Whats going on? Only darkness surrounds me. My body aches. Trying to move I can’t. I can hardly move at all. I’m trapped.

Shit Baba managed to kick my ass hard enough I’m really in a coma! Or am I just trapped inside my head. Thats a thing right?

“Waaah Wah Waah Wahh.”

Is that a voice I hear? A shiver runs through me.

A smell meets my nose. The coppery burn of blood.

Trying to open my eyes I find they are stuck fast. I won’t be finding them the last time. Straining my ears I focus on the sound.

“Hahahahaha.”

Its laughter. No. Giggling. An all to familiar giggling.

Termerity! Gods. Baba got away. Shit she was probably playing opossum! She must’ve gotten the drop on them with the small army of manifestations she’s got.

Jerking in my bindings I snarl into the gag. The laughter only grows.

Endurance!

I call to the manifestation. My eyes maybe forced shut or covered but I can still see light.

The manifestation doesn’t respond.

[Aid!]

Calm. Safe. Protect. Safe.

Content. Protect. Hunger. Safety. Pack.

An image floats into my mind. A picture of me. In it I’m bound by the wrist, the knee, torso, arm and head to a table.

Whats going on! Its like someone put me in my worst nightmare and flipped the freaky switch!

Did they not realize being tied down is bad? It is pretty much the same thing as being caged, just with a skin tight cage!

Nine hells! Wait. Endurance!

Endurance!

I send the message off to the manifestation.

You’ve finally woken have you? He grumbles.

My blackened world vanishes and I sit in in a plush armchair beside a cobalt fire. IN a chair I assume is identicle to my own sits Endurance.

“What the hells going on? You know what. I know I can manifest, lets bust out and take them by surprise!”

I expect him to be ready to fight, instead he’s giving me the stink eye.

“What?”

“That’s exactly what we did a few days ago.”

A few days ago? Huh?

“Huh?”

“I said, that’s exactly what happened just days ago! And you know what? You managed to manifest alright.”

He groans and drops his hace into his hands.

“So what? We got caught before you could get me out?”

He looks at me with no small amount of anger and clenched his hands so hard his knuckles pop. I didn’t even know his knuckles could pop!

“I punched Aster!”

I stop and just stare at him. “How the hell did that happen?”

You’ve been out of it for days. Five days you’ve been down and twice in the first day you got up and attacked them while bleeding all over the place!

Well that isn’t what I would call the healthiest thing to do.

Exhaling I press my hands to m y face. “Did I hurt anyone?”

He shrugs. “I don’t believe so. No one you care about at the very least.”

Well no one could argue that as a bad thing.

“So what now?”

Endurance raises an eyebrow, “now? Now we do the only thing we can do. We wait.”

Huffing I throw a leg over my knee and began rolling my thumbs through the air. It doesn’t help.

I push myself from the chair and stride the length f the small chamber.

“Why is your space so small anyway?”

“It used to be larger. Than my prince died. I guess this was all that could be salvaged.”

Well that sucks. However I don’t think theres a single thing I can do to fix it. Even if I kept him in the out world ninety-nine percent of the time he’d end up here the other one percent.

I groan and scratch my head. “Isn’t there anything to do in here?”

“I find there’s ample room for singing. It has a wonderful echo.”

Not his smartest decision by any means. With the barest of mental ‘flicks’ the song beings to play. It’s quiet at first. Nearly impossible to hear in fact. But with each moment the sound grows louder and louder.

“Pink Fong!”

The bouncy voice calls.

Suggest I hae an empty head, just try it!

Endurance doesn’t seem swayed in the slightest.

“You’ll be forced to deal with it yourself.”

I give a halfhearted shrug and grin ferally. “I understand the concept of a mute button. How about you?”

Thats a lie. I have no idea how to spare myself, but I’m willing to suffer through it to torment him a touch. But if he thinks he can outlast me he might try. Whereas if de doesn’t realize he has a shot well that small bit of info tips the scales in my favor.

And I’m not going to let of my chance so easily.

“What does the fox say!”

He twitches and with a grin I close my eyes and begin humming a tune of my own. One I’d started writing for my cousin but never got around to finishing. But hey, can’t win them all. At the very least it’ll give me something besides the song to focus on.

Ten minutes later and Endurance is still going but its clear his. Confidence has taken a hit. Gone was the calm expression replaced by a twitching eye and a stiff jaw.

