The Cruel Prince Loves Her so She Agrees to Save the World

What even are those?

Theo's and Orion's intimate moment interrupted by grotesque beasts that looked like a bat but instead of wings it had legs like spiders their frame was hulking and their. 3 of them. The stench of rotting meat filling the air. Orion and Theo watch wide eyed as the beast surround them at the lake.

"Shit what the fuck are they doing here?" Theo growled at the approaching beasts. "They shouldn't be this far north"

"What the fuck are those?" Orion swore

"Did you just curse?" Theo asked laughing with surprise.

"Did you seriously just ask that as we stand here surrounded by some overgrown bat bugs looking like the want to make us a late lunch?" Orion glared at him.

"You have a point" he said "you wouldn't happen to have any weapons hidden in those lacy bits of yours, would you? I'm fresh out, left my sword up there with my shirt."

Orion shoots him a glare "are you seriously being funny right now?"

"You think I'm funny?"

"Oh my gods you're so incorrigible" Orion shouts with frustration.

"Behind the waterfall if swim deep enough you'll find a bow, and there's a sheath arrows stuck in the crack of the rock wall" Orion said pointing "over there, see that red in the wall, that's them."

"I knew there was a reason I liked you" Theo said

"Yeah the mark has a tendency to cause a bond and the bond tends to do that" she said rolling her eyes at him.

"You say it's the bond, I say, it's you're very interesting and unique personality" he said with a smirk

"There's something seriously wrong with you" she said.

Fear started to fill Orions thoughts.

The beasts had stopped at the edge of the water. Not entering but not leaving. Simply waiting.

Waiting for what?

Could they not go in the water?

Where did they come from?

What are they even?

How did they get past our defenses?

Theo then comes back up from under the waterfall bow in hand.

"Alright Orion you think you can do that shadow thing again?" Theo asked her.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure it'll work on them, I've never seen anything like them before are they even from this world?" Orion said

"They're from the darkness rising to the south, they bring the Rot. We call them Trenches Stalkers." Theo said, "they aren't even the worst of what's coming from the Rot in the mountains."

"You mean there's worse than those things?" Orion asked, "what could be worse than that" she gestured toward the disgusting bat creature.

And then they shrieked again and started to run into the water.

Well guess they can come into the water.

Theo takes an arrow from the sheath he pulled from the wall and started to fire at the one in the center that seemed to be charging first.

Orion closes her eyes and focuses

Theo's arrow flew straight into one of the eyes of the trench beast. It shrieked, reeling back, but he was already drawing another arrow. He fired again, this time at the beast leaping at him. The arrow pierced its throat mid-air, sending it crashing into the water, with it shrieking. It was faster still charging at me. 6 arrows protruding from its body. And then he fired the 7th shot through the other eye of the beast, falling into the water. Black like oil spilled from its dead body spreading through the water. This enraged the other 2 beasts more.

"Come shadows, I summon you from the deepest, darkest corners of the wood, ." Orion was levitating rising from the water her body's aura was turning purple. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing that bright violent shade of purple. From her fingers purple mist seem to fall over them.

Orion having gathered her shadows "Drag it and swallow it" Orion commanded throwing both her hands up toward the monster heading to her on the left. Mist now falling in threads from her fingers and the shadows clinging to the mist, stretching. One of them was swallowed by darkness, its thrashing limbs unable to free itself.

Theo firing another round at the beast closest to him on the right. Orion notices Theo is running out of arrows and so she throws her right hand towards him the shadows and mist split as she redirects some of her efforts. The mana draining from her body as the purple mist pools around her beginning to consuming her. There was still one beast left, but she was losing her grip fast. She felt like she was fading in and out. Her vision tunnels and the world around her slips away, the last thing she hears is the beasts loud shriek. Theo now out of arrows watching as the last beast, fighting and trashing, trying to pull the shadows off, but the beast razor sharp claws were ripping off its own flesh instead, piece by piece.

The lake that was once crystal clear and a beautiful tint of blue was turning black from the first beast's decomposing body.

Orion, still floating above the waters surface now turns her attention to Theo. She looked distant, an emptiness filled her purple glowing eyes.

***

Theo

Theo had been watching Orion's power flow from her when she turned her gaze to him. Her expression made her seem like she was so far away. Almost out of reach.

'Shit. She can still recognize me, right?' he thought.

"Orion"

She appeared lost, staring with an empty gaze.

"Orion" he repeated.

"Come back to me, little bunny"

"Please"

"Little Bunny, you can let go, you did it, you saved us, they're dead" he begged "Come back down"

Orion's body finally descended. Her glow fading. The threads and mists or purple pulling back into her fingers. The shadows had dropped from the beasts and dispersed. The smell of rot still lingered in the air. Theo swims to where she is dipping into the water as she sinks folding herself into his arms.

He looks down to meet her empty stare.

"Come back" his voice soft and gentle.

Her eyes flicker from purple to her usual sky blue after a few seconds they finally settled into their natural blue state.  Orion blinks her eyes and smiles, reaching up touching his face.

"I wasn't sure if you'd find me"

"I'll always find you little bunny"