The tip of the knife gleamed under the sunlight. The guards watched it fly into the air with apprehension.
Although they were saved by the third prince, it did not mean they fully trusted him. Nox was throwing the knife in the air, something that would otherwise seem relatively normal for the prince, but to the guards it was a cruel reminder that who they were following was nothing less of a monster.
The knife should have been bloody. Especially with how many people he had killed. Yet, here it was in pristine condition as if it never slit a man's throat or cut off a limb. Usually they wouldn't think twice about a clean blade, but that was under normal circumstances and who they were dealing with was anyone but normal. They had been watching Nox's every move the moment he arrived. From the way he sauntered into the battle like he had owned the place to the way he single handedly defeated another ambush. They had personally watched that blade kill, but not once did Nox clean the blade.
Their hands clenched and unclenched. Unsure whether or not the person in front of them was trustworthy enough, they mentally prepared themselves for battle.
The action did not go unnoticed by Nox.
Nox simply smirked. He let out a small hum as he observed the path before him. With the ambushes alone it was easy to determine that they were headed in the right direction, but he could never be too careful. So he observed the broken down path in front of him.
Bushes and tree branches were broken and laying on the ground as if someone had cut them out of their path. Some even had remnants of being burned. He smirked as the image of Aether's personal maid came to his mind. He knew he kept her around for a reason.
The footprints, though hard to see, were trackable. That being said, they were not Aether's footprints, but he didn't question it. If what the guards had told him was right, then Aether was most likely being carried by the third guard. Making these footprints the guards and Mina's.
He clicked his tongue when he noticed a small splotch of blood on the ground. He caught the knife he was throwing and vanished into the shadows.
The guards behind him didn't have time to react. They cast each other a single look before darting forward.
The first body they came across was shrouded in darkness. The guards let out a sigh of relief at the familiar figure, but at the sight of Nox they tensed once more.
The injured guard was kneeling on the ground. Bloodied bodies lay around him, a sign that he was the winner of the battle.
Nox walked over to the guard, his demeanor haunting to the guards who watched from a distance. Without caring about the guards injuries, Nox roughly grabbed him by the throat and hoisted him up.
The guard spit out blood as he was forced to stand on shaky legs. Blood dribbled down his body, pooling at his feet. The other guards bristled. They wanted to move, to go to the aid of their fellow guard, but they couldn't afford to. It would be a mistake if they moved right now. They needed that monster on their side and if sacrificing helping their fellow guard for a while was it took then so be it.
"Where is he?" Nox's voice was menacing. The sound seemed to echo all around them. The guards would never admit it, but the sound brought shivers down their spines.
The guard did not speak. His face was ghastly pale and he looked as if he would drop dead at any moment. With a defiant look in his eyes he looked straight into Nox's eyes and pointed behind Nox and down another bloodied path.
There was a tense silence between the two and the guards at the side grew antsy. Just when they thought they would have to go and save their fellow guard, Nox moved away.
"He better be safe." Was all Nox said before he vanished from their sights once more.
The injured guard waited a bated breath before collapsing to the ground. His fellow guards ran forward. One, the smallest of the three, grabbed the injured guard by his shoulders. Gently she laid him on the ground and began to administer first aid. She ripped off her cloak and began to wrap it tightly around the injured guard's leg.
The remaining guard watched the two. Gave a gentle pat on her shoulder and followed the bloodied path by himself. They couldn't risk not following Nox even if one of them was injured. After all, their duty was to protect Aether.
The guard caught up with Nox standing in the middle of a small clearing. He stood, surrounded by an even more bloody scene than the one they had just seen. Blood was pooling on the ground, dying every speck of green with red. Even the trees were covered in splotches of blood. A scene like this should have been a depiction of a great battle amongst many enemies, but there was only one body in this battle.
Nox did not pay attention to the guards' presence. Instead he gazed down at the bloodied figure with slight anger. He wasn't angry at the figure lying half dead on the ground, but at the prospect of what this meant.
Using his shadows he manipulated the figure into rolling over. Every inch of their body was covered in blood, but Nox recognised that fiery red hair.
Aether's personal maid, Mina.
She was barely breathing. With every sharp intake of breath, she would wheeze and groan. Blood dribbled out of her mouth and despite how weak she obviously was, she was still trying to desperately stop the bleeding on her chest. Her arms were dyed red with how much blood oozed from the wound on her chest, but that was not the most alarming of injuries she had sustained.
Where her right eye should have been was nothing but a bloody gap. Her eye had been gouged out.
Her single eye, though wandering and shaky, made contact with Nox. Letting out a strangled laugh she rasped, "Of…course." she took a deep breath, her chest shaking, "Now-Now…you show up." Blood dribbled down her mouth like a waterfall. Her head lolled to the side and she gazed in a certain direction.
"Hurry…" Her voice was barely a whisper, but it was enough for Nox to hear. "...Over-over there…he followed." She let out a whimper.
"I-I couldn't…"
Nox kneeled down and held her bloodied hand. "It's okay. You did your best. Now rest." Tears rolled down Mina's eyes and she shook her head.
