Princess

Well, this was fantastic.

Lloyd stood in the midst of a dozen or so stone warriors, bound and gagged as they jeered him in their language. They were pleased with this prize, that much was blatantly apparent.

How had he gotten into this mess? Lloyd pondered that question a moment before finding the answer.

Pixal's bird. It had woken Jay up violently, with many a loud chirp and feather ruffle. That ruckus had, in turn, awakened Lloyd from his much needed (but not very comfortable) rest on the floor of Cole's cave.

Jay had reluctantly followed the bird outside. Lloyd, being the inquisitive, pea-brained prince that he was, had followed. Neither Jay or the bird knew that he had been tailing them... For about three minutes.

Lloyd had begun to fall behind. It was dark, and his eyes were not working well enough to see through the deep blackness. The stone warriors had caught up with him. They'd probably been pursuing Jay.

One of the stone men- a short, ugly specimen with a round face and pudgy nose- shoved Lloyd forward. And so begins another long hike, he thought tiredly. Maybe I'll be able to rescue Kai when I get there. Or maybe we'll be cellmates.

The eagle let out a loud cry, pulling him out of his thoughts. The stone men suddenly became nervous, pushing Lloyd faster. Wasn't Pixal's bird just with Jay? He wondered. The eagle a lot more active than I remember it being.

The soldier holding Lloyd's arm suddenly let out a low-pitched scream and let him go.

What... Lloyd whirled, wide-eyed, to face whatever had made the man so scared. What he saw shocked him.

A figure stood before him. He wore a dark cloak with a large hood, concealing even his face from view.

Lloyd couldn't help but gape at the formidability of this man- if a man it really was; who could really tell, since he was wearing a cloak, and it was dark?

The man lifted a scarred hand from his cloak. His fingers, long and slender, began to form signs. He crossed his pointer and middle finger, then straightened them, then folded them over his thumb, forming a fist of sorts.

Lloyd watched, befuddled, as he did it again. Then it clicked. Sign language, he realized. Pixal had taught him the alphabet a few years ago, and they used to use it when they didn't want others to know what they were saying.

So the figure was signing the letters: R-U-N.

Hold on, Lloyd abstained, still confused.

Too late. The man had turned his back and was fighting hand-to-hand with one of the stone men who had tentatively come forward to fight. They were obviously terrified of this...this...

Gurrah-kah? Lloyd backed up a single step. His wrists were still tied, so his balance was off. Is this really one of their gods? If so, how is it controlling the eagle?

The mortal spirit fought with the ease of a man who had fought his entire life. His motions were fluid, his attacks efficient. He never actually hurt the stone men, but he didn't need to; the eagle was helping him by shooting its green lasers at the ground whenever someone got too close to besting this hero.

Regardless of the fact that Lloyd had been ordered- using Pixal's secret code- to run, he found himself unable to do so. This man was amazing to watch.

The battle lasted a grand total of two minutes, and ended with the stone warriors fleeing into the woods to the south.

The so-called god turned to run north, then paused when he saw that Lloyd was still there. He held up his pinky, then made a fist with his pointer finger over his thumb. And so on, and so forth.

What followed was an angry, silent scolding about how he had told Lloyd to run, and how he could not believe that he could not believe how Lloyd still never listened to him. Some things never changed.

He stopped when he noticed that Lloyd was glaring. I'm still bound and gagged, the prince wanted to say. If you want me to join in this argument, you'll have to free me.

As if the dark eyes underneath that hood had read the teen's mind, he reached forward and ripped the gag from Lloyd's mouth.

"Thank you," Lloyd said as he swallowed, getting the dry feeling out of his throat. "Now my hands, please?"

The gurrah-kah whirled him around and undid the bonds.

"All right," Lloyd flexed his wrists and turned to face his savior. "My name is Lloyd. What's..." He trailed off. The cloaked man was fleeing into the trees. "Hey, wait!" Lloyd immediately gave chase. "Come back!"

The chase was difficult for Lloyd. Every time he got close enough to almost touch the man's shoulder, he would end up tripping over his feet and fall behind again. It didn't help that this cloaked figure was fast. Very fast. His long legs were strong, and somehow managed to keep him one step ahead of the prince for well over two minutes.

