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"The curse of his powers tormented his life
Obeying the crown was a sinister price
His soul was tortured by love and by pain
He surely would flee but the oath made him stay,"
- "Hand of Sorrow", Within Temptation
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This was it. The consequences of his actions rushing up to meet him like a fall to the floor.
After all that time spent trying to get Floyd back home… Creek had relented to the orders of his master, his body seemingly on autopilot as he dragged the prince back into the Dark Woods. The fear of Silos, his master, had been too much, and he couldn’t fight it off. He’d obeyed him his entire life. It was second nature.
He’d left to go back to the Dark Woods to see him, to maybe see if he could change his mind, plead with him, beg, anything. He left Floyd alone, miles away, just to try and see if maybe going back himself would help. Maybe it would give Floyd a chance at getting back to the kingdom alone.
Oh, how wrong he was…
He nearly stumbled as he was pushed forward by his master, his 'father'. His hands were sweating as clutched the dagger, as if he'd never done this before—when it's all he's ever known.
“C-Creek… please…”
A frightened whimper brought his eyes to Floyd, searching his terrified expression. The prince, his sweet prince, stared up at him with wide eyes, trembling in the ropes that bound him tight. He stared at Creek as though he were a stranger, and maybe that was all he'd ever been to him. The fear behind Floyd's eyes made him sick to his stomach. After everything they had been through together the past weeks, struggling to survive, Creek’s promise to protect him and get the prince home… the moments they shared…
Had it all been a lie?
Silos stood behind Creek, his presence making Creek’s body shake slightly. Or was it the dagger in his hand? He didn’t know, he couldn’t think much at all, really. “You know what to do, boy.” His voice slightly muffled behind the bird mask the Vultures all wore.
Creek’s hand trembled. He was losing his resolve, losing who he was, what he had been. No longer that hardened warrior that killed without thought—just that terrified little child forced to become this. He didn’t want this, he didn’t want to do it. He couldn’t.
“I...” he could only force a single word out. Floyd’s gaze looked at him, pleading silently for mercy, for help.
“You what, Creek?” The tone in Silos’ voice made the troll flinch. He knew that tone. He was already in deep shit enough as it was. This was only going to make it worse for him in the end, but he could push past that. He just couldn’t do this.
He wouldn’t.
“I… can’t.” He took a deep breath, and stepped away from Floyd. “I will not hurt him. I won’t.” He didn’t dare face Silos, knowing it wouldn’t end well for him.
He held his breath and waited. It was only a few seconds, but to Creek it felt like an eternity.
He felt a large hand grab his arm and turn him roughly. He tried to keep a glare, tried to stand his ground, to not show any weakness, even when a sharp fist collided with his jaw, sending him to the ground with a grunt. He heard a startled cry from Floyd at the same time, but it was hard to focus on anything other than the taste of blood in his mouth. The dagger went flying from his hand and landed in the dirt.
“I knew you didn’t have it in you.” Silos kept his tone as steady as possible, but Creek could tell he was furious. That was what made him so dangerous—Creek never knew what to expect. “You’re pathetic. Still the weak-minded little troll you were when I found you.”
Creek kept his head low, not daring to look up at him. He did feel like a child again like this, and he hated it. He felt so small, so weak. His body shook slightly, but he held back any emotion the best he could. It was hard, but damn it, he would try.
“You even brought the prince all the way back here after you impulsively decided to be a hero.” Silos laughed, shaking his head. “And yet you still couldn’t go through with this!”
Creek spit out some blood. “I don’t… want this…” he swallowed hard. “I don’t… want to hurt him…”
“Well that’s just too fucking bad.”
Creek cried out at a sudden kick to his side, Silos’ foot colliding with his ribs. He curled in on himself, hands digging into the dirt and leaves. He heard Floyd cry out his name, out of concern.
He took a deep, shuddering breath, wincing at the explosion of agony in his chest. His ribs were definitely either cracked or bruised. It was difficult to tell. Creek weakly lifted his head to see Floyd staring at him, concern etched into his face. Concern for him, after everything he’d done…
He deserves so much better… better than this… better than me…
Silos seemed to take notice of the way Creek stared at the prince as he stepped into his line of sight, closer to the prince. “Oh. Oh! I know what this is. I know exactly what this is!”
Creek struggled with each breath as he tore his gaze away from Floyd to glare up at his master, the one who turned him into this. The reason for his fears, his torment. He tried to swallow down the pain the best he could.
