It was good long walk through the village and there were many sets of glowing red eyes watching them. They made it to the castle not long after, and Matthew was whimpering, not just out of fear but pain. He had been trying to hold back his wings this whole time.
Ivan glanced down at Matthew's whimper of pain, leaning down to whisper to him. "Shh, Matvey just calm down. It will be all right. I will get you and Kumajiro out of here. All right? I swear it Matvey. You will get to leave this forest." His words were quick and quiet but extremely sincere, making it very obvious that Ivan fully intended to do everything in his power to get Matthew and Kumajiro out of this dreadful forest.
"This way." The lead vampire said as he entered an empty grand hall.
Matthew was about to ask what about Ivan himself when their guide stopped and faced them for a brief moment.
"Bow your heads for the King of the Night, the ruler of the damned." He then turned to the empty throne and got on his knees to bow his head low. A moment later a pale man entered the room from the side to sit on the throne. He looked as though he was old enough to be Ivan's father.
Ivan told Kumajiro and Matthew to obey what the man had said while Ivan himself only lowered his head slightly, his eyes ahead and focused on the throne. Kuma didn't really see why he had to bow, but he did a little one for their sake. Matthew would have fallen to the floor if it weren't for Ivan's hold, as he could sense the danger coming off of this man, he felt the death.
The king looked over the four in front of him. "Why do you bring these outsiders to my hall?" His voice was deep and spoke in a slower tone.
"The beast traveling with them has killed one of our own, my king. I seek you to know what is to be done with these travelers."
"If I may," Ivan says speaking up, using the tone of voice he used when addressing other royals. It was respectful but still sounded authoritative. "We were attacked first. One of yours took the one at my side from us and we acted defensively to get him back. The hippogriff is very protective of his partner and defended him as he saw fit. And if it was payment that one of yours was seeking, he did not confront us on it and simply tried to take what was not his."
"And you are crossing though a land that is not yours. The rules of my kingdom are very different than those of yours." The king said coldly.
"Yes, I apologize but our other path was blocked by a rockslide. We had no other option but to go through." Ivan replies just as coldly. "And I understand the rules of vampires are different. I have dealt with your kind before back home in Solstice. I have been travelling through many kingdoms that are not my own recently."
"My king, we are getting away from the topic of one of our own being killed."
"Yes, the animal... It is different to have some beast be the problem than a human or werewolf."
Ivan waited for them to continue, holding Matthew close and staying right next to Kumajiro, with Matthew in between the two of them. The king gave a bored sigh. "The normal punishment cannot be done in this sense. But something must be done, have they decided on a fee that they are willing to pay?" He asked the other vampire.
"They have insufficient funds, my King. Though, surly the blonde's flesh would do nicely for a good part the payment. Do you not agree, my King?"
"I have already stated that neither his flesh nor his blood is up for debate." Ivan says tersely, holding Matthew tighter. "I was told earlier that the vodka I have would cover most of the fees to get the boy and the hippogriff out."
"That was before we found out the beast had killed our comrade! And you cannot speak for him!"
"Enough! I will not have shouting from either of you." The king hissed, revealing all of his sharp, needle pointed teeth.
"I can speak for both of them." Ivan hisses, no longer shouting. "They have been accompanying me of their own free will to assist me. This is my journey and they are just company. And I am a royal so I can speak for them if I damn well want to!" Ivan gave a vicious glare to the one arguing with him, drawing himself up to full height.
"You, the one with blond locks. What is your name?" The king demanded.
The guardian flinched, really not wanting to be under the king's attention. "M-Matthew... S-sir."
"And you are the owner of this animal?"
"I-I don't own him, he's my partner."
"But are the caretaker?" Matthew nodded slowly. "Then you must take the responsibility of your animal."
"No." Ivan growls in protest. "If anyone is to take responsibility here, it will be me and no one else."
"Quiet you." The fellow vampire glared at Ivan's disrespect towards his king.
"I will not tolerate being ordered around by someone of lower status than I." Ivan sneers at the lackey.
Matthew elbowed Ivan in the side gently, wanting Ivan to butt out. "W-what would be the charges?"
"Before I say anymore, I will not tolerate you hiding things from me. Show me what it is you are hiding and don't bother lying. I will know." The King locked his red eyes onto Matthew. At the king's words, Ivan drew Matthew in front of him, pressing the boy's back firmly to his own chest.
"He does not need to show you his wings." Matthew squeaked as he was brought so close to Ivan. W-why is Ivan being so defensive? It should be me acting like this.
The king raised a brow in interest. "Wings? What kind of wings?"
"Bird wings. Like the hippogriff's, but the same color as his hair." Ivan says, working to make his voice calmer even though his whole body was tense as he held Matthew close.
"W-what are you doing...?" Matthew whispered in distress.
"He's a guardian!?" The other vampire said in quite a bit of surprise. As for the king's eyes grew dark, loosing all whiteness to them.
"I despise guardians. I will never forgive them, but you sir. Your actions and conduct are a disgrace. You call yourself a royal and demand respect, however you show no sign of discipline. I leave you to whatever demise is in store for you!" The king raged. "Now as for your pet, guardian, you will have to pay for the crimes. The only two things you have of value. Your blood or flesh. Choose. And don't either of you test my patience any longer!"
