Chapter Text
Apollo checked on Princess Trucy over one more time, watching as the princess snored softly, huddled into her cape. He’d taken off his own and used it as padding for her head as he laid her down to rest, ignoring the biting cold of the wind in favor of seeing the princess taken care of.
Dusk now hung low in the sky, and with it the winds picked up in the valley once more, rustling the dead trees and whistling through the craggy peaks. It’s honestly a small miracle he’s able to get a fire going in such a condition, its merry crackling rather ill-suiting the uneasiness regarding the young princess’s collapse.
“Is…will she be alright?” A voice asks from above Apollo’s head.
Prince Klavier hovers over Apollo and Trucy, unsure of what he can do to help. For the past hour or so, he stood there watching as Apollo got Trucy comfortable, gathered branches strewn about the empty village, and started a fire, His face was pulled taut with worry, as well as weariness, and Apollo beckoned the prince to sit closer to the fire for warmth, himself settling down only after he is satisfied with Trucy’s arrangements.
“She’ll be okay. She’s just pushed herself over her limit, that’s all,” Apollo explains. At Klavier’s suddenly alarmed expression, he quickly clarifies further.
“ Magic limit! I don’t exactly know what that is, exactly, but this has happened to her a couple of times over the years during her training. Miss Trucy will be fine after a night’s rest, I’m sure of it.”
“Ah, magic, is it…?” Klavier says, his voice trailing off. “...Are you two a pair of… traveling magician siblings, then?”
Apollo quirks up his eyebrow as he shakes his head. Where did he get that idea? “No, we aren’t. I suppose we never properly introduced ourselves, huh?”
Apollo gestures to himself. “My name is Apollo Justice. I’m a knight currently serving the Kingdom of Angelos, and Miss Trucy over there—” he points a finger towards her sleeping figure. “She is the princess of Angelos. I’m sure if she were awake right now, she’d express how truly excited she is to finally meet you.”
“The young Fräulein is a princess, you say?” Klavier repeats, azure eyes wide. “And you, a knight? Oh dear, please forgive me for making such an untoward assumption, Herr Apollo Justice!”
Apollo suddenly felt rather sheepish, not helped at all by the flip-flopping in his stomach at hearing his name being rolled around in the Prince’s accented voice. He scratches the back of his neck.
“Oh no, please…it’s quite alright, a fair assumption, honestly,” he peters out, catching the prince’s guilty expression. Apollo wasn’t under the impression that princes were usually this…humble? “A-anyway, I don’t suppose you could tell me a bit about how you ended up in such a place?”
That seems to break the prince out of his ennui, his eyebrow furrowing in thought. “I’m afraid the ‘how’ of my circumstances escape me. All I recall is walking through the town of my kingdom, a sudden, sharp blow to my head, and then waking up within that tower.” He nods towards the structure still looming in the night sky. “I didn’t see who took me, nor did I ever suspect I was being followed in the first place. All I know is that I was kidnapped, and just that.”
Apollo sighs at the prince’s response. He figured as much. He lets the silence that follows simmer for a bit, the crackling of the fire and the soft sound of breathing fill in the gaps. He lets his gaze rise to the stony cliffs bracketing the path ahead, facets pale in the moonlight.
"The journey ahead won't be…the most comfortable, I will warn. Are you going to be alright?"
Prince Klavier nods his head with an easiness that could have been second nature, for how practiced the motion appears. "Please, don't worry about me. I'm indebted to you and the young Fräulein for your rescue efforts, I won’t get in your way."
Apollo narrows his eyes, unsure whether to trust the Prince's glimmering smile. It was sincere enough , but something about it tugged at Apollo just a bit, a vague murmur in the back of his head, like an itch he couldn’t quite reach.
He pushes back the thought as the Prince's smile begins to falter. "...Sorry, was I staring?"
Prince Klavier shrugs. "I suppose it's nothing I'm not used to. A prince should expect to be looked upon by his subjects, though honestly, it's the first time someone has met my gaze with such… intensity ."
Apollo blushes, a furious heat erupting across his cheeks despite the biting cold of the wind. Klavier takes notice of this, his smile deepening as he takes note of the young knight’s flustered reaction.