“You’re in love with the prince!” Silos burst out laughing. Creek could only lower his head in shame. “No wonder you tried to be the hero! Oh Creek, you’re even worse off than I thought. You really think you have any chance with him? Even if he were to live, and even if you weren’t here with me?”
Creek shut his eyes. He didn’t want to listen to this.
“He’s a royal, and you, my boy, are a Vulture. That is all you’ll ever be.”
Creek winced as his hair was roughly pulled, forcing him to open his eyes and meet Silos head on. He stared down the emerald green eyes behind the bird mask that held nothing but cruel intentions. His desire for revenge against the kingdom had warped his mind, but he'd always been vicious and cruel. Creek knew that first hand. He had suffered the most at his hands.
“You will always belong to me. Nothing in the world will ever change that.”
“You’re wrong!”
Creek could see Silos’ gaze darken as he slowly turned his head to look over at the prince, who glared up at him. Floyd was trying to be brave, that much was clear. “What did you say, Your Highness?”
“I said you’re wrong,” Floyd repeated, voice trembling slightly. “He doesn’t belong to you. Creek is his own troll. He’s so much more than what you made him to be.” Floyd’s eyes briefly flashed over to Creek, who met his stare with ever-growing concern.
Floyd…
Silos removed his tight grip from Creek’s hair as he got to his feet, slowly making his way over to the prince. Creek’s eyes widened, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest with a rising fear that threatened to swallow him whole and spit him back out again.
“Floyd,” Creek gasped out, struggling to get to his feet, but the pain in his chest overwhelmed him, causing him to fall back to the dirt. He lifted his head, watching with growing terror as his own tormentor approached the prince, a dagger in his hand. “F-Floyd!”
He scrambled forward on instinct, but immediately he was grabbed by two other Vultures who hauled him to his feet and held him back. Creek could only watch, trying his best to ignore the pain in his chest, forcing each breath out the best he could.
Silos was much taller than Floyd, who had to look up at him, trying his best to keep a brave face on. “Well… you certainly are something else, Prince Floyd. What do they call you again in the kingdom? ‘The Sensitive Prince’.” He placed the edge of the blade against Floyd’s cheek, who flinched slightly. “Hm… you don’t look all that sensitive to me.”
Floyd stayed quiet, clearly swallowing back his own fear to try and stand his ground.
“Silos… please….” Creek took a shuddering breath. “Please don’t hurt him…”
“Oh, I think that ship has long sailed, don’t you think?” He pressed the blade further into Floyd’s cheek, enough to pierce a bit of skin. The prince winced and held back a pained whimper that threatened to burst from him. But he stayed still, stayed strong. “I’ve waited for this day far too long…”
Creek made a weak attempt of a struggle, but he was held back in a strong grip.
No…!
Just as Silos was about to press further, going to great lengths at making the prince bleed, two other Vultures appeared. They were quick to interrupt him.
“Silos.”
Seeing Silos pause before doing any real damage, Creek felt himself relax ever so slightly. A small miracle – if he even believed in those anymore. He never did.
Their leader heaved an irritated sigh, lowering his knife and turning to glare at the two that had interrupted him. “What is it?”
“We’ve captured a royal knight in the area,” one of them explained. “We’re bringing him up here now.”
Silos tilted his head. It was always hard to tell what he was thinking when he kept the mask on. Creek couldn’t see his eyes from where he stood, held back, but he could tell his master’s curiosity had peaked. “A royal knight?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Hm… that is interesting. They know better than to roam these parts.” Much to Creek’s relief, he stepped away from Floyd and made his way over to the two Vultures. “This one must have a death wish.”
Creek and Floyd locked eyes. Floyd looked a bit hopeful at the news that a knight was near, but Creek knew better. This knight was clearly going to be killed if he wasn’t possibly dead already. They were stuck here. Floyd was stuck here. Creek had essentially signed his death warrant by bringing him back here. The regret that clenched his heart in its tight grip made it hard for Creek to fully look Floyd in the eyes for too long. He looked away from him, lowering his head in defeat.
They waited with bated breath as more Vultures dragged over a royal knight – a helmet covering their face. Creek turned his head weakly to see who this knight was. He never got too friendly with any of them when he was a royal guard. He kept his distance from everyone when he was in the kingdom. He had no idea who would be stupid enough to come here alone.
