Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The sounds of quiet but quick footsteps echoed through the lavish palace of Sapphirous.

Creak.

Every door was opened and peeked inside.

Thud!

He tripped over dead bodies but would quickly get up and continue to march forward.

'He's around here somewhere!' Seven huffed in frustration as he opened his hundredth door only to find another empty room, 'Where did they put you?!'

Ever since Seven left the church of Alia, he has found himself flailing in a herd of chaos. He should have known that going to save Leon on his own was a bad idea, but he had a feeling he needed to do it. An irritating inkling that just keeps poking in his head, telling him that if he doesn't do it, things will end up bad.

Seven used to live in Tevalon for a while, years ago, when he was just a child. He assumed the city would have changed somewhat if he ever came back to visit, but it still looked as if he had never left in the first place. So, he took all the back alleys and secret passageways that were ingrained into his memory and somehow made it to the Sappirous Palace.

Even though it was the Garnettes king who kidnapped Leon, Seven knew that Leon would be sent to the Sapphirous Palace instead. It wasn't hard to guess from Ivory's story.

Generation after generation, everyone knew that the Sapphirous king was overly obsessed with half-demons. What people didn't know was that the Sapphirous king was specifically obsessed with the hero's daughter and tried to recreate her over and over again.

He would catch any demon or human that caught his eye and breed them like animals. Thus, all the half-demons that exist in Ura are because of the Sapphirous king. The half-demons only had three ends in life. One was that they were favored by the rich and became their slaves. Two, they fought and died in the arena. And three, they were sent to a brothel to mindlessly pleasure anyone. And since this happened continuously over many generations, the people had grown so used to it that it nullified their sense of virtue.

Anyway, other than gartering favoritism from the Sapphirous king, there was no other reason for the Garnettes king to capture Leon.

If the hero's daughter was made by someone with blond hair and blue eyes, obviously it was best to use someone who has blond hair and blue eyes to recreate the person you so desire. So obviously, Seven made his way to the Sapphirous Palace.

It was semi-easy (not), especially with all the chaos that was happening. And somehow, he knew that this chaos had something to do with Rey. Thus, he quickened his search. Rather than trying to find Rey, he felt like finding Leon would be a better solution to this chaos.

Also a better solution to keep himself alive.

Creak~

Seven slowly opened another door and peeked inside.

The room was pitch black with only a single streak of light peeking through the thick window curtains.

Seven just knew that Leon was in there.

He took a deep breath and called out in a whisper, "Hello? Anyone there?"

Seven listened closely to hear if there were any sounds in the bedroom. He only heard quiet breathing sounds and assumed that was Leon. But just to be safe, Seven took off his shoe and shakily threw it into the darkness before quickly slamming the door shut. He waited for a couple minutes, and when there was nothing, he creaked open the door again. Then he peeked inside, looking left and right even though he couldn't see a thing.

The reason why Seven was being so sneaky and quiet was all just based on instinct. He didn't want to attract attention, and he didn't want to be in danger. He also knew he couldn't fight anyone if something did happen, and at best, he could only run. So, he can only be cautious about everything he does. Even if he is kind of bad at it.

BAM!

A loud slam echoed through the halls, scaring Seven so much that he ran into the dark bedroom and locked himself in.

Huff! Huff! Huff! Seven panted, his body trembling in shock from the sudden noise.

It brought up all sorts of things that Seven could imagine. Things that Seven saw with his own eyes.

This chaos that Rey caused was horrid.

Seven didn't know who were the good guys and who were the bad. Everyone was just killing everyone. There was blood and gore at every corner, and shrieks of terror on every face. People, young and old, were ruthlessly slaughtered and left on the streets, some were even displayed on walls. It was as if the leaking violence finally burst and turned into a full-on rampage.

Seven had no way of escaping the sight. He only managed to get inside the Sapphirous Palace by sneaking around through the chaos, but he too had already had a couple close calls with death from both humans and other races.

Everything is so scary!

So much blood and death!

He doesn't want to die yet!

After taking a few more breaths, Seven's legs gave out, and he sat down. He leaned back and felt himself touch a soft fabric.