“Regarding subjects, how is the kingdom faring?” inquires Klavier. “Gawain was rather peaceful, last I remember—my parents would be able to keep it as such, even in my rather… untimely absence.”
Apollo’s inhale rises to a hiss.
He doesn’t know.
Apollo’s hands suddenly turned clammy, digits awkwardly weaving into one another as he fumbled around for the most delicate way to break the news to the prince.
“About that, Prince Klavier…” Apollo attempts . He takes a deep breath, thumb drawing circles in the palm of his other hand, the motion grounding. “The King and Queen…are no longer with us.”
It is as if time itself stills to a halt, the way that the second prince freezes in place. A few, choice seconds drag by, before Klavier finally speaks, his voice uncharacteristically tight.
“Whatever do you mean by that, Herr Knight? What…happened to them? What of my brother?”
“Your parents, they…passed away sometime last year,” Apollo explains, offering up as much information as he knew. He owed the isolated prince at least that much. “I know not of the circumstances of how and why, but I can tell you your brother has taken the reins on running Gawain in their stead, as Prince Regent.”
“Prince Regent?” Klavier murmurs, eyes searching the ground. It is as if the prince’s voice itself has donned a mourning veil of its own, a gossamer gloom settling over each syllable and word.
Apollo feels about the same as the bridge leading up to the castle—reduced to a smoldering heap of charcoal and ash. Neither man looks at the other as the news falls around them like dust, settling into every nook and cranny of their newly forged acquaintanceship.
“ Well then! ” Prince Klavier says, all too quickly, rising from his seat. Apollo was seated, but even he could tell that the prince had his eyes trained anywhere but his own, looking at the middle distance. It stung a bit, regardless.
“I shall…mull over these new revelations throughout the night,” he says, gesturing at the dilapidated remains of a house near the fire. “I’ll do so over there if it isn’t too much of a bother. We should be safe until morning, so please, do not hesitate to rest before I do. You will need your energy for the journey ahead, ja? ”
Apollo’s mouth opens on instinct, sorting through thoughts of “staying close for safety” and “that ruin can’t be safe to be in” so that they may not escape a jumbled mess, but before any combination of those words leaves his mouth, the prince has turned away, walking towards the dilapidated remains of what was once a cottage out of view.
Apollo’s hands rest upon the blade of his sword, gleaming in the crackling firelight that illuminated the gloom. Prince Klavier’s face flashes in his mind, every minute movement and expression etched into his memory.
Apollo… doesn’t know what to feel about the Prince just yet. Mission aside, the Prince as a person remains rather enigmatic for him. He blushes again when the sound of Klavier pointing out his staring echoes in his ears, but…Apollo can tell that the prince isn’t being completely honest.
It’s akin to an itch, minor but persistent, that flares up in the back of his mind with every suave turn of phrase that comes out of Klavier’s mouth. To what extent he lies, and for what reason, Apollo doesn’t know, but perhaps he won’t have to know.
If the journey back goes smoothly, and the Prince is returned safe and sound, he can return to Angelos with the comfort that he had served his kingdom and fulfilled his duty. The comfort of figuring out Klavier’s truth probably wouldn’t carry the same weight as that…right?
Apollo shakes his head, looking up at the baleful moon that rises above the valley. It’s getting late, and he needs to be well-rested for the trek back to Gawain.
Looking over to Princess Trucy’s sleeping form, a fond smile, one tinged with relief, turns the corners of his mouth, Without her magic, Apollo isn’t sure if he’d be up to the task of rescuing Prince Klavier. As loathe as he is to admit it, for the sake of the princess’s safety (and to an extent, her ego) , they made a good team. Another quest like this, with her working alongside him, probably wouldn’t happen again past the conclusion of this one, so Apollo hoped he’d be able to compensate with his abilities in her absence.
Apollo tries to get comfortable on the hard ground, slowing his breathing as he tunes out the whistling winds that ravage the surrounding cliffs. He… thinks he hears something in the direction of the house the Prince settled within. He tries to brush it off.
He keeps trying, throughout the night, as the quiet noises persisted, lingering in his mind long after the house grew silent.
“ Guten Morgen , everyone!”
