The maid turned around and started running, Wang Bao froze as he didn't know what to do while Nakai took the matter into his own hands. He chased after the maid at a full sprint. It was only once Wang Bao saw Nakai at the other end of the hallway that he started running. Nakai's long legs were able to catch up with the fast maid and grabbed ahold of her hair, using his other hand to cover her mouth lest she start screaming. Wang Bao ran around the corner, a little breathless and saw Nakai twist the neck of the maid until it snapped. His body involuntarily stepped back and fell to the ground as his wide eyes stayed on the lifeless body Nakai was holding. Nakai put the dead body over his shoulder and walked back to Wang Bao thinking nothing of what he had just done.
"Come on, we're running out of time."
Nakai saw how pale Wang Bao was and glanced at the body on his shoulder before gently pulling Wang Bao up and turning him around.
"Lead the way quickly."
Wang Bao weakly nodded as he began to walk back the way they had come, picking up the pace once he had shaken off the cold feeling in his chest. Nakai made sure to keep a look out and multiple times while moving down the hallway, he had to stop Wang Bao as guards would walk past the windows they were passing. Finally after almost an hour, they made it to the stairwell leading down to the dungeons and rushed down; it didn't take long for the air to have a heavy dampness making it uncomfortable to breathe. At the bottom of the stairwell, Wang Bao pointed to a locked door.
"Your weapons are in there."
Nakai looked at the door, the framing was made of this steel with a scanning system. Wang Bao quickly moved to the side while Nakai stood front on and lifted his right leg, with a heavy booming sound he kicked the thick door. The metal became concaved because of the strike and with another fierce kick, the door flew to the back of the room. Nakai entered with the dead maid still on his shoulder, Wang Bao looked away in discomfort as the maid's lifeless eyes stared back at him. From inside the room, Nakai spoke.
"Do you know how to use a gun?"
"N-no."
Various weapons had been collected over the years and were left to gather dust in the storage room. Using one hand, Nakai loaded his hand guns into their holsters, he left behind the large automatic gun as it would stand out too much. He was about to leave the room when he spotted a small dagger and quickly placed it in his pocket. When Nakai turned around, he noticed that Wang Bao was avoiding looking at him and figured he needed to hide the body somewhere before leaving the palace. As they continued down the damp corridor, Wang Bao spoke.
"The exit is this way, the dungeons aren't used anymore so no guards will be waiting on the other side."
Nakai spotted an open cell and quickly dumped the dead maid's body before shutting the door, he then followed behind Wang Bao. After exiting through the same door Raia had been taken out of, both men ran towards the forest. Wang Bao didn't know this but Nakai knew where to go from here.
"Are there guards at the place Raia is being held?"
"Yes but you can't kill them, they're good men."
Nakai didn't answer as he picked up the pace, Wang Bao tried to keep up but his strides were half the size of Nakai's and he quickly fell behind. Nakai moved silently through the large trees and quickly caught sight of the stable and two guards waiting outside. He stopped, keeping hidden by the dense bush and started making his way around. Once he had reached the backside of the stable Nakai made a low humming noise. Raia perked her ears up and stood up, she shifted her body to the barred window and stared out, she quickly caught sight of Nakai and let out a soft mewl. Wang Bao finally caught up as he struggled to catch his breath. While he was busy gasping, Nakai removed both handguns.
"I told you, you can't kill the guards."
Wang Bao's words were treated like nothing and Nakai made his way back to the front of the stable. Once he was facing the guards, Raia started banging against the gate. The guards jumped in shock before peering down the stable walkway. They had gotten used to Raia ever since Wang Bao had formed a connection with her and gradually made their way towards the pen. As soon as Nakai saw them move he stepped out from the tree line, with swift hands he threw his guns at the guards heads, knocking them unconscious. Wang Bao followed behind in shock as he checked over the guards.
"You didn't kill them."
"There was no need to. Besides, you said they were good men"
Nakai grabbed the keys from the hook they were hanging from on the wooden post and promptly unlocked the gate. As soon as he pushed the gate open, Raia jumped at his large body happily. She growled and purred loudly while butting her head against Nakai's chest. Wang Bao smiled bitterly before pointing at the saddle and harness close by.
"We should leave quickly, it will be harder to get away from the palace once the sun is up."
Raia stopped her nuzzling then trotted over to Wang Bao and gently rested her head against his forehead. Raia could also see there was dried blood on Wang Bao's cheek, she gently licked it away. Despite it being painful, Wang Bao felt comforted by her actions. Nakai watched curiously before retrieving the saddle. Wang Bao's unease he had been feeling all night slowly faded and he tightly hugged Raia back. Unlike when Wang Bao put the harness on Raia, Nakai didn't need her to lie down. He picked the heavy saddle up with ease and tightened the straps around her belly, followed by her chest before attaching the harness to Raia's head. After everything was done, Nakai mounted Raia for the first time in a while. Wang Bao stared up at the duo in awe. The sight was truly magnificent as well as intimidating. Nakai met Wang Bao's gaze and held out his hand.
