It was a night filled with tremendous rage radiating from both beastly men. The once peaceful forest shifted into the woodland of battlefield meant for shedding blood and proving domination. It would seem that my judgment was wrong about them getting along. Perhaps the friendship that I expected them to have would never come true...yet.

But of course my prediction shall still rule in the end. I was no brother of a boneheaded brute for nothing. They will get along. I was sure of it. I swear on the sharpness of this cucumber.

I stood in between them, picking up the fruits that Slade made me drop while they growl at each other.

Their voices were raspy yet whole; they were deep and thunderous. The strength made my hearing release a line of blankness. The intensity caused vibrations throughout my whole body and though they had already scared the entire forest into a scampering mess—my stomach still overpowered it all.

Should I have peaches or apples?

I looked at Slade who bared his teeth at Caleb who was now transforming into Fenris. It would seem that both of them will not back down. What should I do to prevent bloodshed? What should I do to enjoy a night filled with munching on my precious peaches? Why must this battle hinder me from having a midnight snack?

Slade attempted to let out one loud snarl again with his body ready to attack Fenris. I took the opportunity to shove the peach inside of his mouth to test if food will solve the issue between them.

The newcomer's eyes widened and he tried to chew what I had shoved inside his gob. I faced the assaulting Fenris and stayed anchored to my spot. Slade was making choking noises and as Fenris was closing the distance, I opened my arms and a yawn suddenly escaped from me.

"Fenris, I am sleepy."

The wolf's active legs abruptly shut together which only left his butt to close the distance undesirably. Fenris smiled at me and then gave my face a lick. I grabbed on to his black fur and then walked with the fruits in my arm. We sat beside the pyram that Slade made and then I began to fill my protesting stomach.

There there stomach, it won't happen again. I shall feed you with all my might.

I perceived Fenris still seething with anger. I looked up to him and found that he was still focused on ripping Slade into tiny little ribbons. Slade successfully spat out the fruit and wiped the drool from his lips with his arm in a frustrated and agitated manner.

"Would you like to sit beside me?" I asked.

The man gave us a glare but he accepted the offer with a loud and angry "huff".

I was trapped in a line of tensed atmosphere while I ate a peach. My methods proved to be efficient.

Food shall solve all disputes. The next time someone fights, I will grow a fruit tree from where they stand. Hopefully they know how to climb down because I will be growing a very tall tree that will surpass Yggdrasil.

If Lucius was here, he would be very much delighted on how I was improving with my interaction with others.

"Is there any lake that we can bathe in tomorrow?" I asked.

Fenris started to speak but his words came out as short and mild howls in different pitches. I listened to every word and when he was done, I stroked his fluffy chest.

"Thank you for trying Fenris," I praised emotionlessly and looked at Slade who was staring at us blankly.

"You understood what he said?" he asked.

"No," I deadpanned. "But his efforts were plausible," I added making Fenris howl happily.

Slade glowered at me for a bit before answering me.

"There's a small lake near here but it's an Asperger's territory."

What Slade is really referring to:

I narrowed my eyes from his concern for there was no reason for worry. Why would Slade have problems with that? I did not see any reason to worry.

"It is fine, they are delicious."

What Lucian had in his mind:

"The Asperger?" He asked for confirmation. His face was twisted in disgust. I thought he loved vegetables?

"Asparagus is crispy and delicious. I specifically like them in vegetable stew."

After that statement, I heard Fenris let out harsh coughs. I turned my head to see what was happening to him and found the werewolf rolling on the floor while he wheezed. His long mouth was curled into a smile.

A heavy hand was placed on top of my head and I looked at the source of it. Slade was slightly grinning. "I was referring to an Asperger. They are ferocious beings that eat dead catastrophes."

Again, where was the problem in that?

"They are allies then."

"But they eat those things," he rebutted.

"Do they attack anyone else?" I questioned. I stared at the fire in front of me and then placed my head on top of Fenris' back.

The noises that they were providing me were lulling me to sleep. They wouldn't mind if I took a small nap would they?

