She knew she could not escape no matter how hard she tried. He'd trapped her, and would keep her there until what felt like eternity in a realistically ephemeral nightmare. It was a dance with the reaper himself, one that that she could outlast only if she agreed to waltz on blindly. Until he was satisfied. Satisfied with the way he tortured her mind, eradicated her discernment, stifled her streng...

**_There’d beena reason his father had given him the name Diligence a score and some years ago. Time and time again he’d proven quite deserving of the title; whether it’d been in his navigation of complex court matters or fleeting encounters with the people of his kingdom. A denizen who crossed paths with the prince knew to expect an acutely assiduous manner in addressing a matter of any scale. Hi...