Shane looked into his eyes and said, "Not even a lifetime would be too long."

Nielle laughed with pleasure and said, "I'm very glad to see that you're not as sick as it looked in the morning. At least you can keep me company, since you arranged two days for me here with your own hands," he stated, "it gets boring here, we'll have fun."

As Shane was aware that he had brought it on himself at the moment, he remained silent. Since they were in the torture chamber, he knew what the term "fun" meant, and since he was going to be here for two days, he wasn't in the mood for talking too much. Especially when he had something in his inner pocket that he would like to keep.

"But I'll give you a chance," Nielle said, "since I told all the executioners that you were going to be their new colleague, everyone was looking forward to you. It would be awkward to spoil your first impression by making a toy out of you, wouldn't it?" he smiled,

"Since I'm in a good mood and the papers about your life amused me," he nodded to the table, "you'll get a chance to change your type of punishment," Nielle smiled, "apologize and you won't spend two days here. Convenient, right?" He suggested.

Shane looked at him confused for a moment, "You want me to apologize? Me?" He blinked and fell silent again, "Me to you?" he didn't believe, "After what you did?" he laughed, "I should apologize to you?" he found it really comical that Nielle would even suggest something like that.

"Should I apologize to you, Lacrisan?" Nielle laughed.

Shane stared at him in disbelief. After a while, he took a deep breath and calmed down, "Among all the princes I've ever met, you really are the most disgusting bastard," he said.

Nielle laughed, "Thanks, I'm trying," he said, "So, what do you choose? A nice apology or do we start with the nails?"

"I have nothing to apologize for, I didn't do it on purpose, and even if I did, it's nothing compared to what you did," Shane was angry.

"Really?" Nielle walked up to him and lightly touched his hair, "Alright, your choice." he stroked them gently and ran a few times through them before Shane pulled away irritated and shook his hand off.

Nielle chuckled softly and after a moment lightly touched the black ring on his hand, which immediately made Shane hesitate. He automatically raised his hands to his neck, subconsciously took a step back on his knees and slig parted his lips in a breath, as he had the feeling of lack of air.

"They used it on you a lot, didn't they?" Nielle laughed, gently moving some of his bad luck into the stone on his finger, "And yet not enough to make you lear to obey." he increased the intensity, making Shane gasp for air as he panicked.

"W-wait," he blurted out before the collar around his neck was triggered, filling him with a sense of lack of luck, the memories of which scared him more than a little pain and humiliation

"Why should I?" Nielle joked and continued.

"Ágh!" Shane's eyelids snapped shut as he felt the invisible thing tighten around his neck, as he felt his body flood with pitch, as he felt himself grow weak again, as he felt that soon he wouldn't be able to let out from behind his lips even a tiny voice and end up in agony on the ground as always,

"Fine, I w-will," he blurted out, "I-I'm sorry." he said before the feelings escalated to unbearable limits like he knew Nielle wanted.

He might even feel embarrassed if he didn't know that he has done many more humiliating things in his life to avoid this disgusting practice or to achieve other goals. In the end, a little pride didn't matter if he gained something by lowering it. Shane knew that if he was to be tortured here for two days, he would feel even worse than he felt today, he knew that he wouldn't be able to complete the missions he had.

And besides, Nielle would definitely find the necklace he stole from Brelle...he couldn't allow that.

So he took a deep breath of relief as the tightness around his neck loosened and the pain that had begun to fill him subsided. He gently closed his eyelids and held his neck for a moment before regaining his composure and looking at Nielle. He really couldn't wait for revenge, for their situations to change and for Nielle to be kneeling in front of him...he would like to skip everything between now and the future, but he knew he couldn't.

"You see, just like that...you're really cute when you're scared," Nielle leaned over and patted his cheek gently.

Shane glared at him in exasperation, trying to calm his inner anger. He slowly clenched his fists and when Nielle removed his hand from his face, he slowly released them in an attempt to regain some of his lost composure.

