Gah, for some reason I couldn't edit the older one, so here.

Hey, before you read, and you do not know anything about Pierce's past history, you'll probably get confused. Here are two stories which will explain his past. Read them in order.

Part one
Part two

Under the cut.

---------Approximately one year and nine months ago---------

For more than two days, the cougar had been running. Running through rain, under the blazing sun and chilling moon, through the forests and mountains and villages that were sprinkled across the dying kingdom. He was Borin, the only animal (other than the extinct dragons) that was known to talk to the humans of the kingdom. He was also one of the very few cougars that lived in the kingdom. They once roamed the forests and were a very common animal, but most of them were killed when the villagers feared they were overpopulated. And this is why the people of the kingdom respected him. They recognized him by looking at his piercing jade eyes that no other cougar in the kingdom had.

He was an assassin, and no matter what amount he was paid, or what he was paid for, he would do it.

Since Borin was born he was a thrill-seeker, and wanted to kill for pleasure. But he would never do so. He always remembered his mother's words, telling him to never kill the innocent. But he was filled with rage and pain ever since the villagers killed his family and those he loved. He wanted a reason to kill. And if he was paid to do a person's dirty work, no matter how little he was paid, he would do it.

So when the King of Peace asked him to assassinate his former wife and her child, of course he agreed to do it. But he only managed to kill the mother, and letting the child slip away from his paws.

Borin understood that the king was very shaken that his beloved had betrayed her and angry that she had did what she had done (or what he thought she had done). He was very afraid of what the King's reaction would be when he told him he failed. Maybe he could just lie and tell him he managed to kill both. But of course, lying was something his mother told him to never do. He had to tell the truth.

The king's castle was in eyesight. Borin, as he made his way to the castle, rehearsed what he would say to the king over and over in his mind.

Borin walked into the castle, up the stairs and to the king's room. The king looked at him and smiled. "Ah, hello, Borin! Have you assassinated those... people?" He said, hesitating to say his wife's name. Borin sat and bowed his head. "Great King of Peace, I come with bad news. I was only able to kill the mother, but not the child."

The king's smile washed away quickly. "What? But... you're Borin the Assassin! You've never failed! I paid you to kill both the mother and the child, did you not understand? I was counting on you!" The king's tone became more angrier with each word.

Borin continued to bow his head. "I tried to kill the child, Great King, I tried. But I wasn't able to. See... they weren't at all in or near the kingdom. I tracked them down to a gate that led me to an endless forest. I found the mother as a blue doe, and her child a fawn. I killed the mother, and after I had done that I chased the fawn. But he was very fast, the fastest fawn I've ever seen. He hid in a hole and I could not reach him. So I decided to hide somewhere near and watch him, try again later when he would come out. But before I could do that, I saw two deer appear before me. They seem surprised that a cougar had found a way to get in the forest. They kicked me out. I tried to enter the gate, but a force kept me from going in. There was no way I could kill the child. I am very sorry, Great King of Peace. Please forgive me."

The king looked at him for a moment, as though he was thinking it over. Then, he finally spoke. "You have failed me. I trusted you to take care of that evil. But you did not. How dare you betray your king? You are no better than the bitch who didn't even give birth to my own child! Take him!"

Suddenly, guards had the helpless cougar face down on the castle's hard floor, tying him up with ropes, and there was no way Borin could fight back. "But you must understand! I- NO!" Borin tried to bite the guards, but they shut his mouth tight with rope. "You should have known better than to disobey my orders! You will be taken to a prison that you can never escape, and will never be released. You will never see sunlight again- a punishment too good for you! I think we can add some torture in there..." The king said, almost evilly. Borin looked at the King he once bowed too with hate and anger as the guards dragged him away.

After Borin was sent to the prison, the king looked outside the window, looking at his kingdom. It once was peaceful and happy. But now it was dying, after the King of Darkness attacked it 20 years ago.

And nobody knew it then, but at that moment, the King of Peace was no more. Peace was weakened, and was slew easily by the growing, hungry darkness. Slowly, the King of Peace began to grow dark. And the kingdom would soon become dark too. Before anyone knew it, the King of "Peace" and the King of Darkness were allies. They soon were known as the Dark Brothers, and anyone who disobeyed them would be violently killed on the spot.

It seemed as though all hope was lost, and no peace was left in the world.

But there was peace. It lived in a forest far away, a deer destined to bring peace to the kingdom.

But whether he would restore peace to the kingdom and bring more darkness to the world was his choice.

