Chapter Text
Edgar wheezes as he forces his legs to continue running, not daring to look behind him lest he see that man again chasing him. He managed to make it out of that damned castle, and that cursed village. All he did was take the butterfly from the man who used to be his uncle. He had hoped that maybe, just maybe, if that thing was gone then their lives could go back to normal. He was, of course, wrong, unfortunately. All taking the cursed thing did was alert his uncle that he was still in the palace. Thankfully, his younger sister had been able to distract him for long enough that he had been able to make it out. From there, his close friend, a knight in training named Shazo, had given him a horse to help him escape faster. However, the horse got injured soon after he entered the forest, so he had to leave the poor creature alone to continue fleeing. He gasps and comes to a halt as the forest clears, revealing an ivy-covered castle. An algae-filled moat separates Edgar from the castle. He takes a glance behind him, a red glow indicating he is still being chased. He takes a deep breath, taking a few steps back before running forward, jumping at the last possible moment. He closes his eyes, hoping for the best as he flies through the air.
~~~~~
Edgar coughs and wheezes as he returns to consciousness. Holding his throbbing head, Edgar sits up, looking around his surroundings. The room was cold and dark, leaving Edgar with little more to go on than a faint sliver of moonlight revealing a dresser with a mirror on top of it. Edgar stands up, his legs wobbling softly as his exhaustion catches up to him. He slowly makes his way over to the mirror, looking at himself in the mirror. A bandage is wrapped around his head, a blur of red spotting through it, while his clothes are damp and covered in green. Edgar whines softly, he must’ve fallen in and somehow managed to drag himself inside out of adrenaline before passing out. He looks down at the dresser, his eyes widening a bit at the presence of a note on the wooden surface.
There are some dry clothes for you inside the dresser. Please, feel free to explore once you are feeling better. -VG
“Or I’m not alone here… great,” Edgar sighs, opening the dresser up to find a set of clothing that seemed a bit large for him, but anything is better than the now stained clothes he was in now. Edgar replaces his clothing, looking in the mirror. The shirts are definitely too large on him, making him look much smaller than he usually does, but he had to admit, the sharp cold was starting to go away now that he was no longer in wet clothing. Edgar softly touches his bandage, wincing a little as he does so. While he’d rather just lay back down and go back to sleep, he knew better than to leave a bled-through bandage alone. So, Edgar resolved himself to go find some more bandages. Holding onto the wall, Edgar sets out of the room into the dark hallway. Using the wall and faint moonlight as his guide, he stumbles his way around the seemingly abandoned halls, coughing as the dust continues to rise with each step. Edgar curses under his breath as he leans against the walls, his coughing getting worse. He continues trying to walk forward, trying to fight his own lungs as his coughing gets worse. A loose stone trips Edgar, sending him to the ground and into an aggressive coughing fit. He wheezes between coughs, desperately attempting to get some air into his body as his vision begins to darken. Edgar looks up as soft steps and a loud ticking noise approach him. A soft whine escapes him as he sees a silhouette approaching as his body finally gives in, plunging Edgar’s mind back into darkness.
~~~~~
Victor is used to the loneliness of his existence. After all, at least he still had Wick, his loyal companion he gave away everything for. However, he would be lying if he didn’t admit that seeing someone attempt to get to his castle for the first time in many years wasn’t exciting to him. The man had clearly been through something, given how exhausted he had seemed to be, not to mention the new gash on his forehead from smacking his head on the ground during his leap across the moat. What a brave soul , Victor mused to himself as he had carried the man inside. While a guest wasn’t exactly unwelcome, Victor was glad that his new guest was passed out. The Prince knew he wasn’t exactly a pretty sight due to his curse. After caring for the injuries on the man, Victor left him in one of the few rooms that he decided he would maintain before he returned to his own room to rest for a while.
Of course, the silence didn’t last very long once his guest woke up. Victor could hear the man coughing from his room. That doesn’t sound good , Victor frowns as he stands up, leaving his room to find his guest. The poor man must have gotten sick somehow. Victor had noticed that his breathing was a little rough, but he hadn’t suspected that he would be sick enough to result in this. Victor’s eyes widen as he sees the man on the floor, coughing violently. Victor rushes over, checking for a pulse as the man once again passes out. Victor gives a sigh of relief as he locates the pulse. He wraps his arms around the thin man, lifting him up again. Hm… I don’t want him to try to move around again. I’ll keep him in my room for now, I suppose. Victor sighs softly as he carries his guest back to his room, laying him down on his bed. Grabbing his quill and some paper, he begins to write several notes.
Please do not try to get up again. -VG
My name is Prince Victor Grantz. I will explain more to you once you’ve recovered -VG
What is your name? And your story, if I may ask? -VG
Please, don’t try to look at me yet, I don’t wish to startle you. -VG
Victor does his best to cover all his bases so that he might be able to have a ‘conversation’ with his guest. Not that
he
could verbally respond, but alas, it was worth a shot, especially if it meant he could try to help the poor traveler.