"Well this little guardian happens to know a rather powerful group of wizards." Ivan says with a smile. "You all are cursed, yes? Maybe the wizards know how to undo the curse. Let the boy and the hippogriff go speak with them. If they do not return in ninety days then you may do whatever you wish with me, but if they do return with a way to end your suffering or with better payment, you let us all go?"
The lackey had to stop himself from bursting into a fit of laughter. "You sure are one dumb bastard of a royal."
The king stomped his foot as he stood up from the throne. "I will not stand for this insult any longer! I am king of this land, not some shopkeeper to be haggled with!" His voice roared across the grand hall, a dark aura rising off of the cursed king. The candles in the room flickered and threatened to die without so much as a breeze. "GUARDS! Seize them!"
With the king's orders, dozens vampires rushed the small group from the shadows. Kumajiro screeched and charged. He wasn't about to just let some cursed creatures lay their hands on him. The vampires were ready however, overwhelming Kumajiro like a swarm of wasps. Kuma fought back, his antlers piercing their light armor, talons tearing into their pale flesh.
"K-Kuma, no don't!" Matthew cried as his partner became unseen within the crowd of undead. Yet, he did not even have a moment to retaliate as he was torn from the prince's arms. Many others jumped onto Ivan to hold him down and if need be, tie him up.
Ivan was fighting the second Matthew was taken from him, whipping out his blades and fighting with his full strength to keep the vampires from tying him up.
Kuma grabbed one by head; the metal dome surrounding the guard's head was of no use against the might of the hippogriff's beak. As he crushed the helm, the man howled in pain before he was silenced, his head becoming no more than a bloody mess spilling from the cracks.
"Bind it!" One screeched.
Kumajiro was fast, but not faster than the vampires. He wounded many, but only killed one before he was pinned and held down. They moved to tie the beak shut quickly as the beast howled in rage. Feathers flew through the air as they hurried to restrain his limbs, large wings wildly smashing into bodies, the hard floor, and stone pillars. No doubt breaking the bones within.
"N-no! Stop it! Don't hurt him!" Matthew yelled as his wings sprung from his back, ripping his jacket in half, two vampires that were holding him went flying. The gold wings gave off a faint blue glow for a fraction of a second before the guardian gave a mighty flap.
Wind suddenly whistled swiftly through the room, sweeping objects off the floor, widows shattering from the force. Matthew continue to beat his wings faster with every stride, the bellowing winds grew fiercer. No one could get near him, any who tried, flew across the hall.
When the wind from Matthew's wings knocked the vampires surrounding Ivan off balance, he took that as his chance to escape from in the middle of them and move through the fierce winds to help Kumajiro out. He severely injured several of the ones holding Kumajiro down, ducking to avoid the wildly flapping wings and risking injury to himself to get in front of the hippogriff and cut the rope binding his beak as well as any ropes binding the rest of him.
Kuma was grateful for the help, but thanks would have to come later. He hurried to stand, almost tripping on the ropes.
Even with a hurricane raging through the grand hall, you could still hear the sound of flesh being pierced and a pained cry of anguish ring clear. The winds all but died as Matthew's wings fell to the floor.
The hippogriff gave a shrill cry of pain before collapsing in a motionless heap.
The guardian choked on his own blood as it flooded into his lungs. A long sword stuck out from the right side of his chest as the dead king stood behind him. When the sword withdrew, Matthew gave a whimpered cry as he fell to the floor, blood spilling from his wound. Coughing up blood, he clutched his wound and gave hindered, wheezing gasps.
"Stand down and surrender. Or I will finish him." The king hissed between his teeth.
Ivan snarled, his eyes flashing angrily. He coated the edge of one blade in a sharp layer of ice in an instant, throwing it at the king with startling accuracy; he then ran over and knocked him away from Matthew. Ivan gathered the guardian's wings close to the boy's body and scooped him up faster than most would be able to, holding him in one arm and retreating to Kumajiro's side, his blade at the ready. His heart was racing from the adrenaline that came from being on a battlefield.
The king looks on at him like he was a fool, not at all caring about the blade sticking out of his body as he took a step forward. He was cold and felt nothing so what did he care? More vampires entered the room though the walls as gray clouds, forming bodies all around the hall. "You honestly think you can guard your companions by yourself against the army of the undead?"
Matthew whimpered in pain as he fought to breath properly. Something is wrong... My wound won't heal... The wound was continuing to bleed. "I-Iva-" Was all he could get out before he continued to cough up more blood. He wanted to tell him.
"You might want to think about this more carefully. If I had wanted you dead, I would have stabbed you instead of the guardian. Now, I will only say this one more time. Surrender."
"Mmm stay there, I will think about it carefully for a few minutes. You should not have stabbed him though. You may not want me dead but I do not want him dead either." Ivan shifted the blade to his other hand and reached down into his pocket without looking away from the king. He pulled out the vial of purple medicine that Matthew had made a while ago. Ivan had moved it into his pocket for safekeeping without Matthew's knowledge the night after they'd first been attacked, just in case their bags were stolen at any point. He held it up in front of Matthew's face without looking away from the king, hoping it would be able to help Matthew. "Tell me this though, what happens if I do surrender, hm? Tell me all the terms and conditions before I make my decision."
