To The End, With You
Chapter 2: The Tower
The feathers disappear eventually, after which she regains her vision and the use of her limbs. Once she's able to see, Ochako finds herself with a mouth full of hay and various body pains from being thrown about the back of a wagon.
"Hey, you're awake. Finally."
She bolts upright and glances around wildly. The inside of the cart is dark, with pinpricks of light from the gaps in the wood. She sees the owner of the voice seated quite comfortably at the other side.
Even though he's changed into commoner's clothes and has gotten rid of his red-and-silver pin, she recognizes him: golden hair and red eyes rimmed with dark edges like a bird of prey. The sharp look in his eyes contrasts with the friendly, open-mouthed smile he gives her as a greeting, as if he didn't just kidnap her or anything awful like that.
She had planned to respond to his greeting with a displeased grunt, but the carriage keeps rocking and she feels herself turning green instead.
"Sorry about the rough ride, your grace," he says after a particularly violent bump in the road. "It'll be at least another day of this. I suppose we can stop and buy herbs for travel sickness if we must, but..."
It's a challenge to move at all without her spilling all the contents of her stomach, but she manages. She pulls herself against the opposite wall and stares at her kidnapper dangerously. "Who are you, and where are you taking me?"
"Secret. And… secret." The smile on his face is lazy and amused and very infuriating.
She instinctively reaches out for the short sword attached to her hip, surprised that it's still there at all. She aims the point of it at the level of his face. "You... I shoulda known that you were just a rogue pretending to be a noble! I demand you answer me right now!"
He raises both hands as if to appease a child throwing a tantrum. Annoying how he isn't threatened at all by her blade. "You might be right about me being a rogue pretending to be a noble, your highness. But I have to tell you, it's not the best time to answer your questions."
"And why not?!"
He shrugs. "Because none of what I have to say will make sense. It's the sort of thing you have to see to believe."
Losing her temper, she throws the sword, aiming it right at the center of his chest. But right before it makes contact, the sword stops in mid-air, pulled and blocked by two red feathers. The weapon floats harmlessly to the man's right hand, dropping its handle onto his open palm.
Darn these obnoxious magicians from Shizuoka!
"Now that was unwise, Princess," he drawls lazily, twirling the sword in his hand. "If I were an actual rogue, you'd have given me the perfect pretense and an efficient weapon to kill you. Or maim you. Or worse."
She glares at him, despite the fear making her heart thud. He looks like he contemplates on throwing the sword back at her, but instead stabs it on the floor.
"Fortunately for you, I need to keep you alive and well until we reach our destination. My employer and I are counting on you for many important things, so it'll be both in our best interests to keep you free of any unseemly stab wounds or other similar ailments."
Counting on her? This man seems to be joking about everything and it's hard to take him on his word. She puffs her cheeks in annoyance. "You wanna keep things vague? Fine. It won't matter once my general finds out that I'm missing. Not only will our army look for you, but Kanagawa's as well."
He tilts his head in amusement. "Kanagawa? I didn't know that you were already officially engaged to Prince Neito."
She stammers. "W… well, not yet, but…"
"Oh! That's interesting." The lazy smile on his face grows ever more cloying and annoying. "You think the prince will scour the entire country to find you, even if he hasn't officially laid claim to you yet?"
She hates that she has to admit that Monoma's political schemes might be her only chance to get out of this situation. "He is promised my hand, and he told me that he will get it no matter what."
The man raises two blonde, feathery eyebrows in interest. "You do know how that boy thinks, right? How scheming and calculating he is? Because I do. If it's too much of a burden to get you back, he might decide that saving you is too troublesome."
She knows he's just riling her up, but why does he have to make so much sense?
"Besides… there is also the matter of calling for a missing persons search," he says with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "In that, they generally don't happen unless the person is declared missing. Which in this case, you don't have to worry about that happening, your majesty."
"What are you talking about?"
The man shrugs. "Good question! Truth be told, I've forgotten the main point of contention in our conversation! Sometimes I talk so much that I don't know what comes out of my mouth. I just like talking in general. So perhaps-"
What is it with these blondes and their nonstop mouths?! Ochako spits out, "No, what do you mean they won't notice that I'm missing?"
But before the man can say anything more, the cart screeches to a sudden halt. Ochako loses balance and falls on the pile of hay, making the man chortle.
