Roses

Jay awakened feeling worse than when he'd fallen asleep. His head throbbed, his stomach hurt, and nausea made his gut gurgle and moan unhappily. He curled around himself, and was not surprised to find that his muscles ached too.

A hand touched his forehead, and he twitched, opening his eyes. Nearby, a fire crackled, bathing his shivering body in warmth that he could not absorb. He was so cold. The blanket covering his body was wet with sweat, sticking to his skin and trousers like it never intended to let go. Since when does Overlord give blankets to his prisoners? he wondered. And fire?

"Good morning," Merv said softly. She was the one touching him, he realized.

Jay opened his mouth to respond, but a string of raspy coughs came out instead. Each one felt like a punch to his chest, causing his throat to feel dry as sand. Water…

As if reading his thoughts, Merv lifted a cup to his lips and helped him drink. It didn't take long for him to drain the glass; the cup was tiny. As if it had been made for children.

"Pixal," Merv said, replacing her hand on Jay's forehead, urging him to stay down, "Jay's awake."

"Ah. Good. I've got some choice words for that moron."

Jay cringed. She was pleasant as always. But it's not like I don't deserve it.

Merv massaged Jay's temple with her fingers, easing the headache a bit. "Can it wait until he's healed?" she asked, sounding impatient. "Get the medicine. He can drink it now."

"Uh-huh. Sure." Pixal entered Jay's field of vision a moment later, and grabbed a bowl from a tiny table.

It was then that Jay finally processed his surroundings. He was not in a cell, but an earthen cave. He could hear the rain very close by.

A tiny cup...a tiny table...cave...

Jay's heart raced, and he resisted Merv's hand, sitting upright. What...

After fighting a wash of dizziness, he saw what he had feared. They were in his and Merv's old fort.

"A...lot happened since I fell asleep," he rasped at last.

"You're telling me," Pixal grumbled, kneeling next to him. She sniffed the bowl, made a face, then handed it to Merv. "We had to carry you out of Overlord's death factory ourselves."

Jay looked down, heat rising up into his cheeks. "Sorry..."

"You couldn't help it," Merv said. "It's not your fault. Overlord poisoned you."

Jay couldn't decide if this was comforting or disturbing. "So...am I dying?" he asked. It made sense. Jay had a hard time finding a part of his body that wasn't groaning like an old, crumbling house.

"We aren't sure," Pixal said. "It could just be a temporary illness, meant to discourage is from escaping. Or Overlord could really be planning to kill you."

"Fantastic," Jay muttered.

"Hey. That's meant to be a compliment."

Jay frowned as Merv helped him lie down again. "I...don't follow."

Pixal shrugged. "Uselessness seems to be a recurring theme with you lately," she said. "So, if the Overlord really did poison you with the intent of killing you, then that's a compliment. Because he thinks you're too dangerous to keep alive. Which means he doesn't think you're useless."

"Double fantastic," Jay said. "I'm so flattered, I think I'll just jump in the river and drown in my happiness."

"Calm down," Merv said, shooting Pixal a look. "I harvested some plants last night to make this medicine. It should help you to feel better."

"Why are you giving it to me now?" Jay asked. "Couldn't it have worked just as well if you fed it to me while I was asleep?"

Merv dipped a spoon into the bowl. "It's thick," she said. "You would have choked if I forced it down your throat. Open your mouth, please."

With a sigh, Jay complied, resisting the urge to spit out the spoon: he didn't deserve to eat. And anyways, it tasted strange.

"I added other things to this," Merv said as Jay's internal battle raged. "To make it a meal. Medicine and food in one." She looked a little proud of herself, and she waited eagerly for Jay's reaction. To the side, Pixal rose and started gathering garbage from the floor, tossing it into the dying fire.

For Merv's sake, Jay swallowed. It was...not disgusting. But he didn't want to eat a lot of it, either. It was thick like pudding, and a little gritty.

"How much more do I need to get better?" Jay asked.

"All of it," Merv said firmly.

Groaning, Jay opened his mouth for more. And again, they manipulate me into eating.

Pixal scooped into her arms a pile of old, dry grass- an animal's nest?- and moved toward the fire. Something fell, and she paused, looking at it.

Merv and Jay noticed her reaction and turned their heads.

"It's..." Pixal crouched down, looking a little confused. "I have no clue. Some kind of baby animal. It's almost dead."

Merv immediately set down the bowl and ran to it. "Aww..." she crooned, touching the animal which Jay could not see from his position on the other side of the fire pit. "Jay, it's so cute. How sad..."

"Can I see?" Jay asked.

"O-oh," Merv said, looking back at him. "Yes. Sorry." She carefully lifted a tiny pink body into her palms before approaching Jay and setting it on his chest.