Matthew gave a sharp whimper and clutched his wound tightly as he felt something move with in.
"Simple. I will remove the parasite that is currently feeding and growing inside him." He pointed his sword at the guardian. "With it gone, he will be able to heal just fine in a cell."
Ivan pocketed the vial and narrowed his eyes, shifting his blade back to his free hand but lowering it slightly. "Let the hippogriff and I reside in the same cell as the boy. I want them both alive and unharmed from now on. His flesh is off limits, his blood -except for what you have already scattered- is off limits. Also I get to stay by the boy while you remove the parasite. Agree to that and you have a deal."
The king thought about it for a moment, and then gave a nod. "Agreed."
"Agreed. Do not go back on your word." Ivan says with a short nod, lowering his blade and tossing it aside in surrender. He then shifted to hold Matthew in both of his arms securely. Matthew was already beginning to lose consciousness from the blood loss, but he still made pained sounds as he was moved. Ivan took a single step forward and waited for the king to come remove the parasite from Matthew's body.
The king came forth and held his sword above the boy's wound. Matthew gave another cry of anguish as black roots clawed out from his wound and latched onto the blade. It wrapped itself around the blood-covered blade before turning to stone. "Take these outsiders to the Crow's Grave." The king said with disgust, swinging his sword clean of Matthew's blood. As he sheathed his sword his men grabbed onto Ivan and held swords against his body just in case he tried anything.
"Oh, and one of you cut that animal's wings and bring me the antlers." With that the king turn and returned to sit on his throne.
"I said both of them alive and unharmed." Ivan snarls at the last comment of the king, glaring at him but not fighting the hands holding him. "We had a deal. Bind the wings if you must but leave the wings and antlers attached the hippogriff!"
He gave a snap of his fingers. "Oh come now, you said nothing about disarming. I'm just making sure that beast doesn't kill anymore of my men or try to escape. A mere clipping isn't going to do any harm." The king smirked as his men began to remove anything and everything from both of their clothing. One made his way to the unconscious hippogriff, raising an axe and then bringing it down heavy on Kuma's antlers. It took three strong hacks before the first one came off with a bone cracking sound.
Ivan snarled and snatched the vial of purple liquid back, frowning at the sound of the bone cracking. "Take the rest of the items from us if you must but this stays with me."
"Not part of your agreement." The lackey came by and swiped it from Ivan. He gave a small smug smile before leading the rest of the men out of the hall, Ivan being forced along with them.
Ivan growled in anger at the man and looked for a moment like he was considering spitting in the lackey's face before he thought better of it and let himself be led. The last antler came free with another horrid crack as they left the hall. Ivan held Matthew close, frowning more at the crack of bone.
)*(
It was a long walk to the Crow's Grave. It was all the way up in the highest tower. In a normal castle, this would be where the king would sleep. But seeing as everybody was basically a vampire it would be silly to make the place with the most exposure to the sun a sleeping chamber.
The circular room was massive with many small windows and a single cell in the center. There was only enough room for two people to walk side-by-side between the cage and the wall. As for the cell itself, it had thick, strong bars, and it could easily fit fifteen people. It was almost obvious that this chamber was meant to punish or torture vampires.
The lackey opened the cell gate and ushered Ivan inside. "Welcome to the Crow's Grave. Sorry we haven't gotten around to cleaning it since the last victim."
"It is fine. The hippogriff will be brought up too, correct?" He asks, arching an eyebrow at the lackey. "It was part of the agreement."
"Yes, yes. After his feathers have been plucked. Though..." His eyes wondered over Matthew's blood spotted feathers.
Ivan's eyes narrowed and he held the boy closer. "His are not to be clipped." He growls. "He will not try to escape without the hippogriff so he will stay put as long as the hippogriff can not fly."
"But he could get out and fly away, we wouldn't want that now would we?" He asked the other men as they shoved Ivan in so he could lock the gate.
Ivan held the boy close as he was pushed in, stumbling a bit but catching himself before he could fall. "He won't fly away without the hippogriff!" He growls. "You will leave his wings alone!"
"We can not trust that will happen and it was not part of your agreement." He shrugged and turned to the guards. Ivan growled out some obscenity in his native tongue, glaring viciously at him but not throwing ice at him in defiance like he so desperately wanted to. "You three are on duty first. That beast will be up here in a bit, dead weight that is." Then he walked down the stairs with the last of the guards. With only the three other guards now left in the room it was almost silent. The only sound being Matthew's labored breathing.
Ivan moved to the center of the cell, shifting how he was holding Matthew a little to remove his own coat and lay it down on the floor. He gently laid Matthew down on top of his jacket and wrapped it around the boy most of the way, leaving it partially open so Ivan could keep track of Matthew's healing. He propped the boy's head up, setting it in his own lap so Matthew could hopefully breathe a little better.
The wound had stopped bleeding and was slowly closing itself up. About twenty minutes had passed and Kuma was finally brought up. Though he was still out cold when they dragged his body into the cell.