---------One year later---------

The young stag sat by the river. He was alone, nobody but the birds, frogs, and bugs. He wasn't exactly sure how he felt. Was he depressed, or was he finally getting over Honeyfur? Pierce told himself that he needed to grow up, and he was over Honeyfur, but something was dragging him down.

What was it?

Pierce was begin to wonder about this when suddenly, he heard something. He whipped his head around, and thought he saw something move. A split second later a force had knocked him hard on the head, and everything blacked out...

Pierce woke up. He felt weird. He looked around. He was not a deer. He was a... human? Yes, he had seen one of those before, and he was now one of them! He was naked except for some cloth around his lower area, and his arms and legs were tied with rope. "Great, he's woken up." Said a voice. Pierce looked around. He was in a wooden carriage pulled by a horse. A man was on the horse, and had turned around to look at him. Pierce suddenly realized he wasn't in the Endless Forest anymore.

The man said nothing and turned away. Pierce couldn't speak at first, but once he finally found words he said, "Where are we? Where are you taking me?"

The man replied. "You're in the Kingdom Of Jeroethien. I know, it isn't all that pretty... it wasn't always a wasteland... used to be the best Kingdom of all, now the only reason people live here is because they're too poor to move out." The man paused, then sighed. "For some reason, the King of Pe- er, Aldrich the Dark Brother, thinks the world will be a better place if you died. I don't agree at all! ... Damnit, I've said too much. I wasn't gonna tell ya this 'till later, but... they're going to kill you." The man explained.

Pierce's heart dropped. "What? Why? Wait... do you know who the Peace King is?" He said. The man whipped his head to Pierce, looking surprised. "Y-Yes! Er, I used to. I mean... how do you know who he is?" The man exclaimed. "He's appeared in my dreams numerous times." Pierce said.

The man looked at him for a moment. "Who is the peace king?" Pierce asked. The man continued to look at him, hesitating. Then, he finally said, "Well... Aldrich the Dark Brother used to be the Peace King. See, there used to be two kings and one queen- the King and Queen of Peace and the King of Darkness. They fought over the kingdom until one day darkness attacked the land around 20 years ago. It's never been the same since. Plants and animals die every day, very few grass is green, people are ill are dying, and we aren't sure what to do. Around two years ago, we tried to attack the Darkness King, but we failed, and he raped the Peace Queen. The King believes the Queen cheated on him, but that is not what happened at all. Still, he banished the Queen while she was pregnant, and she gave birth to her child in the forest you are familiar with. You are the child, and the King wants you dead."

Pierce tried to process the words, his heart dropping with every word that repeated in his head. That is why he hated me and my mother... so I am a monster...

The man continued on. "Now the Peace King has snapped and is allies with the King of Darkness and now they're the dark brothers... A horrible thing, I know. What I wonder about is how the Aldrich won't let go of his Queen, but how he can easily forgive the father of her son..." Pierce didn't listen. He just closed his eyes, thinking deeply.

"Here we are." Pierce looked up to see a huge castle. It sounded like many people were there.

The carriage rolled into an arena near the castle. There were people watching, silent. On two high thrones were what Pierce assumed as the Dark Brothers. He could easily tell which one used to be th Peace King and Dark King. He assumed the Peace King to be the man with wild, golden hair and an unkempt beard. His hair was probably shiny and beautiful before he went nuts. Thought Pierce. Instead of wearing the robes he would wear in Pierce's dreams, he instead wore long, black robes. Next to him was the other Dark Brother, and Pierce knew right away it was his father. His face was a skull, and the rest of his body was covered by black robes.

The man took pierce and untied the ropes around his legs, and then took him out of the carriage, untying the rest of the ropes. "I am so sorry. I wish I didn't have to do this." The man said. Then, he hopped on his carriage and rolled away, and joined in with the audience to watch.

Pierce, now a human, was standing alone in an arena, being watched by strangers, a man who hated him, and his father. Far from being just an ordinary goddamn deer living a peaceful life in the forest!

After a long moment, the King of Peace rose his hand as if to silence the already quiet audience.

"People of Jeroethien. A little more than 20 years ago, our land was blessed with Darkness. For many years I did not understand why that would be the most wonderful thing in the history of our kingdom." Pierce already knew what many disliked him, and squinted at him with burning hate. "I was blind then. Now that I truly see what darkness is, I am very thankful of the darkness that rules us now." Every word he said made Pierce hate him even more.

