Magic drained itself of its user quickly. Such a spell could create a huge hinderance to the one that cast the spell in the first place, and even kill the being. If the spell casted costs too much power to the spellweaver, the spell wouldn't stop until it has been completed, even if it means killing the person who cast it. The prince was beyond lucky he was still in one piece. 

However, Rowan felt as if he had been torn to shreds then painstakingly glued back together again.

He landed onto his back, winded. Coughing, he sat up. Rowan looked at his bruised arm and let out a groan.

“Just my luck!” he retorted, wincing. Looking at his torn jeans, he huffed. Rowan slowly started to get up but almost fell twice because of his drained magic reserves. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw dark figures slowly advance. He balled up his hands, fire starting to flicker in his palms. They were dressed in odd, all-black suits with a strange symbol sewed onto its front. It looked slightly like a lock that would have a key inserted into it. Before he could react, the people surrounded him. He had no way out.

“Lookie here, we got ourselves a magic-y one!” One of them called, a gun in hand. “Why don’ you introduce yerself, kid?”

“I don’t have to introduce myself to anyone,” Rowan remarked. “But if you must know, I am magic-bearer Prince Rowan, heir to the throne and your worst nightmare!” he yelled, flaring his fire in front of them. They backed away but didn’t retreat. The leader snorted, a craze for violence flickering in his eyes.

“Ah, so a show is what we have. Master’ll reward us handsomely.” 

Before Rowan could react, one opened fire, and the others followed suit. He quickly put up a fire shield, melting all of the bullets before they could reach him. He directed his energy to his shield, not bothering to return fire.

Rowan started to panic, feeling his energy drain quickly. He had already used so much to get here... how was he going to continuously hold them back? But then something caught his eye– they had started to yell at something else. He let his shield down, becoming lightheaded and dizzy. Rowan felt a hand grab his wrist and pull him into a dark space then was shoved up against a wall. He blinked, seeing a small figure below him. Opening his mouth to speak, he quickly had a hand covering his mouth. As he started to regain energy, he saw a blonde haired person before him, shaking.

Rowan saw the person look at him and tilted his head. His savior jumped back, fear dancing in his eyes– then shame. 

“A-ah, s-sorry. I-I shouldn’t have h-hushed you." he stuttered, looking at Rowan. His face was flushed. Now that he could get a closer look, his eyes widened. This guy was quite peculiar, with icy blue eyes with gold speckles. He had a dangling earring and blonde hair. His accent was odd and foreign, but he didn’t mind it– it sounded pretty.

“No, it’s alright," Rowan smiled, gently reaching out to comfort him. He skirted back, looking fearful.

Ah, so no physical touch. Got it, Rowan thought to himself, making a mental note of this. He'll warm up to me eventually.

“I’m Rowan. What about you?” Rowan put on his best composed self, trying to make a good impression.

“Haze," he said, looking down. Now that Rowan got a better look at it, Haze was quite small. He had torn clothing and was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt. Rowan looked at his ankle and realized there was a mark. Haze looked up and saw where Rowan had his eyes directed to, placing his ankle out of view. 

Clearing his throat, Haze began to speak. “I-If you’ll f-follow me, I set up camp h-here. You’re w-welcome to stay. It’s not the best, but I hope it’ll d-do?” Haze offered kindly.

Haze trembled and Rowan could tell this newfound friend wasn't fond of conversation. The prince kept his responses short and to the point, not wanting to further awkward the situation.

“Lead the way, captain!” Rowan said, smiling. Surely nothing could go wrong, right?

Right?

...Right?

Rowan tripped over a crack in the cement flooring and he felt himself fall. Suddenly he crashed into Haze, landing right on top of him.