Chapter Text
Sebek moved his gaze from the book he was reading and focused it on his left hand. He looked at the black glove that covered it and after a few seconds, he turned his hand slightly, leaving the palm facing up. The glove reached a little above the wrist, so it covered the hand in its entirety.
For a few seconds, he made no movement, just stared at the palm as if there was something interesting to see and not just the glove's black fabric.
He sighed and closed the book. He quietly got up from the seat he had been occupying for a couple of hours and decided to leave the book on the library table.
He placed it near the edge, knowing that someone would put it back later.
He began to walk quietly, trying to ignore the unpleasant feeling he felt inside, ugh, he hated that feeling and in the last few weeks it had gotten worse. At first he had tried to ignore it and even went so far as to increase his training in an attempt to occupy his thoughts on something else and he had to admit that at first it had worked and he would arrive home so exhausted, he would just eat dinner and sleep, but little by little, those thoughts came back and no matter how hard he tried to shut them up, they were getting stronger and stronger.
He bit his lower lip as he dodged a couple at the entrance to the library.
For the seven, didn't these people know what politeness was? they were in public! if they want to kiss so badly, let them do it in private!
He turned towards the stairs and began to walk down them while dodging some people running past while carrying some things in their hands. The truth was that the castle had been a bit rowdy for a week now and that day was even worse, though well, he shouldn't be surprised after all today was the day.
He sighed again as he dodged a couple of boxes that had been left on the floor, it seemed that getting down to the lowest floor of the castle would be difficult.
It took him longer than usual, but he had finally reached the lowest floor, now he just had to make his way to the secondary hall, the resting area of the fourth imperial guard training team and wait there for the prince.
He moved his gaze to look out through the huge window. The first thing he saw were several flags hanging as they fluttered in the wind, ah, the flags of his kingdom were so beautiful and magnificent, seeing them you could feel the whole history of the kingdom... they were really incredible....
A feeling of pride came over him, he had been so fortunate to have been born in the Valley of Thorns. He felt his heart racing at the thought that a few months ago he had turned twenty years old, so he would soon be promoted and could begin to participate in the training of the guard's third squadron and-
Suddenly, all that happiness he was feeling was replaced by a cold sensation that froze his body, an unpleasant feeling began to form in his stomach and started to rise up to his heart, it was as if his heart was being squeezed and his lungs were not getting enough air, so it was difficult to breathe. A feeling of emptiness and inadequacy took over his body again.
Damn, that stupid feeling again.
He clenched his hands so hard, he felt the nails digging into his skin. Shit, that hurt... but it didn't hurt as much as his chest.
He raised his left hand up to the level of his face, turned it over and held his palm out in front of him. Gently, he reached his other hand up and slowly lifted the glove a little, exposing his wrist.
He had seen it hundreds, no, thousands of times... he had seen it so many, many times, that he was able to draw it perfectly with all the details. There on the back of his left wrist, was his soulmate mark.
The soulmate marks appeared when the person was about six or seven years old in the races of shorter lives and approximately when they were between seventy and one hundred and twenty years old in the races of longer lives. Each person had a mark that could appear anywhere on the body and depending on the area, it could have one size or another, although they usually measured 5cm. Each mark had something that represented the soulmate and a small 'blank' space that represented the person himself. The marks were like a mirror, they were on the opposite side in each soulmate and when both were facing each other, your blank space was the drawing that your soulmate had, so both were completed; when that happened, a small glow was present in the first seconds.
Sebek admitted that when he was younger, he thought it must be a bit annoying to have the marks glow, as they could give away your position, but then he found out that only happened the first time both marks 'completed' and when both soulmates seemed to connect and feel the same intense emotion, he actually thought that was cooler, but he was too young to understand it so he just ignored it, thinking that when he was older he would be tired of seeing his mark glow and... haha, how innocent he had been.
He squinted and looked at his mark.
It was a small mark of about 3cm on the back of his left wrist. The drawing was a circle made with birds spreading their wings flying and in the center there was a sword, the blank space had a strange shape that Sebek could not determine what it was, he only knew that there seemed to be a kind of triangle that covered a part of the left area of the sword.
By pure deduction, he had come to the conclusion that his soulmate must have their mark on the front of the wrist of the left hand and it must also be a circle, a little larger than his and so they fit, in the center there must be something that had some point that looked like a triangle and... well, he knew nothing else... after all, until now he had never seen his soulmate.
He watched the mark as intently as if something new was about to appear and as always, remained impassive.
He arranged the glove back to the way it was before and resumed his route to his destination.
The truth was that he was... frustrated. He didn't know if it was because he had started paying more attention to his surroundings, but he was encountering a lot of couples lately and the knot in his stomach and the pain in his chest was increasing.
He tried to ignore that feeling by distracting himself with something else, but as life seemed to want to mock him, his mark was on his dominant hand, so every time he went to write, pick up a utensil, his sword or anything else, the reminder that his soulmate had not yet appeared, was present.
At first he shouldn't mind the lack of them, but living with such a loving couple as his parents were and that his siblings had already found their mates, it was like a reminder that he was doing everything late. His siblings had awakened their magic long before he had, they had even found their soulmates years ago and he... well, there he was.
He lowered his gaze to the ground.
