Dominic waited, waiting for the slice on his back, waiting for his blackout, and waiting for his death.
It didn't come. Instead, he heard grunts, grunts of a voice that stood over him, and the screech of swords pressing against each other.
Slowly, he looked up at the scene above him, his eyes widening, emerald gems glittering as they looked up at the person who towered above them. Long black locks and a familiar back structure. The same fractured clothing and same aura.
It was Boris.
Before he could mutter a word, Boris lunged forward, pushing off the sword that was aimed at him and kicking away it's wielder. The man fell to the ground, holding up his sword at the last second to deflect Boris' next hit.
His hands trembled when Boris slashed his sword at him. There was a brief moment of contact as the swords press against each other before Boris kneed the attacker. Before the attacker could put up his guard again, an icy object pierced straight through his body and seconds later, was ruthlessly pulled out in a way that left a long and deep slash mark on his body.
He yelped out in agony looking up at his opponent. He shuddered, shivers running down his entire body immediately causing him to go limp. His hands fell to the ground and he shut his eyes, the image he last saw, repeating in his mind.
Gold, a deep golden glare so angered and fueled with killer intent that it made anybody shudder. The worst part was not the killer's intent but the last gaze that was in those golden eyes as they stabbed him and yanked their sword out of his body harshly.
His eyes were blank. A fury of anger and murderous instincts but they were blank. There was not a dose of emotion as he wiped the blood that had splattered across his face and not an ounce of pity or remorse as he looked down at the dying body.
They were the eyes of a monster. The last he saw before his death.
Dominic peered down at the body below the sword in Boris' hand, his eyes following the stream of blood that ran out of the body. Then came the rush of air, a release of a gasp he didn't even know he was holding.
He looked down at Kalmin who laid below him looking up at Dominic with confusion, his eyes turning to the dead body on the ground. He looked back to Dominic and finally up at Boris, the confusion growing wider when he looked at the sword in Boris' hands.
"Let's...g-go, we don't have the time for this," Kalmin muttered, standing up shakenly from his position on the ground. He glanced at the bloody bodies that dotted the ground of the palace. He gritted his teeth and brushed off his outfit before turning to Boris. "We're almost there."
He turned around and began walking down the hallway, taking a turn into another hallway. "Hurry, your highness."
Dominic nodded and followed Kalmin. He was a few steps behind him when he turned around and looked behind him. Boris looked up at him, their eyes locking with each for a moment. Dominic's eyes observed the bloodstains on his face but ignored them, focusing on Boris' eyes. His lips moved to say something but before a word could come out of his mouth, Boris walked past him, following Kalmin.
Dominic stared at Boris' back for a moment, a few questions lingering on his tongue. He swallowed them and a slight smile slipped onto his lips as he hurried to meet Kalmin and Boris.
*
They were down the last flight of the cold stairway down to the passage. They had made it past the long lines of rusted jail cells in the chilled last few upper layers above the staircase, they had walked past the emergency food storages and past the emergency weaponry storage. It was still full. They had made it down the last staircase and touched the cold cobblestones of the underground passage in the frosty dark embrace of the earth around them and had finally caught their breaths, when Dominic snapped.
It wasn't apparent at first and most likely was not an intended action on his part when after a few minutes of standing in the silence and candlelit pathway, the feeling of anxiety started to gnaw at him.
His feet tapped impatiently on the cobblestones and his hands were slightly clenched as minutes ticked away.
The tension, the fact that he was completely unaware of what was going on on the castle floors above him was driving an immovable, insuppressible amount of nervousness and anxiousness into him. It only took a little flame, one little spark, for that nervousness, for that anxiety, to become anger.
"How long has it been since we've been down here?" Dominic sighed, taking a sharp inhale. The frigid air stung his nose as a cold draft brushed against his skin. His fingers drummed against his thighs.
Kalmin glanced at the candle in his hand and then turned to look at the ground. "About an hour your highness," Kalmin replied.
"How much longer?" Dominic asked.
"As long as needed," Kalmin replied.
"You said that 30 min ago,"
"And I will say it in another hours time,"
Dominic's eye twitched. "Will you say that in 2 days time too?"
Kalmin looked up at Dominic, his eyes immediately lower once he caught a glimpse of Dominic's eyes. "If it is needed, my prince, I will do so."
"Bullshit," Dominic snapped, turning around and heading in the direction of the stairs. "I'm going up."
Kalmin flinched, immediately rushing to Dominic and standing in front of him. His hands spread out to block Dominic's way. "I'm afraid I cannot let that happen, your highness."
Dominic's jaw clenched and he pushed Kalmin aside. He was shoved a few steps to the side before he looked up at Dominic. His body trembled as he gazed into Dominic's eyes. "Move."
Kalmin shuddered, his body wanted to move as far as it could but he couldn't. He was assigned a job, he had to protect the prince. Even if that meant he'd be beheaded days after this. He stood up and yanked Dominic's hand, pulling him back and standing in front of him.
"I'm sorry your highness, I cannot let you leave this place," Kalmin muttered, his lips quivering as he said his words.
Dominic tried to shove Kalmin aside again but this time he didn't budge, his feet were well planted in the ground. He looked up at Dominic with a gaze confident enough to stand strong. "You cannot leave your highness."
Dominic's head cocked to the side. "Do you want to die?" he snapped.
