“(Ifrit, I promised your father that we’ll protect you. We’ll do what we can, but you must run. Go and run as fast as those paws can carry you. Don’t ever stop. I’m sorry, Ifrit. I’m so sorry).”

“(No, dad…don’t…)”

A loud bang rang behind the two hellhounds. Ifrit did not remember the details of what happened, other than his foster father exclaiming, “(Run, Ifrit, run!)”

He ran and ran, but then as he looked down, he saw his hand full of blood, then he looked back. A swift attack from a blade struck him and he woke up, panting and eyes wide.

“(It’s just a dream),” said Ifrit trying to calm himself down. “(It’s not…).”

If he could, he would shed tears, but he could not. Hellhounds did not need water to survive, especially in a place like the Underworld where water was non-existent. He did not know what tears were until he saw Lilac crying for the loss of her home.

The sadness and trauma of losing those who raised him still lingered, as it happened barely a week ago. He should’ve just given himself up, but they insisted on protecting him. Why would they? Everyone hated the royal family, so why?

His scream also startled someone else: Lilac. She woke up and, like Ifrit, was having bad dreams. The memory of Sidve’s destruction was still fresh in her mind. Unlike him, she only gasped and her bed was far from both Albert and Ifrit. She heard his scream and turned to see him distraught and scared. His nightmare was clearly something traumatic, much like hers.

Feeling sympathetic, she walked to him and said, “Hey, Ifrit.”

Startled, Ifrit quickly turned to her, still wide-eyed. His snake-like eyes were terrifying to look at in the dark. Lilac was surprised, but once she got through that, she could see the pain in his eyes. Even if those eyes were hard to read, she knew he was scared.

“Lilac,” he said. “I don’t…”

“I was already awake,” she said. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t know. It’s…bad.”

“I lost my home and saw some villagers I know got killed in front of my eyes. I bet it’s as bad as that.”

Ifrit paused for a moment. “(She got a point there),” he thought. So, he tried to calm himself down and said, “I…lost my father. No, I think my mother, too.”

“Oh no,” said Lilac. “I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t tell. I…ran from the killers.”

“And led them to Sidve?”

“I’m sorry.”

“No. Don’t. You don’t even know that.”

“I wanted to hide. I tired,” he said. “Everyone is enemy. (I can’t rest). Eyes can’t close.”

“You mean, you can’t properly sleep until you met me?”

Ifrit nodded.

“Is…Is being a hellhound hard? I know it’s not the right thing to say, but…”

“It is hard,” said Ifrit. “Before being chased, life is not easy. We train to fight. We learn to hunt. We…learn to kill if necessary.”

“Do you…ever wish things could be different?”

Ifrit had no answer for that. He wished it to be different, but what would it change? He was hunted and going with the group would make their lives harder. He already ruined a person’s life.

“I…I don’t want to scare,” said Ifrit. “(I should’ve)…I should leave.”

“Leave? Then where will you go? I know you felt responsible, but you’re still a stranger of this land. If you go, you will always go and go until you’re tired.”

“I should.”

“No, you shouldn’t.” Lilac gripped his arm. “Where will you go? If you die…you will die a stranger. No one will claim your body. You will be forgotten. I don’t want that, and you should think that way, too.”

“Why you care?” said Ifrit.

“Because…because I need you,” said Lilac. “If it wasn’t for you, I might not be here. You know how to fight, and I think you should help us make this job easier. Your enemies are not the only ones who will attack the carriage. The regions’ road, while tame compared to what you experienced, is still dangerous. I read exploits of outlaws and highwaymen…robbers, robbing carriages.”

“(Ah, so that’s why),” thought Ifrit. “(Well, that makes a lot of sense).”

“So, will you stay?” said Lilac.

Ifrit then tried to calm down. After a couple of deep breaths, he said, “If you’re attacked by my enemies?”

“Let’s hope not. But if it does happen…I know you won’t abandon us.”

