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Okay, here's chapter two. Sorry for keeping the few who reads my stories waiting so long, but I have had a lots on my mind.
Warning: There will be blood in this chapter, lots of blood. If you read you'll get it. And there will be some angst. So blood and angst, don't like it - don't read!
‘Where am I?’ He felt like he was floating and it was so dark. He desperately looked around and choked when he looked down. There was something liquid glistening in the nonexistent light, something almost as dark as everything else, but at the same time he could make out the clear color of blood, lots of blood. It was like a great sea of crimson liquid, drained from thousands and thousands of bodies. He felt the bile in his mouth and had to fight hard not to give in to his protesting stomach. He felt sick, totally and utterly sick. His head was throbbing with pain, his throat was dry and one of his arms was standing out in a very odd angle. ‘Please, oh please! Kami, take away the pain! Please, please, I beg you, take the pain away…’ It was unbearable. He felt himself slowly weaken and unconsciously leaned back into the darkness. Just when he was about to close his eyes he caught the sight of a light. It was distant and small, but still it seemed to sear towards him and chase away the dark.
“Come…” A voice whispered. The voice was beautiful, but he couldn’t make out if it belonged to a male or female. It seemed to come from the light. “Canine… Come… Come to me…” He should feel scared, but after what he had seen in this darkness he couldn’t get himself to feel scared yet again. The light looked so inviting and it was calling- at least someone was calling out to him. “Come back into the light…”
It took all of his last powers but finally he managed to move and take one step. ‘There, that wasn’t so hard…’ He thought to himself, ‘Just put one foot in front of the other and everything should be fine…’ He pulled at his left leg next and it moved slowly to be placed in front of the right.
“That’s it… Come back to me… Come back to the light… That’s it Cain, you can do it…” He could hear it much clearer now, it was a male voice, but still so soft and comforting it could easily belong to a woman. He lifted his gaze and let his eyes wander over the person that had suddenly appeared in front of him. It looked like a human man, but still not really. He looked more like an angel than anything. He was standing in the center of the light and it made him look like he was ethereal. He had no face, or at least none Canine was able to see.
“Wh-who are you?” He stuttered out the words and immediately turned a hot shade of red.
“You will find out soon enough…” Canine was almost able to see the faint smile on the faceless angel’s lips. He let his eyes wander the others body again and fist now he was able to see the blood that was dripping from the back of the mans robe and down to join the rest of the droplets in the sea beneath them.
“You’re bleeding!” He didn’t care if the man might hurt him anymore; there was something in his heart that told him that this angel was someone he could trust.
“Do not worry… the most important thing right now is that you come back into the light.”
“I can’t… I’m too tired, I just want to sleep…”
“No!” Canine’s eyes snapped open from where they had been shut only seconds before, when he felt a pair of warm hands on his shoulders. “I’m not going to give up on you now. You have to fight! Please… Fight… If not for yourself, then do it for your family, do it for me…”
He looked up, but still the angel’s face was nothing other than dark shadow. But then his eyes caught something glittering. A tear. His angel was crying… But why? They hadn’t even met before. Or… had they?
“Please, go now… We’ll meet again soon enough…” The hands dropped from his shoulders to his back and gently pushed him towards the light.
“You promise?” Canine stopped and crossed his arms stubbornly, waiting for an answer.
“I promise. Now go!” Canine felt another push in his back and he lost his balance. He fell…
Somewhere in the distance he thought he heard a harsh knock on the door, and then a loud crash. Has someone broken down the door?
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing Dimitri?! You were supposed to protect him!”
That voice, it was so quiet, yet so clear that he was able to hear every word. It was the voice of the angel?
“Get off him!”
Suddenly it felt like a thousand pound burden had been lifted from him, but then the cold surrounded him. The voice was gone. Maybe it was just his imagination to start with? The pain was finally gone. ‘Imaginary or not, that voice saved me…’ he thought as he drifted into sleep. ‘The voice of my guardian angel…’
“It’s okay now, Canine… Go to sleep, no one’s going to hurt you now…”“He’s waking up! I thought we’d lost him!” A young woman squealed and almost jumped out of her chair in excitement. Her hair was short platinum blonde. You could almost call it white. Her eyes were light pink and seemed to glow unnaturally in the morning light.
