"It hurts…" Uriel couldn't even scream when his sister withdrew the blade from his shoulder. "It's a shame I can't kill you right here" She glowered at him, missing the amused look of the man approaching behind her.
"Duchess, I think it's time we leave. Your clothes are getting dirty." The imposter prince held her from behind in a way that made him want to scream. "Don't touch her!" but none of the words came out, only the gurgling sound of the blood swirling in his empty mouth.
"The traitor needs to rest up before their big day" His hand was placed on her hip while he charmingly led her out of the cell. "I'll see you another time, Uriel." The prince grinned, ensuring his voice was low enough that Orina couldn't hear.
Uriel knew he would be back, most likely later in the night to taunt him more. Where had the kind and graceful young man he had grown up beside gone? Maybe his prince was still just as graceful—yet he is not kind anymore. The prince he knew was warm and benevolent, not….that.
He couldn't understand what could have happened to Prince Elliott, how he could've changed so much. Sure, Uriel wasn't constantly by the prince's side, even as an aide, but this change was too sudden, too much for him to even anticipate the prince's shift. He hadn't noticed any strange behavior days prior, so what happened to his prince?
Uriel could barely keep his eyes open, but the sound of magic swirling in the waters made him straighten up despite the new chains keeping him connected to the wall. "Yvonne." He thought as the witch appeared before him, a potion in her hands.
"Your grace...Yikes!" She gasped when she saw the sorry state of his bloody body. "Well, doesn't this put us in a tough spot?" Yvonne joked as she popped the potion cork off with a nervous expression on her face.
"The original plan was to have you drink this. It had a special activation word so you wouldn't have to carry anything suspicious, but I guess you can't do that anymore, huh?" She frowned and moved closer, forcing his mouth open to take a look.
"Who did this? There's no way that twisted prince would do something like this to a noble...traitor or not." She questioned, inspecting his mouth further. "This is awful...What kind of grudge did he have against you to take both your tongue and your fangs? How are you supposed to hunt?"
Uriel gave her a flat look that screamed "Are you really asking this now?". Yvonne cringed as she realized the weight of her words. "Oops, right. You won't need them 'cause you're getting executed..." She scratched the back of her head.
"Listen, I'll go back and modify the potion, so hang tight and don't die yet. I need you for my master plan, so I can't lose you yet!" Yvonne huffed as she snapped her fingers, magic swirling around her as she disappeared again.
Uriel could feel his consciousness slipping from the blood loss, and the metallic scent of the water surrounding him only made him dizzier. He knew that he wouldn't stay awake until Yvonne got back. Giving up on staying awake, he closed his eyes and let sleep take him away from the horrid dream he was facing.
"Yvonne...?" Uriel blinked himself awake as he felt someone remove the chains around his wrists. "What are you looking at, traitor?" So it was a guard that was unchaining him. But why? "Get up!" The guard growled at him, his teeth extended in a threatening way.
"No...Today is the execution...?! How long did I sleep?!" Uriel's eyes widened as he realized where he was headed. The guard pulled him up and dragged him out of the cell, not caring about the former duke's injuries. "Grrm..." Uriel grunted as he tried to move his tail and a shot of pain crawled up his spine when he attempted to swim, catching the attention of the guard, who retracted his hostile expression.
The guard gave him a conflicted look, stopping to stare at him for a brief moment before pulling him along. The guard's strength alone was enough to drag Uriel through the small currents of the dungeon, which Uriel was grateful for.
It took a while to reach the execution grounds due to his dead weight, but they eventually reached the great trench that looked into the abyss. The distant sounds of the ravine creatures made the skin on Uriel's neck feel prickly like a chill passed through him. He listened to the quiet groans of the monsters lurking in the trench nervously, feeling anxious about what was to come.
"The traitor has arrived! Commence the execution! Death to the traitor!" Uriel listened to the angry cries of the kingdom's civilians. He couldn't blame them for their hatred, the king was a very loved man after all. He did, however, wish their rage was pointed towards the real culprit, and not him, the scapegoat.
"Silence!" Prince Elliott yelled as he made his way to the stage. Orina was close behind him with a cold look on her face. It pained Uriel to see her expression so empty, but his body trembled in her presence from their time in the dungeon.
"For the crimes of treason, scheming against the royal family, and murder of the previous King Julius Elkhorn, As the new king, I will execute you for your treacherous crimes!" Uriel kept his head down as the guards chained him to a large boulder near the edge of the abyss. The restraints felt different from those in the dungeon, almost having a warm feeling to them.
"Any last words, Traitor?" The prince asked with a cruel smile, knowing that even if he did have something to say, his ability to do so was long gone. Still, Uriel opened his mouth, and that proved to be a horrible idea. Offended by his insolence, the prince motioned for the guards, who handed him a branding iron. The hot metal caused the water around it to bubble from its temperature while Uriel grits his teeth and glares at the prince.
"Tsk, I thought you would know better." Elliott leaned to whisper into Uriel's ear, enjoying the sound of Uriel's pained gasps as the kingdom's insignia was engraved broiled into his chest.
As the rod was branded into his chest, he could feel the boulder he was chained to begin to tip. "This much is enough, don't you think?" Uriel growled at the prince, his body lurching forward as he attempted to scream at his old friend. "Elliott!" His mind cried in agony as the metal seared itself into his skin, intoxicating him with the scent of his own burning flesh.
He watched helplessly as Elliott walked away from the edge and out of his sight, leaving Uriel to free-fall into the abyss alone and in pain. "I don't wanna die! I can't die yet!" He closed his eyes tightly and prayed that some kind of hero would save him.
"I'm here, your grace." The voice of Yvonne appeared beside him, yet she was nowhere to be found. "Since you're in pretty bad shape, I think I'll send you straight to the surface..." He heard her mumble. "The surface...Do you plan to kill me? I can't survive up there in this condition." Uriel's eyes widened when he heard her plan.
"Calm down, you'll be in good hands up there. I know a guy." She said reassuringly. Uriel didn't want to pass out again, but sleep called for him. He fought hard to stay awake but his battle with sleep was lost when he felt a hand over his eyes.
"Like I said, calm down and relax. I really need you, so I won't let you die easily." She spoke calmly against his ear, and the nauseating scent of blood and flesh dissipated as he felt his senses dull. "So you're putting me to sleep...you witch." He thought spitefully as he realized she had effectively drugged him. "You better not let me die, Yvonne."