Murder Prince

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by Asurahime

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- Chapter Four -

Fayt hummed to himself as he brought a vase of crimson flowers into his—now Albel's—room. He was surprised this morning to see the girl who had been saved—Ameena was her name, in front of the Castle Gates. The time, she smiled as she handed him the flowers. Fayt bent down to accept the red blooms with a small smile in return. "Are these for his highness?"

The small girl's cheeks grew pink before she nodded. "I picked them this morning myself! I wanted to thank his highness for rescuing me."

Fayt laughed, anticipating the look on Albel's face. He noticed Ameena's confused gaze and quickly cleared his throat. "Ahem. Would you like to come inside?"

Ameena gasped, bowed her head, and backed away. "I would be honored, big brother, but my mother is expecting me to return soon. I can come again once my chores are done! I-if that's okay?"

Fayt struggled to hold back laughter at the child's hopeful face and wide, guileless stare. Ameena was practically pleading for permission. "Of course. If fact, why don't you head on home right now? I'll put these in the prince's room and see if he would like to come over to your home. I'll also bring some cake."

"Really?" The innocent eyes became wild with excitement before Ameena threw a grateful hug around the older boy's waist. She squeezed hard before she let go and practically ran home. She turned around and waved again. "I live in the flower shop, 'The Maiden of Irisa'! Thank you and come soon, big brother!" Then, the girl was gone.

"Yes… it's much better this way." Fayt stopped a few paces from Albel's room and looked down at the flowers in his hand. The smile on his face became tinged with sadness. "Big brother, eh? I've never been a big brother to anyone. Luther, would you still be proud of me?"

Albel came up from behind the unmoving Fayt and rested an angular chin on his companion's shoulder. "Who's Luther?"

Fayt clutched the vase protectively in one arm while the other was already extended to cast a spell. He misjudged how close the other was and accidentally struck him in the face with his fist instead.

Albel was caught off-guard and he felt his head jerk to the side. His eyes glittered with unfathomable emotion as he slowly turned to glare at the boy before him. "That was completely uncalled for."

Fayt stared at his hand disbelievingly. He was so stunned by what he had done that he had almost forgotten to apologize to his victim. "You surprised me. It was not exactly a night thing to sneak up behind someone—no matter who it is."

Albel grabbed Fayt's hand and held it up uselessly. "Whoever said that I was nice? You aren't exactly radiating sunshine yourself, maggot. You still have not answered my question and I am losing my patience, so out with it!"

"I'm—"

A low growl escaped from Albel's throat as he dropped the younger man's arm. "Don't apologize. Save your sentiments for the weak. At least you didn't slap me like some sissy princess whose skirt has just been flipped. If you are going to punch someone, at least be a man about it."

"I wasn't going to apologize!" snapped Fayt, but his tone softened as he handed the vase to Albel. "Here, these are for you."

Crimson eyes looked at the flowers distastefully. Albel set the vase to the side and grabbed hold of Fayt, pulling the other flush against his own body. "For a worm, you are awfully forward. But I shouldn't complain." He buried his nose in Fayt's hair and whispered hotly in his ear. "It is normally I who instigates any type of dalliance, but since you so adamantly insist—"

Fayt's expression twisted to a scowl before he lifted up a booted foot and slammed it down upon the swordsman's own, regardless of the thing metal plating. "Those are not from me, your highness." The sadistic part of his mind cheered when Albel hissed in pain. "They're from Ameena, the little girl you saved." His scowl softened and his lips curved into a small smile in fond remembrance. "She asked if you would like to come over so that she might be able to thank you properly."

"No." The reply was sharp as Albel stalked past the bewildered Fayt to enter his room. "Don't forget what our relationship is, maggot. I have not given you the ability to ask any additional favors from me. My only duty to you is that I protect this kingdom, not to be the saving grace of the maggots that reside in it. I am not in the mood for following orders that go past that without payment, so don't go around assuming I can cater to the whim of every little idiot who begs for my time."

It took all of Fayt's self-control not to set the other man on fire in reflection of his rage. His frigid gaze met an apathetic stare. "You are cruel."

"And the sky is blue, but you can't change it."

Without a word, Fayt turned around and left. A smirk twisted Albel's lips, but it was painfully clear that it held no humor. It was natural for Albel to be cutting, for if one cannot know emotion, then one will not know pain. It is easier to see a nameless stranger die than to watch a friend breathe his last.

