"Here, drink this." Shark, drifting in between sleep and consciousness, felt a cup being pressed against his lips and something cool and wet filling his mouth. Water. Shark tried to sit up and grasp the cup, needing more of that precious liquid, but hands held him back. "Not too fast, not too fast!" the person said shrilly. Forcing himself to go more slowly, Shark drank his fill.

"Thank you," he said when the cup was removed. He managed to push himself up into a sitting position, receiving an unpleasant surprise when chains clanked and he felt the cold iron clamped on his wrists. He dimly remembered being put in the chains, but he had forgotten them until that moment.

The person in his cell was a boy around his own age, with deep violet eyes and orange hair that stuck straight out of his head. He was dressed in simple clothing, but they were still much too fine to be a slave's. His hands were pale and smooth, another sign that he was not accustomed to hard labor. Shark felt like laughing when he thought that, just five seasons ago, he had looked like this boy. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Who, me?" the boy asked, looking around nervously.

"Yes." Shark wondered what was so nerve racking about a question like that.

"Oh, uh, I'm Ray Shadows. I'm… a servant boy here." He said this rather too quickly to be believable, but who was Shark to judge? He wasn't who he said either. "So, what's your name?" Ray asked, clearly changing the subject.

"Shark."

"Shark? Is that your real name?"

An enormous wave of Déjà vu came over Shark as he remembered a similar conversation in a different dungeon cell.

"I'm called Shark," the boy answered.

"But that is not your name," the woman said. It wasn't a question.

Interesting, how this time he hadn't included the part about Shark being what he was called. He supposed that, if you used a name long enough, it became yours eventually. "No, it's not my real name, but it is a name that I respond to."

Ray had to take a minute to think this over, but soon he just shrugged and said, "Okay."

"So, are you the servant that's been assigned to take care of me?" Shark asked, remembering the guard's instructions from the night before. At least he assumed it was the night before.

"Oh, yes! I almost forgot!" Ray reached over to his other side and brought out two loaves of bread. "Here. Don't eat it too fast." Shark accepted the rolls in some amazement. They were warm and soft- unlike any bread he'd had since the day he surrendered. Usually he ate bread that was a little burnt or stale, never freshly baked like this.

"I guess he really does want me to get back up on my feet. So he can knock me back down again."

"What?"

"Oh… nothing." Shark took a bite of the bread and chewed slowly, enjoying it.

"So…" Ray seemed to want to ask him something, but unsure about how to do it. "You're the first slave that's been brought in here to recover and then go back to work."

"Really?" Shark asked through a mouthful of his breakfast, keeping his tone casual.

"Yeah. All the others are here to wait for their execution. They aren't given anything- not their own cells, not good food, not even blankets to keep them warm. That's why…" Ray hesitated. "That's why I began visiting them. I bring them the stuff they need. I can't stop them from being… well, you know, but I can try to make them more comfortable. That's why I was surprised when I received orders to feed you and make sure you got better."

"If you aren't supposed to usually take care of the prisoners, what are your normal duties?"

Ray turned bright red. "Oh, I, uh… I have other duties. I just come down here in my spare time. I feel bad for all the prisoners here, because-" He cut himself off abruptly. He was obviously hiding something, but Shark didn't demand an explanation. He probably would have before this whole ordeal, but now he knew the dangers that might be involved.

"Because you can't stop them from being executed. You're powerless." Shark said quietly. He knew the feeling. How many of his own people had died while he slaved away for Domitian, bound by a promise made to protect his sisters?

Ray nodded. "Yeah. That's about it. How did you know?" Shark shrugged and took another bite of bread. "Why aren't you being executed?"

"The Emperor likes me," the purplette said with an ironic laugh. "He wants to keep me because I entertain him."

Ray wasn't following him. "But you're a field slave."

Shark shifted the shackles around his wrists. "Only temporarily. Your emperor- my master- was trying to teach me how good I had it. When he gets back from war, he'll probably summon me back to his side to drag around on a leash all day; to show me off to all his friends and-" Shark stopped. He'd said more than he meant to. "I'm sorry."

Ray was pale. "Th-that's okay." He stammered.

"So, do you have any news about the war? We don't get much out in the fields." Shark said this as casually as he could, not wanting to alert Ray to how important this information was to him. He was trying also to change the subject, since talking about Domitian seemed to make the boy uncomfortable.

