Never Whole Again (SBI royalty AU)

Chapter 7- The Shadow

Tommy POV

Tommy looked up, his eyes wide with fear. But there was no one there. He stood up, puzzled to say the least. He held his hand out once more, but felt nothing. Did he hit something? He took a step back only to be thrown back once more.

He stood up, pushing forward again. And again he stumbled back.

Skeppy let out a long sigh behind him. "Give up Tommy. It doesn't work."

"Why not? There's nothing there!" Tommy exclaimed, looking again at the open door.

"He's there. You just can't see him." Skeppy explained shortly, still laying on the ground.

"Why can't I? I swear I heard something." the blonde didn't understand.

Skeppy snapped up at his words. "You heard him?"

"I think so..." Tommy wasn't so sure. Was it not normal to have heard him? "Can you not hear him?" he questioned.

"I've heard sounds, but it never forms into words." 

It was strange. How could he not hear him? Tommy glanced back towards the door. It was tempting to run through it... but maybe Skeppy was right.

Footsteps came towards them, making Tommy look up quickly. A demon entered, stopping to look at them. His head fell low, like he was trying to hide his guilt. He carried a plate of bread and scraps of meat.

Skeppy seemed to brighten at the sight of him. "Bad!" He slowly rose to his feet, wincing at his bruises. He tried his best to ignore it, not wanting to worry his best friend.

Bad smiled sadly at the sight of him. His hand went to his pocket, pulling out a small jar. He offered it to Skeppy, eyeing the door carefully. "This is all I could get."

Skeppy took it, slipping it into his own pocket. Quickly he grabbed a piece of bread, resting a hand on Bad's shoulder. "Thank you."

Bad bit his lip, looking towards the ground. "I'm so-"

"Shhhh." Skeppy cut him off. "It's not your fault. You're doing the best you can."

Bad nodded, but didn't believe a single thing he said. It was all his fault. His eyes trailed to Tommy and he sighed, "You doing okay?"

Tommy glared at him before Skeppy gave him a stern stare. He sighed, and looked towards the ground. Deep down he knew it wasn't Bad's fault, but it was difficult to accept.

"Is there any news?" Skeppy ignored him, hoping to learn something about the inside world.

"They're still looking for us... unfortunately I haven't run into them." Bad bit his lip, shaking his head a little.

"He's still there?" Skeppy whispered.

Bad slowly nodded, forcing his eyes open.

"Him? The shadow?" Tommy's interest perked up a little. Maybe if he learned a little more about who was holding them captive, he could figure out a way to escape.

Bad nodded. "I need to get back. Before-" He held his head in his hands for a moment. "Before he notices."

"Be safe." Skeppy smiled sadly.

"You too." Bad muttered, leaving the room quickly.

Skeppy felt his smile fall. He tossed a piece of bread to Tommy before taking a bite of his own. Tommy glanced at him nervously. "What did you mean they're looking for you?"

"The people we left when we were taken." he explained, smiling slightly at the moment. "We work for the king."

"The king?" Tommy eyes widened. He had always been interested in the royal family, finding them fascinating. Sadly, his mother didn't share the same feelings. He never understood why.

"I'm a knight and bad is the leading healer there."

"How did you end up working for the royals?" Tommy questioned.

Skeppy closed his eyes, thinking back to the moment. "Bad and I have always been together. We found each other at the orphanage and have been best friends from the moment we met. So when we were both offered adoption we refused. We thought it was the end of the world for us to be separated."

"So what did you do?"

"We ran away."

Tommy couldn't help but laugh. "How old were you?"

"Ten."

"You were ten and you ran away?" 

"Yup." Skeppy confirmed. "We ran to the woods. It's miracle we lived through that night. Thankfully we were discovered by King Phil and a group of knights that were hunting. The king took us in and gave us a life."

"Wow." Tommy commented. "He's one nice king."

"He is." Skeppy nodded, "He's a good father to his kids. Losing his youngest destroyed him."

"The youngest still hasn't been found?" Tommy was surprised. After all it had been almost ten years.

"Not yet. But Prince Wilbur and Prince Techno are far from giving up." Wilbur... Techno... Why did those names sound familiar?

"What's his name?"

Skeppy looked at him in surprise. "You don't know?" It was common knowledge across the entire kingdom.

"My mother doesn't tell me anything." Tommy admitted. "She doesn't want anything to do with the royal family for some reason." He had never really thought about it. Why did his mother hate the royals?

"His name is Thomas. Prince Thomas."

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Hope you have a wonderful day!

-Snowy