Back to Plan A

When they opened their eyes again, they were locked inside a magical barrier surrounded by tens of royal guards aiming their weapons at them.

"I guess we ended up in the dungeon after all..." Himari awkwardly chuckled.

The temperature plummeted. A biting wind slithered through the room like an unseen predator. It heralded the arrival of someone the royal guards welcomed. The guards straightened as the prince entered, his cloak billowing behind him in a current of icy air that swirled at his heels. His expression was unreadable. His white hair shimmered and his silver-blue eyes glowed faintly, the remnants of wind magic still dancing in his irises like frozen lightning. 

Without a word, the guards parted. He passed between them like a blade drawn from its sheath - silent, sharp, inevitable.

He stopped before the barrier. The prince's voice was quiet, but it cut through the silence like ice cracking across a frozen lake. "Leave us."

There was hesitation in the guards. They didn't move right away. But the guards bowed and retreated nonetheless, boots echoing against the stone as they vanished, leaving the prince with Himari, Sachi, and Nobu alone.

His presence felt intimidating. As if being pushed by his aura, Sachi took a few steps back.

Himari walked up to meet him. "You got taller."

The prince's eyes glazed over. Tears threatening to spill. "You look happier." The tears broke through and the flood gates were open. Giant tears and snot running down the once dignified looking prince's face. His cry was loud and raw. Tears overspilling no matter how many times he wiped them away. "Oh, Himari it's been so long. How did you survive the Yokai?" He managed to cry out with his shaking voice. 

Nobu rolled his eyes and Sachi was taken aback by the prince's demeanor. Ahh dramatic... They both thought to themselves.

"Yokai? Soma what are you talking about?" Himari asked.

The tears didn't stop or lessen. "Your mother came back all beaten up screaming you were taken by Yokai monsters. We looked everywhere for you for months. I'm so glad you survived."

Himari scoffed. It made sense that her mother wouldn't say what really happened, but to beat herself up and fabricate a whole story was far too much. "That's not-" Himari paused. She didn't see the point in correcting such a long lie. "It's a long story... Perhaps you can let us out and we can talk about it?"

Prince Soma continued to wipe, his already puffy face. He sniffled loud and hard. The tears slowing down. "As much as I'd like to, I can't let you out of here."

"Why not?" Himari asked confused.

The tears had finally stopped. Soma's eyes lowered. A distant look of sadness washed over his once emotional face. "I don't have that kind of power..." 

"But you're the prince..."

Soma's voice cracked as he quickly snapped back. "It's because I'm a prince!" He took a deep breath to compose himself. His back turned to the barrier. "I don't know what happened to you, but whatever happened I think it was a blessing in disguise because you got to leave..." The prince sighed. Melancholy seeping from his words. "You were right... Being a ruler is lonely..." He looked back at Himari once more before walking away. "I have a role to fill Himari... A part to play... I can't act how I please no matter how much I may want to..." The prince disappeared from the dungeon. Only Himari, Sachi, and Nobu remained.

Himari's head lowered and she fell silent.

Sachi felt her heart twinge with pain. The prince's words resonated in her soul. For so long Sachi had been playing a part. Acting as if everything was fine and that nothing bothered her. She grew used to filling the role of the powerless, the bullied, the disregarded, the ignored. She thought if she was true to her feelings and acted how she pleased then it would bring more harm than good. She thought if she stood up for herself it would make no difference. She thought if she played her part quietly then maybe people would leave her alone. She couldn't help but see herself in the prince. But if even a prince felt completely powerless, then what hope did she have?

Nobu sighed. "Well, I guess we can't rely on prince crybaby." He got close to the barrier, trying to see if there were any weak points.

Himari took a deep breath. Putting the thought of Soma away. "I guess it's back to plan A."

"Plan A?" Sachi questioned.

"Yeah, escape the dungeon and find the library."

Sachi looked around. There were no guards in the dungeon. They were only trapped by a magical barrier that loomed around them. Sachi couldn't help but think that if there were no guards around then they must trust this barrier an awful lot. "It doesn't look like there's a way out..."

"Whoever made this barrier is very skilled. There's no weak spots or-." Nobu was interrupted.

The air changed - a sudden shift, as if the entire world paused to brace itself. The wind didn't whisper like it did when the prince was there - it howled. Fierce and unrelenting. All three of them felt the presence. They dropped to their knees due to the strong force, grinding them to the cold stone floor with a pressure that made their bones groan.

Then, he stepped into view.

There was no question about who this person could be. It was the King. 

Towering, broad shouldered, draped in a cloak that churned like a storm cloud. His crown a circlet of white steel pulsing faintly with wind magic. His presence was like a thunderhead pressing down on the soul. Suffocating, heavy, inescapable. 

Where the prince's magic chilled, the king's crushed.

Sachi's knees trembled as gravity itself seemed to double beneath his command. The air was thick with raw power, laced with anger barely held in check. A tempest wrapped in a man. 

The king's eyes fell onto Sachi. With his eyes alone, he brought her close, tilting her face to meet his. His eyes stormed. He knew who she was.

Sachi's body didn't feel like it belonged to her anymore. She had no control. She couldn't do anything as the king stared into her soul. She felt a hand grab her by the throat and pull her. She couldn't breathe but she couldn't move to do anything.

Nobu and Himari were crushed by the weight of the king's magic. They could not move. They could not speak. Their lungs could barely find the air. They could only watch as the king ripped Sachi out of the barrier and dragged her out of the dungeon all with an invisible force of gravity. 

Once the doors to the dungeon slammed shut, Nobu and Himari gasped for air. They could move and breathe again. But Sachi was gone.