(a/n): I think it's been a while since I last updated? Probably too long...I wanted to wait until after I'd been away because I had this grand vision of writing all day everyday in my head. So when I finally opened up my laptop one evening, loaded up the document...I just...went blank. Now I'm thinking when I get home I'll write a ton because I'll be alone in my own room and all that.
Anyway - thank you all so much for sticking with me on this story - I hope to at least have a chapter amount up by the time I next update! CX
Hopefully see you all soon!
Chapter Eight :
"No," Riku took a step back immediately. There was a sharp pain in his chest.
"Oh, but you agreed to, don't you remember?" Jafar said.
"I-" Riku gasped as a fresh wave of pain racked through his chest. "I won't kill him - he's - he's innocent."
"Oh, come now Riku, don't tell me you care for he boy?" Jafar asked. His voice seemed distant. Background noise under the ringing in Riku's ears. "Well, I guess even Maleficent can't raise a Prince of ice, hm?"
Riku gritted his teeth trying not to cry out against the pain. It felt like he was being stabbed.
"I won't do it!" he spat. He held onto the table as his vision blurred.
"But you promised, remember? Cross your heart and hope to die." Jafar's words swam in and out of focus.
So it wasn't a joke.
It wasn't something to scare him.
Riku's stomach dropped as he felt damp beneath his doublet. He pressed his hands through to his shirt and found blood on his fingertips. It seemed startingly bright.
"I'll give you until noon tomorrow. After that, I expect the Prince to be dead," Jafar said. "Do you think you can manage that - you're highness?"
Riku nodded. He was finding it hard to breathe.
But the pain receded quickly. As suddenly as it had started.
Riku blinked, his vision clearing.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Jafar said.
Riku nodded again, frowning as his mind tried to figure out what happened.
He was in the corridor again.
He had just agreed to kill the Prince.
And if he didn't.
He would die.
Riku retched.
He still felt dizzy as he made his way back to his room. He still felt sick at dinner. Jafar remarked "how pale he was."
Maleficent said she didn't "notice a difference."
"I'm fine," Riku said. His voice was faint.
She didn't care. No one cared about him.
Sora cared.
He would have to kill Sora.
"I wonder if I may have a word, Maleficent," Jafar said when the plates where cleaned away.
Maleficent waved a hand to Riku, but he was already standing.
He couldn't do it.
The cross on his chest stung.
He had promised to see Sora.
And he would see Sora.
His heart pounded. He knew he had to go, but it terrified him.
How would this night end?
He made the shadows flung the guard outside Sora's cell through the window. It didn't make Riku feel better.
There was another pang in his chest as he unlocked the door.
"Eight days left," Sora said. "Please tell me you're coming to get me out-Riku, what's wrong?"
"You can tell?" Riku asked. He pressed himself against the door, running a hand through his hair. He found it hard to breathe. He wanted to laugh.
Sora nodded. His mouth moved, but Riku couldn't pick up the words. His blood roared in his ears.
He pulled the Prince close to him, burying his face in the mess of Sora's hair. Like a lifeline.
"Did the negotiations go wrong?" Sora asked, he pulled away to search Riku's face. "Did Maleficent hurt you?"
"No, no, she didn't hurt me," Riku said. He cupped Sora's face in his hands. He could barely feel it. He could barely feel anything.
"You look scared," Sora said.
"I'm - fine," Riku could hardly breathe.
His head jerked forward, almost of its own accord. He had to kiss the Prince. Just once more.
He felt the shadows in the cell draw to his hand. He ignored it. He wanted to focus on this - the feeling of Sora against him.
Sora's arm looped around his neck. He could feel the Prince smiling through the kiss. His chin bumped against Riku's.
The shadows elongated around his hand. Sharpening.
Sora's hand clutched Riku's shirt. His tongue slid between their mouths.
Riku raised the sword.
No!
He cried out at the sudden spark of pain in his chest, pushing the Prince away from him and pressing himself against the door. He couldn't trust his own hand.
Sora stared at him. His wide eyes darted from Riku's face to the sword in his hand.
