The Magic Cube [BOOK TWO]

Chapter 2: A cat's stumble

The sun rose across the horizon, the roosters cawed loudly, waking up the residents of Lumina City. Those who are immune to the rooster's caw don't mean it's immune to the loud sickening chimes of the city's clock.

Of all the people, only one's ears were the most sensitive.

Inside the palace of Lumina City, the first one who woke up was a teenager about the age of 15, who curled up in his soft and comfy bed, purring.

He slowly got up, hearing the rooster's caw a few miles away.

Harith got out of bed and went stumbling into the bathroom, brushing his teeth and washing his face. He even decided to take a short bath.

Leonins hated baths, including Harith. But life in Moniyan Empire turned that whole thing around, (And because Granger forced him to take a bath) leonins never took baths much as they are always clean and smell fragrant even after they climbed a hill and ended up sweaty.

But in a while, Harith liked baths. The bubbles the soaps make, how it smells like, and he felt so refreshed after taking one it's like he's on a cloud.

After he dressed and got out of the bathroom, he took a while to look at a picture of an elderly leonin, expression melting. A while after that, he went for the door and opened it-

"Mornin' Harith!" Alucard tackled him with a rib-breaking hug.

"Why do you keep doing that every morning?!" Harith howled, trying to wrench out of the hug.

"Because I care about you and I was looking out," Alucard backed up. "can't expect a time when I find you kidnapped, what then?"

Harith grounded his teeth but didn't reply until a moment later.

"Were you sleeping outside my room?" he said, seeing something behind Alucard that resembles a pillow.

"Uh..." Alucard hesitated. Harith saw his chance and lunged to look at it but Alucard was faster. Both of them wrestled for a long time until Harith finally pulled at the pillow. It fell to the ground and he gave Alucard a withering look.

"I can explain," he started.

"The damage has been done," Harith turned and trotted away. Alucard caught up with him.

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to protect you," he said.

"From what?" Harith snapped.

"These are dark days Harith!"

"You're right, and it just got darker because of you!" he speeded up, trying to keep a distance from Alucard but he clung on, following.

"Listen to me!"

"I just did and it wasted my time."

"I have a reason!"

"A reason that I am not interested in." Harith spat, walking faster. Alucard held him back with his metal claw hand. Harith wrenched away and glared at him.

"What do you want, why are you so overprotective?" he shouted, adrenaline rising-

"Because you are our only hope."

Harith stopped, ice-cold. Alucard sighed.

"When your village burned down and you are the only survivor, I had to protect you. I told you, these are dark days. Because you don't know when will Helcurt come to finish you off. he said.  "It might happen as the day Prince Dyrroth was kidnapped here before, you wouldn't know when will it happen to you."

The two stood in silence. Before Harith broke it and bent on one knee, eyes on the floor.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.