"Oh, we're at our first border checkpoint," the man says brightly. "Means we're closer to your new home. Isn't that great?"
She gives him a dark look.
"Now now, as much as I deserve that look, we have to deal with our first obstacle: the Check Point! There are two ways we can go about this, Ryoko dear," he tells her as he pulls her out of the pile of hay and pulls out the straw from her hair and face. "First is you cooperate with us while the patrolmen check us out. Which means you pretend to be my daughter, travelling with me and my sister out in the front."
She hears a woman's voice from outside, abrasive and fierce. She must have been the one driving the cart then. "And if I refuse? If I tell them who I really am and tell them that you kidnapped the princess of…"
She falters when she wiggles her toes and doesn't feel her royal seal in her boot. How did they-when did they…
The man hums and looks at her paling face with interest. A feather floats around her face and disappears, but she feels it tickling her chin. "We do the second thing. It might not be as enjoyable for you, though."
She scowls, but says nothing more. He grins victoriously.
He takes her arm and carefully lets her off the cart. Outside, she sees the guard-post bearing the seal of Mie. A silver-haired woman with strong arms and white rabbit ears are speaking to a couple of guards, who seem very amused.
She turns to them, and the ears disappear. "Oh, there's my brother Hoku and my little niece, Ryoko! Isn't she cute?"
The man has his arm around Ochako, pulling her with him when she refuses to walk. "Heya, Miru. Gents. Y'all seem to take a fancy to my sister's magic, I see."
The guards blush. "Y-yeah, we've never seen magic from Shizuoka up close! Ah, don't worry, we won't arrest you for that display ma'am, I mean we were the one who asked to see it, after all…"
"Thank you kindly! I'd be in trouble with milord if I get arrested for illegal magic use, ya see!" The woman named Miru glances at the man named Hoku, and gives him a meaningful, twitchy grin. "Wanna show 'em your passports, brother dear? Anytime this century'd be nice."
"Hm? Ah yes, beg yer pardon," says Hoku. Ochako raises her eyebrows at the easy way he shifts into a less refined accent. He makes a show of shuffling around his pockets until he pulls out two well-worn documents and nonchalantly hands them over to the guards.
The guards look at the counterfeit passports with some scrutiny. From her spot, she sees all the stamps and signatures, not a single one appearing inauthentic. "And your business in Mie was?"
"We got a sick fella back home," the blonde man says with a rehearsed sadness. "Our bosses' kid-lil Souta, that's his name-suddenly got a terrible illness. Real high fever, like his skin's on fire. And real ugly welts all over the body-"
"I heard of that," one of the guards says with pity in his eyes. "A lot of those cases outside o' Mie, I heard. So I guess you went here for milkflowers, right?"
"Yep, exactly. Bought these from a generous lady in the market district. Can't believe the flowers that grow here!. Ain't none o' these back at home." He pulls a bag of flowers from his side and shows them to the guard. "I got my receipt here somewhere if you need it, just gimme a sec-"
"No, that's fine." They then turn in unison to Ochako, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Now, you say this li'l lady here is your daughter?"
"Yup!" the man chirps, patting Ochako on the shoulder. "Can ya greet these gentlemen nice and proper, Ryoko dear?"
Ochako glares at him pointedly before curtseying in front of the guards. "Afternoon, sirs."
"Afternoon, miss Ryoko," they say, tipping their hats simultaneously. "What a beauty you are! How old are you?"
Before she can answer, Hoku cuts her off. "My little princess is turning sixteen this winter, matter of fact! It's bittersweet, how they grow up so fast..."
In truth, she's turning eighteen, and she wonders at the necessity of that lie. She is in awe of how easily this person weaves truths and untruths and makes it all convincing for those who hear him.
"Oh, I get you," the guard says, nodding in understanding. "Next thing you know, some young upstart is gonna come to you, asking for her hand in marriage-"
"Aye… I fear that day is coming soon. Are fathers ever ready giving their daughters away? I don't think I will be; I have nightmares over it," Hoku says with a dramatic sigh. He glances at Ochako very quickly, red eyes glinting in a way that makes her sick.
"That's true! But ya gotta yield, for true love, you know?" The guard says sympathetically and waves them off. "I guess you folk better hurry and get those to your sick friend. Thank you for your cooperation."