Unfortunately for him, these long legs were his downfall. He tried to jump over a fallen palm tree, but his boot caught on the protruding bark, propelling him forward with a large, rather epic amount of cloak rippling in the air before he disappeared on the other side.

Lloyd wasted no time in climbing over the large tree. "I caught you," he said triumphantly, if not a bit breathlessly. "Why were you...running..." He stopped, utterly shocked by the sight before him.

The figure's hood had fallen from his shoulders, revealing long, tangled blond hair. He slowly pushed himself to a sitting position, dizzy. Lloyd gaped once again, but for different reasons this time.

His white shirt was so badly ripped that Lloyd wondered why he even bothered to keep it. The only thing keeping it together was the ornamented leather belt around the small of his waist.

Holy Serpentine fangs... Lloyd's face began to flush as he realized what was under that shirt: a beige-colored brassiere.

This man was actually a woman. The wide, feminine hips and slender waist should have clued him in before he'd even seen the bra. Add the long blond hair, angular jaw, and the wide green eyes, and Lloyd saw...

Holy Serpentine fangs.

The woman held a hand in front of her face, as if to shield from an attack, as she trembled. Her entire body was marred. Sections of skin were missing, revealing silvery metal that gleamed softly in the predawn light.

Lloyd had no idea how to process what was happening. I'm dreaming, he thought as the eagle landed beside her and chirped amiably. "...Pixal?" He finally found his tongue and forced out her name. "Oh my Overlord. Pixal!"

He dropped to his knees beside her and grabbed her hand. "You...Zane said you were dead. You had a knife in your chest." Delicately, as if she was made of paper, he wrapped his arms around her waist. After deciding that he was not causing her any pain, he squeezed her tightly. Tears began to build up in his eyes.

Slowly, nervously, Pixal returned the hug, wrapping her battered arms around his neck.

Eventually, Lloyd loosened his grip. His face lit up in a teary, relieved smile. "Where have you been?" He asked. "Why are you hiding?"

She, of course, did not answer. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.

She was broken. Badly.

Pixal paused after a moment, then began to sign her words. "Protecting," she signed. "Cole. Zane. Was too far away to reach Kai. Saved you, though."

Lloyd was having trouble discerning her broken communications, but he was too excited to care. He realized that his left hand had gone through a large tear in her shirt. He was touching skin. He blushed deeply, recoiling. "H-here," he said. He unbuttoned his forest green shirt and shrugged it from his shoulders.

Pixal accepted it with a wrinkled nose and a look of disgust.

"I know," Lloyd said. "You don't like that color. But it's all I have. I could grab one of Cole's black shirts if you'd prefer it, princess."

Pixal immediately smoothed her features and sighed silently. She didn't like being called princess, but she nodded her thanks anyway and set the tunic on her lap.

"How bad is the damage?" Lloyd asked. He was trying really hard not to stare at the gaps in her shirt.

Pixal looked at the ground, face grave. She held up a hand and began to spell out words again. "Rust," she said. "Water in my cavity. Floated in current unconscious for many days before I washed up on shore. Speech terminated. Eagle does my hearing."

Lloyd glanced at the bird, who was watching him intently, before speaking. "Zane can help," he said. "Come back with me. We can-"

Pixal waved her hands erratically in front of his face and shook her head. "Liability," she signed. "If I go to him, I will put everyone in danger, like when I was on Black Bounty. Helpless. Alone."

Lloyd had trouble understanding what she meant by the last part, but he nodded anyway. "All right," he said. "So..." His face was flushing even deeper. "Do you want me to help you with your damaged chest panel?"

Without hesitation, Pixal reached out and slapped his face. Her green eyes flashed for a second before returning to normal. The eagle screeched.

Lloyd blinked and rubbed his jaw. "Thank you," he said. "Reality check. You don't need any help. Typical." He smiled. "You're just like Nya. Did you know that?"

Pixal rolled her eyes. He could almost hear her voice in his head as she signed the brusque words. "Stop it. I don't like dry humor."