"Two years ago, my queen had a child with another man." Who is standing right next to you, and if you had half a brain you would be trying to kill him instead of ruling with him! Spat Pierce in his mind. "That child is evil and doesn't belong in this new world of darkness. For nearly two year I have been chasing him. Now that he is finally in my hands, I can do whaft I should of done a very long time ago." Aldrich ended.

The Darkness King then spoke. It roared like a lion, and it was raspy, not the most pleasant sound to listen to. "Pierce," (Pierce was surprised and creeped out that he knew his name)"you are a Child of Evil. You do not deserve to live on this world. You are a mistake. After today, people will remember as the Mistake. Parents will teach their children about the Mistake and those children will grow up and pass on the story to their children. We will make sure that you will be the only mistake in the history of Jeroethien. Starting today, there shall be no Child of Evil in the world!"

The audience applauded, but probably out of fear what would happen if they didn't. Pierce looked around. He spotted the man who kidnapped him. He was mouthing "I'm sorry." over and over again.

Then he heard a roar. Pierce whipped his head around to see a gigantic lion licking his lips. Pierce suddenly realized he was helpless, and he had only his hands to hold the lion back when he tried to pounce in him. He roared again, hungry teeth only inches from Pierce's face. The lion was strong, it took Pierce all he had to keep the lion from pinning him down. Pierce was losing his grasp.

But before the lion could pin him, there was another roar. Suddenly a flash of familiar yellow flew in the air, pinning down the lion. Pierce watched as a cougar and the lion fought and wrestled in the dirt. Pierce and the audience watched, both shocked at what just happened.

"ENOUGH!" Roared Aldrich. The lion was already seriously wounded from the cougar's unusually powerful claws. The cougar got up and listened while the lion rested on the ground, breathing hard.

"Borin, what are you doing? You are already in serious trouble. Do you want to be executed?" said Aldrich fiercely. Borin was breathing hard with hate. He turned to look at Pierce. "I have wronged this man by following your orders. His mother didn't deserve to die. And he doesn't deserve death either." He said calmly. Suddenly, Borin started to breath harder, his claws sheathing and unsheathing, teeth showing and tail flicking as he glared at Aldrich.

"He is no Child of Evil you stupid, stubborn son of a bitch!" Borin's tone quickly changed. The audience gasped, watching with fear."He is not a child at ALL!" He roared with all the anger and rage that Borin had been storing not just for a year but his whole life. "YOU STUPID, ARROGANT, NAIVE, STUBBORN BASTARD! DON'T YOU SEE WHAT YOU HAVE BECOME?" Borin's voice started to quiver. He started to claw the ground and air with anger. "YOU USED TO BE A KING OF PEACE! YOU USED TO TRY TO BATTLE THE DARKNESS WITH ALL THE HOPE AND FAITH IN THE GODDAMN WORLD! AND NOW YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH, YOU THINK DARKNESS IS THE ANSWER? YOU JOINED THE GODDAMN BASTARD THAT RAPED YOUR WIFE? YOU THINK HER INNOCENT, SCARED SON IS A THREAT TO US? YOU GODDAMN MOTHER... I HATE YOU! EVERYBODY HATES YOU!" Borin roared violently, not caring if tears were beginning to pour out his face. Other than the cougar's silence and the dying moans of the lion, everything was silent.

Aldrich's face was red, and he too began to breathe heavily. Then, he laughed. "Me, the bastard? I'm a son of a bitch? Maybe you should begin to look at YOURSELF YOU STUPID CAT!" Aldrich began to yell too. By that time he climbed down his throne and into the arena, walking straight up to Borin. "You never followed my orders, you let this Child of Evil grow and become a danger a us all! Moron! That landed you in prison! And now, you fool, you dared to insult the Dark Brothers? I don't think it's possible for someone to be that stupid, I think you want to be executed! In fact, maybe we can get a bear or something, make you both venerable... yes! Two executions in one! The death of the Child of Evil and the idiot who let him grow... this will be the best day in the history of Jeroethien! I-"

"No" The Darkness King interrupted. Aldrich look at him, confused. "Don't kill them. Not yet. Just put them in the prison for now." He ordered. Aldrich stared at him for a moment, then nodded. As if it was a cue, guards suddenly jumped out and tied Borin and Pierce up with ropes. Pierce and Borin looked at each other. They did not need to speak, their expressions said the same thing as they were dragged to prison.

