PeaceMaker

A scoff, light and short escaped Boris' lips as he maintained his grip on Dominic and sat on Dominic's back. He peered down at Dominic, golden eyes gleaming with contempt.

"Such a mighty prince like you to be defeated by a commoner like me, aren't you ashamed to call yourself a royal?" Boris spat, his golden eyes glaring down at Dominic. His hand pressed into Dominic's back and to his dissatisfaction, there was no yelp of anger or pain followed. "What a tiny body..." He muttered, "are you even a prince."

"I'd love to say I appreciate you questioning my role in my kingdom and how fit I am to be a prince, but if I were unfit to be in this position then do you think I'd be here?" Dominic smirked, his breath a bit unstable as Boris pressed him deeper into the floor. 

A low growl could be heard from the pits of Boris' voice. 

"You know, for someone who lived on the streets, you've been getting quite fed," Dominic chuckled, "you weigh a ton."

Boris ignored his comment, his body not moving an inch. 

"Would you mind getting up a bit? It's getting a little hard to breathe down here," Dominic sighed to which Boris once again didn't respond again.

It was like talking to a brick wall. It didn't move and wouldn't hear no matter how much you screamed at it.

Dominic had spoken to enough walls in his life. 

"Will you GET OFF!" Dominic groaned, pulling himself off the ground and shaking Boris' balance, and pushing him to the ground. 

Before Boris could avoid Dominic's movements, his wrists were grabbed and pulled behind his back, his entire body rising up as Dominic's arm wrapped around neck, forcing him into a headlock. Boris gasped as his back cracked and his hands throbbed from how roughly they were held behind his back. 

It hurt. 

Dominic pulled him backward again, a slight smirk appearing on his face when he heard another crack. Seconds later it wavered when Boris gasps again. He lowers the intensity of how far back Boris was bent a little bit, just enough to allow him to breathe better. 

Boris let out a sigh, his jaw clenching. 'How disappointing,' he thought to himself. 

"God you're the disobedient type, aren't you?" Dominic asked, his head cocking to the side in slight amusement, "earlier, were you willing to strangle your prince and run out the palace while I lay on the floor dead?"

"Your Prince? You are noT, by any manners, my prince," Boris snapped, his teeth grinding against each other.

Dominic's eyebrows raised, "Really? then what am I?"

"A tyrant, a leech," Boris retorted, "ignorant, just like that father of yours."

Dominic flinched, taken aback by Boris' harsh comments. His grip tightened on Boris' firm body. "How dare you! Who fed you such filthy words?!"

Boris' lips pressed together tightly in refusal to reply. 

Dominic clenched his jaw, his grip growing tighter and tighter, like a king cobra with a prey in its grasp. He pulled Boris back again with such roughness that Boris' head jerked backward and he gasped in pain, his eyes wide open. Dominic flinched, releasing his hold on Boris and pushing him away immediately. 

Boris fell to the floor limply, his hands flying to his throat, feeling for it then once assured that there was nothing wrong, he tightened his grip on his neck, strangling himself. 

"Seriously, why do you have to be so difficult? I just saved you from that hell that you were living, and you have the audacity to speak to a prince like that?! Were you taught manners from where you came fr- well, of course you weren't, you lived on the streets, I doubt they'd be enough money for you to do that," Dominic sighed. He paused and let out a deep sigh, burying his face in his hands.

A second passed. There was no reply.

"Were you even listening to a word I sai-" Dominic began, turning to face Boris. His eyes flew wide open as he laid eyes on Boris. 

On the ground, Boris sat, his hands pressing his neck so tightly, that veins began to show on his hands. A sliver of silva rolled down his chin as his eyes were tightly shut, tears rushing out of them.

Immediately, Dominic rushed to Boris, his eyes wide from fear as he stared at the spectacle before him. 

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF YOUR THROAT!" Dominic yelled, his hands reaching for Boris' and pulling them in an attempt to stop him from strangling himself. His hands didn't budge and neither did the strength he was putting on his neck. 

