"Absolutely disgusting." Erik spat out as he yanked the knife out of the spy laying on the ground. Flicking the blood of the knife, he stood up. Without even glancing at the figure on the ground he stuck his foot out and leaned, applying pressure on the already bleeding wounds.
The young man on the ground twitched and spasmed. His mouth was agape and he roughly gasped out in pain. His eyes were glazed and barely open, but still he gazed towards the four figures glaring down at him. His fingers twitched as if he had wanted to reach out, but couldn't.
"Hey! Be careful with him!"
"Yeah, we just finished him!"
Ren and Rael sat in a corner behind Erik and Leon, their arms crossed as they pouted.
Erik scoffed, "A little torture will do him some good. Besides, if you had truly finished him then he would speak when spoken to."
Ren and Rael glanced at one another and shrugged. "Well, he's almost complete." Rael said.
Ren nodded, "Yeah, our ability isn't perfect you know."
"I see that." Erik muttered. He leaned down glancing at the sorry figure. With a click of his tongue he roughly grabbed the man by his hair and lifted him up so they were face to face. He leaned in close, placing a knife against the other's cheek. "I'll give you one more chance. Who is the spy in the Frenzel household?"
The young man gazed into the others eyes, his mouth opening and closing, but no sound coming out.
Erik pressed the knife against he other cheek, watching as blood began to seep onto the floor. "Don't think I will leave just because you don't talk." He leaned in closer so only the young man could hear him, "I know who you are. What they promised you. If you tell me what I want to know…" He smirked, "Then I can help you."
The young man blinked, his black hair coated in dry blood falling in front of his eyes. He let out a strangled gasp, "The…cough…" he gazed towards Leon and a sense of foreboding overcame the room, "…butler…purple…hair." He gasped out in pain as his head fell to the floor. He trembled, his eyes unfocused as he curled into himself.
Erik watched the pathetic display before him without really watching. There was only one butler in the entire Frenzel household with purple hair.
He placed a hand to his forehead, "Fuck."
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"Young Master! Young Master!" Bert's voice was drowned out by all the chaos surrounding them. "God man it! I knew we shouldn't have trusted him." Bert seethed as he made his way through the crowd of people trying to escape the flames.
They should have been more aware of not only their surroundings, but of the Prince. To think he would cause a fire in order to slip away from them with Aether.
Bert clenched his teeth as he made his way out of the tent and towards a clearing on the side. The other butlers followed closely behind. He surveyed the crowd, not spotting the familiar hoodies anywhere.
He turned his attention to the shadows, to the trees and to anything that was dark enough to blend in with darkness itself. His face relaxed when he didn't catch sight of the guards. 'At least they are still with him.' He let out a small sigh.
"Bert?" A younger butler came up to his side, a worried look on his face.
Bert held up his hand, stopping the other from asking any questions. "Pay attention." He turned to face the group. "We will split into groups of two. Our priority is to find the Young Master and make sure he is safe." The butler nodded and began to split themselves off into groups of two.
Bert nodded as Leon's head butler stood by his side. Although they rarely worked together, the man was silent and good at his job. "Alright, if you find the Young Master you know what to do."
The butlers nodded and ran off into the crowd. Bert watched their figures disappear before turning towards the path behind him. It was quiet and less rowdy than the festival. If he were Nox then he would take Aether to a less crowded place. His eyes squinted and he took off running, Leon's head butler following one step behind him.
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Aether and Nox stood in front of a stand, their hands twirling candy around a small stick. If you asked Aether how he got here, he wouldn't be able to tell you. One moment he was watching a cute show and the next he was standing in front of this small candy stall making small creatures out of candy.
"Oh." Nox let out a disappointed sigh. Aether glanced over, a smile painting his lips as he took in the small round piece of blob on the stick.
He let out a small laugh, "What is that supposed to be?"
Nox looked away, his ears red, "…a bunny."
"Hahahaha, here, have this one instead." Aether handed over his piece of candy and took Nox's bunny blob despite his reluctance.
"Wait, it's not-" Nox tried to grab the bunny blob back, but Aether already took a bite.