“Sch… If you continue on squealing like that, Akina, he will probably go back to sleep just to avoid your voice…” Came the answer from a man in the chair on the opposite side of the bed. His hair was completely black, except for the very tips that were the same white color as raw energy. Even if his eyes might have looked completely black, they withheld the most variations of colors possible. They shifted from lavender-blue to crimson red as the morning sun was reflected in the mirror on the wall and the light fell directly at him. His face was handsome to say the least and his perfect lips were curled slightly into a smirk.
“What was that, Raidon dear? I didn’t quite hear you there.” The female across from him smirked and his own grin faded fast.
“Oh, nothing… My princess.”
“That’s bette-“ She started but then got interrupted by the third party in the room.
“Where am I?” Both adults turned and looked at the 13-year-old boy lying in the bed. His hair was as white as the woman’s if not even more so, and his eyes color were that of the ocean. Blue, but green all the same. His face was still bruised, but you were still able to spot his usual pale skin underneath. His looked nervously at the super smiling woman at his left. She looked almost scary. His gaze traveled over to the right of the bed and was met by the sight of the most gorgeous male he had ever laid his eyes on. Sure he might not have laid his eyes on many other men other than Dimitri, but still, this man was…'Wow…'
The sun shone in through the window and seemed to illuminate both adults and it almost made them seem ethereal. “Am I in heaven?” His first thought slipped past his lips and he immediately regretted it.
Raidon and Akina looked at each other and then back at the boy. The princess’ face was twisted into an amused grin and she looked as if she was on the edge to burst out laughing. Raidon on the other hand just smiled gently towards the boy and shook his head.
“I’m afraid, you are not, Canine. In fact, you are lucky as hell not to be dead.” He reached out and gently tucked a strand of silver white hair behind the boy’s ear. Then suddenly his face changed and he looked angry. “If only I had know about this I would have been able to stop that idiot Dimitri!”
The boy’s face went ghost white and his eyes wide. “D-d… D-Dimitri… is here?” He asked shakily.
“Oh, no! Don’t worry Cain! He’s long gone.” Akina’s voice was gentle and she gave him one of her most genuine smiles.
“He won’t bother you again. Even if he would still be here, I would make sure nothing ever happened to you again, Canine.” The ocean orbs shifted and the boy looked at Raidon in amazement.
“How do you know my name? No, better question: Who are you? And why are you so kind to me?”
“You don’t remember me?” Akina practically yelled. She sounded really hurt and her eyes were glazed with tears.
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to… I just don’t remember!” Canine watched in terror as Raidon stood up from his seat and raised his hand. “P-Please don’t hit me! Please… I just don’t remember!” The boy raised his arms to try to shield himself and closed his eyes. But the slap never came. Instead he felt as the mattress shifted when someone sat down beside him and soon there were strong arms encircling him and pulling him onto the said persons lap. He slowly opened his eyes and found that he was being held by no other than the one he had though was going to hit him seconds ago. The hand was raised again and he flinched. Yet again he was surprised when the older man started to wipe away the newly formed tears from his cheeks.
“Sch… It’s all right. No one is going to hurt you I promise.” The soothing voice sounded so familiar… And not just from minutes ago, but from the night before. It was the voice that had saved him, the voice of his angel. But how could it be? He had thought it was just his delirious mind making things up as he was unconscious, but how could he have known what this man’s voice sounded like? He couldn’t possibly have remembered that, because he had never even met the man! And even if he had, Dimitri would have made sure that he had forgotten. It didn’t make any sense and yet he felt so safe knowing that his angel was here with him. But then the memories of the previous nights events started to come back to him for real and once again he felt tears stinging his eyes. He desperately grasped the fabric of the older man’s tunic and pulled him as close as possible for comfort. “There, there… There’s nothing to be afraid of anymore…”
“I… Y-you held your promise… Thank you…” He eased his grasp of the other’s clothes and looked up into those multicolored orbs. “But, I still don’t know who you are… or at least I don’t remember…”
“I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier.” Canine turned his head and looked at the woman who had just spoken. “I am you sister, so you might understand why I reacted how I did. It’s not everyday that I meet my brother for the first time in seven years and he don’t remember me.”
