Classy, Controlled Chaos - The STEAM Team Adventures

⚔️ Swords Dance [12/12] ⚔️

Prince Don's POV:

After about an hour of trying to get off of the stage without stumbling into any spirit paparazzi, I quickly guided Addison and our company deeper into the caves, toward the heart of Spiritvale's kingdom.

It was a long, twisting network of caves, which I knew like the back of my hand.

Sir Blackthorne, Sir Blizzard, and Secret stayed on our heels as I led them toward what seemed to be an unassuming corridor, which was dimly lit by a spaced-out row of floating candles.

"Blow out those sparks," I ordered, approaching the nearest flame and gently blowing it out. "I don't want anyone seeing me in here. They'll come and bombard us with questions."

"Can't these guys float through walls?" Sir Blackthorne asked, his evergreen eyes piercing through the darkness like a pair of emerald beacons. "Like, they're ghosts. Of course they can mess around either solid objects because they're not ones themselves."

"Precisssely," Secret hissed, snuffing out a flame with one of her ivy leaves.

I raised an eyebrow at the vine serpent. "You seem to resist flame. I'm assuming you enchanted her, Sir Blackthorne?"

He obsidian knight gave me a confirming nod. "Yes, Your Majesty."

I chuckled, dismissively waving a hand at his sudden formal gesture. "No need with the formality, dear friend. We're alliances, simply call me Don."

"But you're a prince," He protested, blowing out one of the last few candles in the hallway. "It would be wrong to simply address you as... Don."

"I wouldn't call you Half-Prince Blackthorne, would I?" I argued, giving him a convincing smile. "I feel old when people refer to me as Spiritvale's last Raven Prince. Please think of me as an acquaintance, if you will. I can tell we're not that far from the same age, no?"

Staring at Blackthorne made me realize how similar we both were: Dark hair, vibrant eyes, sleek, sturdy build, decently tall...

I felt Addison's gaze fall on me and stifled a chuckle. "I know you. You can look, but can't touch. At least, not right now, of course."

The sorceress's bright eyes went wide in the lightless corridor. "How did you even know I was looking at you?"

I cocked my head at her, feigning annoyance. "You know it's rude to stare, Addi. Tsk tsk... I can tell when someone's looking at me. Call it a sixth sense, if you may."

She gave me something along the lines of a quiet grumble, stubbornly turning away from me and burying her head in the nook of my wing instead.

It was actually quite adorable, really.

Once all the candles were put out, I gave everyone a satisfied grin. "Good, good... Now, follow me. Quickly before the candles flicker back to life; I enchanted them to permanently burn and I'll do minor adjustments on them when I have the chance."

"Follow you where?" Sir Blizzard squeaked, blindly fumbling in the dark. "I've been following your voices; I can't see a thing!"

"Ssstay with me," Secret hissed, slithering up beside the Northwynd knight. "I will guide you until there isss light."

Sir Blackthorne frowned, rolling his eyes. "I can't even stop her from doing the hissing thing now..."

I leaned against the wall, pressing my hand up against the stone before pushing it aside, sliding back a door that was disguised as stone bricks.

Inside was what I considered my personal headquarters; I liked to call it the "Crow's Nest".

Even though I'm not a crow, it just seemed fitting for my past as a sailor in Baywharf before the war began and I was marooned on Spiritvale's coast.

A vast, dark oak-plated room about the size of your average schoolhouse classroom was laid out in front of us.

It was twice as tall, holding platforms that acted as three separate floors.

At ground level, there was a large working desk with all my supplies for managing the underground kingdom, as well as an empty weaponry wall that had yet to be filled to the brim with fighting tools.

On the second platform, a small stand was built into the guard railing, intended for holding wands or other long, sleek weapons. It was meant for more storage, possibly for magical artifacts or trinkets I would find during my travels.

Finally, on the third and final platform, there was a king-sized bed, decorated with a starry veil and dressed in sheets that shimmered like a lake bathed under the light of the full moon.

After using an excessive amount of my magic, I had successfully adjusted my "room" to my liking.

I bewitched the ceiling to appear like the nighttime sky above us, which shifted according to how to constellations climbed across the horizon.

Each of the four walls were entirely just bookshelves, filled to the brim with novels that were magicked to fit the likings of those who read them.

The platforms on the wall can move around and shift positions in the room depending on wherever I feel like moving them.

It was something straight out of a castle, and I managed to create it simply by chanting a bunch of random incantations.

I was proud of it regardless.

"Finally, I can see!" Sir Blizzard breathed, staring up at the mimic of the full moon above us on the ceiling. "Is that the real sky?"

"Of course not," Addison began to explain, sweeping her violet cloak into a graceful arc around her legs. "The ceiling is enchanted to portray the night sky above us, it's not the sky itself. If that were the case, we wouldn't still be underground."

I smiled at her reasoning, trying to come up with a clever comment to make her blush.

"You're so smart," was what I ended up blurting out, and luckily, I got my reward.

The stone doors closed behind us, and for the first time in many years, I felt safe.

Truly safe, not a false idea of safety, but real safety...

No more fighting for my life, no more beating my wings hard enough to the point where they'll break off, no more running away...

I can finally unwind and let myself relax.

I no longer have to live in fear.