Caught up in strings InkxError

Chapter 19

Encre's p.o.v

God, how tired I felt waking up after such a long and wonderful slumbery state. How long had I slept for? A couple of hours? A day? A couple of days? 

My sense of time was completely messed up. I had the urge to just lie in my bed and fall asleep again. I closed my eyes.

"Awake now?" 

I gasped and jolted up, quickly taking a turn around just to fall off the bed. "oWww..." I grunted and rubbed my back as I was laying face flat down on the carpet. Laugther was heard from above me. I stood up and saw Fallacy leaning in the dooway, laughing. At first it seemed normal, but it suddenly struck me: Fallacy almost NEVER laughed. And now he was standing there, laughing at me like I was the biggest dork he had ever met. I rubbed my skull and sighed. "God, I should be used to this by now..." My face flushed a rainbow-y color as I imagined myself falling off the bed from my beloveds perspective. "Anyways, yes, I am indeed awake." 

"Don't you think I know that already?" he teased. I glared at him.

"Oh come on, I just fell and landed face down on the floor!"

He laughed out loud again. "What kind of an excuse is that?" 

I stared at him directly in the eyes as I made my way towards him, until I was so close to him that I could hear his quiet breathing. He looked at me confused.

"...You have somehow changed, mister." 

It seemed like I was talking a foreign language, as confused as he looked at me. "...what?"

"Don't lie to me, SOMETHING happened in order for you to act like this." I said to him, glaring intently into his eyes. "Let's just say that I met an old friend." He said to me, and this time his expression had changed to his normal, unemotional face.

"Come on."

"...Excuse me, what?"

"I said, come on."

"Come on where???"

"Just... follow me."

"No, I will stay here until you tell me what's going on."

"..."

"H-hey! Put me down this instant!" I yelped as he lifted me up like I was a feather, and then proceeded to carry me all the way downstairs. I expected him to take me to the kitchen, but no, we headed straight to the entrance. "Wait, where are we going?" I asked him, curious as to what was happening. "We are leaving." 

"Wait, we are LEAVING THIS CASTLE?" I gasped loudly. "Ouch, you don't need to be so loud." He mumbled quietly. 

"I need an explanation!" I shouted. He ignored me, and I tried to wrestle my way out of his arms. Approximately fifteen seconds later, I was sobbing and pouting while my entire body was wrapped in strings. "Have you calmed down now?!" he whispered as he gasped for air, apparently tired after struggling with tying me up. "Yes..." I pouted. 

He carried me outside and into a carriage before he retrieved his strings. The carriage began moving as soon as he had closed the door. The sound of hoves was the only thing that could be heard as we sat awkwardly beside eachother. I broke the silence. "Can you please explain where we are going now?" 

"We are going to another place, obviously." I turned my head and was a little surprised as I didn't notice Jasper sitting on the opposite side of us. "Where's Suave?" I asked him. 

He let out a little laugh. "You never go empty on questions, do you?"

He continued after he had laughed a bit more. "He's riding the carriage. He doesn't like being in such small spaces as this carriage, besides, he said he needed some fresh air."

"Oh.... wait can I also sit up there? I need to see the outside too!" I asked them. "I cannot permit you to do that, I'm afraid." Fallacy said as he jumped into the converstion. "Why?" I said is I felt my confidence drop. He looked sadly at me as he answered. "I can't let the townspeople see you. You have been missing for a long time."

He was looking away while he said that, like he felt dissapointed in himself. Everything I saw was my own feet. Everything he said suddenly seemed like a blur. I could see my friends again if I decided to escape. Hell, maybe I even got a reward or fame if I told everyone that their lord was a vampire. No! I couldn't do that! It would mean the end for Fallacy and maybe even Jasper! Suave would most likely be punished too. They would suffer because I decided to stab them in the back...

Fallacy's p.o.v

Encre didn't seem to notice my concerned look. Once I mentioned his village, his attitude changed completely. It was like he was gone, like he was in his own world. "Calm down... I'm sure he'll forget about it soon." Jasper said in a surprisingly calm voice. He knew that Encre didn't hear him, he seemed lost in his own thoughts. 

I sighed and buried my skull into my hands. I knew very well that Encre wouldn't forget about it in the near future. But I did appreciate Jasper trying to make me relax.

"Thank you...." I mumbled quietly.

Encre's p.o.v

I'm done. 

"I...I feel a bit dizzy." I stuttered as I put a hand up to face. Jasper looked over at Fallacy before he ordered Suave to stop. As soon as the carriage stopped and Suave had opened the door, I stumbled out. "Are you okay?" Suave asked me. I tried to smile to him. "I'm fine, I just... I think I just have to get a little breather." I said as I lent on a tree. I felt Suave's eyes rest on my back.

I heard him close the door to the carriage and then proceeded to shuffle in his pockets. "Take this." I heard him say, and when I turned around slowly I saw a hand holding out a map. I looked at him blankly. "You knew." I said to him quietly. He smiled to me and looked me directly in the eyes as he grabbed my hand and put the map in there. "When you are finished with your "breather", you know where to go." 

"...you won't tell them?"

"We all know. It's written all over their faces that they know. They want you to be happy."

"...."

"Take this." he said as he placed a brown cape around me carefully. "Keep warm, conserve energy, don't waste food. There is small rivers and lakes all over the forest, so don't worry about your water-supply." He also handed me what seemed like a backpack. When I placed it on my back, it felt heavy.

"In return for giving you this opportunity, may I ask you to not tell the townspeople what happened?" he suddenly asked quietly.

"...I'm not heading for the village."

"I see." he said before he turned his back to me and jumped on top of his seat again. "Good luck, I hope we see eachother again." He smiled to me one last time before he drove away.

I waved, dragged the cape properly around me, and breathed out. I would be on my own for a while. "Hopefully I chose smartly." I said as I took a step into the evergreen void of branches and bushes.