The Prince from Another Dimension

The Beating

Allix stumbled back. He must have imagined her. That girl was not Alyssa. Bonny cautiously crawled over to Allix and rubbed against his side, mewing. Allix stood up and, holding Bonny, he climbed onto his Pegasus. They lifted into the air, and he continued his search. He scanned the land, searching for her blonde head.

Hours passed, and Bonny was starting to get restless. Allix's eyelids were starting to droop as well. He looked up into the sky and noticed that the pink was fading and was being replaced by a dark purple. He had been out all day looking for Alyssa, not even stopping to eat or drink anything. He was tired, his legs and arms ached, and even the stallion was sagging lower in the sky.

So he steered the Pegasus back down to the stables and locked her up. Then he made his way back to his bedroom on foot, Bonny trotting at his heels. He walked up to the drawbridge, but his father stopped him. Allix motioned to Bonny to go on ahead.

"Father, I can explain."

"I don't want explanations, Allix. What you did today was unacceptable. You cannot just disrespect your father, the king,
And then disappear for an entire day!"

Allix looked down at his feet, mumbling to himself. "Like you haven't done that before."

His father had disappeared for multiple days at a time, not telling anyone where he was or how long he would be gone. King Caleb glared at his son and grabbed onto his arm, fingers digging into the bare skin. Allix could feel blood being drawn, the grip was so tight. The king dragged Allix down the hallways, keeping his eyes focused in front of him and glaring at the gazes of curious guards, who quickly turned away.

He dragged his son down many halls, and down a few flights of stone stairs into the wine cellar. Allix sniffed the all too familiar musty, stale air. He knew what was going to happen next. This has happened before, countless times. His father threw him to the cold floor and stomped on his stomach, and kicked him in the side. Allix tried not to react, but couldn't keep himself from curling into a ball.

Then he saw the boots of his father walk off to the corner of the cellar and came back. He tensed himself and prepared for the strikes to come. Sure enough, he could hear the crack of the whip as it was brought down onto his back. Pain flooded through him, coursing through his body in waves. But he was used to this.

The leather, braided whip felt sharp and cruel on his scarred skin. Warm blood streamed down his back, dripping onto the floor. After many strikes, the cruel father put down the whip and bandaged his own fists, preparing for a fight. He kicked his son again, yelling at him to stand up. Allix couldn't stop the whimper from escaping his mouth as he pushed up on his arms.

He stood shakily, unbalanced. The king glared and got into a fighting stance. Allix got into the same position, but sagged desperately under the pain. He flinched as Caleb punched, hard and quick, at his ribs. Allix, too weak to dodge, let himself be beaten. The pain was starting to numb him, and he could no longer feel the punches and kicks.

Then he heard a voice shout from up the stairs.

"Sire! Your maids are starting to worry."

He delivered one final, hard kick to Allix's head and walked up the stairs.

Allix lay there for a long time, dazed and aching. Dark dots blotted his vision. After several minutes, his vision cleared and he warily got up. Pain coursed through his body as he stumbled to the passageway leading to the hall in which his room was located. His father has taught him to use this passage, so nobody questioned him on his way back.

Allix found his way to his hall, and staggered to his slightly ajar door. He pushed it open and slammed it with all the force he could muster. Then he face planted onto his pillow and groaned.

Deja vu.

But this time, Alyssa wasn't here. Allix sobbed into his pillow. Then he felt the presence of someone else, watching him. Something else.

He lifted his head and automatically looked over to his desk. A black cat was staring at him with black eyes. It didn't move, it only stared. Not a single ear twitch.