Ifrit, who had not believed that the surface dwellers would not just sell him to his enemies, kept it to himself. He knew the surface dwellers would be better off without him, and he did not understand why Lilac insisted on letting him stay. Ifrit could just go away, without ever looking back, just to keep them safe.

But ever since he lived with Lilac for a week and learned her language, he felt that, after losing everything, he finally found people who cared for him. Sure, she blamed him for the loss of her village, and he understood that. But, like Lilac insisting him to stay, Ifrit did not want to leave yet. He had not repaid the favor, and now, he had a chance to.

And he hoped to do that without causing more harm to her and Albert.

***

Albert searched for a delivery job and he found one, though he felt reluctant to take it due to the distance. He did not find a better one, so this one would do.

It was a delivery of food and board games to the mountain town of Snohand. He was one of several other carriages who took this job, but since he started the work in the morning, he started earlier than the others. He was promised at least 75 Krets for the trouble and for the high capacity of his carriage compared to many others. It was a lot of Krets but considering that he might need to repair his carriage and resupply, it was a good deal.

The reason why he took that job was mostly curiosity. He had never been to Snohand before and he wanted to see the holiday town for himself. He had heard that it was a change of scenery compared to the famous seaside resort towns the regions of Adaline and Tragoria were known for. He was more motivated by a need to compare the town to Dusdolfian spa towns, which were mostly situated on the same mountain range as Tragoria. The mountain was a natural barrier between the two regions.

Snohand was not as big as the more popular Morran, which boasted a tunnel dug through the mountain as a shortcut border to Dusdolf. Another tunnel was close to completion, having started construction five years ago, this time starting from the Dusdolfian side. Morran was further west and closer to the Adaline border, which made it a more popular mountain resort town. Nevertheless, Snohand would be enough for his two traveling companions.

So, he told Lilac and Ifrit about Snohand, and they agreed. There wasn’t a question about destinations; for Lilac and Ifrit, the travel was more important.

The loading wasn’t too complicated and in only took them an hour of loading. Before long, they started their journey towards Snohand.

The travel to Snohand was not too difficult due to the relatively flat road. Their only problem was the hot summer weather with no clouds. However, when taking a break halfway to Snohand, Albert noticed that the mountain had low-hanging fog that would cover the mountain road as they were traversing on it, which it did when they reached the mountain base and started their slow journey through the mountain road. He was relatively inexperienced with traveling through the mountain and was afraid he might end up falling from the cliff path. He wondered why there were no safety barrier or anything considering Snohand was a tourist destination. He even met carriages carrying people wanting to cool off on top of the mountain.

Good thing one of the carriage drivers was willing to guide Albert’s carriage for free. He was carrying mails for the town and he was doing this daily.

“I don’t mind guiding people. Been doing this ever since I started working at the post office,” said the guide while they travel the cliff path.

“But do you accept tips?” asked Albert.

“The Adals usually do that. I consider it extra income, which is highly appreciated.”

They talked about what to do in Snohand and what the townspeople wanted haulers like him to deliver. They didn’t usually ask mail deliveries since the guide already served that purpose and most of the time, they used the wired telegram service that was being replaced by a wireless system. The output of Snohand was mostly tourism. People flocked to Snohand during the summer to cool off and enjoy the mountain view. Not many came to Snohand for strictly travel purposes. Morran’s mountain tunnel served that purpose. He did wonder what would happen later when the Snohand tunnel was finished, which could potentially make the quiet town busier.

It took them three hours traversing through the thick fog. They could only see the road right in front of them due to low visibility. The fog was worsening as they climbed, and Albert was worried that the road might not even be visible as time went on. Fortunately, on the third hour, some people carrying gaslights escorted them into the town proper, one of them being a Lycan in his werewolf form.

Albert asked for the direction of where they should go. One of the gaslight guides read the name of the places they needed to go and directed them to both. The first, a local toy and game store, was where they delivered the board games. The second was a gourmet restaurant where they delivered the ingredients and food items.

