Ridley
After a long night of flying we finally landed in a small wooden glen. I slowly slipped off of Vandel who cocked his head quickly to the side, silently telling me not to look. I nodded quickly before turning away. There was the same crack of bone and I wasn't sure if I imagined it or not but I was pretty sure I heard Vandel let out a little whimper. I flinched, feeling a slight pang in my chest over the fact that this transformation back and forth from his hybrid form was so painful. I shook my head quickly, it wasn't my fault. Vandel had wanted me to come with him, it wasn't like I was forcing him to transform into that thing.
"Can you hand me my clothes?" I heard Vandel call from behind me.
"You mean my clothes?"
"Just shut up and give them to me. Trust me, I don't want to be wearing your ugly ass garments as much as you but unless you want me walking around the village with my dick out then I suggest-"
I hurled the clothes at him.
After a minute Vandel approached me. My clothes were much too big for him. The shirt's sleeves passed his hands and the shirt itself extended all the way down to his lower thigh. The pants didn't seem to fit either and Vandel was currently holding them up with one hand.
Vandel scowled at me. "Don't you dare laugh,"
"I wasn't planning on it."
"I know I look ridiculous," Vandel muttered. "It's not my fault all your clothes are so ugly."
"Maybe it just depends on who's wearing them." Vandel nearly gagged. I stared back at him, slightly shocked I had just said such a rude comment. I sighed heavily. "I'm sorry," I murmured. "That was extremely rude of me. I suppose being around you brings out the worst in me."
Vandel simply shrugged. "I don't really mind."
I blinked. "What...why?"
Vandel let out a low chuckle. "I think it's funny when you fight back, it makes you more interesting than the cookie cutter white knight you always pretend to be."
"WHA? I am not a cookie cutter white knight!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!
Vandel gave me a pointed grin. "Are too, I bet almost everyone you know thinks you have the personality of a paper doll."
I sighed heavily, glancing around. "We don't have time for this. Are you sure this is the right location?"
Vandel nodded. "Positive. I had my men put up a magic seal around where they discovered the entrance so I could find it."
"So then where is it?"
Vandel's mouth tightened into a thin line and he glanced around quickly.
"No idea."
We began looking about. After about ten minutes of searching Vandel began to grow annoyed.
"What the shit," he muttered. "Where the actual fuck could this village be?"
"Maybe this is the wrong spot-"
"THIS IS NOT THE WRONG SPOT!" I couldn't help but let out a little snort of laughter at how ridiculous and heated he was getting over this. It was becoming more and more obvious that the 'calm and suave' attitude he had when we first met had clearly been an act. He probably had gone home and thrown a little fit after almost getting kidnapped by Annette and I.
Vandel began to stomp about, angrily glaring every which way.
"The key is that we just need to look in all the right places," he stated firmly.
"Which are?"
"I don't know! If I did we would have found them already!" Vandel grimaced. "Maybe we need to lure them out..." Vandel made his way into the center of the glen. "HEY YOU ANCIENT FUCKS!" He shouted loudly. "COME ON OUT! I KNOW YOU'RE HERE!!!!" His shouting was met by silence.
I slowly began to clap. "Wow. Amazing job. That worked...so...well."
Vandel muttered something to himself, beginning to storm about. He marched over to a large rock and in a moment of impulsive inspiration he angrily kicked it. Immediately the demon prince let out a little yelp, clutching his foot.
I practically face palmed. "Why did you do that?"
"I don't know, I just needed to kick something-" Vandel suddenly stopped. "Did you hear that?" I glanced around. I could hear what he was talking about, I could make out a faint rumbling sound.
"What the hell?"
That's when the rock Vandel had just kicked slowly began to sink into the ground. Vandel and I watched it, both our eyes wide. Suddenly the ground around the rock began to fold in on itself creating a set of stairs. Vandel and I looked at each other, then back to the stairs, then back to each other again.
A little smirk tugged at the corner of Vandel's lips and he gestured to the stairs. "Ladies first," he said with a wink.
If my self control hadn't been better I probably would have shoved him.
----
We slowly made our way down, moving further and further into the ground. Finally we came to a little tavern. A single candle was lit on a stone pedestal at its center.
Vandel looked around, an annoyed expression on his face. "These damn ancients," he muttered. "Can't they do anything normally-"
"But where would the fun in that be?" A voice said that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Vandel spun around, coming face to face with an old woman. Well...honestly to say old would be an understatement. She was so ancient it appeared her skin was practically dripping off her face.
I walked over to her and gave a little bow. "Hello madame, you must be one of the ancients."
A thin smile spread across the old woman's face. "I like this one," she said slowly. "He actually has manners." She gave Vandel a brief side-eye. Vandel in return let out a little huff.
"My name is Ridley and this is Vandel-"
"Prince Vandel!" Vandel interrupted.
I sighed heavily. "Sorry. My name is Ridley and this is prince Vandel. We were hoping for access to the village of the ancients."
The old woman nodded slowly. "I see." She suddenly took her hands up in mine and shut her eyes for a beat. Finally after a moment she let my hands slip from hers. "You have a good heart," she said. "But unfortunately a good heart isn't the only thing you need to get into the village."
I bowed my head. "Tell me what we need to do and I'll do it."
The old woman raised a brow. "And why do you need to enter our village?"
"There was just a Bone Monster attack on an Alterian village. I need to find out everything I can about the Bone King so if there's another attack I can stop it."
"The Bone King hmm..." the Ancient said slowly. "I'll tell you what. If you two can pass a small test we'll deem you worthy to enter." Vandel and I both nodded.
"What kind of test?"
The Ancient chuckled under her breath. "It's simple really. You and the bratty prince here will each see three visions of things you want most in the world. There will be a doorway in each vision which you must pass through to get out and move on to the next. The more focused you are the easier it will be to find the next door." I wasn't exactly sure what exactly the Ancient was telling us to do but it didn't seem too hard.
"Okay..." I said slowly. "So...we just refuse the things we want most in the world?"
Vandel gave a little shrug. "That shouldn't be difficult if we know it's a vision, it's not real."
A mischievous smile spread across the Ancient's features. "It's not always refusing the things that are the hardest. It's keeping a clear mind. That's where the true test lies. Remember that we can use your most buried hidden desires, things you might not even know you want. That means the things you can prepare for might not actually be the hardest part. Your mind is your own enemy."
"Yeah, yeah whatever," Vandel said quickly. "Can we please just start this thing? Unlike you, Ridley and I don't have all the time in the world."
The Ancient simply gave a little laugh. "You can talk to me like that again when your pants actually fit properly."
I could tell Vandel was holding himself back from having a mini fit right then and there. Instead he seemed to be pushing his anger back, quickly masking it behind a forced smile.
"Can we...please...take the test now?" He asked through gritted teeth.
The Ancient nodded. "As you wish." Then she snapped her fingers and I was submerged in darkness.