“This one put up a fight,” one of the two Vultures holding the knight said. “What should we do with him?”
Silos calmly made his way over to the knight who was being held with their arms behind their back. The knight’s head dropped over, as if unconscious or weakened by their fight. “I’m thinking… we could always send the prince’s head back with this one. To send the message. Two birds with one stone, if you will.”
Creek gritted his teeth, attempting again to pull away from the two holding him back, but it was futile. He couldn’t let Floyd get hurt, but they were stuck. The situation was hopeless.
Creek lowered his head, trying to control his breathing, trying to ignore the flare ups of pain that blossomed across his chest with each breath. He needed to think of a plan, a way out, a way to get Floyd out, but nothing came to mind.
“Now,” he heard Silos say, “Let’s see who this knight is…”
Creek didn’t look over at them, too distracted by his own racing thoughts to notice. He heard a helmet drop to the ground, followed by a scream from Floyd that startled Creek back to the real world. Not just any scream, but that of a name.
“BRANCH!”
Creek looked up at Floyd, seeing the panicked horror on his face. It took a second before the name registered, followed by the realization. Wait…
Creek turned his head, and there he was. Prince Branch, disguised as a knight, panting heavily, head bowed.
Oh God…
The youngest prince, the most stubborn, the one who Creek should have known would disobey his family and come here to find his brother. Branch must have found evidence to show Creek was involved. Evidence to show Creek had been a Vulture sent to the kingdom on a mission. That much was clear. And despite how much Branch had hardly said a word to Prince Floyd’s royal guard, most times looking at Creek with suspicion behind his eyes… Creek didn’t want this. He didn’t want any of this.
“Oh… you’re kidding.” Creek heard a satisfied laugh escape his master. “You’re kidding! This is Prince Branch! Oh, today is our lucky day, Vultures.” Even with the mask on, Creek just knew Silos was smiling wide. “We have ourselves not one, but two princes in our presence.”
Creek could hear a few pleased chuckles from the others around them. The rest of the Vultures were clearly becoming excited with the current turn of events. The regret Creek felt within his heart only grew with each second that passed.
“No, please!” He heard Floyd yell. “Please don’t hurt my brother! I’m begging you! You already have me, just let him go!”
“Oh, now why would I do that?” Silos reached forward to grip Branch’s blue hair tightly, forcing the youngest prince to meet his gaze. Creek had to give him credit, Branch was standing his ground well, gritting his teeth and glaring up at Silos with an intense hatred. “It’s not every day this happens.”
Branch spit at him, though it did nothing to phase the leader of the Vultures.
“Hm… this one has some fight in him.” He yanked Branch’s hair harder than before, enticing a pained growl. “You’re certainly not like other princes, are you?”
“Fuck you,” Branch snapped, shaking slightly as he held his ground. His eyes trailed over to his brother, thankful to just see him alive after all this time. And then his eyes met Creek’s, and that anger flared up again from the young prince. “You!”
Branch struggled to move forward towards Creek. “You did this traitor!” He wanted to throttle him for causing all of this, but the two other Vultures held him back the best they could. Creek could only stare at him with regret in his amethyst eyes, wishing more than anything he could turn back time and take back what he had done. “This is all your fault!”
Silos just stared at the young prince; head tilted slightly in curiosity. Creek wished he knew what he was thinking. “I’ve never seen a prince this riled up.” He sounded intrigued by Branch’s outburst. He’d made up his mind then. “Chain these two up over there—” he pointed at a large tree across from where Floyd was bound. “—we’ll have them both watch.”
Branch continued to struggle and fight. Floyd let out a sob, his sensitive exterior breaking through. Creek could only hang his head, as if slowly giving up. Wishing this was just a nightmare he could maybe wake up from. He hardly noticed the rest of the clan that had gathered around to watch.
“Tonight, we will kill the prince!” Silos announced to the clan. They all clapped and cheered as he continued his speech. “This is one step forward towards honoring our clan and our cause! The kingdom will feel our wrath ten times over! This is only the beginning!”
Creek began to tune out Silos’ words and the cheers from their clan. Right now, all he could hear was his own heartbeat, the blood ringing in his ears, mixed with Floyd’s sobs of terror and Branch’s grunts as he struggled to break free.
There was no way out of this. This was it. It was over. Only a sheer miracle could help them now.