"No, thank you kindly, gents," Miru says with a grin, obviously relieved that the chat is over. She turns and pinches the man at the side and mumbles so Ochako barely hears it: "No need to be so chatty with 'em, Hawks."
He shrugs. "No need to be so showy with them either, Miruko."
The woman-Miru or Miruko, Ochako isn't so sure about their names anymore-rolls her eyes before turning her attention to Ochako. "This guy's awful, right hun? Don't worry, I totally understand why you tried to kill him back there. You can sit up at front with me if you want to. No bindings or magic or anything. It'll be about a day before we reach the city, and it'll be awful if you spend the entire time trying not to vomit."
She blinks. "Is… that okay?" Sitting up at front, without any bindings whatsoever? Is this a new thing that kidnappers do?
Hawks laughs. "How merciful of you, Miruko. Fits your reputation as the Rabbit of Death. Very fitting."
Miruko scowls and gives Hawks a rude gesture. She glances at the guards, who are preoccupied with the next carriage. "Shut up. Unlike you, I don't enjoy kidnapping princesses or cooperating with what that man wants without question. I happen to have a conscience."
Her voice is low and burning with very real anger. Ochako feels the heat of it and strangely begins to trust the woman for it.
"Big words, but in the end, you're still doing what he says, aren't you? Orders are orders, after all."
Miruko has the good sense to glower at him, but says nothing more.
He gives her a cheesy smile, and then pinches Ochako's cheek. She immediately swats his hand away. "I don't mind if you sit with her up front, Ryoko dear. It's not like my sister would allow you to run away before I could marry you off to the love of your life, you know?"
Is he still talking about Prince Neito? Either way, Ochako doesn't like how patronizing his voice is. "I'm sitting with her," she says evenly.
"Suit yourself." And with an ominous wiggle of the eyebrows, "Enjoy the fresh air while you can, little princess."
Hawks disappears into the carriage, unfazed by Ochako's dagger look. Miruko huffs and claps her on the shoulder with one strong hand. "So… anytime you're ready, your highness."
"... all right," she says, climbing on board next to her.
The open road stretches in front of them, wide and winding. Ochako tries to ignore the sense of foreboding as the highway blurs past her.
They pass two more checkpoints where Ochako has to pretend to be Hawks' 16-year-old daughter. They stop two more times after that, just for the horses to rest for a while and for Hawks to roast wild birds for supper.
Otherwise, the two strange people don't stop the delivery. Miruko does most of the driving. She doesn't sleep, even though Ochako nods off next to her. Her language seems to be naturally brash, but Ochako much prefers speaking with her than Hawks. Even though she refuses to answer the questions related to her kidnapping, she is at least apologetic over it and doesn't patronize her, not even once.
But Ochako, unfortunately, will not be kept in the dark for too long. Just as Hawks had said, they reach their destination after another day of traveling. She realizes this when they exit the main road and turn to a great, walled city.
Before they get close, Miruko tells Ochako to hide in the back of the cart. "I'm sorry, your grace. You do not want anyone to see you in the city."
"But-"
"Trust me… it might make things worse," Miruko mutters.
That doesn't make Ochako feel better, but she has no choice but to comply. She'd rather not experience Hawks' feather magic again, nor does she want to see what the alleged Rabbit of Death is capable of.
In her spot in the pile of hay, Ochako peeks through the gaps in the wood of the cart. She sees surly guards dressed in blue and red and armed with muskets, with the symbol of Shizuoka etched on the shiny pins on their chests. Hawks comes down and wordlessly shows them something shiny: likely the silver-and-red crest that Ochako sees him wearing in the alley.
"Lord Hawks," the guards say with a synchronized bow of their heads. "Please wait. We'll have a group escort you to the castle."
So he is highborn. A very important one that warrants the full attention of all the guards in the garrison.
"That's kind of you, but we have no need for any gaudy processions," the blonde says with a chuckle. "We know our way to the castle ourselves."
"Of course." The guards nod at each other and open the gates without a word.
The begin moving again as Hawks climbs back at the back of the cart. Ochako eyes him warily, expecting smug and/or smart words from his mouth again, but he remains oddly silent, for once. It makes her even warier.
