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3:03 P.M
– Castle –
"This is unacceptable," the words of disappointment came from the queen as she stood, perfectly manicured hands laid elegantly over one another, "Outright barbarous behavior: I cannot accept such a thing."
Veldra remained stoic as the nurses continued to care for his wounds. He felt like his pride had been crushed underneath Slater's heels before it was kicked somewhere far, far away. It was going to cost a long journey to reach it again.
And he wasn't planning on leaving it.
Slater Stygian had another thing coming his way if he thought he had one this one.
The prince felt like this unhinged attack meant more than just pure loathing. Like his older brother had gained some sort of momentum to ignite such an act mercilessly. That momentum being a force, a backup---support. He would have called himself crazy if this was just one of his visions that he prepared himself for, however this was reality and he couldn't say that it didn't irritate him immensely. He didn't need to squeeze his mind in order to think about what kind of support that was. Just coupled traitors. He needed to disperse this growing momentum, this group, these fucking hindrances.
"Mother, will you let him get away with this?" Veldra asked without looking back at the queen, staring ahead as the nurses treated his wounds.
"Absolutely not. I shall have him kicked out of the quarters at this very moment."
"That's it?'' Now he was looking at her with utmost dissatisfaction.
The queen's heels clicked on the polished floor as she approached her young prince, eyeing him with a small smile that looked anything but sweet, "You can't bother with him," she held his face and excitement gleamed over her black irises, "Tomorrow is your coronation, darling."
Exactly. Tomorrow was---like she said: his enthronement. The day he becomes king. Veldra couldn't contain the feeling of thrill buzzing inside of him, he would be king.
King, he would become. That was what was going to happen. That was what he was going to use to his advantage. He would be throwing away the worn out puppet strings he once used as a prince, and now he would have more ameliorative, silky strings to control everything and everyone, he couldn't wait for he had mastered the art. He was a perfect puppeteer.
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"I want to tell him a lot of things," Slater adjusted the cap over his head, lowering it a bit to conceal his face.
Cesal hummed in disinterest and as a way to show Slater that he was listening, but never really cared about Slater's desire to speak with Cicero Sager. The blue-haired boy skimmed his fingers over the cold drinks in the fridge, before deciding on the guava flavored one. He glanced around the supermarket before opening it and taking a drink of the juice and smacking his lips.
Slater stared at him in disbelief, "I have money---"
"Shhh, that's boring," Cesal continued to drink unfazed, "I always do this when I come to D.I.M 1. People here are stuipd."
The prince nodded as if he understood and mumbled, "Can you hurry up? Aria's waiting for us."
"Yeah, yeah."
After basically stealing two more drinks, the duo left the supermarket in a rush, without getting spotted and headed over to the aforementioned location where they would meet up with Aria and her companion, Cicero. Cesal really wanted to know how his sister would react after finding out that he joined their side, Would she be happy? Would she even trust him?
"We're here...I think," Slater tilted his head and squinted his eyes at the unfamiliar GPS map on his phone. He's never come to this dimension as many times before, so it can get a bit confusing. He looked up from his phone and found Aria waving at them with Cicero behind her. They made their way to them unhurriedly. The girl with rosy-colored eyes beamed at the prince before her smile dropped when she sighted the person next to him.
Confusion took over and she stared at them with parted lips.
"Uh, surprise, haha," Slater chuckled and put an arm around Cesal's shoulder, "This guy's with us now."
Aria closed her mouth and blinked in irritation, "I'm sorry?"
"I said---"
"I heard what you said, I just don't understand why!"
Slater sighed, "We're here to talk about it, Ari."
The girl huffed and crossed her arms, "Okay, cool. Let's go. Cicero already booked a spot for us," she said with an angry tone Slater knew too well before turning around and walking away.
At that Slater smiled politely at the green head, who stood there with raised brows and they all followed Aria into the specified restaurant.
Later on, they were seated in a table consisting of four seats, Slater and Cesal on one end, and Aria and Cicero on the other.
"So what made you change your mind?" Aria waved her chopsticks in a questioning manner as she looked at Cesal, her face skeptical about everything. Slater glanced up before stuffing his mouth with more rice, not feeling like he wanted to exclude himself from this upcoming and long awaited conversation.
He slid his eyes away from the bomb ticking girl and was met with a pair of knifelike emerald eyes belonging to what looked like an intrigued face of Cicero. When the green head was caught staring, he didn't look away, but instead slightly cocked his head to the side and furrowed his brows.