Dominic's hand trembled as he stared at Boris in fear. He had never seen someone pass away in front of him, nonetheless, someone that inflicts such harsh damage on themselves in order to escape something. To die by their own hands. It was terrifying. The sight, the trembling, and tears that rolled off Boris' cheeks as his hands grew tighter. 

"Stop it..." Dominic muttered to which Boris didn't reply. It didn't even seem like he was hearing his words. "I SAID STOP IT!" Dominic screamed, his hands balling into a fist and crossing Boris across the face with them. 

Boris fell over, his body hitting the ground with a thud and his hands falling from his neck. 

Dominic fell to his knees, his legs giving out as his hands trembled. He looked at Boris again, watching the big figure of the boy quiver for a moment, and to his alarm, his hands twitched, slowly rising to his throat again. 

Dominic launched himself at Boris, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him up. "ARE YOU KIDDING WITH ME?!" Dominic screamed, shaking Boris by the collar. "HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU, IN MY SIGH-" 

His words slowed to a stop when his eyes focused in on Boris' face. He was crying, silver tears falling down his dirtied cheeks and rolling down his defined chin, falling down like raindrops. His golden eyes were shining with an emotion that he hadn't seen before. It was restless, it was anger and frustration wrapped into one. 

His grip tightened around Boris' neck for a moment as he bit down on his lip and then shoved him away in anger. 

"You- idiot. Idiot, idiot, idiot!" He sighed with frustration, "what were you even doing?! Do you hate being in here that much???"

Boris looked up at Dominic, his vision blurred by the tears in his eyes. "I hate... I would hate to be in this castle. What a disgrace... what a disgrace I am... to my family.. to my people.. how dare I.. a mere peasant with a family, how I dare I betray the only family that I belonged to?" he muttered, his eyes falling to the ground as he looked at his quivering hands. "I can't even kill myself but have to live like this... in a place surrounded by the people I hate the most... why me?"

Dominic eyed Boris for a moment, his heart clenching. There was something about that tone, that tone in a voice like that that made it sound all the more depressing. It was very surprising how a man, how someone like Boris, filled with rage and anger for him, a person who carried a lot of strength could break down into this mess. 

He looked like a little boy. Dominic looked away from Boris as to dodge the wave of sadness that was about to reach him. 

The mood in the room dived at Boris laid on the ground, trying to wipe away tears that continued to flow. They sat there in silence for a moment with Dominic sneaking little glances as Boris until finally, he cleared his throat. 

"I- I'm sorry. I can't understand the level of things that may be going through your head at this moment and I certainly don't think I can solve them as I am most likely the main cause of it," Dominic sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I can however apologize and pro-"

There was a clang and the doors to the room burst open, a figure falling to the floor immediately upon entrance. The figure immediately picks himself up from the ground and stands up, rushing to Dominic. 

"Your highness there-" the person began, his words stopping as he looked down at Boris, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He shook his head and turned back to Dominic, "Your highness, there has been grave news!!"

Dominic looked up at the man, rolling his eyes immediately. "Is it another horse, Kalmin? Did another horse get loose?"

"THE KINGDOM IS UNDER ATTACK!" Kalmin screamed.

"Yea, yea, you can name the- WHAT?!" Dominic yelped, standing up from the ground immediately, "THE KINGDOM IS UNDER ATTACK?!"

Boris glanced at Kalmin then turned to Dominic, then back to Kalmin and back to Dominic. He shifted to his knees, his ears perking up at Kalmin's news. 

"SINCE WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!" Dominic yelled, approaching the windows of the room. He glanced at the window and his eyes widened. On the streets were chaos, screams of people and tall, big invaders with spears in their hands, running into people and jutting them.

He turned back to Kalmin, his pupils shaking slightly. His gaze circled the room, passing by the empty spot where Boris sat- 'The empty spot?' Dominic thought to himself as he looked back at the spot. It was empty and he looked up just in time to see a figure run out the door and into the hallways. 

His body moved automatically towards the door, but he stopped. It wasn't the time for that. 