When he notices her sharp gaze, he allows a smile that almost looks wistful. "Smile, Princess, you're almost home. Might as well take a peek at our grand old city while you can, eh? It should be okay, as long as you remain within the nice and private confines of our luxurious hay cart."
"While I can," she repeats sourly. "You're making it sound like I'll never see the light of day again. That ain't makin' any of this appealing."
He chuckles. "Nothing about kidnapping is appealing, your grace. I could write essay after essay about how unappealing this is, have it published in the papers, go to the public square and have all the philosophers and vagrants debate with me. Unfortunately, my employer does not have the luxury of resorting to appealing things, considering the problem at hand-"
"What is the problem at hand, anyway?"
He smiles, raises two feathery eyebrows, and says nothing more.
Ochako huffs and pointedly does not look around the grand old city, as he suggested.
They spend the rest of the trip in silence, with Ochako burying her face into her folded-up knees and Hawks silently watching her. She feels the cart curve through streets that sound narrow and crowded. Eventually the noise dissipates, and they're riding up a hill for a long while.
Out of nowhere, the cart comes to a halt, and along with it Ochako's heart, just for a bit. Hawks hops off the cart and offers his hand to her, which she refuses to take.
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Princess." Red flickers from behind his back, making her shiver.
Suddenly it's all too real that she's sent here for something possibly sinister and there isn't anything she can do about it. Miruko stands behind Hawks, a disapproving look in her burning red eyes, but she keeps one hand on her sword all the same, ready to do something to Ochako if she rebelled.
In the end, she relents. She's able to take a good look in her surroundings and sees that they're surrounded by very tall brick walls with no way out. Hawks leads the way as they descend down a flight of stairs into a basement, with winding pathways that split every now and then. Torches light the way, casting her captors' faces in shadows that somehow emphasize the breadth of their power.
The walk feels like it lasts for hours, but eventually at the very end of it they reach a set of ornate doors. Hawks knocks in a set pattern, and falls silent.
"Enter."
Hawks and Miruko open the door, revealing a simple room with ornate tables, chairs, shelves, and a roaring fireplace. It looks very much like a man's personal study, like a slightly smaller version of Ochako's beloved library where she's spent many hours poring over boring old books with Dabi.
(It's only been two days, but it feels like years since then…)
Needless to say, she's surprised seeing this after seeing nothing but empty hallways from hours of walking. More surprising is the giant-of-a-man in rich robes who turns and regards her, with blood-red hair and striking blue eyes that seem too familiar, and the way that her captors suddenly fall to their knees in front of him.
The man's mouth twists in distaste upon seeing Ochako's stance, but comments no further. "At ease." His voice is strong and ruthless, the kind that would compel anyone to fear for their lives.
Hawks and Miruko stand. "My King, your imposing gait and robust health pleases your loyal subjects greatly. I hope this evening finds you well," the blonde man says, voice saccharine and tone overly polite. Oddly enough, his tone sounds more mocking than sincere, and not at all unexpected if the way the man rolls his eyes is any indication.
Ochako doesn't pay this any mind, as amusing as it is. My King, Hawks had said, proving her very first instinct on seeing this man and his seal completely correct. And again the reality of this odd situation sinks in and makes her feel sick.
"Spare me," the King says with a pointed scowl. He stares at Ochako once more, the distaste not going away. "Is this her?"
"Yes, your majesty," Hawks says proudly. "Princess Uraraka Ochako, first of her name, heir to the throne of Mie."
Ochako doesn't know whether to bow in front of the king of the most powerful kingdom in the country, or to glare at him defiantly for stripping her of her freedom. She settles for a stare that could be cold and/or curious and a proper dignified stance, just as Yaomomo had taught her back home.
King Enji wrinkles his nose. "The disguise is more than effective, Hawks. Do you have any evidence of her heritage?"
Hawks nods and holds out his hand in front of Miruko, who wordlessly gives him what was missing from Ochako-the royal seal she's kept hidden in her boot. "Apart from appearance alone, your grace, we found this among her possessions. As well as this short sword that only nobility ought to have."
Enji appraises these items briefly and grunts in approval. "This is sufficient."
"Your highness?"
Cold eyes glare at Ochako, ones that paradoxically burn holes through her bones. She keeps her eyes on him, though, and refuses to back down.
She can't show him that she's afraid, King or not.
