十五** (Chapter 15)
eng: The Prince
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Wither
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I watch helplessly as the only mob I held any care for stormed off towards the other side.
"Whatever," I mumble, "If he wants to go ahead and get himself killed, so be it..." My heart felt heavy. If Skeleton confronts my father, he'll be as good as dead.
Who am I kidding...
Once again, I found myself chasing after the persistent stray.
"Skeleton, hang on!" He doesn't respond to this, continuing forward. I teleport in front of him, grabbing his shoulders.
"Let. Me. Go!" He was beyond enraged. "You don't know how to listen, do you?!"
"Skeleton, just listen to me first!"
He lets out a long sigh. "Fine. But nothing you could possibly say will change my mind."
"Skeleton... You have every reason to be mad at me. I was an absolute idiot for letting those two wander off without me," I start. "And as for not being truthful to you, I'm truly sorry..."
"It's whatever. It already happened, apologizing won't do much good-!"
"Skeleton." My grip on his shoulders tighten. "Please... I want your forgiveness." I glance into his eyes, wanting him to know that I was completely genuine with my apology. He seemed surprised, his cheekbones turning a light shade of pink.
"Fine, fine... I forgive you," he says at last. I let out a sigh that I didn't realize I was holding.
"But this still doesn't change my mind. I'm still going after them-!"
"No, you aren't."
He glares at me with an are you fucking serious, Wither look.
"As I was saying. You aren't going... Without me." He stares at me with a deadpanned expression before processing.
"Wait... Really?" I nod.
"Yeah. It was my fault that they're in this situation. What kind of friend would I be if I left them there under the fate of the devil himself?"
"..." Skeleton was silent, quieter than he usually was.
"Skeleton?..."
"...What?" He seems to snap out of his short-term daze, though he still seemed a bit out of it.
"We should get going... If the Lord has caught them, they won't have much time."
"Yeah..."
I subconsciously grab my roommate's hand, running towards the dark hell of the Nether.
Don't worry, Slime, Creeper. We're coming.
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Skeleton
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There was no one to be ashamed of but myself.
During such dire times, I was blushing. Dammit, blushing of all things. I tried to pull my mind away from Wither's adorable yet genuine apology, all the way to the delicate grip he had on my hand as he lead the way. I was absolutely lovesick at the worst moment possible.
Who would've thought that I'd finally come to terms with myself. I have a crush on a wither skeleton. The thought alone scared and thrilled me at the same time. Rehearsing the thought in my head felt relieving, as if I was letting out some lifelong secret.
"...Skeleton?" I snap out of my thoughts instantly.
"H-Huh?"
His gaze softens. "Are you scared? It's alright if you are."
"S-Scared? Of course not!" I say a bit too quickly, too quick to believe. Wither sighs softly, tightening his grip ever so slightly.
"When we enter, you must keep this with you at all times." He hands me a dark, glistening gemstone. I had never seen anything quite like it. "It'll sever any sort of mind control the Lord has upon entering."
"What... What about you?" I ask.
"...The Lord does not have the power to control me. My powers will protect me." I nod, placing the mysterious gem into my inventory.
"If anything happens to me, you must promise you'll leave with Slime and Creeper. Don't try to help me."
"Wither, nothing will happen to you," I say, "We're going to go in and out. No one will spot us as long as we're extremely careful." He nods hesitantly. "Alright then. Are you ready to cross over?"
"Yes," I say, my voice firm, "Let's go save our friends." Wither takes a deep breath before walking through, his grip on my hand firm as we cross the border.
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A/n: I was gonna end the chapter here, but I love y'all so we're going to continue!
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A sickening feeling arose in my abdomen. My head felt heavy. My whole body felt displaced.
Then, just as it started, it stopped.
I slowly open my eyes. It was pitch black.
"Skeleton? You alright?" His voice was a hushed whisper, almost inaudible.
"Y-Yeah... I can't see a thing, though..."
"Don't worry, just trust me, okay? I know my way through this tunnel." I felt him slowly move forward, so I match his pace accordingly.
Despite the given situation, I felt mostly calm. Wither's touch did wonders for my nerves.
We walk quietly for a few moments, our light footsteps the only audible noise. Then, a small ray of light shines directly at us. We walks towards it slowly.
Then, I heard the soft yet audible sound of heavy breathing. Wither's grip on my hand became vice. Just a few steps before the entrance, Wither stops.
"Wither...?"
