The Kingdom

[❖Amani❖]

Rajus caught Sparks' look of worry and shut his eyes tightly, forcing himself away and reappearing in a cabin that beheld Vesper. Rajus stepped back and watched his back as he removed the ring Rajus had given him. Both men were surprised when Vesper turned around. Rajus' eyebrows drew down.

"How are your eyes still that color if you just took the ring off?"

Vesper narrowed the scarlet irises at him and stepped off to the side.

"How are you here if I just took the ring off?"

Rajus sighed and hurriedly explained about him not taking the ring off before he could track him and then went on to tell him what was going on. Vesper simply sank down onto the bed and bit his nails while listening. When Rajus finished Vesper looked up to him and lowered his hand.

"If they're flying they could probably reach Manama's Island before nightfall... Could you guide them too it?"

Rajus haltingly nodded and asked what Vesper was going to do.

"After all, it's two days away for you if you stay onboard here. And what Sparks saw... It would reach you in no time Your Majesty-"

Vesper hissed and looked up at him.

"Quit calling me that Rajus! I'm still Vesper!"

He paused and stood forcing his claws out and testing his energy levels.

"And I'm going to follow you."

He blinked at Rajus' confused expression and retracted the claws slightly, flexing them.

"I took the ring off and noticed my power is different, more controllable yet less potent. I think the ring blinds me because I need to learn how to take that power and control it... That's what Max and Sparks were going to do..."

He shook his head and looked back to Rajus shooing him away. He smiled at him before the former king disappeared, leaving his room once he was gone. Out on deck he sprinted all the way to the figurine of a mermaid, and felt his fangs grow with his claws. He gripped the wood, leaving gouges in it and forced the power throughout his body. He gave a feral grin when he felt the heaviness of large wings on each of his shoulders and the dark fur covering him.

He felt every tooth in his mouth become sharper and he scented the faint trail of a dragon through his long snout. A winged wolf, four times larger than the normal canine yet twice as small as the beast he was with the ring. He twisted his head around and laid his ears back while sniffing at the feathers upon his wings. Slowly he extended one and marveled at the sheer size of it and the jagged knife-like structures along the bone. Yes, he'd follow them alright. Blood red eyes glittered even as he returned to his normal state. He'd wait til he ate something to start after them.

-------------------------------------------------

Rajus reappeared behind Sparks on Eli's back and realized she was tired. He leaned up to talk to her quietly without disturbing Max.

"Vesper says to make your way to Manama's Island. She's a mystic I befriended. Just keep going striaght. He says he'll be there later."

Rajus eyed Sparks and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Give me a little electricity and I'll hold her up for a while."

Rajus gently moved before Sparks and forced energy through his veins so that he became tangible. He felt bolts of fresh energy shot through his back and he sighed in relief. He spoke quietly once more.

"Eli, just keep going straight. If you can hold out until about nightfall we should be there. Possibly before. Vesper should be there soon enough."

[crimson92]

Eli turned his large head a little to look behind him, ruby red eyes, almost the color of blood, shining as something close to a grin spread across his face and a deep, echoing chuckle erupted from his throat.

"I can do more than just hold out, your majesty," the dragon said, laying his ears back and tightening into himself as he soared faster through the sky.

Max gave a weak chuckle and shook her head, lightly petting Eli with a clammy hand, "Oh...he can definitely do more."

Within a few hours, they made it to said island and found a nice, secluded place to land where they would not be easily found should someone spot the giant dragon falling from the sky. Everyone slid off of Eli, Max being helped down before she up and collapsed on the ground. Sparks was able to catch her before she struck her head and helped her to lean against a nearby tree, Eli shrinking back down to size and hurrying over to his fallen best friend, surveying the damage of her arm.

"Max, it's going to be okay," he told her reassuringly, putting a scaly leg on her arm.

Max turned to him, her face ashen with beads of perspiration dotting her forehead; the venom now seemed to be attacking her body, making her weaker. She gave a small, faint smile and nodded.

