Eclipse had forgotten about it all a little over the previous four days. He had sneaked into Drake's room to try and find the book, but had no luck. There was nothing else to go on, so he pushed it to the back of his mind. Drake wasn't wandering too far from the palace… it was an unusual event, but he couldn’t figure out what to do about it. If things continued, he’d do more research.

 

He watched Drake walk in, but the boy seemed normal—well… normal for him, though something had changed, though… He usually had a better hold on the boy’s mind, but this time he felt… something missing... but as long as the boy didn’t interfere with his plan, Eclipse wouldn’t press the matter.

 

Drake headed up to his room. … That was easier than expected. He was pleased, of course, he didn’t want to have problems…

Now he needed to figure out how to get his plan to work.

He needed to sneak out and talk to Zidane, then get back here without anyone suspecting anything… Easy as… nailing pudding to a glass wall with wooden stakes and a sledgehammer.

Or digging through a six-foot thick steel wall with a toothpick.

Fooling Chaucer and Marina was easy. Getting transportation to Alexandria was a slight challenge, but do-able… same with getting past Ellipsis. It was getting past Eclipse that was impossible… but for this to work; he bet he’d have to do the impossible quite a bit. Eclipse seemed to know where Drake was from the moment he woke up, and then some times before he woke up…

… What if they were all asleep… and couldn’t wake up? That spurred the idea.

They still might be a bit suspicious… he’d have to come up with an excuse for wherever he was, and he couldn’t be in the tower. Sneaking out might wake someone up despite everything else…

 

It took him another day to figure everything out. Well, it took half the day to figure it out, the other half to convince himself to do it… and the night and next afternoon to complete the final details…

Drake walked back to the potion shop early that morning, and then slunk into the kitchen. He eyed the wine, but putting a drug into alcohol could be fatal to those who drank it… and if it wasn’t for them, it would be for him when they realized he’d done something that deadly. Thus, he put the sleeping potion in the dessert which appeared to be some weird sort of individually served ice cream dish with fruit in it…

The next part… was one he really regretted doing.

He walked out of the kitchen and to the parlor, debating this next move for a while… Drake sighed, and drank the ice tonic he’d bought with the sleeping potion. It was a horrible, horrible idea. Ice was bad! Ice was deadly! … But he had to tell Zidane about what was going on… had to… so he had to do this.

Drake expected instant pain, but… he didn’t feel much of anything, a little dizzy but that was all.

… That’s not so ba . . . AHHHH!!!!!! YES IT IS!!!!!!!

For about ten seconds and then the tonic activated and he collapsed on the floor, mentally calling himself an idiot.

 

 

It was a while before he was found. Drake had picked a corridor that had very little traffic. When he was eventually stumbled upon, quite literally actually, he was taken to his room and Eclipse was called.

Eclipse arrived quickly, partly because the prince being sick or injured would require changing plans, and partly because if the boy really was ill, it would explain his recent behavior.

Drake sure did look sick. Pale skin, red eyes... Unfortunately, for Drake, this was normal. As was a fever-high body temperature. Still, Eclipse put the back of his hand against Drake's forehead. He wasn’t concerned until he realized the boy’s body was cold. Not just an average temperature, it was below normal even if he were human. This was not at all favorable, Eclipse had lost fire elements to strange illnesses that caused them to get cold like this... they fell asleep and never woke up.

 

Drake felt cold. That was all the prince fully registered. There had been pain, now he was freezing.

… On the upside, it no longer felt like this would be instant death… he was just really thankful he hadn’t gotten a bigger vial or a stronger mix. This was beginning to wear off… which was evident to him by the fact that he was able to wake up and wonder how the hell he’d gotten to his room and why there was a monster standing over him.
Thankfully, not fast enough that he could comment on that.

 

Eclipse had come to the conclusion that Drake really was sick. He was cold, a bad sign for a fire element, as well as the fact that being found face down unconscious in a corridor was rarely, if ever, a sign of good health.

After the boy had awoken, and didn't really seem to know where he was for a moment and that was concerning as well, but at least he had woken up..

 

“You’re cold.” Eclipse informed him, glaring at the guards as a silent demand that they were no longer needed. They remained only a second longer as they looked at each other, wondering if they should alert the King and Queen, before deciding not to and remembering they really hated being in the tower.

 

“Oh…” Drake mumbled.