Nox stood up not letting Mina speak anymore. He snapped his fingers and a figure emerged from the shadows. They were kneeled on the ground with their head lowered.
"Yes, Master?"
He glanced at the figure and then gestured to Mina, "Make sure she survives."
The figure stilled for a single moment before hesitantly running to Mina's side.
"The rest of you."
The guard perked up, thinking that Nox was talking to him, but to his surprise he was only one of the many he was talking to. Many figures emerged from the shadows as they bowed their heads waiting for Nox's command.
"Follow me."
A little ways in front of Nox, deeper in the forest was Aether and the young Prince. The chase was coming to an end and the young prince laughed eerily. Yet as soon as Aether thought he was going to get caught, the young Prince suddenly slowed down. Aether narrowed his eyes.
'That bastard wouldn't let an opportunity like this slip, unless…" Aether wanted to scream in frustration, 'This damn bastard! He's playing with me!'
He was exhausted from running and the damn prince knew all too well that it would only be time before he was caught, but it seems that wasn't enough. No, the damn sadistic prince wanted to play a small game of cat and mouse. He wanted him to think that he had hope and although he knew that this was all part of his plan. Aether still couldn't help himself from thinking that maybe, just maybe, he had a chance.
"You know, it's strange." the young prince stopped in his tracks, his voice dropping. Aether paused and glanced behind him. The young Prince had his head tilted and his glowing eyes seemed to calm as he spoke, "You've never met me before and yet…" he glanced up at Aether, his eyebrows furrowed as if he were genuinely confused, "...you ran from me."
He turned on his heel and walked back and forth with a finger on his chin as he spoke, "Normally when you meet someone for the first time you're apprehensive, of course, I get that. I mean I would be apprehensive as well, but…" he stopped, "But you, you ran."
Aether took a step back. He didn't like where this was going.
"Why would you run?" he took a step towards Aether, "Why would you run? Unless…you already knew who I was." He paused pondering the words he spoke. "But.." He chuckled, "That's impossible. I erased my entire existence from every text book in this damn Kingdom and everyone in this Kingdom who knew about my existence is dead."
Aether took another step back. His heart was racing.
"No one could have told you nor could you have ever read about me. So, how the hell did you know about me?" He shook his head, "It just, it just doesn't make sense." The young prince let out a sickening laugh and pushed back his hair, knife still in hand.
"That's not possible, not possible." he mumbled to himself.
Aether frowned and not wanting to wait for the other to compose himself he turned on his heel and took off.
The young Prince didn't move at first. An ear-splitting grin emerged on his face and he let out a laugh, "Of course! Why didn't I think about that!"
He covered his mouth, a madness consuming him, "To think they were hiding such a thing, no? What if they don't even know? Hahahaha, oh, this is even better than I imagined."
Aether could not hear what the young prince was saying, the only thing he could hear was the maniacal laughter that echoed through the forest. Although the sound made his heart race, it could also be his life saver. The young prince forgot, he wasn't the only one in this forest. There were countless students in here and if one or two heard him, then maybe he would have a chance to escape.
His hopes were crushed when he stumbled across a cliff. Aether took deep breaths, he gazed downwards thinking that perhaps there would be some rocks that he could use to climb down, but there were none. It was a steep drop.
Clicking his tongue he turned on his heel ready to dart into a different direction, but it was too late.
The young prince walked forward, his demeanor calm and his eyes trained on Aether.
He took a step back, his heel hitting the air. He let out a startled gasp and bit his lip as he met the eyes of the young prince.
"Are you done running?" The young prince stood a couple steps away from him now. His arms were behind his back and his smile, that unwavering smile was growing wider by the second.
He took one step forward and offered his hand. "You know there is only one answer."
Aether's breathing came out in short pants now. What could he do? What should he do? He knew full well what would happen if he took that hand. He can't take that hand. He can't-He glanced behind him, his mind reeling.
There was only one option.
He can't let this man win.
Not now.
He took a step back. Small pieces of rock fell from the cliff, the small clattering as it made its way down ringed in his ear.
The student in front of him froze. His eyes narrowed, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." when he noticed that Aether didn't budge he quickly added, "Trust me, you will be treated like royalty in my Empire. Unlike here, where you were abused and thrown to the side. You won't have to worry about that ever again. Not if you come with me." He pushed his hand forward, "Just take my hand and all your worries will vanish." He smiled gently.
Aether let out a soft laugh and gave him one last look with a blooming smile, "I won't let you have your way. Not this time."
"Wait!"
"NO!"
The young Prince froze, turning around he was horrified at what he saw. His hand had met empty air, but that wasn't what he was worried about. No it was the Prince, Nox who was standing in the shadows, his eyes fixated on the spot where Aether just was.
The Young Prince let out a short laugh. Gripping his knife he met the crazed eyes of Nox, "Shit."
Aether felt the air around him, cradling him like it was welcoming a child back into its arms. He smiled as he saw the panicked face of the young prince as he shouted and cussed. For a second he thought he heard Nox screaming his name, but that wasn't possible. Nox didn't know he was out here. He let out a broken laugh.
'I'm sorry.'
He closed his eyes, welcoming the pain that was to come.
The pain embraced him back.