Circumstances

Draco and Demetri had returned to their hiding place on the monumental tree.

Demetri had bandaged his wound with a piece of shirt, and it looked like the bleeding had stopped.

Judging by the amount of blood, Draco imagined that the wound was pretty deep.

They had been waiting on their respective branches for a few hours at this point, but there was no sign of anything since their previous encounter with the wind-wielding man.

After Draco had managed to kill the man with a surprise attack, they hid his body a distance away from their current tree.

Utilizing a rope Demeteri had made from vines, they had strung up the man's body in a place it wouldn't be easily spotted. After all, it would be hard to remain stealthy if there was a dead body in plain sight below their feet.

Draco decided to start a conversation with Demetri to pass the time, for his brain was becoming mush from all of the waiting.

"So, Demetri. Where are you from? You sound like you have a Russian accent, but I don't know much about things like that." Draco said, breaking the ice.

Demetri smiled lightly, "Ah, I am Siberian my friend. Siberia is a region in Russia, but I do not claim to be Russian."

"What's it like over there? I'm from Los Angeles myself." Draco continued, wondering what a place such as Siberia was like.

Demetri laughed, "Cold." was all he said.

Seeing the man's reluctance to elaborate further, Draco changed the topic.

"So what got you in this place, you're obviously not one of the Ḥāmin soldiers." Draco said.

A dark look passed over Demetri's features, "I guess I got on the wrong side of royalty." he said with an ominous chuckle.

Demetri continued, "The Royal Palace looks gaudy and beautiful from the outside, but on the inside it is a treacherous den of snakes."

Draco nodded his head when he heard that, "You don't have to tell me twice."

Draco knew first hand that things were not as they seemed inside the Royal Palace.

"What about you? You seem to be an enigma. You have the smell of a Ḥāmin, but you move like a barbarian." Demetri said

"Honestly, it's a long story." Draco said, not knowing if he should divulge all of his secrets to someone who was basically a stranger.

However, Demetri simply said, "All we have is time."

Hearing this, Draco decided to just tell Demetri his story.

He told Demetri about how he had come to Saudi Arabia in the first place, and as he told Demetri more details it felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

Draco had been holding all of this in for a while now, and as he let it all out he couldn't stop himself.

He told Demeteri about Amira, about his journey through the palace grounds and London, and finally about the bastard eighth prince who had locked him inside of this place.

Demetri laughed as Draco told him his story, and would occasionally interrupt to ask questions about his escapades.

When Draco told Demetri about Amira, he almost didn't believe it. After all, not everyone could say that they were on good terms with a princess of the Khalid Dynasty.

"It seems we are here in the same circumstances." Demetri said, a newfound sense of camaraderie apparent in their shared situation.

"Do you know when you're getting out of here?" Draco asked, wondering what the Siberian's release date was.

Demetri simply shook his head, "Likely never. I imagine I'll be here until I die." he said.

When Draco heard this he looked surprised, "They can do that?! I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but that eighth prince brat said I would be stuck here for a week."

Demetri looked at Draco with new eyes, "Oh? Lucky bastard. You'll probably be out soon then."

Draco chuckled at that, "Hopefully, it's not like I have any way to track the time."

Draco was just about to ask Demetri how he had come across his progenitor serum, when a loud roar abruptly cut off his train of thought.

Seeing the trees in his vicinity begin to shake with the violent aftershocks of the roar, Draco and Demetri jumped up to their feet.

They scanned the tree tops and horizons for any sign of movement or the Ape creature, but after the roar everything seemed eerily calm.

However, that calmness was suddenly broken as a white-clothed individual was flung into the air at break-neck speed.

The person broke through the treeline and continued up towards the sky, and Draco watched with his mouth agape as the Ape jumped up after them.

It only took a second for the creature to grab the figure, and a moment to throw it back down towards the forest floor.

"AHHHHhhhh!!! Noooo-" a feminine voice shrieked, suddenly being cut off as they broke through the treeline again.

"Looks like the monkey found another victim." Demetri said, now on guard.

Draco nodded his head grimly, "Something tells me we're no longer safe in this tree."

Demetri nodded his head as well, "Indeed, we should relocate before that thing spots us."

After saying this, he turned to jump down the tree. He moved swiftly down the branches, and Draco followed behind him at a slower pace.

Once they reached the tree line they began to jump across the treetops, careful not to be seen by the ape creature below them.

They didn't know where the Ape was, but they did know if they stayed in the same area they would surely be seen eventually.

With this mindset they carried onwards, heading in the opposite direction they had seen the Ape emerge from.

After they had put at least a few miles of distance between their last position, they stopped at an exceptionally wide tree to take a rest.

This tree had an absolutely massive trunk, and while it wasn't the tallest in the forest, its width was that of several smaller trees. Draco and Demetri landed on a branch at the top of the tree that was big enough for them both to sit on.

Atop this branch they watched their surroundings cautiously, ready to move again at the first sign of danger.

Not too long later they spotted movement a short distance away, for the shrubbery at the forest floor was being knocked away by something's movements.

They both prepared to leap away, but what emerged from the shrubbery caused them to relax a bit.

It appeared to be another fighter, but they were quite frantic in their movements.

It was evident they were running from something, and Draco watched behind them for signs of a hairy monster.

However, what appeared after the first individual was not the Ape, but instead another white-robed person!

This newcomer was evidently chasing the first person they saw, and was quickly gaining on them.

Draco and Demetri watched as the first individual was tackled to the ground, they were now being violently pummeled by the second person and were unable to defend themselves.

Suddenly, the first person kicked their attacker off of them, then rolled away and got to their feet.

"Stay away! I-I'm not afraid of you!" screamed a high pitched voice unconvincingly.

The other figure seemed to be a man, but they said nothing as they approached the woman.

The man's movements looked familiar to Draco, and their silence made him certain.

'The attacker moves like a Ḥāmin soldier, I wouldn't want to be in that girl's position right now.' Draco thought, watching the fight with interest.

The man shot towards the woman, his white clothes fluttering around him.

He reached the woman's position in just a few steps, and with a swift movement he sent the woman flying with a single kick.

The woman flew into the base of the tree Draco was on, and the impact rattled the leaves below him.

The woman got up shakily, coughing up blood as they attempted to regain their balance.

"NOO-" the woman shrieked, seeing the Ḥāmin flying towards her again, but her screams were cut off short.

The Ḥāmin pulled his hand out of the woman's chest, and within it held the woman's still beating heart!

The man crushed the heart with a soft squelch, throwing the ruined remains to the side.

'That's definitely a signature move of the Ḥāmin.' Draco thought with a smirk, feeling bad for the woman.

The Ḥāmin looked around as if to see if someone was following him, but he saw nothing but the endless forest that surrounded him. As the man was turning to leave though, the forest began to shake with the pressure from a deafening roar.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHh!!" roared the Ape creature, close enough to send shivers down Draco's spine.

"Damn Idiots!" Demetri cursed, "That b*tch gave away our location with all of that noise she was making."

The Ḥāmin seemed to have realized the same thing, and he kicked the woman's corpse out of either anger or spite.

Draco watched all of this and cursed his luck, but as he was preparing to run away he saw a large black figure swing through the treeline.

The Ape landed on a tree branch and beat its fists against its chest, spittle and blood flying from its mouth as it made ear-piercing screeches.

Seeing the Ape's beady red eyes shining in the dim light, Draco knew that it was too late to run away.