Royals. (Prince! Komaeda Nagito x Fem! Reader x Prince! Hajime Hinata)

14. Anticipation.

(Y/n)'s POV

When I finally came to, all I could see was the hazy ceiling light shining above me. I blinked a few times, still feeling the effects of the chemical used on me earlier to put me to sleep. I sat up, looking down at my hands, which were bound together. Sure enough, I was trapped in an underground cell, unable to move my arms in the slightest. What did I do to end up here?

The events from before replayed in my mind. Prince Nagito nearly kissing me in front of everyone... sneaking off to the balcony... and Hajime sacrificing myself to protect me. My heart sank as I remembered the look in his eyes moments before everything faded to black. Was all of that even real? It happened so quickly, it felt like it was fake. Tears formed in my eyes as the image popped up in my head, but I was suddenly alerted to the sound of a nearby door opening.

"Looks like our extermination job is now complete," a familiar voice mused. "The filthy commoner who was infecting the castle is now behind bars, where she belongs!"

Suddenly, a familiar face came into view, accompanied by none other than Prince Ouma. It was Lily, the girl who had bullied me in the rose garden all those weeks before. My eyes widened in surprise as she stood at the other side of the cell, a smug expression on her face. "Well? Are you not going to fight back?"

"Nishishi, looks like she's all bake and no bite, after all!" Prince Ouma exclaimed, a sinister glint in his eyes.

"Why am I here?" I yelled, looking up at both of them with widened eyes. "What is the point of it all? Why me?"

"You will find out soon enough," the purple eyed prince assured me, a sense of security in his voice. I felt comforted by his tone for a minute, but I was astounded as I watch him turn back to his evil persona in a split second. "Aha, I got you! It was a lie, you see!"

I could only watch as the two of them laughed with one another. I tried to think of a reason that they would want to kidnap me for, but nothing could even come to mind. I didn't have any money or assets to offer, and my greatest strength was baking. What did they want from me?

"Well, that's enough time in the animal pen, isn't it, your majesty?" Lily asked the prince,  a smile stretched across her face. "Let's get out of here, while we can!"

I could only watch as the two of them left the room. Whatever glimmer of hope I had that freedom was in my future left with them. I had no choice but to be consumed by total darkness yet again.

————
Nagito's POV

"I need the troops from the stables to prepare for attack, too!"

The throne room had an air of sadness, anxiety and anticipation throughout it, but nonetheless, Prince Nagito sat on top of his throne, his usual serious expression on his face. He sat there holding a handgun in his lap, twirling it around in his grasp every once in a while. It was the very weapon that was used to wound his brother, so he thought it would be only fair to use to to wound the enemy in return.

"Understood, your majesty," one of the guard replied, bowing to the prince before swiftly exiting the throne room.

"And what of Hajime's status?" He asked, turning to a maid with silver glasses.

"He is still alive, though he has not regained consciousness," the maid replied. "The doctors are going to try to extract the bullet soon. If all goes well, it should be a pretty simple procedure. But if not..."

"There are no ifs, I am sure of it," the prince insisted. "My brother will recover. Now, I leave this castle under charge of my father until I return, alright?"

The rest of the castle staff nodded as the prince rose from his throne, a serious glint in his silver eyes. "Wonderful. I'll be heading off, then."

The prince then moved to exit the throne room, making his way to the stables. However, before he did so, he couldn't help but duck into a nearby room.

Prince Nagito entered the infirmary, his gaze focused on the figure sleeping in the only occupied bed. His brother laid there in a peaceful sleep, the only blemish to his image the bullet wound in his arm.

Prince Nagito gently pressed his hand to the shoulder of the sleeping brunette. "I will avenge you, dear brother. Just you wait and see..."

The prince then swiftly exiting the room, locating his horse as quickly as he could. He then put on his suit of armor with the royal seal engraved on it before hopping on to the horse. With a few brief orders, the prince was able to rally a few hundred of his castle guards and knights behind him.

And then, with a yell and the thrust of a spear, they were off to the Imperial Kingdom to save (y/n) and avenge Prince Hajime.

((This is a bit of a shorter chapter but I hope to update again soon. Hope you enjoyed!))