"Shit,"

Seven jumped back up to his feet. It was then that he realized he had locked himself in the dark bedroom. Nonetheless, he quickly ran to the window and opened the curtains. The light from outside immediately brightened the bedroom.

The bedroom was decorated with marble and sapphires, just like any other room in the palace. Except it was a mess of blankets and cushions covering almost the entire floor. The bedroom also only had a singular, lavish bed sitting right in the center. There, Seven saw Leon sleeping.

Seven gave a sigh of relief, "Finally,"

Just as Seven took a step forward, he heard the loud noise from earlier.

BAM!

And again.

BAM!

It was getting closer.

BAM!

Seven quickly went to grab Leon. But when he did, he realized that Leon had been stripped of all his clothing. He didn't have time to look him over, but he knew there was no way he could take Leon out into the blizzard with nothing on. So instead, he wrapped the blanket around Leon and pulled him over his back. Leon was just too tall and heavy, so Seven still only ended up half-dragging him.

BAM!

Seven cursed again.

He made his way over to the window, only to find that they were several flights above the ground. Actually, he couldn't see the ground at all. It was covered in a white fog due to the blizzard.

BAM!

Seven frantically looked around, trying to find a way out.

BAM!

'Shit, shit, shit, shit!' His eyes began watering with small tears.

BAM!

He instinctively held Leon tighter, as if looking for comfort.

BAM!

He quickly dived into the mess of blankets and cushions, covering Leon and himself messily. And just to be on the safe side, they hid under the bed.

BAM!

Seven took a few deep breaths, trying to regain his composure.

BAM!

He covered his mouth and tightened his hold on Leon.

BAM!

Seven sucked in a breath.

BAM!

The door to the room finally slammed open.

'Please leave,' Seven begged, 'leave, leave, leave, leav-'

Ttak.

Ttak.

Ttak.

Steps walked into the bedroom.

Seven cursed his bad luck, 'Of course, now you take your time to look! Couldn't do that earlier?!'

Every time a step was heard, Seven could hear his heart thump twice as fast. A cold chill ran through his body, yet his hands were clammy with sweat. He didn't dare take a peek outside, just hoping that if anything did happen, it would end as quickly as possible.

Though he was still trembling in fear, he decided to take a look at Leon to see how he was faring.

'AAHHHHHH!' Seven wanted to scream.

Leon's eyes were half open and looking dead as ever. Seven even thought he was lying right next to a dead body. It frightfully scared Seven so much that he was sure he had already made it to the afterlife.

'Don't do that to me!'

He poked Leon's face in revenge.

This whole time, Seven thought Leon was asleep. He didn't think that Leon was awake the entire time. Then again, he wasn't checking all that hard. He just knew he had to get Leon out of here as quickly as possible.

Ttak.

Seven jolted, suddenly remembering that they were currently hiding from the intruder.

This time, Seven took a peek outside through a hole in the blanket. He couldn't see any feet, but he did see a shadow. The shadow walked left and right around the entire room before stopping at the foot of the bed. The shadow kneeled down, and a hand could be seen lifting the bedsheet to look under.

Seven quickly ducked his head down and covered both his and Leon's mouths, afraid that even a breath could catch the intruder's attention.

He stayed like this for a few seconds, hoping the intruder would stop looking. He didn't dare take his chances to peak again, afraid that if he looked, the intruder would be staring right back at him. It felt like forever that he lay still like this, covering both their mouths, but eventually he heard footsteps walking out of the room and away. Finally, he released a heavy breath.

When he was sure the intruder was no longer near, he unwrapped himself from the bedsheets and blankets and pulled himself out from under the bed. Then he pulled Leon out as well. He threw Leon's arms around his shoulders and dragged him out of the room.

'This would be so much easier if you walk!' Seven cried, 'Please help me out here!'

Seven struggled as he walked through the hallways as quietly as he could. Luckily, the bodies laying on the floor and the broken ornaments were his only enemies.

While inside the palace was quiet with no signs of life, Seven could hear that outside was where all the chaos was happening. Everyone must've run off to save themselves or been ordered to fight; Seven didn't really care too much. Right now, Seven wasn't even sure how he was going to make it out alive once he got outside. He was only lucky because he knew the hidden roads and was a lucky runner, but now with Leon, whom he has to drag around, he didn't know how they were going to survive.

