."

"Oh, I don't think I know of them. What was the branch called?"

"Branch of Stealth and Data Collection. I will say their uniforms were very cool. They had deep navy jackets and pants with the acronym of their branch on the sleeves and the insignia on the back," Doc explained, growing audibly more excited.

It was cute.

His eyes were lit up and he had begun to swing their hands more than Bdubs was. He couldn't help but smile at how excited he was. "Their logo was an outline of a fox head with the letters inside stretched to fit. None of the military branches have animal-based insignia anymore, we've strayed away from that. I know you already know that because of the recent meetings and such," he continued to ramble.

Bdubs couldn't stop himself from kissing his cheek. "That was really interesting. I honestly think I'd retain information better if you're the one teaching me." The prince lightly teased.

Doc lightly laughed and kissed his head.

"If I'm not mistaken, we might have time to step into the forest for a little, if you'd like," he offered, looking up at the taller prince.

He softly smiled. "Whatever you'd like."

As the two continued to walk, Bdubs was abruptly hit with a sharp pain in his chest, and a piece of his energy was drained as if he were a fish caught on a line being reeled out of the water. Stumbling, he gripped the sleeve of Doc's white button-up for support.

"Are you alright?!" The hybrid worried, his arms suddenly around him.

"I-" He couldn't answer, as he didn't know. Bdubs touched his forehead, his brow creasing.

Flinching, he looked up in the direction of the forest.

He squinted his eyes and- no, there was no way.

Too worried to say something, he hastily lifted his ankle-length white pleated skirt and ran into the forest whilst Doc shouted protests after him.

The moment he stepped foot in, he stumbled and fell to his knees, overwhelmed with the sounds of faint screams and agony.

"Bdubs? Bdubs wait!" Ignoring Doc he pulled himself to his feet and continued to venture in.

The putrid smell of burning plants was practically suffocating as a blanket of smoke pooled in his view.

"What's happening?" Doc asked, touching his back once he caught up.

Finally looking back at him, Bdubs squeezed his hand. "The forest it's- it's on fire. It's dying!"

Doc stared at him with wide eyes. "But- what? How? What do we do?"

He thought for a moment before decisively nodding. "Run back to the palace. Tell anyone and everyone you see. I'm going to try and hold back the fire," he instructed.

"Are you sure? What if-"

"There's no time to argue, Doc! Go!" He urged, giving him a light push. Reluctantly the hybrid nodded, quickly kissing his forehead before dashing out of the forest.

Turning back to face the depths of the Magical Woods, Bdubs ran towards the source.

He conjured a rain spell, expanding it as high and wide as he could over the forest. The moment he spotted flames he used a waterfall spell to douse the fires.

Clapping his hands then pushing them away, a gust of wind spread from his body, sending out a healing spell.

The cheerful bright lights of the forest dimmed, growing dark and angry.

"Reveal yourself, intruders!" He demanded, charging through the woods and following the fire.

If it weren't for the shield above his head, his clothes would've long been soaked. Although the rain spell wasn't enough to extinguish the fire, it was preventing it from spreading any faster.

His breaths became more labored as he felt himself grow weaker. A mix of the weakened forest and him expending himself with so much magic was draining him far too fast.

He couldn't afford to be so reckless, but he hadn't any other options.

With steady breaths, he extended a hand. "Don't run, come face me," he murmured, slowly curling his fingers in.

There were muffled protests, but through the forest, he had beckoned a person wielding a high-tech weapon. Their face was covered by a digital mask, the screen displaying a simple white outline of a fox head.

"Who are you?" He asked while trying to stay as steady as possible.

I can't use this many spells at once. It's going to kill me.

Dropping the culprit on the ground, he rested his foot on their neck. "Speak! Or I'll hurt you in more ways than you can imagine."

"You're as good as dead," the person snarled. In a flash, they raised their weapon and pulled the trigger. Bdubs crossed his arms up in front of his face but he couldn't conjure any form of defensive spell to prevent the ball of fire that burnt his skin.

Recoiling in pain, he screamed and dropped the shield above his head to let the rain douse him. The burning pain quickly began to fade as he realized the grass had grown over his feet.

No, please, don't waste your energy healing me, focus on yourself, he scolded the forest.

The stranger had gotten up and he hit Bdubs in the temple with the butt of the gun-like weapon. He stumbled to the ground and did his best to shake away the dizzy feeling.

Looking up, he found himself staring down the end of the weapon.

"This forest won't make it through the night and neither will you."