contrast - a SetoSolace short story

The Second 'Ting'

"I have an idea!"

Brice jumped.

Seto was right behind him, his purple eyes wide open in excitement.

"Dear me, you are definitely jumpy." Seto chuckled to himself. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you if, well, we could go mining."

Brice just stared blankly at him.

"Mining? Y'know, to find diamonds and all 'em goodies?" Seto tried. "Doesn't ring a bell?"

Brice just stared blankly at him.

"Y'know, when you go under the ground with a gleaming pickaxe to mine 'em ores?" Seto tried again.

Brice just stared blankly at him.

Seto sighed. He frowned for a moment, his eyes changing to a shade of ultraviolet. Suddenly, a knowing smile formed on his face.

"Well, mining to find gold, perhaps?"

Gold.

Brice blinked.

Gold.

Brice remembered being sent down to the mines to mine gold.

Gold.

Brice remembered being told off for bringing back lapis lazuli instead of diamonds and gold.

Gold.

Brice remembered the golden, gleaming battle axe sitting beside the throne; he remembered watching, wide-eyed, as the battle axe came down on her and

"I think you know what I mean, so let's get going!" Seto grabbed Brice's hand once again before skipping out of the house, dragging Brice behind him. A warm feeling shot through Brice's veins and he nearly jumped again. Gazing at Seto's hand, Brice couldn't help but blush.

-

"P...pickaxe." Brice stuttered as he glanced at the deep black cave before him. He only had a vague image of the last time he went mining, which meant that he probably wouldn't be able to tell the ores apart.

Pathetic.

Brice gasped in surprise as a golden pickaxe began to form in his hand, pixel by pixel. In a few seconds, there was a perfect, shining pickaxe in his hand. In Seto's hand was an amethyst pickaxe. Seto twirled his pickaxe around in delight, while Brice just stared at his in awe.

Brice was gobsmacked.

"Mining for dayss!" Seto clapped his hands together in delight. Sprinting into the mines, he soon vanished from Brice's sight.

Brice, on the other hand, stood at the edge of the cave, shaking with trepidation. He had never liked the mines. Besides the fact that they were pitch black and frightening, the caves were also filled with skeletons of the dead that could somehow come back to life. Huge spiders with their blood red eyes could emerge from any corner, and ghosts were said to haunt the caves.

He bit his lip.

"My goodness, Brice, you're taking an awfully long time to get down here." Seto's voice echoed. "Need any help getting down?"

For Seto.

Brice closed his eyes and ran forward into the depths of the cave.

-

"Huh. You came." Seto raised an eyebrow at the sight of Brice's pale face. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Silence.

Brice was working on chipping a mysterious lavender ore that Seto required. Seto, on the other hand, was exploring the cave and hanging a few torches from the walls.