Riff walked into the room Magenta shared with Columbia to find the latter curled in the window seat. Riff tried to go to her as quietly as possible, but the castle being as old as it was, had floorboards that were sure to creak when you stepped on them. Sure enough a loud creak caught him dead in the center of the room. Her head snapped to attention and her eyes grew wide in fear. She couldn't see very well, but she could see movement and the shadow of a person. That person was carrying something that looked like a bottle and a towel. She curled herself into a tighter ball and whimpered in pain. The unidentified person spoke: "Shh, Columbia it's me Riff Raff, I've come to help you." He walked over to the window. He unscrewed the cap on the bottle and poured some of the liquid onto the cloth he had brought with him. He reached out and took one of her hands; she drew in her breath sharply pulling away in pain and in shock. He barely ever spoke to her and he never touched her. In the dark he could see the confused expression on her face. He explained, "This will numb the pain, along with aiding in the healings. By morning most of the damage will no longer be apparent. I apologize, I realize this is rather out of character, but I believe I am correct in assuming that no one has ever showed you how this medicine works, and since Frank is", he smirked and raised an eyebrow, "rather busy at this moment and my dear sister is not in any shape to be near anyone, I am the only other person with that knowledge." He said this as though it were a simple matter of logic. It was really, but Columbia sat bewildered at this random act of kindness. Normally whenever she managed to injure herself the pair of them would simply give her the cold shoulder. Riff leaned in again and reached for her hand, but this time she let him take it. He dabbed the scratches with the cloth and immediately she felt her hand go numb. She couldn't see whether the redness had decreased and she was slightly shocked at the effectiveness when she noticed that she no longer had the feeling in either hand and that Riff was now dabbing her face. It felt different than it did on her hands, she didn't feel numb, it tingled a little then it got cold and finally it felt odd, but she couldn't put a word to it. Riff stood up, depositing the bottle and the cloth on the seat beside her. He crossed the room and then paused in the doorway.
"Use the rest to heal your other wounds, you don't need me to help you with those, I'll keep Magenta with me for the next few days, she's," he stopped, searching for a word to describe his sister's condition, " she's depressed, sad and angry. I won't apologize for what she did to you, that's her obligation. Goodnight." He left, leaving her sitting still slightly shocked and numb on the window seat.
He returned to his own room and walked over to Magenta who sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor. He ran his hand through her hair and sat beside her but she didn't move. He brushed her hair aside and let his fingers stroke her cheek. He turned her face towards him, forcing her to at least look in his general direction, but he could not force her to meet his eyes. She looked empty, her usual stony expression firmly in place. He kissed her forehead and pulled her gently into him, bringing her to lie on the bed. He rolled over her, looking at her features. The light slowly ignited in her eyes, she reached up and brought his lips to hers. He didn't resist her, not until she tried to remove his shirt did he pull away. A questioning look crossed her face and he answered her.
"Not tonight darling." It was all he needed to say. She went limp beneath him and he rolled over. He lay facing her back, close to her. He lightly touched her hair again and then put his arm around her, pulling her even closer. "I love you", he mumbled into her hair and she sighed in reply. Eventually they both fell asleep.