A slight breeze swayed the wooden sign sitting above the doorway. In all white letters it read "Apothecary" against its wooden construction. It was the only one in town and required no special gimmicks to draw customers in. One particular customer made their way out of the simple wooden door and down onto the street. They pulled their hood up while the bottles of newly purchased goods rattled in their bag slung around their shoulder.
"The hero captures the notorious thief, Violet, thwarting her latest schemes and adds her to his party!" Yelled a man standing in the middle of the town square. "Adventurer accused of being a demon tamer by Lord Caius Martel, he awaits trial in two days!"
The hooded figure clicked their tongue and turned their back on the crier to storm off. There wasn't enough time in their waking hours and now a deadline was set. Rest was no longer an option, but the aftermath of the battle still wore them down. They hurried to their destination, a warehouse behind the local blacksmith. Behind them, they closed the door, cutting off the daylight only for four great beams of light to meet on a completed metallic frame. It looked strangely like a wagon, but for one of the seats it had a smaller wheel attached to a stick that connected to the front wheels.
"I got the ingredients you needed, but this so far thing you asked for was pretty pricey," Noelle sighed as she placed the bottles on the table. “They said that if you wanted more you’d have to go to Evanstone, the city of water.”
"It's sulfur, thanks for bringing me all the things I asked for. I know it’s been one thing after another." Milly answered without looking up.
Noelle laughed a little, putting her hand on her chin, “I still have no idea why you asked me to bring you all the rubber balls I could find.”
Dark rings weighed down Milly’s eyes. Memories of watching Kuro get dragged away and the approaching trial took sleep away from her. One last turn of the metallic nut on the wheel made it secure and ready to go. Milly gave the wheel a final spin to see it move clean with no wiggling in its motion before she put down her wrench.
"You should take a break," Noelle suggested. "It won't do you any good if you pass out before we execute the plan."
What little strength Milly had left in her body grew restless, “Don’t say execute... We both know that Caius and his father are going to pull every trick they have to make this unfair for us.”
“I’m still hoping that my connections in the empire pull through, but it’s not looking good. It may be up to us after all, Mia. Luckily, our plan is fool-proof and if we get caught I’ll take full responsibility!”
“Y-yeah, but even more reason to not stop now. I’ll rest when everything is done,” answered Milly nervously. “Are you still visiting Kuro later?”
Noelle nodded to Milly from across the room, “After I take care of a few things on my end and check in at the guard’s station.”
“Thanks Noelle, maybe I will get some rest after I finish all of the prep work. Don’t worry about me and take care of Kuro.”
Without any more words, Noelle pulled the hood of her cloak up over her head and left the dark warehouse. Once again, Milly was all alone. It wasn’t too long ago that solitude and Chomper were her only companions in her research, but now there was an empty feeling in heart as she toiled away. A burning welled up in Milly’s eyes that she had to rub out before grabbing the bottles that Noelle left for her. She placed them carefully next to the mortar and pestle she prepared and began grinding up blackened chunks of what was once wood from the smith’s fires. Every few turns she lifted the stone tool and crushed the coals into a dark powder.
Thump! Thump! THUMP!
A shadow leapt through the musty air and crashed into the dirt stained wall. Hands scrambled in the darkness to grab at whatever they could in desperation. A soft warm feeling in one hand jumped from one to the other before they landed in both. The shadow’s eyes grew wide and shimmered with the single candle hanging in the sconce.
“I- I finally caught you, he he he…” giggled Kuro as he held the mouse in his grasp. “Now, all I need to do is pop off the top and have a drink!”
Mercy was in short supply in prison, and the mouse looked deep into Kuro begging for some to be spared. It struggled at first, but knowing escape was futile it stared at him with rapid breath as each one could be its last. Kuro’s lips stung from the cracks that formed on them in contrast to the damp walls around him. Only one bite away was some sort of moisture, but the mouse just kept looking at him. Kuro could only sigh at the mouse’s successful plea before lowering it back to the floor. In not even a moment it scurried back into the darkness out of sight. His senses returned to him to his dismay as the little bit of madness he felt was somewhat liberating.