"Slater Stygian, correct?" he sounded calmly.
Slater nodded as he continued to chew, unable to open his mouth to speak due to the food.
Cicero set down his fork and rested his chin on his palm, "How are my friends doing, Slater?"
The question sounded sweet and seraphic for the most part, but he could sense the underlying tinge of bitterness.
Slater brushed it off before swallowing with slight difficulty, "Quite well."
"Is that so?" the boy uttered in a monotonous cadence, completely open to suspicion.
What was his deal?
"Yes," Slater straightened up as he maintained eye contact.
"Do you even know who I'm talking about?" Cicero raised a brow suspiciously.
"Cicero, you need to try this cake, it's amazing!" Aria's voice cut their conversation, or rather, questioning with an excited exclamation.
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Slater laid out the map of the castle on the desk after everyone had finished eating and then they headed to a nearby park. Aria had fortunately swallowed the fact that Cesal had switched sides and accepted him with a cognate nature. The prince pointed out every key thing that Cicero needed to know since the other two already knew it by heart.
"The castle is divided into two quarters," he started, "Your friends are in Vel's quarters."
Cicero nodded and Aria almost winced at the use of the nickname for the devil's spawn.
"Aria had already told you about the underlings of Veldra, but Cesal can give you a deeper insight into who they really are," Slater continued, "You'll study the layout of the quarters with Aria once more after I explain everything."
And so that's how the rest of the afternoon was spent: Slater explaining and revealing every bit of information that Cicero needed as well as planning their impending ambush. The presence of a past underling that was markedly trusted by Veldra has also aided in an unmistakable benefit for them. Slater knew it was a good idea to avoid losing hope. They were progressing faster than ever and within a few days (the equivalent to months in this dimension) they would be Veldra's worst nightmare. For sure.
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"Where are you going, brat?"
Omi stopped in his tracks and gripped the straps of his backpack tighter before turning to the blue creature behind him and resisting the urge to let out an exasperated sigh, "His highness permitted me to go to the cell."
"Nah, he didn't," E.A spit the toothpick from his mouth and stood up, "He wouldn't trust a nobody like you."
"Have you guys seen Cesal? It's been a while," Naomi fixed her bangs in a mirror. These people were always around each other during the day and that was in fact the case since Veldra told them to work together at all times. It seemed like he really values teamwork, but it was ironic since he couldn't make one team with his brother.
"Who gives a fuck about him?" E.A rolled his eyes, "He rarely attends our meetings anyways."
"Whatever," Naomi turned to Omi, "You're going to the cell you said? C'mon I'll come with you. I haven't seen my baby in a while."
Omi fixed his glasses and cleared his throat, trying to ignore that disturbing comment, "You can't. You weren't given permission."
"Oh, please," Naomi waved her hand in disregard and walked ahead, "If you don't snitch, I'll be indebted to you, okay?"
This was bad. Omi couldn't let her come to the cell. Not only because she was Naomi, but because he still had no idea what Kazuo had done with the book he gave him. He kept the larger possibility of the raven head not bothering to hid it in the back of his mind, hence why he was headed over there just now to retrieve the book back and save them the trouble, but now there was bigger trouble and that was Nami asking---actually, deciding to go to the cell unwarrantedly. He tried to think of a way to stop her, but she was already headed there, and if he did make up any excuse, it would still come off in a way that would raise wariness. He followed her with cautious steps, thinking over what he should do next.
When it really came down to it, he wouldn't be able to stop her. It was a bit too late to try anything, so he just quietly followed behind, lost in a dilemma.
They were nearing the cell and each step was direful. He could make out the three figures from this distance and his lips pursed. He didn't want the negative thoughts to take over, he wanted to have some faith in Kazuo. He did. He trusted that he'd come up with something. Anything.
"Oh heyyy," Naomi greeted the uninviting face of the raven head as she stood in front of the metal door.
Omi stood behind with an apologetic look on his face as he nodded at the three of them. They looked exhausted to say the least, but there was hope in their eyes. Omi's eyes darted over the cell and inspected every corner in a hurry before he met Kazuo's eyes, silently communicating with him. The raven head slowly and subtly moved his head downwards and Omi almost sighed in relief.
He knew he could trust him. Kazuo always found a way to make things work.
Rehan ran a hand through his damp hair and made a move of annoyance, "What do you want this time?" he spat at Naomi with venom laced in his voice and ignored the way Kazuo's breathing hitched at the sight of her.
