Red Riding Hood | BoyxBoy | COMPLETED

Tower Escape

Mitsuku Rinidae's POV

What had I done to end up here? There were two bright spots in my life. The day I'd been accepted into ASTAR's Magical Genealogy Research and Development Programme and the day I met my wife. In both of these things, Duke Kellen had been present. His lordship had facilitated both events and I was undoubtedly indebted to him.

But his machinations were also the reason that both of us were locked away in this cell. He was indirectly responsible for my permanent disfigurement. The feelings of gratitude warred very strongly against resentment and they were followed by the guilt of not being thankful enough for what good he had given me.

Lord Kellen had tried to speak to me when we were first thrown into the Tower, but I stayed in my corner. I was unable to respond, too overwhelmed with my thoughts and guilt for resenting him and for everything I had done to the Princes of Nasales. Prince Consort Cassidy's body had been altered drastically and it was at my hand.

Though they seemed happy, I simply could not look at them without knowing that I had taken their body autonomy away. It was a huge violation of my department's rules: Consent must be given and can be withdrawn at any moment during the experiment.

I was paying for my crimes now in a cell and wracked with misery I thought bitterly.

~

The only reason I could estimate how long Lord Kellen and I were locked together was because of the natural lighting from the window of our cell. It wasn't big enough for someone of the Duke's size to squeeze through, though maybe I could if I tried. It didn't matter, we were too high up to jump. I rather thought that was the point.

I was tucked away in my corner as I had been when King Olcan showed up. Neither of us acknowledged each other.

But that didn't matter as the King was here to talk to Lord Kellen. And he didn't bother to speak too quietly.

"What are you planning this time, Kellen? The things you left, they were for me, weren't they?" asked the King. In my peripheral vision, I saw the Duke stand and face his majesty.

Whatever the Duke said, I couldn't catch. While King Olcan's voice was naturally loud, Duke Kellen had a soothing low timbre that convinced many people to do terrible things.

"Where is my daughter?" demanded the King. What did the missing princess have to do with Lord Kellen?

The Duke only shrugged, and I could guess that he didn't know either.

"If anything happens to Seffrin, I will not protect you any longer, Kellen," the King told him angrily. "You've gone too far."

"I don't know where she is," Lord Kellen repeated, loud enough for me to hear him this time.

"Your Majesty," interjected Prince Consort Cassidy as he and Prince Alexander stepped out from the shadows.

My gaze caught on the gentle curve of his belly. I was truly the monster.

Prince Cassidy pulled out a map. "Lord Kellen, where is the place you've so kindly marked out?"

The Duke looked at King Olcan. "You didn't put it back," he deadpanned.

His Majesty looked affronted. "You stuffed it in a drawer," he replied indignantly.

"No, I didn't." Lord Kellen shook his head. "I left it in between books and—"

"Excuse me," Prince Alex interrupted. "We think Seffrin might have seen these too," he told the King and Duke.

"If she isn't in the dens, then she's wherever this place is," Prince Cassidy finished.

Duke Kellen sighed and rubbed his temples. "Well, what do you expect me to do now? I am in a cell."

"Take us to this place," Prince Cassidy says.

The King and the Duke share a look. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," King Olcan starts.

"Please," said Prince Alex. "That's my sister."

There was a moment of silence before King Olcan nodded. I watched quietly as he beckoned a guard to let the Duke out of the cell. No one noticed me. The guard locked the cell behind Duke Kellen.

"Let's go," Lord Kellen said.

~

After the group of four left, with Prince Cassidy in the middle in case he lost balance, the floor was quiet again. And as soon as the guard was distracted by his patrols, I hobbled over to the window.

It would be difficult to climb out with my bad leg, but I thought I could manage. The opening was small, but compared to the wolves, so was I. The drop was what concerned me the most. Falling from this height into the water below would kill me if I didn't have something to break the water's surface tension. I find a short piece of stone. It'll have to do.

Checking to make sure the guard hadn't come back from his rounds, I squeezed myself through the window. Halfway out, the guard returned with an alarmed shout. I wriggled harder, pushing myself out. The keys jangled in the lock. With the piece of stone in hand, I aimed downwards, closed my eyes and fell.

I hit the water hard, and it bruised like I'd expected it to. But once in the water, I felt more refreshed than I had in days. I'd been out of water for too long.

Quickly, I shifted, instinctively swimming further down in the direction of the ocean. It was a struggle, with a missing tail fin, but I had far more pressing concerns that my disability could not overcome. And if I stopped swimming, I wouldn't be able to breathe, so I kept going until I was out in the salty open waters of the sea.

Finally free, and I was for now—the guard might have seen the tail end of my escape, but I doubted he could have caught up to me if I swam back to Atlantis.

As it was, I couldn't actually swim back home. In both my water and land form, I was at a major disadvantage, courtesy of Prince Alexander. I swam towards the beach, hoping to find a place secluded enough to rest out of sight.

Closer to the shore, I shifted back into my human form. Honestly, I looked so much more intimidating as a shark, but that didn't hold much weight anymore either. A shark who couldn't swim fast or in a straight line was hardly terrifying.

I crawled up the sandy beach into the jungle foliage, panting with the exertion. And as I crawled deeper to hide from potentially prying eyes, a noise drew my attention.

Someone was yelling. It was too far away for me to hear, but loud enough that I froze under a giant monstera leaf. When no pursuers showed up, but the occasional shout could still be heard just as far away, I determined that whoever it was wasn't here for me. And that meant I could get closer to take a look as long as I didn't expose myself.

It was probably a better idea to stay put, but I didn't become a scientist because I was content with not knowing.

Shuffling quietly, I trudged closer, leaning heavily on trees and letting the occasional cry guide my way. It brought me to the edge of a clearing lit with fire around the circumference. All that light illuminated the centre, where a sigil had been dug into the ground. Two girls sat inside, the older one tied up and the other unbound but hugging her knees to herself in fear. They were surrounded by wolves, all half shifted and snarling.