He couldn't get over the fact that Nielle had given him back the disgusting collar, that he had bound him with it again...even if he thought he would be able to do it, he wasn't and every single reminder of how his freedom had disappeared again drove him insane.

"Since you obey, you deserve a reward...we won't be here together for two days," Nielle said, "we'll go on a trip, what do you say?" he laughed.

Shane blinked in confusion, but the guy behind him pulled him to his feet and pushed him after Nielle. Shane walked slowly behind him, through the corridor to the other cells underground. Nielle didn't explain anything to him, and since Shane didn't feel like talking to him, he kept quiet. He had no idea what he meant by the term trip, but basically he didn't care, since it was better than spending two days in the dungeons unnecessarily.

They walked for quite some time before they came to a locked door. Nielle opened them, letting daylight flood the dark corridor. Shane followed him out into the smaller shack.

"Where are we?" he couldn't understand looking out the window at the forest.

However, Nielle didn't answer and went out of the shack. It looked really devastated, as if no one lived here, which was true. The hut was fenced with only dilapidated pieces of wood and didn't at all resemble a place where anyone would stay. Two horses were tied right next to it with two men standing by them.

"Did you bring what I ordered?" Nielle asked.

A member of his Black Guard nodded at the man next to him, "Like you said, sir, he didn't want to give it to me so I brought him to you."

Nielle looked at the bank employee who bowed slightly and handed him a golden seal, "The laws say I can't give it to anyone but you personally, please accept my apology." He handed it to Nielle who took it.

"It doesn't matter, especially if you brought it," he declared and hid the seal in his pocket.

Shane, meanwhile, was staring blankly at the man from the bank, whom he knew very well. He couldn't believe that he had just met him here, especially when it was the person he wanted to see the most of all. He slowly walked over to Nielle and locked eyes with his ally. He gently adjusted his robe and waited. The banker only glanced at him and shifted his gaze to Nielle again.

"If that's all, Your Highness."

"It is, in case someone finds out where I am or about this place," Nielle didn't even have to finish.

"I don't want to end up in dungeons, I know how to keep quiet," he said.

Nielle knew he wasn't lying and that he had no reason to tell anyone where he was going or to even mention seeing him, so he let him go. The banker took off with the guard, walked past Shane and slammed into him from the side.

,,NGh! What do you think you're doing?! Can't you get out of the way?" the banker raised his voice and brushed himself off irritated, causing Shane to glare at him as well.

"Every Rinselan is a moron," Shane declared and looked at Nielle, "where are we anyway? Where are we going?" he didn't understand.

Nielle looked at them for a moment, and when the banker and the guard walked away, he said, "You don't have to know."

Shane's eyes widened, but since he didn't have the energy to argue with this idiot, he got on his horse. Nielle nudged his step and said, "Don't lag behind, I'll find you when you get lost, but I'll add one more to your punishments."

Shane went after him and asked: "What are you talking about again?" he didn't understand.

"I hope you didn't think I'd forget everything, I said we wouldn't be in the torture chamber for two days if you apologize, not that I won't repay you the trouble you made," Nielle laughed, "if you're good, we'll leave it to the city, if you decide to piss me off, I will punish you in the next few days," he spurred the horse into a gallop.

Shane stared blankly at him. After a while he sighed deeply and followed him on his horse. He felt as if luck couldn't decide whether or not to be on his side. Firstly, it led him to Brelle, from whom he was able to get at least one royal black stone, then it threw him back to Nielle. Subsequently, it brought his banker's ally into his path, to whom he was able to give the stone, and then it threw him one again back to Niello for fun. Shane didn't like this game, but he had no chance to change it.

At least not yet and until then, he had no choice but to hope that he wouldn't lose his self-control and kill Nielle in his sleep...because the way this prince was screwing him was beyond all limits.

***

They walked slowly through the forest, enjoying the journey. They chatted for a while before Rue became interested in the surrounding scenery again, leaving Ylre to watch him calmly. For a while he walked by the trees, for a while he bent down to the grass, for a while he caressed the flowers and for a while he just sang. Like now.