Needless to say, Lloyd was relieved to see that Pixal's personality was still intact. Violent and down-to-earth. Perfect to pick on.

"Go," Pixal signed. "Zane, Jay, and Cole will be back soon."

"Where did they go?" Lloyd asked.

"Zane and Cole were supposed to cross the river," she signed. "I unintentionally revealed myself to Zane while tracking scouts. He followed, so I sent the eagle to lead him on wild goose chase across the river. Cole had..." She hesitated, fingers fumbling. "...trouble crossing. I sent Jay to help. You weren't supposed to wake up." She slowly got to her feet, then offered Lloyd a hand.

After they were both standing, Lloyd looked behind him, toward the now distant hill, and spoke. "I brought your sword. If you want to come back with me, I'll grab it from my pack." He laughed awkwardly. "Don't ask me why I brought it with, but...I guess it's a good thing I did."

Pixal's eyes widened, and she lifted the corners of her mouth. A smile! Man, how Lloyd had missed that, even if it looked terrible because of the missing skin. "Thanks," she signed. She paused. "Climb over the tree. I'll change into your shirt, then go retrieve sword."

Lloyd nodded, tears still dripping silently down his cheeks. He wanted to throw his arms around her again and hold her tightly, but knew that Pixal had never liked hugs. She was the type who whispered her affections through a mask of violence.

And so, after throwing one last smile in her direction, Lloyd climbed over the large tree trunk and sat down on the other side, waiting impatiently for Pixal to join him. He ran his hands up his arms, wondering how he had gotten so sweaty from just a little sprint. Was the sweat on his shirt, too?

Pixal was probably spazzing silently right now because of it. Even he thought it was a bit disgusting. Poor princess.

Lloyd stood up and whispered her name. "You done yet?" He asked.

No answer.

He peeked cautiously over the fallen tree and sighed.

She was gone. The only remains of their encounter were found in the sandy tracks and the tattered white shirt on the ground.

"Well played, Pixal," he spoke loudly. "I'll leave the sword out where you'll be able to find it." Reluctantly, he turned around and began the trek back to the cave. "Not that you've ever needed my help, but...you know me. Always willing to mess things up for my favorite princess."

A pebble came hurtling down from the sky, landing square on the crown of Lloyd's head. He looked up just in time to see the eagle, who was flying away from him with an indignant chirp.

Kai was mortified. Horrified. He felt so weak, being slung over the shoulder of this stone warrior. He felt like he needed to sleep for a week. He felt like tiny claws were raking the inside of his stomach, trying to gather every remaining nutrient that he could.

Why was he wearing nothing but a loincloth? The more he thought about it, the more it disgusted him. He had no recollection of anyone stripping him. All he remembered was fainting from the force of the blow to his head, and then waking up in chains in that water chamber, then being dragged out by this brutal guard. Nothing about the part where he had been given a garment change.

The man eventually stopped walking and knocked on a door. Since Kai's face was looking upside-down at the warrior's back, he had no clue what the door looked like, only that it made a horrible squeaking sound as it opened.

"Is he conscious?" The hoarse, cold, and breathy voice of the Overlord made a chill go down Kai's spine.

"Yes," the man carrying him said in his deep, scratchy voice. He dropped Kai onto the ground without any warning.

Kai tried to save himself, but he was still having trouble figuring out which muscles he was supposed to move to get his arms in front of his face. He let out an undignified squeak as his shoulder made impact with the stone with a loud crack.

The sweat covering his body went cold, and he shivered as he slowly rolled onto his back. His first muscle movement that hadn't ended in failure.

"Sanguine Knight," the Overlord said. "Stand up."

Slowly, Kai managed to get himself to a sitting position. Was his shoulder broken? Probably not. He could move it, support his weight with it, so it was probably just a bad bruise.

The room was illuminated by a single torch on the wall. The room was dry, probably set at a temperature of just over sixty degrees.

"Good enough," Overlord said. His arms swung slowly at his sides as he walked toward Kai. "How do you feel? Any pain?" He wore no shirt, exposing thickly corded shoulders and abs. Black pants were tucked into his leather boots.