"Come here."
Nakai beckoned Wang Bao closer and swiftly took a hold of both of Wang Bao's arms, using them to lift his body onto the saddle. Wang Bao was positioned to sit in front of Nakai then Raia moved forward at a lazy pace, leaving behind the sleeping guards. When Raia had made it outside she paused her movements, waiting for Nakai to say something. From here, Nakai would be leading the way.
"Go south."
Raia reacted instantly and her body sprinted forward causing Wang Bao's body to be pushed back against Nakai's, he had never experienced this type of speed whenever he rode Raia. He was also surprised that Raia was able to tell where south was as she ran through the dense forest, the palace disappearing behind them.
For the first time since his Father's death, Wang Bao was leaving the palace grounds. His hands gripped his bag in front of him as he felt both anxious and free. It didn't take long before the night slowly grew lighter and they made their way further and further away towards the edge of the royal city. Wang Bao finally felt the exhaustion that the adrenaline had been hiding and slumped against Raia's neck softly. With Nakai's arms on either side of him it stopped Wang Bao's body from falling to the ground.
. . . . . .
Nakai stopped Raia once it reached midday. Wang Bao was still sleeping while he set up a temporary camp. Raia settled under a large tree with the sleeping Wang Bao and rested, she wasn't tired but her breath was quick. From beside her, Nakai spoke softly.
"Stay here, I'll look for food."
Raia yawned lazily as she took a quick nap while Nakai left. They were still inside the forest that led back to the palace but they were at a safe enough distance to stop. Nakai wandered around the forest in hopes of finding some tracks of an animal to hunt but after walking quite far from where they had stopped, he found nothing. With no animals close by, Nakai made due with wild fruit and returned to Raia. However as he was nearing the camp, he heard a noise not too far away. Muffled voices as well as shovels hitting the slightly damp earth. With silent steps he edged closer to the noise.
Nakai peeked through a bush as cover and saw two guards from the palace as well as a maid, her uniform was white like the maid he had killed earlier. The woman was giving orders while the guards continued to dig. Beside the woman's feet were the bodies of two old men, they wore expensive clothes and looked refined even in death. Nakai watched a little longer before sneaking away. Nakai knew they couldn't stay in the area, not even to eat and headed back with swift steps. By the time he arrived back Wang Bao had gotten up and was looking around while Raia was still napping. Once she heard Nakai come back, she stood up. Nakai spoke in a hushed voice as he handed the fruit to Wang Bao.
"We need to leave, there are palace guards close by as well as a maid."
Wang Bao was suddenly hoisted up and placed on Raia with Nakai following behind him. Raia didn't need any instructions as she quietly ran south. Wang Bao's arms were full of various items and he struggled to hold himself steady. Nakai pressed a hand onto Wang Bao's shoulder and spoke in a low voice.
"Lean back on me, Raia will pick up her speed soon."
As Nakai spoke Raia really did pick up speed, her sprint made the wind whistle past Wang Bao's ears and he did as he was told. The trio continued to ride until they reached the bottom of the mountainous region of Man Country. There were no pathways or roads to walk on and the path was too rocky for Raia to cross with both Nakai and Wang Bao steadily.
"We'll stop here."
The birds sitting in the old trees at the forest edge tweeted and cawed loudly while Nakai and Wang Bao dismounted Raia. Nakai pulled his gun out quietly and he kept his gaze on one of the trees. Everyone was hungry after not eating for the majority of the day, especially Wang Bao as he hadn't eaten in over 24 hours.
The gun was silent as Nakai shot three bullets one after the other. As soon as the bullets left the chamber, three fat purple birds fell from the tree they had been resting on. The loud sounds of the birds surrounding them stopped and a huge hoard flew into the sky. Wang Bao had never seen so many birds take flight in one go before, it was almost scary. Raia also stared at the sky but for different reasons and her legs crouched down before she jumped at a tree trunk across from her. Raia's giant paws hit the wood before springing up into the air, she caught three more birds in her mouth and landed easily beside Nakai who had picked his own kill up. Wang Bao looked at the six dead birds and thought out loud.
"Do we really need so many?"
Raia placed the birds down before she started digging at the base of the tree she was beside, Wang Bao knew she had no interest in birds and was currently searching for worms. Nakai paid Raia and Wang Bao no attention as he ripped the feathers from the dead birds. While he worked, Nakai instructed Wang Bao.