"It's delicious!" He beamed.
Nox froze, his gaze lingering on Aether's lips. Swallowing he took a shuddering breath and took a bite of the candy Aether had given him. It was sweet.
Too sweet.
A sudden movement in the crowd caught his attention. Frowning, he ate the candy in two bites and threw the stick aside.
"Hmm, it's a little too crowded around here." Nox pulled the hood forward, hiding Aether's face even more. "Shall we head somewhere less crowded?" He cocked his head to the side like a puppy waiting for permission even though he knew they were going to do just as he had said.
Aether took the opportunity to look around. He too had noticed that more and more people were roaming the streets, enjoying the festivities more actively than before. Children ran amok and teenagers laughed loudly. It reminded him of home. If possible he wanted to hold onto this feeling as long as possible, but knowing his status, he knew better.
All it would take was one accidentally push or shove and his hood would fall, revealing to all his status. He didn't want to imagine what would happen after that.
"Mmmm." Aether nodded.
Nox smiled, "I know the perfect place, follow me."
Nox led Aether through the festival, one hand on his shoulder and the other at his side. Whenever someone got a little too close, Nox made sure to block the person, preventing them from running into Aether. He smiled at Nox's kind gesture.
Eventually the crowd began to thin and the festival booths slowly disappeared until only normal storefronts that had been closed remained. Even then Nox continued walking until they reached the edge of town.
Aether frowned. It was rather dark out and with the surrounding forest being filled with creatures, he isn't willing to take the chance even with Nox next to him. But contrary to what Aether thought, Nox turned right and went down a smaller beaten off path.
The path they walked down was quiet. The rowdiness from the festival was now murmurs, only heard when Aether tried to actively listen for them. The moon was high in the sky, illuminating the path before them. He could barely make out the small dirt path in front of him. If not for Nox leading the way, he was certain that he would have gotten lost by now.
As they walked further along the path, he noticed that the small dirt path was being overthrown by bushes and flowers. He had to take larger steps on multiple occasions to make sure he didn't accidentally step on a blooming floor.
Nox laughed when Aether did one large jump, almost falling face first into a bush on the side in order to avoid crushing a group of flowers. He glared at the other, but his attention was quickly drawn to the strange light behind Nox.
The light was a faint blue. At first he thought it could have been lamps to light the way or maybe even light a small park, but upon closer inspection he found the light to only be emitting from the ground.
Nox held out a hand and Aether took it without even glancing at it, his attention solely on the strange light. Nox led him further down the path until they came to an opening.
Aether gasped.
A sea of flowers swayed in the wind. Their petals a faint blue that emitted a light like countless fireflies. The moon above added even more light, making the entire image seem like something out of a fairytale.
He took a step forward, "What…" he paused and kneeled down. Lightly tapping the petal of a flower, he watched in amazement as a small dust of light floated into the air.
He had never seen such a thing. Even though the book went over abilities and unique creatures that seemed more demonic than not, not once did it mention flowers that glow.
With a smile on his face, he gently plucked a group of flowers, watching once more as the blue dust flew into the sky like a million fireflies.
It was beautiful.
"I have always wanted to share this place with someone, but I never had anyone."
Aether paused and turned to look back at Nox. His eyebrows furrowed as he held the beautiful white flowers in his hand. "Nox." He gently called out.
"Until I met you."
Aether froze. The gentle breeze brushed his reddened cheeks. Aether wanted to look away, but the look in Nox's eyes had him speechless. Perhaps for the first time he had truly seen pure happiness and joy in the others eyes. He stood up, the flowers in his hands falling to the ground.
"When I was younger, I was taught that everything had to be fought for, that the winner takes all." He glanced down at his scar ridden hand, "I was reminded daily that only the strong survive." He clenched his hands and lowered them, "So I tried my best to be the strongest, but I was always a step too late." He hung his head low, "Before I knew it…I was all alone."
"Nox." Aether called out a little louder, walking towards him as he did so.
"But then I met you." He let out a small laugh, "Despite all the adversities, you survived."