“I’m sorry…” He looked down at his hands in embarrassment. “You are my sister? I never could have imagined having a real family…” He mumbled.
“It’s okay. By the way, my name is Akina and I am the heir princess to the throne of Serenia. Since you are my little brother you are also the prince of Serenia.”
“Whoa, whoa! Me? I mean… Prince? I’m not a prince…” Canine looked at her in disbelief and shook his head slightly. “I mean, I believe the part of we being related, after all, we got the same hair and stuff. I really don’t have anything against being you brother either. You seem nice and all but I can’t be a prince! I just can’t.”
“She’s telling the truth…” Canine looked up at the man, whose name he still didn’t know, in confusion. “You were born to be a prince. At your birth I was assigned as your guardian. You may call me Raidon.”
“But if I really was a prince, how the hell did I end up here? I mean, if you really are my guardian, wasn’t you supposed to be here and protect me from HIM?!” Canine yelled and pulled himself off of the Raidon’s lap.
“Canine! Calm down, right now!” Akina gave him a stern look and he fell quiet. “The reason you are here I because we left you here. Mother, Father, Raidon and me escorted you here at the age of six. You were supposed to live here with Scholar Dimitri until the age of 16 and you were supposed to be trained in the art of transforming…”
“YOU LEFT ME HERE WITH HIM?!” Canine screamed. He was literately fuming with anger.
“It was supposed to be for your own good. It is the same training every royal child is supposed to get and Dimitri has been a scholar ever since father got his training, but…”
“But what?”
“Well…” Raidon spoke up for the first time in a quite a long while. “Usually he sends our king letters where he explains the progress at least every year or so. But this time he never received any. Our king waited, hoping that Dimitri just had forgot about sending the letter. After another couple of years there was still no sign of any letter, so his highness sent us, to check up on you… And now well, we’re here…”
“So… Let me get this straight… I was living through pure hell because you guys didn’t fucking react fast enough when you didn’t get a letter… I see… Well, I have only one thing to say…” Canine breathed deeply and both Raidon and Akina watched him in worry.
“Cain? Cain, are you alright?” The princess reached out her hand to put it on her brother’s shoulder but quickly drew it back when she saw his eyes.
“Canine?”
“GET OUT RIGHT NOW! I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOU ANYMORE!” Canine yelled angrily with his eyes glowing. Akina quickly reached out for her brother only to get a slap in return. She gasped in chock with a hand on her cheek and stormed out of the room with tears swelling up in her eyes.
“A little harsh for someone who nearly got killed yesterday by a madman, don’t you think? I am beginning to believe that maybe you take after Dimitri. Seven years can do that to you.” Raidon stood up without a single emotion on his face and started walking towards the door. “I will be in the kitchen if you decide to become civil again.” With that he disappeared out the door.
Canine pulled his knees up to his chin and wrapped his arms around his legs protectively. ‘How did it all manage to end like this?’ He thought and choked a sob. ‘How could I believe that they saved me? They were the ones who did this to me in the first place!’ He glanced over at the mirror on the wall and was sickened by his own reflection. His hair was caked with blood as well as his black bruised face. He had dark bags under his eyes and he looked like shit, literally. His arms and naked torso were full of cuts. He really felt like vomiting as he remembered the pain in his behind. ‘How could they just leave me with HIM?’ Slowly he started to rock back and forth in the bed tears flowing down his cheeks again. ‘I hate him… I hate them! I hate them! I hate them! How could he say that I was like HIM? I’m not like HIM, and even if I was, it’s their fault! I hate them, I hate them, I hate them, I hate them, I hate them, I hate them, I hate them, I hate them, I hate them…’
He looked down and wasn’t shocked by the knife he held in his hand. He didn’t know where it came from or how he got into the bathroom for that matter, but he didn’t care. He held it resting against his wrist and shivered when the cold steel came in contact with his skin. With only one small movement and he could end his misery. He sighed and closed his eyes bracing himself for the pain. ‘It’s not like anyone will miss me…’
“Put away the knife…” He flinched but did not open his eyes. “Come on, Cain…” He slowly lowered the knife but not without having it scrape against his skin slightly. “That’s it Cain, you can do it…” He flinched again and dropped the knife to the floor. Those were the exact words his angel had spoken to him in the dark. Suddenly he felt strong arms encircle him and he didn’t fight. He just leaned back into Raidon’s chest.
