The Anima [completed]

36.

I nudged the door with my foot and it swung open, creaking softly as it swung on its axis. Poking my head in first, I saw only extravagant furniture. A plush bed with silk black sheets stood centred next to two large cabinets. A table and chairs were pushed off to the side, perched beneath a window, the only source of natural light in the entire castle. Littered around the room were piles of clothing and what appeared to be the squashed remains of flowers. I crinkled my nose as I re-examined the ruffled sheets and the maleclothing on the ground.

Without turning, I nudged the doors closed with my foot, sealing the exit.

"Ly?" A soft voice called from the corner of the room and a man with a familiar face stepped into the light.

The prince of the First Plane stood tall and powerful, his golden skin shining against the backdrop of the window. He wore only pants, his muscular chest exposed in all its glory. My eyes flicked up to his face. His lips wore a wide smile and his bright eyes twinkled with admiration and perhaps even love as he stared down at my body. I could see him examining my horns and my eyes and wondered if his affection made him blind to the truth. In two large striding steps, he closed the distance between us and grabbed my face with his hands.

The prince crushed his lips to mine. As his lips moved against mine, his guard dropped. In a split second, I pulled out of his embrace and released the force of telekinesis onto his body. The prince flew across the room and landed with a hard thump onto the bed. With the power stronger than ever before, I realised it would not take much effort to keep the man pinned to the bed. His arms thrashed about as he tried to lift himself from the sheets, but his chest and legs remained pinned to the bed, paralysed by my power. I called upon the threads of power to tie him to the bed and they looped under and over his body like chains. Once the threads had restrained each of his limps, tying him down with the invisible ropes only I could see, I tied them together in my mind. Once the knot was completed, I relaxed. Unless I untied it, the prince would be stuck on that bed forever.

I grabbed one of the chairs from across the room and sat next to the bed. The prince's eyes narrowed and his teeth ground as he tried helplessly to release himself from the restraints.

"It makes sense now, the visions." I spoke softly, head cocked as I stared down at him. "Tell me, did you know what she planned to do to your home? What she planned to do to the humans?"

"I don't know what you are talking about." The prince spat stubbornly, his neck straining as he tried to sit up.

"Okay then," I was surprised at how calm I was, how indifferent I was to his betrayal to his family, "Did you know she intended to kill me?"

At this, he flinched into the sheets and his eyes darted away from me. I shifted in my chair and crossed my legs.

"I don't blame you," I said in honesty, "From what I've witness the past few weeks, your family does not deserve to rule, much less live. They've killed thousands of innocents. All Ly wanted to do was get revenge." I shrugged and sat back in my seat, "By the books, it appears you are on the right side."

The prince said nothing and continued to stare at the wall on the other side of the room.

"But what she planned on doing, what you planned on doing, to the humans is wrong. Millions would die if a war broke out, and a war would break out if they discovered you exist."

"We." He snapped, his head suddenly turning to face me.

"We?" I asked calmly.

"Yes, we. Or do you not realise you have horns and the ability to restrain me WITH YOUR POWER."

"True." I said simply and uncrossed my legs, "But a part of me is still human, and always will be human."

He stayed silent. I had the feeling I wouldn't be hearing much after that.