I
The guy first approached Brian, handing him one of the glasses he was holding. "You too, I recommend drinking the water, since you probably wasted a lot of energy crying and shouting," he said. Brian hesitated for a moment before accepting the glass. Meanwhile, I hid my left hand, which held the knife. Before killing him first, I needed to see if he had the keys and if he had anything to do with me going back in time, as he had called me "king" twice already.
He then approached me with a smile, handing me the other glass. "Here you go. Don't worry, I didn't put anything in it," he assured me.
"Why did you call me King Lucius earlier?" I asked, glaring at him.
"Ah, that. Aren't you supposed to be the future king as the first prince, if nothing goes wrong?" he replied, tilting his head.
"And how do you know that I'm the first prince?" I inquired.
"Oh, oops," he chuckled, covering his mouth. "Pardon my mistake. Anyway, if I were you, I wouldn't use that knife on me," he said seriously, gesturing toward my left arm.
He softly grabbed my neck. "You are no match for me. Trust me, if I wished to kill you, I could have done it anytime," he said before releasing me. "Go on, drink the water. Time is ticking."
Feeling the strong aura around him, I knew he wasn't lying. I postponed any thoughts of harming him for now and drank the water, then handed him back the empty glass. As he went to get Brian's glass, he turned to me once more.
"If you want to survive, look around more carefully. Who knows? A little bird might've stolen the key from me and left it in your pocket," he said with a smile, making me immediately check my pocket, where indeed the keys were now.
I asked again, "Who are you? Are you a foe or ally?"
He smiled again. "Looks like the young master misunderstood something. I'm neither. I'm just doing what I need to do to keep a promise I made. I think you've got better things to focus on for now. Oh, and you can just call me Azul," he said before leaving.
"Then, until next time?"
Does he know anything about my time traveling or not? I sighed. He might be the key to this mysterious situation, but as he said, I had more important things to focus on now. Plus, he didn't seem like he would easily reveal any information.
"Brother, what was he talking about? Bird, promise, foe, and ally..." Brian asked.
"Nothing you need to worry about," I replied.
I took the keys and unlocked the chains, then went to unlock Brian's chains as well.
"Brother! How did you get the keys? You're really cool!!!" Brian exclaimed with excitement. Despite his usual energy, he didn't look physically well. His face was swollen, with one side of his eye blackened and a lot of swelling in other places, with dried blood on his lip.
"Wait here for me," I instructed Brian before approaching the door cautiously. It seemed that Azul hadn't locked it either.
Opening the door just a crack, I peeked outside and saw two men. Azul wasn't among them. It was still so much for my 10-year-old body to handle, especially not knowing anything about their mana abilities.
"Say, James, what did Queen Nicole say about the other prince?" one of the men asked.
"She told me to just kill them both."
As expected, it was her. That woman never stops. I sighed inwardly.
"What? And yar gonna do as she says?"
"What else?"
"They've got pretty good faces. How about just selling them to another country? Along with that demon?"
"Stop it. If the queen learns about it, we might be better off dead with no money."
"And how would she know?" he chuckled.
II
"Um, misters? Something's wrong with my brother!!" Brian shouted just as we planned, and one of the men came rushing.
"What the hell are all yar problems? What do ya need now? Huh?! Food?" the man shouted as he approached the door, making it easier for us to detect his movement.
As he stood in front of the door, he remarked, "Huh? Why isn't the door locked...? Damn it, James, can't ya even be a little careful?" He then pushed the door open.
As he stepped inside, I, who was beside the door, stabbed his leg, causing him to yelp in pain and fall.
Taking advantage of the situation, I got behind him and pressed the knife against his neck.
"Ya darn stupid children!!"
"Scream once more and I'll slit your throat," I warned him.
"Heh, as if yar'll be able to. Hey kid, have ya ever touched a knife before this? How did ya even get this?" he laughed.
I pressed the knife closer to his throat, causing him to bleed slightly.
It didn't matter if he believed me or not. The poison that was in the knife was probably taking over his body by now.
"Huh...? Why isn't mah leg moving?" he spoke again. "What did ya do?!"
"I don't know what you're talking about, but if you don't listen to me, you might get completely paralyzed," I replied.
He turned pale. Fortunately, he was too scared to speak further and allowed me to drag him and chain him up with the locks they had used on me, with Brian's help.
"First of all, what did Queen Nicole order you to do?" I demanded.
"Will ya give meh the antidote if I tell ya?" he asked.
"Depends on what you tell me."
Brian stayed behind me, his grip on my arm tight.
"She ordered us to kill the second prince," he glared, causing Brian to flinch.
"How many of you are there, and what are your powers?"
"Just two... James and I. I can make gas poisons, such as sleeping gas, and he can telepathically talk with anyone he wishes," he revealed.
"Lies. Do you wish to be killed? What about that guy called Azul?" I pressed further.
"Azul... who?"
"The guy you sent to give us water?" I reminded him.
He looked shocked. "We never sent anyone to give ya two water, though?"
Feeling annoyed, I turned back to deal with the other man. "Guess you don't need the antidote anymore."
"I really meant it! Why would we give ya water when we captured ya to kill ya?" he pleaded.
His voice sounded genuine... Did that mean he was telling the truth? I turned to him once more. "What about when you kidnapped me?"
"I'm telling ya! It was just the two of us. Ya fainted as soon as we saw ya!" he shouted.
I glanced at Brian, who nodded in agreement.
"What about that child over there?" I asked, gesturing toward the cage.
"To be honest? I don't know. Some guy from another country sent us a letter to capture him, saying he's a demon and that he'll come to get him later."
After hearing him, I stepped out of the room, with Brian following me. "Brother, how will you deal with the other one?" he asked.
Just then, our eyes landed on a long, thick wooden stick lying nearby, and a plan formed in my mind. I whispered to Brian to stay put, and he nodded in understanding. Silently, I made my way to the main room where James was half asleep, glued to the TV. Taking advantage of his distraction, I crept up behind him and struck him with the stick, rendering him unconscious. With him out of commission, we carried him to the spot where Brian had been chained and secured him there.
"Hey, aren't ya gonna unchain me? I did as ya told!" the other guy shouted.
Ignoring his protests, I approached the cage where the child was confined. "Hey! Just leave if ya're planning to go! Don't take our walking money with ya!" the man yelled again.
The cage wasn't large, and the child inside seemed small and huddled. As I opened the cage, he remained motionless, as if unsure of what to do. Tentatively, I reached out to him, assuring him that I meant no harm.
"Hey, are you okay? It's okay, I'm not here to hurt you," I reassured him. But as soon as my hand touched his shoulder, he recoiled and growled like an animal, lunging to bite my hand. I winced in pain as his teeth sank into my flesh.
Despite the pain, I remained calm and extended my other hand to gently pat his head. "It's okay, I won't hurt you, I promise," I said with a reassuring smile.
Slowly, he released his grip and looked at me, his expression wary.
I continued to soothe him. "Would you like to come with us?" I asked softly.
He hesitated before reaching out his hand to mine, a silent agreement. I lifted him out of the cage, patting his head affectionately. "Good boy. Can you stand up?" I inquired.
He shook his head, indicating that he couldn't. I noticed his swollen feet and blue, bruised leg, evidence of deliberate injury to prevent him from escaping. Glaring at the kidnapper, I felt a surge of anger.
"What?" the man challenged.
Ignoring him, I instructed Brian, "Let's go, get out of here."
"Just like this?" Brian asked with concern evident in his voice.
I nodded grimly. "Yes, we have to get out of here now."
As we made our way to the door, the kidnapper called out, "Didn't ya say ya would give me the antidote?"
"I never promised that. I said I would think about it," I replied coldly as we left the room. In truth, there was no life-threatening poison; it was just a temporary paralyzing poison to buy us some time in situations like this. If it weren't for Brian and the child in my arms, I would have killed them both just like how I usually deal with people like them.
Brian opened the exit door, revealing the dense forest outside. He spoke with a hint of fear in his voice, "Brother, where are we?"
I couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity with the situation. Having faced similar circumstances before, I was able to maintain a sense of calm, but I knew that for Brian, this must have been a terrifying experience.
"It's alright, Brian," I reassured him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Let's keep going. Maybe if we're lucky, we can find someone and ask for directions."
Brian nodded, taking comfort in my words, and together, we continued our journey back home.
III
Third person pov:
After some time has passed:
James slowly regained consciousness, feeling dizzy and disoriented. "Ah... my head," he muttered, trying to make sense of his surroundings. "Why am I locked up?"
Hurley, his accomplice, filled him in on what had transpired. "Our money bag ran away is what happened while ya were out cold," he explained.
"What?!" James exclaimed, the reality of the situation hitting him. "And you just let them?"
Hurley defended himself. "What could I do? That kid turned out to be stronger than I expected. He even paralyzed meh!"
Frustrated, James realized their opportunity for a big payday had slipped away. "So we're not getting any money after all this hard work?" he grumbled.
Hurley, however, remained unfazed. "Did ya really think I'd let them ruin my chance of earning money? Of course not," he chuckled. "I've already taken care of things. I poisoned the other prince we had bought with my power; the poison is slowly consuming him. He won't make it back to the castle. As for the second prince, he seems useless."
Meanwhile, Lucius began to feel his body growing heavier with each passing moment. Sweat trickled down his forehead as he struggled to keep moving. He was bedridden for a long time to let this sickening feeling bother him. So, ignoring the warning signs, he pushed on, determined to reach safety. However, what he had forgotten was that this young body of his couldn't handle it just like he could with his adult body, and before he knew it, he collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness once more.
~Extra~
Hurley let out his sinister laugh. "He thinks he's so smart, but what he's forgotten is that we adults are always one step ahead."
James joined in, chuckling evilly. "Ahaha, true. Gotta hand it to you, you pulled off something clever."
"That's what happens when kids start daydreaming and think they can outsmart their elders," Hurley remarked with a shrug.
James nodded in agreement. "Well, you can't really blame them. They were raised with a golden spoon in their mouths after all."
There was a moment of silence between them, both lost in their thoughts.
Then, almost simultaneously, they both began to speak. "Um..."
They stopped abruptly, then urged the other to go first.
After a brief pause, they spoke at the same time again. "Um, so how do we free ourselves?"
James exploded, "You idiot! Why are you asking me?! I was unconscious! I couldn't have taken the key!"
Hurley countered, "Wait, how did they even get the key? It was supposed to be with ya!"
"Didn't you ask me to give it to you?" James shot back.
Hurley's frustration boiled over. "Did I?!"
"Why are you shouting at me, you stupid idiot?!" James retorted.
After a moment of heated exchange, they both grew tired and began to pant.
"How about using yar telepathy power to ask Queen Nicole for help?" Hurley suggested.
James's face lit up with realization. "Oh, right..."
"You idiot," Hurley sighed.
James mentally reached out to Queen Nicole. "Um, Queen Nicole, we've killed off the princes, but we've also run into a little problem and gotten ourselves locked up. Can you send help? And when can we expect payment?"
Queen Nicole's reply came swiftly. "Well done. Good luck getting out of there then :)"
"What… what does that mean?"
"Hello?"
"Queen Nicole??"
James's face paled as he relayed the message to Hurley. "Um... I think we've been scammed by the queen. She isn't replying after wishing us good luck."
"Damn it..." Hurley muttered.