Chapter 23
The Fallen Prince
He wasn't dead yet, but it sure felt like he was. Tornear Burke glared up at Borsen Stonetail as the large otter dragged him through the Twilight Serpent's hallways. He was here. He was inside the ship. And to him, at least, it felt like he wouldn't ever get back out. He pulled and clawed out of desperation, trying to get Borsen to release him. In response, Borsen let out a growl and slammed Tornear against the wall. The weasel coughed and sputtered as Borsen grabbed the chains and pulled as hard as he could. For a moment, Tornear couldn't breathe. Borsen's face twisted with glee as Tornear struggled and clawed at Borsen's wrists. "Stop tryin' to get away," the sea otter growled. "Ye can't do anything. Aye?"
Borsen finally released Tornear. The weasel fell to the floor and gasped for air. Before he could get his breath back, Borsen yanked his chains again and forced him to walk. Amidst the rapid fear and panic Tornear felt, he also felt enraged. He's literally pulling me around with a collar around my neck. Can this get any more degrading?
Tornear looked around for a way out, but he despairingly realised during the walk over here that there was no way he could get away from Borsen. Any attempt at escaping or fighting back just led to a beating or a choking until he calmed down. The otter didn't seem to mind him fighting back and in fact, seemed to enjoy it. By the time the pair arrived at the ship, Tornear was tired. He was tired of missing his friends. He was tired of Borsen's punishments. He was tired from walking to the ship. But most of all, he was tired of feeling like he was in danger. He just wanted to be somewhere safe.
"Here we are," Borsen announced almost singsongingly as they arrived at a door. Tornear looked ahead fearfully as Borsen opened it. The only thing he could see inside was a chair and suspicious red and brown splatters. Tornear's heart started to race as he noticed the scuffs on the floor next to the chair as well as a few claw marks on the walls. With one powerful movement, Borsen swung the chains, tossing Tornear inside and shutting the door immediately. Tornear groaned from the pain and rolled on his side. He heard something latch on the other side. Great. This room had a lock, too.
A desperate growl escaped Tornear's lips as he ran towards the door. "Hey! You bastard! Get me out of here! You can't leave me here!" Panic rose in his stomach. His vision grew dark. Rage and fear boiled in his head. He screamed and slammed his fists against the door until his throat was raw. "Let me out! Let me go! I don't want to be trapped in here! You will get what's coming to you! You can't do this to me!"
Eventually, Tornear pulled himself away from the door, panting heavily. He needed to get out and maybe kill Borsen while he was at it. He took a moment to steady his breathing and he looked around. Unfortunately, besides the chair, the room was empty. There was no way out.
With the door shut, the only light that came into the room came from under the door. Not that it mattered. Tornear moaned anxiously as he slumped against the wall and sat down. Hopelessness weighed on him like a badger on his chest and he glanced towards the door. He was terrified. What was the reason the wildcat would want him alive? No, scratch that. Who would want him to be captured alive? It's not them, right? When I think of the only beasts that'd want me alive, I can only think of…
A wave of nausea flowed through Tornear as he thought back to his old castle. He didn't escape peacefully. It was very noisy. Everybeast knew he had ran away. Tornear ran a paw over his right ear and the gash that had been created in it. He was lucky to escape mostly unharmed save for that cut. It's where he got his name too. That's right. I'm not Rykeld, anymore. I'm Tornear. I have nothing to do with those beasts back at the castle, nor would I want to. Why did we constantly have to be wary of other cities and nations? I couldn't even feel safe within my own family! Why couldn't everything just be calm, damn it?
Resentment and anger boiled over in his mind until he elbowed the wall behind him with a snarl. I left them behind! I don't have anything to do with them anymore! Why am I still being involved in their stupid quarrels?!
Tornear let out a growl as he stood up. He needed to get out of here. He needed to find Bolgash and get back to Vhynias, Gurnilal and Crookedfang. In desperation, Tornear grabbed the chair and slammed it against the door as hard as he could. It didn't budge an inch. He continued slamming it against the door over and over again. It damaged the chair more than the door.
In his mind, he thought about Vhynias. The fox gave them hope where there was none. Even though he was quiet and often awkward, he had a conviction to protect him. It made him feel safe.
He thought about Crookedfang. The rat was obnoxious and dumb, but he could be quite affectionate and amiable. He felt like his little brother sometimes.
He thought about Bolgash. Sure, he and the stoat fought before he got captured, but she treated him in a way that made him feel normal and never walked eggshells around him. She made fun of him and cracked jokes, and it annoyed him sometimes, but it was always in a playful way rather than the malice he had known.
And finally, he thought about Gurnilal. More than anything, they kept each other calm. When he arrived at Vulcan's ship, not knowing anybeast or how anything worked, she helped him. She took time to get to know him and treated him nicely. More than anybeast, he wanted to see her again.
Tornear snarled as the chair smashed into pieces in his paws. He let out a frustrated growl and slammed his fists against the door again.
