The Prince and The Pauper

Chapter 20

~.Royal POV.~

Godith knocked the cat woman out cold with a sweep of his sword. With that done, he snatched the swords of flame and lightning and hurried out. There, the boy was getting Astral in.

"Good," he said hurriedly. "Keep these safe while I get some vital things." With that, he hurried back in.

He searched frantically for the vial they most certainly had that contained the girl's inner strength. He looked in the most obvious spot: the cabinet. There it was. He laughed. Predictable. He took it and kept a firm grip on it.

Now, the most challenging task: finding the darkness they stole. It was always in a different location, and he always failed to get it before the being died. He hoped that now wasn't the case. He obviously didn't want his son to die.

After some more searching, he found what seemed to be a large container of oil. That wasn't the case. That was a massive amount of darkness that was extracted out of Black Mist. This was all of it. No wonder he had such a hard time controlling it!

Well, it didn't matter. Now, it was what kept him alive, so he had no choice but to bring it with him.

Godith looked around for any more empty vials, preferably larger ones. He found them in another cabinet. They were significantly larger, so he could fit more. Of course, he had to call in more transportation to get them back to their base.

He took out a transmitter and turned it on.

~.Human POV.~

Yuma closed Astral's eyes so that he wouldn't seem dead. Death didn't really fit him. Now that his eyes were closed, he looked like he was in a deep sleep.

Yuma pursed his lips, remembering when Astral confessed to him. Why didn't he tell the prince as well? Their feelings were the same. It just all happened so fast...he couldn't get anything out.

"Astral..." he mumbled, stroking his hair and face. "Oh, I wish I had told you before you took off..."

Well, nothing he could do now but wait.

~.~.~

Hours passed. Godith hadn't returned. What was keeping him?

Just then, the sky seemed to turn dark, and thunder rolled through the sky. Yuma looked up to see not a storm but many dragon wings flapping at different tempos. It was incredible to see all that, like seeing a double rainbow.

Godith came out with a sack of vials. He was carrying them carefully so as not to break them. He smiled when he looked up.

"There they are," he said.

"Who?" Yuma asked.

"People who can help me take these. I wouldn't want it to contaminate the human world."

Contaminate the human world? Huh... Yuma wondered what was in the sack.

The dragons landed, snorting out smoke. Figures in blue tunics and cloaks stepped down. Masks covering their faces prevented Yuma from seeing them, and the hoods covering their cloaks didn't help. It made them look suspicious.

"These are my allies. They have come on my notice to take these," Godith said.

He passed the sack around, and the cloaked and masked beings took them. There was some kind of black substance in there. It looked solid but liquid at the same time.

"What's that?" Yuma asked, curiosity taking over.

"That is Black Mist's darkness that they wanted to use to take over this world. Combined with your sister's inner strength, it would have been enough to completely obliterate this rock."

Yuma gaped at the king. That's how much there is!?

"Now that we have the darkness safely with the others, let's go." King Godith jumped into the carriage and gestured for Yuma to get in.

Yuma got in next to Godith. The king flicked the reins, and the dragon snorted. It flapped its enormous wings and took off, followed by the other dragons and their riders.

"So..." Yuma started, not really able to find the right, unoffensive words.

"So...?"

"Well, who are these guys? They remind me of those cats and dogs."

Godith sucked in air through his teeth. "They are allies of mine. It would be best if you ask them personaly."

"And aren't you supposed to be dead?" Yuma stared straight ahead to avoid his gaze.

Godith was a little offended, but it was completely understandable since they were made to believe so. "No. I was defeated, not killed. That wretched hyena misjudged his bite." He chuckled. "Never leave anything to a hyena!"

Yuma chuckled a bit. Yeah, it was true. The hyena wasn't doing a very good job of killing them! Then, he frowned.

"Why did you want me to bring Astral along? He's dead."

"Yes, that is true. You'll see when we get there. First, we need to deal with Black Mist and the girl."

"Her name's Akari. She's my sister."

"Ah, I see." He grinned. "That would explain how you got through the hall of mirrors. Even the strongest me cannot withstand it. You did a fine job."

There was a moment of silence, where they reflected on the events that happened. All was calm and quiet, save for the flapping, until a feeble voice spoke up.

"F...Father...?"

Thinking it was Astral, Yuma looked behind him to see Black Mist awake. He felt slightly disappointed, but he was happy that someone was awake. The younger prince tried to sit up, but it looked like his arms couldn't support his weight.

"Relax, my son," Godith said from up front. "Do not exert yourself. We will get you back to normal soon."

Black Mist nodded and laid down again. He locked eyes with Yuma, and he smiled.

"Hi..." he whispered.

"Hey," Yuma responded.

Black Mist closed his eyes then. His breathing grew steady, like he was sleeping. At least he was fine. One of them had to live. Why not both, though?

Aaaaand Black Mist is fine~! Drained, but fine~ Hope you're all enjoying this story ^^"