Just Give In

Chapter 35:

Philza's P.O.V.

Anchileous.

I frowned slightly when I saw that he was coming towards me, a large grin set on his face. Sure, we were turned into vampires around the same time, we are the oldest vampires that still exist, but that doesn't mean I'm happy to see him.

He had done a lot of things in his years that I didn't like, but I never had the heart to tell him so.

"And these must be your boys! I believe the tall one is Wilbur, while the girly one is Techno, yes?" The king said, smirking as he watched Techno's face morph into to one of cold rage. "Hoho! Guess the pink haired sprite didn't like that, did he?"

Before I could even stop him, Techno had the king on the ground with a knife pressed firmly up against his throat, his red eyes glowing with anger.

"Call me a sprite one more time, I will not hesitate to lather these stones with your blood." I heard him growl. I frowned slightly, but spoke up nonetheless.

"Techno, get up. I know you're angry, but murdering him isn't going to change anything." I said, trying to deescalate the situation. I heard him huff, before slowly getting off the king and walking back towards us, his expression still murderous.

I gave him a small smile, before shifting my gaze to the king and a stone, cold glare settled upon my face. Anchileous gave a weak chuckle, rubbing his neck around the part where Techno's blade was pressed up against. 

"Anchileous, it's good to see you again, old friend. But if you insult one of my sons again, I won't tell them to back off." I said in an emotionless tone, not having any emotions towards him. In fact, the only reason I came today was so I could collect Tommy, seeing as his instincts would force him to come here for the first few years of his new life.

He just shrugged, the grin never leaving his face. 

"No matter, no matter my old friend. It's not like either of them could anyways." He said nonchalantly, and I was just able to step in front of both Wilbur and Techno before either of them could attack. I could feel the anger and disgust radiating off of the two of them, but now was not the time to start a fight.

"I respectfully disagree with you on that, but no matter. We are not here to fight with you." I said through gritted teeth, successfully keeping a lid on my own contempt. The ancient vampire lifted his eyebrow, a small smile etched on his face, his looking challenging my words. My frown deepened, but answered his unspoken question nonetheless. "A changling is coming here tonight, I would like to find him then return home. That is all."

Anchileous' eyebrows only raised even more, but I was done talking at that point. I rolled my eyes and pushed past him, making my way into the castle. I could hear Wilbur and Techno follow, and also the way that both of them were holding their breath to control their anger. I smiled slightly, glad that they had followed through with keeping their emotions in check. 

We entered through the side entrance, and immediately, I was hit with how many people were actually there. The castle may look dark and abandoned on the outside, but it was actually full of life on the inside. 

The entrance we walked through happened to lead directly to the ball room, where, you guessed it, the ball was being held. We were standing in a little balcony above the floor where several bodies were dancing about, laughter and voices mixing and floating up to our ears.

Music was playing and the whole hall was lit with golden lights of the chandelier above. There were large windows that gave access to see what was outside, but the windows were tinted, so nobody could see what was happening on the inside. Glancing around the room, I tried to spot Puffy and her family, but it seemed like they weren't here yet.

Blowing out a deep breath, I glanced to Techno and Wilbur, who had flanked either side of me, their eyes scanning the hall as well. Both of them still looked mad, but more at the fact of how many people were there over the fact that the king had outwardly mocked them, and they could do nothing about it.

"The changlings are presented when the moon is at its peak, so we have to find Tommy before then. Keep your eyes peeled, we already know he's really good at hiding." I said quietly to both of them, before making my way down to the dance floor. I wasn't exactly thrilled to be among all those dancing bodies, even if they weren't very warm, it still was cramped and all I wanted was a drink.

"Phil!" Someone yelled, and I turned around, but was met with a mound of curly white and brown hair that had thrown their arms around me. I smiled, and hugged back, glad that they were finally here.

"Puffy, it's good to finally see you." I said, letting her go and taking in her outfit. She was wearing a white button up with a dark red overcoat. The button up was tucked into a blood red, floor length ball gown skirt, and she was able to move incredibly easy in it. I smiled, and met her eyes which had settled for a calm, lazy red. "You looked gorgeous tonight."

"And you look as handsome as ever." She said, smiling. I shrugged, and grabbed two glasses of champaign as the waiter walked by. I gave one to her, and we both just stood their silently, both deep in our thoughts. I could tell that she was debating on whether to ask or not, and I was really hoping she wouldn't. But alas, I could never delay the inevitable.

"Any luck finding Tommy?" She asked lowly, quiet enough to the point I had to strain my ears to hear it. I shook my head, my face reflecting the impatience and worry that I currently felt. She frowned, and patted my shoulder, trying to give me a little bit of comfort.

"Don't worry Phil. He's going to show up tonight whether he likes it or not, and then you'll get your boy back." She said, taking a sip from the glass. I sighed, but turned away from her, now staring out the windows.

"That's the thing, Puffy. I'll get him back, but at what cost? He's going to be in no condition to meet Anchileous, and I don't think that the ancient ass would let Toms go, especially if he opened his mouth, which I know for a fact he is going to do." I said, chewing on the inside of my cheek.

If Anchileous saw any changling covered in sticks or dirt, or just generally not ready for the ball at all, they were kept here for a period of time to help stabilize their minds enough to be let out into the world. And knowing Anchileous and Tommy, Anchileous would probably not only keep Tommy here for the extended period for sanity, but likely through the boy in prison afterwards. 

I know Tommy, and I know that when he gets here... all hell is going to break loose. I glanced up at the balconies, and saw that Wilbur and Techno had split up, taking opposite sides of each other, trying to spot the boy before he arrived. Good. We needed to get to him before they started the-

RRIIIIINNNNNGGGG!!!!

Shit.

1260 words

-Zia