The target is right there....
Just with a swipe of his wrist, he will be-
"I know I have lied to you about who I am, but... I'm really happy that I can get along with someone so well without the impact of my status!"
Ah-
Looking up at Zachary, Terrence's expression froze in place just before he could attack.
The smile on the other's face is so sincere. He is actually happy about having befriended him? Were they even friends?
Lightly shaking his head and wanting to just get it over with, Terrence just can't get rid of the feeling of hesitation blooming inside him. Something he had rarely ever felt. What is the matter with him?
"Prince Zachary! We have finally found you!" panting and finally walking over to the two boys, the two guards from earlier cross their arms as Terrence carefully takes his hands back onto his sides to not get caught. "Please come back with us this time. You still have sword practices today, is what the queen had informed us."
"Fine... guess I don't really have a choice." Pouting lightly with a sign, Zachary nods to the guards before giving Terrence a light smile, reaching a hand out. "Want to come along? We can get Vanny and Sunny on the way there."
"Eh?"
"Sir... do we really want visitors at this time of day, not to mention that we have never seen him around before-"
"Ren is a friend, Ben. Also, he said he could help me train! He is a traveller, after all, he knows a thing or two about fighting!" Pushing Terrence forward with a calm smile, Zachary answers before quietly whispering by Terrence's ears. "Play along."
"...." Peaking back lightly at the boy lying straight to the guards' face without shame, Terrence signs lightly and decides to just go along with it since it does go in his favour. "Yes... I did say that."
"I... see then. I'll inform the queen about it." Shaking their head before mentioning the two to follow along, the taller guard, Ben, murmurs something that briefly translates to 'he is doubting that Terrence can fight with that small and delicate looking body'. How amusing. Terrence bites down a smirk on his face. Looks can be deceiving, after all.
Getting Vanessa and Sol from where they are desperately searching for them, Zachary chuckles weakly as Vanessa scolds him about leaving them behind. Still apologizing for not telling Terrence the truth and hoping it didn't hurt the bond they had just made, Sol lightly clings onto the boy's arms, where Terrence just nods weakly and reassures them that he is fine.
The castle looks... different from the one that Terrence is more used to. The inside has a lot less plants, a lot more cement, and concrete decorations. It seems like Vanessa and Sol are regular guests here as they quickly run off, saying they want to greet someone by the name of 'Amelia' who Zachary explains to be one of the maids here that they've gotten fond of who is also one of his friends inside the wall.
"Are you sure you don't want us here, Sir? Even you said that you haven't known him for long-"
"I'll be fine, Alen, Ben." Lightly tapping a sword in its scabbard on his shoulder, Zachary smiles over nonchalantly. "I'm not weak, you guys know this. Go along now."
"Yes, sir...."
Taking a sword from the side for himself, Terrence drops his bag on the side. It can be a good chance to know just what type of opponent he will be dealing with. Also, no one is nearby, so... he should be able to easily get out of here after the deed is done.
"Sorry to drag you into this, Ren." Smiling over with a hand rubbing the back of his neck, Zachary chuckles weakly. "But I really don't think that mother would let us go without actually doing a bit of training...."
"It's fine. And like you said, I know a bit of fighting myself." Feeling a wave of nostalgia wash over him as he takes the sword out and into his hand, Terrence closes his eyes for a second before putting it back into the scabbard, looking back at Zachary. "I haven't touched it in a while, though, so a bit of training will be much appreciated."
"Hmm, alright them." Smiling in light curiosity, Zachary walks into the court and pulls his sword out, throwing the scabbard to the side, looking over at Terrence with a smile. "Though when I told them that you know how to fight, I haven't expected that to be true."
"How so?" asking lightly with the sword out himself with the scabbard still in his hand, Terrence puts it onto his belt before waving it around to gain a sense of familiarity.
"No offence, but you honestly don't seem like the type."
"Looks can be deceiving, I guess."
"True that." Chuckling lightly as a slightly annoyed look makes its way onto Terrence's face, possibly due to the fact that Zachary had stated, not verbally, that one of the reasons is because of his height and frame, the blond gets into a ready stance. "Shall we start?"
"You first, my good sir."
With a clink, the swords met. Zachary is fast. Terrence is suddenly really glad that he has chosen to test his strength first before attempting anything. Getting pushed back by a lot, Terrence grits his teeth lightly before pushing Zachary a few feet back with a swing of his sword.