The song ends.

Flipping the switch again, I let the sound to trail off. Hye looks at me suspiciously, as if suspecting I’m behind it. Maybe I’ll spare a moment to wave at him. He narrows his eyes and my smile widen’s.

“Pink Fong!”

His twitching returns and much worse to top it off.

It’s as the song is winding down I begin to pay it aqll over again.

Endurace groands and drops to the floor.

“Make it stop.” He says. “Just make it stop.”

I shake my head. “What you know first.”

“Apologies Faust for suggesting that your head is so empty that you’d bnever half the brain power and ability needed to fix it.

I flop on to the couch and send him the finger.

Next tbhng I know he’s right in front of me, his eyes wide and twitching violently. “You will see to it that this music is over and never torments me again.”

Leaning back I ignore his threat. All I have to do is amke sure that the manifestation never has access to the song long enough to memorize it and I’m golden.

“I’m sorry were you saying something Endurance?”

To top it off I up the volume until its all but rattling the walls. Or they would be if there were walls.

“FFAAUUUSSTT!” Endurance roars.

With a thought silence reigns and I grin. “Feel like calling me dumb again?”

He looks like he’s warring with himself before sighing.

“Of course I do.” Raising a brow I start the process to bring the music back when he raises a hand forestalling me. “I wont.”

“Fair enough. So what do we do now?”

Endurance reaches into the air and pulls two identicle spears from the air and tosses one to me. “Ready yourself.”

“And how will this help me?”

He flips the spear through his hands before jabbing it my way. “Muscle memory.”

“I thought that you know needed muscles?”

He shakes his head. “It is nothing more than repeating an action until you brain recoginizes the proper response. And since you have my Princes muscles.”

“All I really have to do is relearn the moves.”

Endurance nods sharply. “Now defend yourself!”

The demand is emphasized by him hitting me upside the head with the spear and I take a half step backward. There a unpleasant ringing but not the ame pain I’ve felt when something similar has happened. Perhaps it has something built in?

As soon as my feet are beneath me I charge. I kknow I’m not doing it right when the distance isn’t shrinking like it should be. Im just slower.

“Raise your guard, dont just hope your target will wait for your to skewer him!” He snaps.

He sidesteps my charge and jams his spear into the front of my foot and I stumble.

Ducking so I turn ans weep and twiting the spear bring it up, raising it toward Endurances chin. He grabs hold of it and looks at me.

“A near perfect execution, but its not enough. Reset, we’re going again.”

Reluctantly I nod and take my position and piece the ground with the spear tip.

“Is that all you wish to do?”

I nod and wihout another word he’s on th emove. He ducks to the left as I swing the spear upward dragging a cloud of sand along with it. Shifting a half step forward I let the spear slid through my heand until im only holding on to the speare at the end of of the spears shaft and swing again.

It whistles through the air like im using a hammer hoping to nail him to the ground. He steps to the left again.

“Try again!” He says.

Moving the espear through my fingers I raise it as I leap into the air.

The fool tracks me upward and I throw the spear. As soon as its free he umbles back and I filp the weapon about to point at his neck. “Ifthis were a fight, you’d be dead.

He snorts. “If you call this a fight when neither of us have began to parry and you have used a single one of these skills you’ve managed to acquire.

I nod. Its a pretty accurate summation of htings. “Fair enough.”

Taking a half step back I gooh the leg of the chair and sweep it forward. Or would have if the chair wasn’t stuck in place. Instead I stumble forward and Endurance is waiting.

He takes me by the hair and pulls me into a standing position.

How can a god be this pathetic? I believe you may even have grown weaker.

Is insulting me the best he can do? It might’ve worked if tough love was a concept my mother disliked. Too bad for him.

A thought occurs to me as I lower myself. This might be his space but its still my mind. I should be able to create what I like, yet it feels like it would be cheating.

Dammit the next person who questions my honor or integrity I’ll knock in the head with my spear!

Gritting my teeth I lash out with the spear, an action he blocks simply by raising his own spear.

“Better, but not enough.”

My back meets the chair as he throws me aside.

“Come.”

I do just that. Using the chair for an extra push I rush forward. Jap. Impacts floor. Roll. Upward swing. Duck. Roll. Leap back. Jab. Jab. Jab into sweep. Parry. Pain. Block. Roll. Jab. Block. Kick. Pain.