His voice was really beautiful, Ylre knew it very well and while looking at Rue's satisfied expression as it seemed to fit perfectly into the picture of nature, he only smiled softly.

His voice resonated softly with the birdsong, and the longer they walked, the calmer Ylre felt. He was walking behind him in silence when he found some raspberries along the way, picked a few and brought them to Rue, which only made him more pleased. Rue seemed excited about everything he would do, every time thanked Ylre, smiled lightly and continued his fun. He looked full of happiness...and after a long time, he probably really was.

It didn't take long before they arrived at another village, but this time it wasn't guarded by anyone so Ylre figured that whoever was after them hadn't followed them here. It was a really small village, and Ylre wondered if it had always been here, since he couldn't remember if they had ever stopped here on the way to Alycante. However, since people at this time used to build chapels and villages everywhere, he decided not to deal with it and entered the village.

However, they were able to see the end of it practically after several streets, so they only stopped at one establishment and had drinks brought to them.

"Where are we?" Rue asked Ylre, as he had once told him that the nearest would be Alycante where they didn't intend to go because of the church, but there shouldn't be anything else on the way.

"I don't know, I didn't hear about this willage," he said.

After thinking for a moment, Rue asked the owner of the establishment who was currently serving one of the outdoor tables next to them, "Could you tell us where we are right now?" he asked.

,,How could you don't know? Between Alycante and Dycae, we are the only stop, everyone knows that," he said.

"Dycae? Dycae is in a different direction than we're coming from." Ylre pointed out.

The guy sighed deeply and pointed to the end of the village, where there was a crossroads: "Where are you headed? I'll explain to you."

"Not to Alycante," Rue smiled after a while, since Ylre didn't react, as he wasn't going to tell anyone about their plans.

"Alycante is to the right, Dycae is straight down the road, when you go from one to the other we are the only stop between them," he explained, "you came from the direction of the capital." the guy said. Without a word he went in and left them at the table.

"How strange," Ylre commented, since he really didn't remember anything like that here, and not even that Dycae and Alycante were connected by villages somewhere along the way.

"What is Dycae?" Rue asked excitedly.

"A port city...you can get to Equil and Lacris from it, even faster than by land," he said.

"Port city," Rue was immediately intrigued, "are we going there?"

Ylre nodded, "I want to take you to that apple tree. It is located in Equil," he said.

"True...I can't wait," he was delighted.

They sat for a while before getting up. However, when they left the terrace of the establishment, a little girl stopped them. She was wearing ragged clothes, she looked like she hadn't eaten properly in a while, but a soft smile played on her lips, as if she was missing nothing. In her hands she held a wicker basket full of wild raspberries.

"Good luck with you, good sir," she looked at Rue, "buy some raspberries on your way, fresh from the forest, they will give you strength on the way...you won't have to look for any along the way, they are sweet." she said.

"Good luck with you, child," he greeted and looked at the basket, "why are you selling raspberries?"

"For money, sir...and for your pleasure," she said.

Since Rue hadn't seen such a scene for the first time, he only smiled gently and bent down to her: "How much are they

"How much you want, sir...thank you, sir" she said enthusiastically.

Ylre watched in silence as Rue took out a bag of money and handed the little girl some gold in exchange for the basket. The girl was staring at the money with her black eyes and looked around fearfully in case some villager saw it. She hid them in her dirty clothes and looked at Rue in confusion.

"E-everything is mine, sir? Thank you."

Rue smiled softly, "Thank Luck, child," he said and walked away.

Ylre looked at the girl, who still seemed unable to believe that she had sold raspberries from the forest for gold, and caught up with Rue, "I think she'll be more grateful to you than to Luck," he pointed out.

"Everything we do is the work of Luck," Rue said, stopping in surprise as another child nearly flew under his feet.

"S-sir...Good luck wity y-you, sir," the little boy looked at him, "b-buy some apples, good sir." he placed a basket of apples at his feet.

