Waking the next morning was hard for both boys as they remember they’re in a tree and it dawns on them both that today was Tristan’s twenty first birthday.

“Happy birthday, Tris.” Theo murmurs sleepily, rubbing at his eyes and Tristan grins, untying the rope and wrapping it up around his hand so it would fit better in the bag. Theo studies the ground silently for a moment before jumping down and stretching his aching muscles, Tristan following him down a minute later.

“Thanks, maybe we can celebrate once this is all over.” He says to his blond friend, running his hands through his hair.

“Of course we’ll celebrate when this is all over but for now let’s get going; the closer we can get the better.” Theo orders and they set out at a jog, eating some bread and cheese on the way. It got hotter the longer the boys walked, the sun piercing through their black armour making them sweat, which in turn made them drink a lot more water until their canteens were empty; Theo swearing lowly and Tristan jumping at the harshness in his voice.

“Why couldn’t it be autumn?” Theo says, rubbing a hand over his brow.

“Theo it is autumn, winter is in a few weeks. Hopefully we make it to wherever we’re going before then otherwise we’ll freeze.” Tristan replies and Theo stares blankly at his friend before sighing and crossing his arms over his chest.

“Well we better get moving, faster and pushing ourselves harder to get there, if we’ve only got a few weeks before we freeze to death.” Theo states sarcastically with a roll of his eyes before fastening his pace into a run, Tristan running after him. Moving in silence until they meet a road and continue down it towards their destination, making sure not to look anyone in the face if they pass anyone and as the sky darkens Tristan goes to slow down, only to see Theo isn’t; he runs to catch up to his friend.

“We’re not stopping?” He asks and Theo shakes his head.

“Not if it’ll be cold soon, if it snows while we’re still out here we’ll be easier to track if we try and hide. Let’s keep going and we’ll stop tomorrow night,” the blond answers causing the taller brunet to groan but he doesn’t protest and follows his friend.

As Theo had said, they keep going all night and all of the next day, slowing to a walk when their legs tire but speeding into a run when they feel better and by the time the sun has sunk well below the horizon the boys are exhausted and sink to the ground against the trunk of a large tree.

“We really need to get up to a branch.” Theo says, rubbing his stinging eyes as Tristan sighs. They sit for a little while longer before Theo stands and grabs his friends hands, pulling him to his feet and they both scale up the tree to a large branch that would hide them if anyone looked up. Once again, Theo leans against Tristan as they get comfy on the tree with Theo between Tristan’s legs comfortably while the brunette ties them to the tree; effectively stopping them from falling down.

“How much longer do you think we have?” Tristan asks, his arms wrapped loosely around Theo’s waist as that was the only place they could be; Theo didn’t mind as it was quite comforting.

“I’m not sure, but we’re close to halfway now. Might be another few days to a week of running.” Theo muses tiredly, rubbing his eyes.

“Theo, I have to say I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t with me right now. I’d probably be dead.” Tristan says quietly and Theo chuckles, turning as much as he could to see the Prince and when they meet eyes a warm feeling runs through his chest.

“It’s fine my friend, we are all we have left now. I’ll protect you with my life.” Theo replies and Tristan feels tears fill his eyes. “No tears, Tris please, just accept my words and have faith in me.”

“I’ve always had faith in you, Theodore.” They smile at each other before Theo resettles against Tristan’s back and brings the Prince’s arms further around him to comfort both of them.

Many days later the boys are still running through the bushes and trees but Theo could feel the difference in the air as winter gets closer; the nights were colder and the sun wasn’t as bright so they had no other option but to sleep pressed against each other to bring heat to their bodies. They hadn’t seen any of those soldiers again which Theo thanked the gods for, he didn’t think he could beat them without exposing himself to Tristan, and Tristan was happy just to be getting closer to their destination.

Ahead of them was a very steep hill that they were inspecting for anyone that looked suspicious, but making a run for it when they see no one that looked harmful. Halfway to the top, their thighs were screaming at them to stop but Theo grabbed Tristan’s wrist and pulled him with him, the smaller boy having a lot more stamina than the prince did. Upon reaching the top they both lean down and try to catch their breath, laughing at each other for how ridiculous they both looked; being so happy when their lives were at risk. When they stand straight and look over the hill they can see the city of Capsicka in the distance; maybe another days’ walk and that means they were almost there.

“Let’s find a swimming hole to wash in before we continue.” Theo says and Tristan nods, following his friend down the other side of the steep hill and going through the forest to find some sort of stream. They do come across a river, hiding in the bushes and make sure there’s no creatures before jumping in once their armour is taken off, pulling their clothes off when they surface; they may be close but they weren’t that close that they wanted to be naked in front of the other although Tristan wouldn’t have minded. They place their clothes on the bank and proceed to swim around until the sun is low in the sky, Theo letting Tristan get out to dress before following when Tristan has moved away. Pulling his armour on over his clean clothes, he helps Tristan with his again and they don’t forget the clothes when they head off towards the road again, moving from a walk to jog effortlessly when the city gates get closer and closer; luckily for them the gates looked open.

“So how will we find these people?” Tristan asks when they reach the gates, nodding to the guards as they walk through and into the large open market area that was slowly emptying of people.

