Chapter Text
"His Highness requests your presence", the bodyguard announces. The wary glint in his eye tells me that he hasn't forgotten my failed assassination attempt. And no one seems to be buying the tale of extreme training methods Prince Tserriednich spun. Of course, everyone is way too terrified to tell him so.
If you answer another question falsely...
The nen beast's voice is still haunting me. It's going to be a difficult evening. The scar on my face appears to have vanished which makes me even more uneasy than its previous visibility. I check my appearance one last time and make my way to the Fourth Prince's private quarters. My hand brushes against my gun in its holster. The memory of the cold metal in my hand still lingers. As does the feeling of the nen beast's tounge against my cheek. I am marked for death. Or more accurately: we all are. This whole ship is heading towards its doom.
Right before I reach the door to Tserriednich's reception room, the monstrous head of his nen beast appears in front of me and it takes a lot of self-control for me to not turn around and flee this nightmare immediately. Well, self-control and the fact that there is nowhere to run to, as we are in the middle of the ocean. The creature stares at me for a moment with unblinking eyes and then disappears as quickly as it came.
...you will cease to be human...
I steel myself mentally before raising a hand to knock. As the door opens I notice a tense atmosphere in the room. And by that I mean even more tense than usually. Tserriednich is dressed in a perfectly fitted black suit. He must have plans later. I can only hope that his prey will survive the evening. Though, judging by his latest "artworks", it might be better to just wish them a quick death. Which brings me to my own predicament.
"Leave us alone." His voice rings calm, yet with an umistakeable threatening tone. And because subtlety isn't exactly his forte, he adds a quiet. "Now."
The other bodyguards bow and leave the room just a little too quickly. There must have been some kind of disagreement. The Fourth Prince is eager to explain.
"They wanted to take your gun", he says as he approaches. He reminds me of a cat stalking towards its prey.
"They think you might try to kill me. Again." Our eyes meet and I feel trapped under his gaze. I wonder if he can read my thoughts.
"I thought it might make things more interesting to let you keep it for now", he adds.
When I'm unable to come up with a reply, Tserriednich takes my arm and leads me to a small table at the other end of the room. A small table that appears to be set for dinner. Wine glasses and everything. I'm not sure whether to laugh, cry or scream as I watch the prince pull out a chair for me.
"Take a seat."
A final supper before my execution, I gather. Now that I think about it it seems just like the kind of thing he'd enjoy. Dining on luxurious food while his victims can barely compose themselves enough to even pick at the food. As I sit down his hand brushes against my hair. If it were anyone else it might have been accidential, but Tserriednich knows exactly what he's doing. Right now he seems bent on making me as uncomfortable as possible. And so far he's been pretty successful.
"You have to try the wine", he says as he's sitting down and pushes one of the glasses towards me. It's already been filled which makes me suspect that the wine could be drugged.
The moment I open my mouth to speak the nen beast reappears next to the prince. Observing me.
"I'm afraid I'll have to decline." Both true: I am afraid and while I'm going to have to play along with his mind games sooner or later, there's a a difference between placating a psychopath and sheer stupidity. "Drinking alcohol could impair a bodyguard's abilities." Also true, though I'm not really sure if I still am his bodyguard after shooting him. Trying to shoot him? Failing to shoot him? I'm still confused about what happened. But the image of Tserriednich's malformed features, bullet hole in his head, won't leave my mind. It has to be a nen ability.
A touch against my hand brings me back to my current dilemma. Tserriednich is looking at me with amusement in his eyes - which is never a good thing - while his fingers are stroking along the back of my hand.
"Very dutiful." His fingers close around mine and I fight the urge to run, leave this ship, quit this job, survive. It's too late for that.
"Why did you try to kill me, Theta?" The creature next to him extends its neck and starts examining me. Waiting for a lie. I've always had to choose my words carefully around the prince, but this is on a whole new level.
"I've never seen someone master nen as quickly as your highness." True.
"I was terrified." Also true. Now comes the tricky part.
"I was terrified of your genius and what you would do once you mastered your incredible powers." The nen beast is still staring at me, but I meet its gaze with nothing but truthfulness.
"So in my heart I felt that I had to stop you from reaching your full potential. And killing your Highness was the only option." It's all true. Maybe I could elaborate a little more on how Tserriednich's aura feels like pure evil and that he's a serial killer who decorates his walls with human skin, but the essence of my truth has already been expressed. My eyes are still locked with the nen beast's when Tserriednich asks:
"And what were you going to do after you betrayed me?" The stare intesifies.