He was trying to convince himself that soulmates were nonsense, that sooner or later they would appear but... he couldn't help but doubt about it... What if his soulmate never appeared...? or if something happened to them before they met...? had they even been born?
When he got into that loop of negativity, it was very difficult to get out of it. He would start out thinking that his soulmate would never show up and each time the frustration grew more and more and he would end up thinking about his worst flaws.
Why did everyone have a soulmate and he still didn't? was it because he wasn't enough? he was always late for everything, he was taking too long even in this?
The fact that he had taken so long to develop his magic was a sign that he was useless? he-
He shook his head.
It was no time to think about that, this day was important so he had to focus.
He looked straight ahead again.
Yes, today was important.
Today was the day when the humans and fae who lived in that land would make a peace agreement.
The war between humans and fae had been going on for several centuries and although they had tried to reach an agreement between the parties, something always happened to ruin it and the conflict got worse, at least until that day....
25 years ago, due to a conflict of interests that triggered a political conflict, Princess Maleanor on behalf of the Land of Thorns confronted the Knight of Dawn, the general who commanded the human forces known as the Silver Owls. It was a close fight but in the end, the Knight of the Dawn had won.
Sebek did not know very well what had happened next, since an internal fight for power had developed among the humans, but he did know how it had affected his country. The country of the thorns was then divided between the different human divisions and a small area, the valley of the thorns, was what the fae kept.
A year after that division, the then princess of the human side, Princess Leah, married the general of the silver owls and the Knight of the Dawn became king and she queen. Both sought peace between the different races, so they reached an agreement with Queen Maleficia and Princess Maleanor that any fairy or human could live anywhere in the kingdom, regardless of the predominant race of the place.
Humans then began to coexist in different areas of the fae and although at first, many fae were reluctant to change, they gradually began to move to other areas as well. The Valley of Thorns at first did not agree with the ideas of their royalty and the senate and the royalty faced a lot of criticism, but if in the end they got tired of protesting or simply conformed, they accepted the entry of some humans.
During the following years, relations began to calm down a bit and although it is true that sometimes there were conflicts, in general it could be said that things were a little better than in the time of the war.
At the beginning of this year, diplomatic relations between humans and fae had returned to be present, at the time the agreement had been a ceasefire and now it was an agreement of union.
Both the heir to the human and fae royalty were male, so they could not have them intermarry to expedite the union agreement, so for the time being, it was a diplomatic agreement on paper....
Sebek started walking towards his destination.
That day was important, as the human royalty, several nobles and the guard along with several soldiers would be staying for a few weeks in the Valley of Thorns. Earlier in the year it had been the fae royalty, nobles and guard who had been in human land, so now it was their time to show their hospitality to the humans.
He turned his face, looking out the huge window again. The flags of different human lands fluttered in the wind along with those of the Valley of Thorns.
Suddenly, his tranquility was interrupted by several quickened footsteps approaching him.
He turned and watched as several guards ran down the hallway.
He raised an eyebrow, those 5 guards were, along with him, the ones chosen to guard and watch over the human prince.
“Senpai,” Sebek called out to them, “what's going on, shouldn't you already be in the hall with the human prince?”
A pig-like fae, with dark round eyes that matched their hair, stopped beside them, “the prince!”
“The prince...?”
A bird-type fae, with a helmet covering their hair and part of the feathers on their cheeks, spoke in despair, “the prince is gone!”
Sebek blinked in confusion, “What?”
A small sized bat-like fae was the one who spoke, “the human prince is not in the lounge!”
Sebek felt his blood run cold at the last sentence... How was it possible? the human prince should be in the lounge, in the resting area of the fourth team! why wasn't he there!?
Had something happened to him?
What if... what if someone had kidnapped him because they didn't agree with the peace agreement and were planning to kill him?
Shit. What were they going to do?
It was Malleus himself who had chosen that team for the prince's protection and they couldn't even accomplish such a simple mission!?
Sebek began to feel anxious, but before he could say or do anything, a tall raven-like fae spoke up, “Let's split up. Bracken you'll check the entire northern area, Finne you the west, Vande you'll go east, Sebek you'll be at the east-south intersection where the paths to the forest divide, I'll take care of the south-west!”
“Yes, sir!” shouted the soldiers.
The raven fae continued speaking. “Our mission is to find the human prince and bring him safely back to the castle! Tonight he will have a meeting with Malleus-sama, so we must find him as soon as possible! Search every nook and cranny!”
“Yes, sir!”
“We will all meet at the south entrance of the castle at 6pm. Remember that bringing the prince back here is primordial!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Blessed by the night.”
“Blessed by the night!”
After that, they quickly all split up and started running towards the assigned area.
Sebek thought he could go faster if he took a broom and flew to his destination, but the place where they were kept was on the second floor and at this moment, every second counted so he couldn't waste time going up there.
He quickly left the castle and instead of taking the path that was marked on the ground, he veered to the left and went into the small forest that surrounded the castle, he knew a shortcut to his destination so he would take advantage of it to get there faster. It was a good thing he had memorized the map of the Valley of Thorns, so he knew which path to use to get there faster.
“The prince of the humans...,” he thought as he hopped over a couple of stones that were along the way, ”if someone has kidnapped him, then they should want to use the east-south intersection, since that's where the roads leading to the different cities split. In case he's not there, they could use the west exit, which is where the port is...”
