Hero Vs Villain (BoyxBoy)

The Final Straw

Ridley

Standing at the edge of my bed was a man. His skin was pale and chalky, long white hair cascaded over his shoulders falling almost to his waist. I stared up at him, eyes wide.

"Who are you?" I asked quietly.

The man smiled thinly, slowly circling around my bed. His pale eyes glowed white in the darkness. "You don't know who I am?" The man stuck out his bottom lip, drawing his face into a child like pout. "I'm hurt, I've been with you for awhile now."

I blinked. "I...I don't understand what you mean."

The man chuckled. "You will soon enough."

I jerked awake from the strange dream, the morning light falling over my face. I rose quickly, accidentally knocking the pile of books I had fallen asleep reading off my bed.

I was still going through every piece of writing I could get my hands on, desperately searching for any information on the Bone King. It was strange how little seemed to be known about him despite the fact that he had supposedly ruled the east for at least a thousand years. I wondered if Vandel had found anything.

I played subconsciously with the ring that dangled around my neck. It had been nearly two and a half months since I had parted ways with the demon prince and he hadn't contacted me since then. Obviously the thought had crossed my mind to simply put the ring on and just go see him. Then again, I knew it would be unwise to do so. I planned to never stoop to Vandel's level on impulsive behavior. When Vandel was ready I was sure he'd contact me. Until then I figured it was best to simply continue on with my typical routine.

Suddenly I heard a knock at the door.

"Uh, hold on!" I called. "I just woke up, I don't have a shirt on!" I heard a chuckle from the other side.

"It's fine, it's just me," Percival called from behind the door. Without even waiting for me to respond he pushed it open. His gaze fell over the piles of books that surrounded my room. "You're usually so neat, I'm surprised at this mess," he said slowly. I sighed heavily, slipping off my bed to finally collect the books I had knocked off when I woke up.

"Sorry," I mumbled quickly, flushing in embarrassment over the state of my room.

Percival forced a smile. "You don't have to apologize. I'm the one that just burst in here." He knelt down beside me, beginning to help arrange the books. "I know I always say this but...you really need to take it easy. After the Bone Monster attack you've been pushing yourself to the point that I hardly ever see you. The only other time you've gotten like this was..." his gaze darted to the ground. I knew what he was going to say.

"When my father died. I know."

Percival sighed heavily. "I mean, we were only kids then but I can still remember how you got. You would hardly eat, you would hardly sleep. You pushed yourself to the point where you could have died. I don't know why the Bone Monster attack and the missing Corisathium is causing you to have another obsessive episode but we both know it has to stop."

I stared blankly back at Percival. "This isn't an...obsessive episode. The Bone Monster attack could have killed that entire village. What I'm doing is important."

Percival picked up a book and tossed it towards me. "Any time I see you you're either training or researching. Don't you think there's more to life than that? What about your friends?"

I shook my head. "I don't need friends. I need to protect the kingdom."

Percival's face fell and I figured I said the wrong thing. His bottom lip seemed to quiver. "Don't I...mean anything to you?"