Greven {part 2}

"Is he dead?" 

the foggy parts of his mind were beginning to awaken again, and with the rise from their slumber came pain.

Every fiber of his being hurt and ached. 

In his state of painful subconscious, It was hard to tell where he was actually hurt from where his body was just aching in sympathy for him. 

He wanted to open his eyes, but his body told him that to return to the black void of sleep would ease his pain and be the best. 

But he was going to fight it. 

The flickering of a torch thrust near his face was the first sight he saw when he opened his eyes. 

"ah! no sir! he lives yet. Strong brute. Bet he put up quite the fight when caught" 

Beyond the torch was an unfamiliar face, but, in his current state, it could have been his mother and he wouldn't have recognized her. 

Though, the lady had died when he was five, so that also lent itself to that matter. 

"Hm. Bring him back to his cell then" standing in the doorway, the owner of the original speaker who had posed the question of whether he was dead or alive stood in the doorway, barely an outline in Greven's foggy vision. 

"I need this chamber cleared, as there is another with a will that needs breaking" 

The first man unhooked the metal cuffs around Greven's wrists, but without them holding him up, he found that his legs refused to have the strength to keep him upright, and the man was forced to support Greven. 

"Teacher, why?" the man spoke softly, barely a whisper, and Greven lifted his eyes to the face of the man whose shoulder he leaned on. 

His vision was getting better, and a snatch of memory...

"Joss" the same young man who had helped bring the elf in, as well as one of the boys he had taught archery to. 

Greven glanced towards the doorway, but the second man had left. 

"Because, Joss, I don't-" he was already out of breath, and he couldn't finish. 

"Come on, I need to get you back to the cell before Commander Malum returns" Joss shifted his weight and started walking with Greven. 

The going was slow, Joss having to half carry Greven's dead weight, and they had just left the torture chamber when the man... Malum? passed them, half dragging a young girl, she was tiny, looking more like a child than not, behind him. 

Greven looked back, but the door slammed shut, and Joss kept walking. 

"She's a Ceridwen. they captured her when they attacked Revelin this morning" 

Joss spoke hesitantly, as if worried that giving Greven this information might be dangerous. 

"Revelin..." Greven couldn't think straight, if they attacked Revelin...did Felix know about Xander? no, Xander was at Voronwë, and Felix knew it, so was he attacking blindly? hoping to strike the right person? 

But why capture a child? a Ceridwen at that? 

The walk to his cell felt as if it took hours, and the closer they got, Greven realized he could hear another feminine voice, a constant, low murmuring sound. 

Like a prayer. 

It wasn't until Joss set him down against the bars of Greven's cell while unlocking the door, that he realized. 

The cell opposite his held one other girl. 

She was blond, her hair hanging long, but perhaps not quite as long as the elvish ambassador, Bly's. She was sitting on her knees, her hands folded together, praying. 

"Everyone is saying she's a fairy" Joss whispered, half dragging Greven into his cell. 

The prayers ceased, but Greven was losing conscience again, he had lost more blood on the way here, and his head felt light now. 

The door to his cell shutting sounded like a bang, echoing around in his head while his eyes refused to stay open any longer. 

Voices were whispers, the sound of a door opening, and a cool hand touching his brow, and then he lost all and only hold he had on reality, sinking back into a black murky sleep. 

--------------------------

He woke when water was forced down his throat, and he sputtered, sitting upright, the action causing pain to sear through his shoulder. 

"I-I'm sorry" the water was drawn away, and he realized he wasn't alone. 

The same girl, Joss had said she was a fairy, had been moved to his cell for some reason, and now she had backed away into the corner, her eyes cast down at her twisting hands. 

He rubbed his face, and then realized that the open cuts had closed, now no more than jagged scars.  His muscles no longer felt like they were screaming for mercy, at least, not while he remained still, and from what he could tell, he wasn't actively bleeding anywhere.

"how" he cleared his throat, "how long have I been here, since being taken from the torture chambers?" 

She looked up, "almost 24 hours" fear was behind her eyes, was she worried that he would hurt her? 

"I healed that fast?" he felt his side, the bruising still was there, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. 

She shook her head, "N-no, I think you were dying. I begged to help you" 

Dying. 

Greven shifted his weight, scooting back against the wall, the cold, wet stone actually felt good against the welts that still crossed his back, even if they had been lessened. 
The gravity of that, dying.  He hadn't all that much to live for, he'd helped Xander escape, but he did have a rather strong wish, strengthened by the fact that Xander would someday take the throne, to see that idiot again.
And he almost hadn't.

"You...helped me?" 

She nodded quickly, "Actually, Deus did. I am merely the vessel he works through" she brushed her skirts, a pale pink material with her hands. Her face heated up, and she looked away, towards the hall way that led to the torture chambers. 

Greven sat in silence, letting this sink in...healed by a fairy, by Dues, was that what they called God? he hadn't ever been very good on learning the cultures of the other races, humans were enough of a job to memorize.  