Rue blinked in surprise and looked at the boy who looked similar to the girl before. Basically, all Rinselans looked alike. Black eyes, black hair, some slightly lighter...a few white...and when they were children they really looked like one blood.

Rue bent down to him, "Child, eat them...apples are better than money," he said.

The boy shook his head, "I-I'm not hungry sir...I don't need food, sir."

"And what do you need?" he asked.

"Luck, I need luck...I need money," he blurted out, "Please, b-buy some apples, sir."

"Luck?" Rue was surprised and looked at the apples next to him.

Ylre just remarked behind him, "I told you that Rinselans can buy some yellow stones for money," he said.

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"Oh," Rue sighed, as he still couldn't absorb that Luck was being traded in this age like something that could be bought, "Luck isn't for sale." he said.

The boy, startled that Rue was leaving, violently grabbed his robe and stopped him, "P-please, sir…buy some apples, sir," he blurted out scared.

Before Rue could react, Ylre kicked the child off his feet and glared at him in a way that made the boy fall to the ground in fear.

"Ylre," Rue frowned and gave him a displeased look, "what are you doing?" He sighed and bent down to the child, "Are you hurt, child?"

"S-sir...please, b-buy some apples," he raised himself from the ground and pulled the basket closer, "at least one, nice, red...look sir...how fresh it is," he pulled one out and he polished it gently, held it out to Rue and tried, "buy an apple, s-sir."

Rue bent down and took the apple: "How much is it?"

"H-how much you want, sir," his eyes sparkled with hope.

Rue reached into his pouch and pulled out some gold coins and handed them to the boy, "For the future, child, find another way to get luck...don't buy it, earn it." he said and stood up.

Ylre looked at the revealed boy and rejoined Rue, who was stopped after a while by another child.

"Good luck with you sir...please buy some strawberries."

***

They galloped for several hours before arriving at the village that Niella was interested in. On the way they only stopped by water to encourage the horses, which Shane was quite grateful for as he hadn't eaten in a while and water was better than an empty stomach. Nielle, as if forgetting this fact and thinking about other things, didn't even realize that he could offer some of the packed food to his Lacrisan.

Shane was starting to have stomach cramps. Not that he wasn't used to them, it wasn't the first time he'd been hungry, but he still hated that feeling. Anyway, he kept up with Nielle and since he assumed that the prince was keeping him hungry on purpose, he didn't even comment.

In the past, when he was in a similar state, he got at least some option to get food. He'd either earned it through work or some sort of entertainment program that had rewards in the form of food...but Nielle didn't seem to have anything like that planned, and in Shane's eyes, he was just having a good time.

However, Nielle wasn't really thinking about Lacrisan's stomach. He didn't care if he ate or not, since he didn't deny him food at all, and basically it was Shane's fault that he never caught the meal time in the palace. Nielle was unaware that Shane didn't know he could get something in the dining room at any time.

They gradually reached the village, where the guards were already waiting for them with their heads down.

"Good job, everyone." Nielle said ironically, got off his horse and left it to one of the guys.

"I apologize, sir...we weren't informed that they had left the teahouse at all. When we went to check on them, the tea shop was closed." he said.

"Closed?" Nielle sighed and walked to the village.

Since it was a place where everyone was on his side, he didn't have to hide. His white hair caught the attention of several people who bowed to him gently and after reaching the end of the village by the wine bar, he turned towards the tea house. The coachman who was driving Ylre and Rue was waiting for him in front of the entrance.

"Your Highness," he greeted.

"What happened?" Nielle asked.

"I contacted our people in a nearby group of bandits, but the ambush didn't work out, so I sent them to the teahouse...however," he looked at the building and declared, "I found the owner underground...with signs of torture." He said.

Nielle sighed deeply. He ordered Shane to wait outside and went underground himself, where he indeed found the body of the guy who ran the business. It didn't look like the killer had gone easy on him.