---------

The two watched as the door closed, leaving them alone in a big room. Pierce was tied with chains to one side, while Borin was tied to the other. It was cold and dark, and Pierce suddenly felt more depressed than he had ever been. Borin was talking to himself. "Well... look on the bright side... I'll have company now..." He seemed to be calm now, after letting all the emotions he had kept bottled up spill out. The cougar looked at Pierce, and his lips curled into a smile.

Pierce suddenly recognized him. "You... you..." Pierce pointed at him. Borin was confused. "You're that cougar!" Pierce realized. He stood up, fear and anger in his face. Borin stepped back. "You were that cougar who killed my mother! I remember now, I recognize those green eyes of a MURDERER!" Pierce growled, trying to break free of the ropes that kept him.

"Please, please, that was more than a year ago, you have to understand, I know what I did, I know that I made a mistake, I know I should of done that, I'm so sorry, I'm just so sorry..." Borin begged. It was true, killing Pierce's mother was something Borin regretted everyday. He felt guilty of leaving the helpless fawn alone in the world without a mother.

"Sorry doesn't bring back the dead!" Pierce spat. He slowly calmed down, sitting again. He breathed heavily. Borin looked at him, feeling more guilty than ever. "Pierce, listen... I used to be an assassin, I was told by Aldrich to kill both you and your mother. I should of said no, but at the time, I didn't know that he was slowly losing it, I thought he knew what he was doing. And I so foolishly... y-you know..." Borin had to stop for a moment before going on. "And... I am so, so sorry. I really wish I said no, that you and your mother would've lived in peace. I am just... so sorry. I hope you forgive me, we can become great friends, and I want to get to know you and help you... if you could just see that I know my mistake."

Pierce looked at him. Borin wasn't sure if he was considering it. Pierce sighed as he lied down, tired. Borin lied down too, putting his head on his paws. They both thought deeply.

He was a Prince of Darkness... Pierce was distraught. All he wanted was a simple life in the forest with deer friends and have a peaceful, fun life. That was all. And right after he took care of some unnecessary drama, all this new crap pops up. And now he is the son of a Dark king that raped his mother and that is how he came to be. Not only that, his worst enemy was his mother's husband who even isn't his father. Not to mention that he was stuck in prison with a cougar that killed his mother as a cellmate.

They both fell asleep quickly as night came.

---------

The next morning, almost immediately after Pierce woke up, the door opened and in walked the man that Pierce had been talking with earlier. His sudden appearance woke Borin up.

"Hello, Blythe." Borin greeted. "Hello, Borin." They smiled at each other. Pierce could tell they were close friends. The man turned around. "Ah! Hi there, Pierce! Glad they didn't... ya know... kill ya. Ya got real lucky there... name is Blythe, by the way!" The man reached out a hand. Pierce was unfamiliar with this human gesture. "Oh, right, I guess deer don't do that... heh." Blythe put his hand back. Pierce seemed confused. "Oh, you're a prison guard..." He said confusingly.

Blythe sighed. "Yep, I know, prison guards are supposed to be mean and ruthless... and we used to be, when we kept real criminals. But now that Aldrich is a nut job, we treat almost every prisoner we get as a friend. Because they are! The criminals that do deserve to be in here are just dismissed, so we just treat everyone nice here. It's sad though, because we can't get too close in case they're executed, and if the King finds out what we're doing, then... yeah, you can kinda guess. But he usually doesn't check what we're doing anyway..."

The first time he say him Pierce didn't get a great look at Blythe, now he could see that he had brown, greasy hair and was a bit chubby. "Well... I'm sorry you're in this mess. I wish I could help ya break out, but they're clever. They'll catch ya. And I'll be executed. So all I can do now is at least give you guys company, and food." Blythe gave Pierce an apple and Borin some ham. "I know, kinda unfair, but I don't control what food you guys get, I just bring it to you." said Blythe.

"That's okay, as long as I get food it's fine. Nice to meet you, Blythe." said Pierce. Blythe nodded. "Well... I'll see ya guys later." He said, then walked out the door, closing it.

Pierce and Borin ate without speaking. The day went on uneventful. Borin started scratching the wall. The noise bothered Pierce. "Please stop." He asked. Borin stopped immediately. "Sorry. Habit." He said quietly.

Later, after Blythe came back to give them dinner (which was nothing more than water, some fruit for Pierce, and a steak for Borin), and the two silently ate again, Pierce decided he wanted to know more about Borin. He watched the cougar pace back and forth in boredom. Occasionally the rope would keep him from going any further, and he would stop, growling, and then walk back. The cougar looked skinny, yet not exactly scrawny. Pierce figured the daily meat diet kept him from looking horribly starved. His coat looked well kept and shiny. Borin still seemed to care about his fur. Scars covered his body from many forgotten fights.