Prince Klavier’s sudden greeting nearly makes Apollo jump an inch from his spot next to the fire. The smell of rations heating over the smoldering cinders of the fire fills the air around them. It is perhaps the combination of these two things, that finally stirs Trucy from her slumber.
“ Hrgh… is that breakfast?” Trucy mumbles, her words swallowed into a yawn as she blinks owlishly at the two men.
“Good Morning, Princess Trucy. Prince Klavier,” Apollo finally greets rather weakly, after settling back into his skin. “Are you both well rested?”
Trucy nods, shambling over to plop next to Apollo on the ground, bleary eyes staring down the food in front of her.
“I will be once I eat,” she remarks, her wit sharp as ever even in the blur of sleep. Apollo sighs, one part exasperated and the other fond, as he hands her one portion, keeping the fire warm enough.
“It’s rather courteous of you to prepare food for the journey ahead,” Klavier comments, giving Apollo a bright smile as he sits across from the knight. Apollo tries hard not to notice the puffiness around the Prince’s eyes. “I must say, it has been a while since I’ve eaten in good company, so I thank you two for giving me this… taste of what I’ve been missing, if you’ll forgive the joke.”
Trucy laughs at the wordplay, while Apollo chews on his potato pensively. The itch has returned, more of a twinge or a tug now, as he hands Klavier the remaining bit of food from the campfire. Puffy eyes aside…he looks fine. His smile is easy, posture languid despite the persistent chill around them.
With the lack of a heavy cloak upon his figure, Apollo almost felt as if Klavier’s sunny disposition made him misplaced in their current circumstances. He should be sunning near the sea, ocean breeze carding through his hair, not stooped at a fire pit in the ravaged ruins of a town. Apollo nearly has to squint at the brightness of his smile,
“What’s the plan for today?” Prince Klavier asks, after a moment passes.
Trucy shrugs as she finishes off the last bit of food in her hand. “Hopefully, getting you back to Gawain.”
Apollo nods, pulling out the folded map from his rucksack. He gestures at both Klavier and Trucy to approach and tries very hard to ignore the faint smell of perfume that comes off of the Prince as he draws near.
“We are currently here— ” he points at the large circle of charcoal on the crinkled parchment. “ Here is the route we took to get to you, Prince.”
The smooth line that his finger traces along the drawn lines betrays nothing about the rough path forward. Apollo purses his lips, eyes narrowing.
“The problem with this route is that it’s rather… strenuous to follow. It was manageable when it was just myself and the princess but I don’t think I’d be able to carry two people across streams and rocky hills, unfortunately.”
Klavier shifts in place, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “Oh, I’m well enough capable of handling myself outdoors.”
Apollo tries to visualize the possibilities in his head; Klavier has been trapped within the confines of a tower. Although Apollo is sure the Prince had kept himself well-built and healthy in that time (Although he isn’t sure why he was thinking about Klavier’s physique in the first place), whether that would translate to traversal across rough terrain was a different matter altogether.
Apollo imagines the Prince getting injured or worse; him slipping on a rock or patch of wet moss. The image settles on him about as comfortably as a pile of bricks.
The knight shakes his head resolutely. “It’s nothing too troublesome. I can assure you. There are a few detours we can take that make for an overall longer, but safer path back to Gawain. Is that alright with the both of you?”
While Trucy nods, the smile on her face betraying her excitement at the prospect of a longer journey, Prince Klavier steps back, a thoughtful countenance upon his face.
“Are…you sure? I wouldn’t want to make the journey longer than it absolutely has to be.”
“We were taking the shortest route coming here to make sure you were alright. Now that you’re here with us, we’re not too pressed for time.”
“But-”
“ I don’t want to see you getting hurt, ” Apollo says rather abruptly, his voice rising higher than he’d like it to be.
“- Both of you, that is!” He immediately catches himself, leaving the trio silent for a moment before Klavier is the first to shake it off, brushing away the awkwardness like the hair that hung across his shoulder.
“... Well, it is comforting to know that you care about my safety, Herr Knight ,” Klavier replies, the sincerity in his tone as sweet as the smile he levies Apollo. The young knight can only blush harder in response.
“ Right, anyway…!” Trucy says, bouncing up onto her feet from the ground. “We should get going soon, shouldn’t we?”
