Being loyal is a good thing, but he was consumed faithfulness, devotion and inability to spew lies to save his life.
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5:30 P.M
How dare he? How dare he? How dare he?!
Cesal grit his teeth as he stomped inside the castle, shoving some guards out of the way, who didn't hastily move away from his direction. Just, what kind of gut made that Prince Slater think he was to betray Prince Veldra?
Betray Prince Veldra?
The blue head would've almost fell into a fit of laughter if he didn't just find out that his sister could possibly hate him. Hence, his puffy eyes that he occasionally rubbed furiously. He went up the flight of stairs and turned around the corner. Just when the underling was about to head somewhere else, his eyes caught the room which had a door that was never closed.
Throughout his whole life in the palace, he hadn't seen the door closed, so it was a questionable thing for it to be shut. Blinded by emotions, Cesal scoffed, thinking that this was probably one of Slater's plans.
"Who does he think he is, messing around with the doors?" Cesal muttered to himself before he sauntered towards the door, a grim look on his features. He tried to open it, twisting the doorknob before realizing it was inaccessible. Moreover, locked from the outside or inside and he checked to see if it was the final possibility.
"Anyone inside?" He asked loud enough that if anyone was in the room, they would be able to hear him.
Zen's head shot up as he slowly moved away from the door. Cesal Lixen. That was his voice. Did he not know of E.A's plans or was he acting weird again? Either ways, the redhead was thankful it wasn't the blue colored creature behind the door. Anyone, but him.
He sniffled before replying in a hoarse voice, "Yeah."
Cesal blinked. He wasn't entirely expecting a response and specially not one from Zen Vermiel. His hand moved from the doorknob and he positioned his face closer to the surface of the door.
"Do you, um, have the key inside?" Cesal asked then paused for a moment, "Or did someone lock you out?"
"Take a guess," Zen grunted as he tried to get up.
"I'm guessing the latter," Cesal looked around before he pulled out a hairclip from his hair and tried to pick the lock. He worked randomly, with little knowledge about pick locking. He moved the hairclip in different direction as his tongue unconsciously made its way out his lips in concentration. After a while, the door clicked and Cesal tried to open it, but it didn't budge.
The teen huffed as he tried again, this time more penetratingly, causing his overgrown, faded, blue bangs to tumble over and settle on his face in a curve. He heard another click and his actions repeated, except this time, the door successfully opened. When the door swung open, the underling almost fell over with the force he used whilst looking up at the redhead.
He looked horrible and Cesal blinked, his eyes drifted somewhere else as he thought of what to say. The bluehead was sure his puffy eyes and slightly messy blue hair were of display, but Zen looked he'd been through worse.
"Wh—" Cesal cut himself off, taking in the sight. Zen's hair was all over the place.His face looked awful, bloodshot eyes, clumped, damp, dark, lashes, it looked like he was crying for hours, there were visible bruises on his neck, and he was shivering.
"You're not...." Cesal trailed off, he looked up and his eyes seemed to be distant, to the clock on the wall, "You're not supposed to be here," He said again, completing his previous words.
Zen didn't reply, only gulp down the dry feeling he felt in his throat.
Cesal furrowed his brows, deciding to keep the questions to himself. If he remembered correctly, E.A was given his time to visit the prisoners and Prince Veldra doesn't allow any more underlings to do so, unless it was Cesal. Then, in that case, E.A must've brought Zen here and locked him inside after—
"Hey!" The teen rushed toward the redhead, who just about collapsed despite the support of his legs. He caught his upper body in time, looking down at Zen's wet hair that was pressed against his chest. He felt so bitterly cold, Cesal almost dropped him, but he didn't. The bluehead's fingers twitched at the low temperature from Zen. It was like all heat in his body had died and he was losing consciousness.
"Zen Vermiel stay awake! Don't pass out on me," Cesal grumbled, his face a bit worried as he watched the redhead whimper.
"What did he do?" Cesal whispered more to himself as he observed the weak state of Zen's body. He was convulsing slightly, almost as if he didn't want Cesal to touch him. Understandable, they were enemies after all.
"L-Let go of me," Zen uttered softly, his voice lowered by pitches, like he struggled to even get a word out.
"What happened?" Cesal asked, refusing to let go.
"I said—Let go of me," Zen's voice broke as his eyes teared up.
"If I do, you're going to fall, headfirst, probably die in the state you're in and Prince Veldra didn't demand such orders," Cesal retorted, his grip on the redhead tightening.