While Ifrit helped getting the food in with Lilac, they both noticed one of them was still in his wolf form while helping in the kitchen. He was not near the foods being cooked, but nevertheless, it was surprising. Lycans were required to stay human (or at least capable of alternating between forms) while working in culinary services due to shedding fur, but this Lycan was apparently exempt from the rule.

It was only when Ifrit saw his eyes did he realize that this dark brown ‘Lycan’ was not exactly one.

“(You’re…a hellhound?)” said Ifrit, testing if what he saw was right.

“(Yeah),” said the hellhound. “(Surprised?)”

“(No one out here even know what a hellhound is).”

“(There’s been a lot of them passing Snohand lately. Kinda rude, though. Some even…wait).”

He noticed something on Ifrit, specifically the piercings on his tail. He then said, “(Wait out back. I need to talk to the boss).”

Both Ifrit and Lilac obliged. They had finished their job hauling the food, anyway. Ifrit explained what the hellhound wanted, to which Lilac quickly became suspicious.

“I thought you said you don’t know anyone on the surface,” said Lilac. “He might be trying to ambush you.”

“We hear him,” said Ifrit. “I do what I do after.”

“What if you’re wrong?”

“He’s not wrong, miss,” said the hellhound’s voice as he closed the door behind him. There were no hints of an accent when he talked with fluent Tragorian. “Rather, I need to ask him something. What the hell is he doing out here?”

“Wait. You…speak Tragorian?”

“15 years living on the surface may do that to you,” said the hellhound. “But this hellhound prince here…might’ve just gone up here recently.”

“Hellhound…prince?” asked Lilac, confused.

“(You’re Ifrit Schelkz, aren’t you? The prince of Drundas? It’s surprising that you end up in Tragoria, but I know sooner or later this will happen),” said the hellhound. “(May I see your tail?)”

Ifrit obliged, and quickly got his long tail grabbed by the hellhound, surprising him.

“(Hey, what the hell?!)” he said while shoving the hellhound away.

“(Whoa, sorry! I didn’t mean to…)”

“(Does anyone ever tell you it’s rude grabbing a hound’s tail like that?!)”

“(Hey, I got my tail grabbed by my kids and I’m fine with it),” defended the hellhound. He then looked at the tail and said, “(Three inscribed rings on the tip. He’s right. You’re Ifrit Schelkz).”

“(He?)”

“(Someone who’s trying to find you. He suspected you to be wandering on the surface by now, but I never thought you just came topside).”

“(Who?)”

“(Consider him your ally on the surface. He never told me who he is, and he looked rather distraught. He left the town without giving me any indication where he’s going next).”

“(It’s too suspicious),” said Ifrit. “(Which tells a lot about you).”

“(Whoa, wait. Hold your fire there, young prince. I’m trying to stay out of trouble, alright. There are hellhounds here. Not friendly ones).”

“(Then why are you talking to me? They don’t care if you don’t know if I’m a prince or not. Unless, you’re with them).”

“(I’m not that stupid. I know you won’t hesitate to kill me if I’m your enemy).”

“Excuse me,” said Lilac, interrupting the conversation. “What are you two talking about? What’s the deal with Ifrit being a hellhound prince?”

“(You haven’t told them?)” said the hellhound to Ifrit.

“(Do I look like someone who’ll do that? I don’t want to live as a prince, let alone be involved).”

“(But they have the rights to know).” The hellhound sighed then said, “His name is Ifrit Schelkz. He’s the prince and heir apparent of the House of Schelkz. He is the rightful ruler of the kingdom of Drundas.”

“(Hey!)” said Ifrit.

“A…prince?” said Lilac, dumbfounded.

“And he has a lot of enemies, so don’t try and make things harder. Get out of this town the first chance you got. If they know he’s here—"

“(Hey, I said stop),” said Ifrit grabbing the hellhound’s shoulders. His face was visibly angry, and he let out a deep, threatening growl. “(If they got involved, I can’t protect them).”

“(They’re already involved, whether you like it or not. Look, you are not alone. There are hellhounds on the surface are trying to find as many members of royalty as they can. The uprising cost us a lot of things and I bet things are shitty down there).”