Ivan tensed and pulled Matthew close when they brought Kumajiro in, not relaxing and uncurling from around Matthew until the vampires that had brought Kumajiro in had left and the cell door was relocked.
"Someone will come by tomorrow with some shears, the sun will be rising soon." With that the vampires left and another set of guards took their spot to stand watch. Ivan glared at them and waited for them to leave before looking back down to watch Matthew's wound heal silently.
It was almost closed now, a scab present over the wound, and even Matthew's breathing was a little better. But he was most likely going to sleep all day. And as for Kuma... Whatever had happened didn't seem to be wearing off anytime soon.
Ivan gave a sigh of relief as it scabbed over and Matthew began to breathe better. He looked over at Kumajiro and frowned softly at the clipped wings and the lack of antlers. The hippogriff would probably be furious with Ivan for letting this happen when he woke up. Ivan wouldn't be going to sleep anytime soon, he had long since mastered the art of going without sleep for lengthy periods of time during war. He would stay awake all day and watch Matthew sleep quietly.
)*(
It was about a few hours before sunset when Matthew began to stir. Ivan brushed the boy's hair out of his face gently and waited for Matthew to awaken fully.
His eyes fluttered open. "I-Ivan...?" His vision was still blurry.
"Yes…" The man says softly, hesitating a moment before reaching out and gently stroking Matthew's cheek, a concerned look on his face. "How are you feeling…?"
The boy gave a weak laugh before trying to sit up, but winced in pain and lay back down as Ivan eased him through the motion gently. "A-as good as I can be at the moment I guess, though not the first time I've been stabbed."
"Don't try to sit up yet." He went back to gently stroking Matthew's cheek, his voice hardly above a whisper. "Just so you are aware, Kumajiro is with us but he's unconscious. They cut his antlers off and clipped his wings as well… and they intend to come here after sundown and clip yours as well…"
"O-oh, god! I-is he breathing?" He looked up at Ivan with wide frightened eyes before looking for his partner.
"Shh shh, calm down." He soothes in a whisper, cupping Matthew's face in his hands gently to keep him from injuring himself by twisting around to see Kumajiro. "He is breathing, just unconscious. He has been unconscious since you were stabbed. I will bring you closer to him if you would like me to."
"P-please..."
Ivan nodded and stood, crouching down and scooping up Matthew and the coat. He carefully carried Matthew over and gently laid him down near enough to touch Kumajiro but he sat himself down in-between Matthew and the hippogriff in case Kuma lashed out upon waking up.
Matthew reached out and gently pets Kuma's head. Kumajiro groaned before he slowly opened his eyes to look at Matthew. The boy giggled softly. "Morning beautiful." Ivan watched the two of them quietly; worry for both of them clear on his face.
"Kuma says that his head hurts, feels light headed, and hates me." Matthew smiled knowing that the last one was just because of him being stabbed. The boy's eyes fell on Ivan. "Why the long face? We're all safe and sound."
Ivan's eyes lowered to look at his lap. "I apologize for not listening to you. If I had listened to you and we had found another way to get where we were headed we would not be here right now." Ivan spoke quietly. "Also, Kumajiro… I apologize. I was not able to keep them from cutting your antlers off or clipping your wings… I tried but there was no way for me to succeed in doing so and keep him safe at the same time so I made him the priority."
Kuma squawked and his head flung up, though that was a bad idea. His head was suddenly spinning inside, his head bobbed as he tried to balance himself before resting his head on his legs. He made a few sad chirps.
"I am sorry Kumajiro. I tried to keep them from doing it but I had to protect him." Ivan says quietly.
"Oh Kuma, don't be like that. They'll grow back next season..." Matthew tried to comfort the animal, but was still trying not to laugh. What bittersweet revenge. He wasn't going to be picked on to mate anymore. But once again his eyes fell on Ivan, he gave a kind smile before placing a hand on the man's lap. "It's alright, we're all alive and that's all that matters."
Ivan placed a hand on top of Matthew's and held it gently. "They will still be coming to clip your wings after sundown… and I do not know how long they will keep us here. But at least…" His voice faltered slightly.
Kuma shook his head low and gave him a gentle push with one talon foot on the shoulder. "Kuma says don't worry about it." Matthew translated as he held Ivan's hand tightly. "Let them clip them, I don't care, they're feathers. I'll grow them back in a month."
"At least I have ensured that both of you shall be safe. When I surrendered my terms were that we be kept in the same cell, that from that point on both you and Kumajiro would remained alive and unharmed, and that both your "flesh" and your blood was off limits to them." Ivan says, glancing up to look at Matthew with a soft smile though it was also a bit sad or maybe apologetic.
Matthew frowned at this. "But... What about you...?"
"I did not include myself in the terms of surrender." Ivan says lowering his gaze again. "I had already been intending to stay behind while you two went free but they did not react to my suggestion as I had been anticipating they would." He was quiet for a moment or two. "If anyone has to pay their "fees" of flesh or blood it will be me and only me. By flesh they meant forced mating with the king and I refuse to let you have to do that. I also refuse to allow them to take your blood or turn you into one of them. Which leaves me as the only person able to pay, therefore my safety is not ensured anyway but at least I have ensured the safety of the two of you." He glanced back up and gave a half smile, only looking up to see how Matthew would react to that news.
