The Prince and the Knight

2.2

Once he'd managed to overcome most of the pain in his body—he had a relatively high pain tolerance anyway from his training—he stood up and looked around. All he could see were trees looming over him, their bark and leaves darkened by the gloominess of the sky. Was it going to rain? It'd better not rain. I'm in no mood to be soaking wet and lost in the middle of the damn woods.

He had no idea where that mysterious person had gone and he had no idea which direction he'd come from. Everything looked the same—there were just more trees and grass in each direction. No landmarks, no resources, no nothing. He cursed under his breath and began walking in some general direction. Looking for the horse's hoof prints was a lost cause since the grass seemed to absorb any trace they'd left behind. What was with this place?

"I hate my life..." he muttered as he walked through the forest, kicking rocks as he went, "My mother is gone, my kingdom is screwed... What the hell am I supposed to do...?" What was he supposed to do? He had nothing.

He couldn't go back home, not only because he couldn't find his way but because Fukurodani had most likely taken over and done something terrible to his father. That place was a mess. But he also had no idea where he was going. If he left the kingdom at all, it was by train and he never had time to look out the windows because his father would always give him work and research to do as they traveled.

He was more worried about his mother than about most things, however. If something terrible happened to her, he would never forgive himself. She meant so much to him.

After walking around for what seemed like hours and making no visible progress, the young prince was ready to give up and wait. Frustrated and agitated by his situation and his uncontrollable feelings of helplessness, he kicked another rock and watched it skim the dew-tipped strands of grass until it stumbled to a halt a few feet away.

"I know you're angry, little lost traveler, but there's no need to take it out on this poor, defenseless rock."

Tooru flinched at the sound of a smooth and calm voice nearby, and whipped his head around in the general direction from which it had emanated. Surely enough, he saw a figure standing in the shadow of a tree not too far away. Even though Tooru knew well enough that he should be feeling fear due to his inability to defend himself at the moment and his lack of familiarity with his surroundings, but he was much too prideful to show any signs of submission.

When the figure emerged from the shadows and into the ring of dull light shining through a large gap in between the trees, Tooru could see that the man was a knight or guardian of some sort. He wore black, shimmering armor over a stunning, red shirt, as well as black pants tucked neatly into his dark boots. He wasn't wearing a mask or helmet of sorts, allowing Tooru to watch as the corners of his mouth curled up into a smile.

As the mysterious man neared the prince, he circled around him, examining and analyzing the situation before him. "So, what brings you here today?" he wondered as he stood in front of Tooru and watched him closely with a shocking pair of deep, golden eyes.

"Why does that concern you?" Tooru responded snappily as he eyed the sword handle sticking out of a sheath attached to the man's belt. It was ornately decorated with a shiny black material that had blood red highlights running through it like veins.

The man chuckled and ran a hand through his messy, black hair that had two tufts standing up that resembled cat ears to an extent. "There's no need to be like that with me; I'm only trying to help you," he stated calmly.

"Who are you?" Tooru grunted. There was an annoying bug flying around his face and the fact that his hands were bound behind his back was the only thing between him and murdering the damn thing.