Aether gently cupped Nox's cheek and the other leaned into the touch with a smile.
"Despite everything, you always smiled, always laughed. You even stood up against those that were stronger. It was so fascinating."
There was something off with the way Nox said the word fascinating, but he pushed it aside and focused on what the man was saying, while trying to control his beating heart.
"And when you talked to me, showed me your world, it was as if I was no longer alone." With a light laugh he pulled Aether into a tight hug.
"I'm sorry for what I did at that time. I didn't mean to harm you. I was just…I was just afraid." He buried his head into Aether's shoulder.
Aether patted him on the back, comforting him to the best of his ability. "What were you afraid of?"
Nox was silent for a moment, then let out a muffled reply, "I was afraid that Lucian would take you away from me."
Aether pursed his lips, "Nox…" He paused, not sure what to say. His heart was in tangles. 'Had Nox lived a life in the shadows because his brothers would take everything from him? Including his friends?'
He let out a gentle sigh and hugged Nox back, "I promise, no matter what Lucian would have done or will do, he will never take me away from you." He leaned back, gazing into Nox's eyes, "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Okay?"
He waited, wanting to see the recognition in Nox's eyes. To make sure that Nox understood that no matter what Aether wouldn't be taken away just because of 'power'. He didn't have to wait long, the cloudiness in Nox's eyes dispersed making them crystal clear like the deep sea.
Nox smiled and pulled Aether into another hug. Nuzzling his head into Aether's neck he whispered, "I won't. Do…do you forgive me?" His voice grew so quiet that he could barely hear what Nox had said.
Aether frowned. He didn't want to forgive Nox so easily, especially not so soon, but after finally hearing what had been on Nox's mind, what he had been going through that led to that accident. He sighed, pushing Nox away from him he said, "I…I forgive you, but you have to promise me." He paused and locked eyes with Nox, "Promise me that you will never hurt me again."
Nox leaned close, his hand brushing a strand of Aether's hair behind his ear. Aether sucked in a breath. His eyes widening at the proximity. "I promise." Nox gently whispered.
The two locked eyes with one another and a strange feeling filled the air. Aether let out a low awkward chuckle and averted his eyes.
He did not have time to divert the conversation to something else before his chin was gently grabbed and his face was lifted. Before Aether could react Nox kissed him on the lips. Aether stiffened, his eyes gazing into Nox's as he tried to deepen the kiss.
Aether let out a startled gasp as his lip was gently bit. "Mmph!" Aether moaned as Nox plunged his tongue into Aether's unexacting mouth. His eyes closed and a few stray tears gathered at the corner of his eyes as his tongue was roughly probed and shoved around. As their lips moved against one another, Aether could feel a heat starting to bloom in the pit of his stomach. Out of fear he panicked and pushed against Nox's chest, but his hands were captured and held in place as Nox deepened the kiss even more.
"Ah, ah, mph." Aether moaned as his tongue was played with. His mind was too focused on what was happening in his mouth that he missed when one of Nox's hands had let him go and wandered towards the bottom of his shirt. He gasped lightly as a cold hand touched the bottom of his stomach.
"Wait…" He gasped in between breaths, "Nox, wait..AH!" Aether yelped as a nail lightly flicked over his nipple.
Aether shook his head and pushed against Nox's chest, "Nox..wait…Mpphh!" Aether's chin was grasped and he was pulled into a deep kiss more intense than before. He twitched and squirmed as his tongue was moved around in a strange dance. His mind was too focused on the kiss to register when Nox's other hand would move, when he flicked his other nipple Aether flinched so hard that his legs became jelly. He would have fallen to the ground if not for Nox's strong grip.
A string of saliva dripped from Aether's lips as their mouths finally separated. He gasped and tried to take deep breaths. His eyes were moist and his face was red, "Nox…" his voice soft and alluring.
Nox froze. He gulped. His hands tightened around Aether's waist and he leaned in, his eyes locked on the slightly reddened lips.
"Nox?" Aether whispered.
"Sorry." Nox mumbled before dipping in for another rough kiss.