 

Ellipsis was disturbed by that… no sarcastic retort? No "No shit, really?", no eye rolling, nothing...? That was surprising…

 

Eclipse looked back at his young prince. The cold concerned him, as well as the strange behavior during the week. It was quite possible he had caught something from his last visit to the mist village. Over all, there didn’t seem to be any immediate danger. Eclipse could hear Drake’s heartbeat and it was slow, but strong. The boy’s eyes were tired, but focused and his coloring was slowly starting to return. Eclipse glanced at Ellipsis before he left; there were things he needed to take care of before dinner, and there was nothing he knew to do to help the boy recover… things would just have to be put off or the Prince would need to heal fast. He couldn't show concern or sympathy as that was not something he needed the boy to feel either of those or think Eclipse felt them. That would be a loss of power. As it was, he would take whatever happened as a sign of strength... Drake woke up and was recovering. Whatever had happened he was strong enough to survive.

 

Ellipsis understood the command to stay and was partially thankful for it; the prince didn’t get ill easy… when he did, it concerned Ellipsis. “Do you know what happened?”

 

Drake sat up and looked at Ellipsis, for a second he misunderstood the question and was afraid they had realized he knew… what he knew. Then, however, he realized it was probably just himself being paranoid and he needed to reply before it was obvious he was hiding something. “… Well, I’m told a great cosmic being -a deity- created the world and threw people onto it for a reason that is still unknown. From what I recall, we’re not supposed to ask.”

 

 

Ellipsis cracked a smile and rolled his eyes. “You are a pest, Drake. I don’t think dying will get you out of dinner.”

 

“For shame. If company were here it would.” Drake stated, dropping back down onto his pillow.

 

“Possible, corpses aren’t acceptable dinner guests in most nations.” Ellipsis agreed, giving a nod.

 

“Most.” Drake parroted, looking at the ceiling.

 

“… Are you alright?” Ellipsis asked.

 

Drake shrugged and was quiet a moment as he considered the lie. “… I just feel cold. Been feeling odd for about a week. I was feeling better and then… I don’t know.”

 

“Hm… sometimes things get worse before they get better.” Ellipsis informed, giving another nod.

 

“Guess so.” Drake agreed, closing his eyes and hoping that was right, because the journey he saw ahead of himself seemed like it wasn't going to be fun.

 

Ellipsis stayed a little while longer, till he was sure Drake wasn’t in any danger, then he left.

 

Drake was fairly sure this had topped his worst plan ever list. He kept telling himself this was the only way, and that this was Karma getting back at him…

He had to go eat dinner with his parents… this really was a painful day.

Once he was feeling confident that he could walk down the stairs without falling and killing himself, Drake walked back into the palace.

It was one of those rare nights where the five of them were having dinner together for reasons they did not know. His parents ordered him to come and invited Eclipse and Ellipsis, who accepted for reasons Drake could not understand since they hated his parents and his parents obviously had grudges against them.

These dinners were awkward because there were no guests to use as buffers or reminders that they weren’t supposed to talk about… anything involving each other.

His father would ramble on about things going on in town or things he’d learned in meetings that were boring enough to mention.

His mother would rant about the garden or some drama gossip she’d heard about that made no sense unless you knew all the people involved… and even then it wasn’t very entertaining.

He would eat slowly to always have the ‘mouth is full’ excuse not to talk, but would not be able to escape the insulting comments about his lack of communication skills.

Someone would ask for something that was in the middle of the table and everyone else would make offhand comments about how since the item was in the center, that person could have easily gotten it for themselves. Nevertheless, if you grabbed something yourself that was slightly off center, you were rude for reaching over food… even if you didn’t, and would be told to ask next time, off hand, of course. Orders were inappropriate, nagging was mean, and scolding was for children, so it was avoided and instead replaced with short remarks they pretended were civil.

Someone would not be eating something and people would wonder why and question them about it, then there would be a fight over why that item was good or bad…

 

It was all so stupid. The chef and his cooks worked all day on a meal that wouldn't be enjoyed and would instead fill the room with a mix of anger and resentment topped off with the festering need to find a reason to escape.

Drake sat down in the parlor since it was between sanity and his family, to wait till dinner began. He wasn’t in the mood to be dragged in and figured getting it over with sooner would work best.

Marina walked into the parlor and stopped, doing a double take when she saw Drake.

She stared for a bit and kept opening her mouth as if she were going to say something, but didn’t.

Then Chaucer came in. “… What is wrong with you?” He greeted, staring at Drake.

Drake glared. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re very pale. And your eyes are red.” Chaucer stated, still staring.

Drake glared harder.