"Go collect twigs and sticks. I know you'll be full from only one wing but I won't be."
Wang Bao ignored Nakai's jab at his skinny body and placed his things on the ground. He also placed the colourful fruit down but kept one as a snack while he collected wood. Raia had already finished digging and was now chomping on earth worms the size of Wang Bao's arms. While Wang Bao walked back into the forest, Nakai called out to him.
"Don't stray too far, make sure you can still see Raia from where you're collecting wood."
Wang Bao didn't show any signs that he was listening to Nakai but he took the warning seriously. In the end it took Wang Bao three trips to collect enough wood to please Nakai and the fire was soon roaring. While waiting for the fire to burn down to embers, Nakai wrapped the naked birds in bark he had peeled from a few trees. Wang Bao didn't say anything and he sat on the ground with the scissors in his hands. Nakai spoke while his fingers worked diligently.
"What's the big deal with your hair?"
Wang Bao had been sitting silently once his task was finished yet he hadn't made one cut. Now that Nakai asked, he explained quietly.
"It has been recorded in history that the first royal bloodline of Man Country had brilliantly long hair the colour of the night sky. Ever since then all of the royals have grown their hair, we only trim our hair on our birthday to welcome more hair growth. My hair is the last shred of my identity as a Prince."
"Pfft, human's hold onto some stupid things. In Giant Country the only thing that differs us royals from the normal citizens is our blood and size."
Wang Bao lifted his solemn gaze from the scissors and stared at Nakai in surprise.
"You're a Prince?"
Nakai stopped working as he stared back at Wang Bao, a complicated look in his eyes.
"You don't know who I am?"
Wang Bao shrugged his shoulders. Nakai scoffed before pointing at himself.
"I'm Prince Nakai Ta, next in line for the throne! I know your identity, how can you not know mine?! The whole time I was locked in the palace you didn't know who I was?!"
Wang Bao muttered under his breath while looking away deep in thought.
"That explains the guards' behaviour when we first met."
Nakai shook his head before returning to the birds, the fire had died down to only embers and he used a large stick to create a hollow in the middle, placing the birds in before covering them. Wang Bao had returned to staring at the scissors but they were swiftly snatched away, before he could react Nakai was holding a handful of hair that was no longer attached to his head. Wang Bao reached behind him and felt the short hair before jumping at Nakai, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"How could you?"
Wang Bao didn't care about Nakai's answer, instead he threw hard punches at the Giant's stomach. Nakai just stood there taking the weak hits while speaking with a relaxed voice.
"You wouldn't have been able to do it yourself, turn around I'll cut the rest."
More punches and kicks were thrown at Nakai but he didn't feel anything, instead he roughly spun Wang Bao around and spoke seriously.
"Don't move or I'll cut you."
Snip, snip, snip. Long chunks of hair dropped to the ground, a few strands were caught in the light breeze and floated into Wang Bao's view. Nakai worked precisely with immense speed. In less than a minute Wang Bao's hair was cut just below his shoulders.
"All done."
Nakai handed the scissors to the silent Wang Bao then sat down; Raia, who had been busy digging for giant worms again, finally returned with a dirt covered face. She looked between the two silent men before trotting over to Wang Bao. Raia's dirty face rubbed against Wang Bao's tan shirt causing the anger inside Wang Bao to boil over. Wang Bao stormed off without caring about the food that was ready to eat, kicking random rocks and twigs. Raia didn't take the hint and followed behind Wang Bao. He didn't know where he was going but Wang Bao didn't care as he continued to stomp forward. His pale hands tried to rub the mud from his clothes but all it did was smudge the mess even more.
After walking for a few minutes, a nearby stream could be heard and Wang Bao made his way over. As he crouched down by the shallow water Raia also sat down, cleaning her face from the mud. The summer weather was luckily warm enough for Wang Bao to not get cold while he was shirtless but his hands were almost frozen by the ice cold water. After trying with no luck to clean his shirt, Wang Bao smacked the water.
"Fu~ The stain won't come out."
Wang Bao gave up on trying to return the shirt to cleanliness and wrung the soaking cloth to get the majority of the water out. After slinging the shirt over his shoulder Wang Bao turned to Raia and had a thought.
"Nakai hasn't given you orders since we left the stable, that means you should know where my brother is, more or less."
After glancing in the direction they had come from Wang Bao leapt up onto the wide saddle with great difficulty and held onto the reins firmly. Raia leant her head back and Wang Bao caught a glimpse of two out of the four white eyes before he nodded firmly. Raia yawned lazily before walking away from the stream, it only took a few strides before she had started to sprint. Wang Bao was feeling extremely grateful towards the giant cat. Good, I can meet with my brother and not get my asshole torn to shreds.