A/N: Omgchapter! I'm not "back", because I never really "left". So yes, please enjoy. Thanks to all those who have commented in my hiatus :. Regular disclaimer applies.

Chapter 11

Markl bolted upright, a strangled sound of distress filling his ears. He looked frantically around his prison trying to discern reality from fragmented dreams. With another jolt he remembered… Howl! He looked around himself for any sign of his mentor, but there was not a trace. Not even his still cool form in the corner… So it had been a dream? But it had seemed so real!

Markl rested shakily against the penetratingly cold wall to brace himself and steady his equally shaky thoughts. His heart was still pounding so hard, as if it were some trapped frantic thing lying just beneath his skin. Placing a hand there to calm it, he tried his best to dispel that horrible image from his mind. Of Howl… he swallowed with difficulty and tried to think of other things. As he relaxed against the hard stonewall a strangled laugh found its way to his chapped lips. He just had to laugh at the irony that at this moment his very last wish would be to see Howl, when this whole time he'd been frantic to find him.

The sound of metal meeting metal sharply made him jump and glance around nervously. The last person he could possibly want to see at this point stood outside his cell holding a tray with food of a questionable edible nature in his hands. Markl glared at the guard, more than willing to go without food if it would spare him further encounters with this particular creature.

"I see you survived the night." The guard said stiffly, looking sorely disappointed.

Markl remained right where he was, being no fool, and in no hurry to receive a similar "berating" as he had the day before. His throat would feel sore for many days to come thanks to him. In the light of day, Markl could make out the guard much better. No longer was he emphasized as a twisted sinister pair of eyes with an equally ghoulish grin. In the daylight, he was a normal man, and seemed far less intimidating. In fact, the only way Markl was able to connect the two as the same person was from the heavy unidentifiable accent. Markl nodded jerkily in answer to the guard.

"Pity." He said and set the food down about a meter away from the cell. "You'd better eat it before the rats smell it. Nasty little heathens. They're scavengers you know. They'll swarm anything weak and helpless if it means they'll be getting a meal in the end." The guard turned on his heel and left the room via the stairwell.

Markl defiantly stuck his tongue out at his retreating footsteps in mild retaliation. He glanced at the food and thought about what the guard had said. Was it a threat? Did he perhaps command a legion of rat armies with which he would send to his cell to devour him bit by tiny bit? He shivered, although not from the cold. In any case, he might as well eat since it appeared that the food would sit there until eaten, either by him or unwelcome visitors.

He got up gingerly and walked over to the edge of his cell. He got down on his stomach and reached to the edge of the tray. His fingers fell just short of the edge, no matter how hard he strained to reach it. He gave up momentarily and retreated to his wall, knowing that that approach was futile. He drew his knees up to his chest and hugged them close. It was then that he realized his migraine was gone. 'Well,' he thought, 'At least that's something.'

"Markl?"

Markl blinked.

"Hey, Markl! And you down there?" Said a hushed feminine voice from inside his cell.

"Jessica?" Markl asked, hesitantly, recognizing the voice but unable to pinpoint where it was coming from.

"Yes! My voice should be coming from the corner of your cell."

Sure enough in the corner of the cell high up on the wall was a small cylindrical hole.

"How is it that you can talk to me?" He asked, getting to his feet and approaching the corner warily.

"I'm in the garden right now. This air tube was installed when the castle was built to provide prisoners with fresh air. It's not needed anymore but it's a nice way to talk to convicts."

He scoffed, smiling faintly, "Do you make it a habit of making friends with criminals?"

He laughter echoed down to him, "Only sometimes."

His smile faded, "Jessica, did you know they think I kidnapped you?"

Silence was all the reply he received, "Jessica…?"