Shackles to Silver (Hakuryuu x OC)

Thirteenth Spell (FINAL)

Several months passed, and for those first couple of time periods, Hakuryuu was his normal kind and innocent self around Layali.  She was able to feel safe around him again.

But after those first few months, Hakuryuu began to be corrupted by the darkness that he kept hidden within the deepest parts of his heart.  This darkness was only provoked by the devious Judar.

The troubled Prince began to grow cold again, not listening to a word of what Layali would say.  He stopped hugging her, and he hardly ever even touched her anymore, and only did protectively and with controlling intentions.  He treated her like an object, and not a human.  His kind crystalline eyes became like distant icicles.

Layali hated to compare this to the chains of slavery that once bound her, but it was the truth.  Except the chains weren't physical circles of steel; they were her own feelings.

Whenever Hakuryuu left her alone, she would curl up on the bed and sob.  At first, the girl was surprised that he didn't notice the swollen and reddened skin around her eyes, or the fact that her cheeks were wet with salty water when he returned.  But now, it had become the norm.

However, Layali knew that Judar was fully aware of what was going on between the two of them.  Whenever the dark Magi looked at the pained girl, he would flash a disgustingly mischievous smirk, unknown to Hakuryuu.

Layali wanted nothing more than to return Hakuryuu to who he truly was: the Hakuryuu she fell in love with.  Even with his dark possession, she couldn't bring herself to not love him.

Every once in a while, Judar would encourage Hakuryuu to bring the girl along with them on one of their 'trips,' which were usually designed for training or observing a situation to learn from.  But she knew why she kept being dragged along.  She knew that Judar wanted to scare her away from Hakuryuu, the one she loved enough to stay by through all of this.  The Magi wanted to show her the darkest parts of the Prince's heart.

These sessions undoubtedly terrified the girl.  However, they also convinced her that he needed her to bring him back from the dark place that Judar took him.

~*~*~*~

A year since the beginning of Hakuryuu's 'possession,' as Layali referred to the situation, the girl was approached by both the troubled boy and Judar.

"Layali..." Hakuryuu said her name lowly, with lacking tone.  But she could still hear the compassion.  At least, she convinced herself that she could hear it.

"We're going on another trip." Judar stated with a devious smile.  His crimson eyes were like daggers to the girl's heart.  "You've got to come on this one, too."

Layali sighed deeply, mentally preparing herself for what she would see. "I understand." She smiled softly, trying to hide her sadness.

The dark Magi summoned a vortex, composed of black and violet plasma that seemed to be endless.  He had used this technique before to transport them to wherever they would be going.  But the fact that he had told her to come to this 'trip' with Hakuryuu by his side was strange.  She was on edge the entire time.

Layali felt warm fingers lace with her own.  Her violet eyes shined with happiness when she saw the surprisingly kind smile that Hakuryuu wore.  This was the first time she had seen him so Hakuryuu-like in a very long time.

He pulled her into the spiraling black hole just before they were enveloped with dark plasma.

Within an instant, the vortex opened, launching the three of them into the rain... with no ground below them.  Before Layali could scream, Judar's own magical floating silk slipped beneath her feet, catching her fall.