The Prince made quick work of the ropes once Mitsuhide left him alone, the man had used the simplest sailor knot.
"Once I get out of this and back to the castle-"
After a few wiggles of his body, Zen was able to pull his legs close enough to his cuffed hands and untie the ropes.
"Mitsuhide's cleaning the horse stalls for a month, hypnotized or not"
Getting out of the manacles, however, wasn't going to happen without the key Mitsuhide took with him, all Zen could really do was maneuver his hands in front.
"That should work till I get back"
Zen was just about to open the door to his freedom when a voice drifted inside his prison, quickly being followed by something ramming the door.
"Who's out there?" Questioned the white haired Prince in suspicion
Above, all sounds grow quiet, but small murmurs of conversation, prompting Zen to keep his distance and drawing fourth his sword.
"State your name and business here!"
Without warning the only exit is cracked open, what little bits of light trickling in forcing Zen to shield his eyes.
"Sleep well, little Prince" sings a voice above as a small object is tossed at Zen's feet, smokey purple gas now filling up the space as the cellar door is once more closed.
"Wait!" Zen began coughing, covering his mouth and weakly moving up the stairs, sword now laying forgotten as the Prince groggily attempts pushing the heavy barricade open. "Open this door right now!"
With his strength weening and whatever accomplishment Zen makes opening the door being squashed by whoever's outside pushing it back down, he began to panic. "What do you want?"
This person had addressed him by his title, they knew who he was and Zen hadn't any clue what their plans were for him, but they couldn't be good. "This ... Is bad"
Thoughts of never seeing Shirayuki again broke Zen's heart, the love of his life wouldn't even know what had happened to him, where'd he gone.
" ... Shi ... Ra ... Yuki"
With his last bit of strength, the Prince slides down the stone steps, consciousness leaving him, body slumped over and useless as his eyes start to close and everything goes black.
Whispers, that's the sound Zen vaguely registers as the Prince slowly awakens, body numb and head once again pounding.
What had happened? Where was he? Zen tried fluttering his lids open, but his body still wouldn't cooperate, whatever that gas had been, it was still doing its job sufficiently.
From what he could tell, he was no longer sprawled out a top the cellar steps, he was lying flat on his back, an attempt at getting up reveals his hands are being held over his head, legs stuck together as well.
The whispers continued as Zen's awareness started to return, the Prince now felt the cool breeze over his cheeks, letting him know he was indeed outside.
Another pound also helped to realize it hadn't just been his head hurting, someone actually was building close by him.
Zen turned his head to face where he thought the worker was and fought to open his eyes, finally succeeding as the brightness clouded his vision.
The pounding stops as whomever had him noticed Zen was now awake, before chuckling a cruel laugh "I didn't expect you up so soon, Prince."
Zen clenched his eyes tightly shut, pulling on his wrists and ankles but still unable to move, so it wasn't just whatever he'd been given, he was tied down.
"I bet you're really confused and scared right now, Prince." Sneers the voice that Zen now knew was above him "I mean, you've been kidnapped, I finally have you, Zen."
This person was really starting to get on his nerves, but none the less the Prince slowly opened his eyes, blurry colors and the figures shape quickly becoming comprehensible.
He was on a small vessel or boat, a lift of the head revealed his manacled hands were chained to a tiny hook above him, legs in the same predicament at his feet.
The dark sky illuminated by lit lanterns, casting an eery glow on his smiling captors face.
Zen's nose wrinkled as the salty smell of the sea fills his nostrils " ... Where are we?"
"We are just getting ready to leave your beloved Clarines, Prince." Responds the captor as another pound echoed and shakes what Zen now knows is a small boat.
"You won't ... Get away." Declares Zen, mind now unclouding from his forceful sleep.
"Who's going to stop me? No one knows where you are, in fact, they all believe your own personal aid to have taken you, which in a way he did, but under my orders."
Zen's face scrunches and head tilts as finally the face of the man is revealed to him, blue eyes widen and mouth drops open upon sight of just who's hands he was now in, the Prince was at a loss for words.
Crouched before the second Prince of Clarines stood a man who should be dead, mid-length, dirty-blonde hair swept into a high ponytail with bangs almost long enough to cover his eyes, thick eyebrows and pointed eyelashes, wearing a brown short-sleeved jacket and dark-grey, long sleeved top underneath.
"You ... How did you-"
The captor places his finger to Zen's lips, relishing in the sheer confusion shown "You should see your face right now, Zen!"
Zen glares and moves his head away "How are you still alive, Atri?"
Atri smirks, the Prince's ex-childhood friend who supposedly died in his arms after attempting to assassinate him "Don't worry about me, Zen, it's yourself you should be focusing on."
Zen stared as Atri lifted up a long plank of wood, blue gaze following his every move as the boards leveled over his thighs "Whatever you're planning, it won't work, my brother-"
"Your brother? Please! Izana's no threat to me, so long as I have you." States Atri, the young man now hammering the board into place above Zen.
"Izana's full of surprises, whether you have me prisoner or not, he will beat you." Claims Zen, all the while the Prince attempts to keep his fear and uncertainty under wraps.
"You've too much faith in him, Zen." Speaks Atri as another plank is set and nailed, wooden boards now covering the second Prince up to his shoulders "But will he think to look for you here?"
Zen glowers, Atri had outdone himself, he'd successfully captured the Prince, framed his own bodyguard for it and now had the perfect hiding place to stow him.
"What did you do to Mitsuhide?"
"Your guard? I have to say him being infected wasn't part of the plan, but I couldn't have asked for a better form of revenge."
Atri now begins planking up the top next to Zen's head, the man wanting to watch the Prince's eyes as he's concealed "I've been watching you for months, biding my time. Lucky me to have overheard talk of a hypnotic mixture being made, all I had to do was borrow one of your dear red heads books and I found the perfect plant! Added to the mixture it allows my suggestion to simply guide who ever is under the hypnosis."
Zen struggled in his chains as Atri continued to speak, this whole situation had been planned, Mitsuhide, his loyal friend had been used and forced to turn against him "You planned to dose me, didn't you?"
Atri nods "But Mitsuhide worked so much better! I mean everyone thinks he's gone mad, when the truth is so much worse."
"So that's your big plan of revenge?" Scoffs Zen, hands fisted at the cuffs "Shirayuki is an herbalist, if anyone can figure out it was tampered with, its her."
"By then it'll be too late, we'll be long gone." Clarified Atri, hands reaching to grab something kept out of Zen's view "Its been great catching up, but I think it's time for you to be nice and quiet."
Zen growls as Atri drew closer, a rag and long cloth in hand "You underestimate my friends, Atri. You can take me as far as you'd like, they'll always find me."
"Such faith, but really it's time to be silent, I've already made air holes so you won't suffocate and there's a sliding panel so I can see you, but you know what I can't do?" Atri giggles as he pinches Zen's cheeks, shoving in the rag and sealing the Prince's lips closed as the cloth is tightly knotted behind his head "I won't be able to hear a single word you say! And where you're going, they'll never find you. Say goodbye to Clarines and your former life, Prince."
Zen wouldn't allow his fear to show as the final plank is placed, just before the last board is sealed, a small, metallic ball is carelessly tossed inside.
"Can't take the risk of anyone finding you." Mocks Atri "You understand, right?"
Muffled yells and struggles echo from the Prince as the familiar purple fills the air. Zen groggily listens as he's nailed inside the stuffy prison before everything fades to black once again.