"Oh Ivan..." Matthew whispered sadly and lifted his left wing to rest against Ivan's back. It was as close he was getting right now to a hug. Moving his right would just hurt his wound. "I would not have minded paying in blood, I can heal myself. I was still scared when they were telling you the amount of blood needed... But I could have easily given it to them, even if we had to stay here for another week or so to pay it off. You didn't have to protect me like this..."
Ivan lowered his gaze, smiling a bit more. "I know. I didn't have to- and at one point in time I would have simply cut my losses and left the two of you behind after paying for myself…"
"You're a man with a big heart Ivan." Matthew smiled sweetly and brushed the nook of his wing against Ivan's cheek softly. "But look at me... Even if everything went wrong, I still don't know how to repay you for protecting me and Kuma. So thank you for saving us."
Ivan looked up at Matthew with a slight smile. "Stop saying that. I do not want to be repaid Motushka- ah I mean Matvey." Ivan says, covering his mouth with a hand and looking away embarrassedly. A light blush appearing on his face as he realized which form of Matthew's name he'd used in his native tongue.
"Hm..?" Matt tilted his head a bit. He wondered what had caused the man's face to turn pink. He blinked and realized that it must have been his wing. "O-oh, sorry. I guess that would feel a little weird. They can be like second hands and I forget sometimes." He pulled his wing away from Ivan's cheek, letting it just hang in the air.
Ivan shook his head. "Ah, no. That is not it. It felt...nice." He says removing his hand from his more and smiling a bit. "I just used a really improper form of your name in my native tongue. "Matvey" is your name. "Motya" is like a nickname to be used with friends and family. But "Motushka" is an ah..." He blushed more and chuckled embarrassedly a bit. "It is a name that generally only lovers or ah, mates would use with one another..."
"O-o-oh!" His face too, flushed deeply. Well this turned awkward very quickly. Kuma didn't even bother to do anything; he had already told Matthew many times to mate with the man and this just looked like a successful courting to him. Though, he'd prefer they wait until their free from this hell hole.
"Yes." Ivan chuckled a bit, face still pink. "I apologize. I am not sure why I used that form of your name. It just slipped out." He gave an awkward smile. "Ah, anyway. I do not know if they will be feeding us or not but they will be back at sundown to clip your wings. I do not know what will happen after that but ah, if you will allow me I would like to stay nearby when they clip your wings so they can not go back on their word and try to take you away."
"T-that's fine. I'd like it if you did. I would feel more safe." He smiled timidly. Though the light was already fading, the sun would be down soon.
Ivan nodded and smiled back a bit. "Also-" He stopped and shook his head. "Never mind, I will ask that later. How are your wings feeling? I laid you on top of them last night without thinking about it because I was worried about your wound…"
"A tad sore, but it will go away." He gave his wings a little jiggle. "It's like sleeping on your arm all night and I've fallen asleep on them many times before so it's nothing. Thank you for looking after me."
Ivan nodded. "It is no problem Matvey." He says with a soft smile. "They will be here soon, would you like to try sitting up now…?"
"Could you help me? I'm worried I'll open my wound, I just need a little longer, and I can fix it up like nothing happened." Ivan nods and gently and slowly helps Matthew sit up, propping him up against Kumajiro so they could be close to each other and so Matthew could lean up against something.
"Thank you." He then rubbed the hippogriff's back.
Ivan nodded and then moved his attention to the door of the cell, awaiting arrival of the vampires that would come with the nightfall. He shifted closer to Matthew, sitting next to him when he heard the footsteps approaching, waiting to see them.
"Good morning." The lackey said as he entered the room carrying a pair of shears and a bag. "It's time for a trim and food."
"Evening." Ivan greets him coolly, looking less than enthusiastic to see him again.
"All right bird boy, wings though the bars please."
Ivan gently scooped Matthew up before standing and walking over so Matthew could obey the lackey's words. Matthew easily got his left through, but his right was a bit tricky. "There."
The vampire looked the wings over for a moment before running his fingers though the feathers. Matthew jolted; whimpering from the spark of pleasure and his wings quickly recoiled, but ended up spreading across the bars. The vampire laughed at the reaction. "They're as soft as I thought, though an interesting find."
"Just clip them and be done with it." Ivan growls softly with a glare at the vampire.
"Oh I will, but nothing wrong with a little fun." He brushed his fingers through the feathers again, but when he got to the tips he brought the shears up to clip them. He repeated this over and over. And as he got closer to the base the stronger the reactions were from Matthew. His face was red and he was panting lightly by the time he was done with just one wing.
Kuma was hissing and clicking his beak threateningly from this vampire's disrespect. Only Ivan was permitted to touch them in such a way at this point in time.
"Enough "fun"!" Ivan snarls. "Clip the rest of them without your "fun" and be done with it!"
"But he's enjoying this, can't you hear it? Like being in heat." The lackey gave a smug smile and continued to clip the wings just the same as before.