His spear strikes my knuckles and the spear leaps from my hand to skitter a short ways away. I’m about to move to go pick up the weapon and reset when I see Endurance.

He’s not going to stop.

I cross my arms above me to defend agains the storm of falling blows.Pain. Pain. Pain.

Its minutes later, when my arms are stinging and if we were in reality would likely be very, very broken, when he stops the assault.

“Is this the best you can do? The cities children can best you.”

I spit and move to my feet. Reaching out I pull another spear from the air. This one a curving crook spear identicle to the one I’d been training with.

“Again.” I roar. Not waiting for his response I attack.

Diagonal upward sweep. Spinning sweep. Jump. Block. Angle down. Jab. Lunge. Roll. Punch. Block. Block. Block. Pain. Hook his head. Pain.

Twist, swing for his head. He blocks. Sweep upward. The hook catches him in the groin and and looks at me surprised.

The butt of his spear catches me in the chin dropping me to the ground. “A viable tactic, if one I thought one as honorable as yourself would avoid.”

Again I rise, this time I fall into the position samira favors.

“I’ll use whatever tactic brings me the result that I need.”

“Good!”

He smiles. I think it might be the first real smile I’ve ever seen from him. One that shows off his overly white teeth.

“When it battle only victory matters. Victory is the only guarantee of survival.”

He charges.

My spear arcs up and I catch his spear in the hook and force it down.

“Highness are you awake?” Aster asks.

Her voice resounds through the room, bouncing and echoing something fierce. A fist catches my chin and I’m once again looking up at the manifestation.

“The fight isn’t over until it is.” He grumbles, the spear dissolves away.

“Highness. Please, you need to wake up.” Aster continues before I have chance to lose my temper with Endurance. She sounds like she’s crying. Why?

She answers.

“Samira is preparing for a dusk march.”

A cold shiver spears through me. Dusk March- the title I’d given the sacrificial journey someone takes when they can no longer fulfill their purpose in the mother’s eyes. In other words samira is getting ready to walk into the desert without any weapons, find the nearest thing that wants to eat her and feed it.

I can’t have that.

“—I tried everything highness, nothing I can do will convince her she hasn’t failed anyone!”

I look over at Endurance and he’s already speaking.

“You’re already on your way.”

A cliche’d line if I’ve ever heard one.

Suddenly I feel the bindings about my wrists again. And the clothe tied about my eyes.

Aster is off to my right, she crying softly.

I grunt. She doesn’t hear me.

“I don’t know what to do.”

She’s to busy talking! I grunt louder

“She thinks just because Baba—“

Flailing as much I’m able, I scream into the gag and suddenly her hand is on my arm.

“Highness?”

I can feel her fingers tremble as she pulls at the gag. I’m free!

“Get me out of here Aster!”

“Highness!”

The blindfold is the next to come away and i jerk back. One of her eyes is swollen near shut and very bruised. Damn, Endurance got her good.

Catching me looking she turns away.

“I’m fine, Stopping Samira matters more.”

She’s right, I’ll apologize properly later.

“Endurance help her get me out of here.”

[Find. Surround.] My intention come with an image of Samira. A squeak and chuff draws my focuse to a couch off to the side. They slip from the furniture and after stretching Desperation bounds for the door as Tenacity begins flingiing sand into the air as she tunnels into the ground.

The weasel might not be much for hunting by scent but she can follow after desperation and aid him if it comes to it.

The two make short work of freeing me. Sitting up I immediately regret doing it so fast. There’s no longer need to rush after all. Not with Desperation on her tail.

A large woman in green moves into the doorway, My healer no doubt.

“Why are the Prince’s beasts running off—“ She nearly sprints her way to my side and wraps surprisinglly long fingers about my wrist as she peer at the wall behind me.

“I’m glad to see that you’ve woken highness. “However I do believe it best if you lay back or barring that move to one of the couches.”

I shake my head and pull my arm free. “Can’t, I need to see to my Prime.”

The healer frowns, “your aid said you tended to be a difficult one to keep in place.”

“Guess you should have expected this than.”

Againgst the healers objections I struggle my way off the table and my legs fold beneath me.

“Prince Vandal, you’ve suffered massive injuries, and its taken me days to render you stable. Don’t go destroying all of my work!”