"Borin?" Pierce asked. Borin looked at him. "I've never been a human before. What do I look like?"

Borin was silent for a moment. "You're muscular. Well built. Your hair is black, and short and shiny. And your eyes... they're green. Not just any green. They're like... a beautiful woman that's been hurt, but for what?" He said. He sighed, closing his eyes.

Pierce looked at him for a while. "Borin, I want to be your friend." Borin looked at him. "You've always been a friend to me." They smiled at each other, and did not say another word for the rest of the night.

---------

The months went by. Blythe, Borin, and Pierce began to grow very close. Blythe felt sorry for the two and wanted a way for them to get out. He couldn't risk that, though, so he decided to try and find a way to help them escape from prison but make it look like a prison break. He searched for ways everyday, but he never could find anything.

Pierce felt his hair grow long and ropy. Eventually it reached down to his shoulders. Pierce looked much more different than we he first turned human; he was skinny and scrawny rather than muscular.

And each day, he felt the fire grow stronger.

It was October 31st when the fire erupted and burned the town down. Literally.

Pierce stared at Borin for a long time. His eyes were calm; Pierce had grown very close to Borin over the months. But there was something there, something that made Pierce's heart pound everytime he stared into his piercing jade eyes.

Suddenly, there was a loud boom. Borin and Pierce looked at each other. Then there was a clash of metal, followed by a crash. Pierce struggled to be free of his chains. Borin just listened, bewildered.

They heard loud breathing. "What... are you doing..." they heard Blythe struggle to say. Their hearts dropped., and they looked at each other fearfully. "We know what you and the other guards have been doing!" There was another crash. "We are doing this for the kingdom." It sounded as though there was a struggle. "No, no! You don't have to do this! You don't-" Blythe's sentence was cut off as another crashing sound was heard. Blythe screamed, until his voice slowly faded away.

There were loud footsteps, and a man kicked open the door, a bloody sword in his hand.

"Prison scum! You are safe from darkness, as your foolish guard, Blythe, has been slaughtered!"

Pierce started to breathe heavily. His eyes were blazing red, full of hatred. "You killed... my friend... THE ONLY FRIEND WHO WAS SMART IN THIS HELLHOLE!"

The air had turned dark and cold. Borin was breathing fast in fear. The man took a step back, and almost immediately after he did so there was a loud sound; a mix of a terrible scream and a roar. Then everything went pitch black. When it got lighter, the man was dead and Pierce was gone.

Borin struggled to get loose from his chains, but no use. What was going on? Suddenly, the wall where the cougar's chains were tied up cracked. It crashed down to pieces, and for the first time in months Borin met light from the outside world. It blinded his eyes, but it was wonderful. The cougar jumped out, realizing that he still wore a chain around his neck. There was no time to deal with that now; he was free now.

Borin ran out, enjoying the light that now touched his frozen fur. The warm feeling was broken when Borin heard screams and roars. He turned up to see a huge black dragon flying over the town, which was already in flames. But... they're extinct... Borin gaped as the black dragon spread fire over the town. "HE'S GONE... HE'S DEAD..." It roared violently.

The dragon swooped down, landing in a building. It stomped through the streets, not caring who it crushed, roaring fire over every building. Borin rushed over to the town, then stopped in front of the dragon, roaring. The dragon looked down at him, his red eyes staring, and the cougar realized that it was Pierce.

"What are you doing!" He yelled. Pierce looked at him coldly. "GET OUT OF MY WAY, SCUM!" He threatened. Borin didn't move; he was stunned. "Pierce, I know who you are! You are better than this! Stop!" He pleaded. Pierce's eyes narrowed. "WHY SHOULD I LISTEN TO YOU, MURDERER? YOU'VE DONE MUCH MORE TO MY LIFE THAN I'VE NEEDED, NOW GET!" He roared.

Borin was shocked. "But... Pierce! We... what... how could you... I thought we were friends!" He stuttered. "I have apologized about your mother's death!" He roared angrily. How could Pierce do this? "APOLOGY DOESN'T TAKE AWAY DEATH, YOU STUPID KITTEN! NOW YOU SHALL FEEL THE PAIN MY MOTHER DID!"

Borin dodged Pierce's blow, and ran fast.

He would run. Run to the land where Pierce was born. The Gods there must understand why. If he could talk to them, they could work something out... but no more would he live in this depressing land.

-wip-