Jay cradled it carefully and sat up again. The little creature had a sharp pink nose and triangular, pointy ears. Four legs and a long tail. Its eyes were closed, and Jay could feel its ribs through its fur.

"What in Mena's name is that?" Pixal asked. "It looks like something out of a children's fairy tale."

Jay squinted at it, stroking the fuzz along its back. Its tiny paws twitched feebly at his touch.

"It's...a dog," he said.

"A what?" Pixal frowned at him. "Haven't those been extinct for almost six hundred years?"

"It must be a dog," Jay said. "I have an old book with photographs of them. This isn't an exact match to any of the pictures, but it could just be a different breed."

The dog was barely breathing; Jay could feel its body shudder weakly as he stroked it.

"Poor thing," Merv said. "It must be an abandoned pup. I wonder why?"

I don't know, Jay thought. It's cute, though. And fuzzy, like a peach.

"Momo," Jay said. "I'll call you Momo."

"Oh, no," Pixal said. "Look, that thing is beyond hope. Save yourself the heartache and give it to me."

Jay held it a little closer. "What? So you can kill it?"

"It's the merciful thing to do," Pixal said. "I'm sorry. It makes me sad. But it's so close to death, we should just put it out of its misery."

"No!" Jay looked at Merv. "What, are you just gonna stand there and let her take it from me?"

Merv hesitated. "It...does seem best," she admitted.

Jay felt the anger rise hotly up through his chest and into his head. He tried to stand, but found that his prosthetic had been removed. "Where is my stuff?" he asked. Then, in a sudden moment of panic, he blurted, "You didn't take off my pants, did you?"

"No!" Pixal growled.

"You don't need your prosthetic right now," said Merv calmly. "You have a fever still, and it is affecting your judgement. Please, just eat your medicine and go back to sleep."

"So you can kill this animal while I'm asleep and it's defenseless?"

"Jay..." Pixal began.

"No! I refuse to eat." Jay knew it was childish, but at the moment he was too angry to care.

"Don't be ridiculous-"

"I won't touch my medicine," Jay said. "Not until you've gone outside and harvested some of the hrymerv plant."

"Hrymerv?" Pixal paused. "You want to try to feed the pup?"

"Yes."

Pixal turned to Merv for support. "Don't let him do this. It's a waste of time. The pup is too far gone."

Merv searched Jay's eyes, then looked down at the pup. "I think...you should go and get the plant."

"Merv, you can't possibly-"

"No, I think the dog is too far gone as well. But Jay wants to try. We should let him."

Pixal stood still for a moment, then sighed and, with a wave of her hand, sent her eagle outside. "Suki will find it," she said crisply. "Then I'll go and harvest it." If the dog doesn't die before then, her tone implied.

She returned to her work, tossing more nesting into the fire. And though Jay kept a close eye on her, he did not see any more pups. Which made sense because, from what Jay knew about the species, dogs only had one or two pups every year. Momo might have been weak at birth. If so, the mother might have rejected it and departed from the cave, leaving it to die.

"Why did we come to this cave, anyways?" Jay asked.

Merv shrugged. "It was close," she said, offering him another spoonful of medicine. "And you need time to recover."

Jay nodded and accepted the bite. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was grateful that they'd found this place. He didn't want to be outside in the rain. It would be nice to have a semi-stress-free day to just sleep.

"I'm guessing the others didn't make it out?" Jay asked.

"No," Pixal answered.

Wonderful. I'm sure that's my fault... Jay sighed, fingers rubbing the ears of the little dog. "Where are we going after this?"

"Not sure," Pixal said, kicking around some refuse with her boot. "I'm thinking that as soon as you're well enough to walk, we'll go to Prince Wu."

"What? Why?"

"Because we need help," Pixal said. "We can't do this alone. Cole, Hagar, Kai, and Besai are still in there. And I'm willing to bet that Kyle's here on the island, too."

"Hold it." Jay lifted a hand. "You lost me at Hagar. She's alive?"

"Either that or Cole was making out with a very similar look-alike."

"I did not need to know that."

"You aren't six. I don't see what the big deal is." Pixal folded her arms.

"You know what?" Jay waved his hands dismissively. "Change of topic. Uh...Merv, what's in this medicine?"

Merv stirred the bowl, then set another spoonful in his mouth. It was a struggle, making himself eat. But he knew he had to. So, forcing down his nausea, he did.

"I don't know your names for most of the plants," Merv said. "Um...some were roots. And leaves. I also found some fruit. Though there wasn't much of it...it's after harvest."

"I thought women weren't allowed to go this far."

Merv shook her head. "No, we can. As long as we stay on this side of the river, we can go several miles away from the village to gather food."