The new subject, however, did not seem to make him relax much at all. "Well… I know they've taken Drachelm. There are lots of rumors going around about what the next target will be. I've heard that it's Sparta, but I've also heard that the Emperor intends to confuse the enemy by pulling back and then send a secret raiding party to Heartland."

Shark finished his breakfast, licking the crumbs off his fingers. He didn't ask Ray anymore questions, seeing as they made him so uncomfortable, but instead sat back and waited for the other boy to say something. He never got the chance. In the next moment a guard had arrived, banging on the bars on Shark's cell to get the boys' attention.

"Hey, Shadows! I told you to feed the slave, not socialize with him. Besides, I thought you had to be back inside the palace before the sun got too high in the sky."

"Oh, no!" Ray yelped, fumbling to collect the cup and pitcher that had held the water and get to his feet. "I've gotta go. See you tonight, Shark."

"Uh…sure."

The guard opened up the door to Shark's cell and Ray scurried out, muttering to himself that he'd better not be late. It wasn't long before he was out of Shark's sight, chained to the wall as he was, but everyone in the dungeon heard the loud CRASH! And Ray's cry of "I'm okay!"

Ray visited Shark every morning and evening, bringing him bread and water, and sometimes fruit or milk. Shark had to admit, it was great to be able to lie against the cool stone, with no weeds to dig up, and eat good food twice a day. Of course, the confinement was frustrating, and Ray could be a little exasperating- he was very excitable. He would talk about of all sorts of things with Shark. Ray wanted to write plays that would be performed all over the empire. All of them stared a brave swordsman and clever trickster named Ray Shadows- he said all the fake names he came up with sounded stupid- who would save damsels in distress and take down corrupt rulers. Ray acted out some of the scenes he had written and them memorized by heart. Shark had to admit they were quite good.

In return, he told him all about life as a field slave. Ray was fascinated, and would often bring paper and pencil with him in order to take notes. Shark's original opinion of Ray-that he was very sheltered and naive- was proved to be true in some ways and false in others. Ray was shocked and appalled by some of the things Shark told him- such as the beatings and the chaining up at night, and yet he had a heartfelt concern for all those who were oppressed, regardless of how awful their situations were. Shark was sometimes caught off guard by a sudden outburst from the younger boy (he had discovered that Ray wouldn't turn nine until the end of the cold season) about how unfair it all was. And Shark could hardly disagree with him.

One evening, as Shark was enjoying some pomegranate seeds- a rare treat he hadn't had since becoming a slave- Ray told him, "I've decided to put a character based after you in my next play." Shark was so surprised that he choked on the pomegranate seeds, and Ray had to hit him on the back a couple of times to get him to cough them up again." Sorry. I didn't think you'd take it that way."

"A character… based after me?" Shark wasn't sure whether to be flattered or flabbergasted.

"Sure, why not? A mysterious boy by the name of Shark is rescued from slavery by the great Ray Shadow, and according to the custom of his people, promises his life in service to the one who saved him. And so the adventure begins!"

Shark tried to find a polite way to tell Ray that he didn't want to be in a play, but at his silence, Ray's face fell. "You hate it."

"No! No, it's a good idea, it's just…" Does it have to be me? "Do you wish you could do that? Rescue me from slavery, I mean?"

It took a while for Ray to answer. He looked around the cell, never meeting Shark's eyes. Then at last he said, "Yes. I wish I could do all the things Ray does in my stories. He's brave and no one can stop him. I'm powerless to really help anybody, and I'm a coward."

"That's not true! You've helped me."

"Yeah. I've fattened you up so they could send you back out into living hell."

"Well, if you want to think of it that way," Shark grumbled.

"You don't?"

"No."

"Oh, good," Ray looked truly relieved. "I wouldn't want you to think of me that way, Shark. You're the only real friend I've ever had, and when they take you back to the field…" he cut himself off, quickly swiping at his eyes, which were quickly filling up with tears. "Well, see you tomorrow."

Shark held up his shackled wrists. "I'm not going anywhere." Ray managed a smile. This had become a private joke between them, since Ray always departed with, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

After he was gone, Shark shifted his chains around, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. The sun was rising and setting earlier now, meaning that harvest time was on its way. He doubted it would be much longer until they decided to send him back to the field, and they probably wouldn't give him any heads up, either. It was only a matter of time now.

Next time on A Tale of Two Slaves: Independent and headstrong Rio clashes with cold, stubborn Kite.