Woohoo! Here we go, another chapter coming right up! Excited? ;) Because I sure am! ^^
Disclaimer: I do not own Wakfu.
Disclaimer2: I do not own Alys.

Chapter 7: The Reason to Fight

The Eniripsa's healing brush felt good on his burned skin, after another fruitless interrogation session. Once again, the furious dark-haired woman stormed out of the room leaving the Bontarian master all hurt and pained, on the verge of consciousness. Soon after she left, a familiar flutter of wings sounded in his ears, as Anrika made her way inside, the familiar tray in her hands. Seeing the state he was in, she gasped and almost dropped the tray, which happened far too often for the master's liking. The young healer sure was clumsy in handling anything different than injuries. She managed to set the tray on the wooden table in one piece, before setting to work on easing his pain.

After Anrika decided his injuries were taken care of, she moved to carefully feeding the small master. At some point, she begun blabbering about random stuff, not paying attention to the lack of any response from her listener.

"And then I thought, maybe I should dye my hair to a more vibrant colour. Something red maybe? I don't know" she gazed up at Joris with a smile. "What do you think?"

"Excuse me?" the puzzled look he gave her made her cheeks turn pink and look away, laughing nervously.

"Yeah, you're right. Red is not really my colour. What was I thinking?" she hit the side of her head in a playful manner, sticking out her tongue.

The Bontarian master sighed, deciding not to dwell on the subject. It would create even more confusion, and his mind wasn't ready to take it on. Although Anrika was able to heal his body, the mind was another matter. Sure, the visits of the young Eniripsa after each meeting with Dame, which happened once a few hours, made the situation more bearable. But he couldn't notice the prolonged imprisonment was starting to take its toll on his mentality. It wasn't that bad yet, but he could recall seeing a few prisoners who had gone mad after spending too much time in isolation.

"Brown?" he heard the Eniripsa mumble under her breath. Was she still talking about her hair? "Or maybe black?"

"Not going to implore, but don't you have anywhere else to be?" he asked, interrupting the young woman's trail of thoughts. She blinked several times, to process the question.

"Am I being too intimidating?" she asked, casting her gaze to her feet. "I'm sorry if I'm talking too much, but you're the only person in the whole building who doesn't tell me off after I started talking"

"I didn't mean it like that" he apologised with a tilt of his head. "What I meant was, don't you have any duties to attend. I didn't want to keep you from your work"

"Oh, thank my grandmother's brush! I was scared for a moment that you were angry at me for talking so much" Anrika sighed in relief. "Well, I don't have any work in particular. I'm basically free to go around the building unless I'm summoned by Dame"

"Why didn't you just leave, then?" the question surprised the young Eniripsa, her puzzled expression visible from the corner of his hood. "If you just left Brakmar, I'm sure they wouldn't even follow you" She smiled a little, before looking up at the ceiling.

"And where would I go?" she asked, her eyes fixated on the dark rock above her head. "I have no relatives or friends. Sure, it's not perfect here, with Dragonborns, but at least I have a bed to sleep in and something to eat. I won't complain"

"And if you could find someone who could take you in unconditionally, who would treat you like family… if you could live in a place you could call your home… would you leave then?" he pushed, feeling sorry for the young girl. She didn't belong to those villains, to Brakmar. She deserved a better place, where she could be herself without fear and doubt. Maybe she could leave with him and live in the bazaar. He was sure neither Luis nor his sons wouldn't mind the young Eniripsa's company. And Alys too. She would at least have another woman to talk to when she comes for a visit.

His eyes met hers, as she turned around, confused about the remark. Home… Was there really a place out there she could call as such? She pondered on the thought, smiling a little bit.

"If really such place existed… then yes, I would leave" she replied. "But I couldn't leave you here, so you'd have to leave with me, you know?" she joked, her eyes glistening. "You're my patient after all"

"Did Dame tell you to heal me?" he asked, raising his brow. It didn't seem likely, but on the other hand, she needed him alive. The fact that he was immortal didn't apply to mortal wounds and murder. And he didn't see another way for Anrika to be allowed enter his cell room freely to heal him and bring him food.

"As a matter of fact, she did" the Eniripsa confirmed with a nod. "But even if she didn't, I would do it myself. I just can't watch people getting hurt"

Joris nodded in understanding. Dame was very persistent, same as he was. She kept coming back every few hours, asking the same question over and over again.

"You seem to matter to her a lot if she didn't kill you by now" the blunt exclamation from the young woman dragged him back from his thoughts. He shook his head in response.

"Not me, the knowledge I possess" he corrected his face darkening. "As soon as she gets them, she'll deem me useless and gets rid of me"

"Is that why you refuse to answer?" she asked, her eyes staring at his figure. Any normal prisoner would give up long ago, but Master Joris just kept on giving Dame the silent treatment.

"Yes, but that's not the only reason, and definitely not the most important" he nodded. "She wants the knowledge I cannot grant her, no matter the cost"

"But… she's hurting you to get it" Anrika argued. "How can you put some information above your own health?"

Joris smiled wryly as he listened to the Eniripsa's reasoning. In any other circumstances, he would have taken the same approach as she did. But this case was different. The fate of the whole World of Twelve depended on whether Dame would get her answers or not. And he definitely didn't want to risk it.

"This knowledge she desires is too dangerous" he simply stated, sighing and staring at the ceiling from under his hood. "I cannot risk the safety of all Twelvians just to ease my pain"

"I see..." Anrika spoke sadly. "That's so generous of you, Master Joris" she suddenly looked up at him with the warm smile. "To put others before yourself. I don't think I would be able to do it"

"No one asks you to" he shook his head. "And it's certainly not generous of me. I'm just paying for my own mistakes. I should have acted differently at that time"

He wondered about that night many times. What if he didn't decide to go down and meet the visitor? What if he'd put a little bit more of a fight? Or didn't ask Luis to lock the door, letting his sons come to his aid? There were so many what if's.

"We can't change the past, that's for sure" the young Eniripsa agreed with a solemn look. "And it's not the way, to dwell on the things we could have done differently" their eyes met, his full of confusion and blame, while hers glinted with wisdom and kindness. "Whatever you did or didn't do in the past shouldn't be the reason why you're pushing forward. It will only tie you up, and I think you have enough on your head already" she chuckled at the joke, before smiling with the brightest smile he'd seen her do. "So don't fight because you're sorry, or want to make up for your mistakes. Fight for those dear to you, those who can't protect themselves if the worst would happen. And never forget, you're not alone in this world. I'm sure there are people out there who would gladly share the burden with you. So don't be afraid to ask for help, or show your weakness. Because no one is invincible, not even the centuries-old famed Master of Bonta"

The silence that followed the speech was heavy, but not uncomfortable. Joris stared in awe at the Eniripsa. He chuckled silently, as he wondered about what has led to such proclamation. He really did sound selfish at that time. And to think the one to point it out was someone with much less life experience than he had. Life was cruel at times.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking at the young woman. "And thank you" the silent nod and a blush on her cheeks was an answer enough.

The abrupt rise of voices outside broke the atmosphere, and make them stare at the door in confusion.

"What's going-" Anrika started, but a sudden cry from, the corridor made her face turn white.

"A breach! We have a breach!"