Foxtails and Fairytales: Facades and Fables of the Phantom Prince

Arc.18 Ch.8 Silent Night

[Prince Vance Gildeshire]

I have an ominous premonition. Sebas has been gone for a long time and I've recently gotten word that my casino was made into a dragon.

But since I'm here we don't have anything to worry about. Right? I didn't earn the moniker of Hydra Prince simply because I'm fair at politics.

The moons were high in the sky but an ill wind rattled my window making me restless. I was up tonight reading a book to calm my nerves. However, I couldn't just sit still while the hair on my neck bristled.

"FUCK!" I said as I stood up.

Nobody could hear me, so I cursed in situations like this to throw off people peeking or spying. I've tripped a few maids, and one or two assassination attempts this way. It mostly just makes me feel better while in the privacy of my chambers.

I grabbed my belt with my swords and strapped it to my waist a little too aggressively in my frustration. They were single-edged short swords that sat on my lower back. My brothers learned the sword style of the king in preparation for becoming king. I learned a separate style to avoid standing out and becoming competitive. I feel more like an assassin than a prince when I practice.

I grabbed a few more things from around the room and decided to go on an independent patrol to clear my head. When I opened the door to my room the smell of blood hit my nose like a soured wine. The metallic taste hit my tongue with a familiar gritty dryness I had learned from so many battles of intrigue.

I clicked my tongue when I didn't see any guards in the hallway on this quiet night.

"Fowler." I said into the air and a man walked out of the shadows and kneeled in front of me. "Report."

"My lord, I sense no traces of battle but death is in the air. I doubt anyone but you and I would have noticed... they are dangerous." He answered.

"How many?"

"I... do not know. I beg your forgiveness."

"Then they are really dangerous. We must hurry." I said.

I cast a spell to erase my scent, my presence, and any sound I made. Then I ran toward the smell. Honestly, I was probably the only one who could smell something so faint and Fowler had power over wind and darkness so he was capable of sensing danger from a great distance as well. I had two magic affinities for light and dark magic. I was probably the foremost expert in both and may have been shipped off as a saint for some church had it not been for my specialty in my second type of magic.

Poison.

A rare affinity and a dangerous one to have for those who care to live a life in the light of day. My brothers exploited this weakness and it got to the point that everyone forgot I could practically work miracles with both my talents. This is why I played the trash prince role, I spent much of my time gaining as many fortunes as I lost gambling and imbibing life's luxuries.

A life I was perfectly content with before my brothers began acting up.

I can no longer stand by while there is an assault on my friend's home.

"Fowler, where is Lord Benedict Elkwood?" I asked my shadow.

"..."

It was silent for a long moment. I found a window that was split open, and I followed the smell as I hopped out of it. From the third floor, I landed with no sound and headed to the building where the research was happening.

"It appears he is on the move as well, but it is because of another matter. A large group of refugees have appeared at the gates." Fowler answered. "They match the description of the pale-skinned slaves."

"Do they still have their collars on?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Damn, this is too coincidental. Let him know about the attack on the research lab. Tell him I have a bad feeling." I said as I sunk my foot in the ground and kicked off with a surge of enhancement magic.

The pale slaves were something I asked Sebas to look into. Their homeland, their power, their growing number, their reason for suddenly showing up; all a mystery. Since they were related to the Nightclaw that just added one more layer of danger. On top of all that, Benedict was the king of kindness and freedom when it came to slaves. His bleeding heart was sure to cause us no little amount of trouble if the Nightclaw were involved.

No... Benedict didn't become such a feared threat to the nobility because he was stupid.

It's best to take care of the matter that had gone unnoticed.

The door of the research and production building was cracked, and I had to push it open. It made me envy Fowler and others who could element shift to get through small places, so I increased my speed.

With a single leap, I skipped the stairs to the basement and found the bodies of the guards piled out of view. The smell of poison told me of how they met their fates.

"It seems we've been interrupted." Said the voice when I approached the door to the research lab.

I drew my short swords and broke the threshold of the research lab door. I saw Professor Turner on the floor in a pool of blood and one of the students was in the hands of an imposing figure. She was someone famous in the underworld.

"Black Antler Kaina Oakview..." I hissed.

"Oh... the little hydra. You must have gone pretty far down the rabbit hole if you can call me that. You must have found a good personal tutor." Kaina said as she dropped the girl. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to save her as Kaina snapped her neck before she did. "Oops. I guess that's one less elf, she may have been a princess, but she was of no use."

It appears that Turner wasn't the only one on the floor, there was another teacher here from the school. She was the keeper of that girl... sigh... this has gotten more complicated.

"I'm afraid I can't just let you leave," I said.

"And I can't let you live, little hydra. I'll show you something good in your last moments." Kaina hissed as she spun her knives in her hands.