"When did this happen?" he asked Kalmin as he walked to his clothing hanger and snatched off the coat that hung on it. 

"9:45pm-ish? The time is uncertain as of now as it seems like the actual infiltration was hours ago, they were simply waiting in the castle walls for the perfect time to attack," Kalmin reported, his head kept low before Dominic. 

"Father? Where's father?" Dominic asked to which Kalmin's face turned pale. 

"The king has refused all visits by his royal offsprings," Kalmin spat back. 

"I'm sorry- what?!" Dominic snapped, his head turning to Kalmin for a second before he walked behind his desk and hurriedly packed some papers into a folder and threw it into one of the large breast pockets in his coat. "Why would he refuse our presence? is he safe? Where are the guards?"

"Your highness, first I must lead you out of the castle before I can answer any questions," Kalmin sighed, sweating furiously with anxiety as his eyes peeked at the doors, "I'm afraid they have reached the second floor, it won't be long before they reach here."

Dominic glared at Kalmin for a moment before continuing forward. "Lead the way. Are we heading to the underground pathway?"

Kalmin nodded, hurriedly following his prince and pushing the doors open for Dominic to walk through. A thick air of a pungent scent his Dominic's nose and the air was stuffy and stifled him. It smelt like ashes, like burning. 

"Yes you highness," Kalmin nodded, as he led Dominic down the hallway. "I have been instructed to make sure that his highness stays safe below the castle walls. There may be some soldiers down there for extra protection."

"Shouldn't the underground be the last place we go to as there is an invasion?" Dominic asked, his steps quickening as they turned the corner. "They would have entered the castle through that way."

Kalmin shook his head. "Apparently not, they entered through the back entrance of the castle on a cart."

Dominic paused for a moment at that comment. Kalmin immediately turned around and grabbed him by the arm, hurrying him down the hallway. "We do not have time to be making stops your hig-"

"They're confident," Dominic muttered.

"I'm sorry what?" Kalmin asked.

"The only way a back entrance is possible is if they either have someone on the inside helping them to get in or they are confident enough to pick that entrance and blow through the castle," Dominic muttered, "It's a bold statement as the back entrance is close to the pavilion and gardens which are the most used routes to get through the castle. They're saying they're confident and strong enough to pick such a populated area to begin their rampage."

Kalmin looked at Dominic for a moment before solemnly nodding his head. "Yes. It seems that they have a strong backing."

Dominic chuckled lightly. "Wow..." he muttered, "on a day like this too..."

They turned into another hallway, the last before the entrance to the underground pathway, and immediately, they broke their stride, eyes widening at the scene in front of them. 

The once white and gold walls of the castle were painted red by the people that helped build it. Dead bodies laid sprawled on the ground like fallen leaves, their body disfigured in someway like a broken ornament and blood seeped from their bodies. Clangs of swords echoed off the walls, mixing with screams of pain and war cries of the soldiers. 

The once sweet aroma in the air was filled with blood. The intoxicating, nauseating, and stifling scent of blood. There was something else that accompanied the scent. It smelt like ashes but yet nothing was in sight. There was no fire, just the deeply upsetting smell of smoke and a dark cloud that rested in the air.

Dominic shuddered and Kalmin felt it. He gripped the arm of his prince and continued on.

"Most of the guards are deployed, the others guarding certain areas of the castle," Kalmin stated, turning to Dominic and giving him a smile of reassurance. "Don't worry, we'll be fine."

Dominic nodded his head quietly as he watched the battle around him. His senses were ever so vivid. He could feel everything, see everything. It was terrifying, horrifyingly real. 

His steps staggered and Kalmin is pushed back with him. 

"Your highness!" Kalmin called out. "Your highness!" 

Dominic looked up at Kalmin and nodded. "I'm o-" out of the corner of his eyes he caught a gleam, the shine of something silver, the glow of something sharp. "Watch out!"

He bent down, pulling Kalmin to the ground and covering him immediately as the shine neared. 

CLANG