He dodged a couple of branches from various trees and jumped over a couple of walled walls left over from an old base destroyed during wartime.
To be honest, Sebek didn't know what the prince he was looking for looked like, he only had a vague idea in his head. That morning, when the humans had arrived in the valley, the soldiers and the fae royal guard had lined up to show their respects, but Sebek was quite far away and had many companions in front of him, so he had not been able to almost see them, however, he had been left with a detail: both kings had blond hair, the queen wore it up and a gray scarf covered part of her head while the king had long hair of a bright blond... so by pure logic, the prince must also be blond. Good thing there were no fae or humans in the Valley of Thorns with that hair color, so someone with those features would stand out.
Another thing he deduced was that the prince should wear white and gray clothing, characteristic colors that humans wore.
As for his age, he knew he was someone young, about his age. He had been chosen to look after the prince because he was the only soldier in the Valley of Thorns with a similar age to the human prince, so Malleus had thought that the prince would feel comfortable.
And... well, he didn't know any more. Malleus had said his name, but he had to admit that his lord had said so many names, he only remembered a few. Ugh, he should have paid more attention.
Finally, after about twenty minutes of non-stop running, he could see in the distance the intersection where the paths to the forest divided.
He slowed down and slowly began to stop, he had been running for too long and although it is true that he did daily training, his body also had a limit. Ugh, stupid half human body, he would have more stamina if he was a full fae.
He stopped his pace and started walking fast as he caught his breath. Besides, he had gotten out so fast he hadn't even grabbed a bottle of water, by the seven, he was being really clueless that day.
He walked a few more meters and suddenly, out of the corner of his eye something caught his attention.
He quickly moved his head to that side and saw how several small animals were heading towards the same place. That caught his attention, in that valley there weren't many small animals, as they used to flee from there due to the large magical beasts, so it was rare to see several squirrels, rabbits and birds around that place.
He blinked in confusion and out of pure curiosity approached the area.
The animals seemed to be attracted to something.
Ah.
What was that noise his ears were picking up?
He concentrated more and then realized that it sounded like a person's voice.
He followed the animals as he tried to make out the voice.
The closer he got, he realized that it was a rather soft male voice and... that person was singing?
He tuned his ear more and... indeed, he was singing.
Sebek raised an eyebrow in confusion, he had never heard that song before but... the voice was really beautiful, not as beautiful as Malleus-sama's, but it was nice.
He kept walking, he felt that voice was enrapturing him and he understood why the animals were heading that way without noticing.
He dodged some branches and at that moment, he could distinguish several phrases:
“I know you~
I walked with you once upon a dream~”
Ah, now that he was closer, not only could he make out the lyrics but he could appreciate the beautiful voice even more.
“I know you~
That look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam~”
At that moment, he completely forgot about the mission he had, all his concentration was focused on the beautiful voice.
“And I know it's true, that visions are seldom what they seem~”
It was so warm...
How was it possible that a simple song could make him feel so warm... so complete?
He had heard Malleus sing several times and he felt like crying with joy every time he heard him but... but this voice was different. It generated a strange feeling in his body... a feeling he didn't know how to describe but it was as if everything he longed for was right in front of him.
The song continued, the truth is that it had beautiful lyrics and the singer had the ability to transmit the song, so you could feel the longing and hope that radiated from the singer.
Ah, that made him feel identified. He was also longing and hoping that his soulmate would appear at any moment and he felt that the singer was just like him.
That song... that song was addressed to the singer's soulmate.
He finally reached the area where the singer was still reciting the song.
The first thing that caught his attention was the silver hair of the man singing, it had an almost magical glow, it was like the glow of moonlight....
Then he noticed his clothes: he was wearing a gray shirt and over it a black vest, the pants were a dark gray that matched his short black boots.
The boy was singing while several birds flew around him and he seemed to be dancing with an owl.
The truth is that Sebek thought it was quite cute.
“You'll love me at once
The way you did once upon a dream~”
Sebek moved a little closer and at that moment, he inadvertently ended up stepping on a branch that was on the ground, giving away his position and making the other boy turn around to see him.
Sebek opened his eyes in surprise.
The boy in front of him was a human...he had never seen such a 'glowing' human before. There seemed to surround him an aura of purity and warmth that the half fae had never felt before.
And his eyes...
For the seven, his eyes were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. They were a strange color, it was a mixture of blue and purple, aurora? that was the color? he didn't know, but it was the first time he had seen it.
The boy opened his eyes in surprise and blushed slightly, he looked embarrassed. Ah, it was because Sebek had caught him singing? that sounded stupid, with such a nice voice he had, he shouldn't be ashamed! but that was something Sebek wouldn't say out loud.
The half fae opened his mouth to say something, agh, why was he starting to get nervous!?
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.”
The silver haired young man shook his head, “it's okay,” ah, even his voice was warm, “it was me who got carried away and started singing.”
The green-haired one moved closer until he was facing the other, “you shouldn't be here, it's dangerous.”
“Your ears...you're a human too...? but, your clothes-”
“I'm not a human like you!” well, technically he was half human.
“I see,” he replied calmly despite the high volume of the other's voice. “You're from the fae royal guard? your black and green clothes look like the ones they wear.”
