"If I have never said it before," Jove said, dark humor coloring his voice, "We're lucky that your head is on fire."
Helios chuckled, though it held little humor. "Being the son of Apollo does come in handy at times," he said. "I never need a torch, for one thing."
The two men kept up the banter as they descended further and further below their magically cloaked island, deep into the very bowels of the Earth. The farther they went, the sheer absence of light became more and more oppressive, even to them.
But, in the end, they'd be able to leave. The prisoner held in this magical prison would not.
It was an oubliette. A place to put someone for the world to forget about.
It had almost been successful.
A few months ago, Helios had stumbled upon the nearly hidden door on the lowest level and in the darkest corner of the original ancient prison cells. Curious, he had followed the stairs down, and had discovered the prisoner held there.
When he had discovered who the cell had held, he had gone to get his friend and co-conspirator, Jove. Together, they had hatched the plan to get Proteus off of the island, and at least once a week, they made the long trek down into these depths that had never seen daylight.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the two men found the bottom of the stairs. There was limited room here, just enough for four or five people to stand comfortably. The space wasn't large to begin with, and the majority of the space was filled with a large prison cell.
Top, bottom and three sides were the obsidian colored stone, and the one barred section was just that…solid bars. It was a cage with no door, no lock, and no one who would know how to get her out.
Inside, a woman sat, a lone lamp her only companion. The lamp itself was enchanted, so it would never run out of oil, but it was little comfort when everything outside of the cage was darker than the deepest night.
At the men's approach, and the added light afforded them by Helios's flames, the woman looked up from where she'd been seated.
The woman had such light hair, that it was almost white. Her complexion was pale, but that was understandable in that no one knew the last time she'd been in the sunlight. She was dressed in a plain black shift, simple slippers on her feet.
"Ah," she said, her voice low and almost musical. That in itself was surprising since they were the only ones to come down here. She probably hadn't even spoken to anyone in the week since they'd been down here last. "You have returned. How is our plan faring?"
"Proteus made it safely to the human lands," Jove said. He reached into the large leather satchel he'd carried with him, and produced a wide array of fruits and delicacies from the kingdom above. He carefully reached through the bars and offered the treats to the woman inside. "He is in search of the power wielder now."
The woman took the food from him, holding the items with something approaching reverence. She was Fae, and had repeatedly told them that she had no need to eat, but she had seemed to enjoy the offerings so much that those who came to visit her continuously brought more.
The woman turned, gingerly placing the items on the small table that graced one corner of her cell. Outside of the small table, the plain wood chair and the bedframe with the thick straw mattress, the cell was bare. There were no comfort items here.
"How have you fared since last we spoke?" she asked.
As the woman spoke softly to Jove, Helios looked around the small cavern.
The walls were pitch black, but held a kind of shine to them. Possibly from the force of the magic that had created this place. It didn't seem to affect the Olympians, however it had severely limited the prisoner's powers.
He approached one wall, watching as the pure iron ore that lined the walls gleamed in what little light there was. The walls held no tool marks, which seemed impossible for such a place. There were places, however, where he could almost make out what looked to be talon and claw marks.
It was almost as if this place had been dug out by something. Something huge.
They had asked the woman once why she was down there, and she had told them that her own son had put her there many thousands of years ago.
She was Fae. Full blooded Fae with the purest magic, and had a power that had frightened others with her strength. It was the fear and jealousy of others that had caused them all to turn on her. They had put her here, surrounded by iron bars and iron walls beyond that, and left her there to rot.
Well, she wouldn't rot. She couldn't actually die.
She could fade, however, but her inner strength had kept her going, kept her grounded, and had taught her patience.
It seems that all of that patience had finally paid off.
"How long do we have before Proteus's escape is discovered?" the woman asked.
"It could be at any time," Jove admitted. "One thing Taurus is not, is stupid."
"Then we need to make use of what time we have," she said, smiling brilliantly at the two men. "You have both done such fine work, have been such fine company and so willing to help me. I hope that the situation can be resolved soon, and we are all able to meet on the other side of these bars."
"Agreed," Jove said.
"As much as I hate to break up the party," Helios said, sending an uneasy glance to the stairs, "But we should get back upstairs soon. We might be missed."
The woman gave them a sad look. "I understand. Please, take care."
"Thank you, my lady," Jove said, giving her a formal bow before turning to the stairs. "We shall."
As the men walked farther away, the spiraling staircase finally taking them out of sight, the woman in the cage's smile widened. They seemed to have forgotten the first rule of dealing with the Fae.
You did not thank the Fae. To thank the fae for anything left you beholden to them, and one would never be sure what the payment for such would be.
And she would make sure that they paid. To not pay would be an insult….And her imprisonment here was insult enough to last more than a hundred lifetimes.