“(It’s always shitty),” said Ifrit. “(You just forgot. 15 years on the surface dulls your senses).”

“(I am not going to argue with you. Just get out of this town and don’t look back. Whatever happens after this, don’t look back. We’ll be fine).”

“(No, you’re not).”

“(We’ve never met. So, go. Now).”

Again, Ifrit was unconvinced that this hellhound could stay anonymous after what he did, considering how he did not act like he did not know who he was and just tell him everything he needed to know. It was great that Ifrit had allies, but he knew those allies were supporting someone who did not want to be supported. He just wanted to be a normal hellhound, not as the prince of a family he barely knew.

The hellhound hastily returned to his workplace as Ifrit discussed what he just talked about with Lilac and Albert with the best of his ability. He knew his Tragorian was limited and the two would be confused, but surprisingly, Albert understood.

“I see,” said Albert. “You are being hunted for bearing the name of the enemy and you’re worried the hellhound telling you this is going to bear the consequences. And, considering that we travel together, we’re involved, too.”

“This is not your problem,” said Ifrit. “We need to go.”

“He’s right, Albert,” said Lilac. “I can’t pretend to be the innocent witness after knowing that. The best we do is leave this place behind and don’t look back.”

“Then we got the majority,” said Albert. “We’ll leave now. There is nothing we can get from this town. I don’t accept passenger service.”

The three readied themselves to get out of the mountain town before things got sour, but unfortunately, it did. Just as they were starting to get out of the alleyway, they heard a commotion. Ifrit, fearing the worst, walked towards the wall, and peered out from it.

It was the town’s square where there was a tall, old tree in the middle. However, Ifrit was more fixated with the hellhounds that were under that tree, and a beaten-up hellhound among them. He quickly realized the hellhound was the one he just talked to a couple of minute ago. Ifrit had no time to wonder how he got found so quickly until he heard the conversation.

“(The kids and the wife?)” asked one of them.

“(We’re pulling them out of the house),” said the hellhound.

“(Good. Make them see what happens if they support the royals. Ready the ropes).”

Ifrit saw one of the hellhounds slung a rope with a loop at the end. It was a noose. He wondered why no one was trying to stop them. He got the answer when some of them, clearly disturbed, angrily intervened, only to be shot in the head. The hellhounds clearly did not care about the protests. All they needed to do was to shoot them and no one would dare. Such act of violence was common down in the Underworld, but not up on the surface where violence did not include lynching someone publicly and shooting someone in the face when they disagreed.

Either feeling indebted by the hellhound or motivated by selfish desire, Ifrit silently decided to go and help the hellhound. Albert sensed this and grabbed his shoulder.

“I know you want to save that hellhound, Ifrit, but don’t be a hero,” said Albert. “If we slip away now, they might not even notice.”

Ifrit considered what Albert said, but then he quickly found the answer. Surprisingly, even for Albert, Ifrit’s motives were purely selfish desires.

“They do this, they won’t leave me alone,” said Ifrit. “Hellhounds will sell me out. You two go. Don’t stay.”

“We are not throwing you to the wolves,” said Lilac.

“Like that hellhound said, you still have allies,” said Albert.

“Allies I don’t know about. I better have a living one than a dead one.”

While the three argued, Ifrit heard the cries of hellhound children, and he turned around to see the hellhound family was already being held by some burly hellhounds. They were scared and one of the children was crying and calling her father, who tried to comfort her, but was being stopped by one of the hellhounds.

“(Stop this! We don’t even know a royal!)” said the wife. “(We got out of the Underworld to escape our troubles! We don’t need it chasing us!)”

“(Oh, we know you support them. But this is not a way to exact justice. This is to remind the surface dwellers in this town that we will not stop. They claim to revolutionize their industry and is ready to face any threats, but little do they know that the Underworld will claim their lands as easy as a snap of the fingers. You know what we’re capable of, don’t you?)”

“(Invading the surface world? Are they crazy?)” said Ifrit to himself. “(What the fuck is going on here?)”

