The Lost Prince (TechnobladexFemReader)

Chapter 21

Five minutes before the hunt...

"ugh…I hate the lower city, it's full of sick peasants"

A group of hunters clad in black leather gear roam the streets of the darkened undercity,  they bore the mark of the witch hunter guild proudly stitched onto their chests. In front of the group is a man holding a compass, it points further into the slums. 

"Shut up already, I can't focus if you're nagging," one of the men snapped at the younger member who had complained. Their hunts took them to all around the continent, but to go into the slums of the capital was new even to them. No one ever reported sightings in the lower city, not that any of the guards would listen to them. The leader stopped at a set of worn down wooden doors, a plaque read "Home for Lost Children, director Philza" an orphanage huh? The outside building looked to be condemned, like no one had taken care of it. Inside the orphanage told a different story. 

ring

The bells rang alerting that someone had walked through the doors, the interior was very well taken care of, corridors were lined with toys but it was still clean. Definitely not something you'd expect in the slums. 

"Keep your crossbows up" The Leader ordered, at his words his men raised their crossbows forward, aware of what's to come. A door creaked down the end of the corridor. A small child with dragonfly wings stepped out in her sleepwear, she rubbed her eyes and stared out at the uninvited guests now standing in the middle of the hall. 

"Holy shit…that's a fake" The youngest member pointed out. 

"So it is!" Their raised voices woke up the rest of the kids who began wondering out loud to see what the commotion was. Most kids had distinguishing features of different kinds of faces. A sick smile danced onto the face of the leader.  Jackpot. 

A Blonde man walked out of the office, his eyes widened when he saw the group of hunters lined up in the halls. 

"Well well well…you the director here?…you know it's illegal to harbor fae in the capital right?…we're gonna have to take you in" 

"please….their just kids" Philza begged the menacing men, his hands raised in surrender. Philza was a peaceful man, he prefered talking to fighting. "we can work something out…just please don't hurt them" 

The man waved his crossbow carelessly while thinking about what to do, he however already knew what he was going to do the moment he saw that fake girl. He was going to make a fortune selling these kids to nobles. But he was going to have fun first.

"You know what, maybe if you give me all the money you have…I'll pretend I didn't see anything" 

Philza nodded, quickly running into his office to grab whatever gold, jewels, coins and valuables he had. He choked back a sob, it was happening all over again. For 100 years he stayed here looking after children, he watched countless of them grow up, remembered every name, remembered what they liked, the sound of their laughter and nothing brought him greater pleasure than to see a child grow up and live happily. He gave them second chances when no one else would. He'd teach them how to live among humans, giving them a special spell when they'd leave the orphanage to look like humans. In the outside world they had to live in constant fear of being found out, but in these walls he'd let them explore their fake lineage to their content.

That was all over now, he'd have to move them…if they could make it through this night. 

Tommy had already left for the night. There was no one who could help them now. 

"it's okay…I'm sure they'll leave if I give them everything we have" 

Philza reasoned with himself, he knew the fate of the orphanage already but held on to hope. He took the sack of valuables, wrapping the bag with a light rope. 

"they will!" Philza spoke, he wanted to convince himself the most. He had no options left. He walked out the door, handing the valuables to the Hunters, their evil looks made him sick to his stomach, man had always been corrupted by greed.

The leader opened the satchel, searching through it. Ten large golds, 40 Large silvers, various bronzes, the bag also contained valuable books and high quality potions that could only be brewed by fae. The man clicked his tongue in annoyance. 

"this ain't enough" 

Philzas' heart dropped.  

"I-Its all we have, I swear!" 

A small child came up to Philzas legs tugging on the fabric of his yukata. Philza could only look down with sadness as he petted the small boy's head. The leader gestured to his lackeys, who all nodded to understand the message.

One by one the men started grabbing children by the arm, roughly pulling them outside. Philzas eyes widened, racing to stop he hit one of the men shoving them out of the way and into the wall, he was about to reach the doors only to come face to face with a crossbow. 

"Move and I'll shoot a bolt right through your skull" 

Philza stopped in his tracks, rage was beginning to bubble up inside him. He glared daggers into the man in front of him, he'd never get away with this. 

"let them go. Their only young"

The leader looked at his man that had been shoved into the wall so hard it formed a hole. Then began to laugh in his face,  finger ready on the trigger.  He glanced back at his lackeys one last time. 

"Shoot the youngest one" the simple demand made Philzas heart stop, without hesitation the youngest hunter pointed his crossbow at the small firefly winged girl, who cowered in fear. 

"no!!" 

The bolt left the crossbow in an instant, its speed was great but seemed to go so painfully slowly in the avian's eyes. In a moment of panic, Philzas wings extended as he used his wind magic to fly to the child's rescue. He grabbed her small wrapping them both in his raven wings to roll out of the way. 

The hunters eyes were wide with confusion, they sat in silence staring at the cocoon of feathers that wrapped tightly around the two. It became clear what had happened.

He was an avian fae, a rare breed of fae who had a strong affinity for wind magic. 

The girl's eyes were shut tight, waiting for the pain to hit her, but it never came. Instead she felt the warm and soft embrace of arms and feathers. 

"It's okay to open your eyes now…" a familiar voice cooed. She looked up to see the always smiling face of her guardian, Philza. He pet her head lovingly, letting his wings drop to the floor as he grunted in pain. 

"w-what happened Philza?" The little girl questioned, seeing his face contort to one of discomfort. Philza looked down at her, he put on his best smile to ease her.

"I'm ok-ack!" 

A bolt suddenly pierced his back, including its head into his skin. Followed by several others, his skin was hot, blood flowing down and soaking his garments. The girl's eyes were wide with fear as she screamed to him, begging the hunters to stop hurting him.  No matter how many bolts hit him he stood his ground, covering the little girl from danger, tears streamed down his face, not from the pain, but from the thought that he could no longer protect his children. Blood pooled around him as he began to lose himself. 

"go get it" The leader demanded, they moved, cautiously approaching before grabbing the girl again. Philza reached out, trying to grab her back, to protect her but it was all for naught. His outstretched hand was heavy and his hands shook, until it was too much. 

With a thud the Avian Guardian fell to the cold stone floor, motionless. 

The children all weeped at the sight of their fallen guardian, crying and screaming for him to get up. The men continued their work as if nothing had happened, roughly grabbing children to throw in cages, tie or chain up. 

Tubbos ears hang low, eyes wide having witnessed the scene unfold right in front of him. Before he could even comprehend it his legs ran, far away to find the only people he thought could help. He choked back sobs, when he saw a familiar silhouette in the distance he screamed as loud as he could muster. 

"Y/N!!!" 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Words:1453