Ivan snarled and glared at him viciously the entire time he did it. He so wished he was not so greatly outnumbered by the vampires or he would enjoy torturing the lot of them one by one, starting with the king and then the bastard in front of him.
When the lackey was done clipping them, Ivan helped maneuver the wings back inside the cell as quickly as he could without harming them.
"Aw, you're not any fun..." The lackey then made his way over to the gate to throw the bag of food inside.
Matthew was clinging to Ivan, breathing heavily, and trembling every now and then. Kuma got up to charge at the gate, just missing the other man.
Ivan held Matthew in one arm, going over and picking up the bag of food before walking to Kuma and resting a hand on him lightly in a silent request for him to back off. He then retreated back to where his coat was and set the bag of food down before slowly sitting down with Matthew in his lap, just holding the boy firmly and securely and letting him rest his head on his shoulder. Matthew bit his lip to keep any unwanted sound from coming out.
Kuma backed off after a moment and came to sit next to the pair. The hippogriff gave a small call and Matthew glared at him, making Kuma look away quickly.
Ivan said nothing and continued to just hold Matthew. "That is exactly why I didn't want them clipping your wings. I knew they'd pull some shit like that." He growls softly once he was sure that the vampire lackey had left, a soft scowl on his face.
"I-I-it's fine... I-it's over n-now." The guardian said softly.
Ivan nods, taking a moment to take the scowl off his face. "Are you all right?" He asks after a few moments, just as softly.
"I-I-I'll be j-just fine... I-I think..." Matthew swallowed nervously; he hadn't ever had this happen before so he didn't really know how he was.
"All right." Ivan says with a nod. "Let me know when you would like me to set you down, okay?"
Matthew gave a small nod before resting his head back down on Ivan's shoulder. Ivan just held Matthew quietly, humming a quiet tune to soothe the boy.
)*(
Francis had gotten quite behind on following his pupils and was making up for lost ground. When he ended up at Yao's rooms, he had a quick chat with him before realizing he'd just missed their departure and he followed after them. He frowned after he left though. They couldn't have gone back through Solstice; Francis had just come that way. And the other path was blocked. Which left… Oh no. Francis cursed and went back through Solstice as quickly as he could, racing towards the castle Arthur resided in. Being what he was made his travels considerably faster but never fast enough. It took him several long nights to reach his destination, briskly sweeping into Arthur's private rooms in the middle of one night.
He found that Arthur was sleeping soundly at his desk with his face on a book. He had most likely fallen asleep again in the middle of reading. Francis went over and prodded at him until he woke up. "Arthur wake up!" He says in a whisper shout.
The Mage jolted and magic quickly spun around him, papers flying though the air. Arthur was about to unleash his spells on the poor fool who spooked him. Francis ducked and moved back a few paces. "Arthur calm down! It is just me!" He exclaims in surprise.
"Francis! What the bloody hell do you think you're doing in my room!?" Suddenly all the candles were softly burning and lighting up the room.
"I came to ask for your help." He states bluntly. "For a few weeks I have been teaching Ivan and one of the people from your land how to dance and court and such. The boy's name is Matthew, do you know him?"
"Ivan! What the in- w-wait... Matthew? As in light blond wavy hair, as blue-violet eyes and has hippogriff as a partner, Matthew!?"
"Yes that one!" Francis nodded quickly.
"You better not have slept with him you damned pervert!" Arthur raged, getting ready to blast Francis.
"No! I haven't, the hippogriff and Ivan wouldn't let me anywhere near him. I only taught them how to dance and woo." Francis says with a scowl. "But that's beside the point!"
"WHAT! You're teaching them to dance and woo!? Have you finally lost the half a brain you have! Setting those two up like that, Matthew is too kind for his own good to know that man is nothing but evil! I-I knew it! You're nothing but that frozen king's spy! He doesn't want Ivan to take the throne so he had you set him up with a man so he could never take claim to it because he has no wife to bare his children!" He ranted.
"THEY WENT INTO THE DEADWOODS ARTHUR!" Francis shouts, losing his patience with the mage and cutting straight to the point.
Arthur froze for a moment, not sure how to take it. On one hand, he'd finally gotten rid of Ivan. But on the other... Poor Matthew, he couldn't just leave him there. "Wait... When did Matthew leave the village? And why is he with Ivan of all people!?"
Francis sighed. "From what they told me, by now they've been travelling together with the hippogriff for about two months." Francis took a deep breath. "He's just trying to help Ivan learn how to woo and act properly around women. He's been trying to help Ivan find a wife. When I found them Matthew was giving Ivan lessons on how to get compliments and such. I added in my expertise of wooing and then taught the two of them how to waltz. I've been checking up on their progress every two weeks or so but I was behind this time and missed them. So I travelled all this damn way to ask for your help, now are you going to help me or not?"
Arthur thought about it for a moment it was a lot to take in. "I-"
Suddenly his bedroom door was smashed in. "ARTHUR! My brother's missing!" Alfred heaved as he had ran all the way though the castle trying to find the Mage.
"Why does nobody respect my room!? Al- argh! All right Francis, I'll help, but only for Matthew. I don't give a trolls behind to what happens to Ivan."
