Chapter 11
Gunner walked along with Apollo as they headed up a winding pathway that lead them slowly higher into the tree. Every so often a person would greet or bow respectfully to Apollo as if he was their savior they held in their heart. The pride that the man felt every time they did it was obvious to Gunner as he watched the scene again and again. For a man that held beauty like a woman it was truly different to see him acting high and mighty before the others.
As they neared about midway up the tree he pushed the door open on the side of the tree and ushered Gunner outside. Shutting the door behind them as they stepped onto a walkway that had been built onto the tree for people to gaze out at the city. The light of the tree illuminated where they stood into a shade of purple causing an effect similar to that of a black light. Due to the shade of pink on Apollo's hair it gave him almost a look as though his hair glowed.
"So you built all this from the bottom up with survivors?" Gunner asked finally after a while of silence between them had passed. He could not take his eyes off the way that the man was glowing under the light of the tree. It felt as though he was mesmerized by the very sight of him under it. The way his tail twitched standing there was so simple it felt cute and yet beautiful at the same time.
"Correct." Apollo gave a short and simple response to the question. The way he was remaining so quiet felt almost out of character for the short amount of time that Gunner had known the man.
"If you're so great with the people what could have possibly made you and Prince Clyde hate each other so much already? Neither one of you want to speak about it and yet you said you would if I came out. That was the whole point I came out here so late." Gunner was starting to feel tired because it felt like Apollo was toying with him about the whole thing.
Twisting his tail over so that the tip of it was placed under Gunner's chin he gave a small smile. It almost looked as though there was a pain behind those purple eyes that gazed at him. He considered how to respond carefully to the man's question before finally opening his mouth and giving a tired sigh. As much as he did not want to talk about Prince Clyde he could tell the man would not drop the topic until he got a response from him.
"Ties among families can sometimes lead to troublesome matters," Apollo began to speak as his gaze left Gunner to stare out at the city below them. "To put it in simple terms for you, hound of Abaron, you're sleeping with my fiance."
The air around them broke into a cold silence as Gunner could feel himself shaking slightly at the sudden statement that he was given. From the look on Apollo's face he was not kidding in the least and yet the man so blatantly did not care in the least. He felt nothing when it came to Prince Clyde. Apollo could see from the expression on his face that Gunner did not know how to respond to what he had said and it caused him to chuckle into his hand.
"I don't care what that man does. It was something that was arranged. We've already agreed that neither of us wanted such a thing between us.. When we were younger of course our families forced the matter that we were suppose to one day become a pair due to our families connections benefiting one another. However, the more they forced it the more we came to realize how much we hated being near each other. We're simply too different that we cant stand in a room with one another without wanting to go at each other's throats but we're forced due to convenience to hold it back." Apollo smiled as he placed his index finger against his lips as if to imply silence on the matter that him and Prince Clyde had once been an item.
"But are you still-?" Gunner wanted to ask if they were still considered a pair but he could not figure out how to ask the question.
"No. There was once a simple argument between us that lead to both of us becoming heavily wounded to the point we both nearly died. After that I guess you could say the families realized pairing us off was pointless cause we'd just end up dead anyways." Apollo bent forward on the railing and laughed to himself at the memories of how is family was so angered over the fact that they could not force him and Clyde together. Wiping a tear from laughing so hard away with the tip of his finger he glanced over at the confused Gunner.
"So why would he-?" Trying to figure out why Clyde did not tell him the truth he came to feel as though Clyde was hiding more to himself that he did not understand and know yet. The more he thought about it he began to wonder if Apollo was telling him the truth or was there something deeper behind his motive to tell him such a thing.
"If you ask me why he didn't tell you I can not give you a answer to that. Perhaps he simply worried how you would take the news that he had to request aid from an ex fiance.." Apollo shrugged at the thought of trying to understand how Clyde functioned when it came to thinking his decisions through. Apollo had grown up alongside the man and still had no idea how to understand why he did some things that he did.
"It's getting late." Gunner said as he looked out at the sky. He had been out almost the entire night and if he did not get back soon he knew that he wouldn't make it til sunrise. Just the length of time it took to walk halfway up the tree took them a few hours.
"You can rest here tonight. I'll send you off tomorrow." Apollo's face lit up with a kind smile as he left no room for him to refuse. He could see that Gunner was wanting to hesitate so before he had the chance to he was pulling him along with him towards the place he lived within the tree.