“I…”
“Shh… I know… It’s okay…” Canine shivered slightly at the hot breath against his cheek. “I told you I wouldn’t give up on you…” He slowly turned around in the embrace and looked up in Raidon’s at the moment crystal blue eyes with tears forming in his own. The older man smiled faintly and raised a hand to wipe away the tears. “No need for that kiddo… I’m here for you, and I always will be…”
The boy nodded before throwing his arms around the taller man and burying his face in the gape of his neck. “Thank you…” He mumbled.
Raidon first looked down at the boy in surprise but then tightened his hold on him in a comforting way. “Don’t mention it kiddo…”
“Awww! That’s sooooo cute!” Both males looked up in surprise and saw a grinning Akina in the doorway to the bathroom. Canine squirmed in Raidon’s arms afraid that she might still be angry with him.
“I… I’m sorry for hitting you sister… I-I didn’t mean to, I just…” His grasp in Raidon’s robes tightened as Akina stepped forward. He closed his eyes hard and started to shake.
‘Damn, what in the world did Dimitri do to him to make him this scared of people?’ Raidon thought with a frown and ran his hand in soothing circles on the boy’s back.
“No, no, no! Don’t be sorry Cain dear. I should be the one apologizing, I should have gotten father to react quicker.” Canine opened his eyes hesitantly and looked up at his sister who was giving him a warm smile. “Now, no more sad faces okay?” Canine nodded and looked down to hide his embarrassed blush. “Good, well I hope you’re hungry, it’s just about lunchtime.”
Raidon watched the boy’s eyes shut tight as he shook his head violently. He tightened his arms around the boy who looked up at him with sad eyes. “C’mon Cain, you need to eat.” Another headshake.
“Not hungry…” He mumbled and received two concerned looks.
“Not even if I make pancakes?” His sister tried but he just shook his head again and looked down.
“They’re not just pancakes, they’re chocolate-chip pancakes.” Raidon gave Cain’s shoulders a comforting squeeze and managed at least to get the boy to look up.
“I’m sorry… I’m just not hungry…” Then his eyes widened when they all heard a grumbling sound from his stomach. Raidon raised an elegant eyebrow and Canine blushed furiously. “Well… maybe I’m hungry… It’s just- I just don’t feel like eating, okay?”
“It’s okay. I understand. But will you come with us downstairs and at least drink something?” Raidon gently grasped the younger boy’s chin and made him look him in the eye. He got a faint nod and smiled.
“Wow… He really must like you Cain,” The boy looked at his sister in confusion. She just smiled. “I’ve never seen him smile that much before!” Canine felt the blood rush to his face and before he could do anything about it he was blushing furiously. He didn’t notice, but Raidon actually had an almost unnoticeable pink tint on his cheeks.
Ocean colored eyes drifted from the window to the mirror on the wall. Most of his cuts had healed and his bruises had started to fade away. All of it was thanks to Raidon. The older man had several healing potions and herb-tea and made him drink them all. Most of the potions had tasted like shit, but they worked miracles.
There were still a few wounds that he hadn’t told anyone about… He was too embarrassed, and they were kind of in places he didn’t want anyone to see… especially not Raidon. He would only pity him more…
Again with the thoughts of Raidon… Canine couldn’t seem to get the beautiful man out of his mind lately… ‘Wait! Did I just refer to him as beautiful?! Oh Kami…’ He stood up from the bed and slowly made his way out to the winter wonderland that was their backyard.
He flicked his gaze from his plate for a while and was shocked when a blue and white blur flew past the window. He looked again and was now able to make out the silhouette of the 13-year-old boy running around outside in the snow dressed in a dark blue winter robe. He gave a faint smile. ‘I guess this is the first time he really gets to act out on the child within.’ He continued to watch the boy and completely forgot about his lunch or any other things he might have had on his mind before for that matter.