“Hi there,” I say looking up at her and offer a wave. “I’m the guy who’s currently ignoring you, would you be so kind as to leave me the nine hells alone?”

She looks affronted but I don’t care. I’m going to get to Samira and considering I have all the time I need I’m more than willing to crawl my half dead ass there. There aren’t enough people I trust to let one of the ones I trust most go.

Endurance takes me by the arm and lifts me to my feet.

“Weakness is common after a long recovery.”

Great, now I’ve the manifestation parroting lines at me. Still I don’t think he meant it as a rebuke. And I do appreciate the lift.

Patting his arm I respond. “Thanks. Helpo me out of here would ya?”

The manifestation nods. I’m about to start forward whenI findmyself held in place by Endurance. His attention is on Aster.

He bows his head.

“My Apologies for my unwarranted attack on your person Miss Aster.” He says.

She waves him off. “Oh no. You probably thought you were under attack. I understand. Don’t worry about it.”

Endurance gumbles his acceptance, but I know he’s just going to stew on it until he fihnds a way to make up for the mistake. The funny thing, if endurance were my manifestation he probably would have foisted responsability off on me.

I can actually almost imagine desperation doing just that.

“Now Prince Vandal.”

She stops as I glare at her. “Shut your mouth you giant pain!”

The healer falls silent and moves aside.

Was it kind? No. Do I feel bad about it? Also no. If I need to make apologies I’ll do it later. After I’ve managed to get my guard off her suicide mission kick.

Together Endurance, Aster and I make our way out of the room and into an unfamiliat hallway.

“WHich way’s out?” I ask looking at Aster.

“Right. This way.” She takes off like a jack rabbit racing down the hall and stopping at the end.

My steps feel so weak. My heart is pounding in my chest. But I’ve got to keep moving.

She guides us though for her its very much a hurry up to wait type of situation. We eventually make it outside none the less.

The sun feels so good on my skin. I didn’t even realize I missed it! Didn’t know I could miss it considering I was unconscious during my time away.

“Do you know where to find her?” Endurance asks Aster.

She taps her chin than shakes head. “Unless she’s still in her room. I’ve got no idea.”

Which is fine by me. While it can’t be compared to lojack I do have beast jack.

I delve into the bond we share and feel it pull in an all to familiar direction. The one that leads to the cities southern gate.

“Come on.” I grumble and take stumbling steps toward desperation.

Prey. Cornered. Wait. Hunger. Hunger.

“She’s near the south gate. Desperation and Tenacity have her.”

As we move down the main road leading to the gate there’s no missing the shroud wrapped bodies that have been placed there.

My heart begins to race and a twisted laughter fills my head before I shake it away.

They’ve been captured. They’ll be punished. I repeat the words again and exhale a breath I didn’t even realize I’d taken.

“Highness, are you alright?”

Aster asks catching me by surprise. WHo knew she’s perseptive.

“I’m fine. Besides,” I point ahead of me where the gate is. More importantly at Samira who stands a few paces out the gates. Tenacity and Desperation pace circles around her. Their teeth are bared.

“I see they caught up to you.”

She whirls to look at me wide eyed likely having expected that I wouldn’t wake till she was long gone. Ha. Too bad for her.

Samira hangs her head and says nothing.

[Thanks. Grateful. Done.]

I send the feelings down the connection and immediately the two stop. But neither of them look away from Samira. Almost as if they were hunting. Wait, did I set them to hunt Samira?

Great they think I’m taking their prize away.

[Food. Later.]

Desperation barks and stalks away from Samira while Tenacity waits an extra beat before plowing her way underground. The lump that signals her position surges toward Samira before disappearing.

I the barest touch to the connection tells me she’s waiting just off to the side of Desperation.

“Care to explain what you think your doing?”

She looks terrible, probably alot like myself if I’m being totally honest. Thick bandages have been wrapped about her mid driff, arms and a few bandages have been applied to her face. All in all she looks like she could use some time strapped to the same table I just got off of.

Best part is that its really an option!

“Highness.”

She speaks softs and doesn’t look up to meet my eyes. She drops to a knee even as a hand drifts to her stomach.

“The Dusk March, huh?” I don’t think its necessary to mijnce words. Not now when she;s contimplating walking out and getting herself killed like she is.

“Do you think that will help anything?”

She doesn’t answer for a long tme and I start to wonder if she’s going to when she finally does.