Save the morning’s awkwardness, the trio eventually make their way out of the ruined village, and back onto the road towards Gawain. Leading his horse by the reins, Apollo trudges along, making frequent references to his map as he turns off into the alternate path. Trucy and Prince Klavier converse animatedly at his back, Trucy mounts onto the horse as the Prince follows on foot.
He hears little complaints about this arrangement from Klavier, which surprises Apollo. Surely a prince would have expected to be led to safety on horseback, all the discomfort of traversing by foot quite literally beneath him. Then again, the pace they are traveling is rather sluggish, so it wouldn’t be too much trouble for the Prince, right?
With that being said, the singing should be a clearer sign than any that Klavier’s doing just fine. Whenever there’s a lull in the conversation, or when the walking gets rather monotonous, The prince opens his mouth, and sweet melodies come out, much to Trucy’s delight, and Apollo’s reluctant awe. It’s not as if Klavier’s singing is bad— quite the opposite, in fact. The prince often makes a bit of a show every time he breaks into song, inviting the younger princess to accompany him, or gesture at Apollo to follow suit. It’s all rather whimsical, which contrasts the current monotony of travel quite pleasantly if he has to be honest.
No, Apollo’s problem is…he has this tiny feeling that the prince enjoys seeing him flustered. His eyes catch the small quirk in Klavier’s lip every time the heat of blush rises on his cheeks, and that observation makes him blush even more, which only makes things worse. A feedback loop of call and response, all at Apollo’s expense.
So the young knight tries to keep steadfast towards the path forward, regardless of how much he enjoys Klavier’s singing, his dignity be damned.
“ Herr Apollo, what was it that called you to take up your sword?” Klavier asks him, well into the journey. “Was it the voice of adventure calling out your name? Was it fame and glory? Are you in search of your other half throughout these lands?” Sunlight washes over them in dappled patches as they stroll through a particularly heavy patch of forest.
Apollo shrugs, gesturing at his person. “I can’t say for sure. For me, it was as natural a course for me to follow as the way my hair stands up— not that I can control it to stand that way, thank you for asking.”
In actuality, he wishes the call to adventure came as naturally to him as he’d just said. He feels as if he’s constantly flying by the seat of his trousers, and he’d very much like to get a hold of stable ground for what he should be doing as a hero. Regardless, he says what he thinks Prince Klavier would like to hear, which works, judging by the warm smile the prince gives him, making the sunlight around him shine just a bit brighter.
Klavier’s bell-like laughter chimes in Apollo’s ear. “I certainly wasn’t going to bring it up, but I suppose it gives you…how should I say…a signature look. ”
Klavier takes a step back, gesturing theatrically with his arms. “Picture it; A damsel, in certain mortal peril, searches the horizon for a hero, a savior to sweep her off their feet. There, in the distance! She sees them—the two horns that stand bravely in the wind like an army’s standard. She smiles through the soot and the smoke—she can breathe once more; Herr Hörner will carry her off into the sunset!”
Trucy’s laugh echoes the Prince’s as Apollo rather obviously keeps his head facing forward, the scarlet color that rises to his ears betraying his true emotions. Trucy’s half-close to falling off his horse, for how much she’s laughing at the imagined scenario.
“What kind of a nickname is Hörner anyway?” Apollo finally asks after a moment of minimal laughter in the air, turning around to ask the Prince–
The Prince isn’t there.
“Prince Klavier?!” Apollo suddenly shouts, Rousing Trucy to attention at once. Panic slams over him as a cold wave as he leaves his horse behind to backtrack, Trucy jumping off its back to follow him. The pair ran along the road at a brisk pace, the young knight racking his brain for the last time he’d heard the prince’s footsteps following behind him. He sees it before he hears it—a small divet in the shrubbery off to the side, the sound of a distant voice crying out for help.
“ This way! ” Apollo directs, jumping into the thicket and racing towards Klavier’s voice. He was under the impression this path was barren people-wise. Were they simply hiding in the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment to snatch the prince and carry him off to god knows where—
“Polly, watch ou- augh! ”
Apollo’s yelp of surprise is yanked out of him as he is quite literally yanked from his feet. The snare around his feet drags him across the forest floor, getting batted around by bush and root alike until he feels himself rising from the ground, the blood rushing down to his head.