"Get her cleaned up and sent up there," he tells Miruko without an ounce of sympathy or hostility in his voice. "Make sure she appears presentable. Give her a fighting chance against him."
Ochako doesn't even get a chance to try to understand all the vague things he's saying when Miruko grimly bows and says, "As you wish, your highness."
With that, Enji turns away from them, Hawks remaining in the room and muttering further reports of things that Ochako can't hear. Miruko grabs her by the elbow and escorts her out of the room.
Again, another long walk through dark hallways that seem to last forever. "Princess."
"Yes?"
In the darkness of the halls, Miruko's red eyes glow with a curious emotion. Her voice is low when she murmurs, not looking at the Princess at her side. "If you wish to survive the night, you have to trust in him. No matter how absurd it may seem. All right?"
Ochako blinks in curiosity. "I don't understand, who are you-"
One ear forms from the side of her head and presses on Ochako's lips, keeping her silent.
"Trust me," Miruko says, just as they reach another unmarked door.
Miruko leads her in, and shows her everything: a four-poster bed, a desk and chair, a dresser, a closet with dresses made in her size. A smaller room leads to a bath, already filled with steaming water and surrounded by bottles of perfumed soaps. A roaring fireplace. A small table, where dinner is already set up. A window with iron bars, from which an evening rain falls beyond.
A pretty little prison, in other words.
"This is all yours, your majesty. Just this room, though," Miruko says with a bow. "The door will be locked once I leave. A protective barrier of magic will also keep you from getting out through the underground exits. I suggest you stay put until…"
She pauses and looks at Ochako with all sorts of pity shining in her eyes. "Shit. This is why I hate doin' this."
Ochako's next inhale is shaky and damp. She obstinately rubs a hand against her eyes, hating them for bursting to tears in front of her. "No. Go on, please."
She doesn't need her pity. Not anyone's.
Miruko, to her credit, really looks like she hates doing this. "Just… don't do anything rash, Princess. I'm tellin' ya this for your own good."
Ochako nods and keeps her mouth shut. That would be what Yaomomo will tell her if she knew she was in this position. Take everything in with all due grace and dignity…
The knight takes note of her silence and turns back without another word. As promised, the door clicks shut behind her. After a beat, she feels pure energy pulse underneath the earth-the barrier that Miruko mentioned, locking all the underground exits.
Silence, over the entire room.
… and then, strategize.
When she's sure that Miruko's so far away that her rabbit ears couldn't possibly pick-up any sounds from within, Ochako springs into action.
First, survey the area…
Her room is not small, but not too large either. There is only the barred window next to her bed, with a view of a courtyard, woods, and stone-and-mortar walls in the distance. She is perhaps ten or fifteen feet above ground. The bars are too strong to destroy, too narrow for her to fit through, but when she attempts to put her hand out, no resistance meets it.
So the windows have no barriers. She wonders why there are limits on usage of this magic. While it is energy consuming, surely the elite of Shizuoka have much of that to spare?
Well, it isn't her problem. It is a solution, though. It means that all she has to do is find a window she can fit through, figure out a way to exit it without injuring herself at the drop, and then somehow make it through the woods and past the wall without being detected, or getting eaten by wolves.
She takes a deep breath. Okay, it's fine. She's had to think on her feet faster with Bakugou and Deku, and solve harder problems with Dabi and Yaomomo. She can do this.
She takes the knife from the set meal and runs to the closet. Sparkling dresses made of fine silk and cotton, with colorful lace and intricate embroideries, greet her as she opens it. Stone-faced, she tears through them without remorse, braids and fashions the shredded garments into a sturdy rope that can withstand her weight.
She doesn't know how long the rope is, exactly. She hopes it's at least more than twenty feet long. Well, it's better than nothing. Tying the rope around her waist and arms, she goes to the locked door and kicks the knob open with all her might.
It takes her five tries and a possible broken heel, but eventually the door gives. She peeks through the darkness of the hallway and cautiously steps out.
It takes a while before her eyes get used to the darkness, but once they do, she sees that there's nothing much to see: just the sealed underground passage, the barrier magic humming and pulsing beneath. Apart from brick walls with absolutely nothing in them, there is only a dizzying spiral staircase that leads so high up her neck strains seeing where it ends.
Something in her blood spikes seeing where the stair connects to a room. A warning, a sense of foreboding, a very wise voice in her head that tells her to stop this madness and keep to her room like Miruko said.
