Morning slowly turned into afternoon. The afternoon became twilight. Then twilight became dark, lightless night but I still felt happy. My hunt was growing… I took a breath that I instantly regretted as I turned green with disgust.
What the fuck?!
Why cant they just move the body already? Did they think I was a hyena? I hate the bad smell! But I couldn't say it ruined my day.
I finally can guess who killed the king. The thief.
I finally found a Magus, was that really how they look. I thought they would look somewhat obscene and dangerous. Guess the magi are just humans.
I sighed as my stomach growled and I hung my head lower as I thought of dad.
"I'm hungry," I complained at dad as a rabbit hopped uphill.
He looked at me with cold eyes as he sat beneath the shade of a pine tree. "then go catch it. Dinner is not going to catch itself."
"then can I use an arrow?" I asked. He took a look at me and then the boulder the rabbit vanished behind. He snapped my bow and threw it aside.
"you are eight, you are old enough to find food for yourself without using weapons. You are not always going to have weapons."
"then how do I hunt it?" I asked him.
"think like the rabbit, act like the rabbit, be the rabbit, or something that can catch that rabbit with ease. What, choose for yourself, but don't come back without the rabbit."
"I don't know how to."
"What is your name?"
"Andre Anna."
"Yes, and within your blood, the shape of all beasts that walks the earth is inside of you. You just have to find it and command yourself to be one of them." He smiled slily and walked off before I could ask anything. I tried to follow him back, but I lost him.
Then it came, the thousand hours, and the hundred nights of tormenting hunger, biting cold and bone gritting fear. then the pain came.
the bone gritting pain of turning. maddening excruciation of shifting into a wolf.
I shook the memory off my head and sighed. this week has been nothing but eventful. but that one was worse. the week I spent in hunger and as a wolf were brutal hell, but I survived them. this is nothing. an eight-year-old who survived the black forest alone.
But now I was going to be put to death.
That didn't depress me. I've had this sort of moment ever since I was a kid, it doesn't face me anymore.
I took another curse breath and tried to relax, but it was really unbearable. made me think of breaking free.
Wait should I break free? I wondered.
And miss the fun of taunting him at the peak of his pleasure? Nah, let's just stay here until the moment they think they killed me.
I closed my eyes and rested the handcuffs against the back wall. not that it helped with this block on my neck. But a few moments into the rest, I felt someone inside the cell.
"I didn't hear anything open, guess you must either be a magus, a ghost, or… no, we've already met, magus." I opened my eyes and looked at the commodore who sat in the corner on my right.
"you have keen senses, young man. You really are the son of Lucas and lady…"
"What do you want?"
"didn't Lucas teach you manners when he taught you shapeshifting and… " one more person talking about dad again. I should start punching next time he is mentioned.
"He taught me not to talk to strangers. Now, what do you want?"
"I want to know what you meant by Arga having a queen." He asked pinning his hawk-like eyes on me that felt like sword stabs in the darkness we were in.
"what is it to you?" I asked.
"I am a Magus therefore the royal household business is my business."
"Really?" that's funny. Really funny. "Here I was thinking the dragon saying my father tasted like fried chicken was the funniest thing I've ever heard, but you take up the mantle of being the funniest being I've ever heard."
He lit some flame and stared at me. His face was as stern as I could be in a grave atmosphere. He was serious.
"I'm serious."
"I'm sorry, I thought you were being sarcastic. My bad. Thought I had the hang of it but guess not." I told him. how can he be serious? "It's been three years since the king was killed and that asshole took the throne, you not knowing about the queen makes me wanna puke."
"I was out at sea," he explained himself like I wanted it.
"Not my problem."
"is the queen alive?" he started bombarding me with questions about the queen and I kept quiet. Who am I to know what he wanted to do with Ariana?
"I have no obligation to tell you."
"don't you care about your country?" he asked, and I started feeling pissed at him. My country?
"This is not my country, and I don't care what happens here."
"Oh I forgot, you are the son of the black forest." He got up from the corner and walked towards me. "you probably think that if the princess dies, your forest would be safe from the guardians."
The guardians? Why would the guardians threaten the black forest?
"Don't tell me you don't know?" he asked leaning onto be the bars. He scoffed and leaned back. "You brought a crystal coin here and you don't know what it means?"
Did I do somethi… I don't care.
"I should have known. You are nothing but a fool! You just put the lives of everyone in Arga at risk for what? You…" he took a deep breath and muttered under his breath. "And here I was glad somebody knew of the guardians and had a plan to remove the stain in the throne before the wrath of the guardians befell Arga but… He is just some blind stupid opportunistic…!"
Was he going to insult me he…?
"Hey! if you're gonna drag my name the dirt, do it behind my back, or else I will make sure…" I growled at him but he just asked like I gave a shit.
"can you fight?"
And I thought it was a bad insult that Ariana wanted to find me but didn't know me even when I was right in front of her. now a guy is… is he trying to piss me off?
"I should get you out of there first."
"I don't need your help." I told him as he passed through the bars like he was made of nothingness. I looked at him through the dragon's eyes and he stopped.
"then why are you captured?"
"because I wanted to."
"Well, abandon your plan."
He approached me further and I hissed at him. "Touch me and I'll cut your hands off!"
The guards who were probably sleeping outside woke up and were now unlocking the dungeon. He did it anyway. He touched me.
I retaliated by burning him with the phoenix flame on my hand, and he backed off.
"Who are you talking to, you asshole?"