Ridley

I tried to relax and just enjoy the hot spring, but without Vandel’s presence, I found myself becoming lost in my own troubling thoughts. How the hell was I going to explain to everyone where I had been this entire time? I had only expected to be gone less than a day. The only way I could think of getting out of this was to lie, and just the thought of doing that made me sick to my stomach.

I sighed, standing up. I might as well get some rest and try to deal with this tomorrow, though I doubted I'd actually be able to sleep with all these thoughts still running rampant through my head. Finally, I climbed out of the springs, pulling my clothes back on.

Worry still hung heavy above me like a dark cloud as I made my way down the hallway that led to the other chambers. The hallway was dimly lit despite the fact that there were no lights present. I glanced into the doorway of the first room I approached. It was a bedroom. Cautiously, I stepped inside.

The room was cozy. A fireplace crackled in the corner, casting the room in a warm glow. A large tree appeared to be growing from behind a round, circular bed, its branches acting almost as a canopy. I made my way inside, stifling a yawn. As I approached, however, I noticed a small lump on the bed. Confused, I stepped closer and quickly realized it was Vandel who had curled himself up into a little ball under the blankets. This made me recall his strange little cocoon of blankets from when we stayed at the inn.

Vandel definitely had some odd sleeping habits.

Suddenly, the little lump shifted and Vandel’s head popped out from under the blankets. His hair was tousled and his eyes were half closed.

“Sorry if I woke you…” I stammered.

“Nah.” Vandel rubbed one eye. “I was having trouble sleeping anyway.”

“Well...I’m going to see if there’s another room,” I blurted akwardly, quickly turning to leave.

Suddenly, I heard a quiet voice behind me. “Wait.”

I stopped, thinking I might have imagined it at first.

Hesitantly, I turned back around.  “Did you...say something?”

“Yeah.” Vandel fidgeted awkwardly. “I said...wait.”

I stared at him, he stared back.

Finally, he let out a heavy sigh, tapping the bed beside him lightly. “Sit down, I don’t want to have a whole conversation with you standing all the way over there.”

I blinked, confused. Conversation? He wanted to talk? But he seemed so unusually quiet and distant back at the hot spring. What could he possibly want to have a conversation about? Slowly, I made my way over to the bed and sat down beside him.

Vandel straightened slightly, sitting up. “Okay,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about some stuff...and I don’t think this should end after today.”

“This?” I arched a brow.

“Our alliance. I think we’re finally getting onto something with the Bone King. You and I also seem to agree that we need to find out what happened to the Corisathium. Whatever is going on goes way beyond just the Demon Kingdom and Alteria. We both know no one else is going to like the idea of our kingdoms working together. That’s why...I think it’s up to the two of us to continue to investigate together until we can fully uncover what’s going on. Then we can part ways and never see each other again.”

I considered this for a moment. “I can see where you’re coming from, especially in regards to the Corisathium. Only if we work together will we be able to fully investigate both the humans and the demons in regards to who took it.”

“So you’re in?”

I thought for a beat. Vandel watched me through his dark eyes.

Finally, I nodded. “Okay.”

“Alright…” he yawned. “Alright, good. We’ll discuss things further tomorrow. I have something for you, but I can give that to you in the morning.” He flipped over onto his side, pulling the blankets back up over his shoulders.

I stared at him, confused. “You have something...for me?”

“Yeah, that’s what I said, dumbass.”

“But, why-”

“I said we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

“Okay.” That felt like the end of the conversation. I knew I should leave, but my body felt so tired and heavy, and the bed was so soft that it was taking all my will power to actually get up.

“Hey, Ridley,” Vandel suddenly said softly. He turned over on his side to look at me, his eyes half closed.

“Yeah?”

“What’s being a human like?”

I thought for a moment, surprised at how hard the question actually was to answer.

“I don’t know...I suppose not too different from being a demon.”

“We’ve been at war with humans for so long that you’ve become nothing but the enemy to us. We don’t even think of you as individuals, just a bunch of monsters out to kill us.”

“I think humans feel the same way about demons.” I averted my gaze from Vandel’s. “I used to feel that way. I never really thought of demons as actual people until…”

Until I met you.

I didn’t finish the sentence. My eyelids felt heavy and, despite myself, I closed them. I would just rest for a minute, then I would get up and find my own room. With that final thought, I drifted into the first good night's sleep I had had in months,

---------

I woke up besides Vandel with a start, forgetting for a moment where I was. He shifted beside me before slowly opening his eyes.

“Good morning,” he murmured, his voice rough with sleep. 

“G-Good morning,” I stammered back.

A slight smirk tugged at the corner of Vandel’s lips. “What?” he said, teasingly. “Never woken up in bed with a man before?”

I felt my cheeks go bright red and I quickly turned on my side, hiding my face against the pillow so he couldn’t see. Vandel just snickered. Despite my annoyance with his behavior, I felt a slight wave of relief. He was acting like his usual self today. That was a good sign.