He reunites with Klavier—or should he say, his forehead meets Klavier’s for the first time, as Apollo comes to a swinging halt, his body crashing into Klaviers. Stars explode under his eyelids as pain blossoms from the impact. He feels Trucy bump into his back—she couldn’t escape this one, it would seem.
“ Ow… Your Highness, are you hurt?” Apollo mumbles, wincing out the pain as he tries to regain his bearings.
“ Herr Apollo?! Trucy?!” Klavier exclaims, body twisting as he tries to get a view of his two companions. “They got you too?!”
“Yes, I do believe I did.”
Apollo doesn’t imagine that the look of anger on his face communicates well to the figure that emerges from the embrace of the woods. Decked out in leathers and a lightweight hood, Their would-be captor reveals a head of brunette hair, and a sharp pair of blue eyes meeting Apollo’s as her upside-down face curls into a self-satisfied smirk.
“Well, lookie here.”
Apollo’s face burns with shame. Or maybe it was a thistle that smacked him across the face as he was getting dragged to this point.
He struggles against the vice grip of the ropes around him, trussed up, and sits on the ground next to Klavier and Trucy as the rogue rummages through their rucksacks.
“Please, we haven’t anything for you to rob!” exclaims Trucy. The theif simply responds with a snort of a laugh as her hand rummages through their packs.
“ That much is obvious,” she says, the hand rifling through their gear making a mighty ruckus in the quiet woods. “I wasn’t really expecting all that much staking out this lonely road, but even I’m sort of shocked.”
The thief stands up and eyes the group of captives, though her gaze is mainly focused on Trucy and Klavier, the delicate accessories inlaid in the prince’s golden hair glinting in the midday sun.
“What I can observe, however, is that you two are clearly of noble descent,” she says, outstretching a gloved hand to touch the silver hair ornaments on Klavier’s head. Apollo feels frustration flare up in himself at the sight, as well as Klavier’s blatantly scared expression. He can’t imagine that this experience brings up the best memories, given the whole reason why he ended up out here in the first place.
“ You, spiky-hair, are some sort of hired landsknecht of some sort, tasked with escorting these two off to…Gawain, perhaps, judging by the map in my hand.” The woman smirks folding her hands over her chest. “Did I get that all correct?”
Apollo gapes his mouth open, and closes it again, looking rather trout-like at the bandit’s words when Trucy suddenly pipes up.
“ Nu-uh! Polly’s not being hired by anyone! He’s a knight of the Kingdom of Angelos,” she says, much to Apollo’s astounded look. “When the kingdom hears of this, you’ll be dealt with for sure!”
“Big words for a young lady such as yourself, missus, ” the thief counters smugly. Her fingers hold Trucy’s cloak in their grip, the embossed designs shining faintly contrasted against the rest of the thick fabric. Her eyes squint for a moment, before ‘ ah’ -ing in recognition, the smile on her face growing even wider.
“This design here? That’s the Angelosian royal crest. Angelos law dictates that only the royal family is permitted to have these on their clothing. You’re a long way from home, aren’t you, princess?”
For the first time in possibly forever , Trucy has nothing to say, her warm complexion turning clammy as the thief rises to a walking pace.
“I’m sure the Kings of Angelos, along with the Prince Regent of Gawain would pay a hefty sum to see their loved ones returned to them. Goodness knows they have the wealth in their coffers to spare,” she begins, pacing in front of the trio with her hand at her chin. “I won’t hurt you, most likely, so you really have nothing to worry about.”
“What makes you think we won’t just break free and escape?” Apollo hisses, his voice low and irate.
The woman fishes out a snack from her pack, using the tiny sweet to gesture at their binds. “That’s a whole bundle of rope wrapped around each of you. If you three managed to break through all of that, hell , I’d pay you, I’d be so impressed.”
“Besides, you haven’t been able to do it yet in the span of us talking, hm? I’m willing to take my chances,” she says, flicking the small snack squarely at the knight’s forehead. Apollo’s face burns with shame at the honesty of the woman’s words, shoulders hunching as his mind continues to run.