"At times like these, I truly do not know what to make of you." Romero's lilting voice floated through the room even though he was not physically present and the temperature appeared to drop a few degrees.

"That is not my problem," snarled Albel as he opened the door.

"There might be danger everywhere you turn. Should you really be in this form of animalistic hibernation?"

"Deal with it." The door was slammed loud enough to echo through the castle.

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Fayt was still fuming when he descended the stairs leading to the town, paying no heed to the violent slamming sound indicative of Albel's displeasure. There was nothing more he would like to do than to go back and fry Albel with a few well-placed thunderbolts, but incapacitating the bounty hunter would be self-defeating. But the desire for satisfaction was still strong. Moreover, Fayt thought as he glanced down at the box in his hands, the cake he was carrying wasn't going to last forever. It may be Albel's nature to be immature, but Fayt knew that his manners were better than that. He was not going to disappoint Ameena if he could do something about it.

The blue-haired former prince of Aquaria adjusted the strip of cloth over his forehead before heading out into town. Although no one has ever seen him as the rightful prince, Fayt knew that he could not take chances. The sun was glaringly bright and there were large clouds in the sky, but the day felt like a good one to be outside.

Fayt was about to turn left to get to Ameena's flower shop when a large gathering in the town square caught his eye. In the center of the crowd was an armored man atop a monstrous black horse flanked by two others. The helmet covering his face gave no indication of his features, but the massive sword at his side told of his strength as well as his hostile intentions. Fayt felt a sharp prickling on his forehead, usually a sign that something was not right. He set down the box and focused his attention on the dark man.

Without a word, the man unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the blacksmith Gusto. "Bring him to me," hissed an inhuman voice. Even in the bright sun, the dark figures stood ominous and quiet as death.

Gusto did not like the tone of the man nor the antagonistic nature by which he was being accosted, so he stepped forward and pushed the others back. "That is no way to make a request! I don't know who you are, but I suggest you leave right now and come back when you learn some—" Before he could utter another word, the other man swiped his sword sideways, cutting off Gusto's arm from the elbow.

Shock settled over the crowd in their disbelief over what just happened. The blood dripping from the severed arm dripped louder than the breathing of the living. Suddenly, there was a scream and the crowd surged back, deathly afraid and frantic to get away from the armored man. Although blood steadily escaped the stub left on Gusto's arm and as much pain as he felt, he grit his teeth and glared defiantly at his assailant. "Who are you?"

"Bring him to me!"

"Go to hell!" Gusto shouted as he raised his hammer with his good arm, but his strength was failing from how much blood he has lost. His eyes grew wide with fear as the man before him raised his sword with the intent to sever more than his arm. Gusto could feel death's grasp upon his shoulders as he surrendered to his fate.

Fayt grabbed Gusto by the shoulders and with desperate strength, threw the large man out of the path of danger. He pivoted before the dark blade could descend and blocked it with a blade of ice. Leaf-green eyes met steely blue and Fayt growled low in anger. "How could you do this? What has he ever done to you?"

"You finally came to me." The frigid voice was surprisingly gentle in its reply. "I've been searching so long for you…"

Fayt's eyes widened and he wrenched his sword away. He might have been hearing things, but it sounded like the man said he was waiting for him. "What do you want from me?"

The frozen gaze softened as the armored man reached a gloved hand towards Fayt. "I want you to live." The hand came closer to Fayt, but he caught sight of what looked like a sudden twist of madness. The man's calm gaze quickly snapped into mania and he tried to grab Fayt's throat. "Foolish mortals can only serve and die. That is your destiny."

Breathing became impossible when the hand clamped over Fayt's throat like a vise. Fayt clawed at the steel grip, but the more he struggled, the less able he was to breathe. With the last reserves of his strength, he drew back his left hand and cast an Explosion spell on the helmet of his assailant. The force of the blast broke the grip holding Fayt captive by his throat and threw him far, where he landed painfully on the ground. He gasped for air like a fish out of water as he skidded to a stop and coughed to clear the remains of the constriction in his throat. Then, he turned to look at his opponent, his normally calm expression twisting into fury.

"Get out of here," Fayt rasped as runology circles surrounded his figure, the black cloth that covered his forehead burned away, revealing a blazing white circlet. The figure of great composure was gone and all that was left was destruction.

The armored man clutched his shattered helmet as blank eyes stared at the glowing figure of death approaching him. If he had been dubious to the identity of his target before, he was certain of it now. He dismounted from his horse and dropped his hands to the side as his two companions moved before him like shields. The action caused pieces of his shattered helmet to fall to the ground, revealing a shadowy blue eye and a runology circlet bathing his face with its sickly red glow.