Alfred was left stiff; he had no clue what was going on. But he understood two things. Matthew was in danger and it had something to do with Ivan. "I'm coming too!"
Francis turned to Alfred, summing it up quickly for him. "He's in the Deadwood forest." He turns to Arthur. "I know you don't care about Ivan but based on how those two act every time I'm near, I'm near positive they've become close enough friends that Matthew isn't going to want to leave Ivan behind so plan on rescuing all three of them you stuck up mage."
"I'll do what I bloody want to! You're asking me for help, but that doesn't make you the leader!" He snapped then turned to the guardian who was still in a state of shock. "Alfred! Get your silver, we're going vampire hunting."
Francis scowled at Arthur as the young knight bolted from the room. "Without me you would not even know where to begin looking! By the time you would have figured it out, they would have already died!"
"You want me to save that bastard!? Why? It's bad enough with the winter king we have right now!"
"Yes! He has changed Arthur! While I myself have not witnessed it fully, I can tell that being around such a kind soul for such a length of time has been doing him some good!" Francis protests. "Even Yao said that Ivan is vastly different from how he had been!"
"... I-I still don't believe you, but I'm not going to waste anymore time talking about it! We need to save Matthew." He turned and started to gather a few things to take with them.
"I know you don't, but if Ivan has protected that boy in any way while they've been in that place, we're saving all three of them Arthur."
"Fine, fine! Now out of my room! I need to change!" He snapped his fingers at the door, but not so much as sending the incubus a glance.
Francis snorts. "Fine, fine." He says walking out of the room.
)*(
About an hour later the three of them were ready to go and standing outside the castle gates. "I think it will be faster if we fly, than taking the road by horse" Arthur offered.
Francis nods. "Definitely."
"Alfred."
"Hm?" The young knight looked over at him.
"Do you think you can carry his fat ass?" He stuck a thumb out towards Francis. "I'd rather save as many spells as I can." Francis huffed at Arthur's insult but did not protest, as it would be much faster to travel that way than by his own way.
Alfred looked the incubus up and down. "I think he's a little heaver than Matt, but I don't think that will be a problem." Alfred gave a small chuckle and rolled his shoulders, as he got ready. His armor was specially made so his wings could hide and spread without any trouble. With one swift motion his gold-feathered wings were out, he gave them a flap or two to stretch them and ready himself for flight. "Ah, I can't remember the last time I carried someone with me. It will be a nice exercise."
Francis chuckled as well. "Well let us leave when we are ready then. The sooner we get there, the better it will be for them."
"Alright, let's fly!" He was quick to scoop Francis up in his arms, the standard princess hold. Francis chuckled, a bit amused at being held like this. Alfred's wings flapped fast to complete the take off, but once in the air, they flapped in great long strides. "Come on Arthur! You better not slow me down!"
Francis felt like tossing an insult at Arthur before he thought better of it. Insults could wait until after everyone was safe.
)*(
After a while of just holding Matthew in his lap silently, Ivan spoke quietly. "Would you like something to eat…? He brought us food. Though I do not know what kind of food is in the bag yet."
Matthew gave a weak laugh. "I doubt that they gave us food that they have here, I bet they just took something from our pack to feed us."
Ivan smiled a bit. "Probably, let us find out." He says, keeping a hold of Matthew with one arm and reaching over. He grabbed the bag and then carefully dumped the contents out onto his coat.
"Told you." Matthew giggled as a few fruits and some salted meat fell out.
"You did." Ivan smiled and picked up some of both and held it out to the boy so Matthew could pick which he wanted first without straining his injury to grab them.
"Thank you." He took some of the dried meat and began to eat. The meat would help him build up strength to heal.
Ivan ate one of the smaller pieces of meat before looking down at the small pile of food and then dividing it up into three sections, one for Matthew, one for Kumajiro, and one for himself. He gave pretty much all of the meat except for the piece he had already eaten to Matthew and Kumajiro. He then nudged Kumajiro's pile closer to the hippogriff before starting to eat some of the fruit he had put in his own pile.
Kuma gladly munched on the fruit and ate one thing of meat. Matthew took a while to eat just the one piece. "I wonder what's going to happen now..."
Ivan ate most of his food in the time it took Matthew to eat the one piece. When he'd finished eating he offered Matthew some more, waiting for him to take it before speaking. "I do not know." He says quietly. "I can only hope our dance instructor will realize we are missing from where we should be and get help." Even though they were already captive, Ivan was still a little wary in using names within earshot of the guards.
"That or... my brother has noticed that I'm no longer at home. I did tell him, but he forgets these things easily."
"Hopefully both, hm?" Ivan says with a soft smile.
Matthew smiled and gave a nod. Kuma tossed Ivan his other piece of meat and gave a small chirp.
"Hm?" Ivan looked over at the hippogriff, looking as if he were about to protest and insist Kumajiro keep it for himself before just smiling a bit and accepting it with a nod of thanks. He took it and ate it, quietly noting to himself that his own sleeves were absolutely filthy and dark with dried blood. Most of it was likely to be from Matthew's wound but Ivan knew he did have several wounds of his own; none of which he considered severe enough to worry Matthew by telling him about them. No, currently Matthew wasn't aware that Ivan was injured and for now Ivan would like to keep it that way so Matthew would not waste any energy on healing him when he needed his energy to heal himself more right now.
