A Prince and His Knight

[Tinker Bell]

Devan felt his cheeks get warm when Kai mentioned him being kind. He was about to say something when Kai hugged him. He didn't care that the gesture was awkward. In fact, it just made it seem more special to the prince. Kai, the knight who seemed utterly against physical contact was hugging him. That was the best thing he could have ever hoped to happen.


However, the feeling seemed ruined. Devan couldn't explain it, but he pulled away slowly. He looked around, as if he thought someone, or something, else was in the room. He saw nothing out of the ordinary, but he couldn't shake the feeling. "Something isn't right." He said softly.


After a moment, Devan went to the closed curtain of the window and cracked it open. He stared out at the empty street for several long moments. It was black with no sign of life. Until he thought he saw something move. He quickly shut the curtain and turned around, he knew what it meant now. "There's going to be an attack tonight." He told Kai. "I don't know how I know. I just, I have this feeling and I swear a shadow just moved." He said. "It wasn't attached to anything." He added so Kai would believe him.

 

[Quatre Winner]

Kai had noticed it, too, the sudden strangeness of the air. Devan didn't need to explain 'feeling' something in such a case; the knight, like any trained warrior, had almost a sixth sense when it came to things being off. One arm tightened around the prince, though Kai didn't move, except to inch his other hand toward the hilt of his sword. Only with reluctance did he let the prince leave the protection of his arm, going with him to stand by his side and look out of the window. His blue eyes narrowed when he saw movement among the shadows, though that could have been anything.


The problem was he almost believed the prince's premonition, though not completely. Devan certainly believed it, which was the point. Kai would rather not argue magic with him again, so even though he hesitated for a moment, the knight gave a short nod. Better safe than sorry, anyway.


"We will need to warn the people as calmly as possible, but you are not going out there yourself. It's too dangerous." Placing a hand briefly on the prince's shoulder, Kai put a little pressure on it to move Devan away from the window. He gestured to the bed, then stood between the window and Devan, hand still on his sword. HIs sharp eyes scanned the room as he slowly backed toward the bed, but so far, there were no strange noises, no cries in the darkness. Just that odd sense of wrongness.

 

[Tinker Bell]

Devan was glad that Kai believed him. Whatever his personal reasoning behind it. He didn't care what it was so long as they were on the same page. He didn't want to move to the bed, but Kai had listened to him about the attack so he knew he needed to listen to Kai now.


After sitting on the soft surface, Devan bit his lip. "But how?" His voice was soft, though he was more speaking to himself. "This town has both refugees and not. The stories have spread. Even a simple warning, no matter how calmly stated, could cause an uproar of panic through the whole town in just a short while." Devan shook his head. "I think whatever this is might be after the reaction it gets from the people, the fear, the chaos." His theory was it fed on it, but he wasn't going to say that.


"If it wasn't, I don't think it would follow the people from town to town and deeper in." There would be no reason. Then he realized something. "Tonight is our chance to find out if the shadows are a mind trick. This town has no wooded areas around it, no way of hiding any group of people." In other words, it was his shot to prove the magic theory.

 

[Quatre Winner]

Kai knew the prince was right, though he also couldn't stand by and do nothing. It was yet another sticky situation, for which no one was very prepared. Even Devan's theory on the enemy feeding from negative emotions wasn't so far-fetched. Kai knew something of psychological warfare, which was how he saw this. The people were too afraid to fight back, therefore they could not hold the enemy from their borders. What this meant concerning the knights who had already died he was not prepared to speculate.


However, the moment he heard the prince say that they could find out the truth behind all this, Kai's dark brows drew together. Though he spoke to Devan, his eyes went from the door to the window. "If we can see anything. The moon is less than half, and even on open ground, it would be hard to see."


Turning briefly to look at his prince, the knight added, with a knowing look, "If you try and go out there on your own I will personally tie you to the bed." The smallest light of humor was in his otherwise serious gaze.

 

[Tinker Bell]

Devan tried to think. He knew they had to prove either of their theories right. He had this feeling deep in his gut that it was not an army. At least not a human one. He stood up and started to pace the small room. He thought best when he was moving. In rooms his movement was pacing.


"There has to be something we can do." He said. He tried to think again. "We have to find out where it's going to attack." He thought he had it. "I have an idea, but it's going to be dangerous and we might not be able to save everyone from harm." They had to come to terms with the fact that they could not protect everyone from getting hurt. "We need to somehow find out who it's going to attack. If it's truly psychological warfare, the ones behind it can't be far from the location."