“I think their place is called The Hungry Mouse or something like that, my father only ever said it a few times.” Theo answer, looking around before setting off down one of the large streets with Tristan following slowly.

They walk around for a while, taking in the sight of the city; it wasn’t as big as their home city was but it was certainly prettier, even it was dirtier. They slow down when they reach another market street, Tristan spotting a sign above one of the bigger buildings that indeed said The Hungry Mouse, he grabs Theo’s hand and when he has the smaller boys attention he points at the sign, watching Theo nod and lead the way to the double doors; Theo not letting go of his hand. They enter the building slowly, warily as they were scared someone was there that they didn’t want to see but relax when they see the downstairs restaurant is empty apart from two people sitting at the bar; the man’s head in his hands until the woman behind the bar notices them and smiled bright. Her red hair curly and hanging down to her hips and her grey eyes crinkling at the edges, while the man in front of her turns and has eyes so blue they could rival the sky and hair the same red as hers.

“Gosh! Look at you!” The woman gushes, running out from behind the bar and over to Theo, she grabs his cheeks and looks him over. “You’re shorter than I thought you would be.”

“I’m not that short!” Theo exclaims, sending his friend a frown who is laughing lowly but still doesn’t let go of his hand. “You know who I am?”

“Of course, not many people get around with golden eyes like yours Theo,” the woman says, the man now joining her in looking the blonde over. “I was there when you were born, honey. I’ve never seen someone with such white hair.”

“Though there’s only one reason why, what’s happened to your father?” the man asks immediately, gesturing for them to come sit down while the woman locks the doors. The boys move over and sit down at one of the tables, waiting for the adults to come and sit with them; as soon as they do Theo begins telling them what happened and as he goes into detail about what happened at the castle, tears begin to fall down his cheeks and Tristan squeezes the hand that is still gripping his own so tightly that Theo feels his head clear slightly to finish his story.

“Oh, you poor babies! I’m so sorry!” The woman exclaims, grabbing Theo and Tristan by their free hands to squeeze them gently. “You can stay here for as long as you need and we will help you, in any way we can.”

“Thank you.” Tristan murmurs, finally finding his voice as Theo had gone quiet with tear stains going down both cheeks, he sniffles and nods.

“Had no idea you were so close to the Prince though Theo,” the man states and Theo shrugs, removing his hands from both grips and rubs his eyes.

“He’s my best friend, has been since I was probably two.” Theo states smiling softly at the Prince as he grins widely despite the upset feeling in his chest. “We need to figure out who these people are that hunt us, we only know what one of them looks like properly.”

“Well, we can help as much as we can but if you’re anything like what your mother told us Theo you should be able to do ma-”

“I don’t think that’ll work.” Theo cuts in quickly, glancing at Tristan before raising both eyebrows at the woman and as understanding flashes through her eyes she nods. “Tris, are you tired?”

“Exhausted,” the brunettes shoulder’s droop as he relaxes and yawns, following the man with his eyes as he stands.

“Come with me, I’ll show you where you can sleep,” the older man suggests, Tristan nodding and standing to follow after him, sparing Theo a glance as he goes passed. Once they’re both out of the room, Theo turns back to the woman.

“He doesn’t know who guards him does he?” The woman asks and Theo shakes his head.

“He’s got no clue about who I really am, my parents made sure of that. Though the King and Queen knew, so they weren’t so weirded out about me being around their son all the time.” Theo answers, watching the woman nod before her shoulders slump.

“I really can’t believe this is all happening, it’s just like that bloody seer told your mother and father,” she says and Theo sighs.

“I know what’s supposed to happen but how am I supposed to perform any of that stuff in front of him, he’s already suspicious about when I was grabbed.”

“It will be hard for you to do any of that in front of him but it won’t be as hard as what you have to do with him,” the woman’s grey eyes turn mischievous when Theodore’s cheeks burn.

“I still don’t get why that was a big part of the premonition the seer had, it’s not normal is it?”

They hush as the man comes back, sitting beside the woman with a gentle smile.

“You’re worrying about how to tell him about the prophecy, which is understandable but maybe you should settle with letting him woo you. It’s part of the prophecy too and he’s absolutely smitten with you.”

“How can you tell?”

“It’s written all over his face. Now enough about that, you should be resting too and later when you’re awake we will have proper introductions,” the man tells him.

“Your Prince should be in the room to the left of the stairs,” the woman says, ushering him away which he obliges by and makes his way towards where the man had taken Tristan, stepping into the room to see the taller boy sprawled across one of the double beds in some pyjama pants without a shirt and Theo felt his cheeks heating again at the sight. The few weeks of travelling with the Prince had really made Theo take the time to study the man he was becoming and his thoughts drifted to the prophecy for a second before the Prince turned to look at him. Theo quickly shakes off the blush and walks over to the other bed once the door is closed, feeling the brunette following his movements when he strips off his armour and then his shirt. He plops down onto the bed and sighs, feeling the tiredness crashing into him slowly, though he doesn’t let it take him as he turns onto his side to face his friend.

“What happens now, Theo? What do we do now?” He asks his face one of tired concern for what they were going to do.

“We will stick together and take care of one another, and then we will think of what to do for revenge.” Theo answers and watches as a look of mischief flashes through the Prince’s eyes before they shut and the green is gone from his sight. Theo laid there studying the Prince before he too closed his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep.