Happy Holidays! This is my early present to all of you. IDK when i'll be able to upload next, but i'll try for one more upload before the new year. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 8:

Jellal

I awoke to a splitting headache. The first thing I noticed was how sore my entire body was. The second thing I noticed was that I was upright, but I wasn't standing. I lifted my head up with immense difficulty, realizing that there were chains holding my arms up beside me and chains around my ankles, holding me in place. My arms were strained from the chains and my shirt was gone, so I was left in nothing but my pants, ripped at the bottom.

The memories of what had happened came back to me in a rush. The surprise attack, the arrows that came out of nowhere, killing my escorts in front of my face. The gleam of black eyes as a club stuck my head, knowing me out cold. Panic rose in my throat. The Black Knights found me and could have killed me. If they killed me then they'd have no problem taking my country.

Confusion filled me as I wondered why I was alive, and where the hell I was. I blinked and tried to focus on my surroundings, even though the pain in my head was making it hard for me to see straight.

It appeared that I was suspended in the middle of a dungeon of sorts. However, instead of cells like a prison, there were cages surrounding me for animals. But there weren't animals inside the cages. There were living people, leaning against the bars in anticipation, in fear, and in defeat. I felt my throat tighten at the inhumanity of putting someone in a cage like beasts.

The cage closest to me was small enough that the person inside could not stand up straight. Dark eyes stared at me fearfully, shrouded in thick matted black hair. My vision shifted as I realized that the girl was not the only one in the cage. She was huddled up against another, smaller girl with cherry pink hair. The smaller girl was asleep, leaning against the older one's chest. I felt a pang of sympathy for the two, who seemed like they barely had enough room to shift positions, much less move about.

I strained to look around the dungeons, noting the pitch black walls and the torches hanging on the sides for the minimal amount of light. I couldn't figure out where I was. Caelum would have killed me on sight, so that meant I must have been somewhere else. Did someone save me and then kidnap me themselves? Or did Caelum only capture me instead of killing me? None of it made sense, but I knew one thing. I was alive and therefore, there was still a chance.

"Sleeping beauty awakens."

I gasped slightly at the voice echoing around the dungeon. I craned my neck to try and see the person who had come in from the large doors behind me. The voice was as thick and sugary as molasses, but it was cold. There was no warmth to it. It was male, and yet I couldn't picture a face to match its unique sound.

I took a deep breath and braced myself as I heard the footsteps of the incomer's boots on the stone. I would not be intimidated, no matter who it was. I would remain calm and dignified. I was freaking Prince and I was going to act like it. And even though I was trying to give myself the best pep talk I could, my heart would not stop palpitating like it was having a seizure.

The incomer stepped in front of me into the light and I took in a sharp breath, almost forgetting my pep talk. The black and white robes were unmistakable and royal seal pinned on his shoulder seemed to blind me as I looked into the dark red eyes of the source of my nightmares. King Zeref himself.

He didn't look intimidating, if you avoided the color of his eyes. In fact, he looked like he could pass for a child. He looked younger than me with smooth white skin and bouncing black hair. His lips were curled into a light-hearted smile and even though the color of his eyes distorted his whole face, he looked like he was genuinely happy to see me hanging from his dungeons, like it was Christmas morning.

"Lord Zeref." I whispered.

Zeref's eyes flashed and suddenly, a whip slashed into my back, causing me to scream in pain and jerk, my bare feet scraping against the cold stone. I realized that while I was focusing on Zeref, I hadn't noticed the guard that had followed him and positioned himself behind me with a whip. Zeref sighed and clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"Did I give you permission to speak?" He asked, like he was reprimanding a child. "You know I had expected you to be brought up with better manners." My cheeks burned with both rage and embarrassment. However, I kept my mouth shut, feeling the blood trickling down my spine. If one lash could split skin, I didn't want to take any more chances.

"I am sorry about the abrupt way you were taken in, but I didn't want you to miss the spectacle." Zeref continued, a smile lifting his face. He leaned in close like he was going to tell me an important secret. "I'm going to burn your country to the ground, and you're going to get to watch with VIP seating!"

My eyes widened and my throat tightened. Zeref grinned and looked at me expectantly, like he wanted me to show the same amount of enthusiasm. I started trembling in both fear and anger and Zeref's expression slowly faded when he realized I wasn't going to match his eagerness. He frowned and the light vanished from his eyes in an instant, causing the guard behind me to strike me again, resulting in another shrill scream.

I clenched my fists and tried not to think about the pain in my back and my head and my arms, and pretty much everywhere on my body.

"You know I feel like you're undermining my value. I didn't have to come all this way to deliver the message. You should be happy, excited. I just gave you great news." He said simply, looking up at me with shining eyes. He stuck out his lower lip in an attempt to pout and I found myself baring my teeth in anger.

"You're a monster." I hissed, unable to keep my mouth shut any longer. Zeref sniffed and swiped at his dry eyes.

"That hurt my feelings." He complained as another lash struck my back, this time resulting in me coughing up blood. "You're not being a very good guest." He complained. I growled and spit blood at his feet.

"You're being a very good host." I snapped. I braced myself for another lash, when suddenly he started to giggle. I blinked and stared at him in confusion. His giggles turned into full on laughter after a few seconds and I felt fear bubble up in my stomach. He began to wipe actual tears from his eyes and grinned at me.

"I forgot how much fun you people are!" He exclaimed in delight. "You never give up hope, do you? So defiant, so brave." He chuckled a bit to himself, stepping a little closer. "Don't worry, we'll snuff that right out. Once you realize that there is nothing you can do to stop the fires of Caelum from engulfing your precious, worthless land, you'll break. Maybe you'll break sooner than that, when you understand that no one is coming to save you, and no one ever will."

I lost a breath and gasped to try and catch it again as Zeref began to laugh maniacally, walking back around me to leave. I felt tears well up in my eyes as the sound of his laughter followed me and echoed through my brain long after he'd left.

The shortness of breath refused to leave as the panic and despair started to settle in my head. I didn't want to die in here. I especially didn't want to watch as my country burned. If anything, I wanted to burn with them. I wanted to share the same fate as my people, whether it be prosperity, poverty, or total annihilation. Everything seemed like the end now. Was there really nothing I could do?

"P-Prince Jellal?" I turned towards the small voice coming from the cage closest to me. The girl with the large dark eyes observed me pitifully. "I'm sorry about your country." I gulped and felt the lump in my throat start to form. I nodded in gratitude and forced myself to look away before I started to cry.

"He's not bluffing is he? I asked, mostly to myself. "He's really going to destroy Edolas." I looked back at the girl who had looked away, her eyes shining with tears.

"He's going to take over the world. And no one can defeat him." She started to tremble as the younger girl grabbed her shoulder and hugged her tightly.

"There is one." I turned my head to the cage on the other side of me. An old man with a beard that could touch the ground wrapped his hands around the bar and peered up at me. "Tell me, young prince, do you know the legend of the Lost Princess of Caelum?"

I blinked at his question. Of course I'd heard the conspiracy theories. The theory was that King Caelum's daughter hadn't actually died in the fire and had survived. There were rumors of people seeing her and numerous accounts of people who claimed they'd sheltered her. But all the rumors were just that, rumors. There was no concrete proof. They'd found remains of the girl in the fire. She was dead.

"Those are just rumors." I said quietly. The princess of Caelum had been my playmate when I was a child. I barely remembered her, except for huge, piercing brown eyes. I couldn't even remember what color her hair was.

"What if they weren't?" The man prodded. "What if she'd survived, and fled to Edolas as her sanctuary. Maybe that is why Zeref wants to destroy it so badly." I stared at the man, his theory sounding preposterous to me.

"I need to think of actual solutions, not go chasing after some ghost." I said firmly. "They found the remnants of her body in the fire. She is dead. And believe me, if she was in my country, I would know about it."

"Would you?" The old man persisted, pressing his face in between the bars. "Hundreds of Caelum refugees cross the border into your country every year. Do you know about them?" I paused. I hadn't known about them. "More goes on in your country than even the King knows about."

"Who are you?" I asked quietly, eyeing the man's features.

"I am old and wise, and have been in this dungeon for many years. I've heard many things. Prisoners that are thrown in here because they tried to find the princess. Prisoners who were executed because they had information about the princess. Make no mistake. She's out there, and she could be our savior."

I gulped and looked away, not wanting to talk to him anymore. If the rumors were true, and princess was out there, I couldn't just find her and present her to Caelum's people. Firstly, she'd be my age by now, maybe a year or two younger. If she'd wanted to be queen, she would have tried to already. And even if I did find her, how would I even go about reinstating her as queen? Not to mention that I was still stuck in this prison.

It was hopeless. Even if she was out there, there was no way to find her and even if there was, it wasn't like I could just waltz out of here to find Zeref's one threat to his crown. No, it was better that I thought practical. I knew that Gildarts will have been told about my absence by now. He will have probably sent out a search party. And sooner or later, he would make the connection that it was Zeref who took me. All I had to do was wait for the rescue team to come for me. Everything was going to work out. I was going to be saved.

And then I was going to do everything in my power to stop Zeref's terrible threat on my people.

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