“You like him don’t you?”
“What?” Raidon looked startled up at the princess who was now standing by his side.
“You like him don’t you?” She didn’t look at him; she kept her eyes on the boy outside.
“Well, Of course I like him! He sees me as his friend and I see him as mine. I would never do anything to hurt him.” The princess sighed and moved her gaze to meet his eyes.
“That’s not what I meant and you know that Raidon.”
“Wha-what? I’m sorry but I don’t know what you mean you highness.” He looked confusedly at her.
“You really have no clue have you?” She sighed and sat down opposite of him. She gave him a serious look. “You care for him, admit it. You ha- …you have loving feelings for my brother.”
“I- No… You got it all wrong… I-“
“Raidon. Admit. It. Now.”
“I… well… So maybe I do have feelings for your brother…” Raidon mumbled and looked down at the table to hide his embarrassment. “I might just… love him…”
“Raidon, Raidon, Raidon… What are you thinking? He’s only 13 years old! You haven’t done anything have you?”
“I know! Don’t you think I know that?! And I- What? Done anything? No! Absolutely not! I may have feelings for him but I would never act on them. I thought you knew me better than that. No… He is a 13-year-old prince… That is why I chose to keep it to myself.” He sighed and let his gaze drift outside again to the beautiful boy that was lying on the white ground, making a snow-angel.
“I would continue scolding you for this if it wasn’t for the fact that he likes you too…”
“I- What? How do you know?! Has he said anything to you?” He looked at Akina in disbelief.
“I know because I’m his sister and well… we both grow nervous and we blush when we’re around people we love… At least I was like that until I confessed my feelings for Makoto.” She got a little pink tint on her cheeks but she smiled at him just the same. “I want my brother to be happy and if you hurt him the smallest bit I’m going to hunt you down and kill you myself, understand?” Her face had suddenly turned very serious and it almost scared Raidon who barely nodded. “Good, now I’m going to take a nap. Take care of my brother for m-“ A tapping on the window made her stop talking.
They both turned towards the window and spotted a small white falcon sitting on the windowsill with a letter tied to its leg. Raidon was the one who reacted first so he opened the window and let the bird inside. It flew inside and landed on the table holding out its leg towards Raidon to take the letter. After he did so the bird quickly flew out the window again.
“Who would send you a letter out here?” Akina looked at Raidon in confusion.
“I don’t know…” He turned the letter and noticed the Royal Seal. He frowned and started to open it. “It’s from the king.” He mumbled and pulled out a parchment out of its envelope.
Raidon,
I truly appreciate your offer to take on my sons training yourself, but I must ask you to come back to the castle for a few days. There are a few problems we need to work out. Besides, I’m sure that Akina will do well enough without you.
Please come as soon as you can, and please send my greetings to both of my children.
Honestly, Iano, king of Serenia.
Raidon’s hand almost trembled as he gave the letter to Akina for her to read. He would have to leave… He would have to leave Canine… He didn’t want to do that, he didn’t want for the boy to feel alone again. He knew he was selfish when he didn’t count Akina as any real company to Canine, but… He just didn’t want to go. Surely the king must understand…
“Raidon… What are you going to tell Canine? I mean… You have to tell him!”
“I don’t think I can do this…” He looked down at his hands and shook his head slightly before turning his gaze outside once more. But Canine wasn’t there anymore. Before he knew it worry began to swallow him and he stood up immediately. Just then the door flew open and they were greeted by the sight of Canine fully covered in snow, with tousled hair and a huge grin on his face. “Canine! You’re going to be all wet! Why didn’t you brush of some of the snow?”
“Uhm…” The boy blushed and looked down at his feet. “I-I wondered if y-you would like to c-come and play with me o-outside…”
Raidon glanced over at Akina who smiled at him knowingly, then gave him a stern look that told him that he had to tell Canine the truth. “I’m going to get a nap. I’ll see you in a while Cain.” She smiled as she passed the confused boy on her way out of the room. When the door shut behind her Canine looked at Raidon again.
