Liam paused. How did the prince survive without magic?
******
Liam had a very rough night which showed in the painful bumps on his skin. He was very angry but that was just the beginning as he would have to endure it all for the next three nights he has no option but to spend in this forest.
He groaned and tried to see the positivity of his situation as that is one of the things he always uses to get by in life which could be hard even when the world is still going as usual and still exists.
No one has tried to kill him in the woods yet and he was yet to see blood but those motivational thoughts could not take care of the strong desire he felt to have a warm bath with the helping ladies.
Well, that was not the only thing he was missing. He has been eating roasted meat for a while now. Well, you could say he should find peace in that after all, it was better than eating meat jerky continuously.
The forest offered them a canopy that shade them from the sun and it was warm as much as he wanted to complain about missing seeing the faces of beautiful ladies and their touches, the softness of the bed and warmth of the bath, and many more, he found things to appreciate in the forest.
He was also lucky to have very good chefs among his guards who were good at roasting the games caught. He still had the wine he collected from his uncle and he drank one bottle with his meal at night.
After two days of trying to encourage himself that it was not worse than those camps he went to with his friends and his girlfriend, he realized he could not lie to himself anymore.
He closed his eyes trying to sleep but those crickets insisting on singing a lullaby from a distance seemed to be competing with the mosquitos close to his ears.
He sighed and sat up. his guards who were supposed to be keeping watch were the only humans foolish enough to compete with these insects with their snores.
He sniffed and frowned.
Not again, please. He groaned as he forced himself back to the bed despite the reluctance of this body, he now occupies which must have sensed danger for the hairs on the body to rise.
He knew a few people personally who would kill for such ability, to feel the danger before it arrives but as a matter of fact, Liam would rather not face any danger that would warrant the use of the ability.
It was not too long before he could make out the figure so of the intruders. Wait! They were not even intruding as a matter of fact because this could not be called a private property of any sort.
He was lying in the open beside a campfire that provided warmth to him in the cold night because his guards did not bring blankets.
He continued to close his eyes as he hoped they would just pass on and not be other to greet the fellow travelers they encountered in the forest.
He knew just as you should that they were not simple passers-by as his body would not have reacted this way. He opened his eyes and sat off scratching his head frustratedly.
"I know I don't feel like sleeping but you should not disturb my peaceful night," he screamed out in frustration before pulling out his sword he had not let go of through this journey in the woods.
His guards who seemed to be deeply asleep were up before he could stand up after his scream. They had the people surrounded.
Well, they could not exactly be called people as they were not humans. They were were-animals. He chose to call them beasts.
The two were-men were caught off guard as they tried to run but Liam's guards who seemed to be visible and unavailable during almost all the assassination attempts, he had experienced were very active.
Liam watched with his brow furrowed. The men did not fight back as they were not armed. They struggled but it was not effective against the well-trained soldiers.
Liam looked away from the sight of an animal taking up the figure of a human being like a werewolf but he was not sure about the animal they were.
It was close to a boar but also close to the appearance of a bull. The hairs on his body rose even with the fact that he was out of danger.
He has watched a lot of movies and TV shows showing shapeshifters and he had a couple of them that were his favorite movies but it was not a pleasant thing to see them right before your eyes, not on your screen but only a few meters away from him.
They were muscled and strong-looking like they could find two of himself in one of them which made him shocked that his men could tackle them so fast.
"Please do not kill us, we only came to say something to the prince since we knew he was passing by," one of them begged as the soldiers kicked him and his companion to the floor.
It seemed a lot of monsters are aware of his visit to their domain, Liam groaned he could imagine how hard the following days might be for him.
"You heard, that means a few others are around. Do you know how well we will get rewarded for bringing your heads to the king?" the knight asked.
"We know and we will let you kill us when we speak to the prince," the were-man begged as he struggled to stand up despite how the soldiers tried to pull him down.
Liam was forced to turn towards them and he looked away when he saw that pig-like nose that could be taken as a cow's nose at first glance.
He swallowed and forced himself to turn to his guards they were finding it hard to keep those were-men under control anymore. Despite the sword hits they got, they still advanced toward Liam.
"Let them talk," Liam raised his head with his eyes narrowed hoping that would help him to see less as he looked toward them.
"Your highness, monsters, and shape-shifters have been banned from this kingdom long ago. It is taboo to talk to any of them. They are the mistake of black magic and the powers of the enemies of magic," his knight warned Liam.
"They are willing to die to speak to me. Cover your ears if you do not want to hear them speak like humans," Liam replied firmly as he wanted to do that. Their voices were everything close to the grunts of a pig.