Ellipsis awoke the next morning, feeling pleasant, at about seven AM, a couple of hours until the airship was scheduled to depart.

 

Drake didn’t sleep the entire night. He spent the night debating actually suffocating Pricilla with a pillow.
Pricilla slept soundly… She didn’t wake up till nine when Drake freed himself by falling off the bed when he’d started to fall asleep.
“… ow.” He grumbled from the floor, “… This keeps happening to me.”

“Why are you on the floor?” Pricilla yawned.

Drake hissed as a response.

Pricilla smiled till she saw the clock. “Oh no! The airship will be here soon!”

“YES!”

Pricilla quickly got up and ran to her room; she needed to see her guests off, it would make her look bad not to.

Drake changed clothes and grabbed his bow, dragging himself out the door. Should have just killed her. I’d never have to go through this again… where the hell is the ship?

 

Ellipsis was on his way up from breakfast. He had pretty much missed dinner because for some reason they had beached a whale right next to him, and had only just got his appetite back. The ship was due very shortly, but he had a few things he had to pack in his room for the servants to take down to the ship. That's when he noticed Drake in the corridor.

“Ah, good morning, Drake.” Ellipsis said amicably with a smirk, “Sleep well?”

 

Drake glared out of the corner of his eye. His tired, blood-shot eye, “Shut. Up.”

 

“What were you up to all night?” Ellipsis asked, as he looked Drake over. It was fairly obvious he hadn't slept at all. Then the smirk came back. “Actually, I don't think I want to know.”

 

“You’re a pervert. Don’t you have things to steal or something?” Drake grumbled, trying to stay awake.
He leaned back against the wall and looked at the clock, willing it to speed up time.

 

“Don't you have to be saying farewell to the dear Empress?” Ellipsis countered with a sneer.

 

Speak of the devil. “Oh! Good! You’re still here!”

Drake groaned and slunk to the floor. “If I give you permission, can’t you just kill me and get it over with? Please?”

 

“No, but I have business, so...” Ellipsis said, and attempted to walk past the two of them to get to his room.

 

Pricilla pulled Drake to his feet and out of Ellipsis’s way. “Come on, Drakey, I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“… Joy.” Drake sighed as she dragged him down the hall.

He followed her down the hall, and around a corner… that’s when he realized. “If the airship will be ready to depart so soon, why are we going in the opposite direction?”
He heard that annoying little click again. “NO!”

“Yes! This way you get to stay longer!”

“NOOO!!!!!!”

“Stop screaming, no one pays attention anymore. And don’t try breaking that post, it’s four inches thick and completely steel. Now! I have to make sure the carriage is ready for my relatives.” She then grinned and giggled, “Don’t you go anywhere!” She patted his head and skipped off.

“No! Pricilla! Pricilla this is not funny!”

 

Of course, Ellipsis paid no attention to the screams. They were pretty common. Nor did Dennis pay any attention; however, he did wander into the room where Drake was... detained, completely by coincidence.

“You!” Dennis snapped and pointed, half in shock. Dennis was split equally between hating and wishing death upon Drake, somehow hoping to get his revenge, and being afraid of him.

 

Drake’s eyes widened and he backed away as far from possible. “You stay away from me, you tub of lard!” He snarled his warning.

 

Dennis growled at the insult. What poor company Pricilla kept! Even if Drake was royalty, it was still rude to insult a noble! Though, Pricilla was really no better... They were definitely made for each other.

That's when Dennis noticed that Drake was handcuffed to the pipe. Or was it some kind of part of the building's structure? Dennis had no idea. “Why are you cuffed to the pipe?” Dennis asked, his tone betraying slight amusement, and the nature of the thoughts beginning to swirl in his simple mind.

 

Drake hissed and snarled, trying to be threatening enough that Dennis would leave. “It’s to keep me from immediately killing you, now back off!”

 

Dennis, remembering that time in the pool where Drake had somehow hurt him without touching him, stayed far enough back to feel safe.

“Aren't you supposed to be catching the airship?” He growled, not really believing Drake's answer.

 

“Yes… I am…” Drake had a briefly disturbing thought about what would happen to the airship if Dennis and the whale man were on it; the ship would fall from the sky.
Then he remembered Pricilla mention a carriage and instantly felt sorry for the poor horses.

 

“Then what are you doing here?” Dennis sneered, and then pointed out the arch-shaped window behind Drake; the airship could just be seen coming in to land.

 

Drake looked out the window and panicked. Airships were never here long, they’d land and take off again in three minutes when possible.
“PRICILLA!” Drake shouted again. “THIS IS NOT FUNNY!”


Pricilla, however, thought it was funny. She hummed as she saw her guests off, happy as ever.

 

 

Dennis started to laugh, really laugh, he was having stomach cramps and was doubled over he was laughing so hard, as what had happened to Drake started to make sense even to him.

