on to the story!
warning : this story contains yaoi / boyxboy love
disclaimer : i do not own ben ten alien force
THE FAIRYTALE WAY
Chapter seven : The Vigilante
"And what a nice party you seemed to have had! Too bad that I had to...disperse it, you see? This masked stranger would like a little...private conversation with the Prince."
In a 'wush!' he was gone like a flash. Collin looked at the spot where the man had stood, but he was not there anymore. Until...
"Surprise!" came the hiss from behind the prince.
Collin gasped and before he could even turn around, or grip his sword, a right hand suddenly curled around him swiftly, placing the blade of a dagger against his throat threateningly, while a left hand caught both of the Prince's arms and locked them in prevention of an attack.
"Move, and your beautiful suit will be stained by the blood from your throat!" the invader hissed from behind, his larger and taller body pressed to Collin's back.
Colin swallowed carefully, as he did so, his trachea bumped painfully against the blade, causing him to hiss in anger.
"Scared, now are we? This masked man enjoys your pale face!" came the purr into Collin's ear, making the prince shudder slightly, "Do not waste your breath calling yourself 'masked man'; I know it's you, Gellaven, and I know what you are here for, but what I do not understand is why you are capturing me, rather than put your failing attempts of obtaining the Orb of Omnius into action!"
"Mhhm-hmm-hmm!"Gellaven hummed a chuckle, pressing the blade closer into the fair skin, as he whispered into the sweet-smelling hair, "Well, clever, aren't you? Do you know me so well that you can recognise me by my voice?"
"I could recognise you by a strand of your hair, Gellaven; I am one of those many people who want you dead at any cost!" Collin retorted.
"Says the man who has the blade to his throat! How brave of you!"
"Urgh, you disgust me."
"Come along now, why the sour attitude?" came the purr again, as the body pressed itself closer to Prince Collin's back, "I have been generous enough to spare every of your guests, now haven't I? I haven't harmed any of them."
"And for that alone, I thank you. But I demand you let me go!"
"Hmm, isn't it rather pathetic that every captured victim demands to be let go even though it is obvious that the captor would not do so at all?"
Collin looked away, cross and irritated. What was once starting to be a nice birthday party has ended with him being captured by the Assassin of the enemy kingdom!
"Pathetic is you, Gellaven, that you fear to fight like a man and face me, a man half your age!"
"Ho? Aren't you surprisingly verbal, today? The last time we met, you had nothing but slashes of your sword to entertain me with!" he sounded mirthful as he whispered, his breath tickling the strong neck of the Prince, his sharp blue eyes fixated on Collin's irresistible face.
"Yes, I'm afraid I must defend myself verbally for I cannot reach out to my sword, you mongrel!" Prince Collin snapped angrily. As flaming as his beauty was, his temper was also inflammable.
"Feisty as always! You temper may lead to your doom, young man!"
"My Uncle and General Helmour will soon help me bring your doom, Gellaven; they may have already finished escorting my guests safely and now will soon rush in to help me behead you, you monster!"
"Aha! Not when I have their beautiful prince at knife-point, will they?"
Collin froze. He narrowed his eyes on the floor as he hissed, "What are your intensions, Gellaven?!"
"Well, I have the most easy and obvious intensions, Collin! You see; I hold in possession the most valuable and beautiful prize in the whole of CrollouBelle - "
"You have not yet coveted the Orb of Omnius, Gellaven! Do not speak as if you already have owned it!"
"I was talking about you, Prince!" he grinned at which Collin's face turned dark, "You, being the precious last blood of the Laquinelle family , all helpless and against a blade in my hands, not a leaf in this kingdom will move unless I will it! Or they shall attend your funeral where you body is amalgam of torn pieces!"
"I'm not afraid to die! I have taken the oath to protect the family heirloom with my life!" Collin retorted angrily. But the man behind him only found this more amusing.
"You are not, I know that well. But your Uncle and the rest of the CrollouBelle are! They will do whatever I say, once they know that your life dangles at the tip of my fingers!"
"What do you imply? You are to use me?!"
"Let me explain clearly; once my men have finished distracting your men, I shall let your kingdom know that I have their precious, beloved prince in capture," he breathed in the delicates scent emanating from Collin's neck, "And I only have a single simple request for them; to let me leave this Palace happily with Orb of Omnius as ransom. There. How simple could that be?"
"This only further proves you're a coward! Unable to fight, you resort to such lowly measures!" Collin hissed in disgust.
"Do not speak so sharply, or I shall have to behead you this moment!" Gellaven hissed into Collin's ear, pressing the blade tantalisingly closer.