But it was futile. The door didn't break.
Tornear whimpered as he leaned against the door. Sure, he was safe, but his friends weren't. They were probably running around terrified outside.
Eventually, Tornear gave up. With a resigned whine, he lay down on the floor and shut his eyes. After all, he couldn't do anything now, and he wouldn't be able to do anything for a long while unless somebeast freed him. He didn't know how long that would be, but he guessed that he wouldn't be leaving this room for a very long time.
Borsen smiled to himself as he listened to Tornear's struggling cease. That high had returned and with it came an excitement he hadn't felt since Thaddeus was torn apart with his own two paws. The otter chuckled, unable to help himself as he unlocked the door and peered inside. Tornear's prone form lay on the floor. Absolutely pitiful. Just as the weasel looked up, he shut the door and locked it before he could run out. The sea otter let out a sigh. Even though Tornear was in an empty room and couldn't do anything, Tiviko wanted Borsen to be extra careful and grab some rope. Not that Borsen was complaining. First, he had to relay a message to Ayers, the ferret put in charge of the ship while Tiviko was away.
"Marls. Hurry up an' play sometin'," Kajiir groaned as Marlus rifled through his hand of cards. The short pine marten glared at the other two beasts sitting in the infirmary, trying to intimidate them into playing a low card. Not that it ever worked.
Ayers snickered and set down a card. "No way he's gonna beat this. Whataboutcha, Kaj? Ye seem pretty eager t'get this round over with."
Marlus scoffed. "Kaj's face's always like that. Now, prepare to see the master at work. None o' y'all are gonna beat this."
"What didja do?" Kajiir asked plainly.
"Somethin' great," Marlus answered.
Ayers narrowed her eyes at the pine marten. "Marls, y'know how to play the game, aye?" She asked condescendingly.
"Yes! I do! Highest card wins" He yelled indignantly.
Ayers smirked. "Then why are ye so bad at it? C'mon, ye always just play yer card from highest to lowest."
Marlus scoffed. "It worked. I won the first three rounds."
"Ye burned through yer high cards and ye haven't won a round since."
"Shut it, Ayers! I'm gonna win!"
Kajiir narrowed their eyes at the ferret. "Didja play a high card, Ayers?"
Ayers shrugged. "Who knows?"
Kajiir sighed and set down a card. On the count of three, they flipped their cards over and looked at what they played.
Marlus played a 7 (to nobeasts surprise).
Kajiir played a 13.
Ayers played a 9.
As Kajiir collected the played cards, Marlus let out a cackle. "Ha! You suck, Ayers!"
Ayers gazed around at everyone's hands and snickered. "Hey, Marls? Y'know that ye can't win anymore? How 'bout ye stop laughin'."
"What? Why?" Marlus asked in irritation.
"Don't tell 'im," Ayers laughed. "I wanna see if he gets it."
Kajiir let out a sigh and leaned their head against a fist. "Okay. Marls. Yarr highest card's a 6. Even if Ayers an' I play our lowest cards an' go up, ye can only git one more point. Ayers an' I already have two points. If we keep playin' lowest cards, Ayers wins wit' seven points."
"... Explain."
"Oh my lord, I hate you so-" Kajiir grumbled with annoyance. "Marls. Stop bein' stupid. Look at d'cards."
"I'm not bein' stupid! Call me stupid one more time and I'll skewer the lot o' ya!"
Ayers booed Kajiir and gave a thumbs down. "C'mon, stop tellin' Marlus things."
"I want him to stop being dumb," they responded bluntly.
Marlus snarled and slammed his fist on the bed. "Call me dumb one more time an' I'll beatcha black an' blue!"
Ayers shrugged. "Ye've lost every single game we played today."
"That's it!" Marlus roared. He tried to get out of bed, much to Kajiir's irritation.
"Bot' o' ya, calm down. Marlus. Lie back down," Kajiir snapped sternly.
The infirmary was quickly filled with a cacophony of arguing as the three (mainly Ayers and Marlus) yelled and fought. Kajiir tried their best to stop the pair, but Ayers just kept provoking Marlus. They kept going until there was a harsh knock on the door.
The three immediately stopped and turned towards the entrance. Kajiir turned towards Ayers, who was sitting closest to the door. After she didn't move, Kajiir sighed and got up to open it. To their surprise, standing on the other end was none other than Borsen. A look of confusion crossed the ferret's face as they gazed up at Borsen. "What're ya doin' here?"
Borsen gazed blankly around the room and asked, "where is Ayers?"
Kajiir nodded and stepped aside. Immediately, the acting captain stood up and saluted the sea otter. "Aye! Ayers here, at yer service. What can I do for ye?"
"Tiv has a message. The fox. Vhynias. He or somebeast from his group will be here soon. Kill them." Borsen's words were short and to the point, but the three beasts in the infirmary realised the implications of that right away.
Ayers smiled. "Huh. Who got captured, then?"
"Tiviko said his name was Rykeld."
