The Crown Prince In Hiding

Late at night…

The air was chilly, cold enough to make one shiver. Outside, the sounds of cicadas, frogs, and crickets filled the night air. Inside, the heater that Nora had bought was working perfectly, keeping the room toasty for whoever lay in bed.

Blanket: one.

People under it: two.

Zeedee was spooning the prince, holding him tightly—and to make matters worse, nuzzling against him and breathing softly into his ear.

“Stop it, Freya. I have to wake up early.”

“I’m going to touch you inappropriately.”

“If you so much as move a finger, I’m getting out of bed. Final warning.”

“Ugh…”

All she could do was hug the prince from behind like a stuffed toy. But even that was enough for Freya.

As the silence deepened...

Drowsiness crept in, and Freya began to drift...

And finally…

She fell asleep.

.

.

.

.

She woke up.

For some unknown reason, Freya’s tall, muscular body jolted awake. Her brain snapped to attention in the dead of night, the house cloaked in darkness. The chirping outside had gone completely silent.

She was on one side of the bed. Across from her, Dan lay with his back turned.

Freya didn’t think much of it. She just shifted her position and rolled over to spoon him again, but—

Locked.

Freya couldn’t move.

Only her eyes could dart around.

?

No matter how hard she tried, her body wouldn’t respond.

At first, she brushed it off. But as her mind became more fully aware, the dread grew. Something was wrong. Deeply wrong. Her instincts screamed at her, yet nothing would move—not her limbs, not her voice, not even the softest moan.

Her heartbeat thundered. Sweat began to bead on her face.

Panic set in.

Thud.

“!”

She heard footsteps—right outside the house.

Her eyes, the only things she could move, resisted the weight of her lids and scanned toward the source of the sound through the window.

Outside… there was a human-shaped black figure clinging to the window, staring straight at her.

!!!

And in the blink of an eye, the thing climbed—up onto the roof.

Not crawling. Not running.

It scaled the wall and disappeared above.

And in that moment… Freya felt something she hadn’t experienced in a long time:

Fear. Body trembling, frozen in place.

Because that movement—it wasn’t human at all.

She shut her eyes tightly, forcing herself to try to sleep… but the faint moonlight barely lit anything around her.

Then—

THUMP!!!

A loud bang came from the wall.

THUMP! THUMP!

As if someone were standing outside, pounding on the house, trying to break in.

And then, out of nowhere…

Nora’s voice echoed in her head.

“They say this area’s really haunted, you know.”

Nope. Nope nope nope! I’m done! I don’t wanna know anything anymore!!!

She clamped her eyes shut, gritted her teeth, tried to pretend none of it was happening.

But there was one thing Zeedee couldn’t shut off: her ears.

And her ears heard everything—loud and clear.

The knocking echoed from the wall above her head…

And suddenly—

She felt the bed sink.

“!”

Zeedee opened her eyes.

At the foot of the bed—

A long, withered black hand was gripping the edge.

It slowly began to pull itself up…

From hand to arm…

From arm to shoulder…

And from shoulder… to a dark, formless head.

She couldn’t see its face clearly.

But the way its limbs moved—unnaturally long, inhuman—it pressed its weight against the mattress, making every creak and dip perceptible.

She screamed.

But only inside her head.

Her breath quickened, erratic. Her back, her neck, her ears—it was all soaked in sweat, hot and clammy from a fear too intense to name.

Now that black figure was on the bed with her.

Its body was vaguely human but horribly distorted—faceless, limbs long and thin, no breath, no filth, no sign of real weight. It did nothing but fixate on her.

Her face froze. All she could do was stare.

Prince Fury was completely gone from her perception. As if he’d never been there. Leaving her alone… with this thing.

Get out!!! Get off of me, now!!!

Zeedee squeezed her eyes shut again. She had to wake up—if she didn’t, she might actually die. She screamed again and again in her head.

Screamed with all her might, even if her vocal cords could only twitch a millimeter.

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

The louder she screamed—

The closer it got.

She didn’t need to look. She knew.

The “head” of that thing… was right in front of her face. If she opened her eyes—she’d see it.

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

She screamed harder. And then—she heard herself.

A soft croaking sound, barely a whisper.

No. No no no no no!!! I’m done with this!!! I’m gonna kill you, you bastard!!!

Then—like a miracle—her finger twitched.

And then, a chain reaction—her hand, her arm, her neck…

And finally—

“AHHHHHH!!!”

Her eyes flew open, her face turning upward from its side position.

The world around her was back.

She was lying flat on the bed. Morning sunlight streamed in through the windows. Birds chirped. The world was alive.

She was wrapped in the thick blanket.

Prince Fury was gone—he’d gone to the gym at five in the morning.

Zeedee sat up slowly…

Sweat poured from her body. So much that she could smell herself on the bedsheets.

“……”

She sat there, panting, trying to process what had just happened. Sunlight warmed her face.

Was it just a dream…?

“….Shit…”

The clock read: 8:20 a.m.

School had started.

She was late.

“Crap…”

She leapt out of bed and scrambled to get her uniform on as fast as she could—

But as soon as her foot hit the floor…

She saw it.

The old military cap that Prince Fury had picked up from the Blackpool marsh—it was lying right at the foot of the bed.

She picked it up, confused.

“Huh…?”

Fury had put it on top of the wardrobe. No one else ever touched it. It was part of his collection. No one dared go near it.

But right now, she didn’t have time to think.

She put it back where it belonged.

Then she rushed off to get ready for school.