“I'm not a royal guard yet, but I'm in training! So in a few years I'll be one of them!”
“I see. Good cheer, uhm...”
“Sebek Zigvolt!”
“Good cheer, Sebek. I'm Silver,” he put a small smile on his face and Sebek felt something move inside his stomach.
“Silver, you're from the human kingdom, right?” the other nodded slightly, “what are you doing here?”
“I was at the fae castle and I was getting bored, so I started walking around and then some birds showed up... I started following them and well, here I am.”
He frowned, “how can you be so clueless!? Silver, this area is dangerous, it's full of magical monsters that can kill you!” he ran a hand through his perfectly slicked back hair, "I can't believe I get to babysit a lost human...," he sighed and pointed his head back the way he had come, "come on, I'll take you back towards town."
“Ah, how kind of you, Sebek,” again that little smile and again something stirring in his stomach.
“Don't flatter yourself that I'm worried about you! But I can't leave a weak and helpless human here to his fate in the forest!”
Silver hummed, “How cute, Sebek.”
“Who are you calling 'cute'!?”
“You.”
Sebek massaged the bridge of his nose, that human made him nervous but he couldn't leave him there.
They would go to the town, he would leave him there and then continue looking for the prince, after all, if they had him kidnapped, he couldn't go with Silver to rescue him as they might take him prisoner as well. Silver looked delicate, he didn't look like a royal guard or a soldier, so he was most likely a noble and well, nobles weren't very good at fighting. Although it was primordial to find the prince, he couldn't risk Silver's life.
He took a deep breath, this day seemed to be full of obstacles.
“We're going back the same way I came and-”
“Wait, Sebek,” he said as he watched a small blue colored bird flying near his head, "the birds tell us we should go that way," he pointed to the left, practically the opposite side where the other had come from.
“No,” he shook his head, ”this forest is dangerous enough, we risk going deeper and getting lost. We'll go back the way I came.”
“But-”
“Silver! If we get lost in this forest, we'll be dead! I'm not going to risk our lives because some birds, who were also the ones who brought you here, point you to an unknown area!”
Sebek watched as the other's impassive face seemed to hesitate. He understood his concern but the other had no idea how dangerous the place they were in was.
Silver looked like he was going to refuse, and at that moment, without realizing it, the green-haired one gave a pleading look that seemed to have an effect on the other.
“All right, we'll go the way you came, Sebek.”
A broad grin appeared on his face. “Fine!”
Silver's eyes widened in surprise, “what a cute smile.”
“Can you stop saying I'm cute!?”
“But... you are.”
“Agh, shut up already and follow me.”
They started walking down the same path Sebek had used to get there and although several birds circled around Silver's head and pulled his hair the other way, the boy calmed them down by telling them not to worry.
Sebek felt a little...good, hearing that, after all, they had both just met and yet the other seemed to trust him so it made him feel accepted...it was a weird feeling.
“Sebek, how old are you? You look about my age.”
“I turned 20 a little while ago,” he said proudly.
“Ah, you are quite young. I'm 21.”
“We're only a year apart, don't talk as if you're 30 years older than me!”
“Then I'm older than you.”
“You're only a year older!”
“I still have a year more life and experience than you.”
“As if a mere noble human has more experience than me!”
He hummed in amusement, “I'm Silver-senpai to you.”
“I'm not going to call you ´Silver-senpai´!”
He shook his head slightly to the side, “although I like the way it sounds with your voice, I find it cuter and closer when you just call me without honorifics.”
“What an obsession you have with calling me 'cute'...”
He shifted his face, looking at Sebek, “you are.”
He averted his gaze to the side in embarrassment, “tch, shut up already. It's something humans usually say?” now that he thought about it, his father always said his three childrens were the cutest, it would be something normal in their vocabulary...? fae didn't usually use that word.
“It's something we humans say when we think something is cute and you are.”
“I think you're the only one who thinks that besides my family...”
“Really?”
He turned his gaze back to Silver to see the surprise in his aurora eyes, “why are you surprised?”
“Huh? Is that-”
Suddenly, they both stopped.
Sebek felt a chill run down his spine and his mind began to scream danger.
His mouth went dry and his hands trembled.
His eyes and Silver's met and he realized that the other seemed to be feeling the same as he was.
Before he could do or say anything, Silver grabbed his right arm tightly and pulled Sebek to the ground.
A loud roar erupted and as his body hit the ground, the trees behind him snapped in half.
Sebek rolled on the ground and with his right hand grabbed Silver's left arm and pulled the boy towards him, while his left hand was directed towards his staff.
They both rolled a couple more meters and managed to dodge a claw that broke part of the ground where seconds before they were standing.
Silver quickly moved his hand to the sword on his belt, but before he could do anything, the ground began to shake.
Sebek felt the ground seem to move and out of pure reflex, he grabbed the other's left arm with his right hand, leaving his left free in case he had to attack.
Before they or the creature could do anything, the ground broke, causing them to start falling.
The whole area was too dark, so they couldn't see where the end was.
Silver quickly drew his sword, which transformed into a staff of sorts, and struck hard at what he felt must be the wall.
The staff moved along the wall until it finally managed to catch, bringing them both to an abrupt halt.
