The Prince and The Pauper

Chapter 12

Astral couldn't help but keep looking behind him and keeping a tight grip on his sword while outside. It was as if there was someone constantly watching him! It bothered him more than anything.

Yuma noticed his change in the prince, but he thought nothing of it. After all, he, too, felt like he was being watched. He just didn't show it.

They tried distracting each other from the feeling with small talk, but to be honest, being among so much rubble, where THEY could be hiding anywhere, was not so comfortable. Nothing could distract either of the boys from the thought of another inevitable assault.

~.Captive POV.~

Akari watched in horror as they pinned Black Mist to the table, ignoring his cries of protests and fear. Yes, he told her that completely losing his inner darkness was his biggest fear. It didn't matter what terrible visions his father gave him as punishment for not controlling himself; he felt whole when he had this darkness. Now, they were taking that away from him!

They had grown fond of each other over the hours they spent together. Akari saw that he wasn't a savage beast when he was in full control, and Black Mist saw that she was a strong human girl. From what they both learned over the years, it was clear that they've been misjudging each other all their lives. They all have.

"Stop it!" she screamed at THEM. "Stop doing this to him!"

Lady Shila looked back at the red-haired girl. "Why? We need his energy."

"You're taking away what he holds dear!"

At that point, Black Mist started screaming gibberish (he's speaking in his native language), kicking, struggling to get out of their grasp, but to no avail. Tears streamed down his face. He was starting to seem less and less like himself as those tears turned to black blood, and his eyes' pigment went from mismatched to completely black. His screams intensified into roars of anger and uncontrollable blood lust. Lady Shila noticed this with a smirk and a twitch of her whiskers.

"My, my," she purred. "Looks like he's strong enough to go through with this extraction after all." She looked at one of the bloodhounds. "Make sure no one comes after us. After this, there's only one more thing I need." She grinned at Akari.

The bloodhound nodded and barked at his fellow team. They put on their cloaks and bounded out of there.

Lady Shila grinned. "Strap him down!" she ordered her panthers.

They did as they were told with purrs of delight. They laughed when Black Mist struggled against them.

~.Human and Royal POV.~

They reached the edge of the city finally. It was beginning to become dark, so the two decided to settle in somewhere in the forest. It wasn't going to be an easy task to find a place to sleep what with THEM seeking them out to kill them.

They decided to settle for a tree or something. A high place to sleep in for the night would be scary, but against dogs, it was best. However, Astral came up with the idea that maybe cats would be hunting them as well. In that case, a high place was like waving a large flag that said "I'm here!" No, they couldn't settle up high.

"Where can we sleep...?" Astral mumbled to himself.

"We also have the matter of food," added Yuma. "I've been hungry for a while now."

Astral nodded and put that on the list of things to do. "First, we need a place to sleep. After that, we look for food."

"Alright."

They searched for the safest place to sleep before night fell. Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched by several pairs of eyes full of blood lust. Drooling jaws snapped and ground against each other. Claws scraped the dirt beneath them.