The next day began as it always did. Arden packed up his small sack of work gear, this time with the berries tucked safely away, and he made the long trek to the dungeons. As he descended he began to feel nervous, his bag feeling heavier than usual. The reality of illegality of the act he planned to enact began weighing him down as he followed the stairs down. HE tried to keep his head high and his expression neutral, praying that he would receive the same passive glances from his fellow staff as every other day.
Thankfully they did. Everything was going smoothly as he entered the hallway to Erebus’ chamber. The hallway, however, seemed twice as long as usual and the unease in his stomach churned violently, sending cold beads of sweat down his brow. He felt sick and his mind began to formulate every possible way this could go poorly. He tried to remind himself that he had already convinced himself that it was okay, but the nagging feeling never relented.
“Good morning.” Erebus’ deep voice shocked him from his musings. His head snapped up to meet the demon’s piercing blue eyes locked with his own.
“G-Good morning, I brought you a few berries.” The statement rushed out of him as he thrust the small pouch toward the man. “I couldn’t take too many, but I hope that this is okay.”
Erebus eyed the pouch with intrigue as he slowly reached forward to take it. His long fingers brushed over Arden’s and his whole body went stiff. They were warm. Very warm. And his nails lightly scraped his palm as he pulled away.
Arden watched as Erebus took a single berry between his fingers and rolled it. Then he slowly lifted it to his face, sniffing it briefly before placing it deliberately on his tongue. His eye contact with Arden remained locked as he chewed slowly and swallowed with a small yet audible gulp.
“Delicious.” He finally breaks eye contact as he ties up the bag and places it upon his bed roll in the corner.
“I have decided that I do want you to teach me. If that is agreeable.” Arden did his best to stand tall and appear confident in the face of Erebus, hoping that it would help his cause.
Erebus eyed him again, this time with a fierce expression that Arden could practically feel on his skin. “You are amusing and I am willing to try. But if you cannot grasp the simple concepts within a satisfactory time frame, I will end the lessons and we will never speak of it again.” He does not blink.
“Define a ‘satisfactory’ time frame.” Arden asked, shifting slightly under the unyielding stare.
“It is not a definable unit of time, it is based on my patience based on the potential I observe within the lesson.” Erebus crosses his arms and leans on the cell.
“I accept your terms.” Arden states, knowing that this is his only chance, and he does not want Erebus to retract his agreement before they have even begun.
Erebus smiles smugly as he uncrosses his arms and steps forward. HIs arm extends outside of the cell, ready to make the agreement more official. Arden hesitates to take it, not knowing the consequences of grasping hands with a demon. Slowly he raises his arm and places it in Erebus’. His handshake is firm and brief, but the energy he felt emanating from the man sent pulses up his arm. A chill races up his spine as his hand returns to his side.
“When do we start?” Arden asks with poorly masked enthusiasm.
“Right now.”
Comments (0)
See all