"I don't f-fucking care!" Zen shuddered, "Just don't touch me!" He weakly tried to pry Cesal's arms off him and the bluehead struggled to hold him close. When he saw the redhead's wide, terrified eyes, Cesal immediately loosened his grip and stepped back, watching as Zen used wall to steady himself. His body shook as he cried softly, wrapping his other arm around himself as he sihifted in his place.
Cesal looked downwards. He felt dreadful. Pity was crawling in the bottom of his stomach and he didn't know why. He should find humor in this. Be entertained, or at least enjoy it at some point, but couldn't bring himself to do that. The boy just looked so scared. He was the villain. He should laugh evilly and mock the redhead, but why?
Why did he feel anger towards a certain blue creature?
"Look, I won't touch you...if that's what you want, but, you have to get back to the cell," Cesal glanced at the clock then at Zen, who seemed to be lost in his own troubles, "I can get you there without difficulty or I can just call in the guards and they won't give a shit if you don't want them to touch you."
Cell? Get back to the cell? That was awful, but a relief as well. He'll be back with Rehan and Kazuo. Away from this monster, but he still didn't feel any better. He can always do what he's done over and over——
"I'll go with you," Zen managed to say.
———
The curtains draped over the glass blocked the orange setting the later afternoon sun would've set, making the castle settle for a darkness illuminated by the blazing lamplights. The place was quite, seeming like everyone has had their dinner already.
Cesal never thought he would be tiptoeing throughout the hallways, trying to stay hidden from a certain purple and black haired prince and get one of their prisoners back to the cell safely.
"Stop walking," Cesal whispered to the redhead as they walked slowly, pressed against the wall and watching some guards walk by on their left.
Zen looked around, only moving his eyes before nodding to Cesal that they were gone, signaling that they continue moving. They've passed the narrow hallway and it was time to go downstairs.
"Go, go," Cesal ushered for Zen to quickly move on, but the redhead had difficulty doing so. His lower body hurt with every move he made. Zen grunted as he tried his best to get downstairs.
"Holy shit, we're so screwed," Cesal said lowly, catching the sight of Primce Slater just below the flight of stairs, taking on the phone, "Let's go back up and hide in one of the rooms."
"Why can't you just pretend to be shoving me around?" Zen muttered, looking back to face the alerted blue head.
"He's coming upstairs, hurry," Cesal raised his voice whilst whispering as he ran back the stairs, motioning for Zen to follow him. The redhead hesitantly did so, his face twisting in pain every second.
Cesal led him into an empty room and kept the door half closed. He stood by the door and Zen sat next to him. Silence filled the hallways outside, until the clicking of shoes against the polished floor made Cesal tense up. They heard a few chuckles from the person as he conversed on the phone.
"You're kidding," Slater laughed. His voice was coming closer to the room and Cesal prayed he wouldn't enter.
Thankfully, the royal seemed to have chosen to just stand a few blocks away from the door as he continued with his phone call. Zen curiosity was getting the best of him, but he decided to stay put. He glanced at the blue head, who was peeking through the small opening.
Who was that? And why was Cesal so alert to see him?
The blue head listened to the royal as Zen inattentively did the same.
"Cicero Sager? Are you serious?" Slater asked the person on the other line of the phone and Zen widened his eyes.
"I didn't take him for that type of guy, honestly, but, you know what? Good luck, Ari," Slater chuckled.
Zen breathed in and he couldn't keep track of his manual breathing anymore. Did that guy just mention Cicero? He did, there was no doubt about it.
What does he want with him? What do they want with him? Is he going to get dragged into this mess?
Zen bit his lower lip and winced, forgetting that it was spilt. He couldn't stop his fingers from fumbling with the fabric of the sweatshirt he was wearing as he gulped down a feeling of awful, very awful foreboding. His stomach turned and twisted, adding in more fear with the rapid movement of his heartbeat.
No, not Cicero. Just not him.
"Cicero?" Cesal asked, looking just as shocked as the redhead. Less terrified, of course, but insanely confused. How did Prince Slater know about him?
Cesal furrowed his brows, 'Ari? As in Aria? My sister?'
To say the least, both boys were lost in a turmoil of emotions.
"Who is that?" Zen finally asked.
"Sla—that's none of your business," Cesal tumbled over his words.
"Then why the fuck did he say Cicero's name—what do you guys want with Cicero?" Zen tried to not let himself break right then and now; he didn't want him to get into this. The redhead wouldn't know how to cope with it or even be able to deal with it in the first place.
"Nothing," Cesal shrugged before an idea popped into his head, slowly narrowing the opening in the door, "That's Slater Stygian. Older brother of Prince Veldra and he just said Cicero's name. Knowing him, he's a nasty person and uses his power for his own benefit. I'm not sure what he wants exactly with Cicero, but we never wanted anything to do with your friend. Trust me, I'm just as confused as you are."