His bloody, nailless hands were unnaturally twisted, his bleeding knees and elbows showed that he had used the methods that Nielle had pulled out when he was in a hurry. Whether the black haired or the red haired did it, he was clearly no novice and Nielle just made sure he had to be careful if he wanted to catch them and not get half of his alleys slaughtered.

But he didn't have to worry about his people revealing anything, so even though the man looked ugly, Nielle knew that no one had gotten anything from him.

He went back outside and said, "Where are they headed?"

"I got a report that they crossed the road, they said they were planning to go to Dycae, but the owner of the local pub had misdirected them, so they are going straight to Alycante," he clarified.

,,Misdirected, why?" Niella was surprised.

"I don't know, sir... maybe a coincidence, maybe not," he pointed out.

"Maybe Luck, are you following them?" Nielle asked.

"We're," he nodded.

"Good...bring in a report when one comes," Nielle instructed, looking at Shane.

"What?" Shane didn't understand.

"Nothing," Nielle laughed and walked back to the horses, "we're moving on." he said.

Shane sighed in displeasure and walked back to the horses with him. He hoped that they would reach their destination and he could lie down for a while, but he had obviously miscalculated, so they dismounted again and rode away. Fortunately, they just ran through the village, went through the forest about a kilometer beyond it and stopped at an inconspicuous camp. It wasn't strange that there was one, since he saw a lot of soldiers in the village, but he wasn't expecting him here.

"Your Highness, we received a report of your arrival, what happened?" the commander of the local soldiers asked, waiting in front of the camp.

Nielle stopped, left the horse again to one of the guys and went inside. Shane followed them and listened to what Nielle was up to.

"Originally I just wanted to write a message, but since I'm nearby and have nothing to do for the next few days, I came to explain the details in person, prepare the room."

"Ready, sir," the soldier said.

"Bring me some food and call a meeting for the evening, I need to declare a search in Alycante," he clarified.

"Public?" the soldier asked.

Nielle glared at him: "Is it your first day here?"

"I'm sorry...not public, of course," he said.

"Don't let the public guard know about it," Nielle nodded.

"Of course," he said and led them into the room.

Shane was fascinated by how similar the soldier camps looked to those in Lacris. However, although they were similar, he knew that the system was different as Rinsel's army was invincible even if the remaining two countries joined forces against them together. Shane had no idea what exactly made the Rinselans so strong, if luck wasn't on their side, but watching the local princes, he had the impression that it would be in leadership.

Not that the princes in Lacris were stupid, but they cared more about gaining the throne than their own duties. Whereas in Rinsel, even though Niella was a jerk, he at least knew how to carry out his responsibly...and Shane assumed that the Crown Prince and Prince Brelle were the same.

In any case, it was a plot of land, square in shape with a high fence that couldn't be climbed over. One gate in front, one in back, guarded by a few guys. In one part were training areas and in one part stood tents for the accommodation of soldiers. In the back was a dining room and in the middle was a smaller but grand building for the commander, who at this particular camp was Nielle.

The room was really nice, spacious with everything in one place. Opposite the door was a large table behind which important instructions were probably explained, and to the right they walked through the door into the private part itself. A large bed, a table, wardrobes and luxurious seating, forced Shane to want to lie down and not get up again. However, he didn't have a chance, and it was Nielle who sat down.

When a load of food was brought to them, Shane just looked at him and looked away as his stomach ached again. However, he clearly didn't intend to say anything to him.

"Let's have a fight," Nielle said out of the blue as he bit into a chicken leg on the table.

Shane looked at him confused, "What?"

"I found some interesting information about you," he threw the papers on the table, "I didn't know you had the work of executioners in your blood." he laughed.

Shane looked at him confused and then shifted his gaze to the papers, "What information?" He didn't understand.

"I checked you out, of course," Nielle said.

Shane was silent for a moment before adding, "And what did you find out?"

"That you're stupid," Nielle laughed out of taste and continued eating.

Shane looked at him irritated: "Why do you even care about someone else's past?"

