The Lost Prince and The Demon King [BL]

A chilly wind made Perry grit his teeth as he followed Myran through winding streets and narrow alleys. The boy moved slowly, but with purpose. If Perry had to guess, he'd say the boy was proficient in sneaking around the city. Or most places, judging by how he'd maneuvered himself in the secret passageway back at the inn.

Perry's new clothes helped him blend in with the people walking around, even if the fabric felt strange against his skin – rougher than what he was used to, but warm enough against the evening chill.

"Pull your hood down," Myran instructed.

Perry didn't even question him. 

They emerged from an alley onto a broad street that ran alongside a river. The water was dark and smooth, reflecting the few city lights. A wooden barge, simple, but sturdy-looking, was moored at the dock, where a gruff-looking man stood examining people and cargo by lantern light. 

At that time, with the evening morphing quickly into night, there were few people out by the dock. But he still pulled his hood down lower and kept his head lowered. 

Perry hesitated at the sight of the water. It looked cold. And dark. Very, very dark. 

Myran kept walking ahead, but stopped and turned back with a questioning look when he noticed Perry wasn't following him. "What is wrong?"

"What if I told you I can't swim?" Perry admitted quietly.

Myran stared at him as if he'd just told him he didn't know how to eat. "How can you not know how to swim? I learned when I was two."

"Well, the orphanage didn't exactly have a pool," Perry said, more sharply than he'd intended. "Or anyone to teach me."

Myran's expression immediately softened. "You are an orphan?"

"It's not a big deal," Perry shrugged, uncomfortable with the sympathy in the boy's eyes. "There are orphans everywhere. I'm nothing special."

Myran approached the bargeman, exchanging a few quiet words and counting out coins from a small purse. Perry watched the transaction, guilt twisting his stomach.

"I'll pay you back," he promised when Myran returned. "Once I figure out... well, everything. Or anything, for that matter."

"Do not worry about it," Myran smiled. "Because you saved me from the cart, I can grow up and make lots more money."

"About that," Perry shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't do anything special. Anyone would have tried to escape."

"Did anyone else kick down the door?"

"Well, no, but someone would have eventually."

"It does not matter what someone would have done," Myran said with a solemn look in his eyes and the gravity of someone repeating cherished wisdom. "Only what they do. Maybe others thought about kicking down the door, but you are the one who did it first."

Perry glanced at him, a little surprised. "Another lesson from your father?"

"Yes!" Myran's face lit up with pride.

Perry couldn't help but offer the boy a small smile at the same time that something twisted in his chest – a familiar ache he usually managed to ignore. 

He'd never known that feeling, that simple pride in a parent's teachings. The closest he'd come was one of the teachers at the orphanage who'd sometimes slip him an extra cookie every now and then.

The bargeman waved them aboard, pullin Perry from his morose thoughts. Perry stepped carefully onto the wooden deck, his heart rate increasing as the barge shifted under his weight. He sat down on the closest flat surface and braced himself.

The river lapped quietly against the hull, a sound that should have been soothing but instead reminded him of all the ways this could go wrong.

Myran immediately went to the side, bracing his hands on the seat next to Perry and staring intently into the dark water. The barge pulled away from the dock with a gentle lurch that made Perry grab his seat harder.

"What are you looking for?" Perry asked, trying to distract himself from thoughts of falling off the barge and drowning, slowly and painfully.

"Nothing specific," Myran replied, not looking away from the water. "I like to wait and see if anything interesting happens."

As they drifted downstream, the city slowly disappeared behind them. The air grew colder, carrying the clean scent of river water and the forest. Lanterns along the shoreline cast their reflections on the surface. The stars shinning above them became brighter as they drifted further down the river. The steady rhythm of the water against the hull became less threatening and more rhythmic background noise.

For the first time since being pulled through that bathroom mirror – had everything really happened only that morning? – Perry felt his muscles begin to relax. He loosened his grip on the bench underneath him and let out a long breath. 

The day's events seemed almost like a dream. The strange figure in yellow, the cart, the so-called Crimson Star Lords, being mistaken for a prince. It should have been terrifying, being in a strange world with only a boy he barely knew for guidance.

Instead, as he watched Myran's quiet vigilance and felt the gentle movement of the barge through the river, Perry found himself breathing easier. Maybe it was exhaustion, or maybe it was the simple fact that he'd survived everything the day had thrown at him so far. Regardless of the reason, he let himself to relax a bit more.

Perry breathed in the cool night air, tasting mineral and moss and the chill of the night on the water. For just a moment, he let himself believe that everything might work out somehow.

After all, he'd already survived being almost sacrificed and almost arrested as a Prince. How much stranger could things get?