The sun filtered through the trees as the knights of Duke Eldrin slowly approached the princess's carriage, eyes darting nervously between one another. Princess Maribelle, still brimming with excitement, was perched in the carriage, recounting the events of the previous day with a level of enthusiasm that seemed almost unnatural given the chaos they'd just survived.
"And then! Then he leapt into the mist, and it was like whoosh and slash and stab! And all the bandits screamed!" Maribelle mimicked a dramatic sword swing with her arms, nearly falling in the process.
The knights exchanged wary glances. One of them cleared his throat. "Princess, perhaps it was… a dream? Or, uh, head trauma from the stress?"
Maribelle paused, blinking at him as though he'd just insulted her very existence. "Excuse me?! I was not hallucinating! Thank you very much. Floof is a noble, dashing warrior who saved me from the bandits. He's my hero!"
A squire's eyes widened at the mention of cultist bandits. "are we even sure they're... bandits?"
Another knight, returning from a brief search of the area, returned with a pale face. "No tracks. No blood. No signs of fleeing. Just... empty armor. The wounds are... too clean. Magic, maybe?"
They all shivered at the implications. Something had happened out there that didn't fit into any of their neatly organized protocols. Something far more dangerous than a simple robbery.
That night, with her face still streaked with the remnants of her earlier tears, Princess Maribelle curled up in bed, clutching Floof to her chest. Her breath was uneven, her heart still racing with the remnants of fear and exhilaration from the previous day. She had been through so much. and now Floof, her magnificent hero, was here beside her, keeping her safe.
The collar of bark and vine, which had been enchanted by Fel, began to lose its luster in the dim light of the moon. The command magic was unraveling, the bond weakening with the coming dawn. Valen could feel it, like a slow, subtle shift in the air. The collar that had bound him to Fel's influence was finally losing its grip.
He waited until her breathing slowed, until she was deep in the peaceful sleep that only exhaustion could bring. Then, with the quiet precision of someone who had learned the art of escape, he wriggled free from her grasp, sliding off the bed with an almost painful slowness.
He padded softly to her desk. There was no need for dramatic flourishes, no need to make an exit full of flair. The Ex-vampire prince was tired of his current state. humiliation was an unwelcome companion, and it had long overstayed its welcome.
Valen's clawed hand hovered over the parchment, and he hastily scribbled a note in delicate, flowing script, a note he had no intention of ever seeing again.
> Gone to protect others. Thank you.
Nothing more.
His gaze lingered on the peaceful princess for a moment longer before he vanished into the night.
Morning broke too quickly.
"FLOOOOOOF!" Maribelle's wail echoed throughout the castle like a funeral bell, shaking the entire west wing. Maids scrambled, knocking into each other, tripping over blankets and scattered books, desperate to find the source of the princess's distress.
"He's GONE! My hero! My glorious fluffy angel!!" Maribelle sobbed uncontrollably, clutching at the empty space in her bed where Floof had once been.
The room was in complete disarray as the frantic search for Floof began. The knights hurried to check every corner of the princess's chambers, but there was no sign of him. No soft fluff, no glowing red eyes, no lavender bow perched upon his head.
It wasn't until one of the maids spotted the letter, lying innocuously on the bedside table, that things started to calm. slightly.
Maribelle reached for the letter with trembling hands, her heart pounding as she unfolded the delicate parchment. She read aloud, her voice wavering at first, then growing steady.
> "Gone to protect others. Thank you."
She blinked, staring at the words. "He… he really was a hero."
A quiet murmur came from one of the maids. "Oh, that's... Haha... oddly poetic."
The knights exchanged uneasy whispers. "Did... did one of you write that?" one asked, his brow furrowing.
The maid closest to the princess shook her head quickly whispering. "No, not me. Did you?"
The knight glanced at the rest of the group, his gaze darting from one person to the next. "I didn't write it either."
Silence stretched out in the room as the question lingered. Finally, the princess wiped her eyes, a soft smile tugging at her lips. "I always knew he was a hero."
The rest of the room continued to glance nervously at one another, trying to keep their composure. They all agreed, without speaking, that it was best not to question the mysterious letter any further.
"Agreed?..." a knight said after a moment of uncomfortable stillness. The others nodded solemnly, the air still thick with the unspoken understanding that they were, in fact, completely confused about the entire situation.
Far away, beneath the shadowed canopy of Fel's forest, the day was beginning to give way to the cold embrace of night. The faintest tremor of magic rippled through the air, growing stronger by the second.
In an explosion of power and fury, Valen tore through the trees, his form no longer fluffy but regal and terrifying. His crimson eyes glowed fiercely, his blood-red cloak billowing behind him as he broke through the magical barrier Fel had placed to protect her domain.
A massive blood spear formed in the air beside him, crackling with pure energy, rippling with power that could shatter mountains. The trees around him groaned and shook, their roots quivering in fear.
"FEL!" Valen's roar tore through the night, reverberating across the forest. His voice was a tempest, a storm of rage and power.
"I SWEAR. ONCE I SEE YOU I'M GONNA-!!"
The forest seemed to shudder in response to his fury. The birds shrieked and fled into the night sky. Somewhere deep within the forest, a fairy choked on her tea, her eyes wide with panic.
"…Oh my stars," Fel muttered under her breath, her heart sinking as she realized the full extent of what she had done. "I'm.... Sorry?..."
As Valen sprinted toward Fel's forest, preparing to unleash the fury of his power, the princess sat quietly, her mind slowly starting to process the strange events of the last few days. She glanced at the letter one more time, feeling a strange sense of peace in her heart. Her pet floof, the one she had so foolishly adored, had truly been a hero.
But somewhere out there, her hero was far from the fluffy, playful creature she'd known. And perhaps... just perhaps... she had been the only one who had ever truly seen him for what he was.