His words proved he still didn't think it was an army. Although he wasn't about to say it was magic again. They needed to work completely in sync. Meaning that neither of their theories could be out the window. "I'm not saying we attack tonight. We need to know what we're fighting first."

 

[Quatre Winner]

Kai let him pace, but still kept a watchful eye on the two entrances. He was listening, too, and pondering what the prince said as calmly as he could. The points were logical enough, in light of their scant choices otherwise. Kai didn't like the idea of the prince being in any danger, but at the same time there wasn't much else they could do. Anyway, he had to admit that the idea of action always appealed to him; Kai was just wary of the prince being involved.


"What, exactly, do you propose?" he asked hesitantly. "My primary task is to keep you safe. I know there must be risks, but it is still my duty to protect you." As he said this, his eyes and voice hardened a little, and he came close to the prince, so their chests were almost touching. This was no threat, however, but a promise. Kai would protect him, no matter what happened. At least Devan wasn't getting an absolute denial- Kai simply wished for a clear plan.

 

[Tinker Bell]

Devan looked up at Kai. The closeness comforted him, even if they weren't actually touching. What did he purpose exactly? He wasn't really sure. "We try to follow the shadows." He said. "So far they have only transformed sick townspeople. Neither of us are sick, so I'm pretty sure we say." He added. "We try to see if there are any people around besides us. That way we'll know what we're fighting. If it's an army, the reason the knights never came back was that they were outmatched."


He took a breath. "If it is an army, we get the word to mother and father to get our knights here." If it wasn't, he would come up with something else. "I think it's the most logical. And if we can find out before it attacks, we might be able to save the people."

 

[Quatre Winner]

Kai frowned in thought for a long while, his blue eyes turned toward his feet. He didn't much like the plan, but recognized it was the only one they had at the moment. Certainly the most logical. The townsfolk were not trained to handle battlefield or spy tactics, and even though Devan was rather hopeless with a sword, that was compared to other knights. The average town dweller would have no idea what to do with themselves.


"We will have to stay hidden, and observe only," he muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Even if they attack, we can't afford to be seen. If it is an army…I doubt it's a large one, but folk around here wouldn't be of any help if they came out in force."


Though the knight was mostly talking to himself, he was trying to come up with anything better and failing miserably, all out loud where Devan could hear. Kai didn't know why he was speaking aloud anyway, it was almost as though part of him thought Devan deserved the benefit of his thought process, which was…strange. Just like the feelings he was getting from being this close to the prince.


Kai moved away again, but not far, and went to the window to look out through the curtains again. As he did so, a sudden scream made his spine freeze up, and he drew his sword automatically, backing up to where Devan was. The scream sounded like a woman's, and seemed to come from down the street. Through the thick windows, it was hard to tell.


"Stay behind me…against the wall." The knight barked at Devan, his eyes narrowed in the direction of the window, and the sudden chorus of shouts and screams that seemed to erupt all around them. Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, every flame in the room was snuffed out, fire and candles and all. Kai let out a violent oath and shoved the prince behind him, trying to get him into the one semi-protected corner in the room. Only through a sheer amount of will did he keep his sword hand from shaking. The fires going out was just a coincidence....that was all...

 

[Tinker Bell]

Devan listened to everything Kai was saying. He nodded at the mention of staying hidden. He wasn't going to be stupid. Then he heard the scream. He immediately got behind Kai, fear and adrenaline coursing through his veins. Then everything went dark. That was most definitely not a coincidence.


After a brief moment to remember everything correctly, Devan mumbled a few near-silent words in a forgotten language. The fire was relit along with the candles. He made it brighter, no room for shadows of any kind. Sounds of everyone leaving could be heard both in the inn and the street outside.


After several long moments the world went quiet but for their breathing. The town now deserted. Devan looked up at Kai.


"It's not an army." He said quietly. "Not a human one." He had been right. This was something supernatural. Normally being right felt sort of good. Now he wished it had been a human army. "And I have a feeling that swordsmanship isn't going to help us this time."

 

[Quatre Winner]

"Damn drafty inn…" Kai mumbled, trying to sound like he hadn't been shaken. All the lights going out had been bad enough, but with the screams tearing through the air, he was starting to question logic a bit. Devan's triumph, however gently put, was not the kind of thing to help his temper. Only a deep breath and a force of will kept him from turning on the prince and trying to argue the magic idea away again. He knew it wouldn't work now.