"Huh. So basically, you're...feeding me rejected after-harvest leftovers."

"Yes. Sorry."

"No, no, don't be. It tastes great." That was a lie. But he the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel like she had to try harder. She worked so diligently already, and Jay appreciated it. More than she would ever understand.

Merv smiled more confidently. "I'm glad."

Jay returned the smile guiltily. You're a sick bastard, Jay. Sick, sick, sick.

The lantern was on the floor when Besai awoke. She sat up, wrapping a blanket around herself- How had that gotten there? She'd fallen asleep beside the bed without one- and blinked at the strange scene before her. Kai sat stiffly with his legs crossed, lantern beside him, tracing his fingers through a scattering of dirt and dust on the floor.

He seemed to be making a picture. Besai was enthralled by the way his fingertips danced through the dust, creating deliberate lines that swirled, curved, and intersected with each other. His eyes were intense. Besai wasn't sure that he knew she was awake, so she stayed quiet. She didn't want to interrupt.

And I cannot speak. Besai's hands slowly moved toward her belly out of habit, and a cold sweat broke out on her forehead. If I am too obvious in my effort to help him, Overlord will kill my- our- baby.

So she watched him in silence as his hands ran through the dust. He didn't look like a child drawing with a stick in the sand, awkward and inept. He looked like a master, creating exactly what he pictured in his mind. He had done this before. Many times, it seemed.

This went on for a while, and his picture steadily grew more elaborate until at last Besai knew what it was: roses. Two of them, growing off the same stem. One in full bloom, petals spread as if trying to drink in as much of the imaginary sunlight as possible. The other, a little lower, was a tiny bud, drooping daintily from its own weight on the slender stem.

Kai paused, hand coated in dust, eyes soft and distant. Then he set a single, shaking finger at the base of the picture and went up from there in a straight line. He stopped a little higher than the blooming bud, creating a third rose.

But this one was different. Though larger, it was less full. Petals gathered at the base of the stem, fallen from its withering crown.

With a heavy heart, Besai realized what he was really drawing.

You forgot Ahlie, she thought. She would grow from my stem too.

Kai added lines to shade the petals, giving them remarkable depth. Amazing. Besai would have never thought to do something like that with simple sand and dust.

"You've never seen me do this before, have you?" Kai asked quietly.

So he did know I was awake. Besai shook her head. "No. I haven't."

"...Yeah." Kai blushed. "It's a little embarrassing. Art is supposed to be a feminine thing. Father always thought it was funny, 'cause Nya was into inventing and weapons and all that, and I...painted."

"I thought you were a doctor," Besai said. "And you are very good with a sword."

"Well...yeah. I guess. But I've always been partial to art."

"I like it," Besai said, venturing to scoot closer. "You are very good. But...it is missing something."

Kai frowned. "What?"

"Right here." Besai used her thumb to smooth the dust over Kai's wilted flower, causing him to cry out. "This isn't right," she said gently, thickening the flower stalk with the tips of her second and third fingers. "Flowers are...weak. Beautiful, but very short-lived. Now, if you were one of these..." She added several more lines at the top of the stalk. "...you would be so much stronger."

Kai tilted his head at her picture. "A sword?" he guessed.

"No." It was Besai's turn to blush. Was she really that bad at art?

"Oh. Hmm..." A spark- a change so minute Besai almost overlooked it- flickered in his eyes. "Ah. I've got it. It's an arm. Those are its fingers up there."

"It's a tree," Besai said, blushing further.

"What?" Kai shook his head. "No. That has got to be an arm. Though, I don't see how drawing me as an arm has any inspirational value..."

"It's a tree!" Besai insisted, making a face.

They glared at each other for a moment before her mask cracked, and she giggled.

Kai chuckled quietly, still shaking his head at the sword-arm-tree. "We'll have to work on your drawing skills," he said.

"Oh. So I'm the one who needs work?" Besai pointed at herself, smiling.

Kai shrugged and rolled his eyes, which now sparkled brightly- with mirth, not sad tears.

I wish we could always be like this, Besai thought, still shaking from laughter. It's hard to be happy when the Overlord is such a large threat dangling over our heads, though.

She regretted thinking about the Overlord. Her laughter faltered, and her shoulders slumped. I also wish I could stop fearing him. Life would be so much better.

Kai noticed the change in her attitude and his face fell. As quickly as it had appeared, the spark was extinguished, his face visibly darkening as he turned away from the lantern.

"Can I...ask you something?" he asked.

Besai nodded once.

Kai sat still for a moment, collecting his thoughts. He pursed his lips, then parted them and exhaled. "Something changed when Overlord took you to Chamber Four, Besai. And I know I've already asked this, but...why do you seem so...I don't know...scared? Sad?" He reached for her. "You want to talk about it?"