Zen narrowed his eyes at the blue head, and sighed, swallowing every prick of pain shooting through him as he listened. He obviously was ambivalent on making the choice of choosing to trust Cesal's words. There was no solid reason for him to believe the blue head and he wasn't planning on doing so. On the other hand, Cesal didn't really concern himslef with the choice Zen made or what he thought.
It was just a trial. A shot he took by throwing an arrow and not caring if it landed or not. If it did, he would've gained an upper hand and satisfaction by making the prisoners turn on their one and only savior, and therefore, it will be like ruining Slater's plans. And if it didn't, his words would still linger around and make them suspicious of Slater.
"I don't think I can do that."
"Do what?" Cesal opened the door by a bit to look outside.
"Trust you."
"That's digestible. I totally get where you're coming from," Cesal replied, "I wouldn't trust me if I was you too."
Zen resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "Is he gone yet?"
Cesal shook his head and they waited in silence after that. Time passed by and the interval was cut when the sound of Slater's footsteps made an appearance before fading away, indicating his departure.
Zen looked up at Cesal and the boy nodded, swaying the door open to the side as he stepped back. The redhead got back on his feet, hissing when his aching came back to life. Cesal walked out first, leaving him in the lead this time. He quickly went downstairs and waited on the end of the flight of stairs for Zen to catch up.
The redhead reached the end with difficulty and they were now walking towards a darker hallway. The familiar heat hit him and the sight of the cell was faint. The place was empty, completely that you could hear the echo of every step you take.
Zen watched Cesal walk infront of him, his back the only thing in display. The blue haired boy took small glances once a time to check if Zen was following him. Zen stared at the figure up ahead with furrowed brows. Was there really nothing he could do in this situation? They were heading to the cell and Cesal surely wasn't planning on reaching there without the keys to it.
Zen blinked as a few possibilities of how he could feasibly try to escape. Maybe, he wouldn't be so weak. Maybe, he wouldn't feel so useless. Steal the keys? He won't be too quick to do that. Heck, he can't even walk properly. How was he planning to even attempt to snatch and run?
The redhead sighed. It seemed like there was really nothing he could do. Even though he was free of handcuffs, free of any restraints, literally free handed, and with the enemy's back to him.
Could this get any more pathetic?
Zen was pulled out of his thoughts when they neared the cell. He could see a small figure of the ash blond from feets away and he felt a weird sense of comfort. Kazuo and Rehan were probably the only thing stopping him from going completely insane. They aren't vile. He was finally going to be able to breath from the vicious creatures he was constantly surrounded with.
Cesal silently checked his pockets before he pulled out some keys and tossed them around his finger, lowly humming to a song which made Zen squint at his behavior. Then, the blue head turned around to Zen with an uncanny smile stretched on his face.
"I bet they're worried sick about you," Cesal stated with a lopsided smile. The redhead didn't reply, but only stare back for a moment.
"Why are you smiling at me?" Zen glanced away in discomfort, an inquisitive, but slightly annoyed look on his face.
"Because I can," Cesal said before turing his head around and didn't say anything else which made Zen think this was the end of the short conversation and he wasn't planning on conversing anymore. That was until a question circled his head.
"Why are you helping me?" Zen brought out the very question that was itching to come out the moment Cesal offered to get him to the cell. Beats of silence filled the space before a small snicker emitted from Cesal. It wasn't of any hilarity to the redhead and his dark brows creased in confusion. What was this guy's deal?
"Helping you? I'm leading you to a cell," Cesal voiced logically, with some sort of humor undertone.
Zen looked at the back of his head, "You know what I mean."
"Well, I'm not a complete douche and you know I can't leave a fiveteen year old boy alone after he's been traumatized by a fucking insensitive mortal," Cesal voiced with an unrefined choice of words which made Zen wince visibly at the word.
Cesal glanced back at the nauseated redhead, "Sorry."
Zen didn't know if the blue head actually meant that simply apology or if it was sincere, but he didn't dread too much on it since they were very close to the cell.
A few more steps and a certain ash blond widened his eyes before he quickly shook the raven head next to him, causing his to open his eyes and he looked just as surprised.
"Brought you your cute redhead back," Cesal grinned at Kazuo and Rehan, who looked at him in shock.
The blue head unlocked the cell and Zen stepped inside, slightly teetering before Cesal locked the door and walked away from the cell.
"Zen!" Rehan almost slipped from how fast he got up and rushed towards the redhead. He went in for a bone crushing hug.
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