"If the town truly is deserted, we'll have to barricade ourselves in here until morning." he said, looking around the room. After all the noise, the silence was almost deafening. Only their breaths, and the crackle of the small fire, could be heard.


Without sheathing his sword, Kai moved to shift a heavy cabinet in front of the window. "See if you can block the door." he said over his shoulder. "If you don't think swords will help, at least this might slow them down a little." Kai was not at all pleased about that insinuation that he was useless, though he knew Devan probably didn't mean it that way.

 

[Tinker Bell]

Devan knew that he shouldn't test Kai right now. His little observation probably hadn't helped matters. Then Kai told him to block the door. So he took to moving the bed in front of it. It was the only thing he could do. When it was done, he looked back at Kai. He had to apologize for the way he worded things.


"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I wish I was wrong." Devan said. "I really do. I wish it was an army." They would have known exactly what to do. Now he had no idea what he was supposed to do. He hated admitting it to himself, so he sure as hell wasn't going to admit it out loud. Even to Kai whom he told everything. Maybe if he acted like he knew he would eventually figure it out.


He looked around the room. He was back to trying to figure out how to fight shadows. Leaning against the wall, Devan sunk to the ground. How the hell was he supposed to defeat shadows? They weren't made of anything at all. How was he supposed to fight something that wasn't technically there?

 

[Quatre Winner]

It would have looked strange to any outsider to hear a knight order a prince around. Kai wasn't doing it because he wanted to have power, or because he thought his authority more than the prince's. In such situations, practicality trumped rank. He wasn't going to delay their protection for courtly duty.


The cabinet was difficult to budge, especially as it seemed to have a broken foot. Kai almost felt like he'd wrenched his back by the time he'd leaned it up against the window, but it was all he could do for now. There wasn't much else to add, so he backed away, holding his sword up and at the ready. He half expected men to come crashing in, knocking the cabinet aside and launching themselves at the prince. That wasn't going to happen on his watch.


The knight was so focused on looking for other possible entries to the room that he almost missed Devan's apology. It caught him off guard, and at first made no sense because his mind wasn't there at the moment. He had to backtrack a little, but even then, he held no hard feelings toward Devan.


"Forget about it." he shrugged, panting slightly from the exertion. As the prince sank against the wall, the knight followed, dropping into a crouch just so he could be close to him. Both hands grasped the handle of his sword, and the tip rested gently against teh floor, ready to lift to Devan's defense. So far, he hadn't needed his sword, but he refused to believe he'd be utterly useless when it came time to fight. His sword had always served him well, and now it had someone much more important to serve.


Looking over at Devan, his scowl softened to see how worried the prince was. Kai was worried, too, he just didn't show it as easily. Who knew how many of the people had escaped and gotten to safety? Who knew how many were dead? Kai still thought it was psychological warfare, and if not an army, then a small band of men with lots of experience in scaring crowds.


"We'll figure this out…find out who's behind this…" he muttered, more for Devan's sake than his own. Kai wasn't so sure what they were going to do. he let one hand go of the sword hilt to rub Devan's shoulder. He hoped that was a little comforting, anyway.

 

[Tinker Bell]

Devan looked up at Kai. He knew he wasn't going to put down the sword and it made him feel just a bit better. However, the doubt started to sink in again. He tried to relax until he felt the questions start to escape his lips. There wasn't a way to stop them either. He just started to say everything he feared.


"What if we don't?" He asked. "What if we can't beat them or it or whatever? What if I can't save everyone?" The fear was definitely evident in his voice. "We're sitting ducks until we can think about something. They're either going to realize we're still here or move on. If they stay, we're likely next." Devan shook his head.


"We still don't know how to fight them...it...whatever." He couldn't believe that this was what it came down to. He has never not known what to do. He hated this. Even though he wasn't great with a sword, he knew all the techniques and what to do. It was just his strength that was lacking.

 

[Quatre Winner]

Kai glanced quickly at the prince, hearing the note of panic that crept into his voice. Turning a bit and grasping Devan's shoulder, he squeezed it firmly. His deep blue eyes met the prince's, holding their gaze with more confidence than he himself felt.


"No, you can't save everyone, but will save as many as we can. We will find a way, we just have to be calm and think." There was a pause in which that same silence fell over them again. Kai seemed almost to be willing strength to the prince through his eyes, and the hand on the prince's shoulder. Devan had strength of his own, but it was not in arms. His people needed that strength now.


"Everything has a weakness, everything can be destroyed. We just have to find that weakness and exploit it." the knight pulled back a bit. His hand slipped once more to the handle of his sword, and he looked around the room again.


