The sharp point of the spear was just an inch from Leonardo's eye. He froze, his body going completely still. He stared at the splintered wood, his eyes wide with pure terror. He was panting, defeated, and helpless.
Ivan looked down at him, his own chest heaving from the fight. He had won. Without his power. On his own.
A cold, cruel smile touched his lips. It felt foreign, but powerful.
"And now," Ivan said, his voice a low, dangerous whisper. "I think I'm gonna pluck your eye out."
"N-no... don't," Leonardo stammered, his voice trembling.
"Why not?" Ivan asked, pressing the spear just a little closer. "Commander Valerius said we can't kill each other. That's all. He didn't say anything about eyes."
"P-please, Ivan," Leonardo begged. "We... we weren't friends, but we always got along in class."
"Indeed, we did get along," Ivan said, his voice full of fake pity. "What a shame. Your eyes are a nice color. It would be a pity to pluck them out."
Leonardo was shaking now. He couldn't find any words. He was completely pinned down, at Ivan's mercy.
Ivan held the silence for a long moment, letting the fear sink in. Then he changed his tone.
"Hey," he said, his voice suddenly normal. "Who are you with? Are you alone?"
The sudden change confused Leonardo. "I... I came in alone," he stammered. "But then I camped near Diana. We were just camping close to each other. We weren't sharing or helping each other."
"Do you know where she is now?" Ivan asked.
Leonardo nodded quickly. "Yes."
Ivan pulled the spear away from his face. He stood up and offered a hand to Leonardo.
"Alright," he said. "Let's share some berries. Then we go see Diana."
Leonardo just stared at his hand, completely confused. "Huh?"
Ivan gestured to the pile of berries near his tent. "What? Didn't you come here for food?"
"And... and didn't you fight me because you didn't want to share?" Leonardo asked, still on the ground.
Ivan shook his head. "Nope," he said, his face now completely neutral. "I just needed someone to take my anger out on. I'm actually sorry for scaring you."
Leonardo was lost. This made no sense. But he was hungry, and Ivan was no longer threatening to take his eye. He took Ivan's hand and let him pull him to his feet.
They sat down by the tent, and Ivan pushed the pile of berries between them. They ate in silence for a few minutes.
"Did you encounter any dog-beasts yet?" Ivan asked, breaking the silence.
Leonardo shook his head, his mouth full of berries. "A dog-beast? No."
"We need to team up with Diana," Ivan said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And then we need to find as many other students as we can and team up with them, too."
Leonardo swallowed. "Wait, you encountered a dog-beast? Where is it?"
"Marcus killed it," Ivan said simply. "He's probably grilling it right now."
Leonardo nodded slowly, starting to understand. The forest was more dangerous than he thought. Maybe this crazy prince wasn't so crazy after all.
After they finished the berries, Leonardo stood up. Ivan followed him.
"Is her camp far from here?" Ivan asked.
"Not really," Leonardo said. "If we walk now, we can get there before the sun gets too high."
Ivan grabbed his spear and his backpack. "Alright," he said. "Let's go."
---
Leonardo led the way. He was quiet, occasionally glancing back at Ivan as if to make sure he wasn't going to get stabbed in the back. Ivan just walked calmly, his eyes scanning the forest around them.
After about twenty minutes, Leonardo slowed down. "It's just up ahead," he whispered, pointing through the trees.
They moved more carefully now. As they got closer, they noticed something was wrong. The clearing was too quiet.
They peeked around a large tree. They saw Diana's camp. Or what was left of it. Her tent was torn. Her supplies were scattered on the ground.
And then they saw her.
She was huddled at the base of a tree, her arms wrapped around her knees. She was trembling. Her arm was bent at a strange angle, and there was a dark, ugly bruise forming on her cheek.
Ivan and Leonardo rushed into the clearing.
"Diana!" Leonardo called out.
She looked up, her eyes wide with fear. When she saw them, she flinched back.
"Stay away!" she cried, her voice shaking.
"It's us, Diana," Leonardo said gently. "It's Leonardo. And Ivan. We're not going to hurt you."
"What happened here?" Ivan asked, his eyes scanning the wrecked campsite. "Was it a beast?"
Diana shook her head. She was looking past them, back into the forest. "No," she whispered. "It was them."
"Them who?" Ivan asked, turning to look where she was looking.
Before she could answer, they heard voices. And laughter. It was coming from the trees.
"Well, well," a voice called out. "Look what we have here. The little mouse got some friends."
Three students stepped out of the woods. They were bigger than Ivan and Leonardo. They looked confident, arrogant. One of them was holding Diana's backpack.
"That doesn't belong to you," Ivan said, his voice cold.
The leader of the group, a tall boy with a cruel smile, just laughed. "Everything in this forest belongs to us now," he said. "Including whatever you two have."
He looked at Ivan and Leonardo. "So, are you going to give us your stuff nicely? Or do we have to break your arms, too?"
Ivan looked at Leonardo. Leonardo looked back at him, his face pale. They were outnumbered. The other group was bigger, stronger, and they had already proven they were willing to hurt people.
Then Ivan looked at Diana, huddled and terrified. He remembered the feeling of being helpless. He remembered his own tears just a few hours ago.
A vague of anger settled in his gut.
He turned back to the leader. He didn't say anything. He just held up his sharpened spear.
The leader's smile widened. "I guess you want to do this the hard way," he smirks "Fine by me."