"Shoot myself in the head", I answer truthfully. The expression on the nightmarish face before me remains unchanged.
"You were going to follow me?"
"Well, I don't think anyone would have hired me as a bodyguard anymore..." He gives a light laugh and releases my hand.
"Why won't you look me in the eye, Theta?" I turn my eyes back to him and give a little bow.
"I beg your pardon, your highness. Your nen beast can be distracting at times." More like all the time, but true enough.
"Well, I would prefer to have your full attention", he says, instantly switches into a state of zetsu and gives me a smile. This has to be a trap.
"One last question-" He's been taking my confession surprisingly well so far.
"What do you think your punishment should be?" Or maybe not. I've been asking that question myself, though my punishment relates not to the assassination attempt but to my failure to carry it out. It's a tricky question to answer truthfully. His nen beast might have disappeared for now, but I can't risk it.
Finally I reply: "I was going to give your Highness a quick, painless death. I would ask your Highness to consider granting me the same."
He doesn't like that idea, I can see it in the way his lips purse a little. My gun is loaded, a heavy weight against my side. I put all my efforts into not letting my body or expression show that I'm about to escape if I don't agree with his plans for me. I might not be able to kill the prince, but I know him well enough to know that no matter what his mysterious nen ability might be it will definitely not protect anyone but him. Tserriednich might be a man of many qualities, but altruism is not one of them. He watches me and for a moment his eyes seem to glaze over before they focus on me again.
"Thank you for your honesty. However, I don't think that would be enough, Theta. I admire your resolve and I believe that you are a talented teacher. But you also betrayed me and you are going to make ammends for your act of treason." My hand is ready to pull out my gun.
"You are going to train me to the best of your abilities in order to improve my nen-"
"No", I say. Then I leap from my place at the table and draw my gun. In a fraction of a second I raise it to my temple and pull the trigger. For a moment I am at peace, drifting into nothingness. I should have done this sooner.
Then suddenly I hear a loud clicking noise and I am back in Tserriednich's room, gun still against my temple. When I pull the trigger again, there's only another clicking noise.
Another click.
Click.
Click.
No bang.
I notice that the gun is lighter than just a second ago.
"I wasn't finished, yet", says a horrifyingly familiar voice right behind me.
The door opens to a group of bodyguards rushing in, weapons drawn. Without a moment of hesitation I aim my empty gun at them. I know what the protocol for a situation like this looks like. Because I designed it.
"Don't shoot!" Tserriednich shouts immediately. "Take her alive!"
I try to fight my former colleagues off, but they wrestle the gun from my hand and I end up with my arms forced behind my back soon after. As they search my clothes and body for hidden weapons, Tserriednich seems to be enjoying himself immensely.
"Be sure to search her thoroughly." The bodyguards follow his orders swiftly while Tserriednich bathes in my obvious discomfort. When they're finished the prince orders them to tie me back to that damn chair. Tserriednich waves his hand dismissively and the bodyguards leave.
I'm trying very hard not to panic as the Fourth Prince tilts my head up so I have to meet his gaze. My skin is sweating under his fingers.
"As I was saying, teaching me how to master my ability will only be the beginning of your repayment. Once I've perfected my nen, I will eliminate all of my rivals." His fingers travel along my chin, up my cheek an he brushes a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Of course, I will succeed in killing them. After we've reached the new continent and I've become ruler of Kakin, expanding the royal family again will be paramount for cementing my power as King. I don't simply want to rule, I want to leave a legacy."
As his eyes wander over my body I feel sick to my stomach. He has never looked at me like this before and I can't even begin to imagine what this might mean for me. I should have never taken this job.
"And you, Theta, will atone for your attempt to eradicate my lineage by contributing to the creation of another royal family. A stronger, improved new dynasty, fit to rule for centuries." The nen beast has reappeared, but I stare right at the Prince.
"I'd rather die."
"I won't let you, even though it would amuse me to see you try", Tserriednich says and leans forward. His breath is hot against my ear as he whispers:
"You will be a magnificient queen. And a wonderful mother."
There's a sudden painful sting in the side of my neck and my vision starts to blur. The last thing I see before my consciousness fades is the Fourth Prince putting a syringe on the table and watching me intently.