Riku clutched at the cut on his chest and stared back, breathing through gritted teeth.
"I'm - sorry," he gasped.
"You were going to...kill me...?" Sora asked. His chest heaved up and down.
"No-" Riku shook his head, then cried out at a fresh wave of pain. "Sora - I - I can't!"
Sora frowned. Then he stepped forward. Riku forced his hand to unclench, to push the shadows away from him.
Shakily, Sora unlaced Riku's doublet, and pulled the shirt down. He bit his lip as he took in the two cuts over Sora's heart.
"I had to..." Riku whispered. He coughed and tasted iron. "Or I'd..."
"Or you'd die," Sora whispered. His finger traced over the cross.
Riku nodded, feeling helpless.
Sora's face wavered in his vision.
He felt fingers on his mouth, wiping away blood.
"You called me Sora," Sora said. He took Riku's face in his hands. Steadying him. "You've never said my name before."
"First time for everything," Riku was panting.
"Riku, you should live." Sora said.
Riku shook his head. There was a pain in his forehead.
He pressed his mouth against Sora's.
"You're the prince," Riku whispered. Trying to form the words. "You're my Prince. You have to go back."
"Not without you," Sora whispered.
Riku silenced him with a kiss.
"Don't worry, I won't leave you," Riku said. An idea had come to him. An idea that eased the pain in his chest slightly.
That was it. The loophole.
He had to do it.
He had to-
He pulled Sora back to him, his fingers tangling in the Prince's hair. The air was cold in the cell, but Sora was warm. Sora's mouth was warm. There was a cold sweat on his skin.
Riku nudged Sora's chin up with his nose, both of their mouths were still open, gasping for each other. He bit the side of Sora's neck.
Sora gasped, his hands slipping from Riku's shirt to his chest. He looped his arm around Riku's neck, clutching at his silvery hair to pull him closer. He pressed his cheek onto the top of Riku's head. Riku could feel his breath, gasping, on his ear. Cooling the sweat on the back of his neck.
"You called me," Sora said. "You called me Prince."
Riku answered by peppering Sora's face with kisses. It was hard to stop.
"I don't want you to die," Sora whispered.
"I won't," Riku said. "Don't worry."
Sora buried his face into the crook of Riku's neck. His face was damp.
"Stay here," Sora said.
"I will," Riku leant his head against the door, and gently lowered them both to the floor.
Sora wrapped his arms around Riku's neck, and Riku held him close. He rubbed the Prince's back, and closed his eyes.
It was the only way.
It was the only way.
Riku had never realised how bright blood was.
It filled his vision. It was damp on his hands. On his clothes. On his face. Bright red. Almost glowing.
He thought he could taste it in the air.
He released the shadows.
His hands were shaking. His chest heaved.
The body slumped to the floor. Lifeless.
Dead.
Riku had done that.
He was a monster.
He turned; caught his reflection in a vial. There was blood smeared across his face. Staining his hair. With a finger, he pulled his shirt down. Enough to see the faded scars across his chest.
A monster.
He thought he could smell the blood.
Monster.
He retched.
Then turned away from Jafar's body.
Riku stumbled from the room.
The sun still hadn't risen.
Sora was still asleep when Riku returned to the cell. Like the first time they had met; he looked completely innocent.
Sora's eyes snapped open when Riku closed the door. He sat bolt upright, taking in the blood that drenched Riku.
The Prince's hand touched his own cheek. His own face. Then dropped to his side lifelessly.
"Whose…what did you…?" Sora's voice was faint. His eyes darted over Riku's face.
"I killed him," Riku said. His voice was hoarse. "I had to."
"Killed who?" Sora asked. He was still staring up at him. A rabbit staring at a wolf.
"Jafar," Riku said. "He's…dead."
Sora stared at him a moment more.
Then murmured a swear that Riku was surprised a Prince would even know.
"That's all…his blood?" Sora asked.
Riku let out a huge groan, and pressed his hands to his face.
"What have I done?" he asked. He swore. "I killed him."
"You - you saved my life," Sora said. He scrambled to his feet. "You saved both of our lives."