He walked over to the window once he could do so, and wiped some tears of laughter from his eyes. “Better shout louder,” he suggested. “Looks like people are starting to board.”

 

“No! No!! NO!!!” Drake screamed.

It could be months before an airship came back, even longer if he waited for one going the right direction… which he wouldn’t.
He looked back at the post, finding it to be exactly like Pricilla said. Drake had the false hope that perhaps Pricilla really was just joking, and any second now would walk back in and let him go.
After a minute or so passed, he had the hope she’d come back and say she was kidding and had told the pilot to wait.
… After the engines turned on, Drake realized she wasn’t going to, and even if she was going to, by the time she got back here the ship would be gone.

“I hate your entire family!” Drake snarled and pulled at the cuffs.
He got closer to the post and jerked his hand back, faster, harder. He did it once more and, to his surprise, the chain snaps.
“Ow!” He hissed, holding his wrist.

In the books and plays, people broke shackles all the time without pain, but that… had hurt.
He grabbed his bow and took off, out the door, and down the hall, watching out the window.

“Oh, stay on the ground, stay on the ground!” He begged.

If it took off… he’d fly after it. Drake decided that the moment he saw it starting to rise. Eclipse would be mad as Hades, people might see and Eclipse would have to make them forget, but… there was no way he was going to stay in Shivel!
He stopped in front of the stairs to see Pricilla standing at the bottom of them. She looked up and looked shocked.
Drake took off running again.
He was starting to panic; he couldn’t get downstairs and board… But he saw a balcony.
Drake ran onto the balcony and jumped, his talons grew and sunk into the wooden side of the ship the instant he hit it and pulled himself up, onto the deck.

“DRAKE!” Pricilla screamed from the balcony where she’d chased him.

Drake gave a sigh of relief and checked to be sure his bow wasn’t damaged, then he headed for his room. He fell asleep the minute he hit the bed and did not wake up once the entire trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drake woke up and looked around to see snow… He didn’t remember having fallen asleep.
“Augh!” He shouted, jumping up. “Cold!” To solve this, for a reason even he didn’t know, Drake jumped into a tree and was pretty sure Vanda was laughing at him.

 

Severo's head shot up from where he had been staring into the fire. It was now completely dark. The only light was from the fire, stars, and the full red moon. The sky was completely clear, so the view of the stars was breathtaking. Severo was illuminated only by the fire, so his black fur seemed to glow orange and move. But it was only an illusion from the flickering flames.

“You a-alright, lad?” He choked, having to bite his lip with his sharp fangs to keep from snickering.

 

“I hadn’t realized… and the… I don’t… with the cold… and… … yes, I’m fine.” Drake rolled his eyes and jumped down.

 

“You should call it a night,” The wolf-man suggested. He didn't notice the cold quite as much, but he knew from experience that humans did. There were a lot of stories that were probably true of humans dying from exposure in this place… The young prince was a fire element; when Chaucer had found that out he’d told Severo all about the risks and dangers that went with that… cold was a big threat. Drake wasn't even near the fire. Perhaps he had been foolish to leave the boy to sleep there, but he’d looked so tired...

 

Drake tried to start a few fires on his own, holding his hand up and trying to ignite a spark, but it wouldn’t work… couldn’t even get a tiny flash of a spark. It was his own fault; he knew how careful he had to be out here. “Yeah… maybe I should.” He sighed and walked over to his little tent, crawled in and went back to sleep.

Vanda snuck over and stole some of Severo’s food.

 

“Hey!” Severo snapped at the bird, but only halfheartedly. He took it as a sign that he should go to bed too. The fire was slowly starting to go out, and it was only getting colder. He may have had a fur coat... and another coat, but the cold was still starting to get to him.

“Where are you sleeping?” He asked the bird, as if he expected an answer.

 

Vanda looked over at Drake’s tent, then back at Severo. Then she continued eating the food. Drake had already fed her, but if there was going to be food lying around… might as well make sure it didn’t go to waste.

 

“Hmm, okay then...” Severo said quietly, and then started to poke around in the fire with a stick, rearranging the burning wood so that it burned a little better, and so that he was sure it was safe to leave unattended. Once he was satisfied with everything, he crawled into his own tent.

 

 

 

 

Drake woke up and slunk out of his tent..., which was on fire. “... ...” He looked at Vanda who sat in a tree, looking at him accusingly. “... Sorry.”

 

“What happened?!” Severo asked, dropping his bow along with some creature that he had been carrying, apparently from some early morning hunting, and then rushed over to Drake's tent.

 

“Um… nasty dream…?” Drake waved his hand and the fire went out. “Well… the smoke will be a beckon for the airship.” Drake looked and noticed his other arm was on fire, but was slightly glad that it was warmer.
He had to take off his glove and his jacket to get the fire out.

 

Severo's eyes widened slightly. And he had thought snoring was an annoyance… “Something tells me that your wife will have a lot of patience...” He muttered, shaking his head and going to pick his stuff back up.

 

“Heh…” Drake hadn’t really thought about that, but feeling bad about it. “I’m sure I’d remember to control it better… I’d never hurt Garne—. Oh, there’s the ship.” Drake grabbed his bag and… folded up what was left of his tent swiftly.

 

“Who?” Severo asked with s short smile, he tended to the fire and when he looked back, Drake was already running to catch the ship with his little owl following him. “Well, never mind, then. I'll see you again sometime! Have a nice trip back!” He added quickly, and waved.

 

Drake started walking when something nagging on his mind caused him to turn back. His recent goal and mission was… something he couldn’t imagine Severo approving of, at all. He was an assassin on a hunt and just waiting for the order to come through. It was also dangerous if what he’d been told was true. His target was one of the World Heroes; their leader. He wasn’t afraid of Zidane, and even if the other World Leaders broke Brahne’s spell and went to help him… Drake wasn’t afraid. Yet… life would be different. Eclipse was getting stricter and these outings wouldn’t be tolerated again.

 

“Actually… I… Won’t be back.” He mentioned, and motioned for Vanda to come faster. She had a habit of hopping rather than flying.
Vanda fluttered her wings and flew over to him. Drake started walking again, keeping the ship in sight. “Lots to do… Good bye, Severo.”
He got onto the ship and had to pay the Pilot. A bribe he was used to giving to go against Eclipse’s orders not to take Drake anywhere close to being this cold.

 

Severo was a little confused by that. What could he mean? What would stop him from ever coming back? Or perhaps he just meant anytime soon…? Severo could only hope. He felt strangely better when Drake visited. Confused, yes, but better… when the prince left he always had this pit in his stomach, some voice in his head whispering.

 

Severo… you’re missing it. Something is very wrong here. He hadn’t even seen Chaucer in ages, and the way the boy spoke about him was not comforting at all. Chaucer had been so happy… Always said he didn’t want a huge family, just a few kids. Maybe two, so they would always have each other, or just one he could dote all his attention on. How did it go from that to what Drake told him? Even the name was strange… It was not at all something that was common anywhere Severo had been. It was not a name he’d think Chaucer would ever give… It had dark meanings to it.

 

Dragon Prince.

 

Chaucer had told Severo some of the names they’d picked out; family names. Some were boring, some were too old sounding, some… some Severo just had to tell him were terrible. Over all, though, they were good, strong and common names. It had been important to Chaucer that his son or daughter have a name they could be proud of and not be picked on for.

 

Dracula Vladimir… Dragon Prince… it was strange. It was all strange. Drake resembled Chaucer, granted when Chaucer was much younger, as far as his facial structure went. He resembled Marina, too, from what Severo remembered… but at the same time, he didn’t. It was more like you had to search for the resemblance. That greatly confused Severo. It wasn’t just the physical characteristics, ether. The red eyes, the black hair were strange, but to Severo that wasn’t as vital. In his tribe, the coloring of the pups didn’t always match the parents every time. It was… behind the eyes. Behind those sharp red eyes was something that brought Severo nightmares. There was something there… that shouldn’t be.

 

He’d asked about it, once, when Drake was younger.

 

“Sometimes, I guess I feel different.”

 

“Mm… everyone feels bad at school at some time or another. You can’t get along with everyone.” Severo told him, seeing no reason why he, too, should make the boy feel bad for things that weren’t his fault. “Don’t let it get to you, Lad.”

 

“It usually doesn’t, but… there was this girl”

 

Severo grinned. “Oh?”

 

“She was visiting. Comes from a village by the Earth Shrine,” Drake nodded.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“She said I didn’t belong here. She looked at me and she got these big eyes that sort of got… glassy. ‘I don’t mean to offend, but you’re not supposed to be here. You’re not supposed to be alive.’ She said… ‘they worked hard to be sure of it.’ … she wouldn’t come near me. Some of the clerics, the psychics… they all tell me they have dreams of me being a monster.”

 

It had caused the pit feeling to increase greatly. Severo’s tribe had always been perceptive, but to hear there were others with the same visions saying these things… it worried him. He did not want to return to his tribe; they did not particularly like his dealings and communication with the rest of the world. They said he behaved like a dog by abandoning the pack to go and meet with the other species. Yet he had a disturbing thought, now, that perhaps if he had gone to them they could have answered all these questions he had. It was his choice not to return, be it a mistake or anything else; it was his choice.

 

“… I don’t think you’re a monster, Lad”

 

“Farewell,” he said quietly. Even if he had shouted, he doubted the boy would have heard, so there was no point. However, redundant as it was, he felt the need to say goodbye to the boy, and the answers to the questions now in his mind.