"Lacris suspiciously sent you at a time when he shouldn't have, why wouldn't I you check you?" Nielle laughed and after Shane subconsciously looked at the piece of meat the prince placed on the table, he smiled contentedly, "Are you hungry?" he waved the meat in front of his face, "Would you like something to eat?"

Shane wanted to say that he didn't want anything from him, but the memories of how he had once done that and brought upon himself that he didn't get anything for a long time forced him to remain silent.

"You're really adorable," Nielle laughed, patting the sofa next to him

Shane stared at him blankly.

"If you want to eat, sit down," he said.

Shane hesitated for a moment before walking over to Nielle and sitting down. Not the closest.

"I'll give you an option, either entertain me with a show and show me your skills in a duel with soldiers or don't fight back and let me enjoy your luck at lunch," he suggested.

Shane looked at him confused, "Duel with soldiers? Why?" he didn't understand.

"Don't ignore the second option, if you obey, I'll be good to you in the evening," he laughed and waved the food in front of Shane's eyes again, pissing Shane off again, "anyway, you're going to fight the soldiers one way or another. Anyway, I have a special punishment planned for you, if I were you I would eat." he pointed out.

Shane stared at him for a moment, wondering what he meant. However, since it was true that fighting wasn't the best idea in his current state, he finally sighed, "Okay, I won't fight back," he promised, extending his hand to him, letting him know what kind of luck source he was willing to giving him without resisting.

Nielle laughed contentedly and pulled his hand to him. He picked up a knife from the table and placed the blade against Shane's forearm. He cut slowly through the skin into the muscle and as Shane's arm tensed painfully, he made a short but nicely bleeding cut towards himself.

He placed the knife on the table and slowly brought Shane's skin to his lips. He lightly licked the dripping blood with his tongue and smiled satisfied as Lacrisan shivered slightly. He gradually got to his injury and praised him contentedly, "Good boy."

***

Ylre was mildly displeased with how the kids had robbed Rue of quite a bit of money with their schemes. He would have preferred to get them out of the way before they even got near him, but every time he reached for them, Rue scolded him, so he let them go.

He walked slowly by Rue, wondering if he really liked all the things they gave him or if he bought them out of obligation. Ylre himself ate the raspberries that he had carried for him, as he didn't want to drag them all the way and couldn't throw them away.

"Don't throw them away," Rue said when he happened to catch him, if he did so, "eat them." he gestured.

And so Ylre ate them. He chewed maybe a hundred raspberries already, wondering if they were really going the right way as he had the impression that he was starting to lose himself despite his knowledge of world's geography.

"Do you like them? Do you want to try this?" Rue offered Ylre a basket of strawberries.

"Take the ones you want, I don't care which one I eat," Ylre said, and they exchanged baskets.

Ylre ate strawberries, Rue raspberries, after a while they took one of the apples and wondered if they would even have time to eat them before they reached Dycae. Since neither of them knew that their path didn't lead there.

Ylre tried to eat the basket as soon as possible and Rue seemed to eat quite a bit of them as well. They walked for about an hour or two, it was late in the afternoon and their conversation turned to roads adventure again. Ylre talked very calmly with Rue, telling him what he wanted to hear, explaining what he didn't understand, and when Rue seemed to be interested in something more deeply, Ylre was very happy to elaborate on the topic.

When they heard a stream of water beside them, Rue looked at it, "I'm a little dizzy," he remarked, "let's drink some." he said.

Ylre, who to his own surprise also felt slightly tired, nodded and followed him to the water. It was beautifully clean and suited both of them really well. After they drank some water, although they could last a long time without water, they sat down by the river for a while.

"Look, a frog," Rue smiled and gently extended his palm to it, "I haven't seen frogs in a long time."

"Shall I catch it for you?" Ylre asked.

"No need," he laughed and collapsed into the grass by the water, "every creature is free, let them continue to be." he said, closing his eyelids gently.

Ylre looked at him and wondered if it was even possible for someone to look so noble in every situation. Ylre had seen many supreme Infey in his life, everyone in fact, but he had never met one more noble than Rue...not even the king could fit to hold a candle to Rue.

