Chapter 2

Errot slowly opened his eyes. His head felt very light but his body extremely heavy. He closed and opened them again trying to adjust to the light.

The light? Errot frowned.

 Was it morning now?

 Where was he?

He started looking around to catch a small glimpse of his surroundings. Unfortunately for him, he didn't recognize the place. He noticed that he was in a very big room, with baby blue colored walls, laying on a kings sized bed. The windows were enormous. It was like those windows you see on a church, light sipping through everywhere.

Errot attempted to place a hand against his eyes to cover them from the incredibly beaming and blinding light when a very sharp pain radiated against his body, specifically his shoulder. Errot let a painful groan out and tried to touch his shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing there?"

Errot jumped at the sudden sound and immediately glanced at the person with this very unfamiliar voice. He wasn't that tall but he definitely knew how to stand on his feet. His features were so soft, Errot resisted the urge to touch this mans face. His golden curls got just under his ears, making them long enough to fall on his face .His eyes were big and deep blue, they looked like they copied the color of the ocean, almost angelic.

The man crossed his arms against his chest and raised an eyebrow at Errot.

"Remind me your name, please"

Errot gulped. " Where..-"

"Moccasin Blood. You were shot." He tapped his own shoulder while looking at Errot. "Shoulder. We gave you medicine and took care of it. You're fine now but if you want to keep being fine stop trying to raise your hand. Your friend is also fine and she's the reason you're talking to me right now so dont forget to thank her. So, now that I answered precisely the 70% of your question sheet, mind if I borrow your possibly beautiful name?" He smiled.

Errot blinked. They are in Moccasin blood? The Moccasins are the smartest of them all, the infamous angels. Their minds could do wanders . They are always one step ahead of you. They probably know more about you than you do yourself. Every single immortal is filed, with those documents being heavily protected by the creatures of the sky. Nothing could get past them that they wouldn't know about . They have information about anything and everything. Details about every dimension, every creature, every event. But you have to be careful. They are diplomats. Enigmatic. They don't trust just anyone with their very valuable information or supplies. Well, not at least with nothing in return. They are strong believers of the expression 'give and take' and you have to get on their good side in order for them to help you efficiently. They live amongst the clouds, their houses literally touch the sky. Angelic and smart, everyone wants to befriend them but they insist on staying neutral and not taking any sides. That way, they can benefit from every dimension and every creature in times of need. Errot was startled to say the least "wow..uhm..Errot"

"Wow, Uhm, Errot, pleased to Meet you. I'm Elian, King Elian" Elian looked very amused.

He nodded. "King Elian...you're an angel, right?"

" Ah, I see...homeboy has done his homework. Nice. Though, I suppose you know you can't stay here right? My dimension has it's rules and regulations. You know, those tiny sentences at the end of the book that nobody ever reads? Interested in knowing what they say?"

Errot opened his mouth to respond but Elian was faster. " They say that Moccasin Blood can't and won't accept any alien creature as a resident or even worse, refugee."

Errot carefully raised his body and sat up on the bed . " We just want information. We heard you are the right guys for that."

Elian let out a small chuckle at that. " Yes. Yes, we are. But . There's always a 'but' in there, handsome." Elian's dramatic pause gave Errot the time to process the attempted compliment and blush a bit. When Elian opened his mouth to talk again, Errot interrupted him.

" You want something in return" .

Elian smirked. " And here I thought that you were a bit dumb"

" Just because you are considered the 'smartest' ones it doesn't mean that everyone else is stupid" Elian raised an amused eyebrow. "-Also, you don't have any right to judge someone from the dimension they come from. Your IQ score doesn't give you a free pass to be a fucking dick"

Elian couldn't help the wide smile that got spread on his face " Hey kid, I was just teasing you. No need to go mental on me. But I have to admit that, unfortunately, being a Merlot means that you're useless to me. You have nothing to offer. Well, at least not something that could come in handy. Also, mind your language. You're talking to a King."

Errot took a few silent seconds to think. Elian is right. Even though he's struggling to admit it, him and Oda have absolutely nothing that Moccasins could use to their advantage. They are both Merlots. There's only one way for them to be useful and that requires their death. But they didn't escape their world to die. At least, not yet.

There must be a way. Errot tried to think harder and deeper than that. He heard that the Moccasins know a whole lot about all four blood dimensions. What they don't know though is what the Inks are planning to do. There's a rumor going around that the Inks are plotting something against their archenemies, the Teals, in order to tear their kingdom down. To end them once and for all so they won't be able to stand in their way anymore. So they can be Kings and Queens and rule the entire world in their own brutal ways. Nobody really knows what they have in mind and that fact alone is slowly killing the Moccasins.

Errot suddenly smirked " We can get you information about the Inks" .

For a single second he thought that Elian was frozen until he started laughing out loud.

Errot frowned. " I don't understand what's so funny"

Elian kept chuckling until he looked at Errot and his laughing begun dying down.

" Wait, you're being serious?"

" Deadass. We are gonna go undercover and spy on them and pass all the information to you or your minions or whatever"

Elian furrowed his eyebrows a bit, actually considering it but then he shook his head in disapproval " You can't do that, trespassing is against the rules and if they found out two Merlots stepped into their territory, you wont live to see another day"

Errot clicked his tongue. " And you care about that, why? Last time I checked, your lot only cares about your valuable information. And Oda and I are willing to give you exactly that. A piece of treasure you're right now missing on. Let us die. Anything to learn what the creatures of the darkness are hiding. Right?" He could feel he was slowly getting under Elians skin. His words were pining at the back of Elian's head as his heartbeat was raising every passing second. This was their last chance. They needed the Moccasins as much as the Moccasins needed them.

After what felt like hours to Errot, Elian finally spoke up " And you only need information?"

" information, money and disguise"

" That's three things kid, when you're only offering one"

" Fist of all. I'm not a kid. Secondly, I'm 99% sure that our 'one' thing will cost us way more than all three of those things I asked you for " .

" Hm. You're risking your life there, bud. Not a smart move"

" Didn't ask for your opinion on the matter. Im pretty aware of what's at stake and I'm willing to do it" Errot claimed confidently while curling his fingers into a fist.

Elian let an amused scoff out. " Splendid. So, do we have a deal, Errot ?" He extended his hand politely for a handshake while grinning widely.

Errot stared a bit at Elian's hand and then took it firmly. " I believe we do, your highness "

Errot had this strange glimpse of light on his eyes. It almost looked like a small fire was trapped inside of them. His expression screamed 'fearless' and 'tempted', words that he hadn't crossed paths with in years. He felt odd. For the first time since he was brought to life he wasn't particularly sad. Hope was flirting with him and god only knows how much Errot wanted to flirt back. He crossed the borders and snapped a deal with a Moccasin. Could he finally grip the wheel and take a turn?

But wait. Errot frowned. " How did we end up in here?"

" Ask your friend. I'll let her know you woke up. Now, you should rest for the rest of the day and tomorrow I'm gonna give you a wonderful tour of my dimension."

He nodded and looked at Elian who was now already at the door. " Thank you"

Elian paused with his hand at the knob and turned to face Errot. " I like you Errot. Dont make me regret it" And with that, he opened the door and walked out leaving him alone, in this enormous room, thinking about his life choices and this huge deal he just made that could easily cost his life.

♛