'I'll just yell for Rey if something goes wrong,' Seven contemplated. 'Yea, that's what I'll do. If it doesn't work out . . . Well, I guess Leon will be keeping me company on the other side . . .'

After taking a few turns and a couple stairs down, he finally saw the small entrance that he came in from. It was a servant's entrance that Seven found by coincidence. It led to the kitchens and the storage rooms, as well as the basement, where a hidden door was built. Seven had to use all his strength just to break open the door when he came in. After that, Seven just followed his instincts.

'One more flight of stairs,'

Just as Seven huffed a sigh of relief, he was suddenly kicked from behind. He tumbled all the way down the stairs until they both hit the hard marble floor. Seven hissed in pain and looked up at his attacker.

'SHIT!' Seven cursed.

It was the queen.

All Seven knew about the queen was that she was a ruthless, wild, and strong woman who came from a respectful family that worked under the Sappirous king for generations. She was supposed to be the next captain of the military, but instead she was forced to marry the Sapphirous king. Seven used to think that it was to combine their families and strengthen their bond, but looking at her now, he can assume that it had something to do with her platinum blonde hair.

"I knew there was something fishy about that room," the queen said as she walked down the stairs.

Seven gulped, 'It was you slamming all those doors?!'

"I was making sure there was no one left alive in the palace,"

'Is that why there are bodies everywhere?!'

"And I was sure I had left the blondie boy in that room, but he wasn't there," the queen brandished her sword.

Seven quickly got up and started dragging Leon away. He doesn't know what the queen has in mind, but he wasn't planning to stay and find out. He needed to get away quickly.

"You can make this easy and return that boy to me," the queen muttered, "or you can die here and I'll take him myself,"

"P-please have mercy," Seven stuttered as he failed at dragging Leon away, "I-I need to b-bring him to my friend,"

SLASH!

Seven's forearm was cut.

"And I need to stop this chaos," the queen then pointed the end of her sword at Seven's throat.

"WAIT! Please wait! I-I can help!"

The queen raised her arm.

"THE GUY WHO STARTED THIS CHAOS IS MY FRIEND! IF YOU KILL ME, HE'LL DO EVEN MORE TERRIBLE THINGS!!"

The queen's sword stopped right on top of Seven's head, its edge slightly resting on his temple.

Seven was lying. It didn't matter if he was dead or alive; as long as Leon was returned, Rey would most likely stop. Hopefully. Seven doesn't actually know. But he does know that he would much rather be alive if that happened.

"He's your friend?" the queen scoffed, "That monster?!"

Seven trembled but continued talking, "Y-yea . . . J-just let me talk to him . . ."

The queen quietly stared at him before reaching out an open hand, "Give me the boy first,"

"I-I can't,"

The queen glared.

Seven blinked profusely, trying to come up with something, "You see, my f-friend has really bad t-trust issues. He d-doesn't trust a-anyone who has him, b-but me-"

"Give me the boy,"

"If you kill us, Rey isn't going to stop-"

"-I need him for insurance. Now, hand him to me,"

'I need him for insurance too!'

Seven took a deep breath and opened his mouth, "Can't you just take both us with you?"

. . . .

"I'll hold onto Leon, and you can hold onto me. That way-"

SWOOSH!

A couple strands of Seven's hair was cut off.

"Obviously, the boy's life is worth more than yours," the queen growled, "Now hand him to me, I won't ask again,"

Seven cried a single tear, 'You sound just like Rey,'

The queen raised her sword high above Seven's head.

'Well, here goes nothing,' Seven squinted his eyes shut and yelled at the top of his lungs, "RRREEEEEEEEYY!!!"

The queen jolted at the sudden scream but nonetheless swung her sword down, 'You should've handed me the boy when I gave you the chance!'

Seven shut his eyes, waiting for his impeding doom.

Right then, there was a slight rush of air slipping past Seven.

CLANG!

"You're very lucky, Seven," a low and familiar voice commented.

Seven peeked open his eyes and immediately cried tears of relief, 'It actually worked!'