Pact

Ace stared at the sword gleaning in the little bit of sunlight that came from the rich dark clouds.

That sword.

Tug.

Ack. He greeted his teeth, covered in blood and held on to the tail as hard as he could, reaching for the sword.

No time for admiring it. Later.

He managed to lean forward and pull out the sword from the ground. Holding the light sword in his hands, he raised it in the air but the minotaur seemed to understand what he was trying to do and began swinging him in the air.

Ace held on for dear life as he tried to focus on the sword and the tail while being tossed around like a rag doll.

Come on! He raised it in the air and, in one clean swipe, he cut the end of the tail off as the creature screamed in pain, blood spilling everywhere.

He managed to grab the horn of the minotaur, slicing its back with the sword, creating a gash on its back. Twisting the sword around, he tried to plunge it into the back of the creature but it shook him off.

The sword managed to hit something though, just not something that is important or will cause a lot of damage.

Ace was thrown in the air before falling on the ground and smacking himself in the face with a rock. The horn of the creature falling beside him on the ground.

The left of his eyes blurred with the colour red as he struggled to stand up, heaving and huffing.

His body felt ten times heavier, and it did not help that he had something sticking through his chest while the ground shook with the creature rushing to him at full speed, mad and ready for revenge.

He wanted to move but he couldn't. His feet felt rooted to the ground and he could not see or hear anyone else around him.

Ace still held the sword as he looked at the thing charging at him. Hopelessness was the only thing that filled his body as he looked at it.

I am going to die here. For sure. This is my last moment of life. Goodbye, all. Ajax. I am sorry I couldn't change your future. You deserved more.

As the minotaur neared him, Ace braced himself, eyes falling shut while he waited for the impact.

But the impact never came.

Slowly, he opened his eyes to see the minotaur looking at him blankly before toppling over and falling to the ground, dead.

Something that looks like a razorblade sword sticking out of its back.

H-huh? What just ...

"What do you think you are doing??" He heard someone ask and looked up to see that same boy he saw in the woods walking to them.

Unlike everyone here, he looked clean and pristine and is even in a uniform that looks oddly like the uniform that Ace was wearing.

"Are you ok?" he heard a voice behind him and looked to see the princess running to him with her father and other men.

He did not respond to them as he felt a hand wrapped around his arm as he suddenly lost balance and crashed into the body of the person as he burst out laughing.

"You look a mess kid." He said as Ace looked up at him with only one eye open, the other eye was closed shut.

"Who-" He tried to speak but only blood came out of his mouth.

"Don't talk." He said, gently helping him to stand properly as he examined the tail sticking through the boy's chest. "This doesn't look too bad."

"Really?" He asked, rolling his one eye, every movement was excruciating.

"You would risk being hurt rather than not be snarky?" He asked, amused. Just then, everyone arrived in front of them.

"Your highness." The girl said, gasping as she saw the condition he was in. "We need to get you checked."

"There will be no need for that." The boy beside him said, voice hard as he stared at the king blankly.

"Wh-"

"I will take care of him." He glared at them. "I cannot trust that you all will do a good job anyway."

"H-hey." Ace patted the boy's shoulders lightly. "I am not here to make enemies or to cause any bad blood between them and my kingdom."

"You shouldn't be the one to worry about that." He said kindly to Ace before looking back at them and frowning. "After all, if there is anyone that will be the cause of bad blood between our kingdom and theirs would be them."

"Liste-" The king tried to speak but paused suddenly.

Ace looked at the king's terrified face and turned to see the boy's eyes turning white with a hint of pink in them.

No way. He thought, eye-widening. He … he is … no …

"If you wish to speak to me." The boy said, looking at him with disgust. "You may do so after I have made sure my brother is completely recovered. Please excuse us."

He snapped his fingers and they were back in the room that Ace was in only moments ago.

The boy carefully laid Ace down on the bed and began examining the wounds on his body, the more he did so, the more he seemed to frown.

"This is going to hurt a little bit." He said as something appeared in his hands. It was cloth. "Bite on this so that you will not accidentally bite your tongue out."

Ace couldn't protest as the boy shoved the cloth in his mouth and began moving the half of the tail. Ace braced himself as the boy pulled it out in one, swift tug.

Pain spread through the boy's body as his lungs began to fill with blood and he could see black dots all over his vision while couching out blood onto the cloth and down his mouth occasionally.

I am going to die. I am going to die. Iamgoingtodieiamgoingtodiei-

"You are not." He heard a voice say as he slowly felt his body relax and his eyes fell on the boy in front of him, holding a cookie? Or something. "I will make sure of it."

Ace's vision blurred as a smokescreen filled his eyes and he closed them, exhausted.

___________________

"Are you sure he is alright?" He heard a very familiar voice ask. "He looks ... awful."

"He still looks charming." Another voice said, amused. "I think, out of all of us ... he has the best looks."

"I agree." The first voice said as Ace felt a gently stroking of his hair. "Well, mother was widely known for her beauty."

Ajax.

Ace wanted to say something but he could not move his body no matter how hard he tried to.

I must be more tired than I thought I was.

"What are you going to do about this?" The other voice asked, walking around the room, not trying to hide his footsteps.

"I want to burn this kingdom to the ground." He heard a slight growl in Ajax's voice.

"You wouldn't be able to." The other voice said, chuckling slightly. "But ... I think there is someone else that could."

"Oh? And you know who they are?" He heard Ajax sounding amused.

"Of course." The other voice chuckled, still moving around. "I am the best person to ask this for."

"Will you really be willing to go so far for me, Lucian?"

Lucian? Oh right, that was the name of the fifth person that got the crest. Before that ... incident, he was the only one that got up to a hundred creatures.

No one else could beat his record, until ... that breakdown I had.

So ... he is the boy that I was talking to in the woods?? I never saw him before so it can't be helped if I do not remember or even recognise him at all.

Still the most powerful person in the kingdom. But ... there seems to be some fondness that he has towards Ajax, for some reason.

Why?

"Of course." He heard Lucian said, finally stopped walking. There was a slight smile in his voice, "For everything you did for me, I owe you my life."

"If father hears you say that, he will kill you," Ajax said, quickly standing up.

"I don't care about that man." There was this nonchalant tone in his voice that indicates that he is honest. Not just trying to sound cool. "He can't touch me."

"Right ... the pact." Ajax chuckled. "You are a sly one."

"I wouldn't have made it this far if I wasn't."

Pact? What pact? Tell me moorrreee.

"About Ace."

Noooo. What pact??

"Keep it from father," Ajax said, sitting down on the bed beside Ace. "I will take care of those people before he wakes up."

"Do you think Ace will appreciate it? It is his mission after all."

"What do you suggest I do then?"

He heard more footsteps until he felt the other person standing just beside the bed.

"Wait for him to wake up and talk it over." More footsteps walking away. "Call me if you need any help."

The doors closed and Ace felt that he was alone with Ajax when he finally could feel the control return to his body.