Vanished [ATEEZ]

traitor to the crown

-Welcome back Eden...

The man slowly raised his head, looking straight at his interlocutor's eyes, a large smirk dressing his face.

He knew it... he would probably die. After all, he was the one who had redirect weapons shipments toward the rebels. He had gave up on his noble title to fight along the others, for what he thought was right. He had succeeded to switch dimensions, and was the first one to establish contact with the eight "outlaws". He had tried his best to put them on the right path, whether or not he had succeeded, his part in the whole story was done. He knew the King would have no mercy, torturing him until he begged for death. But he had nothing to lose anyway. No family, no friends, no lovers, nothing to hold on, no one to cry him...
He was just gonna be erased from the surface of the world, and no one would even let a tear rolled down for his death.

Saying he had no one might be a lie... he had. Well he already had. He had loved and had been loved. Treated as a Prince by his parent.

His mother's eyes came in his mind. Those eyes looking at him with so much love, so much kindness. Her arms holding him tightly, protective and reassuring. He remembered every feature of her face. Every emotion that once ornate that beautiful face.
But he had grew up. Letting the wise little boy who listened to everyone and didn't even dared to argue behind him, swapping him for a confident man who wasn't scared to raise for his ideas and had no attachment at all with the noblest. He didn't wanted his life to be comfortable if it meant staying quiet about everything that was going on outside their luxurious ornamented windows. He didn't wanted to close his eyes about the poor peoples dying for absolutely nothing if it's not the thirst of blood of the real outlaws "by order of the King". Worst than that, he didn't wanted to be part of those people who spit at the person's in need face. Didn't even wanted to be near those people watching with an amused eyes to ones getting torture, killed, sell, beat up... and even worst.
He was tired of everyone telling him that this situation was "normal".
Nothing was normal!
They were just too coward to try and fight!
Staying silent and appreciating to see the pain inflicted to innocent people. They were the witnesses of an abominable crime without a single justification.

The young boy had spent his entire childhood in a delusional state, thinking that everything said by the adults was right, that everything that came out of their mouths was meticulously thought out. That was the biggest lie.

He remembered the day he left. Without looking back. He just leaved, letting behind him the uncountable fights he had with his father, the disappointment in the eyes of his mother, the real anger and frustration in the words of his father... He could've had anything he wanted, well that was what they had say. But what he really wanted was priceless. What he wanted couldn't be bought.

His heart had sided with those most in need. He had use his contacts to supply the rebels, collecting confidential informations, tricking the naïve peoples that once were his fellow ones. His role was more than important in the process of the rebellion, it was vital. He assure them a head start, being infiltrated among the nobles had become all of the sudden a blessing. He had learned how to fight while he was younger. The sword handling was actually an important thing for the nobles.

He had fought, yes.

His justification were completely appropriated.
But he soon got caught, his face got hanged on every walls in the villages, along the dozen and dozen ones of his fellow friends. He was for the first time treated as an outlaw.

A traitor to the crown...

A bounty was put on his head. But he knew it. No one was going to denounce him. The poor fought along them, along the ones they called their rescuers. They were all reunited like dozens of years ago, against their common ennemis.
The Royal Family & their stupid force.

Eden knew it, he was safe with his friends, with the persons he had choose to fight for.
But what he did not thought of was that the denouncer would not be along them, but along the one he had grew up with, the one he had love, trust, idolatrous... his own father.

The King had been plainly satisfied when the informations for the capture of the man had arrive to his ears.
He was a confident, cruel, machiavellian man but inside he was terrified. Terrified of that damn prophecy.
He knew deep down inside of him, that soon or later, he would be defeated. Soon or later his reign would crush down. And he perfectly knew who was supposed to put him down. He had always laughed about that prophecy, always. But he knew exactly how it was supposed to end.

He needed that boy. He needed that boy crushed down to stay alive, to keep his reign up.
He needed those boys to die, to burn into the Rim.
He knew it, those eight boys were the cause of his defeat, and the moment of it would arrived sooner than he could ever thought if he did not took drastic measures quickly.

❈───────•✦•❅•✦•──────❈

-Man the capstan! Raise the main top yard! Keep that powder dry! Shouted the young captain loudly, trying to reach his crew over the strong wind.

The crew was running everywhere, following the orders of their captain's. They weren't far away from Ostendène now, but they knew it, behind that storm the Royal Navy was waiting for them.

Hongjoong was at the helm, handling it with such agility that even the most experienced sailors would be flustered. He had swapped his velvet coat for something less extravagant given by the current circumstances.

The strong wind made the ship shiver, the sails agitating in every direction. Each drop of rain's water was equivalent to a full bucket. The planks had became slippery, making the movements much more difficult.

The thunder broke the sky in half, lighting the whole horizon before plunging them back into the dark. The sound still echoing in their ears. This was just a normal storm like the others, but Hongjoong knew it... something was off. The sea was telling him, something was coming, hiding behind the giants wave, waiting for the right moment to strike. But Hongjoong couldn't tell what it was until the last moment. Until he saw it emerging from the black water.

A giant tentacles...