He was scared. It was the first time I ever saw him so frightened. Wither always kept a brave face (in front of me, anyways), so seeing him so scared made me extremely anxious.
"Wither...?" I whisper once more, softening my voice.
"S-Sorry," he says quickly. "Let's go."
The rays of light were almost blinding as we entered, as if the sole purpose of it was to blind all intruders.
But what we stepped into, I could not comprehend.
The place was haphazardly scattered with lava along with murky black liquid. The infrastructures were built small and narrow, all symmetrical and with the same material.
There were also hundreds of wither skeletons gathered around a peculiar blue campfire.
This place was a whole new concept to me.
"Wither, how are we going to sneak past so many wither skeletons?..."
"...We'll just have to be extra stealthy." Wither pulls me behind a statue made of peculiar stone. "Just follow me and don't make any unnecessary noise or movements."
We dove from hiding spot to hiding spot. I prayed mentally that we'd keep our lucky streak of not being spotted.
Then, something occurred to me— Wither said he could turn invisible, right? So why were we putting ourselves at such high risk?
"Wither-!" Wither swiftly places his hand over my mouth, inching behind another sculpture. I was about to swat his hand away in annoyance, but then I heard other voices.
"The Lord says that there are intruders nearby, so we've got to be on the lookout."
"Ugh. More intruders?! Weren't the first few enough already?!"
"Shut it. Complaining will do you no good." A grunt was heard. The footsteps become faint.
More intruders? That means Slime and Creeper must be in here!
Wither removes his hand from my mouth.
Suddenly, a few other voices are audible. And, to make matters much worse, they were coming straight at us.
"Shit," I heard Wither mumble.
The voices drew closer and closer. We didn't have much time.
Wither shoves two items into my hands, which I quickly identify as an enderpearl and a white potion.
"Throw it as far as you can, Skeleton," he says, "Now!"
Before I could protest, I heard a loud, "Hey!" In a moment of panic, I chuck the pearl. Wither shoves me to the ground behind him, drawing his sword. His entire figure covered the sight of me completely.
I was ready to step in and pull out my own sword, but...
I suddenly appeared in a netherite clearing. I was no longer cowering behind Wither. In fact, there wasn't a single wither skeleton in sight.
Then, it hit me. The enderpearl. I threw the enderpearl.
I thought about going back for Wither, but I realized that he gave me the chance to save Slime and Creeper. A chance that cannot be wasted.
Besides, Wither is strong. He can fend for himself. I don't need to worry so much about him. Despite this, I still felt uneasy about leaving Wither to fight on his own.
"Alright... I'm pretty sure that this is the way," I conclude, walking towards a large castle-like structure. "That bastard Lord won't know what hit him."
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Wither
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As soon as Skeleton was safely transported away, I assumed my most defensive fighting stance.
I expected the wither skeletons to charge at me, but they just stared at me wide-eyed.
"It's the Prince!" One of them exclaims, "He's alive!"
...Right. My grip on my blade tightens.
"It's a miracle!" Another one exclaims. I grit my teeth. "Stay back."
The citizens seemed confused at my reaction. "Your highness, are you not delighted to be-!"
"What's going on here?" A thick accented voice echoes across the clearing. The citizens froze momentarily.
I recognized the helmet the wither skeleton was wearing— pure black with a dark purple stripe through the center. He was apart of the Lord's Guard.
My whole body fills with panic. After hiding away from the Lord and his loyal Guard, I had nowhere left to run.
"My, my, what a sight... The Prince himself." There was a tinge of surprise in his voice, but he continued, "Finally come to your senses, I assume. Timely, I'll give you that."
"Enough," I hiss, "I order for you to leave."
The soldier chuckles. "You no longer have authority over me, young Prince. The Lord told me to find and bring you back to the palace at once. His orders are far superior to yours, I'm afraid."
"You will not lay a finger on me." I readied the weapon in my hands.
The soldier chuckles once more. "My, my... Resistant, aren't we?"
"If you don't take a few steps back, I'll cut your head clean off."
"Ah, I see. Though, you are in no position to make threats, young highness. We've got you surrounded."
On cue, dozens of soldiers made their appearances. They all held an iron sword in their hands.
"Don't make this more difficult than it has to be, young highness," the soldier says, "Drop your weapon and we can speak peacefully."
"Peacefully my ass," I hiss, charging at the soldier.
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A/n: Cliffhanger, oops...