Silver clenched the right hand that held the staff and felt Sebek release his grip on his arm due to the jolt they had received as they came to a stop, luckily, he managed to grab his hand and hold it.
“Sebek! Are you okay!?”
“Yes! Silver, are you okay!?”
“Yes!”
“Ah, we're several feet off the ground! I think I could use wind magic and we won't get hurt when we fall!”
“But-!”
“Don't worry!”
They heard the beast's growls seem to be getting farther away and from the distance they could hear it, Silver deduced that they must be about 20 meters off the ground. Truth be told, he could see practically nothing, but it seemed that Sebek had better vision than he did.
“Are you sure, Sebek!?”
“Don't worry! Trust me!”
Without a second's hesitation, Silver kicked the wall, making enough force to dislodge the staff and they both started falling again.
Silver felt a breeze of a faint green color envelop them and slowly stopped their fall, making them reach the ground without any trouble.
Sebek let go of Silver's hand and used both hands to cup the other's face.
“Are you okay, Silver!? are you hurt!?”
“No, I'm fine,” the other sighed in relief and released his face, ”are you okay, Sebek...are you hurt?”
He shook his head, “I'm fine,” he moved his head to survey the place, “where are we?”
Silver lifted his face upward and the hole they had fallen through, seemed to have closed. He lowered his head again, the only thing he could make out was a bit of his companion's silhouette, though he didn't know if it was that he could see him or his mind had assumed he was there and then had created an image of what was supposed to be in front of him. “What is this place?”
“Tch, I think we've fallen into one of the deep zones...”
“Deep zones?”
“Yes, areas that lie beneath the forest. It seems that during the war against the humans, many magical creatures were quite weak to the intense light generated by the human weapons blessed by the diurnal fae, so they started hiding in caves. One thing led to another and in the end, they ended up forming several areas underneath the forests where these creatures live.”
“You said they used to hide in caves, does that mean if we find the cave entrance, we can get out?”
He nodded. “Yes. The only way in or out is through the random breaks in the ground or by finding the tunnels that lead into the caves... The problem is that the deeper we go, the more dangerous it will be and if we start walking without knowing where we're going, we could end up in the center and well...I don't think either of us wants to die so young.”
“Sebek, you can see the place? it's too dark for my eyes.”
“Yeah, well, I can't see it that clearly but I can make out silhouettes.”
“I understand.”
Sebek watched as Silver began to grope his chest, as if he was looking for something, he was about to ask him what he was doing, but his ears picked up a small hissing sound several meters away. He gulped, he was too far away, he couldn't see what kind of creature it was and from the volume of the hissing, he doubted it was a simple snake.
He felt Silver grab his right hand and squeeze it tightly. Ah, so the other boy had also realized there was something else there with them?
As if they were able to communicate with the mind, Sebek knew that Silver was relying on his eyes to find a way to get away from there and that getting separated in that situation would make everything worse.
Fighting there was not a good idea, not only were they almost in the dark, but they didn't know if there could be any more dangerous creatures around, so their only option was to run away.
Sebek squeezed Silver's hand and started walking slowly towards the opposite side where the hissing was coming from, he was mentally thankful that the other hadn't grabbed his dominant hand, because for anything, he could grab his weapon at any moment.
The steps of both boys were slow and trying to make as little noise as possible, the hissing was also approaching, but it was quite slow, as if the creature was measuring its strength.
Sebek was moving his gaze sideways in an attempt to find something, anything that would help them to flee, but they seemed to be in a completely straight corridor. Shit.
The green-haired one felt his heart beating fast, he knew that adrenaline was dominating his body as he felt all his senses were awake and functioning at abnormal rates.
Suddenly, a small beam of light flashed quickly past him and disappeared several hundred meters away as it crashed into the lower part of a wall.
Before he could do or say anything, he felt Silver start to run forward and pull him along. The movement was so fast, Sebek was thankful for his training with Master Lilia, because if it hadn't been for that, he would have fallen to the ground.
The truth is that Sebek didn't have the slightest idea of what that beam of light had been and much less did he understand why they were running, the only thing they had achieved with that was that the beast began to move quickly behind them. He could feel it getting closer and that damned corridor had no place to hide or even to turn.
What was that idiot Silver thinking? his impatience was going to kill them!
“Sebek! In 120 meters, get down on the ground!”
“What?!? What are you-!?”
“Just listen to me!”
The green-haired one blinked in confusion, he didn't know what the other was planning but they had practically one foot already in the grave, so he had nothing to lose.
“100 meters!”
“Silver, what are you thinking!?”
“It's the only way we have to save ourselves.”
“But-”
“Do you trust me, Sebek?”
He remained silent. They had just met, how was he supposed to trust someone like that...? yet it was weird, he shouldn't but still...he felt he could trust the other.
Silver was weird, he didn't behave like the other nobles, but he kept that aura of peace that the others gave.
What a strange guy...
He squeezed Silver's hand, he didn't need to answer his question.
“When I tell you, get down on the ground!”
“Okay!”
He could feel how the creature was practically brushing against their heels, although he didn't know what it was, he had an idea of its size and shape and the truth was that he preferred not to find out what it was. The creature must have been about 4 meters tall and it was crawling, so the moment it reached them, the death sentence for them would already be written.
“Now!”