Collin smirked smartly, "Would you? Then what for will my people pay ransom? My dead body?"
"Mhhm-hmm-hmm! Clever, aren't you?" Gellaven, whispered, his lips brushing teasingly over the shell of Collin's ear. The prince shuddered, his face turning an ill shade of ivory.
"What guarantee do I have that you will let me live after you have obtained your ransom?" Collin asked. He had no plan in mind, but he wanted to stall the invader and somehow think about how to save the heirloom this man was soon to steal from CrollouBelle. It was his duty to defend it, like the many before him, and he would do it even if he had to risk his youthful life.
"Well, I wouldn't let you go that easily; after all, it is not always that a prize of the eyes like you comes into my possession. Maybe I would toy with you a little before I finish you off!"
Collin clenched his teeth in irritating fury, his eyebrows furrowing in hatred. "You perverted monster! You wouldn't even leave a man alone?!"
Gellaven smirked sly, running the cold tip of the blade across the prince's jaw, "Haven't you heard, Collin? They say you are so irresistible that even men crave for you! I can only agree vehemently; I prefer women, but when I see you, my morality merely melts away..."
Collin gulped again, his stomach churning in sudden fear. "How disgusting!" he hissed.
"Oh, even you're ill expressions are marvellous to behold!" Gellaven spoke, using his dagger-clutching hand to nudge Collin's face to his left, where Gellaven already gazed at him.
"Since, my prince, my men are still occupied with their work, I say I shall have a little fun meantime..." Gellaven used his dagger to rip off the black cloth he wore around his head, to reveal his actually handsome face, with their clefted jaws and high cheekbones, strong nose, and smirking lips. Dark navy blue hair spilled around him, with smelt oddly of blueberries. Rather odd for an assassin to smell that way, but it was a part of attracting his victims.
Thankfully, Collin felt none of the man's charm, or scent, attracting him; he wanted to drive his sword right through his heart and watch the villain die painfully. But unfortunately, Gellaven wanted 'fun'.
Just as Gellaven forcefully held Collin's face against his will, and brought his puckered lips towards the Prince's...
"HALT!"
A blue eyebrow shot up in surprise as the man looked up in direction of the strong determined voice that seemed to have come from one of the French windows that were shattered previously. Collin, who had held his breath in disgusted terror, moved his eyes to that direction too. The sight at the window was heavenly to the prince.
A masked vigilante, with a long green cape billowing in the wind swimming in through the window whose sill he stood on. A wide green hat of the same shade covered most of his face, except a green eye that even Collin and Gellaven could see clearly, glittering in the light of the chandeliers above. A long slender sword was pointed in their direction, held in a white-gloved hand.
"I, the Green Shadow, command you, invader, to release the Royal Heir from your impure clutches!" he spoke strongly, he had modulated his voice a little deeper than Benjamin's would be, lest the prince recognise him.
Collin could not believe his eyes; he finally was in the presence of the famed Green Shadow! His heart soared, maybe this was the same felt by those who were in danger and saw the Man in Green as their saviour.
"Oh? The famed Green Shadow?" Gellaven remarked mirthfully, "I have heard about you from my spies; a protector of the people, aren't you?"
"For every one in CrollouBelle who need help, I will be there. Unhand the Prince!"
"Not likely," Gellaven smirked, "But I am willing for a duel if you may?" he used the black cloth, which he had previously covered his face with, to tie Prince Collin's arms behind him. Once secured, Gellaven pulled out his own black sword, brandishing it towards the vigilante, "Well?"
"My honour is to save the Prince; not to play with the enemies for their entertainment!" he hissed, jumping down from the high sill to the floor in a fluid motion, his cape fluttering around him beautifully. He stepped towards the two who were a little far away, but that moment, Gellaven directed his sword at Collin threateningly, as he spoke to Green Shadow, "Unfortunately, I have no time for this, I have a very powerful heirloom to steal you see, so, why don't you play with my men meantime?"
In cue, as Gellaven had sensed it, several of his black-dressed men swarmed in, surrounding Green Shadow. Frowning angrily, he tried to dodge them and chase for the fleeing man and prince, but he many men pounced on him all at once. The vigilante had no choice but to sword-fight with each and every one, trying to kill them as fast as he could so that he wasn't delayed in his rescue of the heirloom and the last blood.
Meanwhile, Gellavan had slung the tied-up prince over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and was running effortlessly towards the spiralling stairs down the Hall. Although he was a member of the enemy kingdom, he knew the Royal Laquinelle Palace's interiors well, for he had attacked this Palace numerous times in order to covet the Orb, but each time one or the other matter, or man, had subdued him to defeat. This time however, he was adamant for victory. He knew that a few floors above them, was the floor that had the room which protected eh Orb of Omnius. Rather than skip up the numerous stairs with an uncooperative and squirming 'companion' on his shoulder constantly hissing for freedom, he decided to put his magic to use.