"...I know," she whispered, closing her eyes for a spell.

Eli, seeing as how he needed to work quickly if he was going to save her, wound his tail around her injured arm, looking apologetically at her when she hissed in pain and her back arched. He began to chant in some distant, dragon language that no one but Max knew of, his tail starting to glow a bright orange. A green vapor began to stream from Max's mouth, the venom now leaving her body and leaving only the healing of the injury left. Eli opened his mouth and allowed for a thin line of fire to stream forth and enter the wound. It inflamed and Max let out a pain filled shriek, panting hard to try and ignore it. The fire was working as her wound began to close, her skin healing itself, and looking almost as good as new save for the scar that was sure to be left there. Within a few minutes, Max had stopped screaming and was now just laying there, breathing evenly and looked to be asleep. Eli stepped back and stared at her before curling up next to her and looked at the others.

"There, now all she needs is some rest and she'll be fine," he told them, watching as the shadow dogs all surrounded their master, some of them whimpering as if they were worried she would never wake up.

Sparks nodded her head and looked at King Rajus, biting her lower lip, "So he'll be here soon, right? I...I didn't really think about what we would do once we caught up to him...what I would do. I mean, I had the notion of just knocking his teeth out for leaving me and now I kind of want to blame him for what's happened to Max, but at the same time, I just want to assured that he's alright. That and I can't blame him for this...I think it was going to happen anyway."

Sparks sat down next to Max, brushing some of her friend's black, curly hair out of her pretty face and sighing, waiting for either her to wake up or Vesper to show up.

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper's face fell as he listened through an unknowing Rajus to the conversation being had. He growled and looked down to the water as he pushed his wings down to gain some altitude. So Sparks wanted to be sure he was okay, but she also slightly wanted to blame him... He hissed and pulled his focus back to himself, casting a weary glance behind him at the setting sun. He was almost there too. He could see the outline of the island through his scarlet painted, canine eyes. He opened his mouth and inhaled some of the salty air, and catching something else along with it... Something musty and animal-like.

Vesper's heart skipped a beat and he forced himself faster, ignoring the burning in his shoulders and the tiredness he was beginning to feel. He partly opened his jaws and locked it in place so that he could continue to pinpoint the danger.

By the time he reached the island, the sun was halfway dipped beneath the sea and a small reddish creature was parading up the beach. Vesper opened his mouth wider and realized the scent was coming from the creature and with a dip he was diving straight for it. Halfway there he realized two things; The creature was large, and it was the same one in his dream. As soon as the connection hit, Vesper felt a flood of adrenaline kick in and he folded his wings tightly to his sides, extending his large paws and bracing himself for the impact.

As soon as he hit, the beast went down, utterly surprised and caught off guard. Vesper used the moment to roll them both over one more time and land on top of him, snapping at his neck. Strings of saliva dropped down as Vesper went flying to the side thanks to a mighty kick from the beast. He landed and looked up in time to see the thing running for him and jumping into the air. He snarled and jumped at it, latching onto its thick fur with his ling claws and sinking his fangs deep into the side of it's ribs. He bottom half continued forward and he managed to gain his footing while letting go of the beast so it didn't carry him down with it.

As the creature hit the ground with a thud and tried to roll over, Vesper was there waiting for it. He pounced and pressed both paws into the thing's throat, morphing his hands enough to spread his claws apart and dig them in various places. He pressed as hard as he could and growled at the beast, red fur becoming matted with slightly darker blood. But the beast wasn't giving up that easily, and it slammed both paws into Vesper's shoulder's dragging it's large claws through fur, skin and muscle. Vesper let up and yelped in pain. The beast then aimed a mighty kick at him and threw him off once more, sending Vesper rolling multiple times.