Fayt's rage drained out of him instantly. The cursed circlet reflected the same white circle of runes on his forehead. But he knew that only three people in the life have them: himself, Albel and… his brother.

"L-Luther…?"

"Fayt! Where are you?" A high, girlish voice called out and pierced the tension. Ameena turned the corner of the building and her eyes glittered with excitement when she saw Fayt. "You're here on time, big brother!"

Fayt turned around in horror to warn her to stay away, but that split-second was enough for the surprisingly agile stranger to move past him towards Ameena. "NO!"

Ameena stopped when she saw the imposing figure before her. "He-hello…" She looked up to the man's eyes and her young blood ran cold. Even the innocent could feel the killing intent radiating from the man. The circlet flashed red and with a whispered word, Ameena crumpled to the ground, her eyes lifeless.

"What have you done?" The strangled sentence was wrought with anguish. Fayt looked at the prone figure of the young girl who appeared so alive that morning. He lifted raging green eyes to the murderer he momentarily thought was his beloved brother. "Luther would never do such a thing. You are not my brother!"

Sinister laughter chilled the air between them as the man turned to face his original target. "I never said I was. I am only here to retrieve you. Do not worry so… tragedy makes angels of mere mortals."

Fayt's vision grew white as he screamed for vengeance. The white runological circles surrounding him blazed to life and pulsated dangerously in his fury. Impossibly white wings tore themselves free on his back, the backlash of power incinerating the two silent followers who were unfortunate enough to stand in the deathly range. From their silent mouths, screams were torn both of desperation and what sounded surprisingly like blessed relief. The earth shook at the rapid release of dormant power, for Creation and Destruction meet for the first time.

"Harbinger of Destruction and Key to All-Creation, you are beautiful in your power," whispered the armored man. He reached out a hand towards the light.

Fayt was no longer himself. He smiled before raising a glowing hand and blasting his opponent with raw energy, sparing no quarter. The man jerked in pain as the attack gave him a small taste of what death felt like. The armor he wore started to melt and the single blue eye bulged out of its socket, turning red with the rupturing of blood vessels. There was no pain in existence comparable to this agony.

"Whoever you are, you are an enemy of Aquaria," said Fayt as his eyes became metallic malachite and his smile grew deceptively gentle. "I am under no obligation to take pity on you."

The knight gasped for breath as his right shoulder exploded, forcing him to drop his sword as blood rained down on the ground where he stood. Blood also splashed upon Fayt's clothes, dying the white fabric a bright red. There was a sudden surge in the power being supplied by the runological circles, causing Fayt to frown at the anomaly. But when he turned to face the enemy again, the man was gone. The whinny of a horse caught his attention and he turned to see the injured man atop the horse, six violet-white wings of energy appeared and covered him like a barrier.

"I will retreat for now. When I return, you will come with me." Though heavily injured, the voice was steady, like a man who knows no pain.

"Or a man possessed," Fayt whispered as the knight disappeared and the dust settled. A sudden pain in his chest forced the air out of his lungs, effectively causing him to black out and collapse where he stood. The white wings faded as if they were never there.

Minutes later, Adray walked out of the alley and into the center plaza with a smile, red cheeks and a large bottle of wine in his hands. One look at the destruction sobered him up. The bottle crashed to the ground in a million pieces as he went rigid in terror and disbelief.

"W-what in Apris happened here?" Adray roared. "ALBEL!"

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Albel shot the intruder a withering glance as the door to his room was ripped from its hinges and tossed aside with the forced entry. He was hardly in any mood to speak to anyone and continued slicing his sword at an imaginary enemy before him. "Get out." He spared Adray a complaint when he realized who had entered. He had anticipated the intruder to be Fayt and was slightly annoyed that he was wrong.

"You are coming with me. NOW." Adray's jaw was clenched with restrained fury and his tight tone left no room for argument. He grabbed the back of Albel's black shirt and dragged him out. He was not going to take Albel's immaturity right now.

Knowing that a serious Adray is a murderous Adray, Albel kept his mouth wisely shut, but he broke from Adray's grip. If he was going to follow the other man, he was going to walk himself and not be dragged in such a demeaning manner. Albel conveniently forgot that it was something he would not mind doing to another himself. "What are you playing at, old man?"