Without a second's hesitation, they both dropped to the ground and Sebek decided that although he still didn't want to die, he would take the consequences of his bad decision, after all it had been him who had gotten them into this by not paying attention to the birds warning Silver, so he would try to distract the creature and buy time for the silver-haired one to flee.
At that moment, a loud bang sounded above them and the walls shook.
Eh?
The creature...had hit something?
Sebek looked up and sure enough, he saw how the ceiling in that place was much lower and a huge stone protruded from the ceiling, creating a wall that made the place quite a bit lower.
He felt Silver tug on his hand and pulled him towards a lower part of the nearest wall.
“Silve-”
Eh?
He could see a small light sneak underneath a gap in the wall. It wasn't a very big gap, but big enough for a person to squeeze through crouched there and too small for a creature like the one following them, to squeeze through.
Silver stepped through the gap and pulled Sebek through as well.
When they reached the other side, they moved to a safe distance in case the creature on the other side tried to enter.
Several seconds passed and although the wall was hit several times, nothing could break through.
They both took deep breaths in an attempt to catch some air, for the moment they were out of danger.
They felt as if their hearts would pound out of their chests and it seemed that the air they took in was not enough to fill their lungs. They were too exhausted and that the place had such limited ventilation only made the exhaustion worse.
Silver closed his eyes as he tried to catch his breath and calm his body. He had run from and fought magical creatures many times, but this time he felt different, he felt much more vulnerable and he didn't know why.
“S-Silver...are you...okay?”
“Y-yes... Se-Sebek... are you... are you okay...?”
“Y-yes...I just need...to...rest...for a moment...”
Silver began to feel the air until he finally found a wall. He leaned his back against it and took another deep breath.
When he felt his pulse normalize, he opened his eyes again and surveyed the place.
They were still in a hallway, but this one was different. The place was lit by a dim orange light, making the green color of the walls visible.
He turned his face and looked at the wall he was leaning against and-.
“This is moss, that means we're in a damp area.”
“Yes,” replied the other, ”we must be near a surface with water.”
They both looked at each other and understood what the other was thinking. If there was water nearby, that meant there should be some outlet nearby, and besides, if it was drinkable, they could both drink some. So finding the water was primordial at that moment.
Sebek looked both ways, “Now the problem is where we'll head,” it seemed they were back to the beginning, where they didn't know which way to move.
“Don't worry.”
The green haired one watched as Silver placed his hand on his chest and a small aurora colored light began to glow under his clothing. He blinked in confusion as the light seemed to shoot out to the right side, it was brief and disappeared in less than a second, but it lasted long enough for both of them to see it.
Silver grabbed Sebek's right hand again and began to pull him towards the spot the light indicated.
“Ah!? Silver why are you grabbing my hand!?” he tried to let go, but the other grabbed him tighter, ”Silver!”
“You're left handed aren't you?” he asked calmly, ignoring the other's irritation, “your weapon is stored on the right side of your hip, you wouldn't do that if you weren't left handed.”
He frowned, “I am, is there a problem?”
“Neither. I've grabbed your right hand with my left, so we both have our dominant hand free in case we need to draw our weapons.”
Sebek was silent, he understood the reasoning behind that, but still, it made him uncomfortable to be holding hands with the other. Well, he wouldn't know whether to say the situation made him uncomfortable, but rather... embarrassed him. He knew Silver was doing it so that the two of them would stick together no matter what, it made sense, separating there wouldn't be a good idea but...that holding hands with someone else was...embarrassing.
It was strange, he could just remove his hand or keep protesting until he tired the other and got them to let go, but he wasn't doing it. Silver's strong grip and the warmth his hand emitted, despite wearing a glove, was a nice feeling.
I-it wasn't that Sebek felt comfortable like this, he was simply staying in that position because they had to be close. What if the floor broke again!?
“Tch, you're a weird guy.”
“..., sorry.”
Sebek was silent as he raised an eyebrow, had he been annoyed by the comment...? no, although Silver had a rather monotone voice, he could sense a certain sadness.
It was true that Silver was odd, but that wasn't a negative. Silver was a very observant person, he had quick reflexes and he was also physically strong, he had managed to hold them both with one hand! that was something admirable and more so for a human! so yes, Silver was weird, but he was someone quite admirable!
Silver looked down a bit, well, it wasn't the first time he was treated as someone who wasn't normal, he should be used to it but... being honest, he felt a connection with Sebek that until that moment, he had never felt with anyone, as if both were able to understand each other without words and were on the same line... so he admitted that the treatment of the other had hurt him a bit and-
He listened as the other cleared his throat.
“Silver, being weird isn't a bad thing, we're all weird.”
He turned around to look at him, “Sebek?”
“The truth is you're a pretty skilled guy for a human! You should be more proud of yourself! So stop letting the comments others make get you down, you shouldn't care what others think of you!”
“...”
“So,” he smiled and Silver could see small fangs protruding from his teeth, ”stop making that face and smile proudly, although well, you don't seem like a very expressive person.”
Silver blinked in confusion and without realizing it, the corner of his lips turned up and he put a small smile on his face.
Sebek's eyes widened in surprise. The place they were standing had changed, so Silver was being illuminated by a warm bluish light that made him look like a character out of a fairy tale, he looked so beautiful, it was like seeing a prince from the fairy tales he read when he was little. Those majestic and strong princes that saved the beautiful princess from a curse.