It ran for him as soon as he landed and pinned him down. Vesper snarled ferociously and tried to push up on him but the thing was too heavy and before he could do anything the monster had bit him, just barely missing his jugular and very nearly crushing his collarbone. He howled in agony and battered the beasts belly with his back paws, claws out. The beast yelped and shot up after a few times and Vesper rolled over onto his back, feeling the wound begin to itch then burn. He ground his teeth and crouched there while the beast slowly paced toward him, a wicked grin on its face. But Vesper stopped backing up and froze, the wound reaching its fiery peak and suddenly disappearing. He looked down at the bite and saw the fur closing back over it.

He looked back up and returned the beast's wicked smile, confusing it and feeling a rush of strength that was ten times what he should have been capable of. He growled and then shot for it, bowling it over and sinking his fangs in the thing's throat. He tasted the acidic blood that burnt his tongue but he still held on, hearing the beast gurgling. Suddenly a wave of black fire hit him and sent his body flying and rolling lifeless. A hooded figure appeared and continued moving closer speaking some odd language. Vesper groaned and forced his eyes open slightly.

[crimson92]

A hooded figure approached the fallen beastly form of the prince, a wicked smirk plastered on the figure's face before they lowered the hood of the cloak to reveal a man. He was perhaps in his early thirties with raven black hair, piercing golden eyes, and skin as pale as the moon. He averted his eyes to the red beast, his little pet, and cooed when it limped toward him.

"You've injured my Gringler," he said to Vesper, stroking the beasts fur with his bony hand, "I have the right of mind to kill you for that. Ha!"

He shot black fire from his hand and hit Vesper again, sending him rolling with a loud, feral cry of pain. The man merely chuckled darkly and walked slowly towards him.

"You know, I've already had a bad start to what was supposed to be a good day," he started, shooting another ball of fire at Vesper, hearing him howl.

"The target that I was after killed my little helpers,"

Another.

"She got away on a giant dragon,"

Another.

"She has evaded me,"

Another.

"And now you're trying to kill my Gringler."

Another shot and he stopped, watching as the injured Vesper panted and struggled to stand up, but pain prevented him. The man knelt down in front of him, the evil smirk still in place.

"As much as I would like to, I'm not going to kill you," he whispered, chuckling darkly, "I'm going to let you live, but in exchange for that favor, you're going to take me to the girl. I know you know where she is and I know she's not the one that you're truly worried about...it's the pink haired one. Take me to the one with the dragon and I'll let you and you're pretty little love go without a second glance. Deal? Hehehe."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sparks let out a sudden gasp when a deep, dark chill ran through her bones. She looked around her for the source of the evil aura as she jumped up.

"Something doesn't seem right...something's completely wrong," she breathed, ignoring the King's questions as she took off into the trees, disappearing in a foreign land.

She ran and ran and ran until she thought she would pass out, but finally, she came out near the ocean and looked around. She gasped again when she saw a man with a red beast beside him, the same red beast that had attacked Max, and another beast laying on the ground.

"What is going on?" she questioned, unsure of the danger she was in.

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper bared his long sharp fangs and his scarlet eyes flashed, unaware of Sparks.

"You're pretty stupid to think I would lead you to her. I'm not a traitor, nor a coward!"

With all the strength he could manage he lunged for the man's throat, only to be shot aside by an immense wave of fire this time. He hit the ground and couldn't breathe, stretching his paws out and clawing at the ground. Every muscle was on fire and he barely registered his wounds reopening from the fight with Gringler.

[crimson92]

Sparks had to suppress a shriek when she saw the man send a wave of fire towards the injured beast, feeling her heart quicken and her body shiver with an unknown fear. Moving closer to hear and see better, she stayed hidden and listened to the evil man laugh.

"What a stupid little boy," he mocked, harboring a black flame in his palm as he sneered down at the beast, "You should have just taken the deal and made this easier for yourself. You should have been smart and saved the ones you could! But it's too late for that now..."

The flame began to grow and take shape, soon becoming a black steel sword with a ruby on the handle.