Adray pinned Albel with a sharp stare as they stopped at the door to the hospital wing. "Boy, for once realize that neither the sun nor the moon revolve around you. A king does more than sit on the throne and expect his subjects to accomplish everything while assuming all the credit. You have accepted a king's power as well as a king's responsibilities once that crown was placed on your empty head. But now, I am not even certain how you can live with yourself as a person."

"Old man…" Albel bared his teeth as the word struck too close to what he has been beating himself over since that morning.

Not even sparing Albel another glance, Adray opened the door to reveal two figures on two separate beds. One of the beds was surrounded by a flurry of mad, frantic activity while the other only held silence and the soft sobs of broken hearts.

The opening of the door momentarily stopped all activity in the room as healers and medics bowed in the presence of their king, but they only spared a moment for respect before continuing to treat their patients.

"Adray." A man with bandages covering what was left of his right arm addressed the other tattooed man. His face was pale from bloodloss and his normally tireless eyes were as gaunt as his face. He looked like a man haunted by demons he is not strong enough to fight. "We need to start reconstruction right away. Weakness like the central square is not good during a time of war. We have been too lax with our security."

"I agree that we much begin rebuilding, but you are not going to be there, Gusto. That arm of yours needs time to heal," answered Adray.

Albel's gaze was riveted to the blacksmith's missing arm and he clasped his steel claws with his own good arm. Memories of a blazing fire, the clash of steel and the stench of rotting, burning corpses clouded his eyes as his grip tightened. These were not memories he wanted to surface again. Fortunately for him, the blacksmith's voice brought him out of his stupor.

Gusto sighed and turned sad eyes to the two beds. "My arm is a small loss. I have already lived a good number of years and my arm has served me well. But these two… Apris protect us. The poor little child…"

Albel followed the man's glance as a healer moved from the crowd blocking the nearest bed. His eyes grew wide with what felt analogous to fear and guilt when he saw blue hair and a flickering circlet of dimming white runes. Bandages wrapped around the patient were not helping as blood seeped through from two large wounds. "Maggot…?" Albel staggered back as healers continuously tried to heal the twin vertical tears with little success.

A pain-filled cry from one of the people surrounding the more silent bed stole Albel's attention away from Fayt. He approached slowly, supporting himself against the wall, his stomach sunk with every dreadful step he took. A young boy wearing glasses cried piteously, clutching at an older woman who was beside herself in tears. Another man was ashen white as he gripped a tiny, cold hand, mindless of the hot tears dropping on it like rain. They all kept their broken gazes on the still figure of a girl on the bed. She looked peaceful, but her eyes remained closed and her lips drew no breath.

"Ameena…" The bespectacled boy whispered the name like a plea, but Albel felt like the name was a stab in his heart. It was the little girl Fayt wanted him to visit, the one he saved once—

"Don't forget what our relationship is, maggot. I have not given you the ability to ask any additional favors from me. My only duty to you is that I protect this kingdom, not to be the saving grace of the maggots that reside in it. I am not in the mood for following orders that go past that without payment, so don't go around assuming I can cater to the whim of every little idiot who begs for my time."

"You are cruel."

"And the sky is blue, but you can't change it."

—and failed to save again.

For all Albel's pride and all his self-assurance, he had forgotten one crucial fact: that a kingdom's foundation is its people. One stone is just as important as another. Take away one stone and the structure's stability is compromised. A kingdom with one less person is a kingdom one person weaker.

"Of all I have ever called a fool," whispered Albel. "I am the most foolish of all."

Unheard by everyone was the muttered name of the devil as eyes opened to show metallic green.

"Luther."

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End Chapter Four

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Author Notes:

My biggest enemy is definitely my friend, Procrastination. It's like the both the devil and angel on my shoulder decided not to be my conscience and took off on vacation. I've actually written this chapter and chapter five a while ago, but I've been so busy/lazy that I hadn't bothered typing it out. Thank you Mizu-Tenshi for sending the review that wake me up.

Yeah, I don't want to really write anything in the author notes that spoils anything in the story (because I sometimes have the bad habit of reading author's notes first), so I won't say too much… other than the fact that I'm a bad person. Am I cold-hearted enough to have actually done that? Oh, it gets worse. I also imagine Albel in his 3P outfit here because it's my favorite and more time-period accurate (but mainly because he looks sexy in it). At least he won't have to worry about a skirt flapping everywhere. For those of you who have questions… well, let's just say there's going to be a lot more of those before you get any answers.

Edited, not beta-read (I'm slow enough as it is): Forgot a line from last time, so I added it in.