An image of Alyx's smiling face appeared in Besai's mind, and she shied away from Kai's outstretched hand. Fighting tears, she shrugged. This isn't safe. I've risked too much by talking with Kai. If Overlord had seen us laughing... She shuddered, hugging herself, as she thought of her miscarried baby. So much blood for such a little child.

Kai seemed confused for a moment, then he nodded. "Overlord," he whispered. "Overlord did something to you..." He faltered, rocking back and forth unconsciously. "He...he was right. About you. About me. I...I'm so sorry." His eyes grew distant, and his mouth quivered.

So, so fragile. So bruised, so broken.

"Don't be sorry," Besai whispered at last. "Please, don't... It's not your fault."

But Kai did not seem to hear her. He just rocked slowly, knees tucked to his chin, looking as though his mind was a thousand miles away.

Besai wiped her eyes and looked at her tree. Kai is strong, she told herself. I believe in him. He'll come around.

Because trees stand tall through any storm. Just like him.

But the more she thought about it, the more distant the idea seemed, until at last, Besai just moved back to where she dropped her blanket, wrapped herself in it, and closed her eyes. Wishing, hoping, praying that she could banish away her feelings and thoughts; numb the pain.

If only it were possible.

Overlord kept his eyes on his ledger as he walked, Nephilim by his side. She held a sheet of paper in her hands, marked up with the lines, dots, and squares that made up the Dark Tongue's written language. Her dark, serene gray eyes looked it over again, and she nodded.

"Another group," she said. "Not as many as usual."

"They're being more cautious." Overlord snapped his fingers at a stone warrior as they passed, warning him to stand straighter. "But that's all right. I had enough boys this year, I didn't need Amzi. Terrwyn, though..." He frowned. "She was valuable. Young. Strong."

"You should-"

"No," Overlord said firmly. "I will let them go, like usual. After all, we never would have found Wu and Cyrus if not for those escapees. There may still be more to learn from that group before we expose them."

"Yes, Father." Nephilim pursed her lips disapprovingly, but did not press further. "I heard the dam is leaking at the river."

"That's all right. The rain will likely cease tonight, anyways." Overlord flipped through more papers, turning a corner. "Textiles. How is that going?"

"Fine, Father. There was an incident yesterday. One of the women was working sluggishly."

"I see. What did you do?"

Nephilim met his eyes and smiled a soft, untroubled smile. "I whipped her."

Overlord nodded his approval. This girl was one of a kind. "Very good," he said, patting her shoulder.

Nephilim immediately grabbed his arm and clung to him as they walked. Overlord smiled. Words had never been enough for his Neph; she needed physical affirmation of his affection.

They soon reached Overlord's door. Nephilim reluctantly released his arm so he could grab his key. "I'm going to rest. Summon me in two hours so I can continue my rounds. In the meantime, check on Cimmerian. See if he needs fresh bandages."

"Yes, Father." The short, fourteen winters girl kissed his cheek and retreated down the hall.

Overlord smiled after her, then exhaled and entered his room. It would be good to get some rest after all the stress these past two days. Pixal had, of course, escaped with Merv and John. That was irritating. But what could he do? The rain washed away all their tracks; the men he'd sent out yesterday had been unable to find any hint to their whereabouts.

I should have known that a little fever wouldn't be enough to discourage their escape. But they'll be back. He set his ledger on the desk, then unbuttoned his shirt. I still have the rest of their team. John will insist on coming back to rescue them once he's healed.

"Shoulders," he said, and a woman appeared from the corner, oil vials in hand.

Overlord laid face-down on the bed and closed his eyes. The woman slid her hands, slick with sweet oils, across his arthritic back. He groaned; partially in pain, partially in relief. This new girl- named Keryph- was not nearly as good as Merv had been. Keryph's hands shook, and her arms didn't possess the strength to go as deep as he wanted, nor as carefully as he wanted.

Keryph just started a month ago, Overlord told himself. Merv had her whole life to get it right. I'll just have to be patient. He stiffened, glowering into his pillow. That was Lou's persona leaking through again. Bah. Overlord would make Keryph learn to massage properly, as soon as possible. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.

"Right there," Overlord said. "Your thumb. Press harder there."

With Merv, he'd never had to instruct her. She'd simply known where his aches were worst, and she'd made quick work of dulling them with just the right blend of oils.

I really do miss her, he thought, sighing. Soon. I'll have her soon. After I've killed John, she'll have no choice but to come back. He grimaced as Keryph pushed too hard, and a nerve sent shooting pain all the way down to his foot. And once I have Merv back, I'll have this miserable wretch executed.