PENUMBRA // Tamaki Amajiki x Reader Royal AU

Chapter 34

"This must be it, Dabi said the king locks him up in a tower." My eyes flew open.

"He really is mean. How could he do this to his own kid?"

"That's why we're here to save him."

Two pairs of small feet were running up the stairs to Tamaki's tower, their voices I recognised. Kota and Eri, the children I discovered in district 1, they attended the underground meeting. The 'league of rebels' they called themselves, the man 'Dabi' their leader.

This must have been what they were discussing, getting Tamaki to go with them, leave the king so they would have leverage over him and get him to submit or die. But they did not know that Tamaki was no longer here. That him and the king had made a swift exit to flee war. Using kids was a smart move, easier to hide, less suspicious, more trustworthy.

I jumped out the window and levitated just outside, listening in when the children entered, wondering just what they would do when they found him missing.

"Wow. His room is pretty empty, where are all his toys, don't princes get toys?" The little girl stepped into the room first looking around.

Kota followed after, getting straight into action, "he's a grown up, Eri. Grown ups don't have toys." He marched over to the bed and flung back the covers, "uhh."

"Huh, where's the prince?"

"I don't know..."

"but, we can't go back without him, they'll kill us." It was dark but I could just make out the look of terror dawning on both their faces.

"Don't you think I know that?"

"So what do we - AHH!" The door to the tower slammed shut and I jumped into the room. The kids backed up until they hit the wall. "W-w-who are you? Where did you come from?"

Kneeling down to their level, I put my hands up in surrender, "shhhh, calm down okay, I am not going to hurt you."

"How can we be so sure? You just jumped in through the window!"

Lying to their faces I stepped closer so they could see me properly, "look I have no weapons, see? There is nothing I can do to hurt you."

"Well, why are you here then?" Kota spoke like he was confident or angry but his entire body was trembling.

"I am going to help you. You do not want to die, yes? Well I do not want you to die either." I smiled as I glanced between the pair, "Let us help each other out. I know where the prince is-

"What did you do with him!?" Eri pointed an accusatory finger my way.

"I did nothing to him," Lying again, "on my life I would never so much as wish harm upon him... you see he is a dear friend to me. Quite dear indeed."

"But the prince was locked up here his whole life, he has no friends." Though he was skeptical, Kota was beginning to calm down. "So, you must be a liar."

"Not quite. Yes, the prince was locked up here but just like you two have made your way up here in secret, unseen, so have I been sneaking up to see him. For a while now actually."

"So why do you seem so sad, he's not dead is he?"

"No, no nothing of the sort. It is simply, he has been gone for a just a little while now and I miss him, I did not expect to miss him this much." I almost got carried away before remembering myself and looking back to the children. "Have you seen the big fire outside the kingdom?"

The two looked at each other with an almost sheepish expression. "No." They said in unison.

This was more than suspicious but I took them at their word because I needed them to trust me, even if it meant them thinking I was gullible. "Have you heard about the war?"