Vera's left hand trembled under the table. She grabbed it with her right keeping it still. Sweat beads forming along her forehead. Her mouth hung open, dry.
Two women — one in a deer mask one in a fox — walked in, each carrying plates of food. One was sat in front of Vera along with a glass of water, while the other at the far end of the table. They promptly left, not making eye contact with either person in the room.
The woman at the far end of the table tilted her head.
"Eat up dear."
Vera looked down at her plate. Juicy meat with some grilled vegetables. She stared down at it, her mouth dry and her stomach empty. She hadn't eaten much with Cairo and Naren, she could barely stomach the meat of those monsters.
With one hand, she picked up the fork and with another the knife. Cutting into the meat, she took a chunk out and swallowed it. Almost forgetting to chew. It was good.
"Thank you."
Only the sounds of chewing from the far end of the table responded to her. The woman's mask pulled slightly up to reveal her plump pink lips. Even from the bottom half of the mask Vera could tell she was young. Probably mid thirties.
"We had a boy, about fifteen years of age..."
Vera looked up from her plate.
"...he was bright and smart. But recently he's been under a bit of scrutiny."
The woman took off her mask to reveal the soft face of a woman. Her eyes a bright shade of green made almost blue by the bioluminescent glow of the lamp. Her dark brown hair pulled back into a slick back, with a couple loose strands falling over her face.
Vera however, was more focused on the thin line that seemed to cut right through her face, going right through her neck, fading into her clothes.
"They said the boy was of the royal bloodline that once ruled this land. So they tried taking him. They even left this scar when I tried stopping them."
The woman set down her utensils onto the tablecloth.
"Of course, they refers to those devils in the heavens. Those disgusting shaman."
A deep silence filled the air. The woman grabbed a napkin, dabbing it onto her face.
"Then one of those shaman came to strike a deal with us. She said that the real prince was coming soon. She told those devils that she would be able to hand over the real one within a week. Now those bastards are holding onto the boy, keeping him in the dungeon, walking around our homes for four days now."
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The dungeon was long. It felt like he had already walked for a hundred meters but it didn't end. Naren could still hear Cairo's threats.
Suddenly he couldn't help but stop dead in his tracks. He swore he heard a whisper. A cry. Usually, he would just ignore something like this, but this one said something he couldn't quite ignore. A small, almost inconceivable mumble: "I miss you sis."
Naren whipped his head to where he heard the sound. Walking closer to the cell, trying to peer in through the darkness.
"Yo. Who's in there."
A silent gasp followed by rapid increasing heartbeat, only discernable due to Cairo finally dying down.
"W-who are you?"
Naren thought for a second trying to figure out how he would answer that. Then he thought back to the form he signed. Mumbling: "Not like he'd remember."
"I'm a royal soldier. A captain, even. Identify yourself."
The voice froze for a second before replying.
"N-Nico."
Naren placed his forehead on the bars.
"Where's your sister Nico."
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Vera watched as the woman pointed to the stitched on her face, tracing it down to her chest.
"The shaman was nice enough. Stitched it up for me."
Then the woman stopped speaking. A deep silence filling the room.
"My niece ran out looking for the real prince. Running around in the dead of night in that hell down there. She has no fable, no power. But she still went. For four days now...So tell me Vera..."
Vera's eyes faltered as she looked down at her shaking hands. She tried using her left hand to stop her right, but then her left began shaking as well.
"...Why do you look so much like my nephew."
'I didn't do anything wrong.'
Vera stared at her hands trembling. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to run away. In fact, she spend months running away already. She forgot how long she's been running from. Then she looked at her hands, feeling the slap of Naren's palm.
'I never wanted this. He-he just got me worked up.'
The image of Vera's mother falling popped into her mind as she slammed her eyes closed. But when she closed it, she didn't see her mother anymore. Instead, she saw Naren's bare feet, lit up by the orange glow of a match inside the mouth of a basilisk.
Vera opened to her eyes and turned her gaze towards the woman. Her hands still shaking.
'I'm scared...I don't want to go.'
"I'll go."
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"So she ran around looking for some prince?"
Nico nodded his head, not that Naren could see.
"What a great sister you have."
Nico went silent. Staring at the floor of his cell.
"I'm worried about her. She would always scold me after mom died. But I-I don't want her to be..."
He couldn't finish the sentence. As if speaking it would will harm onto his sister.
Naren thought about the woman he saw on the land below. The girl who was slammed against the rocks by some mysterious force. Her lifeless body slumped over in a pool of her own blood.
"Say, if you're so important I bet you could get one of those shaman down here right?"
"Y-yea. They gave me a bell to ring."
"Great. Bring them down here, I'll get you out."
"What?"
"Your sister, she asked me to help you."
The boy got up, then fell promptly after, all in the dark. Crawling towards the bars.
"I-is she okay?"
"She's dead."
A deep silence followed. Followed by a croaked voice.
"You're lying..."
The voice fell to the ground with a thump, letting out quiet whimpers of tears. Naren crouched down, to the level he heard the voice.
"She died trying to save you."
"YOU'RE LYING! SHE'S ALIVE!"
"She's dead."
Nico's head slammed against the bars.
"SHUT UP!"
He sank back down to the floor. His crying now becoming more pronounced.
"Shut up...She can't leave me."
Naren stared at the voice, his golden eyes glimmering.
"So what will you do?"
The crying continued.
"Are you just going to cry or are you going to do something?"
"W-what can...I do..."
"Go kill them. The ones who made your sister run around like a headless chicken. Go make them feel how she felt drowning. How she felt dying a dogs death."
The crying grew quieter.
"How...How can I..."
"How would I know?"
A silence followed. Then the slam of a head against the ground. Followed by shackles clinking as a body got up to it's feet. Blood dripped onto the ground below and the chiming of a bell echoed throughout the darkness.
——————————
STOMP
STOMP
STOMP
A man was unconscious on the floor. Naren had one hand on his shoulder as he tried rotating it as he grimmaced. His shackles on the ground.
"Damn it still hurts."
The sound of stomping grew quiet before stopping all together.
Naren turned back. He couldn't see it now, it was too dark. But maybe it was for good reason. Naren never did well with anything too gruesome, it made his stomach upset.
"Take a breather."
Nico hovered over the bloodied body of a man. Spitting on it.
"Let's go."
Naren yawned as he took a step.
'Maybe I shoulda lied to him. What a poor kid.'