Hero Vs Villain (BoyxBoy)

Skeletons in the Closet

Ridley

I tried to relax and just enjoy the hot spring but without Vandel's presence I found myself becoming lost in my own troubling thoughts. How the hell was I going to explain to everyone where I had been this entire time? I had only expected to be gone less than a day. The only way I could think of getting out of this was to lie and just the thought of doing that made me sick to my stomach.

I sighed, standing up. I might as well get some rest and try to deal with this tomorrow, though I doubted I'd actually be able to sleep with all these thoughts still running rampant through my head. Finally I climbed out of the springs, pulling my clothes back on.

Worry still hung heavy above me like a dark cloud as I made my way down the hallway that led to the other chambers. The hallway was dimly lit despite the fact that there were no lights present. I glanced into the doorway of the first room I approached. It was a bedroom. Cautiously I stepped inside.

The room was cozy, a fireplace crackled in the corner casting the room in a warm glow. A large tree appeared to be growing from behind a round circular bed, its branches acting almost as a canopy. I made my way inside, stifling a yawn. As I approached however, I noticed a small lump on the bed. Confused I stepped closer and quickly realized it was Vandel who had curled himself up into a little ball under the blankets. This made me recall his strange little cocoon of blankets from when we stayed at the inn.

Vandel definitely had some odd sleeping habits.

Suddenly the little lump shifted slightly and Vandel's head popped out from under them. His hair was tousled and his eyes were half closed.

"Sorry if I woke you..." I stammered quickly.

"Nah." Vandel rubbed one eye. "I was having trouble sleeping anyway."

I nodded quickly.

"Well...I'm going to see if there's another room." I turned to leave when Suddenly I heard a quiet voice behind me.

"Wait."

I stopped, thinking I might have imagined it at first. I turned around slowly, glancing to Vandel.

"Did you...say something?"

"Yeah." Vandel fidgeted awkwardly. "I said...wait." I stared at him, he stared back. Finally he sighed heavily, tapping the bed beside him lightly. "Sit down, I don't want to have a whole conversation with you standing all the way over there."

I blinked, confused. Conversation? He wanted to talk? But he seemed so unusually quiet and distant back at the hot spring. What could he possibly want to have a conversation about? Hesitantly I made my way over to the bed and sat down beside him. Vandel straightened slightly, sitting up.

"Okay," he said slowly. "I've been thinking about some stuff...and I don't think this should end after today."

"This?" I arched a brow.

"Our alliance. I think we're finally getting onto something with the Bone King. You and I also seem to agree that we need to find out what happened to the corisathium. Whatever is going on goes way beyond just the Demon Kingdom and Alteria. We both know no one else is going to like the idea of our kingdoms working together. That's why...I think it's up to the two of us to continue to investigate together until we can fully uncover what's going on. Then we can part ways and never see each other again."

I considered this for a moment before finally nodding slowly.

"I can see where you're coming from, especially in regards to the corisathium. Only if we work together will we be able to fully investigate both the humans and the demons in regards to who took it."