As he did so, the quiet of the room was suddenly broken by the sound of scratching at the bedroom door. Kai tensed, shifting to stand in front of the prince, glaring at the panel of wood as though silently commanding it to hold firm. Whatever the prince thought of swords against this new enemy, Kai would use his to advantage. It was an old friend who had never failed him before.


(Not sure if creature should get in or give up)

 

[Tinker Bell]

Devan looked up at Kai when he gripped his shoulder firmly. His heart sank when he said they couldn't save everyone. He tried to take the confidence from Kai. Taking a few deep breaths, he even managed to calm down. Panicking was not going to help them now.


Then he heard it. Scratching. From the door. Devan stood as well, not moving from behind Kai. Why wasn't it coming in? It clearly knew they were there. Unless it was solid and couldn't get in. Devan forced his heart to stop pounding. His breathing stayed even. He kept running his finger over the ring.


He wanted to speak to Kai, but he said nothing. He feared that speaking would make it come in. Perhaps it would give up and leave them alone for the knight. While waiting anxiously, Devan tried to think of what he could do. There had to be something that he'd been taught that could work against this.


((Maybe it could just give up))

 

[Quatre Winner]

The soft sound of metal scraping against metal was heard as Kai drew his sword, facing outward as though he was squaring off against an enemy already. His blade glittered in the light from the candles in the room which, while not very bright, were more than enough to light the room. His blue eyes narrowed at the door as the scratching became louder. It sounded almost like a dog wanting to come in, but there was no other noise, no whining or even growling. That made him more nervous than the scratching itself.


Suddenly, a crash resounded in teh room, and the chilly night air wafted in as the window broke. Kai backed up against the wall, the prince behind him, but whatever it was either too large to get through the small window, or the cabinet was too heavy. Kai grabbed a metal candelabra from the mantlepiece, ready to use it- he would set their enemies alight as he ran them through. They would not hurt his prince!


An eternity seemed to pass by, in which the sounds of scraping and clawing became louder and more frantic. Then, out of nowhere, a faint hissing sound filtered in through the window, as though there was a strong wind from far away. The scratching stopped, and heavy footsteps were heard moving away swiftly. Kai caught his breath- the footsteps didn't sound human at all.


Even after the things left, he remained on alert, the prince behind him. The room fell silent, apart from the dimming fire. There were no more noises.

 

[Tinker Bell]

Devan held his breath until several moments after the room when silent. This was terrible. Thankfully they hadn't gotten in. It didn't feel safe to move, but he had to think. So the only option was wringing his hands together. "There has to be something I was taught." He mumbled to himself. Silently he went through all of the lessons his father had given him on his magic. Everything that had been done in private.


After awhile, he rested his head against Kai's back. It wasn't hard considering how close they were. "Think." He mumbled to himself. There had to be something that he wasn't remembering. This wasn't human and he truly been ready for that. He didn't think he would ever truly be ready for it, but here it was.


((Sorry it's so short))

 

[Quatre Winner]

(It's ok! Posts don't always have to be long ^^)


Kai wasn't really listening to Devan at the moment, as the prince's mumbling didn't sound like it would lead to any purpose. The feeling of the prince's head against his back brought forth strange feelings, probably because of all the adrenaline coursing through them both. Kai tried not to think about it.


"Stay here…" he mumbled, strangely reluctant for that weight against his back to vanish. Slowly, he edged toward the shattered window, peering out of the tiny space between the frame and the cupboard. Outside was utterly black, even when he shaded his eyes. Nothing…


"Damn.." he pulled back, his sword still out. "Whatever it was it left." The shadows had vanished into deeper shadow- not a trace of anything was left that he could see. They would have to wait until morning to look for evidence.


Turning back, he took his position by the prince's side, smoothing out his clothing and straightening his hair out of habit. "Are you alright?' he asked, frowning with worry. The prince seemed a bit distracted.

 

[Tinker Bell]

Devan didn't want Kai to move. He felt better with him right next to him. As if they were safer that way. He didn't look up from the floor. He continued to silently run through his lessons, his lips moving but no sound escaping. He didn't move as Kai fixed his clothes. He was too busy trying to think.


He didn't answer Kai's question for a long time. He had the habit of sometimes being too focused. Finally he looked up at Kai. "I'm okay." He said quietly. Although he didn't sound too sure about it. How was he supposed to be sure? They were fighting something no one had likely ever heard of before.


He went back to going through lessons, twisting his ring around. It was obvious he would have loved to pace, but he felt safer next to Kai anyway.