Kai was acutely aware of the Overlord's steely, green-eyed glare lingered on his bare torso and tiny, barely sufficient covering tied by a loose rope around his hips. "A little," Kai admitted reluctantly. He was too exhausted to resist such a simple question. "Mostly my shoulder, right now." He lifted his hand and touched his forehead, not entirely convinced that the water drip- he decided to call it the plinker- hadn't bored a hole through his brain. "My head hurts a little, I guess."

Overlord nodded, then waved a hand, signaling for a woman to come out of the dark corner. She was tall. A thin, veil-like dress covered her from the bust line to her knees, exposing spindly arms and legs that gave Kai the impression that she was underfed. Her eyes stayed fixed on her bare feet. She moved silently, like a ghost.

"Is this an interrogation?" Kai asked nervously. He felt himself grow tense as the light reflected off of the object the woman held in her left hand. A needle.

"No," Overlord said. He reached out and ran a hand through her long, auburn hair as she passed. "I know everything I need to know about you, for now. This is a raze."

The woman gently lifted Kai's left arm and turned it over, exposing his vein. Her touch was warm and soft as she positioned the needle and pressed it gently into his skin.

Kai had never been afraid of needles, but he was scared of this one. What were they injecting into him? "Raze?" He repeated as the woman pushed down on the plunger. "What is that?"

"To raze," the Overlord said, "is to completely demolish. I am demolishing you."

"And...this needle?" Kai stared at the clear tube as the bluish liquid inside it entered his body. Surprisingly, there was no pain at all.

"It will numb the pain," Overlord explained. "In order for this chamber to do its job, you need to feel nothing. And that includes hunger pains."

Kai marveled at the strength of the drug. Already, his shoulder felt better. The claws in his stomach were receding.

"Here in my dungeon," the Overlord said, "I employ two different methods of torture. The first is violence. Branding, water boarding, whipping, and drowning, mostly."

"And the second?" Kai asked as the woman pulled the empty syringe from his arm and went to Overlord's side.

"The second," Overlord said with a smile, "is much more brutal. Psychological torture. I use the dripper, sensory deprivation, and...well, why spoil the fun by ratting out my secrets?"

He gestured to a large box behind him. "Right now, I am going to put you through sensory deprivation. The numbing serum his going to relieve you of your sense of touch. I haven't fed you, so taste is gone, too. That chamber has about ten inches of salt water in it. It will give you the sensation of floating on air, and is darker than anything you've ever experienced." He motioned for Kai to stand.

Kai tried, but he was too numb to figure out his muscles anymore. It was all he could to keep from falling backwards and onto his head. He was completely tense.

The stone warrior hefted Kai to his feet and half guided, half dragged the very discombobulated nobleman to the door of the chamber.

"I'll leave the door unlocked," Overlord said. "You can leave at any time. A word of warning, though. As soon as you open this door," he lifted the lid of the glorified coffin, "you will receive my mark."

"Mark?" Kai asked as he was hefted into the hole.

"Did Cole not show you?" Overlord seemed genuinely surprised. "My tattoo; the mark of the beast, so to speak. The Ouroboros dragon." He reached out and pulled on his slave's dress, pulling it down just enough to see a black tattoo above her left breast. It depicted a serpent eating its own tail. Cole had one of those?

Overlord released her dress, relaxing the seam and concealing the ugly mark. "All of my slaves have it, Sanguine Knight. And the moment you step out of this tank, you'll get one, too." And with that final threat hanging in the tense air, he shut the door.

Kai was in the dark. The water was tepid; not warm, and not cold. As he slowly sank from his knees onto his belly, he began to wonder what was really so bad about this. After a minute, he finally manipulated his shot muscles enough to roll onto his back, and he floated comfortably in the salty water.

This wasn't bad at all, actually. It was relaxing. Sure, it was annoying to be completely numb, and the thought of being marked by the Ouroboros as soon as he decided to leave was less than desirable, but for now, he almost felt content. I'm not coming out, he thought. I will resist the Overlord to my dying breath. I don't care what this chamber does to me. I'm not moving.

Now if only he had some wind to back up that hot air.