“(The surface world will not make this easy on us! All you do is make more enemies!)” argued the brown-furred hellhound.

“(Then let them. Let them mock us and shun us. Hell, let them bully us. Let them know their words will bite them back later. They will say sorry the minute they realize how wrong they are).”

“(Did you hit your head or something?! You’re insane! All of you!)”

“(Enough!)” The hellhound proceeded to slap the hellhound. “(Bark all you want, traitor, but your royal will never help you. They’re spineless cowards, all of them).”

Just as the hellhound was ready to let the beaten-up hellhound hang, he did not realize what happened to him in the last seconds before he said the word. Ifrit, who had snuck behind him without anyone noticing, grabbed his head and twisted it, fatally breaking his neck. The other hellhounds soon realized the ropes sagging and turned to Ifrit. One of them shouted, “(What! Who the hell are you?!)”

“(The spineless coward you despise),” taunted Ifrit. The hellhounds did not have time to ready their weapons before Ifrit managed to throw the hellhound he just killed towards one of them as he ran to him. He then pulled the stunned hellhound’s leg and pulling it, tripping him down. Ifrit then dealt the killing blow by grabbing the sword and stabbed the hellhound through the dead body.

“(Oh, shit! He’s one of them!)” said the other.

“(Goddamn royal! Why the fuck are you here?!)”

Ifrit again used the dead body as a meat shield. The hellhound cut through it while leaving Ifrit unharmed, but before he could retaliate, a loud gunshot was heard, and the next thing Ifrit saw was the hellhound down on the ground. He was not dead but was injured and screaming in pain.

Another shot was heard and the next thing Ifrit noticed was another hellhound dropping to the ground, dead. The hellhound who almost got lynched tried to free himself, during which his wife scrambled to him while Ifrit checked who shot the gun. He turned towards the carriage and saw Albert aiming his rifle towards them.

“(The human got some tricks),” said Ifrit.

“(Who…who are you?)” said the female hellhound.

“(Someone who’s done with this shit),” said Ifrit. “(Get to the human with the cart. Now).”

The hound nodded and escorted her children while Ifrit carried the tied up and beaten-up hellhound to the carriage. More hellhounds came to the square and this time along with the humans. Ifrit noticed some of them had uniforms while also blowing a loud whistle. The hellhounds that were part of the lynch group did not back down and even killed one of them, only to be overwhelmed by the rest. Some were gunned down as they refused to heed the officers’ warning.

Lilac ran to the carriage from the alleyway and said, “I notified the constable, Albert. But how is it going to help us? We’re the aggressors just as they are!”

“Trust me on this,” said Albert as he climbed down the carriage. “All of you, inside. Now.”

Everyone obliged as Albert readied the horses. Lilac looked out of the window and saw one of the constables stopping the carriage. With her sharp ears, she could hear what Albert was talking.

“Ho, there!” said the constable. “I know the sound of a Dusdolfian rifle when I hear one. You Dusdolfian?”

“Ja,” said Albert. “Am I in trouble?”

“Don’t act smart with me, sir.”

“No, I am not. I have permit. Look at this.”

From the angle Lilac saw this, she could not see what Albert showed them, but from the constable’s expression, it seemed that Albert showed something the human could not refute. The constable then said, “Ah, sorry, sir. I didn’t know…”

“No, do what you’re being paid for and arrest the horned Lycans in the square,” said Albert. “And we’re not having this conversation. You understand?”

“Sir,” said the constable with a nod. He quickly returned to the scene and rounded up the hellhounds while Albert quickly jumped to the carriage.

“Considering the commotion it will cause, I suggest you four to contact whoever you know out there,” said Albert to the hellhounds. “Snohand is no longer your home.”

“I understand,” said the female hellhound. She seemed to know what Albert was asking.

The group slowly rode out of the tourist town, which quickly became the center of attention that would develop. Albert, Lilac, and Ifrit were caught in it, and at this point, they were not sure if they could stay anonymous any longer.