"Now, I'm just going to kill you and then take both the girl with the dragon and your precious little angel to sell on the black market. The dragon girl will get me a fortune, but there's no harm in selling the pink haired one for a little something extra," he growled, grinning cruelly, "Yes, she'll be a pretty little ornament for someone to have, hehehe."

He raised the sword high above his head, preparing to strike the fallen beast; "Farewell...Prince Vesper."

Sparks gasped; "Vesper? Vesper?! VESPER!!" she screamed as her whole body began to glow, electricity crackling around her as she lunged out from her hiding spot and jumped in front of Vesper protectively.

She snapped the sword from the man's hands, an attack that surprised him as he stood and stared at the angry girl with her hair flying and electricity streaming from her body like a lightening rod.

"Don't. You. DARE. Touch him," she ground out, glaring heatedly at the mysterious man.

She noticed little ugly creatures approaching her quickly, his minions, and promptly fried them with her powers. The man moved quickly and attacked her with a stream of black fire. Sparks, in her rage, quickly blocked them all with bolts of electricity before turning the light into a sparking whip and thrust it at him. She hit him right in the chest, giving him a painful shock that would have killed any normal human being. It merely stunned him and he gasped from the frying pain he felt. He had gotten cocky...this time, but next time will be a different story. Looking up at her, his mocking grin returned and he chuckled as he backed away into the darkness.

"I see I've underestimated the power you possessed," he told her, his golden eyes cold, "but be assured, this is not over. I will have what I came hunting for and I will not rest until both you and your friend with the dragon are mine."

With that, he disappeared along with all the dark aura. Sparks panted as she watched him leave, forcing herself to be calm as the electricity simmered down and the air was silent of the electrical humming. Once she was sure she was back in control, and after hearing a painful groan, she turned quickly and fell to her knees beside Vesper.

"Vesper! Vesper, it's okay, I'm here now," she told him in a rushed whisper, looking over his wounds and feeling hopeless, "Oh god...I want to be so mad at you right now!"

She tried to glare, but found herself unable to, not when her prince looked like this, "I want to yell and scream and hit you...but I can't. I can't and I won't...because just seeing you like this makes that all go away. You came back to help us and you ended up like this...I'm so sorry."

She looked around frantically, as if looking for help, before going back to look at his injuries, afraid to touch anything lest it make him feel worse; "D-Don't you worry, Vesper! We'll get you some help! Maybe Max can...o-or Eli...someone...anyone...oh..."

She sank to her knees beside him and cradled his large head as best she could, laying her head on top of his and stroking his snout, "I can't heal you by myself, Vesper...I can't even heal at all. Max is still sleeping and I didn't tell anyone where I was going...and I don't want to make you move, you're hurt so badly. But I promise that everything will be okay, it will...it'll be okay."

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper heard Sparks' voice and felt her lifting his head into her lap. He felt his muscles relaxing and his lungs working again, the black magic gone. For the time he concentrated on breathing, listening to her continue and feeling her rubbing his snout. He managed a small smile as she continued talking.

"...and I don't want to make you move, you're hurt so badly. But I promise that everything will be okay, it will...it'll be okay."

He sighed and felt tiny bits of strength flooding through him, slowly but surely. A few seconds passed before he spoke.

"Let's wait... to ring my neck... Ok?"

He managed a slight grin as Sparks gasped and laughed at the same time. He twitched his ears and kept his eyes closed, focused on hearing anything, should it pop up.

"I'm sorry. I promise not to run off again. I just thought you wouldn't..."

Vesper groaned and had enough energy to push himself upright, opening his scarlet eyes and groggily blinking at Sparks.

"Thank you. I'm sorry. I had that beast... Then that man showed up..."

He flicked his ears back and readjusted himself before laying his head back on Sparks lap, still to exhausted to stand or walk.

