The Reluctant Prince (featuring Nihko)

[KAlex]

Alexei sat on his bed and sighed. If almost anyone else looked at his life, they'd wonder what he had to sigh about. Alexei was the oldest son of King Reinhardt of the Sevedorian Empire. He was young, well educated, and extremely wealthy. He had almost everything he could possibly want. But despite it all, he was also incredibly bored.

He was twenty years old now. Upon reaching adulthood, he had been allowed to spend some time on his education, but now it was time for him to assist in matters of ruling the kingdom. And he hated it. Seemingly endless meetings with advisors and experts dragged on and on. Alexei never knew it was possible to feel so tired from sitting in a chair all day. Now he knew why his father so rarely smiled.

Alexei was a handsome young prince - or perhaps "pretty" was the more fitting word. He was short and slight and pale, with chin length light brown hair with a sideswept fringe that fell almost into his eyes, which were large and greyish-blue though often somewhat hidden behind silver-framed glasses. His features were delicate enough that if he were to wear a dress, he'd have no trouble passing as a girl. And his nightclothes were somewhat on the feminine side - a knee-length nightshirt trimmed with ruffles and blue ribbons. With another sigh he kicked off his slippers and got under the covers. He had a little time to read before bed.

[Dungeon]

There was a small commotion outside of Alexei's door, down on the opposite end of the corridor. A figure, dressed fully in black and with a hood over his face stalked down the hall with two short swords in his gloved hands. Several palace guards were slumped over behind him, wounded, but alive. The final guard, who stood at the prince's door, was not as fortunate. The tips of both blades sank silently in between his ribs, and he collapsed against Alexei's door with a thud.

The door itself was kicked off of its hinges by the man, who entered the room slowly, his scarlet irises locked on to Alexei. He said nothing, but made his way to the bed before the prince could escape. He sheathed both of his blades and pulled a coil of thin rope from a pouch secured to his leg. He started to hogtie the smaller man with practiced ease, before tossing him over his shoulder and opening the window.

The kidnapped had a grappling hook already on the window pane. How Alexei didn't hear it was a mystery, but the hooded man wasn't going to question. "Hold on. And be. Quiet." He ordered, before starting to descend. His voice, though muffled by the heavy scarf over his mouth, was smoother than silk sheets, but more mysterious than the creatures that lurked in the shadows. He hit the ground at the same time as a bell started to ring. An alarm. Lantern's danced about the courtyard, but the man stayed in the shadows expertly.

[KAlex]

Despite the warning, Alexei struggled and protested. He couldn't do much, tied up as he was, but he squirmed and did his best to throw his meager weight around. "Stop this, this instant! Who the fuck are you and what do you think you're doing?! Guards? GUARDS!!" Panicking, he flailed around, looking for an area of exposed flesh he might be able to bite. Anything that might lead to his being dropped.

[Dungeon]

The man cursed as the light sources and sounds of clunking armor zeroed in on his location. He quickly sprinted over to a dip in the castle wall surrounding a garden. He tossed Alexei over the wall before turning to face his pursuers. The nearest guard was met with a chop to the neck, while his axe was taken and plunged into the shoulder of his companion. With those two incapacitated, he climbed over the wall and once more lifted the prince before running towards a horse-drawn wagon. Without even missing a step, he threw the prince inside of the wagon. As quick as he could, he pulled a scrap of cloth from his pocket and forced it into Alexei's mouth. Once that was settled, he quickly hopped onto the pitch black horse and cracked the whip, the wagon speeding off into the night and far away from the castle.

[KAlex]

Alexei yelped and groaned as he was tossed around, and when he was thrown inside the wagon he struggled to spit the wad of cloth out of his mouth. It was large enough and wedged far enough inside his mouth that by the time he could speak again, there was no one to hear him save for his captor. This didn't serve to make him any less vocal, though. And despite his noble birth, he certainly knew an impressive variety of swear words.

[Dungeon]

It was a full day and half of riding in the back of the wagon before, finally, it came to a halt. The man had managed to blend in long enough for him to get miles upon miles away from Sevedoria, and thus away from anyone that is after his captive. The wagon stopped in a forest late at night, and he had just managed to get a fire going and a rabbit cooking when he remembered that his employers wanted the prince alive. Which meant feeding him.

The back curtain of the wagon was going open, and the man lifted Alexei up before setting him down beside the fire. He sighed and started to remove the layers of thick garments he wore, until he was down to simple black, leather trousers and boots. His skin was pale, as if made from porcelain so fine it would crack if you were to touch it. His eyes, crimson like the blood of a pure soul, sparkled as the flames danced. His dark hair, wild and free, fell just to the base of his neck, were brushed behind his ears. His ears. They were pointed.

Pale Elves were rare, if ever even seen. The only thing about them that was common knowledge was that they were the premier choice for any assassination, espionage, or heist. Their fingers and tongues were just as deadly as their blades. The fact that one had kidnapped the prince, was sure reason for alarm.

He turned to the Prince with an annoyed look on his face. Quickly, he reached forward and pulled the rag from his mouth, tossing it into the fire. After a moment, he pulled a piece of bread from his satchel and extended it, so that it was right in front of Alexei's mouth. "Eat." He ordered simply.

[KAlex]

Alexei glared. "Who the fuck are you? Who sent you? How do I know you haven't poisoned that? Untie me!" He was very pale and looked frightened despite his bluster, but he was clearly angry as well. Being tied up for so many hours obviously hadn't been pleasant. He kicked his skinny legs ineffectually. They were bare under his nightshirt.

[Dungeon]

The Pale Elf looked down at Alexei's legs for a moment, before sighing and taking a bite from the bread. He chewed it slowly, before swallowing. "There. See? It's safe to eat. And I wouldn't be wasting good food just to poison you. If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead. Now fill that mouth of your's and be silent." He tossed the roll of bread into the prince's lap, before turning his attention back to the rabbit.

[KAlex]

Alexei sighed heavily. "I can't... get it into my mouth unless my hands are free... can't you just untie me? I have no idea where we are. Where am I going to go? You'd just overtake me anyway. Where are you taking me? A-am I going to die?" His voice, previously haughty, was growing shaky. There were tears in his eyes. His glasses were broken, probably from when he was tossed over the castle wall, and his slim, pale legs were scratched and bruised. He had a scrape on his cheek as well.

[Dungeon]

The elf turned to get Alexei to shut up, but couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor lad. With a sigh, he turned so that he was facing his captive. "No, I'm not going to kill you. I get paid 20,000 gold pieces to take you to my employers alive. We're going to Hultvet. It's a small kingdom to the far East, ruled by Lizardfolk. They want more land, so they're going to ransom you for a few territories. Which means they won't kill you either." As he said this, he pulled a small knife from his boot and cut Alexei's wrists free, but not his legs. He also took a long look at his glasses. "Cracked, eh? I'll get them fixed when we get to Blackwood. We'll have to stop in a few days to resupply."