Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal
Title: Never This Again
Character: Prince Vector
Word Count: 300||Status: One-shot
Genre: Angst||Rated: PG-13
Notes: This takes place in Vector's first human life, before he succumbs to insanity, becoming the Mad Prince.
Challenge: Written for the 2014 Advent Calendar Challenge, day #1; Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section A, #54, 300 word drabble
Summary: [one-shot, Vector, 2014 Advent Calendar Challenge; Diversity Writing Challenge] He doesn't want to see this again. He will do anything to prevent it.
He could still smell the blood. No matter how much he scrubbed, no matter what perfumes from distant lands he poured over his hands, the loathsome stench of copper and death still filled his nostrils.
He'd killed someone. Yes, the soldier had meant to kill him, but that didn't change the fact that he, Prince Vector, known throughout the land for his pursuit of peace and his desire for all to live together in harmony, had killed someone.
Vector breathed harder, staring down into the silver basin. He thought he could see red streaks in it still, though anyone else looking would've said otherwise. The battle had been days ago. He'd cleaned up as soon as possible after it, but no matter. The smell was there, reeking and tainting him.
I will not be my father. He would not devote himself to destroying everyone who looked at him in the wrong way. He would not conquer other kingdoms for the sheer pleasure of doing so. The scent of blood would not fill him forever with the desire for more.
He was Vector. He was better than that.
The young prince closed his eyes and tilted his head back, trying to get himself under control. It wasn't easy in the slightest. He wanted to know why he couldn't get the scent out of his nostrils. Perhaps he should consult with the royal mages? They might know something. Perhaps the man he'd killed had also been a wizard, casting some kind of curse on the one who killed him.
He wouldn't let it get to him. Not as much as he knew it could. There would be peace, but not the peace bought by death. His peace would be the marvel of the world.
He was Vector. He would make it happen.
The End