The Prince and The Pauper

Chapter 5

Astral came to with a jolt. His sword must have poked him in the side to wake him up like that. He checked his scabbard, and sure enough, the electric blade was poking him ever so slightly. He sighed and pulled it away and sheathed it again.

Once he did this, he realized something was wrong. There was no noise. It was much too silent.

Astral sat up, which soon proved to be a mistake. His head started pounding like someone was driving a nail into his brain. He rubbed the gems at his temples to relax the throbbing.

As soon as his pain was down to a dull pounding, he decided it was time to go home. Surely, the king would have saved his brother.

He got up off the street and looked around for the palace, but strangly enough, it was nowhere in sight. In fact, he saw none of the guards, knights, or his family. If not for the pain in his head, he would have thought that this was strange. Instead, he came to the conclusion that they were maybe hiding somewhere.

This thought didn't seem at all strange to him. See, when he landed, his brain collided with the back of his skull and bounced to the front. It wasn't major. It just hit twice before it stopped. Since his brain was stronger than a human's, it wasn't majorly affected exceot for his thought process. With time, it would correct itself.

He searched for his people. He didn't know where they were hiding, but he would find them.

~.Human POV.~

Yuma stepped outside once the winds died down. He knew that Akari had been taken, and he would find her. He would beat the crap out of the people who sent the cloud, and he would find her.

He looked around and saw someone floating around. It seemed confused as to where to go. Yuma looked closer and spotted a spot of gold on his arms, legs, and head. It was the prince. He seemed like he was in a state of a trance.

While Yuma didn't like those beings, the prince right now was vulnerable to anything. Yuma didn't like seeing that in anyone, not even anyone like him. With that thought in mind, he walked up to him.

"Hello?" he called.

The prince looked at Yuma with dull, tired eyes. "Yes?" He even sounded worn down.

Yuma was about to talk when the prince staggered to the floor. Yuma reached over and caught him before he hit the ground. He felt his pulse and sighed in relief when he found a strong one. He laid him down on the ground and studied him.

Upon closer inspection, the being actually looked clear. Maybe it was just some kind of trick of the light that made him appear blue. His eyes were delicate-looking, and his face was angular. Again, he looked more feminine than masculine.

Yuma wondered if he could take him home to get him some rest. Sure, his friends may not like it, but it was the right thing to do.

Just then, someone in a purple cloak walked toward him. Yuma grabbed the prince by his arms and easily dragged him behind a building. This person seemed dangerous. Was it the cloak?

The person stopped by the building and seemed to be sniffing the air.

What's it doing? Why is it acting like a dog?

Then, the strangest thing happened. It took off its cloak. It was something like a mix of a person and an animal. In this case, it was some kind of canine. It had gray fur with white tufts on the tips of the ears and the chest. It had black paws and a large snout with black at the tip. That black faded out to gray the farther from the nose it got. The tail was the opposite. It was large and fluffy with white at the tip and darkened gradually into a dark gray.

The canine thing got on all fours and transformed into a full wolf. It bounded away, following some kind of scent.

Watching it go, Yuma pulled out his D-gazer and called Kotori. She picked up after a while.

"Hello?"

Yuma kept his voice to a loud whisper. "Kotori, I found one of the royal family," he hissed. "What do you think we should do?"

Kotori seemed to think on this. She looked torn between just leaving him there and taking him. "Well, how is he?"

"He was dizzy when I saw him, and he's unconscious now."

When she heard that, there was no question as to what they should do. "Bring him in. I don't care if he's one of them."

Yuma smiled and nodded. He knew that she would agree with him.

"Think you can carry him?"

"Well, there was some guy around the corner. I had to drag him to where we are now, but he didn't seem to weigh a thing. I'm sure I can."

"Okay. See you there!"

They cut off the connection. Yuma grabbed the prince by the arms and wrapped them over his shoulders. He hoisted him up and carried him piggyback style and snuck out of the hiding spot.

On his back, Astral seemed kind of aware of what was happening. He sensed the movement of rising and moving forward. He didn't know what was going on. Maybe his father found him there and was now carrying him to where they were all hiding. Maybe Black Mist was going to be there, too.

Astral smiled at the thought of seeing his brother. Nothing in the world meant more than his family. He swore that he would help his brother dominate his darkness and to protect him. He would never leave him alone again.

Yuma felt movement coming from the prince. He looked at the limp form to see his hands tightening their hold. Was he waking up?

"Hey," he called. "You awake?"

All he got in response was, "Father, when is Mother coming home...?"

Yuma sighed. He was still very much out of it. Maybe a few days rest would do him good. He must have hit the ground hard to be like this. Was he concussed? If he was, it could take days to recover! Oh, well. They would help him recover, then he would go away. It was that simple.

Yuma arrived at his house, which was now a mess of boards and the original wood. The glass was scattered all over the place, and the windows were now crushed. Not much was left of the house, but it was still decently safe to live in as long as nothig vital was moved out of place. His friends' houses were crushed completely, so they were staying there.

"Guys, I'm back!" he called, stepping in to the opened door.

As usual, Haru greeted him. "You didn't get into any trouble, did you?"

"No, Grandma," Yuma said. "I brought someone who needs treatment."

"Who would that be?" Haru came out of the kitchen (she was preparing lunch) and saw the prince on Yuma's back. "Who is this young fellow?"

"I don't know his name, but I know that he's one of the princes. I saw him on my way home yesterday." Yuma laid him on the couch, which was still intact.

"I see." She smiled. "Well, don't worry about him. I will make sure he regains consciousness."