Ylre just sat by, staring at his fair face, which looked even paler than usual under the sun. His jet-black hair contrasted beautifully with the orange strands that matched his own, and if it wasn't for the fact that they couldn't stay here much longer, Ylre would have suggested they sit here together forever.

"Is something wrong?" Rue slowly opened his eyes and fixed his golden eyes on him, staring almost into his soul.

Ylre blinked softly and lowered his eyes: "Nothing...do you want strawberries?" He pushed the basket towards him.

He hesitated for a moment before actually taking one and closing his eyes again, "I'm going to take a nap here for a while," Rue said.

After a moment's hesitation, Ylre nodded and lay down next to him. He didn't want to fall asleep, he wanted to be awake and watch over Rue, as was his duty, so he just lay there, watching the clouds, glancing at Rue's sleeping face here and there and eating some raspberries here and there.

His eyelids slowly closed and even though he kept telling himself that he was staying up, that he couldn't sleep, he fell asleep before he even knew it. Inconspicuously, slowly and naturally, as if it was his will. Much like Rue, who had been sleeping next to him for quite some time.

The two Infey were lying in silence in the grass next to the water, as if they were taking a short break from their journey through the forest.

Only a small group of people behind the trees knew that this wasn't the case, and after waiting for a while, when nothing happened and none of them moved, they gradually stepped out of the forest. A few children, a few adults who had only recently served two people they believed to be Lacrisans in a nearby village, slowly approached their victims with weapons in hand...slowly surrounding them, as if unsure if they were really asleep.

However, they slept...though it took longer than the villagers were used to. Although it took a whole basket instead of two raspberries, they finally did it and provided the entire village with the luck they all needed.

However, it was a shame they didn't know that the pair they caught today weren't from Lacris, a shame their luck wasn't something they could take...and a shame one of them wasn't someone a normal person had any right to even touch. But they were to find out soon enough.

***

Shane sat on the couch and with his eyes closed he let Nielle steal his luck. He was shivering slightly, as with every second of this disgusting activity a convulsive pain shot through his body. Every time Nielle clenched his teeth or deliberately pushed into his wound, he only slightly increased his grip on the sofa. He tried to ignore him, but ignoring the way his luck was slipping away was always impossible, no matter how many times Nielle did it.

"From what I've found out about you, you're pretty harmless," Nielle remarked as he let go of his hand and handed him a piece of cloth.

Shane stopped his bleeding and looked at the desk, suppressing the urge to read the contents of the letters on it.

"Do you want to look at them?" Nielle laughed and took the papers.

Shane glared at him and took a piece of meat from the table, having fulfilled his duty, "What for? I know what I lived," he clarified.

Nielle laughed softly and looked over the papers again,"You might think so, but there are actually some interesting things you don't know about. Do you want me to tell you?" he teased him amusedly.

Shane looked at him blankly, "No thanks," he stated, "I don't plan on believing anything you say."

Nielle sighed, "Too bad, maybe you'd come to your senses...and if you did, your life might be a little less of a bad joke...because this is a really funny piece of paper....funny how my people found out everything in two days while you haven't notice anything in your whole life. Is that sad? Funny?" he laughed in delight and took another bite of his food.

Shane gave him an irritated look: "This also applies to you, if you'd come to your senses, your life could be a little less of a bad joke too. The prince whom the king talks to as he would to a slave. It is sad? Funny?" he said.

Nielle looked at him and smiled lightly, "Everyone has their own way of arranging things for themselves," he said, "but you... you can't arrange anything," he declared and slowly approached him on the sofa, "that's why you got chained up then," he reached out and tried to touch Shane's neck but failed as he slapped his hand away and glared at him angrily, "and that's why you got this collar again." Nielle pointed out with satisfaction.

Shane was filled with a wave of hatred at how this prince was blatantly screwing him, but knowing that his situation was only temporary, he slowly calmed down at the thought that soon the tables would turn and he would get his revenge on this sadistic prince.