 

[Quatre Winner]

Kai's lips pressed together in a thin line. No, Devan was not ok… He was distracted and muttering. The knight looked down and saw what he was doing to the ring, but his frown only deepened. It was that magic nonsense again. Was Devan trying to recite some sort of bogus spell? Kai had half a mind to shake some sense into him but thought better of it. He wasn't truly angry at the prince, just at their whole situation. What were they supposed to do, anyway? They would have to wait until morning to see clearly what had happened, and that would probably set their travel time back at least-


Kai froze, eyes going wide, before letting out a violent curse. "The horses! Damn it all!" Before he could stop himself, his body started to move to go check on them, and he had to force himself to halt. Whatever had happened to the horses he had to stay with the prince. At least they still had their supplies in the room, but that was cold comfort.


With a growl of frustration, Kai went to the bed that was pushed up against the door and yanked off the blankets and pillows. By the time he got back to the prince, he'd calmed down enough to look like his cool, unaffected self again. He wrapped the blankets around the prince and went to build up the fire.

 

[Tinker Bell]

Devan could practically feel waves of unapproval coming off of Kai. Not that he let himself focus on it too much. It would distract him. Although Kai's sudden outburst startled him and he looked up at his knight. He was going to stop him before Kai did it himself.


He was soon back to going through his lessons, not moving at the blanket around his shoulders. This was far more important and he could not sleep until he went through everything.


Unfortunately that meant his entire life if lessons. Thankfully he was gifted with a very good memory. Something had to give. Then he thought he had it.


"Their food source." He mumbled. It was quiet and he didn't think Kai could hear him. He didn't really want him to either. He had to figure it out fully first.

 

[Quatre Winner]

Unfortunately for his ability to concentrate, Kai had heard him, and he stopped tucking the blanket around Devan's shoulders to look more closely at him.


"What? Their food source?" He blinked, frowned, then shook his head. Not knowing where the prince's mind was going with this, Kai couldn't understand where those two words had come from. However, it did make him think. What about their enemies' food source? Was this all about food? Was it an effort to steal from the villagers because they were starving? Kai had seen a bit of what life was like outside their kingdom, enough to know that life was often very hard. Was that the problem?


"Devan, what are you thinking?' he muttered, though more to himself than the prince.

 

[Tinker Bell]

Devan shut his eyes at Kai's questions. Of course he had heard him. Now Devan had to explain his likely entirely too crazy logic to the most logical man on earth.


He had to take a moment to think about exactly how to word it. He needed to get Kai on his side. "Supernatural or psychological, these things are after one thing." Devan said. He had to put both of their ideas as to what it was into it. "Fear. They live to get the reaction out of the townspeople that they do. We need to cut it off. Tomorrow night if they come to attack us again, we can't be afraid. We have to show them we don't fear them." He finally looked up at Kai. What was he going to think of his plan?


Devan almost held his breath as he waited to see what Kai said about the idea.

 

[Quatre Winner]

In a roundabout way, Kai could buy into the logic, though he also thought their enemies wouldn't be averse to looting. He had met a warlord or two who thrived on fear, who seemed to drink it out of the air like wine.


"I agree with you," he said very slowly, every word measured. "I agree with you, to a point. I don't plan to stand in the town square and shout about how not afraid I am. Nor will I consent to you putting your life at risk in any such scheme. However…." Kai paused. "However, there may be other ways to hoist our enemy with their own petard. If they come back, that is. They may have moved on to the next town." He doubted very much that whoever was out there would stick around for two lone survivors when there were other people to frighten.


Sighing, and pinching the bridge of his nose, the knight tried to think. This time, for Devan's benefit, he thought out loud. "We need to come up with a way to get at them using their own methods, without leaving ourselves wide open."

 

[Tinker Bell]

((So I had to look up what "hoist our enemy with their own petard" meant...thank you for making me learn over summer vacation...))


Devan's eyes went wide when Kai said he agreed with the prince. That had been the last thing he expected to hear the knight say. Of course those words were followed by what he expected the knight to say.


Devan couldn't help but feel just a bit insulted at the addition though. At least the first part. "I'm not stupid." He mumbled. Of course he wasn't thinking that. He knew there had to be other ways. Then Kai said using their own methods. "So...we have to scare them?" He asked. "How are we supposed to do that? We don't know what they fear." He tried to think. "Unless we can somehow figure it out."


"And perhaps at least one will stay behind to try and get it. We can test whatever we come up with." It was the best shot they had.