Elwin was winding down an exhaustive search of the castle, and he was mad about it. For one, why did the castle have to be so big and two, why was there no doctor in attendance? Maybe it was his day off but no one acted like they had even heard of such a person. By the look on half of their faces, even the word doctor could have been a foreign one. What was supposed to be done if a terrible accident had occurred?
One of the guards had offered to send someone into town to fetch one (nice of him considering all they do is stand around all day and gossip with each other), but Elwin told him not to bother. He supposed maybe he had built the injury up to more then what it was in his head after all. Or at least he could see how it was looking tomorrow and make a decision from there.
Maybe he actually should become a doctor, they certainly seemed to be in short supply.
By the time he turned back to the long tower staircase, he was sorry he had been gone for so long on his fruitless search, and anxious to get back to his prince.
Elwin considered himself to be in pretty good physical shape, but the combination between rocky sleep, the hangover, and going up and down the steep stairway more times then usual, had him feeling winded by the time he got to the top of the stair case. So, he stopped to lean against the wall for a moment and catch his breath outside of the prince's room.
If he hadn't been so still, with nothing for company besides his own fast beating heart, he might not have heard it at all through the thick door. What was that strange sound? At first he thought it was heavy breathing? Snoring? No, that wasn't quite right, it sounded more like a dog lapping at it's water, or gnawing on something. Elwin frowned, his eyebrow's going together in concentration, but nothing became clearer. Maybe they should get a dog? Maybe he had dogs on the mind.
Elwin pushed the door open, he hadn't fully closed it when he left. “I didn't have any lu-” The word luck died in his mouth, and he froze. This must be what a statue feels like. This thought and many other random ones went through his mind uncontrollably and all at once. But the attempt to run away through some kind of internal chamber escape route, failed and he came back suddenly to the scene before him.
If he thought he had seen a lot of blood before, he had been kidding himself.
The young woman Elwin had left here earlier, at least he believed it must be her, was nothing now. The flesh had been mostly torn away, leaving bones like sticks coated red, except for one hand and arm and her head, with the hair having come lose and wild, hanging off the side of the bed and brushing the floor . If she had tried to escape at all, she hadn't gotten far. Her face was too bloodied to make out an expression. Had she been scared? Hopefully not for long.
Elwin stepped forward slowly as though in a dream.
There was a terrible series of cracks and wet wrenching noises as he approached.
His sweet prince, having gotten what he could reach from the surface of his meal, was rooting around the inside of her chest. And he didn't look up from his feast even when Elwin was close enough to touch.
“Stop.” Elwin said. He marveled at the mildness of his own voice. Not even raised. Shouldn't he be panicked? A drop of blood hit his hand and he felt scorched by it. “Stop.” A little more forceful the second time. He reached out and touched Prin's shoulder. Something noted in the back of his mind, how damn stupid are you? But he barely heard it. He was focused on Prin.
The prince lifted his head up to look at his friend, or, in the absence of recognition, you might say he looked up at this absolute idiot who dared to disturb his feast. Because the blue of his eyes, the blue of skies, of flower petals, of baby's first blankets, the familiar friendly color, the pupilless expanse that spread from left to right uninhibited, showed only a creature who had no friends. A creature who had nothing but food, or not food, and that was all that mattered.
He held the young woman's heart in his mouth.
Probably in shock, and had been since the moment he entered the room, Elwin didn't move. Though he would maintain he was never once afraid of the prince, never had been, never would be, and wasn't capable of the instinct, proper or no, there had to be a second, at least a split second, where his body filled with terror as the creature who was his best friend, lept off the bed at him. Didn't there?
*
Elwin woke up on the floor a short time later (although you can't tell time in oblivion), with a pounding headache and for a brief blissful moment he had no idea how he got there or what was going on.
There was a metallic taste in his mouth. He licked his lips and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, smearing more blood onto his face then what was already there. He thought at first that the back of his head was bleeding, but reaching back it didn't seem to be. Just a goose egg of a bump beginning to form. He say up slowly, the world moving in sea sick directions around him.
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When he opened his eyes and they were able to focus, he was face to face with, well, this time she had no face, the bloodied skull of the woman.
It all came back to him in a woosh more powerful then the head injury, although that wasn't helping matters, and he grabbed the cleaning bucket conveniently near by and began throwing up. He considered screaming, but was a bit busy at the moment. He tried to take deep breaths but the smell of blood and worse things was so strong in the air, that even breathing just made him gag more.
The one thing he didn't consider doing, was running away. When he had control of himself a little better, or at least ran out of things to empty from his stomach, he got shakily to his feet and looked to see where the prince was.
He was curled up on the bed fast asleep, and, aside from being covered practically head to toe with blood, seemed none the worse for wear. Physically anyway? Although it was impossible to tell for sure.
Elwin locked the door. The bolt was so heavy and stiff from disuse that it was hard for him to do, but finally it managed to slide across and click with a satisfying sense of safety. Although to keep someone out, or to keep someone in?
