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In a matter of hours, the life that Takeru had lead seemed to fall to pieces. For the majority of his life he had lived within the confines of his castle and despite wanting to, had never ventured far. He was used to having everything done for him, having his meals set, his day planned - there was very little he did by himself.
Tonight was meant to be the night in which he would find a suitable partner, one to bolster the strength of the kingdom. He wasn’t looking forward to it in the first place but somehow it had become a disaster. Not the kind in which the cake was ruined, but the kind in which a group of people come through the window and grab hold of you, demanding that you stay quiet and follow them.
Takeru thinks he should be more upset about the fact. After all, it’s not every day that you get kidnapped. His mind keeps on thinking about what his parents must be thinking about now or even his own safety - however, when your own kidnapper seems to be treating you with such respect that you find yourself relaxing at his presence, you really have to question yourself.
“I’m not kidnapping you.” Is what his supposed kidnapper, Flame, says when he asks. If there were anyone passing by, then they would probably say the very same thing. His hands and legs are free and he has wrapped a blanket round his very body. He is sat near the fire with hot chocolate in hand. “I just needed to get you away from there.”
Takeru’s first impression of Flame is that he is weird. Not the kind of weird that you want to avoid, but the kind in which you want to stay closer to and figure out exactly what the root of it is. Unlike anyone he has seen in the castle he has several markings around his face and body. Despite looking the same age as him (Takeru presumes) there is an aura around him that seems old.
“For somebody that says you aren’t kidnapping me, you made quite the impact at the castle.” Takeru looks up from where he is sat to see Flame sat opposite him, arms crossed, eyes focused on him.
“It was necessary.”
The reason that he’s been taken by Flame is still unknown. He says it’s because of some quest he is destined to go on but refuses to go into further detail. Once again, Takeru feels as though he should be scared by this fact but there is something about Flame that makes it difficult to do so.
“Really, by threatening my own guards?” He raises an eyebrow towards him. “I’m pretty sure you nearly killed one of them when you hit them with that sword.”
Flame doesn’t necessarily frown, but his face shifts into one of disapproval at the idea.
“I don’t kill in this form.” He explains bluntly. “My intention was to only surprise him so that I had enough time to get to you.”
To be truthful, Takeru should be started by that response. The fact that he casually mentions that has killed others should shock him but it doesn’t. There’s a certain charm to him, that Takeru is realising he is quickly falling for. He’s pretty sure that he could read the terms and conditions of a website and still make it enjoyable.
“What, so hitting somebody with your sword isn’t meant to kill them?” He asks. “Because it looked like you hurt him. A lot.”
“Just because I know how to use a sword doesn't mean I want to kill everyone with it.” Flame finally moves from his seat, placing another log on the fire. “As I said before, I do not like to kill in this form.”
That was another thing that added to the intrigue that was flame. He kept on insisting that he wasn’t human, despite looking like one. When Takeru had asked before what he had meant he simply said that he would tell him later, not wanting to scare him right now.
“Then, what would you call it in your form?” The question was asked to humour him, Takeru not quite sure if he wanted to believe Flame. Yes, he was strange but to call himself not human seemed a bit of a stretch. “A brief knock?”
“It would be called showing them mercy. I could do a lot more if I felt like it was necessary.”
“And what would be a situation that it was necessary?”
“One in which I needed to protect you.” He explains, his response seeming to be even more surprising to Takeru. Somehow, it explained his current behaviour; but it didn’t explain why. Before he can ask any more questions, Flame speaks again. “However, I think it will be best if we rested for the night. We have a lot of travelling to do in the morning.”
“I don't need that much sleep.” Protests Takeru, finding that he has more questions than ever now. “Why do you need to protect me?”
“That's something that we can discuss later on.” Flame says, pressing again. “Now isn’t the time to talk about this.”
Takeru wants to argue, but he can't deny that he feels tired. The blanket weighs down on his body and he can feel the events of tonight weighing down on him. He moves towards the bed that Flame has set up for him. Given the very nature of where they are it is rather simple but he finds himself instantly relaxing in the bed.
“Good night, Takeru.”
Takeru turns towards flame and smiles.
“Goodnight Flame.”