‘Princess, look out!’ Viex yelled in my mind and grabbed me using his tails to pull me out of the way as Custard charged at me. I let out a yelp when I felt the intensity of the air when he landed. Our eyes met briefly before Viex placed me on his back and secured me with his tail.
‘What the hell is wrong with you!?’ Viex growled at Custard. ‘You let an evil spirit possess you just as you are about to become a royal familiar? How shameful. You even attacked our princess!’ Viex chastised him.
In response, Custard lowered his front legs to the ground and growled. I was stunned. His beautiful white fur whenever he transformed was now as black as night. Paired with his red eyes and horn, he looked like a literal evil spirit.
He barked loudly and lunged at us again. Viex held his ground and used two of his six tails to throw Custard to the side. Custard skidded harshly, leaving marks on the ground.
“Viex, that looks like it hurt him!” My voice choked when I saw Custard getting back on his feet quickly and shook off the dirt and mud from his fur.
‘It was him or us.’ Viex responded and quickly ran to the side just in time before Custard could jab at us with his new horn. He did not let out this time as he kept on chasing us. We darted from side to side until Viex pounded him with his tail again. But this time, Custard managed to bite one of them.
Viex let out a whimper before choking Custard with his other free tails. Once he let go, Viex threw him to the far back again.
“Are you okay?” I asked Viex worriedly as he drew his bleeding tail back and exchanged it with one of the two that was tying me to his back.
‘Nothing that I can’t handle, princess.’ He responded and straightened up in full alert when Custard came back again.
“Isn’t there another way to help him?” I asked.
‘The spring might help. But I do not know how effective it will be in his case. This is the first time that a turning royal familiar got possessed.’
“That’s still a chance. Let’s try it.” I instructed Viex as he dodged Custard and started running back to the way where we came from. I immediately panicked when I remembered that the others were still there having their picnic. “Wait, Viex. Let’s circle to the back.”
‘But the entrance is this way!’
“Remember the hole at the top of the cave that’s directly at the spring? Let’s use that and push him in.”
‘Alright.’ Viex immediately stopped running and crouched down low enough that when Custard jumped, he simply passed us. I couldn’t help but press myself lower into Viex’s back and let out a terrified yelp as I felt the air move above me when he passed.
Viex started running in that instant. If his tails weren’t keeping me in place, I would have fallen a long time ago. Viex stopped and made a sharp turn when Custard attacked from our side. As soon as we dodged, Viex ran again.
‘He’s playing smart. He’s circling around us. Princess, this isn’t the time to be feeling proud of him. Not when we’re the target!’
“I-I am not!”
‘Lies. I could feel it through our link.’ Viex jumped and used the trees as leverage to turn back and jump on Custard’s back to get back on the right track. ‘I may be faster and more agile, but he is stronger and smarter. It is a shame how low he has fallen.’
“We’ll get him back.” I said, but it was more to assure myself than to assure the both of us.
Viex kept on running and dodging Custard’s attacks. We were making a lot of ruckus in the forest that stray animal spirits would immediately scatter as soon as they would see us. Not to mention that the strong presence of Custard was scaring them.
‘We’re almost out of the forest.’ Viex informed me. It was good news since my hands and nerves were just about to give up. I felt Viex running at full speed until we were now at the clearing and running up a slope.
But something was bothering me that when we finally reached the top, I did not feel thrilled at all. Once I realized what was wrong, my heart raced. “Where’s, Custard?” I asked as soon as Viex stopped.
Viex must have realized it just now because I could feel his surprise through our. We were just a few feet from the hole, but it was all useless if Custard wasn’t here.
And then we felt it. We felt his presence but it was too late.
Custard jabbed Viex’s side and now pinned him to the ground. His jaws inches from Viex’s throat. He would have killed him if Viex wasn’t fast enough to catch him with his tail. Viex’s side was now bleeding from the wound from Custard’s horn. And I could feel his strength depleting just by trying to stop Custard.
“Viex?” I looked at him worriedly.
‘I am fine, princess. But just to be safe, I want you to run away now while I still have him.’ I could feel his hold on my tail lossen to let me escape. The two tails that were previously pinning me to him now aided him in pushing Custard back.
My eyes started to wander around. The hole was just a few feet behind Custard. We just need to push him back.
“Viex, keep on pushing him.” I ordered as I ran to Custard.
‘Princess, what are you doing?!’
I jumped and rode on Custard’s back and wrapped my arms around his neck and started to pull. “Get back, Custard! That is not how you should treat your sibling!” I yelled and tightened my hold on his neck to choke him.
I sure hope he won’t take this to heart or even remember this when he’s himself once again.
Now that he was distracted with me, Viex took the opportunity to tackle his jaw. Custard stumbled back on his back legs. I switched my position and held onto his horn instead and started to pull. Custard was trying to maintain his balance and kept walking back the harder I pulled on his horn. He never noticed the hole behind him that when I saw my chance, I increased the force and even used my body weight to force us to fall.
‘Princess!’ Viex yelled and I saw his tail trying to grab me but it was too late. I fell in the hole with Custard.
There was a loud splash when we made contact with the water. The other spirits that were in there with us started to scatter and run away as soon as Custard and I emerged. I lost my grip on Custard when he started thrashing around in pain. I watched as dark smoke seemed to burn in his body and felt relieved.
It was working. I could feel his consciousness. The spring was trying to purify him.