He didn't think about it, he just spoke, “Silver, you have a cute smile,” ah, what? what had he just said? “although my lord's smile is much more beautiful and majestic than that of an impatient human like you!”
Silver didn't hear the last, he just lingered on the first sentence, so he couldn't stop a small blush from appearing on his cheeks.
“Ha! See how awkward it is when someone tells you you're cute!?”
The aurora-eyed one averted his eyes a little to the side, embarrassed, “but, you sure are cute...”
“Let's not start that again! agh, what an annoying guy you are!” with his free hand he grabbed the bridge of his nose.
Silver blinked and realized that the place had changed. He turned his face and looked sideways.
That place...that place was really beautiful.
The walls were adorned with blue flowers that glowed with a faint bluish light, while the floor was filled with orange flowers with a small white glow, making the place bathed in a warm blue and white light.
Several vines fell from the ceiling and ended up on the floor, entangling with the orange flowers, making the color contrast stand out more.
Sebek looked up, watching as several purple crystals protruded from the walls. He didn't know what kind of crystal those were, but he could feel a faint magical power coming from them.
Suddenly, he felt the human's grip grow weaker. He looked down just in time to see the other close his eyes and....
“Silver?”
He had...fallen asleep!? how was it possible for him to fall asleep standing up!?
He was about to yell at him to wake up, but then he realized that they had both been under a lot of stress since they had fallen there, so it was normal for a human to feel exhausted.
He sighed tiredly and decided to put the other on his back, that way it would be much easier to carry him and in case he had to run away, it was easier to run.
The truth was that Silver was heavier than he looked, but it wasn't a difficult weight to carry, after all, Master Lilia had made him carry heavier things.
----
Silver opened his eyes slowly and the first thing he saw was a small bird tucking his hair behind his ear. He blinked in confusion and then, remembered everything that had happened.
“Sebek!”
“Calm down, I'm right here.”
He turned his face to the side and the sight he got was one of the cutest he had ever witnessed in his life. Sebek had several rabbits sitting on his legs, an owl had perched on his head and a squirrel was on his shoulder.
He smiled and as he was about to speak, the other interrupted him.
“Say one more time that I'm cute and I swear I'll cook you next to these animals!”
He chuckled a little, “even if it's true?”
“Shut up already!”
He felt several birds perched on his shoulders and the rabbits on Sebek, sat on his legs, even a small squirrel climbed on his head.
“Are you an animal tamer or something, Silver?”
“No, they just seem to love me.”
“I don't know what's more annoying, you sleeping or the amount of animals that showed up when we got back to the surface.”
He turned his gaze back to his companion, “what happened when I fell asleep?”
“I placed you on my back and started walking following a small river that was a few feet ahead of where you fell asleep. Several magical beasts appeared, but that thing on your chest started to glow and many of them moved away. When we got out, I walked a couple of meters and several animals appeared and started leading the way,” he sighed tiredly, "I walked quite a ways, so I decided to sit down for a bit and well," he looked around, "the animals surrounded us and seemed concerned about you."
“Thank you, Sebek.”
“You better thank me!” the loud volume of his voice made several animals run away, ”it was really hard to get here having to carry you! how can you fall asleep in a situation like that!? damn impatient human and lazy too!”
“Sorry.”
“Tch. Just tell the beasties on my head and shoulder to leave me alone.”
Silver made a little signal towards him and the animals left the other one alone and moved to his side. “Let me reward you with something,” he gave them another signal and the animals left them alone, “I don't know what kind of stuff you give in the Valley of Thorns...”
“Hump, I don't need anything.”
“But-”
“Don't make me repeat myself!” he got up from the ground and wiped off the dirt he had, “we're not too far from the town, so I'll leave you there and-”
Silver also got up and after watching the other turn pale, he became concerned, “Sebek...what's wrong?”
In a low voice, something quite rare for him, he said, “The prince...”
“What?”
He quickly grabbed Silver's left hand out of sheer habit, he doubted another creature would appear there, and started to run, pulling the other with him.
“Sebek?”
“I have to get to the castle soon! Since I've been with you all day, I forgot about my mission!”
“Your mission?”
“Yes! my squad was supposed to take care of your prince, but the guy wasn't where he was supposed to be and we went out to look for him! when we met, I was going to look for him and well, because of you I ended up getting distracted and I haven't looked for your prince!”
“My prince?”
“Yes! Silver, is that you're still asleep!? come on, run faster! I have to drop you off in the town and,” he looked up as they entered the town, in the distance, he saw a huge clock that read almost 6 o'clock in the evening. Fuck! He had to meet his companions in a while and he had nothing! “I'll drop you off downtown and then I'll go to the castle!”
“Wait, Sebek-”
“I can't wait! agh, damn it, because of you, Malleus-sama is going to be disappointed in me! he's going to think I've been wandering around all day and not taking my training seriously!”
“Sebek, listen to me-”
“No! Silver I don't have time for that! you said you wanted to return the favor, didn't you!? so keep quiet and don't get into any more trouble!”
“...”
They quickly arrived at the town square and Sebek left Silver there, despite the human's protests, the green-haired one quickly headed to the castle, to the area where they had agreed to meet his companions.