Kalmin flinched, his eyes wavering for a moment. Death... He didn't want to be drifting in oblivion, alone but... he wouldn't be alone if he did die. He was fine with that thought. He gulped and looked back up at Dominic. "I will take whatever consequence that comes with this after this incident my prince, but now, you come first."
There was a stare of disbelief that passed Dominic's face. "Are you kidding with me? You're keeping me down here, while MY kingdom is under attack, while MY people are dying, and while MY kingdom is falling apart? Do you think I'm a coward?" Dominic snapped.
"Of course not my prince," Kalmin replied in a steady voice.
"Then WHY THE HELL AM I DOWN HERE?! This is the moment Kalmin, THIS is the moment I'm supposed to prove that I can be the prince, the king, that can rule this kingdom. But like a cowardly leader, who fears losing their life over losing the lives of their kingdom, I am down here, hiding away like a rat," Dominic bellowed, "what am I going to do when this is over? WHAT AM I GOIGN TO SAY?! THAT WHILE MY SOLDIERS WERE DYING I WAS HIDING FOR MY LIFE?! Do you think that's going to reassure them? That's going to make them think that they can trust this kingdom in my hands?!"
"A prince that is alive and breathing is better than one that lays on the ground in a pool of blood," Kalmin replied.
Dominic flinched, his eyebrows furrowing in anger. "Excuse me?!"
"With all the respect your highness, but if you do go out there like you please, without a sword, without a shield, and walk into the battle and die immediately, do you think heroic is the only thing they'll see you as?" Kalmin retorted, "foolish, idiocy, prideful. Those are the words they will use."
"You-"
"You may hide down here from everyone and be seen as a coward but you can make it up to them by leading them like a true king in the future," Kalmin continued, "If you die at this moment, not only will you be a laughingstock of the royal family, but you will also put a strain on your siblings and father who will have to do all the things that you would have done when you end up in power."
"I'm supposed to listen to this and feel better for hiding away like this?" Dominic spat, his head tilting to the right as his eyes pierced into Kalmin's.
"No, your highness, you're supposed to listen to this and stay alive,"
Dominic stared at Kalmin with disbelief, taking a few steps back to look at him. His feet were planted well into the ground and he had a confident aura around him. He was serious. He didn't plan on letting Dominic pass by, even if it meant his life.
"Ha..." Dominic muttered, stepping back, a laugh of annoyance yet filled with amusement left his mouth. "So that's how it is..."
He leaned against the wall and slowly slid down, squatting on the ground.
"You've been quiet this entire time," Dominic muttered, "what do you think about it?"
Boris stood in silence, his back pressed against a wall parallel to the one Dominic leaned against. He didn't even look at Dominic, nonetheless, answer his question.
Dominic chuckled weak-heartedly. "Right... you only speak when you want to."
Boris looked at the ground, observing the cobblestones. It was one of the rare times he ever got to see nicely done cobblestoned floors and he was sure that outside these walls, the chance of seeing one again, was very slim.
There was not an ant on the ground, the ground too cold for one to even touch. He turned to look at Dominic, cold gold eyes peering down at Dominic's beautiful golden locks. He shrugged, turning back to the cold ground.
"I don't care," He muttered, to which Dominic's head swiveled to him immediately.
They looked up at each other, blank eyes meeting curious green. "I don't care whether you go up there or not. Quite frankly, your death isn't a bad thing to me but neither is it a trophy," he muttered, "do whatever you want."
Dominic remained locked with Boris' eyes for a moment before another chuckle leaves his lips. He nods his head and smiled. "Got it."
Kalmin looked down at Dominic, still quite tense in his position. He flinched when Dominic caught his gaze.
"You can stop that now, I'm not going anywhere," Dominic sighed. "I'll wait."
Kalmin grinned, then realizing he did, cleared his throat and nodded his head. "Understood, your highness."
Dominic nodded, smiling at Kalmin's actions. he leaned back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling for a moment, his eyes circling back down to Boris. It was hard to see but there were marks. Long thick finger marks that lined his neck. They were deep bruises from a mere hour or more ago.
He had gone from fighting a new scrap he had gotten off the streets to hiding beneath the castle in a mere hour. He looked up to Kalmin before looking back down at the ground. "What a messed up day this is."
*
It was another hour and Dominic hadn't asked his question yet it still lingered in the air.
'How much longer?'
Quick steps rang into the hallway and the eyes of those in it, looked towards the stairs as the steps got louder and nearer. Boris clenched the sword in his hand and Dominic stood up from the spot he had stayed unmoved for an hour and Kalmin turned around, finally moving from the position he was in.
They all turned to the stairs, prepared to see what was coming down those stairs. Prepared to fight whatever they would meet.
By the time the steps reached the last flight, all three were ready to meet whatever was coming down those chilled steps. Their shoulders loosened and fists fell when they saw the figure.
It was a soldier. Covered in blood.
Dominic made one quick observation of the soldier. His eyes ran up the curve a drop of blood rolled down and dropped to the cold ground, he inspected the once golden lines of the uniform beneath the armor. they were stained with a deep red, one that matched the dried pieces of blood on the soldier's face.
"Greeting your highness, sorry for the delay in our reseizing of the city and the palace," the soldier greeted, to which Dominic nodded his head in acknowledgment. "Your highness, the battle has been contained," the soldier reported.
Dominic nodded his head solemnly. The tone, the mood in the soldiers greeting. It was dull.
"Will you lead me up the stairs now?" he asked.
The soldier gave a brief nod, turning and stepping back up the stairs. "This way, your highness."