“More so than usual.” The king elaborated, as if he were apologizing.

“… Thanks.” Drake said, as if he were telling Chaucer to visit the fiery world of torture and torment residing deep underground.

“Are you ill?” Marina finally asked.

Drake had so many responses to that… not a single one was polite, so he just gave a blunt answer. “I don’t feel well…”

“Oh.” Chaucer gave a nod, as if he’d just been proven right.

Then, thankfully, before anything else could be said, the chef announced dinner was served and everyone went and took a seat.

 

Eclipse and Ellipsis both tried their hardest to not be seen while at the dinner. To go unnoticed, and become like part of the background. So much so, that even a fork slightly dinging against the side of a plate was more noise than they ever tried to make. Both of them looked obviously displeased to be there, despite the elaborate setup.

As they took their seats, they noticed that the table had burning candles, fancy napkins, a bottle of wine that looked like it had been found clutched in the claws of a dinosaur fossil, and beautifully made silver cutlery with designs so artful and intricate that it would make an artist cry to see them dirtied with food.

Around the room, servants stood in dark corners with their heads bowed, waiting, in case they were needed. But they rarely were, and just went completely ignored. Eclipse almost envied them.

Ellipsis was just starving, and hoped that the food would at least make the experience partially worthwhile.

 

Drake sat through dinner as always. He hated the people standing in the corner listening to every word and not having much of a reason to be there, really.

At one point, he was sure Eclipse was going to kill Chaucer over some comment Drake hadn’t fully heard…

He chose that time to leave. It was so much more dignified than hiding under the table as spells flew.

“Dracul,” Marina called as Drake excused himself

Repressing a growl, Drake turned back to look at her.

“You look tired; just lay down in the parlor till you feel better.”

Drake stared for a moment, thinking how lucky that was; gave him a reason to stay in the palace… He nodded and walked to the parlor and laid down on one of the couches, just as dessert was being served…

 

Eclipse sighed as he saw the ice cream dish that was being served. He half considered just getting up to go, and not having any dessert. It was so tempting, but then he realized that he could not be bothered with the hassle that would cause, so he started to eat the ice cream.

Perhaps after desert he could finish researching that spell. A spell that could melt the bones inside living creatures could be both useful and entertaining. He was sure he would find it in the next forty or fifty pages of translation. Then perhaps he could spend a few hours researching some Terra-related artifacts.

Then again, he felt rather tired...

 

Marina finished her dessert and felt very tired. She excused herself first, followed by Chaucer.

Drake kept his eyes shut. Not tightly, that would look fake. He kept the act going so well, he himself nearly fell asleep.

However, that would not do… he needed to be sure everyone was asleep, and then he’d go.
The parlor was usually locked at night, but there was a secret passageway he knew about. Not even the guards would see him leave. No one to accidentally tell on him.


Just a little longer… He kept telling himself.

He was feeling better, but he knew he still looked sick. This was somewhat irritating.

Just a little longer…

 

Eclipse finished and left, shortly followed by Ellipsis. Neither of them paid Drake much attention as they passed, he looked asleep so they didn’t feel the need to bother with waking him. Eclipse just felt like lying down for a while, and Ellipsis had no such hope, he was sure he was going to be out for the night soon.

Perhaps it was their tired minds, or just that the onset of the drug's effect was just slow enough, but neither realized that they had indeed been drugged.

Twenty minutes later, and they were both asleep in the tower.

 

Drake waited about an hour, and then he ran to the stables and saddled up Ruxandra.

 

He rode out, past the market, about ten miles. There was a man there with an airship, and Drake chartered it to take him to Alexandria castle.

 

 

“Ah, hello Zidane.” Drake smirked, “I think we need to talk.”

“I think you need to die.” Zidane snarled, stalking closer.

“Your opinion is noted. Rejected, but noted.”

Zidane snarled and started walking away, Drake got in front of him.

“Calm down, it’s just a talk. You’re not afraid of me, are you?”

Zidane gave a sarcastic smile. “Sorry, I’d love to kick your ass, but I’m busy.”

Drake stared past Zidane at the door Garnet had gone through, not replying.

Zidane, again, tried to walk past Drake, but Drake didn’t move to let him past; he blocked the only exit.

Zidane growled. “Let me pass!”

“No. We need to talk.”

“Why?”

“It’s important…”

Zidane was thrown off by Drake’s tone, attitude… it wasn’t his usual aggressive stance. “… Fine. Talk.”