Miruko, the only trustworthy person in this place… who bends the knee to that King who ordered her abduction.
Orders are orders, after all.
She bites her lip and steels herself. One uneasy foot before the other, and above the other. Step by step.
She's nervous; her footsteps echo all over the hollow tower, louder in her mind than they are in real life. No one comes to stop her, but if they do, she has a rope and a steak knife and hopefully enough survival skills.
It takes her forever, but she finally makes it to the very top of the tower. There is a single door there, ridiculously ornate and out of place with the dreary stone interiors, giving her no clue of what may be beyond it.
She steels herself again. With shaking hands, she touches the knob.
It opens without her doing anything further.
She steps inside, gingerly at first. Looking around, she sees a bedroom bigger than her own, with a bigger bed and more tables and chairs, all in disarray; shelves with books, some of them face-down on the floor, some left open and pages torn; a desk with papers and ink spilling over it. The room looks like someone angry has had its way in it and abandoned everything mid-tantrum.
What a mess, Ochako thinks, but worse than the mess is the smell of ashes and coals lingering in the room. A quick look at the papers and she sees that many of them are scorched, as are the sheets and the carpets and some of the wood of the furniture.
But she doesn't bother with it more than necessary. What's important is that the room is empty, and there is a gust of wind and cold coming from the open and unbarred windows at the other end of it. She rushes straight to them, hopping over the toppled chairs and papers, and peers over the edge.
Just like the window below, this one is not protected by any magic. She is very high up, perhaps fifty feet above ground. One look at the ground below and she knows that her makeshift ropes won't reach it. Considering everything, it doesn't take her long to figure out the possible scenarios facing her:
One: she tries to climb down with her little makeshift rope against the rain and winds, and falls to her death.
Two: she somehow makes it alive to the ground, but gets captured on her way to the woods and/or the wall, and quite possibly get killed in her struggle.
Three: she goes back to her room and stays there and wait for that "him" to come get her, and possibly die anyway.
Four: she gives it her all and somehow makes it out alive, and find some way to get back to her kingdom all by herself, with just the clothes on her back.
Her heart pounds wildly in her chest, thinking of all the options, even though only one of them is acceptable. Besides, if she has to die, she refuses to do so without a fight.
Just as she begins unwinding the rope from her body, something sounds behind her: a cracking of something, only a few feet away from her. Shit, she forgot option five: someone catches her in the tower and kills her where she stands.
She doesn't think to look back, instead focuses on tying the rope against the frame of the window, letting it drop just midway of the tower-
"What are you doing?"
Shit, this isn't enough time to escape, she has to jump now-
And so she does, sparing no time at all to look at whoever it is calling out to her.
And instantly regrets it, because as soon as she does, a particularly strong gust of wind blows and slams her against the wall repeatedly.
Shit! She focuses all her energies into holding onto her rope, but it's futile. All the water is getting in her face and all over the slippery cloth of the shredded dresses; her head and shoulders hit the wall repeatedly, making her dizzy. Her grip loosens as the assault in all her senses continues, and it's only a matter of time before she has no choice but to let go.
She can't open her eyes against the rain, nor can she hear anything as the thunder rumbles in the distance and the wind blows past her ears, but she senses it: someone… some thing made of darkness and matter that doesn't feel natural and makes everything inside of her recoil. It looms above her from the window, watching her struggle.
Hold my hand, she hears in her head.
It's difficult, but she dares herself to look up and squint. She can't see very well, but she knows that she doesn't know what she's looking at. It's vaguely human-shaped, something with a single eye that glows dark and sickly against the night sky. A claw is reaching out for her, ready to rend her flesh, and-
When she turns her head to scream, the rope finally gives, and she falls.
Freefalling is an odd sensation: there's no ground, no control, only wind and water and all her fears suspended in mid-air. She closes her eyes, knowing there's no other outcome to this but her death, and waits for it to happen.
Except, it doesn't. She feels sharp claws, hot as coals, clamping on the flesh of her right arm and shoulder, tearing through cloth and skin. She screams at the pain, and screams even more as she is tugged roughly upwards and back across the threshold of the window.
The next thing she feels is the cold stone floor underneath her battered body. A final gust of wind blows before the window is shut with a metallic sound that echoes in the hollow of the room.