Vandel let out a small yawn, stretching his arms over his head. “We should probably get going. We don’t want to miss our chance to get out of here a second time.”

“I would agree,” a voice said from the doorway. Vandel and I both looked up with a start. Standing there was the Ancient. Her gaze brushed over the two of us and she smirked. “My, you two look cozy. You know there’s multiple bedrooms, right-”

“IT’S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!” I blurted, my face turning even redder. I quickly buried my face in my hands, even more embarrassed.

The Ancient shrugged. “Listen, I could care less about whatever did or didn’t happen between you two last night. Now, get up so I can get you out of here.” She placed her hand on the wall and, just like before, it seemed to melt away. This created a hole that led directly into the room we had originally taken the test in.

We jumped out of bed and practically bounded through, the Ancient following behind us.

Once we were all on the other side, she looked over us. “You both are a long way from home, aren’t you?” She glanced to me. “Y’know, I think I might actually like you enough to transport you all the way back home as a reward for being so polite.” She looked at Vandel. “Not you, though.”

Vandel stuck his tongue out at her.

“I’m afraid I can’t accept your offer…” I said, bowing my head. “I would feel bad leaving Vandel-’

“No, take it,” Vandel said, interrupting me. “It’ll be a waste of time if I have to fly you all the way back. Plus, it’s waaaay more likely we’ll be seen if we fly back over Alteria during the day.” He gave me a rare, small smile. “It was still a nice sentiment though. Okay...before we part ways...I told you I had something for you.” Vandel suddenly pulled out a golden chain. Attached to it was a ring. “If we’re going to work together,” he continued slowly, “it’s going to be hard to keep moving back and forth between our kingdoms. All you have to do is put on this ring and it will take you back and forth between your castle and mine. It’s designed solely for you. No other human will be able to use it. I waited to give this to you because I needed to make sure I could undoubtedly trust that you wouldn’t use this to turn on me. I, in return, hope you know I’m not using this as some elaborate trick to trap you.”

I carefully took the chain from him. I was about to slip it on, when I suddenly stopped. “Where the heck have you been keeping this? Didn’t you show up to my room naked?”

Vandel let out an exasperated sigh. “If you’re trying to imply I had it shoved up my ass or something, I regret to inform you-”

“Well, I obviously didn’t think it was up your ass!”

“Then why do you care?”

“I was just curious!”

The Ancient sighed heavily. “Do you two really need to be having this conversation right now?”

“It’s called a multidimensional pocket, not that you would even understand what that is-” Vandel muttered.

“Can you two PLEASE hurry this up," the Ancient snapped.

“Right, right." Vandel grinned at me. “Until we meet again, Sir Ridley.”

“Goodbye, Va-” I didn’t even get to finish my sentence before the Ancient snapped her fingers and I suddenly found myself back in my own bedroom, the only reminder that I had even left at all being the terrible damage to the wall surrounding my window and the chain around my neck. 

Vandel

My grin immediately vanished the second Ridley was gone. Gods, it had been harder than I expected acting like things were normal after what I had learned yesterday. Well...as normal as things could ever be between two enemies working together.

The Ancient looked to me now, her eyes narrowed.

“Odna told me about what she found out from that sword...about its history.”

I turned to glare at her. “I know...I know its fucking history. I just never realized...”

“Are you going to tell him?”

“How can I?” I sighed heavily, running a hand roughly through my hair. “I’ll...I’ll deal with it later...soon.”

“You can’t put it off forever. Skeletons always come out of the closet.”

“I know,” I said, my voice quieter than I would have liked.

“At least it means you care enough to be scared," the Ancient said.

I scoffed. “Scared of what?”

“Losing him.”

I felt a sinking feeling in my chest.

“It’s not like he was ever mine to lose to begin with.”

-----

I landed on the sill of my window, stepping through. Tuttle was standing there, rearranging some clothes. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw me.

“Your Highness! You’re back!” he squealed. “I-I was so worried when you didn’t come home last night! Here, let me get you your robe!”

He dashed over to the dresser, pulling out one of my robes and helped me into it. I mumbled a quick thank you before I made my way over to my armchair. I practically collapsed into it.

Tuttle scurried over to me, looking worried. “W-What’s wrong, My Liege?”

I looked up at him, my expression weary. “I’m fine.”

Tuttle bowed his head. “I’ve known you for over two centuries, Sire. I know you well enough to tell when you’re…” He stopped.

I arched a dark brow, eyes narrowing. “When I’m what? Finish the sentence, Tuttle.”

He swallowed hard. “Hurt.” He frantically shook his head, waving his hands in front of his face. “N-Not physically, o-of course...I-I mean emotionally...and, uh...I just want you to know you can talk about it...i-if you want…”

I sighed heavily, burying my face in my hands.

“I need you to do something for me Tuttle,” I said softly.

“Anything, Sire," Tuttle said, nodding quickly. 

“I need you to take my ring...the silver one with the gold snake on it...I want it destroyed. I never want to see it again.”