“Things are happening that you do not know about. Or that you do know about, but not the whole story…” Drake took a breath.
He’d had this entire speech planned out, but actually saying it was difficult. He kept feeling the urge to look around and make sure Eclipse wasn’t around, even though he knew he was alone.
No one had noticed… he was safe so long as he could get back before morning.

“Brahne hired me to kill you. Well, she hired Eclipse who wants the power for himself because I’m fairly sure he wants to take over the world.” Drake supplied, swiftly.

Zidane gave him a confused look. “… Okay, the first part I expected, and then… what?”

“I was supposed to make you trust me; get you to open the door for Eclipse to steal… whatever is inside. But… something got in the way,” Drake explained.

“You mean Garnet?” Zidane asked, eyes narrowing.

“… Yes.” Drake admitted, “But not how you think. At first, she just made me more anxious to get through with the plan. I wanted her.”

 

“I get it!”

 

“I care for her; I will not lie about that.” Drake’s eyes narrowed slightly, trying to be sure that point was driven in, “That is the main reason I am talking to you.”

“Yeah, you’re talking to me, but why? What are you doing?” The fact that Zidane didn’t immediately trust Drake was very apparent.

“I’m giving in… completely. This isn’t a; I win, you lose deal.”

“Then why are you telling me this?” Zidane asked. “You want my girl, but you’re giving away the plan to get rid of me?”

Drake shook his head. “… It’s a very long story.”

Zidane shrugged, “I’ve got time.”

“I don’t. If they found out I’ve told you anything then you will be dead in seconds.” Drake spoke, meaning it.

If this little meeting were discovered… they would both be in danger.

“Prove it.” Zidane stated; his eyes sharp. “If this is really some sort of… massive guilt trip on your end, then prove it.”

Drake took offense to that, “This is not guilt.”

Zidane was a bit startled by that. Guilt would have been a perfect alibi… “Then what is it?”

“Redemption.” Drake said, as if trying out the word. “It’s a lot of things… none of which I have the time to explain. Now, you want proof, fine. Brahne has a red pearl that can make people think whatever she wants them to think, so long as they have no mental guards. It won’t work on you because your kind has a telepathic ability.”

“And it doesn’t work on you?” Zidane guessed.

Drake nodded. “For different reasons, though. As long as she has this pearl you cannot trust the people around you. She is using this pearl to control the minds of the World Leaders.”

Zidane dropped much of his aggressive stance at that… he’d thought something was going on… mind control didn’t seem all that out of place in the current situation. “Okay… so… kill her and this all ends?”

“Don’t be stupid.” Drake scolded, “That will just get you a date with the guillotine.”

“So then how is you telling me this going to help?” Zidane sighed, getting aggravated.

“The next World Meeting is going to be a trap. You have to be aware of that or you are doomed. Do not let them know you suspect anything, but keep your guard up. They plan on trapping you; imprisoning you.” Drake stated, already worried about how long this was taking.

“… You’ll understand if I don’t trust you right away,” Zidane grumbled.

Drake nodded. “I think it’s in your best interest to find out what you’re protecting, Zidane. Do not let Brahne or the other leaders get to the Secrets of Terra, but you need to figure out what it is that is there. It will give you more of a chance to fight back.”

Zidane shook his head… this was all… so much to try and believe, and he just couldn’t believe all of it at once… “So. This plan of yours revolves around you telling me all the behind the scenes things and then hoping I buy it, don’t tell anyone, and don’t act different and yet at the same time fix the problems caused by you not telling me all this way, way sooner?”

Hearing it out loud did make it seem stupid. “… You have a better idea?”

“They can’t know a thing has changed… And as hard as it is, that means no one but us can know about this.”

“Ah, you don’t want your friends to know.” Drake understood, smirking.

“I trust them, okay? I know they wouldn’t turn against me unless something made them. If they knew what was happening, they’d want to get involved and they’d get themselves hurt. Until I know what all is going on, I don’t want to risk them. So I’m going to trust you, but there are conditions.” Zidane declared, trying to bring up his leader personality again.

Drake was annoyed with that, but couldn’t really blame Zidane… and if redemption was easy, Hades and Hel’s domains would be empty. “Alright, name them.”

“Garnet has to be told… not right now, she’d freak out, but… she has to be told if things get bad. Not like this; this isn’t a way for you to get points with her. I just don’t want her to worry about me.”

Drake rolled his eyes. “And?”

“And we’re a team on this. I don’t go half way. You’re either with me or against me.” Zidane cleared up, seriously.
He didn’t trust Drake yet… he couldn’t. It was almost like dealing with Amarant, but worse. Zidane had always been able to trust easily, though… so, he was going to try… that was his nature.

“… Well, I prefer my gray world, but fine.” Drake agreed, not sure about all this.

“Good… and Garnet can’t be hurt.”

“Yes, I got that.” Drake said with a smile that seemed to show he was bored with this conversation. “You should leave for a few days… just in case Brahne gets trigger happy.”

“Yeah…”

“I’ll be at the next meeting. If you’ve decided to trust me then show up. If not, then stay away and come up with your own plan.”

 

“Oh?” Zidane looked at him. Straight into his eyes. … Drake wasn’t lying. Zidane could almost always tell… there wasn’t deception hidden in those eyes; he’d seen Drake lie before. There was something else there… something he’d seen in too many people’s eyes… shattering. Zidane hated that… the look on someone’s face as their world fell apart. It was a horrible feeling, and Zidane never wanted anyone to feel that pain. “… What is it that’s brought you here?”

 

“A ship.”

 

“No! I mean… why help me”

 

“In your current situation… do you really have the position to ask?”

Zidane stared at the prince for a while before he realized he wasn’t going to get an answer and walked back inside.

Drake waited a few seconds and then rushed back to the ship. He ordered the pilot to fly home and spent the trip watching the clock.

He jumped off the airship before it landed and ran to where Ruxandra was waiting, rode back to the palace as fast as her legs could go, got the tack off her and ran to the parlor. He pulled off his coat and gloves and lay back down, exactly as he had before just as dawn broke free.

Eclipse was the first to do so, and was a little surprised, almost dazed. He couldn't remember the night before very clearly. Perhaps that old wine had more of a kick to it than he expected. He just remembered feeling tired, and starting to walk back to his room. The rest of how he got there and what he did before he fell asleep was more or less missing.

 

Drake fell asleep. Apparently nearly killing yourself and running around all day and night was exhausting.

The last of the effects from the potion had worn off on his way to Alexandria, which he was pleased about. He would no longer be able to play ill, but he didn’t expect to be forced into going anywhere anyway.

 

Eclipse spent about four hours packing his bags, getting dressed, and performing a few small errands around the castle, because they were scheduled to head back to Alexandria that day.

Once he was more or less ready, he went down to the parlor to find Drake still asleep. He tested the boy's temperature with his hand as he slept, and found it to be normal enough, so he started to try and shake him awake.

 

Drake did not seem to appreciate the ‘being awake’ idea, which he displayed by growling and snarling.

 

Eclipse apparently had no patience for Drake's griping, as he moved to the side of the couch, grabbed the back of it, and tipped it forward quickly.

 

Drake woke up slightly before falling off the couch. “Ow…”

 

“Good morning, your highness.” Eclipse said and smirked; as he let the couch back down to stand upright again, “Ship leaves in an hour.” He added, and walked out of the room.

 

Drake blinked a few times. Ship… what ship?

Drake got up and hurried out of the room. “What ship?”

 

Eclipse stopped and turned around, looking bored already, and like the question was a complete waste of his time. “To Alexandria, remember? For three days.”

 

Drake got very, very still. In all his not being around the past few days, he must have missed that vital plan. For a minute, he couldn’t breathe.

He almost asked if that was a joke, but… this was Eclipse… who did not joke. Ever.

“…k.”

Somehow he’d make this work…

 

Eclipse shook his head and walked off, he guessed the boy was still tired, as he usually seemed so eager to go to Alexandria.

Fifty-five minutes later, Eclipse was waiting for Drake at the steps leading up to the dock.

 

Drake was trying to figure out how to keep anyone here from finding out he’d just been in Alexandria… This was not going to a fun trip. He changed clothes five times before he found an outfit that was different enough not to be confused at all with the one he had worn last night.

He waited the full hour before walking, slowly, to the dock.

 

Eclipse was already impatient before the hour was up, and he really hated to be kept waiting. So when Drake finally did arrive, Eclipse made a very pointed look towards the clock tower, and gave a very dark glare.

 

Drake returned the dark glare with a sarcastic grin and pointed to his watch as if to declare; ‘I have my own personal, transportable clock. I do know what they look like.’

 

Eclipse's look darkened further, as if to say, 'Good for you, now get on the ship before I make you eat it.' After which, he spun around moodily and marched on board without looking back.

 

Off to a good start… Drake sighed and got on the boat.