This time, the guards took James deeper and deeper to a place where no light nor warmth touched. The torches they carried fought for life in the stale air and James’ bare feet precariously gripped in the wet slimy cobbles as the knights forced him forward. The stench of mould bittered the air, the dusty taste stinging his tongue.

ㅤOne of the two guards retched.

ㅤ“Why’d you go and piss off clay-face? This is disgusting.”

ㅤJames scrunched up his nose. It was unpleasant but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the smell of the rotting child he’d found the day before.

ㅤBy the carefreeness of the knights, James could guess that Alex hadn’t told them who their prisoner was. If they’d known who he was, the atmosphere would’ve been frostier.

ㅤWhilst memorising the prison’s layout, James’ mind couldn’t help but wander, perplexed by Alexander’s actions. If that knight was so convinced of his identity, why hadn’t he announced the career-making capture and suggested an execution? He couldn’t make sense of it.

ㅤRather than an open cell, James was taken to a locked room. His gut twisted once he saw the shackles hanging from the wall, the low stench of stale blood underlining the damp.

ㅤFor the first time since James had been arrested, he struggled.

ㅤHe got one knight in the face by lurching his head and pummelled his body into the other who’d yelled in surprise, trying to tackle him at the waist before any sword could be drawn. His balance was slightly off and he ended up slipping to the floor with the knight, struggling to keep the other man down with his legs.

ㅤA sudden sharp pain busted his head and a boot struck his chest, winding him. He gasped for air desperately, his eyes searching for his assailant in his disorientation.

ㅤ“You fucking bastard,” the first knight spat, his nose bloodied, whilst the other got up from the floor, his clothes covered in filth.

ㅤThe oncoming assault made James regret not taking his chances in very beginning in the woods. They kicked his useless body as he lurched on the ground, protecting his ribs and stomach with his arms and legs. They battered him, the lack of clothes leaving him with broken skin.

ㅤThey’d caught his head with their boots and James’ consciousness gravely started sinking away. He grappled frantically to stay awake, to remain aware, but his vision began to blacken despite his will.

ㅤHe wasn’t sure how long the abuse lasted, his mind coming and going. He could hardly remember being chained up the wall, his body hanging forward by his arms. After some time, he’d tested his feet, which had been predictably chained to the floor. He must’ve been there long enough for his shoulders to ache once he properly came to.

ㅤAlthough dark, there was a faint orange glow of a candle on a table a few metres from him. He tried to blink away the dizziness, needing to get a grip of his situation and surroundings.

ㅤThe sound of a shoe scraping against rock was startling and he squinted to notice a dark figure sitting beyond the candle.

ㅤHeart stuttering in alarm, he watched on. The person paid little attention to him, focused on a book. The silence gave James enough comfort to calm himself, trying to stay composed and rational.

ㅤEventually, his eyes adjusted. To his surprise, it was Alexander, his brows furrowed slightly in concentration. His endlessly dark eyes reflected a flame as they moved from one line to the next.

ㅤJames craned his neck slightly to see the book’s title, hissing in pain as a stinging soreness erupted. Moving was not a good idea.

ㅤThe sound caught the knight’s attention. They stared at each other for a moment, the other with a weirdly relaxed demeanour about him. James would’ve expected any man to have been smug in his shoes. Even saints could be sadistic under the right circumstances.

ㅤAlex broke eye contact first and regarded his book once again.

ㅤ“That was stupid,” he said.

ㅤJames secretly agreed. His body hurt everywhere but he didn’t have the energy to reply to a comment like that.

ㅤ“Why are you sitting there?” James instead asked him, his voice coming out hoarse and dry. He coughed from the rawness in his throat, causing all the aches and pains in his body to complain.

ㅤWhilst Alex didn’t appear sympathetic, he didn’t seem satisfied by James’ pain either.

ㅤIt was a pointless question to ask though. James knew the nature of knights. He knew why they had cells like these. There was no doubt that the chest near the door had an assortment of torture tools.

ㅤAlex finally closed that book of his, giving James his undivided attention.

ㅤ“It would be a problem for me if you died. Your head was pretty banged up.”

ㅤJames inwardly scoffed but found the concern strange. Jay was wanted dead or alive. There wouldn’t be much benefit by preserving his life when he posed a large risk—he was a career escape artist.

ㅤ“Why?”

ㅤ“I want to know about the bairn you had.”

ㅤJames was baffled. Some trafficked child with red eyes meant absolutely in comparison to the capture of Jay himself. Although the lost goods would be a shame for the complicit knights, it should’ve been forgettable in this situation.

ㅤ“I don’t understand why you care,” he replied, sincerely. Milo was just some kid.

ㅤAlex had an impressive façade. He was a hard one to read.

ㅤ“I was near the slums that day. A few people had seen you carrying a child away. I want to know what you did with him.”

ㅤThe confusion must’ve been evident on James’ face.

ㅤ“Don’t pretend otherwise,” Alex snarled. “There are too many missing children these days. The families need answers.”

ㅤIt didn’t seem like Alex was speaking with any ulterior motive. His tone was even and seemingly honest.

ㅤJames then remembered his previous cellmate told him that this knight didn’t have a permanent post here—that it was rare for him to even be in this area.

ㅤOnly then did it dawn on James. “You don’t know. Do you?”

ㅤThat seemed to grate on Alex’s patience, his eye twitching slightly. “Don’t know what?”

