The Dark Prince's Bride (the original version of Will You Love Me?)

Chapter 1

The six boys sat around the fire in silence. They felt lost without their leader... their brother. But to Ampithere he was more than that, he was the only father he had ever known... he was his best friend. It was all his fault that Dragoth had been captured.

He stared into the flames through his blurred vision.

"What are going to do?" asked Draco, or Adren as they knew to be his true name.

They all turned to Fredrick or Fang as Drake had named him. He was the eldest of the boys. Whenever Dragoth wasn't around, it was Fredrick, whom they followed.

"We have to go back to Drake to report what has happened," Fredrick replied.

"Why should we go back?" asked Darius. He was the second oldest and had been given the name Dragan. "Dragoth sacrificed himself for us. Do you really think he would want us to go back to Drake? If he were here, he would surely urge us to flee from Drake's grasp while we have the chance."

"We can't run away, Drake would kill us for desertion if he ever found us," Elijah pointed out, being the reasonable one as always. He was noble and loyal and wise beyond his years, that was why Drake had named him Pendragon. He was the youngest, save Christopher, but he was the wisest.

"So? Why don't we just stay here in the woods, then if he finds us we say that we were lost without Benjamin to guide us?" said George or Ember (the dragon name he had been given).

Christopher had been silent the whole time, but now he spoke up. "No. We should go rescue Benjamin. He could be in danger and it's my fault. Do whatever you will, but I am going to save my brother."

"Christopher is right," said Fredrick. "Benjamin would do the same for us, would he not? He has always protected us, even if it meant that harm would befall him. I know he would want us to stay as far from danger as possible, but he's not here to stop us. He's done a lot for us, and it's time we did something in return."

"But how are we going to rescue him?" George asked. "They have probably locked him away in the dungeon by now."

"We'll go to the castle and try to find out where he's being kept. If we can't get him out ourselves, we'll go back to Drake and see if we can get him to give us more men to help," Fredrick replied.

Christopher nodded. "Alright."

"Get some rest, we leave at first," said Fredrick.

They all nodded in agreement.

~*~

~✧~

Grey light filled the eastern sky, and the young knights arose. They broke camp quickly and set out in hopes of saving their lost brother.

They said nothing as they began their journey. Fredrick led the way, though he didn't complete know where he was going. He knew only that this was the direction that he had last seen the Anorian soldiers take his master.

Normally, they would have spoken quietly amongst themselves as they went, but their hearts were too full of fear and sadness for any merriment to endure. They had all lost their parents long ago, and now the man who had become a second father to them was gone.

Christopher felt a weight of guilt on his shoulders as he walked. Of the young knights, he was the closest to Benjamin. He had no memories of his real father and had been taken in at a very young age by the prince. He was the only father he had ever known. Now he blamed himself that Benjamin had been captured. He feared that his father... his brother... his best friend in all the world would die, all because he had not been strong enough to protect himself.