"Then I thank you, and Dues" 

she colored, and looked back down, but her eyes still darted towards the hallway.

"Worried for your friend?" 

she nodded, apparently deciding to clam up. 

Great, did I say something offensive? 

Silence filled between them, and she sighed, "Nairi is such a hot head sometimes. why couldn't she just..." her eyes grew wide, as if alarmed, "I-I'm sorry. I...shouldn't speak so about others. it's wrong"

And then she looked back down, shame covering her features. 

"No, sometimes our friends need to be spoken about like that" Greven smiled, "I have a friend, Xander, he's a blooming idiot sometimes. Once, he-" 

"Xander?" her head perked up, "You know Xander?" 

Of course, all Revelin probably knows by now. 

"I'm proud to say, I'm his royal highness' best friend, in fact, I'm in here because I helped him and the Elf Lady escape" 

The fairy tilted her head, "His royal highness? is that a nickname for Captain Bolivar?" 

Greven stared at her, did Revelin not know yet? who all did know the true identity to Xander? 

"no....Xander is...you don't know?" 

She shook her head. 

"Xander is the heir to the throne, I thought all the rebels knew" 

Her eyes grew wide, filled with apprehension. 

"H-how..?" 

Wait, what if she thinks that Xander is...Felix's son? she might not know about Adan's lost heir...in which case, Xander now looks like a liar, and a threat...

"No, no, it's not like that...Xander is Felix's lost great nephew" 

He filled her in on what Thalion had told him, and she listened in complete silence, her eyes wide and almost unblinking. 

When he finished, she stared straight ahead, even her fingers frozen. 

"Xander...is..." 

"Xander is king, or, at least, he should be. He has to come and take the throne from his Grandfather's brother" 

She nodded, "he isn't fully human, then"

"nope. part elf. a tiny part, but still part. Though, the man had me fooled. he doesn't even look like an Elf" 

And she remained in shocked silence until Joss returned, and whispered that he had to return her to her own cell before someone found out. She nodded mutely and followed him. 

As Joss hurried steps faded away, Greven heard her whisper, ".....king. Captain Bolivar is, king..." 

And it then came to him, that perhaps he should have told her to not repeat it aloud for fear Felix would hear. 

Nairi (part 6)