After that, silence.
She hears nothing at first but the throb of her head, the steam rising from her right arm, the ragged breaths from her mouth. When her senses come back to her one by one, the pain on her flesh becomes more and more real. She whimpers at first, but refuses to cry any further as footsteps come to her closer and closer.
The thing… that entity that pulled her back to her prison huffs once. She refuses to look at it in the eye. "Who are you and what do you think you were doing back there?"
To her surprise, the voice sounds human. A male voice, softer than the beastly growl she'd expect from the silhouette she saw before, but stern and inconvenienced by the sound of it.
"No-one," she grits out. Her voice comes out shakier than she wants, the pain from the burns intensifying by the second. Oh fuck, what the hell is this-
The man steps closer, but keeps himself in the dark. There's a moment where he pauses, and when he speaks there's obvious hesitation. "You're… hurt."
No shit. She dares herself to look at her shoulder for the first time and sees charred, blackened flesh and fresh blood. What the hell, what happened to her, what has he done? What kind of magic is this?
"You… what are you and what did you do to me?"
The yellow eye glows in the darkness, gazing at her with quiet curiosity. "Why does it matter? I thought you were no-one."
She spits at him, but that takes unexpectedly a lot of effort in her current state. Every minute movement causes the sting and throb of pain to intensify, and she ends up choking back another pathetic sound from her throat. "Your king dragged me here against my will. Ain't it that you'd know better what I am and what I'm here for?"
The eye opens in shock at first, and then glowers upon the mention of the king. "I see they have not stopped this foolishness," he mutters under his breath. "So… are you a noblewoman? A commoner renowned in your small town for your beauty and wit? Another sacrifice sent by my father, to quell the monster? From which territory did the Hawk capture you? And why would you recklessly jump to your death like a fool?"
She grits her teeth. Doesn't try to figure out the words coming out of his mouth. Forces herself to look directly into his eyes. "Let's make the killin' and dyin' part easier without all the silly introductions, eh? You don't need to get attached to a poor girl like me. I am no-one."
Despite it all, he sighs in exasperation. "If I mean to kill you, I would not have bothered to stop you from breaking into a hundred pieces on the ground. Maybe I shouldn't have, if you're this eager to die."
She forces a bitter laugh. "You sound like you want me to thank you for capturing me and mutilating me! I'll like ya even more if ya just... make it quick and easy, please? I mean, a gent like you with… with this dark, Shizuoka magic could certainly… certainly…"
The room begins to spin; her sleeve becomes soaked with hot blood that pools to the floor. All sounds and vision begins to blur. The retort she forms disappears at the tip of her tongue.
The man steps forward; there's some light streaming through the windows, very scant, just enough for Ochako to see his features more clearly if he stepped into it. He edges around the light and walks behind her, keen not to be seen very clearly. When he kneels behind her to examine her wound, she feels searing warmth and cold breath tickling the skin of her neck.
"Don't move," he whispers into her ear, his voice kind to her failing ears.
Through heavy eyelids, she sees a very human hand approach her burns. Carefully, with feather-light delicacy, tendrils of cold touch raw skin, sealing the open wounds and soothing the burning pains of her skin.
It takes him a moment, and when he's done she sighs in relief. The pain is still there, but it doesn't scream as loudly anymore. The entire ordeal drains her of her energy and against her will her body sags and drops, right into the figure behind her.
This might be the worst thing that she could do, given the circumstances, but it doesn't feel like it. The man stiffens behind her, and briefly she feels a flash of heat as hot as coals emanate from one side. Logically she should shy away from it, but her body refuses to move, and when the man's breathing slows, the heat dissipates, leaving her in a cold embrace from behind.
She turns her head, almost drunkenly, forces herself to look into the face of her captor. She sees snow white and blood red hair, onyx and a sickly yellow that dies down to an intense blue, like glaciers, human and monster split neatly in the middle.
"Who are you?" she slurs.
His breath fans over her face, cold and intimate.
He says something, probably his name or a spell or a secret. She doesn't know if it's the monster side of his face that moves, or the human side who looks at her with such pity in his eyes-
No, not pity. Sorrow, maybe. Exhaustion.
It doesn't matter. When she blinks, her eyes do not open again, and she plunges headfirst into a cold darkness.