"I thought I already made it clear last time," she retorted, "You literally mean nothing to me."
Rehan scoffed and was about to give a snarky comment back, but he remembered what Kazuo told him last time about arguing. It was pointless, and even possibly more harmful. He bit back his tongue and leaned back, a frown on his face. This didn't go unnoticed by Omi, who thought it was a bit strange how Rehan would want to contend whilst Zen was more contempt with being in a poise state and watching everything silently like he lost the will to live.
Did Kazuo already tell him about Micheal?
"I think you should leave now," Omi clenched his fist and turned to Naomi with a serious expression.
"Why? Prince Vel--"
"Cesal said he was going to come in a few minutes," Omi lied quickly, "he'll be down here anytime."
She groaned and turned to leave, but not before blowing Kazuo a kiss. Omi grimaced at that and shifted his backpack from his shoulder to grab the keys from inside.
"I have to be quick because I lied twice," Omi muttered to them as he fumbled with the key.
Rehan got up and helped him open it, the door swinging open. Omi stepped in and looked around.
"I knew I could rely on your stealthiness, Kazuo. Where'd you keep the book?" Omi said to him.
Kazuo moved from where he was sitting and grabbed what looked like a metal part of a belt. He used the edge to press inside a part of the ground before he pushed harder with more strength, causing the block to move upwards. He lifted it open to reveal the book inside the ground.
Omi's mouth fell open as he nodded, clearly impressed, "Nice," he said before looking at the quiet redhead. It was unnerving to see him acting this way, but no one was expected to be themselves after what he's been through.
"Tomorrow is Veldra's coronation," Omi began cautiously, "That's why I will help you guys escape today."
Rehan almost choked on the humid air, "T-today?!"
"Yes, I know how to avoid the guards and where exactly we can hide."
Kazuo nodded for him to continue and he did, "The medical unit is behind the garden and there are barely any guards over there. I talked with the son of the royal doctors, Neldo Herene, and he agreed to help since he is friends with Prince Slater. We will hide there and he already told his parents to lend him some anesthetics that he will use against anyone who tries to get through. Neldo said that Prince Slater is planning an attack tomorrow before sunrise. We need to practice before then."
"Fair enough," Kazuo started, "Will the time be enough for us to join in the attack?"
"You don't need to face anyone from Veldra's team. Just the royal guards," Omi replied, "It will be quite easy since they don't withhold strong powers."
Omi picked up the book and put it in his backpack, "C'mon. We need to leave now."
They got up quickly and followed the boy outside the cell. Being outside and walking through this dark hallway to freedom was going to become a reality, at last. They took the same route that Kazuo once took except now that there were no guards in sight. They easily slipped through the castle's pathways and made it out into the back exit. One they left the building, the beautiful garden was in front of them and they walked behind the bushes in order to not be spotted by anyone.
Then Omi led them to another building a distance away and they stood in front of huge white doors. Omi knocked three times before he fixed his glasses.
Kazuo glanced at Rehan who was tugging at his arm, "Oh my god. We're out. We're out. We're out," the ash blond said out of breath, "We're free," he giggled.
The raven head nodded, "Yeah."
"Be more happy," Rehan nudged him before he turned to Zen, "Hey, you alright?"
His drained amber eyes flickered to the ash blond silently before he jammed his hands in his front pockets and shrugged, "Why wouldn't I be?"
The white door spread out in front of them as they watched a white haired boy emerge from behind it. His black eyes widened before he gulped, visibly taken aback by the sight of them. He couldn't help but fidget at how unhygienic they looked. He couldn't----
"Don't worry about it Neldo, just get them some clothes to change into," Omi said, making the nervous boy snap out of his trance. He bobbed his head before hurried away.
After a while, he came back with three sets of clean clothes, just shirts, pants, and shower supplies. Omi took the stuff from him and blinked when he saw....sanitizers. He knew about Neldo's germaphobia so he just brushed it off and handed them the clothes. They then went inside after taking off their shoes and Neldo showed them the way to the bathrooms. After a while, much longer than what an average person would spend in a shower, they were done with cleaning themselves and felt as if they had been reborn. Needless to say, they were quite refreshed during a warm meal with Omi and Neldo and after they finished filling their empty stomachs, Omi told them that they had to discuss their next course of action.
They chatted for a while, well just Neldo, Omi, and Rehan since Zen was silent, as they waited for Kazuo to come back since Neldo's father was tending to his gunshot wound. After the raven head came back, their conversation became more serious again.
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