In a single effort of mind command, he shot up the gap in between the axis of the spiralling stairs, thereby saving him the time and trouble. He zoomed up with blue magic propelling him from his feet, his equally blue hair fluttering in a banner behind him. The prince tried to squirm further, but this man was strong by magic and by bulk, and his iron-strong arm kept his firm hold of the raven's waist no matter how much he tried to loosen himself, or his tied hands.
Down below, the Green Shadow had just succeeded slicing through the last of the few men who had surrounded him. He knew ten times the number were outside, rampaging the kingdom, distracting the army and the General from the real attack, and this was his chance, his honour, to prove his worth of a protector of CrollouBelle and its founding family's bloodline.
Whipping the silvery blade of his sword that dripped in blood, he growled under his breath, "I shall make that man pay!" and he shot for the stairs like a half-comet-half-human, a line of glittery green sparkles following and fading away as he zoomed.
Back up at the sixth floor, the invader grinned ear-to-ear as he stared at the Hallway, one of the golden rimmed doors led to the room had housed the Orb of Omnius. It would take a large amount of spiritual magic to break the barriers erected to protect it, but Gellaven had come prepared and aware. The only thing he hadn't suspected was the vigilante and it was irritating him to no end.
"You beastly man! Unhand me! I am not a woman to be carried about!" the prince struggled rebelliously, the man just shook his head, "Now, now! No haste, I shall soon set you free...into Heaven after I kill you, which in turn happens only after I give you a taste of Gellaven's Hell."
Prince Collin had no more patience to bear with the man's perverted sneers. His anger fuelled his physical form, and his knee suddenly buckled and dug straight into Gellaven's abdomen. The man gave out a strangled gasp, doubling forward, almost dropping the kidnapped victim, but he maintained his balance, and his grip on Collin.
"Why you little! Where did your princely manners go?" the man hissed, tightening his arm around the slim waist, making Collin choke breathlessly in pain as Gellaven's bicep and triceps crushed him gently.
Seeing that he had silenced the rebellious youth for the moment, Gellavan looked around in the bright golden Hallway, "Now, let me see, ah yes, the fifth room to the right, isn't it?"
"It may be but you shall never pass!" came another voice, making the invader turn around. He did not even finish turning when he felt the Prince plucked out of his grip in a sudden movement.
"What the!" by the time Gellaven blinked twice, the Prince and the Green Shadow stood several feet away.
Collin turned to the shorter man, "You are younger than me!" he exclaimed gently, "And slimmer too!" The prince, who had imagined the vigilante to be a taller muscular version with a deep manly voice, was astounded to see in close quarters the slim built and the elegant height of the younger man. The Green Shadow smiled from behind the collar of his cape, "So I am, Your Majesty, but bravery knows no age!"
Collin was agreeing with a nod and smiled back, making the Benjamin hidden within the cape fluster a little, but he had no time for happy conversations. There was a man standing yonder who needed to be brought in to the Dark Dungeons of the kingdom.
With a single movement of Green Shadow's sword, the ties on the prince's wrist were severed. Freeing his arms and shaking away the cloth pieces, Collin bestowed a very furious glare upon the unshaken Gellaven.
"You, sir, are in very disastrous trouble! For your attempt to kidnap me, the Royal Prince himself, you shall be hanged for treason!"
"Hahaha! That only happens when you capture me, is it not?" Gellaven had the audacity to stand akimbo in a sly fashion. Collin wanted nothing more than to kill him then and there. He lashed out his hand and pulled out his long slim sword from it's sheath that hung at his waist.
"I challenge you, that even if I shall not be able to covet the Orb of Omnius tonight, I WILL escape!"
"It is two swords against one, Gellaven! You shan't escape this time!" Collin hissed, gripping the silver hilt of his precious sword tighter till his knuckles were a shade of yellow.
"Really? Two sword wielded by two young boys! How frightful!" the man smirked.
Collin hissed angrily, "Why I ought-" but the vigilante added, "Yes, two young boys, but your fate I shall seal!" he then turned a little to Collin, whispering, "Your Highness, you do know how to wield a sword?"
Collin smirked in reply, "Do I know it? I master it!" he flashed a proud smile, and the green eyes, hidden in the depths of the costume, sparkled in hope. "Then, we shall win, my Prince!"
- End of Chapter -
so many more to come!
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