“Surely you can be reasoned with, Fräulein, ” Klavier says, the charm in his voice so shallow Apollo nearly keels over from a pinch that jabs into his head. “You seem to be an intelligent, skilled person. Surely thievery and robbery weren’t the goals you’d set in your life?”
The woman snorts as she kneels in front of Trucy’s pack, though this time it was tinged with a bittersweetness that wasn’t there before.
“Not enough coin in my dream to feed me, so I do what I can with the skills I’ve got,” she mumbles, digging through Trucy’s belongings. “It’s not about me though. Color me curious, where did you guys come from anywa-”
Something blue and shiny peeks out from the provisions in Trucy’s pack. It’s rather hard not to see it, but their captor appears to have eyed it the most judging by the expression that suddenly overtakes her face.
She unearths it from the contents of the bag, her gloved hands cradling what appeared to be a foreign shard of some sort. Its surface was ridged and rigid, an almost iridescent sheen coating its surface as its blue hue bounced off the woman’s eyes.
“This…where did you find this?” the woman suddenly asks, looking about ready to pounce on the young princess.
“That’s part of the answer of where we came from,” Trucy says, rather sheepishly. “I picked it up from the ground.”
“ Picked it— you…you do know what this is right? What sort of creature a scale like this comes from?”
“ I wasn’t aware you had THAT on you! ” hisses Apollo at the young princess. She levies him a clueless look, an apologetic smile on her face.
“I was actually hoping to bring it home as a keepsake. Although…I think it’s proving to be quite the bargaining chip now.”
“That shade of blue…” Klavier trails, an awestruck look on his face. “ Fräulein, please don’t tell me you got that from–”
“A dragon, here?” The woman suddenly says, her voice going up an octave. “Where…how… what– ”
“We’ve got more up our sleeve, a lot more where that came from,” Trucy bluffs rather spectacularly, as Apollo blanches a lighter shade of eggshell white. “We’d be willing to bargain this important information with you in exchange for our freedom.”
The bandit narrows her eyes, hands going to her hips. “How do I know you aren’t just lying to me to escape?”
This time, Apollo speaks up, clearing his throat before he does so. “I mean, even if we were, You’re in a much more advantageous position to re-capture us. You know the routes we’re taking, the destination we’re headed to. As much as I hate to admit it, it would be pointless for us to try to trick you. We do know things about this dragon that you seem interested in, that much is true. So let us bargain with you.”
The woman considers Apollo’s words with a thoughtful chew of the snack in her hands, the seemingly infinite supply of them being fished out as the gears turned in the woman’s head.
After what seemed like forever, the woman suddenly fished out a small knife, brandishing it in front of the trio. For a few choice moments, Apollo feels his stomach plunge cold, thinking that she thought them too much trouble for their worth. He screws his eyes shut, waiting for whatever’s next to come.
“Start talking.”
Apollo blinks owlishly when he realizes he hasn’t been stabbed or sliced. He looks down to find the majority of his bindings cut down on the floor, though the rope around his (and by extension, Klavier’s and Trucy’s) wrists remain firmly bound. The woman isn’t looking at any of them, her gaze thoroughly taken by the large dragon scale in her hand. Careful, almost gentle fingers trace over every ridge and bump, the hunger for knowledge on her face all but spelled out.
“First of all, let me show you something,” Trucy says, tipping her head to one side to pull off the large hat on her head. Sticking both hands into the hat, she pulls out a small shard of something , its surface smooth and speckled, the edges jagged and cracked.
The bandit gasps loudly when she sees the piece of what appears to be an eggshell in Trucy’s hands, eyes growing as large as saucers. When she tries to grab for it, however, Trucy vanishes it away with a flick of her tied wrists, a mischievous look on her face.
“Now then, I believe an introduction is in order, correct? If we’re to be proceeding with this transaction, I should at least know who it is I am trading with.”
“We won’t report you, or anything, if that’s what you’re concerned about,” Apollo offers rather lamely, with Klavier nodding a bit too enthusiastically in response.
The woman coughs, standing up straight as she blinked at the young princess. After a moment, however, she relents, giving them a mock bow as she flourishes her cape.
“Ema Skye. Full-time investigator of magical fauna and flora, part-time roadside bandit and rogue, at your service.”