ON LUI'S SIDE

Lui was on his way to his apartments. Two guards had escorted him to his room. He entered and the two guards remained at the entrance. His room was very large, it served as a whole. There was a "bathroom" side, "kitchen" side, it was paradise as some might think.

Some women entered the room, they were the servants. "Oh, my young master, you are very dirty." said one with her hand in front of her mouth. It's true, Lui was well aware that living in the forest like this was not something that made one clean.

The women prepared a hot bath and clean towels. When everything was ready, our white dragon undressed and dived into the water.

It relaxed him somehow, feeling that warmth around him, even though he preferred it to be Free's.

Valt entered, the women told him he had to leave since the master was in a rest session. Lui told them that his best friend could stay.

Valtryek's owner pulled up a chair and sat down next to the tub. "How are you feeling?"

"You ask me that all the time but you already know the answer."

"If you want, we'll go see Free later. We can arrange to negotiate with the guards to give us a few minutes."

"Yes, we will. But then."

"Don't you want to go already?"

"I have something else in mind, actually." He looked at Walt, "I need to talk to someone."

"Oh? And who is that?" asked Valt. Lui looked at him and answered.

ON THE KING'S SIDE

The King was arriving at the fortress prisons. Several guards accompanied him, they reinforced the security and there were many soldiers.

"My King, the criminal is tied up securely, you can do what you want."

"Fine, leave me alone with him."

"But majesty, what if he does something to you."

"Do you think I won't be able to defend myself?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh yes I do, my master. You are always right after all. We'll leave you to it."

They walked further away, leaving the two alone. The Roy entered the cell and looked at the bound boy, who had his eyes closed. Lui's father knew the blond wasn't asleep, he was in some kind of trance, but it wasn't going to last.

Le Roy gave him a jab to get him moving. "Hey, open your eyes."

"You're very annoying, Roy." said Free as he yawned and kept his eyes closed.

"What a bad education, I wonder how my son can love you."

"I say the same, human extra." said Free as he opened his eyes and looked at the man before him. "I wonder how Lui still wanted to protect you after all you did to him."

"It's called parental authority."

"You? Having authority? Haha, you're very funny, I must say." said Free with a smile. Even though he was tied up, that didn't stop him from making fun of the human race well. Especially making fun of Roy, that was funny.

"Hm, you're an ingrate for treating me this way, but it won't last long. In a few days, you'll be executed in the eyes of everyone and most importantly, my son."

"Do you really want to make him suffer more?"

"What? But no, I've made arrangements with another lord, he will marry the princess of the Kingdom of ***"

"Huh? You are really sick, my word! Lui certainly won't want to marry a stranger!"

"It will be better than you, my dear. You are a bad example for society, and you are not human. No ruler can let his son marry a monster. The people would turn against the rulers and it would be war."

"You know nothing of true love."

"Hm, that's true. But are you the best person to tell me that? From what I've heard, the monster has no heart, just malice to manipulate its victims. Perhaps you are manipulating my son."

"Those are false rumors."

"Well, it could be but tell me, since when have you fallen in love, besides my son?"

"That's none of your business."

"Oh lala, nothing is my business from what I can hear. Well, it doesn't matter." He walked out of the cell and said to the guards, "Torture him and let him suffer."

The guards nodded and then looked at the blond man. The king laughed as he left.

FROM VALT'S SIDE

"Huh, but why him?" asked Valt, "Are you sure he's reliable?"

"Yeah, he's a friend of mine, he fixes people's mental problems, and I need to clear my head of it all."

"Oh okay, well, see you then."

Valt left the room and headed into the city. He walked along narrow, unsafe streets. Groups of rats were running together and going into the sewers. He saw a shadow further down and smiled as he ran by it.

"Hey, -!"

"Shh!!!"

"Oh sorry."

He went next to him looking to see if anyone was following him and they entered a dwelling. Valt lit a fire and then sat down on a chair, opposite the person.

"How is it going with Lui?"

"Well..." Valt looked down, "He's not well, he told me he was going to someone's house to try and forget about these problems for a while."

"I see, the separation of the two is not good. We have to save Free, so no, Lui will stay in depressive mode all the time." Shu put his hand on his chin, "But how to do?"

"Right now is not the right time." said Valt, Shu looked at him. "In two days, the princess from another kingdom will come, Lui will be even more unstable. But...We have to make our plan afterwards, the princess will leave right after the party. This party will serve as our first meeting normally."

"Where did you hear all this?"

"I'm a close friend of the family, I hear everything they say. They said it before I came near you."

"Oh, I see. Well, you'd better bring me a person, I'm a little hungry."

"Thirsty rather haha!" Shu simply looked at him. "Okay, I'll bring you this right away, it should be easy to trick someone."

He left, leaving Shu to wait.

ON LUI'S SIDE

He was on his way to his friend's house. He had dressed up and put some kind of blanket over him so he wouldn't be recognized, he had a hood.

He knocked on the door and entered. As soon as he entered, he closed the door. The whole interior was lit, and there were many candles. The smell of flowers reached his nostrils, it was relaxing.

"Here, Lui. You haven't been here for a while." said a boy as he came near him.

"Suoh..." began Lui, he looked at him. "I've been busy."