“What good is a Prime if she not only allows her Prince to come to harm but loses the ability to carry the next generation?” She shakes her head.

Baba took away her chance to carry a child huh. Well damn that old bitch to hell. So now what? Can I strap her to the table after learning that?

“The goddess must be weeping at the pain you’ve suffered due to my weakness.”

Yeah, yeah I can. But maybe it shouldn’t be my first choice.

Sighing I look skyward. “You know, there’s quite a bit I need to do and I had planned on you helping.”

Her head drops further. “Apologies. As much as I would enjoy helping I just believe another might do it better.”

“And my next prime?”

“Likely De’em Highness. SHe’s quite skilled though she tends to be a bit more flighty.”

Highh praise.

“Well some might say I can’t stop you, others that I shouldn’t.”

In fact just about everyone would say I shouldn’t. They’d see Samira as a failure pure and simple. Tell me to allow her to die. That the decision is truly hers.

But thats just not something I’m willing to deal with.

“What I say however, is get up, stand with me”

SHe jerks and looks up at me.

“You forget yourself. Your life isn’t yours to spend so carelessly. Your life is mine and I’m pretty greedy.”

A frown plastered to her face she stands. “If that is Highnesses wish.”

Something about the way she said it makes her sound turly hollow. Did I just make a huge mistake? No. I know several ways to fix her.

It’s just a matter of getting my hands on them. One just so happens to be in the possession of the trinniel. A floating museum.

“Come on. The healer suggested I don’t come out here in the first place, I’d better get back before they decide I’ve lost my mind and strap me to the table again.”

She nods.

As we reach the gate Alita is waiting.

“It’s good to see you up and about highness. Now that you are we would be honored ifyou would attend the funeral.”

Slowly my eyes move back to the blackened shrouds that line the road. The few adults and the children.

“I’ll be there.” Afterwards I’ll visit Baba and show her how much I appreciate her efforts in bringing us back to the right path.

Obviously pleased she nods and turns to a woman a few feet away. “Send word, we begin as soon as the music gifted retrieve their instruments and the priest arrives.”

Had she been waiting for me? How nice. I’lll have to talk to her about putting off funerals just because someone important’s around. As in don’t.

“Highness I understand your injured, may I bring you a seat?” The assistant asks.

I shake my head. I’d not disrespect them by sititng. Not when the culture demands I stand. I don’t care how injured I am.

“I appreciate your offer however.”

She smiles and bounds off.

“She forgets herself speaking to you as she does.” Alita says.

Turning my attention to her I twitch. “Because you’re the pinnacle of formality and understanding.”

She has the grace to look abashed. She looks like she wants to say something but from a sidestreet someone begins to pound on a drum.

From another sidestreet a second drum joins the first. The process continues until the drumming echoes everywhere. In fact I’ve no doubt theres a drummer on ever corner. Than the pipes begin warble their depressing tone.

In front of me a young man steps forward and something in me breaks a little. They deserve more. There’s not much I can do, but I can do this. I have to.

“Endurance, revert. I’m going to need your help.”

The manifestation disappears in an instant and pain and power fills my brain in equal measure. I step forward ignoring the sharp pains lancing through my head.

The young man seeing me steps back and I take the first of them into my arms. The clothe is thick and laden with spices to overcome any scent that would attempt to come. Its also laced with Maeasilm oil.

I cannot tell if its a boy or a girl but it doesn’t matter. As soon as I’m certain I have them I stride forward toward the molten tower.

Behind me I know that the young man takes the next. And another would come for the third.

And so we marched through the streets until we came to the base of the tower.

There I lay my precious cargo down and step away as the young man moves a few steps away and settles the he carries into the sand. Soon bodies surround the base of the tower. When the last of them has been laid into the sand the pipers stop and the drummers speed up.

Than he steps from the tower garbed in whites and reds, greens and purples with a veil of black. The acolyte. He carries a torch burning the with the blue flames that come from the maeasilm oil. Starting with the child I broght he moves from one to the next pressing the fires into their shrouds.

As the fire takes to the last of them the pipers resume and the drums fade little by little until they resound no more.

The oil burns slow, and the flames last until just after the sun has set then the only sound is weeping. I can’t blame them, I’m a half step from bawling my eyes out aswell.

Only one thought keeps me from breaking down.

Baba and what I’m going to do to her.