Slade shrugged. "We attack them before they attack us so I don't really know."

Killing something before they pose any threat must be considered wise to a fool.

I must take my nap before I decide to wrap Slade with vines and hang him to a cliff.

"I am tired. Let us continue this conversation by morning," I told him.

I closed my eyes and felt the rise and fall of Fenris' body. There was still this thick and deadly connection between these two men which I should be mindful off. It might cause discomfort to most people but right after getting warm and cozy with Fenris' body, I slowly succumbed into a peaceful slumber.

My consciousness was shaken when I was grabbed by my ankles and slightly dragged. It was as fast as the whip of the winds. I heard Fenris' intense and vexed snarl and I was thrown over Slade's shoulder.

The sequencing of the events was bewildering. Slade ran away from Fenris while carrying me.  It was like I was reliving the day when I was kidnapped by Lucius from the Kingdom.

I raised my head and saw the huge werewolf pursuing us. I reached out to him with the glow of my hand causing lighting over his face. My heart sped up and I felt this tearing on my chest from the distance being made between us.

The tip of Fenris' nose almost reached my hand but Slade jumped, leaving a circle of air beneath him. He soared high and I watched as the werewolf was once again engulfed in darkness.

I heard a howl of melancholy yet my attention was then stolen by the light of the moon.

It was closer to touch now and as we get higher above ground, I felt as though I can finally reach it and carress it with my hand.

I heard loud cracks and a deep growl emitted by the man carrying me. A gasp escaped from my lips and my breath stopped when I was suddenly thrown above. My body was tingling all over as I fell. Slade disappeared in a mass of thick clouds. The winds formed a blanket beneath me and I looked at the bright stars as I descend. My hair flew the opposite direction from where my body was heading and my insides tickled.

A huge twirling being broke through the mass of clouds and hovered above me. It grabbed me by its claw and soared away. It had the size of Yggdrasil and it was more ferocious than Fenris (although the werewolf was charming when he was not ripping someone's leg off.)

My vision was cast down on the land with the shadows of the creature's wings moving as they flapped. The strong winds made my eyes drowsy and teary.

Caleb will catch up. I will see him tomorrow and I will bathe his dirt- covered self.

The beast holding me grunted and huffed. I wonder what this creature was? It didn't seem to have the intention to hurt me but it came out of nowhere.

Slade must have gone home already. I will figure out my situation by sunset after I eliminate this drowsiness within my body.

I let out a yawn and rubbed my eyes. The claw that was holding me captive took in my entire body except for my arms. It served as a warm blanket that added fuel to my lethargic state.

"Bonne nuit (goodnight) Caleb," I murmured.

I cannot wait to sleep with Fenris later tonight. He was fluffy and nice to touch. He had served me well in these cold nights.

His human counterpart was a cry baby yet he filled the silence before the night. Lucius was brave and stupid yet he was useful when he was on Argo. Kox was a strategic genius while Ziru was an adorable evolved rabbit with an arrow. Crowley was... I'll think about a suitable characteristic later.

The image of them all appeared in my mind and I fell asleep with great people occupying my mind.

Ever since I was taken from the castle, dreaming became frequent. All my daily activities in the castle were monotone and dull so there was nothing to dream about. I had no emotions and no memories that will serve as a source of a reverie but things were now different.

However I  didn't know where I got the dream about that tree and my affair with it.

This event that happened in my mind during my slumbering state just consisted of a very white background. There was nothing to see and nothing to look at. I couldn't even see myself. It was just a place of pure bright and white light and the sound of eerie resonance.

"Lucian..." A voice of a woman whispered.

It was as soft as my okaasan yet its tone was honest and pure.

"You are light and dark. You are pure yet tainted. You are hope and destruction. You are everything but nothing. You will be the destruction that will cause a new beginning and this new beginning will be the cause of your own ending. You are a flower of death that blooms life."

What was this woman spouting? Does she want a peach shove in her throat as well?

"Fuzakeru na (Stop being stupid)..." I deadpanned.

