They hear a sickening squelch sound and a hushed apology, followed by the sound of a body falling to the floor. Yuu blinks and looks up, seeing Silver rush towards them, bloody sword in hand. Something warm grabs their broken arm, making them sob in agony as they're pulled away from the horned man, whose grip had loosened to the point of allowing them to drop to the floor. They blink a few times, their head growing dizzy as they're hoisted to their shaky feet. Adrenaline pumps through their veins as they choke on air, their lungs refusing to work as their jaw quivers with each jolt.
"Hurry, please-" They can barely make out Silver's broken sobs and gasps as he supports them, running as fast as they can from the mysterious fae. Yuu stumbles for a moment and looks behind them, feeling a rush of fear when they make eye contact with the man. He was still seated on the ground, watching them curiously as though a young child watching an animal at the zoo. Head tilted innocently to the side, eyes narrowed and pupils thin sits against an electric green that paralyzes them more and more with each wobbly step.
They feel as though they were tossed into a bucket of ice water as he raises his gloved hand, bidding them a small wave as they're carried off. His eyes glimmer in the low light as a smile creeps onto his face, distorting his features in the low light and sending a shock off terror over them, the reality of what could have happened making them wail in terror as they clutch onto Silver with every ounce of energy they have left.
"He's not gonna let us go-" They babble, screaming between words. "He's gonna kill me- he's gonna kill us- please-"
Silver pants and cups his free hand over their mouth as they stagger out into the cold night air, the steady and even carpeted ground turning bumpier and harder to walk on in their frenzied state. They can barely make out the rustling of the trees in the wind and the creaking of the wooden doors as they close behind them.
"Shut up, please," He gasps, choking on air as they stumble in the direction of the mirror. "Just- please, we're so close-"
Their vision fades as the scenery passes by, their legs screaming as their arms hang limp- one slung over Silver's shoulder and the other swinging uselessly at their side. They trip over rocks and pebbles as Silver curses.
The full moon hangs high in the sky, barely illuminating the path that Silver is taking them along. Yuu recognizes it to be the same path they were just on, passing over the bridge. They look back once more as the wooden gates close, the bodies of Lilia and Sebek still lifeless on the common room floor.
The little amount of light they have seems to disappear as clouds shroud the beacon in the sky, making Silver curse as he trips and stumbles.
And in the center, the Prince stands, smile turned into a dark scowl as it begins to rain heavily, the duo's shoes slipping on the stone beneath them as the icy rain drenches their clothes and the thunder overhead rumbles threateningly, lightning striking the trees along the sides and setting them ablaze with a green glow that seems eerily similar to the man's eyes.
"He-he's playing with us-!" They shout again, heart pounding in their throat and turning their stomach as they slam their eyes shut and bawl hopelessly.
"He might be-" Silver huffs, setting them down for a second as he pulls his bloody sword back out from it's sheath and standing in front of them, taking in his surroundings confidently. "But he won't. He let us go for a reason," He takes a few deep breaths and turns around, helping Yuu to stand. "We need to leave."
"Leave?" Their voice betrays their terror, high pitched and breathless as they gaze up at the boy with wide eyes.
"NRC. Or Wonderland," He sends one last gaze back towards the castle, tears welling in his aurora eyes as his eyebrows knit on his forehead. He looks back down, lip wobbling. "Let's go," The break in his voice is enough for Yuu to snap out of the panic-induced haze they were thrown in, nodding as they step through the mirror.
