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Grian curled up in the crate he was in, terrified. It swayed and creaked as it was carried along. He felt sick from fear and also from hunger. He’d forgone dinner hadn’t he? When had he last eaten? He wasn’t sure and it didn’t matter.
He was the most scared he’d ever been in his life.
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Scott lay flat on his back in the stream, panting and out of breath. He’d never run that fast in his life. He was lucky the guards hadn’t seen him. He tore off his royal robe and crown and tossed them further down stream.
Let the water take them, he thought. Formality be darned.
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The sun was dim and low in the sky as Grian sat upon the Watcher tower, preening his wings. The sun here in this realm was purple, and it cast long ominous shadows along the obsidian as it set.
Grian had been thinking. Thinking about his life as a Watcher. Thinking about their… morals, more accurately. He knew he shouldn’t have been questioning their ways, but he couldn’t help it. It had been playing on his mind.
The thing was, he’d been told Watchers were the good guys. They fed off negative emotions which meant that the normal players didn’t have to feel them and they all lived happily in harmony. The issue was that Grian had seen Watchers create bad situations where there were bad emotions so they could feed. He didn’t like that. At all.
“Xelqua,” A voice said, “Are you ok?”
Grian turned round to see one of the other watchers behind him - Taurtis.
“Hi Taurtis,” he smiled, “Yes I'm fine. Just thinking.”
“What were you thinking about?” Taurtis asked.
ed.
“Well,” Grian paused, “It’s just… are we doing the right thing?”
“What do you mean Xelqua?”
“Why do some Watchers cause problems if we’re supposed to be the good guys? I mean, I don’t know if I want to be a watcher if we have to hurt people and-”
He was cut off as Taurtis grabbed him and spun him around to face him, holding him up by the collar of his long black tunic.
“Listen to me Xelqua,” He snapped, “We are doing the right thing. We saved you from that wrecked server. You should be grateful.”
Grian whimpered slightly, “Taurtis, let me go. Please.”
Taurtis did, dropping Grian to his knees.
“Go inside Xelqua,” He muttered, “And stop thinking these silly thoughts. O⚍∷ ∴╎ꖎꖎ ʖᒷ ↸𝙹リᒷ (Our will be done).” He said the Watcher motto.
“O⚍∷ ∴╎ꖎꖎ ʖᒷ ↸𝙹リᒷ (Our will be done),” Grian repeated reluctantly, watching as Taurtis left. The conversation should have put his mind at ease, but it just made him even more worried. Why had Taurtis been so mean?
Grian didn’t know why, but he knew he had to get out of there. He just knew he had to run.
He formulated a plan. He could use a cloaking spell to sneak past the gates, but after that, then what? Where would he go? He’d work it out later. He just had to go.
That evening, Grian excused himself up to his room early, skipping dinner, packing a small bag of a few items. And when darkness fell, he snuck out the back door of the Watcher Keep. He could hardly see through the thick dark, but if he’d had a light, he would definitely get spotted.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps as he snuck round the side of the keep. His hands flew to his mouth to stifle a gasp and he looked around for cover. Where could he hide?
He spotted a pile of crates up against the keep wall. Yes!
He slid the lid off one of the crates and curled up inside, shutting himself back in. He heard the footsteps get closer and he shut his eyes in fear.
But they stopped just by the crates and started talking. Grian couldn’t tell what they were saying but he just wanted them to go away.
Suddenly, the crate jolted and Grian swallowed a yelp as it was picked up and moved. Where were they taking him? He pressed his eye to a small hole in the wood and watched as he was taken out off the gates. Fear overtook him and he had to fight down the urge to jump from the crate. If he tried to run now, they’d find him and catch him again.
Grian curled up in the crate he was in, terrified. It swayed and creaked as it was carried along. He felt sick from fear and also from hunger. He’d forgone dinner hadn’t he? When had he last eaten? He wasn’t sure and it didn’t matter.
He was the most scared he’d ever been in his life.
The rocking of the crate was oddly soothing however and Grian found himself drifting off to sleep. He smacked himself in the face to keep himself awake. He couldn’t sleep! He had to know where he was going!
But exhaustion overtook him and he slipped away into the land of dreams.
When he woke, the crate was still. The air leaking in through the holes and gaps in the wood was cool and smelled fresh, new and yet so familiar at the same time. He pushed the crate lid up a tiny bit and peered out.
His breath caught in his throat.
He was in the overworld.
Grian hadn’t been there in years and could hardly remember his life here before the Watchers had taken him in. He slid the lid carefully off of the crate and climbed out. His body and wings were sore from being curled up in a tiny space so long.
He slipped off into the dark, shivering in the cold. His Watcher robes swirled around him, making it difficult to run and he ripped the brooch holding it in place and let it fall behind him.
Grian had no clue how long he was running for, but eventually his legs gave way underneath him and he tumbled down into a stream, feeling the cold water seep into his clothes. He staggered out, exhausted. He needed to sleep. Badly.
