Bleeding Demons: The Dark Bloods - Book III ✓

Chapter 3 - The Naive Price and the Disowned Child

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Drawing: Blethinette and Verden by Annany <3

3.

The Naive Price and the Disowned Child

Mundus raced down the lake shore. Any other day, he would've walked down the bank with his chin up and his chest out the way his mother always told him, but today he was eager to find Erian and Cerus. He couldn't wait to tell them what happened.

As he ran, he saw a group of his peers in the water. Nearing it, he heard the giggles. It was the girls. They had their dress hems tied around their waists and were running and splashing a few feet from the shore. Their shrieks and laughter subdued when they saw Mundus approaching. The three girls, all younger than him, stopped and curtsied at him as he sped by. One of them wore a small, bashful grin.

Mundus knew he should stop and...do something? His forgotten manners summoned his mother's scolding into his mind. He shook his head. It didn't matter right now. His mother wasn't there. Mundus gave a short wave at the girls and continued running.

His small legs started to ache, and he paused to catch his breath. Mundus couldn't wait until he had full control of his healing Mahou. With that extended stamina who knew how long he could run or how many trees he could climb.

Something hit his chest.

He looked down to see mud smeared on his black breasted jacket. Clumps of the wet dirt gathered on the golden seams embroidered across the chest and on the matching buttons that trailed down to his thighs. Mundus knew his mother was going to throw a fit when he returned to her in soiled clothes, but he wasn't expected till another few hours, giving him time to exact revenge on the culprit.

"Cerus!" Mundus pouted.

The little prince ran up to the demon with blue hair that sitting with his bare feet in the water. A pile of premade mud balls were stacked by his side and a huge grin was on his face.

"That's what you get for being late!" Cerus said.

Mundus picked up one of the mud balls. Cerus sprang to his feet as he figured out his friend's intentions.

"You're not getting away!" Mundus growled.

He tackled the older demon into the water. Splashes and laughter erupted from them as they wrestled. Both tried to smear handfuls of mud taken from the lake's bed on the other's clothes but only succeeded on getting their own garments dirty and soaked.

Two clumps of muck from the sky and on each of their heads but it wasn't from either Mundus or Cerus. The two boys stopped and looked towards the lakeside. A short demon with cropped green hair grinned at them.

"Erian. That wasn't fair!" Cerus complained as he waddled to the shore.

"Yeah, you sneak." Mundus splashed water at the little Seer.

He jumped out of the way. "Come on, Mundus. We were waiting for you forever! You have to tell us now."

"Yeah," Cerus added as he sat down.

Seated, the blue haired demon reached Erian's shoulders, hinting at the monstrous height he might reach when older. The two were wearing their family colors: Erian was in gold and Cerus was in black. Their faces and hair had dirt caked on them, giving Mundus the impression they had been in a mud fight while they waited for him.

"Okay. I'll tell you now," the prince said as he joined his friends.

They sat in a small circle, and Mundus could see the excitement dancing in their eyes. He smiled, pleased at the attention he was receiving; he kept his silence a few seconds longer.