He didn't know what to do next but decided the bandage needed to be ripped off. He couldn't just let the prince sleep, even if it might put him in a better mood. He almost laughed at his own joke, as if what had just happened was some kind of bad mood tantrum. Still in shock clearly.
“Prin?” He said. He really hoped that this time the one who answered would be the one who knew him. “Prin? Wake up.”
The floor was slick with the still fresh blood, and Elwin started to fall. He caught himself with the table but this caused the bowl of soup to fall and shatter on the stone floor.
The prince sat up suddenly, startled awake by the sound of breaking, where the calling of his name had done nothing. He gasped a sharp intake of breath and let it out in a loud scream. He continued screaming.
“Shhh, shhh, shhh, stop.” Elwin urged. If nothing else then for his poor aching head. He recovered himself and hurried to the prince's side. “Stop, don't scream, what if someone hears? I doubt it, but we can't take the chance.”
Prin only screamed louder.
Elwin had seen someone be slapped when they got hysterical like that but he couldn't imagine himself doing it. He pressed his hand over Prin's bloody mouth. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Don't scream.”
The prince's eyes were back to normal. Or, maybe not normal per say, as the fear widened pupil threatened to blot out the blue entirely in it's desperate expansion.
“Are you done? Are you okay?” Elwin asked. He didn't like this, it made him feel like a kidnapper.
Prin's chest rose rapidly and he was shaking. Elwin finally moved his hand in fear that he was stopping him from catching his breath.
“What do you remember about what happened?” Elwin asked. Somehow it would be better if he remembered nothing, but if that were the case how would Elwin explain it?
“The boy . . . tore his heart out of his chest and made me eat it . . . and the tigers in the tapestry don't look like real tigers but how were we to know that? I don't think I have a choice. I don't think I have a choice. The boy said I had to eat it. And the fat little brother and sister. . . Why would he say that? And smashes my legs with hammers like when we were small . . .” The prince rambled, going in and out of coherency. Elwin was not sure some of the things he was saying were even real words. The whole time Prin's eyes were glued to the woman's skeleton. He went on for a while and when he finally stopped talking he threw up red chunks all over the bed.
Elwin was glad he didn't have anything more in his stomach at that point.
“I ate him.” The prince said.
“Yes. Well, her, but close enough.” Elwin was just glad he was lucid. “That doesn't mean we have to look at her anymore.” He moved Prin further up the bed and out of the way. “Scootch up.” And used the top cover to wrap the woman's remains in and move her to the floor.
“What have I done?” The prince asked.
“I think you already said.” Elwin said dryly.
“The sacrifices. This must be what he meant.” Prin said. “Oh no, oh god. Should I kill myself. I think we're high enough up here, that if I jumped. It would be quick? Just as long as it's quick.” He clutched Elwin's arm with both hands. His grip was strong.
“Don't ever talk like that again. You don't mean it. Promise me.” Elwin put his hand on the prince's forehead. It didn't feel hot. Just sticky. “You aren't in your senses right now. Are you injured anywhere?”
“Listen to yourself! I killed someone?” Prin said. His voice tipped over into a tearful squeak. “I think you're the one not in your senses!”
Elwin pulled him into his arms, halfway on his lap. He tried to cover him up completely with his embrace. “You didn't mean it. You didn't mean it.” He pressed the prince's head into his shoulder. “Shh Shh.”
The prince's body was tensed up in his arms, but he held on to him, and gradually he relaxed against Elwin, his breathing becoming more even.
“It wasn't you.” Elwin said.
“I disagree.” Prin said, voice muffled by El's shoulder.
“Do you-- Do you remember doing it?” Elwin asked. He patted the prince's back rhythmically, but it's unclear who he was trying to soothe, the prince or himself. “No, never mind. Don't think about it. Never mind.”
“What if it happens again?” The prince asked, muffled voice sounding tired now, with all the weight of the world bearing down.
“What if it doesn't?” Elwin asked. “Maybe, look, maybe it is like a life for a life. You got your own life, your health, but in exchange someone else had to lose theirs?” In his head this made sense, it seemed like the sort of thing a witch would do. You get the healing, but there is a catch. It couldn't come without a catch, Elwin decided. “It was the old witch's fault. Not yours.”
“What old witch?” the prince asked drowsily.
Elwin took this as proof that his friend still wasn't in his right mind. But who could blame him, under the circumstances? “You need your rest.” He urged. “You, sleep, and let me . . .” he almost said clean up but didn't want to put too fine a point on it. “Let me take care of things.”
“You have always taken care of me.” the prince said.
“I try my best, even though it isn't always good enough.” Elwin said. “I love you.” It was something, though understood between them, he thought, it was not explicitly said. So it felt funny saying it now. Just as well the prince was not awake to hear it.
Elwin carefully untangled himself from Prin and tucked him into the bed.
A figure all in red.