“I-I’m sorry… I understand if you don’t want to play…” He looked down at his feet.
“Oh, no! It’s not that! It’s just…” Raidon thought for a while in a search for less harsh words, but failed. “It’s just that I have to tell you something… And you’re probably going to hate me for this but… Here I go…” He felt more nervous than ever before in his life. ‘Just tell him you love him… Just tell him you love him…’ He thought as he started to fiddle with the hem of his tunic and Canine watched him with an almost frightened expression. “I… Canine, you… I mean…”
“Raidon?” The boy took a hesitant step closer to the older male.
“No! I mean, just please stay there okay? This is hard enough as it is.” He saw the fright spread on the boy’s face and felt a pang of guilt in his stomach. “I… I am… I’m going to leave… for a while…”
Canine looked in shock at the man he called his angel. ‘He’s going to leave me? No please don’t let him leave! Please! No...’
“Please understand Cain… I… The king personally sent for me… And I have to go… But it will only be for a week or so okay? I will be back before you know it.” He looked sadly at the boy as he started to shiver. Then he lowered his head as he began to feel tears flood his eyes. He closed and opened his eyes for a moment trying to will the tears away but they just didn’t seem to obey him. Just as the first little droplet trickled down his cheek he suddenly felt thin arms around his neck and a small body pressed against his. Hesitantly he wrapped his arms around Canine’s thin frame and held him tight.
“I don’t want you to leave… Please don’t leave…” He faintly heard the boy’s sobs and began to move his hand in soothing circles over the prince’s back.
“Shh… It’s going to be all right… I will come back for you, just as you did for me, remember?” He whispered gently into the boy’s ear.
Canine nodded and wiped a few of his tears away. He did remember, and he would always remember how his, yes HIS angel saved his life. “You promise?”
“Yeah, I promise… Don’t you worry, I’ll be back.”
The days went by slowly and Akina tried her best to cheer her brother up, but nothing seemed to work. Finally they started with his training and the days went by a little faster, but still it felt like years went by to Canine.
When the first month was over Canine had received several other letters from Raidon, but he didn’t open them. He knew that they still said the same thing as always and that Raidon still wouldn’t come back. Honestly he felt betrayed. Raidon had promised him to come back… But he never did.
One night, one year, three months and seven days after Raidon had left Canine sat at the desk in his room with an empty parchment in front of him and a quill in his hand. It had taken him almost the entire day to read through every single letter Raidon had sent him, but it was all for nothing. There was nothing in any of them that said he was coming back. Nothing. Canine had burnt them that evening after dinner. He couldn’t stand the thought of Raidon not returning.
Now he was sitting here, trying to come up with something to write that lying oath-breaker. He sighed and lifted the quill and dipped it in the inkpot. And then, he started writing:
Dear Raidon.
I hope you get this letter because I will write very important things in it.
I… Well before you left, I think had feelings for you… They disappeared a while a go though… But that’s not the point. I may have fallen in love with you, or at least I believed that, but I knew that because of my age you would never even look at me. Ehm… This is getting very hard to write.
Sometimes I still wake up screaming after having a nightmare with HIM. But now, there’s no one here to comfort me, to tell me everything is all right. My sister tries her best, but still… It’s not you… I thought that you at least were my friend, but if you had really cared you would never have left.
You have no idea how much I cried at night because you weren’t there. I missed you so much.
For the first few days you were gone I think I cried the most, but then, at least I had some hope of you coming back. When I then received your first letter, my hope was crushed. Some days I cried some days I didn’t, but even so, after a while, my tears came to an end.
My sister must have worried sick since I didn’t ate, hell I still don’t. But I couldn’t care less. You failed me, you broke your promise, and most of all you made me cry. For that I hate you. I hate you so much. –Canine
He ended his letter and sealed itwithout shedding a single it was never sent. It was left on that very desk soon to behidden beneath several drawings and random notes, waiting for rememberance...
Hehe... No real cliffhanger, but still, quite a Angsty ending don't you think? Maybe it's just me imaginating it... shrug Anyway, it you wan't to know what happens next you have to review and tell me so alright??