Instead of having the same silly reaction I get from Caleb and Lucius, the woman just giggled and her giggle was followed by many more laughter that came from various voices. There were men and other women and I even heard the voice of a little boy.

"Your highness, you are the living dead that we will never regret saving..." a man murmured.

The bright light was replaced by total darkness and the resonating sound was substituted by the noise of a beast grunting and something heavy scraping the floor. My eyes flew open and I could only see my glowing body in the midst of all the darkness. A light of fire erupted from the perfectly carved confinement of one of the rocky scoops of the wall on my left side. Then one by one, more flames followed it starting from the bottom walls up to the circular frame of the stony and uneven ceiling. They were like little bonfires caged in a craggy incarceration in which their radiance represented their presence.

"The look of this cave is more tolerable than where we reside," Slade's voice sounded from behind me. "Although we have a whole Kingdom inside of the cave with big castles and houses, the water is contaminated and the establishments are already withering. We have no food so we hunt."

I stood up from my sitting position and faced him. I couldn't read his expression. He was harder to figure out. I see myself in him and now I feel the struggles of Caleb and Lucius when they were dealing with me.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked. My eyes were still squinted from the lack of sleep and I wish to snooze more.

"That werewolf was a hindrance. I wanted you all for myself," he said. His red eye glimmered.

"The time that I have spent with you is short compared to my time with Caleb and my brother. You are still unnecessary to me," I told him with no shame whatsoever. "Return me to Caleb and from there we can start peacefully."

Slade took huge steps towards me. His breathing was flared and the slit of his red eye narrowed further.

"You will have my children whether you like it or not. Your feelings do not matter to me," he gritted out. "You will stay by my side, for how long? Perhaps forever. I will keep you here. You cannot escape me."

The man snatched my wrists and then grasped them tightly that I feel that they would bruise later. His hold on me was cutting off the circulation in my hands. He was making labored breaths. His teeth were clenched tightly and I waited for him to do something brutal.

Just from the way he held me and the way he clenched his jaw I can tell that he was going to perform something violent. I just hope that he executes it early so that I can return to Caleb and we can finally continue with our adventures.

"You will stay!" Slade growled, breaking my line of thoughts.

He twisted my shirt and ripped it off with one strong pull. My chlamys that served as a cloak was also thrown to the side and my whole shirt was torn off. The man roughly grabbed me by the waist and then bent my neck to the side. I felt something piercing through my neck and warm liquid oozed out.

"Does it hurt Your Highness? It shouldn't hurt. I have trained you to feel nothing. Do not shout. I will put you into the black room tomorrow. The King and Queen will never know...they will never know..."

I realized now how wrong it was. That shouldn't had happened and if the Kingdom knew of that occurrence, what would they think about my parents? The reputation of my parents always came first. I was trained from their standards of perfection and their principles always dominated. I rejected the love and compassion of okaasan that she would show secretly yet she would show much pain in her actions when I do.

But I did not care about the past. He did not affect me. I was no longer chained to him.

He had broken everything I had and left nothing so that I can reach the standards of my parents. He made me into something that Lucius had hated. Nothing mattered in my body. I was prepared to drink the pain like it was water.

My body did not fear pain; it was made numb to it.

Slade's nails dug into the skin of my naked back and then his hands roamed up to my neck where he cradled the area where he bit me. "Once I break you apart...my brother will also break. The high and mighty Sevor will fall and he won't be as great as everyone thought of him to be."

I looked up to his eyes that contradicted to what he said that he wanted to do. Why was he lying? Why do something that will break others if you did not like it?

"You say that your brother is high and mighty. Don't you think that you fall in the same category?" I questioned him calmly, unfazed from all the injuries that he have carved into my physical form.

"I am different from him," he told me, clearly offended.

"Your words tell me otherwise," I retorted. "You think you can break me, you are cocky to have such thoughts," I stated emotionlessly. "Do break me then. Let's see if you can."

To break the broken you must have something beyond terrifying up in your sleeve.

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Happy new year peeps! (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)