Mein Prinz Prologue

[madimpossibledreamer]

Happy Halloween!

Main Points:
Ace Attorney AU
Chapter Summary: Prince Apollo accompanies his adviser to see the kingdom's most dangerous enemy....
Word Count: 1393
Rating: K
Note: Apollo Justice spoilers.  Probably spoilers for the rest of the series, too.

 

            “Be careful, Apollo,” Kristoph stated calmly.  If the Prince hadn’t gotten used to his mentor and advisor’s calm demeanor, he might have ignored the remark.  After all, Kristoph sounded relatively unconcerned by the one they were going to see.  On the other hand, he sounded relatively unconcerned about practically anything.  The Prince had yet to see anything even vaguely disconcert the man.  Which was good, because they needed strong allies who could think logically, considering the unsettled state of the kingdoms.

            And considering who they were going to go see.  The Undying One, the Tainted Soul, the Spawn of the Abyss.  Apollo had asked, once, why they hadn’t killed him, rather than chaining him up in the castle’s dungeon.  Other than the fact that the name the Undying One gave a pretty good clue.  Kristoph had merely frowned.  “It is true that he could be dangerous, if not treated with proper care.  If the correct precautions are taken, however, he could prove useful.”

           Luckily, Kristoph was very thorough, so Prince Apollo couldn’t imagine that he’d missed anything.  Which was good, because some of the stories he’d heard about the Tainted Soul…which was kind of an oxymoron, actually, because devils didn’t have souls…

            He’d gotten sidetracked again, and they were already at the cell.  The Prince swallowed nervously.  He couldn’t see anything in the darkness of the cave, but a definite…presence waited.  Lurking.  Hungry.  He shivered.  He certainly wouldn’t have been brave enough to come himself.

           “Undying One, reveal thy form.”  The advisor’s voice deepened as it always had when he was using words of Power, and light blue sigils appeared on the walls of the cavern, lighting the place.

            A stirring noise, a flapping.  Apollo shivered again.

            His yelp could probably have been heard throughout the castle, thanks to his voice training that most probably thought was eccentric but didn’t bother to say anything about.  The devil had appeared right in front of him, watching him with bright, eager blue eyes.  The rest of the body was purple, a deep purple that seemed just as terrifying as the other features of the beast.  The jaw was long, extending beyond that of a human’s and back further into the skull than Apollo had seen on practically any-natural, his mind supplied-creature.  Fangs jutted from the mouth like an icy crag.  Chains were attached through the wings, tugging hard enough that the inky black demonic blood was seeping through, though curiously the demon didn’t seem to have noticed.  The wings weren’t those of a normal creature, either.  Neither dragon nor bat, as most depicted them, but with mesmerizing patterns and a triangular shape torn out of each one.  The body was humanoid enough, but…certainly larger.  Spiky, hardened skin, as if the devil was made out of rocks or something, and a just as thorny tail that came up to the back just below the wings. 

            He was lucky, too, that he’d been warned by Kristoph about the eyes, or he would’ve been fooled.  The impossibly blue eyes looked…ancient.  Sad.  Honest.  Compassionate.  All things of which no devil was capable.  Except for the first, of course.

            “Ach, I was beginning to get bored.  It’s been too long since you’ve given me my last plaything.”  The growl sounded…well, even rougher than Apollo had expected, but it seemed like it had been quite a while since the Undying One had spoken, or indeed had anyone to speak to.  For an instant, he believed the ‘plaything’ part, hopped nervously from foot to foot as he stared at his mentor before realizing that this was a lie, just like the eyes.

            “You’ve hardly behaved yourself, Undying One, but then, that is to be expected from a devil.”  The two were amused, but the tension between them was quite clear, even for the prince who’d had very little training for this sort of thing.  “I can see how a devil might get bored with no one to terrorize,” Kristoph continued again, after a pause.

            The responding grin might have been considered good natured if it wasn’t full of teeth.  “On that note, danke.  Herr Forehead squeaks very nicely.”

            The sorcerer’s eyes suddenly glittered with icy anger, and a hand flew up.  The sudden magical deepness thrummed through the ground, steel and strength.  “You will treat your prince with respect, worm.”

            The chains lit with an eerie blue inner glow and slithered and squeezed as if alive, tightening and pulling back until several unmistakable resounding loud cracks and crunches reverberated between the walls.  The scream was surprisingly human, despite the dual tone, shocked and agonized.  The resulting thrashing led to a ripping sound.  Prince Apollo had heard similar when one of the clumsy servants had accidentally fallen, taking fifty-four year old velvet with them.

            The chain going through one of the wings had partially torn a section off.  Between the ichory demonic blood and the hysterical scream, which if anything had gained in volume, Apollo couldn’t help but turn away and gag.  He’s not human; he doesn’t deserve your compassion.

            By the time he looked back, eerie silence had suddenly fallen.  The devil was hanging limply in the chains, blue eyes slitted and dull from the pain.  Every ounce of playful defiance had drained, leaving only the eternal sadness and a sudden, overwhelming weariness.

            “You have forgotten your place, Undying One.”  The voice was dangerous, deadly even, yet calm.  Again, Prince Apollo was glad he was not Kristoph’s enemy.

            “Ja, ja, I am here to hang in the dungeon, bored, und ‘learn my lesson’ for your convenience.”  The tone was sarcastic, perhaps a little sad, but it didn’t hold the resentment that Apollo had anticipated.  Then again, the devil appeared as if he would pass out at any moment, so the lack of emotion was perhaps to be expected.

            Kristoph waved a hand and the chains tugged again, drawing out a long, low moan.  Still, the sorceror’s eyes were pleased.

            Okay, perhaps it made him weak, but the Prince was uncomfortable with the proceedings.  He was feeling sympathy for a devil.

            “That is right.  You are at my beck and call, and no one else’s.  You will serve the kingdom, not destroy it.  You would do well to remember that.”  Was this…perhaps, an illusion?  Something to drive a wedge between him and his mentor?  Because otherwise…stooping to its level…

            “You are to serve the Prince.”  Kristoph’s voice cut through his horror, leaving him in shock.  “He has a journey to make, and I cannot accompany him.”

            The Undying One was just as speechless.  Finally a dark laugh echoed through the walls.  It continued on and on. Kristoph was less amused.  Finally, the bright human blue eyes blinked open, contrasting a savage grin full of fangs.  “You would trust me with the Prince?”  The accent was overwhelming, harsh, terrifying.  “Oh, this is good, Kristoph.  Real good.  You are very much the comedian.  Does the kingdom not have armies and knights, that you must ask the Tainted Soul to be bodyguard for your royalty?  It has been such a long time since I’ve been outside of these dungeons, after all, and no one is willing to bring news down to a cuddly, harmless monster such as myself.”

            “Undying One…”  Kristoph’s voice was again low, warning, and instantly the laughter died away, leaving an empty silence of despair behind.

            “What else could you do to me, that you have not already done?”  It was framed in the form of a question, but the all too human anguish in the eyes and the matter of fact tone made it clear that they devil had endured everything.  And Kristoph could be inventive…Apollo shivered again.

            The sorcerer in question was, again, displeased, but before he could speak the devil turned his head to stare at the Prince, as if he was gazing into the very fabric of the royal’s soul.  Apollo felt the urge to squeak, to flee, but he did neither of those things, standing his ground.  The gaze softened, and suddenly the danger evaporated as if it had been but a dream.  As if this was just another prisoner in chains, dangling with no malice.  “I am pledged,” the Undying One stated, the dual tone thrumming with the power of deep magic, “…and I shall serve the House of the Sun.  I shall accompany you, mein Prinz.”