When he arrived, he could see the worried faces of all of them and his worst fear came true: none of them had found the prince.
He gulped as he listened to his companions explain how they had been looking for him for hours but had been unable to find him.
He was starting to get nervous, he should go back to the forest and go to where he had been ordered to look? no, it had been too many hours, if the prince was there, it was impossible that he was still in that area!
He felt his heart stop beating when small green orbs appeared.
“Malleus-sama!” shouted the soldiers at once.
The young prince smiled at them, “oh, what are you doing gathered here?”
“A-ah,” the raven-like fae tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out.
Sebek felt his hands shaking with helplessness, he had worked so many years so hard to prove himself to his lord and now...all that effort had been thrown away! “Malleus-sama, we-”
“The prince of humans,” he began to speak quietly as the soldiers stiffened after hearing the sentence, ”told me that you have been very kind to him and that he hasn't had so much fun in a long time.”
“W-what?” was all that came out of Sebek's mouth.
“He told me you guys showed him a good day. I'm glad you were able to put aside your negative feelings towards humans, you know the bond between us and them is important.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Now, if you will excuse me, the human prince and I have dinner together. You may retire and rest.”
“Thank you for your kind words, Malleus-sama! May you enjoy your dinner!”
The fae prince disappeared from one second to the next, leaving small green orbs in place.
----
Sebek lay down on the bed, that day had been really crazy so he needed to rest a little and recover his energy.
He looked at the ceiling as if all the answers to his doubts could be found there.
The prince...the prince had talked to Malleus-sama and had told him that they had been kind to him when none of them had been with him during the whole day? it didn't make sense...it was impossible that his lord lied to them, then, what had happened? some human had found out about the situation and had lied to Malleus? no, it was impossible...it was the prince himself who talked to his lord, then...why did he lie to him?
“The human prince...was protecting us?”
Was the only answer that came to his mind. Somehow, the human prince had found out about the situation and had lied to his lord so that they wouldn't receive any punishment.
Well, it was the least that ungrateful human could do! he wasn't where he was supposed to be, so this all started because of him! if he had been in the lounge waiting for them, then none of this would have happened and-
Ah, he wouldn't have met Silver...
He felt a stab in his heart.
If the prince hadn't disappeared from the lounge, then he wouldn't have met Silver?
A-ah, but Silver was an annoying human, so if they hadn't met then it would be all still business as usual....
The pain in his chest, the emptiness he had been feeling for months, came to him.
Ugh, that stupid feeling again. All day long, he had only felt it in the morning and then it was gone, so why was it coming back? he was tired already.
He opened his eyes in surprise.
Silver.
“What if...what if it was Silver who talked to his prince...? he's a noble so he has direct contact with his prince. He could have asked him to lie and his prince agreed.”
Well, it wasn't a far-fetched idea, after all, Silver seemed to be a very nice person, so he wouldn't agree with them being punished.
“Silver...”
Being honest, the encounter with Silver had been...meaningful. Though he didn't plan on admitting it out loud!
But, he felt there was something...he had never felt that kind of connection with anyone, it was as if they both understood each other without needing to speak, as if they were on the same line.
He had trained since he was a kid and had met many fae throughout his life, he had trained with them side by side but...he never felt that with any of them and suddenly, Silver would burst into his life and make him feel things he had never experienced before.
He turned over on the bed, lying on his side.
He breathed deeply.
Silver was giving him new sensations. He wanted to protect him but at the same time he wouldn't mind if the other protected him, he wanted to spend more time together, talk more, find out what things he liked, what things he disliked, what he did in his free time, what his day to day life was like... he wanted to know everything about him.
He closed his eyes.
The memory of Silver smiling softly as he was illuminated by the bluish light came to mind and he couldn't help but feel his cheeks burn. The human looked so perfect...
His memory shifted and then, he remembered when they went back to the forest and laid him down next to a tree.
It seemed to glow with its own light.
The human looked so perfect...so ethereal...that Sebek felt that this was how the protagonists of fairy tales felt when they met their beloved prince. His heart was beating fast and the temperature of his face had risen, his hands were shaking and his mouth had gone dry, if it hadn't been for the animals surrounding Silver and then bringing him back to reality, he would have gawked at the sight of him.
He opened his eyes and sank his face into the pillow, he wanted to scream but he couldn't because it was late and his mother would scream even louder and she would surely come into his room and he didn't want her to see him there all flushed because of a stupid human who had fallen asleep when they were in a dangerous place!
He rolled over in bed several times and when he wanted to realize it, he fell over, crashing his face into the floor. Great.
He took another deep breath, trying to hold in the urge to scream.
His heart pounded hard against his chest.
The image of Silver smiling at him invaded his mind.
He grabbed the pillow and buried his face in it.
“STOP CALLING ME CUTE ALREADY, YOU SILVER IDIOT!”
“SEBEK ZIGVOLT!” shouted his mother from downstairs, she was definitely going upstairs to his room.
Agh! stupid Silver with his cute voice, his perfect face, his warm hand and his little smile that made him feel like he had something flying inside his stomach!
He pulled down his pillow and crushed it against his chest.
Although he didn't want to admit it, he was glad that the human prince had disappeared, because thanks to that, he had been able to meet Silver.