Crimson Crown

⌠82⌡

It had to be around evening time when the guard finally returned to Jinyoung's cell.

Keeping track of time inside what felt like a dark dungeon was practically impossible, but some hours had definitely passed. At that point Jinyoung was really hungry, and had to use the bathroom-- he refused to relieve himself in the tiny goblet they left for him though.

Jackson had to be going through the same, or maybe even worse.

The Prince had spent the time trying to plot his next steps, but when it came to proper planning, he was obviously not very good at it. There were too many factors to consider, and too many dangers to be wary of. He had already made so many mistakes that led to this exact moment, he couldn't risk haphazardly thinking of another idea and things going wrong again-- too much was at stake. He wanted to do something to get himself and Jackson out of this situation, but at this point, he hardly trusted himself enough to execute any sort of plan.

"Hey, Prince."

He heard a voice greet while he was curled up against the dank walls of his cell. He lifted his head, his eyes widening upon the guard's return.

"You're back!" He exclaimed. He almost fell as he scrambled toward the door, coming face to face with his bribed spy. "How is Jackson-- I mean, the vampire?"

The man scoffed. "He is apparently the assassin of our King and our Prince, did you know that?"

Jinyoung faltered; of course he couldn't completely deny Jackson's actions but, he could at least defend the latter as much as possible. "He... he only killed one of them, the other was someone else! And he had his reasons for it!"

"Well regardless, the people are rejoicing that we caught the culprit."

"What of him though?"

"He's quite guarded, and when I was there, he was being questioned, but refused to speak to anyone until he saw 'his prince'." The guard stated the last two words with air quotes, his gaze drifting to meet Jinyoung's. "That is you, I assume?"

This wasn't exactly the time to be flustered, but Jinyoung felt his heart skip anyway. He gently nodded in response. "But... he's still alive."

"For now." The Cornelian retorted. "They haven't started the torture yet, he just has a few bruises from being banged up a bit."

"T-Tourture!?" The word barely made it out of Jinyoung's mouth; he didn't even want to imagine Jackson suffering like that-- especially not because of him. He would rather take the latter's place than allow anything horrible to happen. "Please, don't let them hurt him anymore!"

In response, the man let out an exasperated sigh.

"Listen Prince, I risked enough for you." The guard then reached into his shirt and pulled out a wrinkled piece of parchment and an inked quill. He shoved the items between the bar, staring expectantly at the Prince. "You're probably gonna be next anyway, so sign your name so I can claim my reward once you're gone."

Jinyoung slowly reached for the parchment and quill, letting out a shaky breath. Knowing that Jackson was in dire danger, he couldn't possibly just sit around and do nothing.

Since this guy was willing to risk himself for a little money; maybe adding more to their deal would make him stick his neck out just a bit more.

As he drew out his signature, Jinyoung glanced up at the guard who barely paid him much attention. "...So, how would you like to double your reward?"

The offer quickly caught the man's interest.

"Double?" He repeated.

"Forget about increasing it, I'll give you double the amount, plus noble status in the lands of Alveras. I am sure the royals do not pay you well here, and you are probably mistreated and undervalued; I will assure you a better life, and you have this signed parchment as proof of this agreement."

The gaurd blinked as he slowly took back the parchment. Surely suddenly being offered so much was probably offputting, but Jinyoung was willing to give up everything he had to help Jackson; he didn't care. Luckily he was able to use the information he'd learned from Mark earlier to sweeten the deal.

"...What do you want in return?" The guard finally asked after a moment of silent deliberation.

Jinyoung could feel his adrenaline pumping; this was his only chance.

"Get me out of here."