"Just hope you don't end up like those who gave it to me the first time," he said and continued eating.

Nielle took the papers from the table and waved them contentedly, "Don't worry, I know how they ended... only you don't." They're doing better than you think," he laughed.

Shane glared at him, "What did you say?"

"I said you don't know what happened to them, Lacrisan," he laughed, "but since you refused my offer to exchange information," he placed the papers next to the candle on the table and let them be consumed by the flames, "you may continue to live your funny life." he gently approached him and touched his cut hand where, despite the cloth, a little blood still flowed.

Shane shook him off, but Nielle grabbed him again and climbed onto the couch contentedly. Amused, he moved closer to Shane, making him back up to the edge of the couch, against which he pushed him.

"I still haven't given you your punishment, have I?" Nielle smiled.

Shane glared at him from below for a few long seconds before he straightened up sharply. He surprised Niella with it and in a second he changed their positions, throwing the prince under him. Nielle blinked in surprise as he was suddenly lying beneath Shane. He immediately tried to sit up, but Shane irritably grabbed his arms and held him in place, roughly trapping him under his body.

"What did you mean I don't know what happened to them?" he asked in anger.

Nielle lay there as he froze for a moment, filled with confusion. However, he recovered from the disadvantage very quickly and as soon as he realized what was happening, that someone was on top of him and he was in a really disgusting position, he aggressively kicked Shane from below between his legs. Shane jerked back in shock and violently grabbed his crotch where Nielle irritably hit him.

However, he didn't stop there and when Shane wasn't able to defend himself for a while, he kicked him from the couch to the ground. Shane threw things off the table and was surprised to realize that he was lying on the carpet. Nielle got up and aggressively approached him. He stood over him and kicked him in the stomach in anger.

Shane tried to fight back, but Nielle kicked him again...and then again, then threw a candlestick at him from the table and then kicked him in the chest one more time. After a moment of venting his anger, he stomped hard on Shane's chest and gave him an aggressive look.

"You've just earned yourself a really unpleasant evening, Lacrisan," he growled.

Shane grabbed Nielle's leg on his chest and tried to sit up. However, Nielle was quite strong, and even though their abilities were fairly even, Shane with his several days of exhaustion was still at a disadvantage to Nielle, who had enough energy every day.

Shane was about to say something when there was a knock on the door.

"It's open," Nielle said still staring at Shane and when a soldier ran in he gave him an irritated smile, "I'm glad you're here, I was just about to call the soldiers for some fun... I must show one Lacrisan his place." he growled.

"Your Highness, we have just received a report that your suspects have been kidnapped by villagers," the soldier said.

"What?" Nielle confusedly lifted his leg off of Shane who finally took a deep breath, "Villagers?"

"According to the message, they were kidnapped when they fell asleep by the river, we don't know why they fell asleep...but they are currently in the chapel, a few kilometers from the village where they stopped before," he said.

Nielle was quite for a moment before declaring, "Take twenty men, let's go," he said.

Although the original plan was to follow them to the military camp near Alycante and have them captured there, or use other strategies, he couldn't pass up the chance when someone else caught them. And so, although he wasn't sure if they'll still be there by the time they arrive, he didn't hesitate to head out.

"And what should I do? I'm going too?" Shane asked as he got up but wasn't sure if he wanted to stay in the camp alone as Nielle's words painted the soldiers in a bad light.

He had no idea what kind of punishment he was planning with the use of soldiers, but his fantasy ranged from mass rape and mass taking of his luck, to the promised fight that Nielle wanted to see. And Shane wasn't interested in either of them, not to mention staying with the local soldiers alone when he wasn't feeling his best.

Nielle looked at him and hesitated for a moment before nodding, "You're going," he said and started walking away.

After all, he knew that the king had him locked up for two days so there would still be time to have fun, but he couldn't let Shane disappear somewhere. He was going to find the Infeys and then enjoy a long evening with his daring Lacrisan...until he fucked the whole impertinence out of him...and much more.

However, duties come first.