Save for glimpses of the shadowy outline who kept replacing the candle in the sconce from across his cell, Kuro had not seen a soul since he was tossed into the deepest depths of the town’s dungeon. At first he tried to do some light exercise to stay sharp, but after nobody appeared with even the smallest hint of a meal or drink he opted to sit in the corner to conserve himself staring at the candle through the bars. Sometimes a mouse would run along the walls as his only companion who would continuously abandon him in his solitude. Of course Kuro would go crazy, but he knew he was going crazy so he held onto the fact that knowing made him not so.
CLANG! CLANG!
"You've got a visitor, demon lover," a gruff voice pierced the stillness.
“PEOPLE!?” squeaked Kuro as he hopped around his cell.
Light flooded the prison for three men to appear and grab Kuro from his cell. He squirmed while they dragged him through the halls and threw him into a room with a door opposite of the one he entered. Peeking from the wall to the side was the first bit of natural light Kuro saw since he was taken. His heart sank as he sat at the lone table in the middle of the room. There was an orange sky beyond the barred opening. It mixed with whatever was left of the daylight’s blue, making Kuro reminisce the times he would just stare at the horizon. For a moment Kuro felt at peace, that is until the door across the table slammed so hard into the wall it was a wonder it remained on its hinges.
“Hey Kuro!” Noelle greeted.
In her hands was a tray that had the most delectable aromas dancing in the air. She placed it down in front of him and it looked as heavenly as it smelled. Atop a bowl was an island of perfectly fried cuts of breaded meat with notes of onion and egg floating on the rectangular pieces. They came to a rest over a bed of white rice soaking up the juices and sauce they were cooked in that made each grain glisten. It was paired with the most tantalizing cup of water with ice that made the cup so cold it sweat against the warm air.
"One Keisok special cutlet bowl made by yours truly," Noelle proudly posed with her hands on her hips. "I took the liberty of taking our town's specialty and making it my- you don't waste any time do you?"
Kuro didn't. It was the first meal in who knows how long and there was no way he wouldn't take the pair of chopsticks laid at the side of the tray and start shoveling it in. Each morsel sang symphonies on his tongue. Even though the town of Keisok claimed this dish as their specialty, Noelle’s spin on it put all the ones Kuro ate before with Milly before to shame. Not even a grain of rice remained for Kuro to rinse down with the water. With each drink he took the time to let the ice melt in his mouth. Noelle sat there absorbing it all.
"So… was it good?" Noelle asked shyly.
"DELICIOUS!" Kuro yelled.
"I'm glad you liked it. I've never cooked for anyone before and I just made it how I like it…"
"This had to be one of the best things I've eaten in my whole life," Kuro proclaimed while sucking the ends of the chopsticks for more of the flavor.
"I did promise the hero of the day a meal, you saved not only myself but the town from that ground dragon. We all owe you a debt of gratitude."
"I guess, but that Caius jerk has a funny way of thanking me."
"About that… there's no way you'll get a fair trial with your judge being deep in the Martel's pocket. Not only that, but Lord Dominic has the final say in your punishment."
"Ah, well if that was my last meal, I'm glad it was so tasty."
Noelle flushed red and slammed the table a few times to regain her composure. She cleared her throat to continue, "Let’s get to the point… your friend and I are doing what we can to get you out of here, so just hang on a little longer."
"I'll try," Kuro slumped in his chair.
"Just one more thing… you're definitely not a demon tamer right?"
Kuro sat up at Noelle’s words and looked at her firmly in her forest green eyes, "No. I'm not."
"And that dog that helped us isn't an enemy?"
"No."
“That’s good enough for me.”
Noelle stood and turned towards the door without so much as another glance at Kuro and stopped at the threshold.
"Sorry my gift to you was so small, but I know you're the type not to take things at first sight… I also made sure to wash it really well before you used it…" Noelle said before passing through.
The door crashed shut just as hard as it opened. Alone once again, Kuro sat there for a moment sucking on the ends of the chopsticks again before his memories took over and gagged a bit.
"Calm down, she said she washed it. She washed it! It's fine!" Kuro yelled to himself, sticking his eating utensils in his pocket. "Just remember how good that meal was."
Moments passed and the guards found Kuro in a pace around the table before they seized him. Again he was in the depths of the earth buried in the darkness with only a flicker of the burning wick across him. He sat there staring at the candle once again, but it wasn't being engulfed by the shadows any longer. It drove it back.
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