"Woah!" balancing himself and standing back up straight, Zachary chuckles lightly in surprise before gritting his own teeth when Terrence carries on with another attacker, clinking their swords together a few times before striking with the tip of the sword. Barely dodging them before jumping back, Zachary pants lightly as he stares at the boy in front of him.
There are no gaps he can find to take him down.
Didn't he say that he hadn't used a sword in a while? How strong was he then if he used it every day?
Zachary doesn't get another second to think before their swords meet once more, Terrence seems to not want to give the boy any breaks. As the sounds of sword clinking get louder and more frequent, Zachary finds himself not being able to keep up as the speed of the slashes picks up even more. Gritting his teeth and merely keeping the sword horizontally in place and moving ever so lightly to block the attacks, Zachary eventually bends back when the blade of the other almost slices him right through.
With his back hitting the floor with a gasp, Zachary takes a shaky breath and pants lightly before opening his eyes and finding a pair of mint-coloured, ice-cold eyes staring right at him. Feeling the coldness of the blade against his throat, a hand on his chest, and the subtle warmth of the boy hovering over him with a leg on each side, Zachary chuckles weakly as he smiles lightly up at the other. "Okay, I give up. You won. Man, I underestimated you so much now that I feel stupid."
Terrence didn't respond, just stared down, not at those emerald eyes blinking at him in curiosity, but the knife pressed against Zachary's neck. Just a little harder, and it will cut right through.
Blood will once again cover his hands, and this job will be done. The courtyard is in the middle of the palace, but he found many ways out on the way here, so it should be the perfect condition to do so.
Mint-coloured eyes dying down into a shade of the night sky in an aurora night. Terrence's face darkens, covered in the shade of his bangs.
"Ren? Is something wrong?"
A hand places itself right on top of Terrence's and squeezes it lightly as a pair of concerned emerald eyes stares at him with light curiosity. And just like that, Terrence realizes...
He can't move.
No, he is moving... more like shaking. His whole body is shaking, and he doesn't know why he hadn't taken notice of it until just now. But his hand isn't moving to his command, the rest of his body frozen in place.
As he finally takes notice of the heavy heartbeat in his chest, Terrence is confused. Is he scared? If so... about what?
Cutting Terrence out from his train of thoughts, the hand holding the sword gets gently prayed to the side, Zachary lightly sits up after putting the blade off to the side, gently cupping Terrence's cheeks to look up at him, Zachary asks lightly. "Are you alright, Rence?"
Staring up with his eyes with many questions wondering in his mind, Terrence can merely shake his head before climbing off of the boy to stand up, patting his cloth clean. "Nothing. I'm probably just tired. You were good."
"You too. You attack like a beast, really. I have never felt so threatened in my life, and the thought that a human version of a teddy bear is the thing that ends up getting me...." signing in amusement at the end, Zachary stands up himself with his hand on his shoulder, turning his arm around to stretch before laughing a bit more as Terrence merely throws over a glare. "I am not a plush toy, Zach."
"Whatever you say, shortie."
"I am not short! You are just too tall!"
"Whatever you say, whatever you say." Rolling his eyes in full-on amusement, Zachary puts both swords away before turning back at Terrence with a small smile, way more gentle this time compared to the teasing one from earlier. "Say, it's getting rather late. Would you want to stay overnight, considering Vanny and Sol are probably going to do so anyways?"
What is with this guy and giving him more chances to kill him? Wondering lightly in his head but nods nonetheless, Terrence shrugs lightly as he lightly tugs on the elbow-high glove. "Why not. Don't feel like walking back anyways."
"Great. I'll go tell the maids to prepare for that then. We'll be having a sleepover in my room, it seems." Walking off with a smile after mentioning Terrence to follow so they can go find the other two that had wandered off to who knows where, completely making themselves at home in the palace, Zachary... does he not feel any threat at all being around Terrence? Even after the fight they just had? How awfully trusting is this guy?
Starting to think that Zachary had already noticed but kept him around anyways, which he doesn't understand why any sane person would do such a thing, Terrence follows behind in silence and slowly raises a hand to his chest.
It's still beating oddly fast.
What is he doing to him?
Why is the thought of killing suddenly so...
No, why is the thought of killing him suddenly so horrifying?