Will of a Prince

Everyone watched the scene in horror. They had never expected there to be another worm in the first place, let alone have them attack each other. Jacob couldn’t help but see a familiar behavior with the worm eating away at its own kind.

"It’s hungry. Extremely hungry."

Slimo panted while holding on to his stomach.

"I don’t think I’ll ever get used to watching cannibalism. No offense, Jacob."

Jacob felt like gagging being reminded that he technically has eaten human before, although it was never when he was in control of himself.

"Let’s just get out of here. We need to find a place to rest again and get away from these things."

They used the rest of their energy to gain as much distance away from the two creatures as possible before slowing their pace. As they walked, Jacob started up a small discussion with Slimo.

"That was... something."

Slimo coughed into his arm.

"You can say that again. I wish Sqaubee’s luck would rub off on us sometimes."

"Slimo, you know continents better than any of us. Do you have an idea how much longer we have to walk before we reach land?"

Slimo shook his head.

"For how fast we’ve been traveling, it feels like we should have reached it by now. However, I’m starting to wonder if we should be hoping to see land so soon."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, this ice is as desolate as it gets. I understand it’s hard to survive, but how many creatures have we run into?"

"Quite a few."

"Exactly. Now imagine how many we’ll run into when we find a more livable area."

Jacob’s heart dropped. Slimo’s logic was too flawless to offer a rebuttal. If the land they were travelling had such powerful creatures, there was no doubt there may be way more waiting for them to arrive.

"I see. So, it would be easier keeping us alive, but it would be much harder to hide from monsters."

"That’s right. What do you think we should do?"

Slimo looked over at Lidia, Squabee and Sarah. Lidia was quick with a response.

"We need to get the hell off this ice. I don’t care how many leviathans I have to fight to get out of this cold."

"I agree with Lidia. This land just isn’t sustainable. It’s no wonder the worms turned on each other. They probably hadn’t eaten anything in who knows how long?!"

"I’m with Sarah. To be honest with you all, something feels like it’s fighting against my power. I think that’s the reason why so many monsters keep showing up."

Jacob bit his tongue and watched Maria to see if she would say anything about her new curse. However, Maria also kept quiet.

’So, it looks like Squaee’s fight with the rules of this world continues.’

"Very well. Do you all think we can afford a short rest?"

Maria looked over at Squabee who was pale in the face.

"Do we have much of a choice?"

Slimo sighed and started carving out a small trench beneath them.

"We can only afford a few hours. Then, it’s back to the road. Who wants to take first watch?"

Jacob raised his hand. Even though he was beyond exhausted, he was sure the others were really hoping someone else would volunteer.

"I can watch. I’ll wake you all up if there’s trouble. Please rest as much as you can."

Not a single person tried to argue. Slimo walked over to Jacob and rested a hand on his shoulder, giving him an appreciative nod. In mere moments, everyone fell asleep huddled close to each other. If there was one thing to be appreciative about, it was that the pelts provided enough warmth to keep everyone alive without the need for a fire. Jacob had little doubt in his mind that if they didn’t have these pelts, all of them would have long passed away.

He climbed out of the small trench and laid low to the ground, scouting the surrounding area for anything out of the ordinary. However, there was nothing to be seen. After the first few hours, the snow had stopped falling and the clouds disappeared into nothing, allowing Jacob to get a full view of the black sky above him. Now that the universe was lighting up their path, everything would seem much brighter.

Something that boggled Jacob’s mind was how the moon looked. To Jacob’s knowledge, the sun had disappeared once the Great Calamity had begun. However, the moon still shone brightly in the sky every time it appeared as if there was still a light source shining on its surface for everyone to see. He sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes, fighting back any thoughts of sleep in his mind.

’What has my life become? Who am I anymore?’

He looked at the fur that covered the back of his arms and most of his body.

’Have I really... changed? Am I still the same prince I was in Iron Kingdom? Or is everything I’m doing just a lie?’

He clenched his fist. Jacob’s mind drifted back to one of his conversations with the skeleton in his dreams. It mentioned that Jacob’s soul never turned it away every time it tried to enter his mind. If that was true, why would he do that? Was he truly the person he thought he was? His mind then drifted back to thoughts of his father, the resentment he felt after learning the truth of his ambitions to protect the kingdom. However, it wasn’t resentment for his father he felt, it was resentment for his friends. In his mind, it was the first time he didn’t trust what his father was telling him, and because of that, the entire world was now doomed.

It was then that Jacob finally realized something about himself.

’Oh. I see.’

He looked at the mark on his arm. That familiar feeling of avarice grasped his stomach the more he stared.

’This mark wasn’t a coincidence.’

Memories of all the work he put into proving himself for to his dad flashed in his mind.

’I’ve always been hungry.’

This mark on his arm wasn’t only a cruel gift bestowed upon him by a god-like creature; this was a scar he carried of the man he used to be. Jacob spent months of time thinking he had left that person in the past, but change does not come nearly that easy. That man, that arrogant, power-driven person was still apart of him and always would be. And to make matters worse, the same power that mimicked his old self was one of the only things keeping him and his friends alive.

This power also correlated with what his ultimate destiny was meant to be: someone who would go on to outlive everything. The man who constantly sought power at the sacrifice of everything would be a perfect candidate for such a person.

’What about Maria’s power? If these curse marks are much deeper than we thought, why is Maria’s fate so cruel? Why did she get marked?’

And then, Jacob remembered Maria’s past. Maria wasn’t even her real name. She was never given a name to begin with. Maria was marked the moment she became Jacob’s servant, the moment that she became something notable in her life. As the harbinger, she wasn’t supposed to have survived this long, and yet she has. Now that the end times are here, her mark was finally working against her. It’s reminding her of the person she used to be, someone who was nothing to anyone or anything. She had been stripped of her position of commander, revoked of her power, and was now being hunted relentlessly.

Jacob held back tears.

’It’s just not fair. It can’t be.’

Suddenly, a small hand grasped his shoulder. It was Slimo who had woken up. Jacob’s eyes widened seeing him awake.

"What are you doing up so early?"

Slimo looked around.

"You need rest. I can take the watch from here."

"But you hardly got any rest at all."

"I’ve had to run on less sleep before. Please, Jacob. Get some rest."

Jacob’s heart ached, but his body was begging to be put to sleep already. Without arguing anymore, Jacob slowly walked over to the trench and shoved himself next to Maria. Everyone was so tired they didn’t even feel Jacob press up against them. Slimo stared down at Jacob watching him sleep. He whispered to himself under his breath while walking away.

"Learn to take a breath sometimes, Jacob."

It hardly felt like Jacob closed his eyes before he was woken up by Slimo and the others. His eyes felt heavy and his body ached horribly. Everyone was stretching, preparing for another journey of walking. No one talked so they could all conserve as much energy as they possibly could. Slimo looked over everyone to make sure they were alright.

Maria was in a much better state. She was able to walk by herself, and her eyes seemed a lot more hopeful than before. Without wasting any more time, Slimo began leading the group further across the ice.