"I'm a monster," Riku said. The blood on his hands was growing. It was spreading over him. He could feel it rising in his throat.
"No. No you're not," Sora said. Snapped.
He held Riku's face.
"You're not a monster." Sora said.
The blood was spreading over to Sora now. Covering his face.
Riku, what have you done?
There was another loud groan. He barely registered that it came from him.
"Riku, listen to me," Sora said. "It was me. Or you. Or him. You had no choice."
"I agreed to his deal," Riku said. "I shouldn't have agreed. If I hadn't have agreed - I should have just -"
"What's done is done," Sora said. He pressed his forehead against Riku's. "You've done the past. That's done. But the future isn't. You decide where to go now."
Riku placed his hands over Sora's. Just to know that he was there. That he was real. That this was real.
This wasn't a nightmare.
"When did you get so wise?" he asked Sora.
Sora's expression darkened.
"I'll tell you some other time," Sora said. "Riku; you need to keep your head."
"He - he didn't even see it coming," Riku said. He was finding it hard to breathe. His lungs were filling up but nothing was filling them. "He turned around to ask if I had killed you and I just - I ran the shadows straight through him. And again. And again. And again. Not because I liked it - I didn't like it - but I didn't dislike it. It felt - mechanical. I couldn't stop. It was just - I just kept - and then his bird - his bird - that parrot - it squawked and I - I didn't mean to - it was so easy and - quick."
"Riku, you saved us both," Sora said. "You did what you thought was the best course of action for your Prince."
"My prince?" Riku echoed. He struggled to connect the images. This was Sora. Just Sora. The boy he loved.
The boy he had killed for.
"Yes," Sora said. His eyes were blue. They were so blue. Why hadn't I paid more attention to those eyes? "Now. What are you going to do?"
Riku blinked.
"You have to move on, now Riku," Sora said. He sounded almost scared. "You have to stop thinking about it. The more you think about it now the worse it will get later."
"How do you…" Riku's voice gave way.
"Just - trust me," Sora said. He pressed his forehead against Riku's once more. "You need to get your story straight."
"Sora, I can't," Riku sighed. He closed his eyes. Red.
He had never killed a human before. If Jafar even was human.
He had always known he would. One day. It was inevitable. It was what Maleficent had raised him to do. His purpose.
He hadn't expected it to be like this.
Maleficent.
"I'll tell Maleficent it was me," Riku said. He forced a deep breath. "She already thinks he was going to betray her."
"Good," Sora said. "Okay. What then?"
"I don't - I'll be back. Tonight. Later than usual," Riku said. Maleficent would find out about the guard. About these visits. The longer he stayed here, the more risk he posed. "I'll get you out."
Sora didn't reply. He searched Riku's face as though he couldn't believe his ears.
"Thank you," Sora said. Breathed. Maybe Riku only thought he said it.
A moment passed. Riku wanted to kiss him. But he was becoming aware that he was sticky with blood. That he was dripping it onto the floor.
"Get cleaned up." Sora said.
And kissed Riku's cheek.
"You're late," Maleficent said.
Riku stood by his chair. It felt like his legs wouldn't bend.
"I was," Riku clenched his fists to stop his hands shaking. "Cleaning up."
"Jafar?" Maleficent asked.
Riku felt the air burst from his lungs. He couldn't even stammer a 'what'.
"The imps told me this morning," Maleficent said. She sipped her cold tea. "Was that you?"
"Yes," Riku said.
Maleficent's face burst into a smile, and she stood.
"Oh, Riku," she said, holding his face. Her hands were ice. When did he notice that? Before or after Sora had done the same? "I'm so proud of you. Your first kill."
"He was - moving his plan along quicker than I had anticipated," Riku said.
"You did well," Maleficent said.
She pulled him close, and he stood awkwardly. She seemed to want to touch as little of him as possible.
"How did it feel?" she asked. Secretively. Furtively.
What was he supposed to say?
"Indifferent," he decided.
Maleficent patted him on the back. Twice.
"Good," she purred.
Riku wasn't sure he wanted to be ice any more. He didn't want to be a cat.
He just wanted to be away from here.