[crimson92]

Sparks felt her face scrunch up in a glare at the thought of that man that almost killed Vesper. She was so angry, that the air hummed again, but she quickly calmed herself and shook her head.

"That man...I wonder what he wants," she whispered through gritted teeth, "What are his plans for me and Max? Maybe Max will know...she seemed to know a little bit more before we were attacked on the ship...poor girl."

She laid her head back on Vesper's, gently stroking his snout while sending little pinpricks of electricity through him to at least try and ease the pain, "I had never seen Max seriously injured before, despite the fact that we didn't spend that long together. That beast with the red fur...it could have taken her arm off...I was lucky enough to get out without injuries myself..."

She went quiet then, listening to the rhythmic sound of Vesper's breathing as her fingers continued running along his snout; "Why did you leave, Vesper?" she asked quietly, "What was going through your head at the time? I mean...I was so worried about you..."

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper sighed and lifted his head again, twitching his ears.

"I wasn't thinking clearly at the time anyways... But I'm sick of my father always pushing me! Gunther was the last straw and I- I made my choice. I just didn't think you would agree. I thought you would try to persuade me to work it out between Annalei and the King's Men. But I don't want to. Besides, I'm already tied to the King's Men now anyways..."

Vesper looked to her and then away.

"If Max got hurt like you said, we should go to her."

Before Sparks could protest Vesper was forcing himself to stand, though nearly falling once or twice. When he stood completely straight Sparks only came to his shoulder.

"Let's go..."

He bit back the pain and forced his legs to stop wobbling.

[crimson92]

"No, Vesper, you can't move yet. You're going to lose too much blood!" Sparks protested, but her please fell on deaf ears as the prince continued to hobble away, "Ohhh...stubborn as a mule, that one."

Thinking quickly and praying for forgiveness, she sent a current of energy into his body which shocked his nervous system and sent him back down. Wincing from the impact his body made when he hit the ground.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she apologized frantically, caressing his snout, "I'm sorry, Vesper, but I can't let you go anywhere, not like this. It'll just make things worse. Ah!"

Sparks let out a shocked cry when she felt something hit her back and whipped around to see one of Max's shadow dogs behind her, the thing staring at her with its empty eyes before it barked demonically at her. The girl smiled in relief and laughed a little.

"Troph, it's you," she said before turning to Vesper, "If Troph is here, then that must mean Max is conscious again."

She turned back to the dog and pet its head lightly, "Troph, please go and tell Max where we are and that we need her help. Vesper has been injured and needs to be healed right away before it gets worse."

The dog sat and stared at her for a minute longer, unnerving her a little, before it barked again and then melted away. All of 15 minutes later, they heard the rustling of nearby branches before a very large shadow beast emerged onto the sand, a healed Max on its back with Eli draped around her shoulders like always. Max smiled down tiredly at Sparks as she slid down from the beasts' back.

"How are you feeling, Max?" Sparks asked worriedly.

The girl shrugged, "I'm not dead, so that counts for something."

When she got a glance of Vesper, she winced at the condition he was in and shook her head, "But it's nothing compared to the injuries that he has, that's for sure."

"Can you help him? You're not too weak are you?" Sparks asked, wringing her hands.

Max shook her head and grinned, "I'll be able to have him healed, though it may take a little longer since I can't just heal him. I'll have to use a different incantation while I'm still regaining my energy."

With that, she moved to Vesper's side and knelt in front of him, putting her hands on his body and began chanting. Sparks sat on his other side and lightly rubbed his snout, smiling reassuringly at him.

"Now you might feel a slight twinge every now and again, but don't worry about it, okay? That's just your skin rejuvenating itself and your nerves connecting back together," Max told the fallen prince, slowly moving her hands over his body while chanting softly to herself, Eli lending her some of his power in order to make it a little bit easier.

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper slowly released a breath and smiled at the relief he already felt. He opened his mouth to speak but Rajus' voice beat him to it.

"Vesper, my god! What happened to you?"