After he ate, Matthew closed his eyes and became very still. Ivan watched Matthew, thinking he was resting but after a moment it was clear that wasn't what Matthew was doing. "What are you doing?" He asks after another moment or two, tilting his head curiously.
Matthew took a slow deep breath before speaking. "I'm focusing my energy on my wound so it will heal faster."
"Ah." He gave a slight nod of understanding.
After a few minutes had passed, the guardian opened his eyes to inspect the wound. It was gone now; leaving only dried blood spread over his chest. Matthew smiled. "All better now..."
Ivan inspected it as well and smiled. "That is good. We are very lucky you can heal so quickly."
"Yes, but at a cost."
"Mhmm." Ivan nods.
"I think I will need to sleep for most the time, thought it's not like there's much to do. Are you injured?" Matthew asked.
Ivan nodded. "Yes, you should rest." He paused when Matthew asked about him though. "Ah, I am fine. You do not need to waste your energy healing me." He says with a smile.
"It is not a waste, especially if it is on you."
Ivan smiled a bit more, a very faint blush on his face. "Ah, still... Save your energy for yourself. I will be fine. I have had worse."
"What for silly? I may just end up sleeping anyway." He smiled up at him sweetly. "And it doesn't matter if you've had worse, pain still hurts."
"What about Kumajiro?" He asks tilting his head. "He passed out when you were stabbed."
Matthew took note of his change of subject, but answered away. "It's a long story..."
"We have more than enough time."
"All right. It was about eight years ago when I first found Kuma. My mother had taken us out into the nearby forest to spend time together and to get away from the village for a day." Kuma's ears had dropped slightly as Matthew begun the story. "I had gone for a walk into the deeper parts of the woods when I stumbled upon a little fawn. He was so little and weak, at first I thought he was a newborn, but when he didn't call for his mother as I approached I knew that his mother had either abandoned him or been hunted."
"At the start I just stayed with him and pet him. As time went on I wanted to take him home and look after him." Matthew scratched the bird's neck affectionately. "But he couldn't even lift his head. So... I healed him so he would have the strength to come with me. Though in doing so, I didn't realize that I had done something else in the process. I bonded us together, something that guardians do when they find a mate. I didn't mean to, but I was too young to realize it. The bond did wear off after four years, but I was still able to learn how to understand him before it ended. Now the only thing that remains is if one of us experiences something extremely emotional or physical, the other feels it. It will most likely be another year or so before the bond fully wares off."
When Matthew finished, he smiled a bit. "Ah, interesting. That explains a lot." He turned to look at Kumajiro. "So you are not injured much then?" Kuma shook his head. "That is good then. I was worried when you dropped so suddenly but I am glad you are all right." He smiled a bit. Kuma gave a huff and ruffled his feathers.
"So... Ivan, your wounds?" The guardian smiled and pulled at Ivan's shirt, trying to get a look underneath.
Ivan huffed softly. "All right, all right. Hold on." He says, stopping Matthew's hands. He removed his arm from around Matthew's waist and tugged his shirt off over his head carefully so he wouldn't pull his scarf off in the process. He had a few cuts on his torso and arms. None of them were very deep and all had stopped bleeding by now. "See? They are not bad at all."
Matthew placed his hands over Ivan's wounded arm and slowly the wounds began to close. Ivan let Matthew heal him, just quietly watching him as he did so. Matthew had been right, his arm did feel better after Matthew had healed it.
He moved to the other arm and soon it too was healed. He then placed his hands over Ivan's chest, fingers spread out gently. It was going take a little longer now. He was getting tired. Ivan let him heal the ones on his chest partway before he gently removed Matthew's hands from his chest, cupping them in his own. "Do not overexert yourself for my sake please." He says gently. "They will be fine for now. You can heal them the rest of the way after you have had some more rest."
"But..." He felt a little dazed.
"I will be fine." He let go of Matthew's hands and put his shirt back on, adjusting his scarf a little before gently picking Matthew up off of his lap and laying him down on his coat. "Rest now. You can finish healing me later, all right?"
Matthew grasped Ivan's arm. "Rest with me..."
Ivan smiled a bit and lay down next to him. "I will lay with you. But I will not rest until daylight."
"Kuma...?" The hippogriff looked over at him. "Do you mind standing watch, even if for a little while...?" Kumajiro nodded. "See...? Now you can sleep, I know you didn't rest at all when we were out cold."
"I didn't, I was worried how you two were faring. And I appreciate the offer but I do not wish to sleep before daylight. Even with him standing watch, I do not feel comfortable with going to sleep while vampires are up and about." Ivan smiled a bit more. "I have gone longer without sleep before during wartimes so I will be fine. I just do not like sleeping in hostile territory when the enemy is awake, alright?"
Matthew's eyes felt heavy and gave a weak nod. Ivan stayed up all night, encouraging Kumajiro to get some more rest after a while too. Matthew had curled up close to Ivan and slept peacefully. Kuma had taken the odd nap, but otherwise didn't really sleep. Ivan was still awake when daylight came.