"Hm, from what I heard, everyone heard, you were kidnapped by the monster and the whole army was found dead, including General Tarl. I didn't know you were back." Lui did not answer and looked down. "You have a problem, don't you?" He simply nodded.

Suoh went next to him and already took off the cloak he had. He asked him to lie down on a low table and close his eyes.

Suoh was a friend of his and practiced many functions. Here, he practiced acupuncture. That's often why Lui comes here. His friend knows most of the time how to solve his problems. The acupuncture technique is made for different kinds of things. For example, pain or stress, or anxiety, back pain, ...

"You need to relax, Lui. You are much too tense today." Lui said nothing and tried to breathe deeply. "That's better already but...You have a thought in your head that is poisoning your mind. What is it?"

"Nothing at all. I'm just wondering..." He opened his eyes and looked at him, "I just wonder if Free will get out of jail and...I would so much like to have him around."

"Free?"

"The monster."

"Huh? Is he a prisoner? Did the guards manage to get him? And you're worried about him? But he kidnapped you."

"Suoh Suoh, just shut up for a bit so I can explain."

"There's nothing to explain, you love a monster!"

"You don't know him so shut your mouth a little. I'll tell you what happened." Suoh said nothing and nodded. "When I went on the mission with the others, we hadn't seen the monster at first, it was hidden in the shadows. We stopped at a place where there was nothing but blood and severed flesh, the soldiers were terrified. Tarl and I ordered everyone to disperse. It was not the right idea, they all got killed one by one. Only Tarl and I were left. He told me that we had to leave and he ran but he stopped because of the monster in front of him. The monster hurt him and left him on the ground. And then I just ran the other way. I didn't want to be the next victim. But I knew I couldn't escape him, I challenged him and he came. He was stronger than me, I couldn't do anything. Then, when the monster was about to touch me again, Tarl came, wounded but his courage kept him standing. But the monster killed him permanently and then he took me with him."

"And then what happened? Did he hurt you again?"

"You could say that. He hurt me by taking me to his house, the dangerous roads and I got a lot of thorns."

"Ouch, I now want to see him to make him pay."

"No no, it's okay. His friend fixed me up."

"His friend?"

"Yes. When we got to the monster's house, a boy showed up, Shu. He took me under his wing, saying that Valt had contacted him to intercept me."

"Valt Aoi? Is he friends with them?"

"Yes. It was a surprise to me, too. He took care of me, a lot while I was there. And the monster...I almost died several times near them but how many times he saved my life. I owe him everything."

"And so, Free, saved you several times?" Lui nodded. "I thought the monsters didn't have a-"

"Heart, yes everyone says it. But I think he has one, everyone does."

"You're right, but still, when a monster kidnaps you...I don't understand his intention..."

"Well, as I understand it, it was Shu who had contacted him and told him to bring me to their house."

"I understand, I understand and...How did you get so close to him, that you were worried about him?"

"Hm, he got very close to me, to himself. He gave me touches, touching his body. He showed me his face already and opened up to me about how he felt. He was sincere and kind to me."

"That's not really what Gabe was." said Suoh, rolling his eyes, "I'm glad you left him by the way. That he died on the battlefield is good news too."

"He wasn't dead."

"Hm?"

"He was alive."

"What?"

"He came later to Free's territory, and Free was about to kill him permanently. But I stopped him, I needed to explain myself to him. He apologized to me but I couldn't take it. He also told me that he loved me and wanted to get back together. I rejected him by admitting that..." Lui blushed again at the thought. Suoh was waiting for the next part. "I loved Free and that I can't be with him anymore because I have someone else."

"..." Suoh didn't know what to say. He was in "wtf" mode.

"I know, it's implausible but...That's love. I fell in love with the monster."

"What about Gabe? What happened to him?"

"He's dead, Free killed him. "

"I love him already." said Suoh smiling.

Lui smiled sadly, "Yes, but all good things come to an end. Just as we were enjoying it, my father arrived and, with the help of an enchantress, they captured Free."

"I see now." He removed the needles from Lui's back. "You can put your clothes back on." Lui put his shirt and boa back on. "You know your father isn't going to let you live with the monster."

"I know and that's what worries me, for once in my life I finally found happiness. And my dad takes it away from me all the time. Why do I even exist? If I can't be happy."

"You still will be, Lui."

He went to a counter where there were vials and all sorts of ingredients. He made some kind of potion and gave it to Lui.

"Huh? What is this?" asked Lui confused, raising an eyebrow.

"From what I know, prisoners are already not allowed to really eat, and you can imagine with Free. This potion, you'll give it to him. It'll give him back his strength and energy, it's like eating but in seconds."

"It's not poisoned, right?"

"Come on, my friend. Of course not." He smiled GENUINELY at her, with NO BAD THOUGHTS.

Lui nodded and put his cloak back on.

"You come back and see me later, you know in a few days we'll have guests."

"My father only makes bad choices, I only love Free, no one else."

"That's why I want you to come back later, I want to know if your feelings will have changed and the rest."

"Thank you." said Lui as he hugged him.

Suoh was surprised but smiled, "You're welcome, I want your happiness. Stay safe."

Lui nodded and stepped aside. He put his hood back on and walked out of there.