Crimson Crown

⌠40⌡

Jinyoung woke up early the next day, carefully leaving his room as to not disturb the vampire who he presumed was still sleeping. 

The small argument he had with the latter the night before didn't sway him from his decision; he was going to see the war for himself and figure out what to do from there. Despite Jackson's warnings, he felt no good sitting around doing nothing.

He crept down the steps to the first floor, looking around to ensure Jackson was nowhere in sight. He felt bad sneaking behind his back, but it was necessary in order to avoid any further altercations with him. He just wanted everyone to be safe, including Jackson.

The prince made his way around the house collecting his various belonging; weapons, cloaks, and some provisions for the trek out to the edges of the kingdom. He could hear Youngjae in the back of his head nagging at him, but as always he ignored the latter once he'd set his mind to something.

Once he'd gathered all that he thought he needed he headed for the door,  leaving a note on the table for Jackson to ease any worry of disappearance. 

"Where are you off to?"

Jinyoung stopped in his tracks, his hand had barely touched the knob. He should've known that leaving wouldn't be easy with a vampire around.

"Nowhere." He answered, still facing the wooden door.

"This is the first time you've lied to me." That husky morning voice grumbled.

He slowly turned, coming face to face with Jackson who stood closer than he had expected. Still, he stood his ground, looking into those piercing eyes. "You can't stop me."

"I will if I must."

Jinyoung faltered; he wondered just how much the latter meant that. He was unsure, going off of the look on his face that sent chills down his spine.

"I do not wish to fight you, Jackson."

"Me neither. I'm afraid I'd kill you."

"You... you wouldn't do that." The prince stuttered out.

Jackson shook his head, his eyes softening just slightly. "Not intentionally. Don't make me risk it."

For a moment, the prince pondered his options. He either stayed here with Jackson and do nothing about the war, or he could go see it for himself and figure out a way to possibly stop it. As much as everyone wanted him to just stay put, that wasn't who Jinyoung was. He had to at least try and do something, or else he'd hate himself for sitting on his hands like any other useless prince.

"I'm sorry. I have to go..." 

Jinyoung took a step back, turning toward the door.

"I'm sorry too."

Those words barely had left Jackson's mouth before Jinyoung felt fingers dig into his arm. He gasped as he was yanked backward, stumbling into the vampire who held onto him tightly. It all happened so quickly; one moment Jinyoung was almost out the door, the next he was leaning against Jackson who tugged at his tunic. He barely had time to counterattack before he was put in a position impossible to break out of.

"What are you-!"

Jinyoung gasped as he felt those sharp fangs enter his skin. He winced as he squirmed in the vampire's hold, totally unprepared for the latter to bite him.

It hurt. Jackson's previous bites normally felt like a pinch and a dull ache, but this time it was quite painful. He felt his knees buckling as the pain spread through his shoulder; an excruciating burning feeling making it difficult to move.

In fact, he slowly began losing his mobility. He grew horrified at the fact that he could no longer feel his fingers. His legs stopped holding up his body, forcing Jackson to keep him upright, and his arms slowly went limp. Jinyoung tried to say something-- anything to tell Jackson that something was wrong-- but even his lips lost the ability to move, his voice practically gone aside from some weakening whimpers. All he could feel was the fear creeping through his body, the fear of not understanding what was going on.

Jackosn on the other hand was unexplainably calm. As Jinyoung's body went limp, he lifted the latter over his shoulder and carried him to the couch. He gently set the prince down, placing a throw pillow under his head for comfort. He pulled back and looked down at Jinyoung, his gaze already apologetic without even saying a word.

"I know you can't speak. And... I know you're probably terrified of me now." He began, letting out a sigh as he ran his hands through his hair. "I really didn't want to do it..."

Jackson reached for Jinyoung's weapons, his hands visibly trembling as he unbuckled the belt that they were latched onto. He placed them across the room, ensuring they were out of Jinyoung's reach.

"I never want to do anything like this to you again, so please don't force my hand." He returned to Jinyoung's side, kneeling on the floor. It looked as if he were scared, or worried, or a complicated mixture of both as he looked at the immobile prince-- he seemed genuinely terrified. It was hard to differentiate though, if he was scared for Jinyoung, or scared of himself. "...I can't let you go, n-normally I wouldn't care, but you..."

The vampire reached out, gently caressing Jinyoung's face. His eyes were teary as he ran his fingers across Jinyoung's skin, a hint of adoration behind the fear and sadness in his gaze. He got lost for a moment staring down at Jinyoung, finally blinking himself out of it when his tears threatened to roll down his cheeks.

"You're a prince. Anyone fighting for Cornelia who sets sight on you will kill you." He warned while pulling back. "Imagine being able to go home and tell everyone you killed the rival kingdom's prince. They want revenge. You won't be safe."

Jinyoung could feel Jackson's warmth leave him as the latter stood up, his eyes straining to follow the vampire. He never expected Jackson to go this far to keep him from doing anything rash or dangerous; but then again, the vampire had gone to extreme lengths before to protect others.

"I've never had something that I cared this much about since..."  He shook his head while trailing off, his eyes falling to his feet. "I was a lousy protector of my people, and you see how that ended. I can't let you go... I can't... I won't lose you... I'm sorry."

Jackson turned, heading to grab his cloak while Jinyoung stared helplessly at the ceiling. He couldn't even try to move, whatever Jackson had done to him ensured that he'd stay put. He wondered if this power was something possibly life-threatening, considering how much Jackson stressed he didn't want to use it.

"I'm going to see if I can handle it myself. So you just try to relax." Jackson stated, the decision shocking Jinyoung-- why did he suddenly burden himself with the task? "And you shouldn't die, if that is what you're thinking. You're just paralyzed, I did it carefully so you wouldn't be hurt... give it an hour or two to wear off."

With that, Jackson turned and headed out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Jinyoung laid there in the silence, the sound of Jackson taking his own horse and riding off quickly fading away.