Eddie kept looking back at the ship as Frank led him away, trying to see if Richie had gotten off. As he looked back for the fifth time, he felt Frank grab his arm, catching his attention.
"You're selling him out if you keep looking," he said in an undertone, marching toward the main town in Pona. "Keep looking straight ahead."
Eddie didn't want to; he wanted to make sure Richie was safe, but he knew Frank was right. He couldn't do anything and he'd just draw suspicion if he kept looking at the ship like he was.
"Where are we going?" Eddie asked, forcing his eyes to gaze at the buildings as they got closer.
Frank didn't respond, glaring at the Lucantians who saw Eddie and shot him angry looks. Eddie wasn't sure why he was receiving those nasty looks, but they made him blush and hang his head nonetheless.
"In here, come on," Frank said, opening the door to a small building and ushering Eddie inside.
It looked like Mike's house, but the items inside were much nicer and it had more space. The room that Eddie was brought to had no windows, two beds, and a fireplace. There was also a chair in the corner and a stand between the two beds.
Bill sat on one of the beds, sighing in relief when Eddie walked in. He stood up and ran to his brother, pulling Eddie into a tight embrace.
"Thank g-god you're okay!" Bill exclaimed, looking over Eddie's arms to make sure he didn't have any injuries. "I th-thought you'd been k-killed with the way Klais was t-t-talking about you!"
"William," Frank said, making Bill stop and sit down on the bed, Eddie right beside him. "There's a few things we need to discuss. First, I must know, what happened to you Edward? You and William didn't meet up until you got to Pona. What happened before then?"
Eddie looked to Bill, who gave him an encouraging nod. "I tried to run but was caught by Tenebrians."
"Why did you run?"
Eddie sighed deeply. "I overheard Klais and mother talking about killing off all the Tenebrians. Something to do with Ponanian shipments. I left because I didn't want to be part of it, and then I was kind of wrapped into the whole rebellion thing," he said, feeling more confident at the end of his statement. "I joined the rebellion."
Frank nodded, pacing the room. "What is your plan? You don't have an army, Eddie."
Eddie smiled at that. "Not here I don't. I've got friends who went back to Tenebris. They're going to defend the people and themselves."
"It's Richie, isn't it?" Frank asked. "That's his name, right?"
Eddie nodded. "What about him?"
"You love him. You're joining to protect him."
"I'm joining because it's the right thing to do, dad. Yes, I want to protect Richie, but I also want to save the Tenebrians. They were stuck in an unfair life of oppression against their will and now they're all going to be murdered. I won't be able to live with myself if I don't fight to protect them."
Frank hummed and nodded, going back to his pacing. After a few minutes of silence, he turned to his sons. "Your mother is working with Klais. Not all Lucantians are bad, but the ones that are have the power. Do you have any plan?"
Eddie shrugged. "Take away their power?"
"How?"
With a sigh, Eddie rested his head in his hands. "I don't want to kill someone, but Klais deserves it. He killed the Ponanian king and his guards killed the Konillian chief. If he's dead, someone else can take over. We need to show the other Lucantians that the Tenebrians aren't evil," he said, and at that moment, Frank could see the changes in who Eddie was and who he had become.
He was educated. He knew that in order to have a hopeful future of peace, he couldn't be blindly following their leader. Especially one that hated Tenebrians so much and was going to be killing a whole group of people.
"Okay," Frank said, both impressed and afraid. "What do we need to do?"
"We need to get the Tenebrians hidden and secretly speak with the Ponanians. Their king will side with us, I know that," Eddie said, smiling at his dad and brother.
"Ed-Edwin is safe. I g-got a letter a whole b-before you got he-here," Bill said, handing it to Eddie.
The message was coded, but had a translated alphabet for Bill.
"Memorize this and burn it," Eddie said, standing up. "I need to make sure that-"
He was cut off by the door to their temporary home opening, then the door to the room they were in. It was Sonia, who had tears in her eyes and was nearly wailing.
"Edward!" she cried, forcing Eddie into a suffocating hug. "I was so worried! Did they hurt you? Don't worry, we'll soon have that Tenebrian that kidnapped you dead."
Eddie pulled away from the hug, feeling extremely suffocated and uncomfortable. He definitely made the right choice running away.
He would've argued and said that Richie didn't do anything, but he knew that his boyfriend would have escaped by now and would be far in the woods of Pona. The best thing to do to execute their plan was to go along with what his mother said.
"I'm okay, mother," Eddie said, running a hand through his hair. "Just a bit tired."
"Don't worry, sweetie, you'll have plenty of time to rest on the way home," Sonia said with a smile, gently touching Eddie's cheek.
Eddie pulled away. "What are you talking about?" he asked, stepping away cautiously.
"We leave first thing tomorrow morning for Luceat. I won't have you here with Konillians and Tenebrians running around." She smiled at Eddie who shook his head.
"I want to stay here, mother," Eddie said, ignoring Bill's look that was trying to get him to shut his mouth.
"No, we'll be leaving. William, get your brother new clothes. His are filthy," Sonia said, walking toward the door. "Come on Frank. Klais is expecting us."
Eddie tried to walk for the door, but Sonia pushed him back.
"You're not leaving, Edward. It's too dangerous outside," she said, leaving with Frank and locking the door behind her.
Bill gave Eddie a sympathetic look. He watched as his younger brother angrily slammed his foot into the door, clearly frustrated.
"It's okay, Ed-Eddie. We'll f-f-find a way out of here," Bill said, walking over to the closet.
"I'm not putting on those fucking clothes, Bill."
Bill scoffed. "I wasn't g-going to make you," he said, opening the closet door.
Eclipse came tumbling out, chirping happily. He flew over to Eddie and began to purr, cuddling into Eddie's chest and smelling him.
"How'd he get here?!" Eddie asked, shocked that the tiny dragon hadn't been killed yet.
"He br-brought me the letter," Bill said with a smile. "He helped fr-fr-free you and Iris, so hopefully he c-can get us out of here."
Eddie's eyes shined with excitement as he picked up Eclipse and brought him to the door.
As they were about to escape, the door knob jiggled and clicked, opening up before them.
Eddie and Bill immediately backed away, Eclipse holding tightly to Eddie's shoulder and hissing.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Eddie snarled as Henry walked in the room, closing the door behind him. "Leave us the fuck alone!"
Henry laughed and lifted a spear, pointing it threateningly at Eclipse. "Special assignment from Klais. He knows you've got a thing for the Tenebrian-"
"You're literally Tenebrian," Eddie deadpanned, watching murder flash through Henry's eyes.
"As I was saying," Henry growled, his jaw clenched and eyes glaring daggers at Eddie. "I'm keeping an eye on you two so you can't escape. Feel free to try to leave. I'd love a reason to stab you in the fucking leg."
Eddie glared at Henry and sat down on the bed, Bill right beside him.
They had to find a way out of the unfortunate turn of events.