His eyes scanned the forest and fell on a shack. Small and rundown, but seemingly empty. Grian dragged himself along to the door, nudging it open. It was dark and full of spider webs and dust. Definitely abandoned. It was perfect.
He walked in, shutting the door behind him. There was an old lantern that Grian lit with an old match and a window pane. Then he curled up on the rug and let himself drift off, feeling freer than he ever had in his life.
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The stars winked down on the world from the night sky as Scott sighed, resting his head into his hands, his crown sliding a little on his head. He watched the sun dip below the horizon. Scott was the prince of Rivendell.
I’m sure you’re thinking that being a prince is all sunshine and rainbows, right?
Wrong.
Scott hated every moment of it. It was boring, dull, tedious and annoying, and all he wanted was to live a normal life. But no, fate made him a prince, stuck in a palace for the rest of his life.
So he was going to run away.
He had it all planned out. He and his best friend Jimmy were going to run to the edge of the empires and hide in the woods. It was going to be great!
There was a whistle from the bottom of the castle. Scott glanced down to see someone hiding in the pond reeds in the small river in the castle gardens waving. Scott waved and whistled back and the person climbed out of the river. They were a small cod hybrid with a cod tail and legs so he could live on land too.
“Hey Scott!” He called back.
“Hi Jim!” Scott shouted down, “You ready?”
“Yup!” Jimmy nodded.
Scott grabbed a bag and dropped it down, Jimmy catching it for him. Then Scott swung over the edge of the tower ledge and scrambled down the stone, tripping and falling the last few feet. Fortunately, Jimmy caught him before he hit the floor.
“Careful!” He chuckled, “We don't need his majesty breaking his neck.”
“You wouldn't let me,” Scott smiled as Jimmy set his feet on the ground, “If I'm the Prince, then you're my knight in shining armour.”
Jimmy blushed, “Stop it.”
Scott ruffled his hair and laughed.
Suddenly there was a shout from the castle doors and the pair spun round. It was one of the castle guards.
“Your majesty! Stop!” they shouted.
“Run!” Scott grabbed Jimmy's hand and they sprinted towards the gate off the surrounding wall. They were almost there, almost there-
Something came flying through the air and Jimmy stumbled and fell, crying out. Scott stopped and spun round as Jimmy's hand was ripped from his. His eyes widened as he saw Jimmy writhing in a net that the guard had thrown.
“Jimmy!” Scott yelled, running over and pulling at the net.
Jimmy looked up at Scott sadly, “Scott, you need to go.”
“Not without you!” Scott tugged at the net to try and free him.
“They'll catch you Scott, you have to run!” Jimmy pleaded. The guards were getting closer.
“Jimmy-”
“Go!” Jimmy pushed Scott away as the guards reached them, sending him stumbling backwards through the gate. He got to his feet just in time to see the guards dragging Jimmy away, kicking and screaming.
“No!” Scott shrieked, “Jimmy!”
He tried to run back but one of the guards had spotted him.
“Your majesty! Get back here!” They shouted.
Scott gasped and spun around, running for his life. His lungs burned and his whole body was shaky but he just kept running.
The ground dipped under his feet and he didn't notice. He choked back a cry as he fell, landing with a splash in a small river.
He heard the guard coming close and he huddled up, hoping he wouldn't be seen. To his utmost relief, the guard left.
Scott lay flat on his back in the stream, panting and out of breath. He’d never run that fast in his life. He was lucky the guard hadn’t seen him. He tore off his royal robe and crown and tossed them further down stream.
Let the water take them, he thought. Formality be darned.
He just hoped Jimmy was ok. The last thing he wanted was for him to get hurt because of him. It would kill him if Jimmy was considered a threat and locked up in the dungeons.
He dragged himself out of the water. He had to find somewhere to go, to hide, at least for a little bit.
He spotted something. A… shack! A small one, but it was better than nothing. He sprinted to it and pulled at the door. It opened with a creak.
He peered inside and started to see someone sitting on the rug. They had a huge pair of purple wings on their back that they were preening. They jumped when they heard the door open and gave a quiet eagle-like screech.
Scott smacked his hands over his ears at the loud scream.
“Woah! Sorry, I didn't know there was someone living here,” He apologised, “I'll go.”
“Wait!” The person called. Scott stopped.
“What are you doing out here in the woods this late?” They asked.
Scott shifted uncomfortablely on his feet.
“I ran away,” he whispered, “I fled from Rivendell castle. I was looking for somewhere to stay. Do you know somewhere I could go?”
The person paused.
“You can stay,” he said eventually, patting the space on the carpet next to him, “Come sit.”
Scott shuffled inside and sat down awkwardly next to the person.
“I’m Grian,” he smiled, “What's your name?”
“Scott,” he said, “You're an avian.”
Grian hesitated a little. “Yeah,” he said eventually, “I ran away too. Clearly we're not so different.”
Scott smiled. Grian seemed really nice.
He had a feeling he was entering a new chapter in his life.
And so far, he liked it.