Forgotten Monsters

Chapter 26- Cain

Rat-face wasn’t in the business of helping people. He was intrinsically selfish and didn’t have a loyal bone in his body. So it was a mystery to him why he had let that girl out of prison. He had assured himself that he had freed her, not out of the good of his heart, but rather because she was beautiful and he had hoped to get a kiss out of the deal. There had been no kiss, he didn’t push it. And then he had let her go, no conditions, no payment, and no debts. It was very strange.

However what was stranger was seeing the prince, and he meant the prince, wandering around the slums at this time of the night. He stuck out, as he always did, in his dark clothing, his loose shirt belted with that silver (expensive, finely made) sword. Rat-face itched to get his hands on it, to see how much it weighed. There was a sense of ease in the way the young prince moved though, as if he were used to hanging around the worst part of town in the hours before dawn.

Rat-face crept around behind the man, skittering in and out of the shadows, melting into the darkness. The prince glanced behind him a few times, but he never stopped and he never called out. Rat-face almost lost him once when the prince swept around a grimy corner. Panicked, Rat-face sped up, and it was because of this that he collided with the prince as he rounded that corner.

He fell on his butt with very little dignity left intact. Eyes wide He leapt to his feet and lunged away from the prince, but was dragged back, a fistful of his shirt caught in the prince’s hand. Spun so that he was face to face with the prince, he found himself looking down the long edge of his sword.

“Why were you following me?” The Prince spat out; his tan skin darker under the night sky.  

“I was just curious! I swear, sire.” Rat-face said, quivering in a very unmanly sort of way.

“Why should I let you go?” The prince asked. Rat-face looked pleadingly at him but his hard, black eyes revealed no sympathy.

“Because… Because.” Rat-face struggled for an answer, still nervously looking down at the sword that rose to meet his chin. “Because I let that friend of yours go, the pretty one.”

The prince backed off slightly, but his eyes narrowed, “How do I know you’re telling me the truth?” Rat-face shrugged.

“You don’t.” The sword was sheathed and Rat-face relaxed considerably… only to be elevated off the ground, again by the prince.

“If I ever catch you following me again, I will throw you in those dungeons, and no one will be there to set you free. I’ll make sure of it.”

The prince strode away, his coat billowing out behind him ominously. Rat-face knew he should just leave, but it wasn’t in his nature. “Are we even?” He called out.

The prince flinched at the loud noise, turning to glare at Rat-face, who shrunk under his stare. “Not even close.” He said, and the darkness swallowed him up.

“Goodness; so dramatic.” Rat-face muttered, scuttling back the way he had come. “Ooh, I’m all dark and mysterious.” He mocked, making his tattered coat flare out as the Prince’s had. Anyone who saw him would have thought he was completely crazy. He probably was.

Tessa crawled out onto the roof with Cain. It had become a ritual. Whenever the night was clear and the stars were bright, they would meet up on the rooftop. Sometimes they spoke, but most of the time they just sat in companionable silence.  

It was strange though, despite the time they spent together, Tessa couldn’t figure him out.

“I know how you escaped.” His voice broke the silence.

“Yeah?” she said. It was only partially a question. “How did you find out?”

“Rat-face told me.” Tessa didn’t know how Cain could have possibly come into contact with the bedraggled man.