ㅤThat was the only explanation. Somehow, Alex was entirely ignorant to the human trafficking the knights allowed in that city. This man probably didn’t know about Milo’s red eyes. He spoke as if he was genuinely concerned for the child's wellbeing.

ㅤKnights were never this compassionate. Any person with any kind of significant rank was corrupt; it was the only way to ensure their ecosystem remained beneficial and efficient and Alex was high up.

ㅤBut, then again, the look on Alex’s face truly made James think he was ignorant.

ㅤ“I can’t help but ask—” James heard himself saying. “The child disappearance rate in this area… it’s excessively high?”

ㅤAlex scowled, his eyes dragging in every inch of James’ own expression.

ㅤ“This isn’t relevant.”

ㅤJames had no idea how this guy didn’t know. Surely the people above him would have warned him against investigating child disappearances?

ㅤ“Were you ever told to not investigate those things?”

ㅤIt was subtle, but Alex’s eyes widened.

ㅤJames let out a breathy chuckle. This man was so completely and pathetically out of the loop.

ㅤAlex stood abruptly, the chair screeching against the ground with the force. He came up to James and grabbed his face. “What do you know?

ㅤJames couldn’t help but laugh again, a bitter kind. He stared the man in the eye, defiantly.

ㅤ“You’re the only one who doesn’t.”

ㅤJames would’ve been expected to be stricken, and by the Gods did Alex look like he wanted to. But, he didn’t.

ㅤ“I’m going to ask you, one more time,” Alex commanded, his fury thinly reigned in. “Where is that child?”

ㅤJames grinned. “Somewhere out of all you bastards’ reach. And there’s no place safer than that.”

ㅤAlex cursed in frustration and whipped his hand back to himself. Without another glance, the knight turned and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

ㅤJames couldn’t help but chuckle to himself bleakly.

 

➵ ➵ ➵ ➵

 

Over time, James’ stomach churned with hunger, so famished that it felt like he might vomit. It was chillier underground and his circulation couldn’t quite reach his fingertips above his head, his hands cold. Each shiver jostled his injuries, causing ripples of pain.

ㅤHe was slowly losing his self-respect, a hair’s width away from begging anyone who could listen for clothes and food.

ㅤBut worse than the pain, Eris’ absence was like a lost limb.

ㅤJames couldn’t remember the last time he didn’t have his silent partner and her cold reassurance. He’d become so used to feeling her thoughts that true quietude was ear-piercing. It left him with nothing but his own disconnected feelings and tragic musings. He needed her. Without her, he was alone.

ㅤBecause she wasn’t there to distract him, his mind poisoned itself. Pricks of stale memories eagerly pointed out all the places he went wrong—why he’d failed and ended up there.

ㅤAt some point, the door clicked open, and James welcomed the distraction. Even if it was those knights coming back for a second beating, that was fine enough. It was less torturous than silence.

ㅤHe was pleased it was Alex, someone who didn’t seem interested in physically harming him. For some reason, James had value that Alex needed.

ㅤ“Welcome back.”

ㅤAlex hardly glanced at James in response, too conceited to interact with scum like him.

ㅤUnlike last time, Alex did not take a seat at the chair but instead perched on the table, looking down on him.

ㅤAfter a moment of studying James, Alex shut his eyes and sighed, rubbing a hand down his face.

ㅤJames wasn’t sure how to feel about that reaction.

ㅤ“If it was up to me,” Alex began, his gaze heavy and keen. “I would kill you, right here, right now.”

ㅤJames bit his inner cheek.

ㅤ“And I wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep over it,” Alex affirmed. “I want you dead.”

ㅤJames was curious about this too.

ㅤ“What’s stopping you?”

ㅤA stupid thing to ask, perhaps, but James couldn’t hold back his interest.

ㅤ“Orders are orders. I have to follow the will of my superiors.”

ㅤ‘Orders’ and ‘superiors’ suggested that people higher than Alex knew of James’ capture which was deeply disturbing. All high military personnel were nobles, that's simply how the kingdom was structured. No one hated Jay more than nobles. They feared him.

ㅤHis anxiety simmered.

ㅤ“Orders?”

ㅤNothing could have prepared James for the next words Alex would speak.

ㅤ“How do you feel about the possibility of being completely pardoned of your crimes?”

ㅤEven with James’ habit of schooling his expressions, he was sure his furrowed brows, wide eyes, and open mouth were enough to convey his utter confusion and shock.

ㅤWhat?

ㅤThe distaste on Alex’s face soured further, like he’d taken a bite out of something venomous. He appeared determined and serious, despite his personal feelings.

ㅤ“...the hell?”

ㅤ“Do you want it or not?” Alex chopped in.

ㅤ“A pardon?” James enunciated slowly, as if he’d perhaps misheard.

ㅤ“Aye. All crimes from the beginning of time, all forgiven.”

ㅤJames didn’t know what to think. He’d half a mind to blindly accept and use the opportunity to fool the knights and escape. However, he also knew that there was no way, regardless of what they wanted from him, that they would genuinely let him live. Whatever they were going to ask of him would put him in danger if this was the offer.

ㅤJames would know. Those on high liked cutting off their loose ends, regardless of how well they danced.

ㅤ“In return, my superior wants you to do a job for him.”

ㅤJames swallowed, unprepared for what he was about to hear.

ㅤ“In return, you must kill King Fabian.”