Vesper looked up and noticed Max had stopped chanting and had leaned back. He pushed himself up carefully and let go of his beastly form, feeling fur receding and human form returning. He sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and opening his eyes.

"Rajus. Sorry. I just saw Gringler and I knew he was- I just- the dream I had... That stupid man was the reason I got hurt..."

Vesper smiled and looked up at Sparks.

"I really am sorry. I just didn't think you would agree..."

His gaze flicked to Max and Eli.

"And thank you. For healing me. But what happened to you?"

His deep scarlet eyes grew in intensity and the barely perceptible black darkened them.

[crimson92]

"I'm not telling you anything for fear that you might take off again in an emotional torrent," Max replied with a play grin as she stood up on slightly weak legs, "Besides, you need to be getting your rest and so should we. Let's find somewhere to camp for the night and when I'm reassured that you're not going to try and do something reckless...again...we'll trade stories."

Sparks helped Vesper to his feet, keeping a firm grip on him before jumping a little when Max put her hand on her shoulder.

"Did you see what attacked him?" she whispered in her ear.

Sparks looked at her before nodding slowly, "It was the same thing that attacked you."

Max stared at the ground for a long moment before nodding back, "Then it's here and it's waiting to attack again. Come on, we should get going so we're not caught off guard."

She turned to leave and Sparks turned to Vesper, letting him lean on her as she smiled gently, "I forgive you, by the way," she sent a small shock of electricity into his hand, just enough for it to feel like a pinch as she giggled, "but that was my revenge."

She then leaned in to kiss his cheek, blushing slightly as the group began their walk away from the beach.

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper grinned at the peck on the cheek he received and tried not to lean too much on Sparks. He pushed himself to continue with them until they were well into the woods, slowing only when it began getting too dark to see. He noticed them all stopping and he sank to the ground. He forced himself back into the wolfish form and curled around Sparks as they settled down for the night. He smiled when Sparks leaned back against his shoulder and softly snorted. It was slow going but he felt his strength returning and knew he would be fine tomorrow. He sighed once more and closed his eyes, breathing fading to a rhythmic pattern.

When he opened his eyes the next morning, sunlight was streaming through the trees and Sparks was fast asleep beside him. He yawned and stretched before quietly standing and scenting the air. He followed his nose to water nearby and drank his feel, testing and flexing his muscles. Happy that they were feeling fine, he returned back to where they'd camped for the night. He decided to stretch his wings while they were still snoring, delighted at the span and width they had.

[crimson92]

"I see you're feeling better," Eli suddenly spoke out from his place, settled in a tree.

His ruby red eyes stared down at Vesper and a deep chuckle left his throat as he uncurled his tail from the branch and swiftly, but quietly made his way down, sitting in front of the beast.

"And you must feel so relieved that you can open your wings and stretch," he said, opening his own wings and giving a small, dragon yawn, "There's no other feeling in the world."

He heard rustling behind him and turned his head to see Max shifting a little before rolling on her other side and going back to sleep. He grinned a little before walking past Vesper.

"Why don't we go a little further away from them to talk? I don't wish to wake Max up. Or Sparks," he said as he led Vesper away from the two girls that were unconsciously scooting closer together for warmth.

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper silently followed the dragon away from the two, padding softly on the cool ground. He folded his wings against his body, tightly, and lifted his nose to the air, the scents of different things distracting him.

He wasn't paying attention to where they were going until he noticed the shadow of the trees disappear and the leaves underfoot turn to grass. He looked out in front of him and saw a large meadow that stretched for a few miles with much open space. Vesper grinned and lazily flopped to the ground in the shade, rolling around and smiling. He inhaled the earthy scent of grass and chuckled.

"Eli, I don't get it but... I feel so good right now. I know I should but I don't regret leaving Annalei. I just feel... free."

Vesper rolled onto his belly and pushed himself up, spreading his wings and gently working them up and down.

"I do have a problem though..."