Bam!
I banged against the cell again. Who knows how long I had done so.
"You're going to hurt yourself.   Y-you should sit down," Anakis whispered, concern in her voice.
"But...I..."   I gave up and slumped against the wall, burying my face in my knees. I hope Adonis is okay. I remembered him tumbling out of the sky with the dragon who had taken me.
A door opening interrupted my thoughts. "So," a voice sneered in the darkness, "you're the little girl my nephew has feelings for." A torch was lit and a man with red hair and a swollen eye with a deep gash cut into it, the other piercing gold glared down at me.
"Do you know who I am?" he said.
I realized with a shock that this was the dragon Adonis had attacked. "You."   I stopped before I said any more realizing, that if he was alive, Adonis was most likely dead.
My horror must have shown on my face, for he grimaced "Sadly, my nephew isn't dead.   Though next time I get a chance, I will kill him.   Don't you worry."   I gasped.   The dragon was Adonis' uncle!
I suppressed my surprise "I wouldn't worry for him, I would worry for you," I told him.   "Next time I don't think you will be so lucky."
I must have struck a nerve because he grabbed the bars of the cell with such force that they nearly bent. I heard Anakis move farther back into the corners of the cell. "You insolent little," He took a deep breath and tried to calm down.   "I believe that that he wore his luck thin with our last battle, and I believe I will need none to win the next."
"Sure, keep telling yourself that scaly."
"Shut up, you idiotic child!"
"Maybe you should stop bothering him." Anakis mumbled from the corner
"Shut up you idiotic child." I mimicked, completely ignoring Anakis
He looked like he was about to blow "Mark my words girl, you will regret this." He stormed out of the dungeons.
"That probably wasn't a good idea." Anakis whispered.
"Yeah, well, I don't like him. Besides, seeing as they kidnapped us, they probably need us alive, so he can't kill me."
"No, b-but they can probably torture you."
The thought hit me like a rock, and my stomach had a fast sinking feeling "I didn't think about that." I croaked.
Anakis put her head to her knees and kind of curled up and stopped speaking. I never expected to get much talk out of her, anyway.  She never did much of it to begin with.
We sat in the prison for what felt like hours, with no way to judge time. The dungeon was dark, cold, and damp. All you could hear was the moaning of other prisoners, the occasional scream, and water dripping.
Suddenly I heard the loud screech of rusty metal on rusty metal that could only be associated with the dungeon door being opened.
I saw torch light slowly descending the hallway of stairs that were the only entrance and exit of the horrid place.
The light made it to the end, illuminating the cells and the face of it's holder. Adonis's uncle. He marched over to our cell with his lips curled up into a gruesome smile.
"Turns out the king does not care what I do with you as long as you don't die, so..."   He cracked open the cell door. "Do your best not to die." He grabbed me by the hair and drug me out of the cell. I let out a scream of pain and desperation as he yanked me up.
I pulled water from all around me and bombarded him with it. He grunted, threw me to the ground, and flung the cage door shut. "Big mistake girl." He slapped this weird bracelet on me and I felt my powers forced back. Like a massive river held back by a dam. I moaned and crumpled. I felt like all my strength had fled from my body. "Seems Andromeda's toys work nicely." The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Anakis at the bars of the cell, staring at me on the floor with horror.
                                                       ********************************
I opened my eyes and my vision blurred. I let out a small grunt and tried to move my feet, but soon realized they weren't touching the ground. I kicked and tried to feel the ground but couldn't and every time I moved my arms felt like they would come out of there sockets.
"I see you're awake." I let my head fall for I did not want to look into the eyes, the cold gold eyes of this man. "If I recall we have not been properly introduced." I could here the humor in his voice. He was enjoying this. How could someone enjoy bringing pain to another, how could hurting someone bring you joy? "To start off my name is Malum, I know you know my little coward of a nephew."
"He isn't," I mumbled.
"Excuse me." The humor was gone.
I lifted my head and looked him in the eyes. "He isn't a coward, Adonis isn't.   He may be annoying and inconsiderate of others, but he has the kindest heart when it comes down to it. He is sympathetic when someone is hurting, and protects people when they need it. And I can assure you he is no coward.   You may be his uncle, but you of all people have absolutely no right to speak ill of him!"
"I see," He walked over to me "You have feelings for him as well." He laughed. "Well, if you like to talk him up so much where is he right now while you are strung up here, hmm? Probably sitting on a hospital bed wishing he had never opposed me." He smiled "And he will probably be to late to do anything to save y-"
I spit on him interrupting his stupid rant. "Why you little..." He smacked me so hard he cut my cheek, I felt the blood trickling down my jaw line. "If you are so eager for your punishment, why don't we begin."
He walked over to a wall full of so many terrible things, I was terrified of what he would choose. There where whips with glass woven throughout it, weird things that looked so grotesque I didn't even want to imagine what they did, and other various things I do not wish to describe.
His hand brushed over all the evil things before he settled on one. A knife. He meandered over to me sharpening the knife, which already looked sharp. "You know I heard that Ceridwen women don't cut there hair." He ran the knife across my jaw line and I sucked in my breath. It wasn't true. Ceridwen women cut there hair, my mother had short hair. Mine was just this long because I never bothered to cut it.
But seeing as he didn't know that I was willing to bluff if the situation called, "I hear it is a terrible thing to cut it. It means eternal shame." I have no idea how this rumor spread and I didn't care, because just as he said shame he grabbed all of my hair in his hands and hacked it off with the knife. I let out a scream, not because the hair was gone but because the pain of the knife tugging at my hair felt like every hair on my head was being yanked out.
He pulled away with a satisfied look on his face. I felt my hair brush my shoulders but not my back. I glanced at his hands as he dropped a huge pile of black hair onto the floor. "Now, I don't know if it was true or not, but that was a nice scream you let out there." He smiled "Now, shall we truly begin?"
I felt the tears prickle my eyes but I suppressed them. I would not let this man get the best of me.
"What?  No response?" He frowned. "Oh, I know, would you like to choose your next form of pain?" He gave a huge smile. I grunted at the pain of my arms being held up above me by the shackles made for the height of a grown man. He must have taken that for a no. "No.  I see." His hands hovered over the pile of torture devices with his eyes closed. "Let's leave it to chance, shall we?" He moved his hands over them with his eyes closed and his head facing up.
After about a minute his hand stopped over a whip, and to my utter horror, the one with the glass. "No, please." I begged before I could catch myself.
He whipped his head over to me with shock then smiled. Smiled so coldly I thought I might freeze from his gaze. "Oh yes, I do love it when they beg. Especially when they are as strong willed as you. It is so much fun to break them." He picked up the whip and I closed my eyes, it was better if I couldn't see it. That's what I thought...I was dead wrong.
I felt the searing pain of the whip and the glass tearing at my flesh and let out a scream of sure terror and pain. I had never screamed like that. I never thought something could hurt this bad. I couldn't keep them the tears ran down my face in streams, like the warm blood I felt running down my side. "Please," I breathed "Please no more, please."
I heard him laugh, though I couldn't see him through the tears. "Oh, the joy, she is begging. I think I win. But winning is never fun without an after party because this just hasn't been long enough for my tastes." He set the whip down dripping with blood. My blood. he picked up one thing after another and finally...didn't pick up anything. "You know," he walked over to me and held my chin up so he could look directly at me. "I wonder how you would fare if I just used my fire? Hmm, shall we try?" He lit his hands up, and for one terrible moment he looked just like Adonis. If it weren't for the huge scar running along his eye I probably would have thought it was him in my delirium.
My thoughts were yet again interrupted by a searing pain in my side. I let out another scream, and the pain didn't stop. Malum held his hand there until I fainted and everything went black.