The Bars Between (MxM)

2

The next time Adren saw him was when he was 12.

It had been a stupid game. A stupid game of hide-and-seek he was playing with his friends, and a stupid choice to venture down where he'd never been before.

The dark tunnel made him nervous, the evilness radiating from the area biting at his soul, but from what he could tell it was empty. And empty was what he needed.

He continued down, somehow finding it harder and harder to breath the further he went, and not just because his breaths were becoming more and more visible, until he found himself at the end, his hand coming into contact with cool stone.

The light provided by the torch was small, he could barely see, and he moved it around, trying to find the purpose of the strange tunnel he'd never noticed was there deep in the bowels of the castle, when he noticed metal bars on the left of the wall. He stepped closer, then jumped back in shock at what he realized it was. This was a prison cell. There were no guards anywhere near, and it was easy to tell why. Nobody would want to be anywhere near the area ever, and the bars looked incredibly solid, unbreakable. Not to mention it looked empty.

Pushing down the fear, he walked closer to the cell, trying to see what was inside this lone cell, but couldn't hold back his gasp when the light hit a mass leaning against the back wall.

It was a person.

Not just any person, the man that would sometimes show up in Adren's dreams, haunting him with those cold eyes even while locked up.

He was even dirtier, and he looked drained, his shoulders were slumped against the wall, head on his knees.

That head began to rise, noticing the dim light hitting him.

He looked tired.

His face was strained just looking up, eyes meeting Adren's, dead as always. But Adren didn't feel scared. He looked tired, as if the only reason he had left for being on this earth was to leave it. It was pathetic.

To show just that, Adren scoffed a little. He was better than him, there was no reason to be scared, no reason he had to ever be scared. He turned on his heel, heading out with his head held high. He wasn't scared of him anymore, there was no reason to be.

He knew he would think of the man often, remember this feeling. He would use it to become a great king.