"Ooooh, the weasel." Ayers crossed her arms with a grin. "Ye can count on us, Borsen. Oh, hey, speakin' o' which, while yer here, wanna play cards with us?"
The sea otter's face twitched before answering with a sharp "no."
Ayers scoffed playfully. "Stop being a grump. Take a break and-"
Borsen slammed his heavy paw against the wall, sending a crack through the air. Ayers immediately shut up and backed away, still smiling, however. The sea otter let out a growl before asking, "where is the rope?"
"The rope?" Ayers laughed. "We're on a ship. Yer gonna have to be a bit more specific. The rope? Yer talkin' like we have only one rope that we-"
Borsen pulled Ayers closer by her green tunic with a wild glare in his black eyes. "Tell me where the rope is. Now."
"There's some in the storage room down the hall," Ayers quickly answered. The sea otter let her go and walked away without another word. As soon as Borsen was out of earshot, Ayers turned towards her friends with a grin and laughed. "Oh, so tetchy. What's up his tail?"
Kajiir rolled their eyes. "Do ya have to do dat wit' every new crew member?"
"What?" Playin' cards is a good way t'know how somebeast thinks," she replied, winking condescendingly in Marlus' direction. "Anyway, did ye hear what he said? Rykeld's been captured."
"Huh," was all that Kajiir said.
"Didja read his file? Or any from that group?"
Kajiir placed a paw on their chin as they thought. "Marlus asked me t'read 'em t'him a while back, but my mind's a bit fuzzy."
"Allow me to enlighten ye, then," Ayers pulled Kajiir in with an arm and gestured with the other. "Tiv wrote files on every prisoner, and the way I see it, that group is like an old brick tower. Take out one brick, the entire tower crumbles."
Kajiir nodded and immediately headed for their crossbow. Ayers placed a paw on their shoulder and stopped them with a strangely lighthearted smile. "Hey, what didja say happened to ye and Marlus outside?"
Tornear was startled awake by the sound of the door opening. Instinctively, he stood and backed up against the wall, staring at the beast illuminated by the light outside. Borsen stood in the doorway, his brown fur seemingly glowing in comparison to the dark room. Tornear's breath picked up. His eyes landed on the coil of rope that hung from the otter's shoulder.
Really? You want to make me feel even more hopeless? I'm already trapped in a room. I can't do anything but sit here. You're really rubbing it in by tying me up? What a great use of time. I'm sure that-
His thoughts were interrupted as Borsen charged at him, ramming his body against the wall with a crack. Tornear let out a cry of pain as Borsen grabbed him, slamming him into the ground one, two times. The weasel could feel hot blood running down his head. He gazed up in a daze at the sea otter towering over him. Panicked, Tornear tried to crawl away. It was pointless. Borsen knelt down on his chest, pulling the rope taut with his paws.
In the next moment, Tornear felt all the air get sucked out of his lungs as Borsen wrapped the rope around his throat. Although the room was dark, he could see the otter's face was wide with glee as he thrashed and swung the rope from side to side, pulling Tornear along like a ragdoll. The weasel desperately grabbed and clawed at the otter, trying so hard to scream, snarl, yell, or do anything to save him.
But Borsen didn't relent. In fact, it only spurred him to pull tighter. Tornear's body spasmed and jerked as he tried to gasp for air, his eyes wide in panic and disbelief. Even in the dark room, everything was painted in red. Borsen's face grew harder to make out. He could feel himself growing weaker.
As he felt his consciousness fading away, he thought about Gurnilal. More than anything, he wanted to tell her that he was sorry for leaving her behind. He knew neither of them acted the best without each other. Although he wishes he was more adamant about not working with the woodlanders, he kind of wanted to apologise to Miena, too. Maybe if he controlled his emotions better, they would be in better circumstances. There were more beasts he wanted to apologise to, but by then, it was too late.
As his body weakened, all of the rage, terror, and remorse he felt mere seconds ago diminished until all that remained was a dull sense of realisation. He wasn't taken to the ship because somebeast wanted him alive. He was taken back to be used as bait.
With one last tug of the rope, Tornear's body went limp.
Even though Borsen was certain Tornear was dead, he continued pulling on the rope just to make sure. Eventually, he let go. The otter panted heavily, wiping his forehead with a paw. As much as possible, he had to control himself from tearing Tornear open right then and there, but Tiviko wanted no blood to be spilt for this kill. Borsen stood up, admiring his handiwork for a moment before turning towards the door. Tornear was dead. He could head to the tower that Tiviko pointed out to him. He stopped. A small grin crossed his face as he turned back. Grabbing Tornear's chains, he gazed up at the rafters. Borsen had also read the files. He knew how much Tornear meant to his friends, and if this weasel was meant to lead those friends to the ship, he wanted to leave one small surprise in case they managed to find his corpse.
A minute later, Tornear's body dangled silently from the ceiling. With one final giggle from the exuberant otter, he closed the door, turning this room into the weasel's coffin.