He made a move to jump out that I did the most idiotic thing that I could have done. I grabbed the fur on his cheeks to stop him.
“Don’t! Come on, Custard. Stay in the water. I know it burns but please stay!” I begged him. His red demonic eyes met mine as he growled. Before I knew it, he opened his jaw and bit my arm. I screamed but I did not let him go or even attempted to pull my arm back.
“That...hurts, buddy.” I gritted my teeth in pain. I could feel his large fangs getting closer to the bone and my arm warming up at the blood spilling from it. The pain alone was enough to make me faint but I chose to fight it.
If this is the only way how I can help Custard then I will gladly take this pain.
In that instant, Viex jumped in and used his tail to pry his jaw open. ‘You stupid, mutt! Let go of the princess’s arm!’
My vision blurred, but when my eyes met with Custard again, I saw it flashing in slight recognition. I don’t know if it was the taste of my blood, the water, or even Viex’s words that awoken his consciousness but I am taking it.
“Custard.” I spoke through the pain and used my authority as his master when I addressed him. “Wake up.” I ordered.
I saw and felt him flinch before his grip on my arm hardened and even attempted to shake it.
“NO!” I commanded him again and he stopped. “Listen to me! You are my familiar. My one true partner. I merely don’t want you to become a Royal Familiar because I was afraid of losing you. I don’t care if you become stronger or not. All I want is to keep being with you. To have you as my lifetime partner. Do you hear me?” I demanded and drew my face closer to him.
‘Lies! You have Viex here. You no longer need me.’ Custard yelled. It was the first time that he spoke to us while being possessed. It wasn’t a nice comment but it was something.
‘Fool. I am a royal guardian. I serve the royal family.’
“Custard, you and I share a bond. Wasn’t it you who said it? Your soul is bound to mine and mine is bound to yours? No one can replace you.” I said softly and felt Custard’s grip loosening on my arm. His eyes started to flicker and I could see patches of white now appearing from the black fur.
‘I’ll be alone. Don’t leave me alone, Master!’ He whimpered and I could finally see his pupils. Custard was regaining his consciousness now.
“Of course not. That’s the reason why I don’t want you to continue with transforming. Because I was afraid that if you can’t morph, then you would disappear. I would rather have you as a normal spirit than lose you. You are strong enough.” My vision was getting hazy but I fought through even though all I want to do now is cry and faint. I want to see Custard turning back to normal first.
Custard’s jaw opened, finally releasing my bloodied arm. He whimpered and started licking at my wound, but it wasn’t healing. He panicked.
‘Viex! Master’s arm! Master’s arm!’ He moved back to let viex through. Viex did not loosen his grip on Custard’s neck, not when he still has dark patches on him.
‘Relax, you dolt. You simply infected it with miasma that it did not heal.’ Viex sniffed my arm and pushed it into the water briefly before licking it. Instantly the wound closed.
“Thanks.” I smiled at Viex and leaned onto him.
Custard started to whimper in pain and our attention was back at him. He was shaking as more of the dark smoke came out of his body. He attempted to jump, but Viex kept him in place. ‘Stay put, mutt!’
‘It hurts! It really hurts, master!’ He cried and I felt my chest tighten.
“Endure it, Custard!” I ordered him.
He let out a pained howl that echoed through the cave before his body started to glow as more black smoke was burned off of him. And when it was done, we finally saw Custard in a different form. The horn was still there but his fangs were longer and the fur surrounding his neck was still black. He became taller with red marks on his lids, the edges of the fur on his cheeks, and ears. He was dripping wet so that was the only change that I could see for him at the moment. But it was enough to confirm that Custard did make it through the morphing process and that he is now a royal familiar as well.
‘Master, I have a horn. I still have a horn!’ He whimpered. ‘And my neck is still black!’
Viex and I exchanged a look and smiled before looking back at him. Viex drew his tail back and snickered.
“Looks good on you though.” I commented.
‘Really?’ He doubted.
“Of course. You look more badass that way.”
‘Yeah. You’re the first spirit that I saw with a horn. Also, it’s a reminder of how much it can hurt when you are stabbed by it.’
‘Viex! I’m sorry!’ Custard yelled and was immediately at Viex’s side to heal his wound.
‘Hey! I can heal on my own. Stop!’
‘No! It is my responsibility. Let me heal you!’
‘Back off!’ Viex slapped Custard with his tail in annoyance.
‘Hey! No fair. I only have one tail!’
‘Sucks to be you then.’
“What the hell?” The three of us turned and saw the others were now at the edge of the spring and were looking down on us.
More like, they were looking at Custard and his horn. Serena was beaming though as she ran and jumped towards Custard.
“Look at this horn! Look at his fur! You were possessed, weren’t you? You look more like a mixture of good and bad!” She let out a high pitch squeal and even opened Custard’s jaw to examine him closely. Viex hunched back and attempted to leave quietly in fear that the nymph would notice him. Unfortunately, she did. She even grabbed his tail to prevent him from leaving while still looking at Custard’s teeth as he whimpers uncomfortably.
I looked back to the princes. Ace, Ren, Nate, and Terrence were all studying me as if awaiting an explanation of how we suddenly appeared in the spring. The three young princes crossed their arm over their chest while Prince Terrence was hiding his laugh by coughing.
I waved at them awkwardly at the heavy tension in the room. “Hey, guys...Guess what? Custard just became a royal familiar…?”