.

"Where the –" Sebastian cussed, turning around for the first time. The trees covered up the moonlight completely, and the path from which they'd come from had vanished from sight. "- are we?!" 

"Somewhere," Jylan let out, completely not paying attention. Of course, even Sebastian knew that they were 'somewhere'. 

"I'm not asking you, you –" Sebastian cursed again, fists clenched. "- butler."

Jylan whistled. "Short fuse, I see."

"What the –" Sebastian let out a string of curses. "- did you say to–"

"Shh, shh, we're nearly there," Jylan interrupted, laughing, and put a finger on Sebastian's lips. "Sorry. I tried to hold back, but angry people are so not my thing."

As they continued through the forest, they eventually arrived at a clearing, at the center of which was a shabby cottage. The moonlight had been covered up by clouds, allowing the muddy brown house to almost perfectly blend into the forest around it. 

"Home, sweet home!" Jylan exclaimed, his smile weak on his face.

"What is this mess? I'll have you know – I am a prince." Sebastian huffed. "You kidnapped a prince, took them to the middle of nowhere, and now –"

Jylan's patience had finally run out. "Okay! Fine! You are a prince! You're better than everyone else, and you don't like comfy cottages or calming nature! So, I'll just sleep inside and you can sleep on the grass! Maybe you can make some new friends, I heard the cockroaches are friendly this year!" he snarled, yanking the cottage door open and slamming it behind him. 

Sebastian stood, dumbfounded, for a few minutes. Had he gone too far? 

Then, he shook his head. He pursed his lip. That was nonsense! He was the crown prince; he could never go too far when it came to commoners!

But…

Gazing around, there were no people, no buildings. Only nature. Among nature, he had no status. He was, quite literally, just a speck of dust whirling along with everything else. While the people might bow down to him and do anything for his bidding, he was just a commoner in the forest. Not one of the ants crawling along the dirt had any clue who he was, and neither did the birds, the lions the cheetahs, or the deer. 

Sebastian sighed, swallowed his pride, and knocked on the door. The speck of dust had realized his place. "I'm sorry. Please, open the door. I'm tired."

There was no reply. "Hello?" Sebastian spoke again, his voice hoarse. Had the butler fallen asleep? 

"Heh, I might dock your paycheck –" he tried again, but that was before he heard growling behind him. 

There was a large white wolf about fifty yards away from him, baring large fangs as big as his fingers. It was baring out of the trees, the shadows pulling back as the wolf came to a brighter light. 

It was over half the prince's height, but although it didn't share much stature, the muscle and skill the wolf held grazing along its body proved on its own that Sebastian didn't have a chance fighting. 

"BUTLER! OPEN THE DOOR!" Sebastian yelled, pounding on the door with a fist. "THERE'S A WOLF –"

The wolf slunk closer, speeding up as it realized that its prey might get away. Forty yards, thirty-five yards, twenty yards… Sebastian could see its yellow eyes glinting more. The wolf's pupils shrunk, its claws bared, snarls escaping as it took a final leap. The prince could almost hear it thinking, "Is human flesh chewy or soft? Does it even taste good?"

Sebastian turned and kicked at the door, hammering at it. "BUTLER! PLEASE!" He said desperately and then flung his arms over his head. 

The door was flung in and Sebastian was yanked in by the arm. Jylan switched places with the prince, a heavy red brick in hand. He threw it at the wolf's face, watching as it smacked the wolf in the eye and knocked the animal off course. 

The wolf stuttered in its steps but didn't fall as it turned away. However, its eyes continued gazing at Jylan and Sebastian.

Jylan raised another brick from the ones held at his arm. "YOU WANT MORE?!" 

The wolf looked away, disappointed, and then retreated to the forest from whence it had come.