The Last
Rue

Rue slid into the hallway, talons digging into the wall to swing him around the turn to run straight into a large body. The two stumbled back a step and Rue looked up to see Rollo before him. “We need to go” he huffed, grabbing the male’s arm. “Just trust me we need to go now!” He said practically towing the Druhan male behind him.

The pair raced out of the castle across the courtyard and out of the gates they only stopped when they’d passed through many of the main streets of the town and the young Prince pulled the guard into a dark alleyway of the capital city. Rue paced back and forth as he waited for Rollo to catch his breath, the guard had his hands on his knees gulping in huge breaths of air.

“Alright, I’m just going to talk, you can listen,” Rue said after a moment his friend’s human slowness annoying him, he never was one to have very much patience, “So we know Amira’s gone, she saw Cal with Mia, not that they were doing anything, but you know Mia,” Rue prattled on as he paced, “She left, so where would she go?” He ran a hand through his sandy hair as he stopped pacing trying to think. “Home probably, I mean naturally when you run away from something you go to what you’re familiar with right?” Rollo nodded in agreement, head still angled to the ground, but he was quickly recovering. He stood up a bit straighter and learned on the brick wall behind him.

“We should start there,” Rollo suggested but Rue shook his head.

“No no, we need to split up and cover more ground in case we’re wrong, tension is brewing, we don’t have the luxury of wasting time,” he tsked that wicked mind of his moving a mile a minute. “What’s the second-best place she’d go?” The Prince wondered aloud and realization seemed to settle onto Rollo’s features.

“Home,” he started and Rue rolled his eyes and shook his head,

“I know, we already said that I said another place idiot.”

“No, her real home, in Druha,” Rollo corrected the younger male, standing straight on his own once more checking and accounting for all his weapons on his person. Rue thought for a moment and then nodded,

“You’re right,” he said, “I should go there and-”

“No.” Rollo cut him off. “It’s my home. I will go.”

“Fine,” Rue snapped crossing his arms over his chest and staring down the older male, seeming to remember that he did not take orders from him, “Can’t say I’ll be receiving a warm welcome.” he huffed, “but whatever, we need to go now.” Rollo nodded in agreement and just before they went their separate ways Rollo stopped the Prince, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking into the eyes of his friend.

“Good luck.” He said not needing to waste time nor words on all the other things he wanted to say. Rue placed a hand over his friends and smiled softly,

“Good luck to you too,” He said before they both let go and jogged off in their separate directions.

~

Being a Prince had its perks. Rue caught the next train out of town with as little convincing as showing the gold in his pocket, to the small village in which he found Amira in the first place. It took him about a week to get there and as he walked over that familiar field, alone this time, he couldn’t help but feel the weirdest sense of deja vu. He nearly expected the Princess to stomp out of one of those thatch huts and tell him to get lost. Alas, it was another, red-haired woman and a stout man with dark hair that appeared.

They seemed to have a brief disagreement before the male approached. Rue remained outside of their village. Not wanting to impose or threaten them he stopped, standing on the line of singed earth his friend had made the first day they met. He remembered her strength then, how brilliant of a display her magic was, a pang of sadness laced through his heart, he missed her already.

“What do you want,” The man snapped as he stalked right up to the Prince, seemingly unafraid of him despite the fact that Rue could remove his head from his shoulders with a simple movement. The woman slowly slunk closer, without her husband’s knowledge to overhear the conversation.

“I’m looking for Amira,” Rue explained, clasping his hands together in front of himself in an arrogant, but mostly peaceful posture, “Is she here?” The male opened his mouth to retort, but it was the woman who spoke first, hand flying to her mouth with a startled gasp tears welling in her eyes.

“She’s alive?” She asked, causing her husband to look back at her sharply scolding her with his eyes for getting too close. Rue ignored him however and instead spoke to the woman.

“Yes, very much so and my brother’s mate… did you not receive the letter we sent?”

“We received no such letter,” the man responded gruffly going to his wife’s side as she collapsed into him, sobbing. He looked to her, holding her close soothingly stroking her back before looking back to the prince. “Who are you anyway.”

“Ah right, my manners, forgive me. I am Prince Rue Ahmad,” he introduced himself with a small bow and quirky smile, “I am assuming you’re Amira’s Aunt and Uncle, and due to your reaction she likely isn’t here,” his smile was quickly replaced with a frown at the revelation. The woman sniffed and composed herself enough to face the Prince once more.

“My name is Katia, and this is my husband Dryan, I am sorry Prince we cannot help you, we haven’t seen or heard from Amirasa in months, we thought she was dead.” Dryan shot his wife a stern look that implied he wasn’t happy with her giving out that information for free, but there was nothing they could do about it now.

“How about you come have dinner with us and explain everything hm?” Dryan asked hand resting on his old sword by his side implying that the request was more of a demand. Rue knew he could easily destroy these people, but it was their home and their niece, they deserved to know. So he offered them a demure nod in acceptance.

“It would be my pleasure.”

The following hours passed in an exchange of information, Rue told them of all that had happened in the castle. Every last detail they asked about he readily supplied them answers. He happily ate more than his fair share of Katia’s cooking and swiftly learned where Amira got her good taste from. Dryan told him little of Amira’s past or where she could have gone, but he wasn’t concerned. If she wasn’t here then Rue prayed to the gods that she was in Druha and Rollo would find her before his mother did. He didn’t exactly let on how much danger Amira was in or tell them about the discovery of Gweneth. He had to keep some secrets to himself of course.

At the end of the night, he thanked the pair and left without much fanfare. None of the villagers were keen on inviting him to stay. He did of course do his own thorough sweep of the village after dark had fallen of course to ensure they weren’t lying to him, but he found no trace of his friend.

Just as he was about to leave a scrawny male shot out a hand and grabbed the warrior-Prince by the arm stopping him in his tracks. Rue looked to the lesser male and lifted an eyebrow, looking to his hand on his arm then back to the boy’s face.

“You have two seconds to let go of me, or you lose that hand.” The Prince threatened but the boy surprisingly did not comply. Fire was in his eyes as he spoke confidently to the Prince,

“When you find Amira you tell her that Shawn said to come home. Tell her that I miss her and that she doesn’t need your sadistic brother.” He hissed sharply before finally letting go of the Prince. Rue, surprised by the man’s confidence, brushed the imaginary dirt off his arm from where his hand was.

“I’ll consider it,” He said before turning in a fluid motion and punching the man square in the face, sending him flying backward into the ground, his nose shattered. “I warned you.” Rue said with a small smile straightening his shirt, “Good night” he said simply turning on his heel and disappearing into the darkness outside of the dimly lit village.

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