She strode down to the dungeon of the castle. She found herself in front of the cell, the door open but with a guard present, a hand ever hovering over his weapon. He sat on the ground in an almost meditative state with his legs crossed and his good eye closed while the other was covered with a new patch. His hair was combed back into a messy, stringy ponytail. He wore a short gold coat and a dark green shirt with a small brown belt wrapped around his waist. He wore brown pants underneath and even darker brown shoes on his feet.
"Are you awake, Areole?" She now stood in front of the door.
He breathed deeply in through his nose. "That… isn't my name," he quietly answered. He opened his eye. "I see you've returned… You have questions," he read her, raising an eyebrow. "I have a few of my own."
"Mine first," she requested. She looked back at the guard then to him. "Do you mind…?" She motioned to the inside of his cell. "This is the closest thing to a home you have. Even if we can't trust you… it would be disrespectful to come in without permission."
A small smile appeared on his face. "Come in. You've no reason to fear me…," he stated, glancing at the guard. "I owe your family my life… unfortunately."
As she entered, she cast a confused glance. "Did you want to die?"
"I wanted to pay for my crimes. You've dishonored me!" He glared up at the teen now leaning against the bars.
She crossed her arms. "You had no honor. You were stripped of it the day you ran your sword through Swaine."
He wrinkled his nose as he squinted defiantly at her. "There is honor in death. I was finally paying back the world for all of my misdeeds!" He shifted his legs around out of a need for comfort. "A life for a life, that's how it is. But you… You've cheated the public of that pleasure, though they don't realize it!"
She continued to raise an eyebrow as she leaned forward. "You believe that your death would balance the universe or something?" She scoffed. "Are you a wizard?" She shook her head. "Even you believed it wouldn't bring Swaine back, so why bother?" She shrugged and held both hands out to the side. "Listen to me, Areole, you got a second chance," she explained, pointing at him. "You got a new life, a fresh start!"
He stood, his face tense as he seethed in anger. "I was prepared to die," he snapped, stepping forward. "You play a sick game- making me think my life was at an end!" He threw his fist against the wall. "Then I wake up in this odd outfit! I'm told my name is no longer the name I had at birth!"
She stepped closer to the man ignoring the guard's fingers wrapping around the gun handle at his hip. "My father had to make it look real. This is your last chance, Areole."
"That isn't my name," the former guard bit back.
"It is now!" She stomped and shook her head. "My father has always been a man of reason- of peace- if he could help it! I don't think any of this is right. There is no way of looking at this without anyone being in the wrong, here." She looked up at the indentured servant with fire in her eyes. "We need to take it- because like it or not, this is the best option anyone involved has!"
Areole blinked with his good eye, looking down at the girl. He found himself dumbfounded at her sheer stubbornness. He backed away and sat on the cell cot. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. He looked back up at her with lost and confused eyes. "Why did you spare me…?"
She shrugged. "You said it yourself. You didn't mean to kill him." She approached him again. "My father apparently agreed with you and couldn't bring himself to go through with it."
"I am not referring to your family- you, your majesty. Why…?"
She looked down for a moment at the brick floor. She had crossed her arms again and tapped her left with her right hand. "You still had a lot to give. I saw potential in you- though I'm not sure what at the moment." She looked out at the other cells, at the guard. "It seemed like such a waste for a wise man to be put to death." She made a small shrug and looked back at the man in front of her. She smiled down at the floor. "You kind of remind me of my father…"
There was silence between them as the former convict processed her response. "How odd you are, princess Lynnea." He leaned forward with a curious smirk. "What was it you wanted to ask of me in the first place?"
"Was I wrong to spare you," she asked him. She laughed. That was a stupid question. In his opinion, they were all wrong for letting him live.
"Why do you ask," he poked at her inquiry.
"I… I had a nightmare where you…," she cleared her throat nervously, wincing at the bruises around her neck. "You chopped off my arm and strangled me…"
Areole tensed up. Cutting off a limb- yes, he would have done that if she resisted. It was one of the actions that led him to his situation. Strangling…? He had already made it clear he would only kill if the situation ultimately demanded it. In what situation would he strangle a thief? What cause would he have? "I owe you my life, so I have no reason to so brutally take yours," he reminded her, a hand gestured towards her. He leaned on his left arm and placed a hand on his chin. "There's more to this nightmare, isn't there?" When she nodded, he released a short grunt. "Then speak."
Her stomach seemed to turn at the memory. The thought of him just watching complacently as her life had nearly drained away haunted her. It wasn't him- she knew- but it disturbed her more than she could admit. "In short, I saw the legendary thief. He wanted me dead for trying to save you. He let you try to kill me."
There was an indignant snort. "That doesn't sound like the man I supposedly murdered," he reasoned. "I see why you asked what you asked." He tilted his chin up as he assessed her. "You feel guilty- not just for his death, but for saving the man who killed him." He leaned forward again. "What's more, you feel unworthy of the sacrifice he made because of it." He smirked. "Embrace that feeling. It means you're still you, girl, but don't let it overtake you." He nodded and he wrung his hands together in front of him. "I said it before and I'll say it again: no man makes that kind of sacrifice if you were not invaluable. It wouldn't matter if you had known and told him about saving his murderer ahead of time, I am certain he would have stepped in front of my blade anyway."
"You really think my uncle was that noble?" She eyed the prisoner warily.
"From what I've seen, family is wont to protect family, sometimes at the cost of their own lives." He studied the ground. "Would he be furious with you? I certainly believe so. Would he want you dead for it? Well, I did not know him so I cannot properly say." He raised his head and glanced at the ceiling. "I speculate that he wouldn't so readily throw his life away only for you to lose yours. It would be a waste."
"You were wrong to spare me," he answered. "But not for the reasons you believe." He leaned back. "However, I am grateful for your effort." He found himself smiling at her. "I'm alive. I must truly still have a role to fill." He got up from the cot.
Before she could respond she found him a foot away from her. She raised her left hand reflexively, cautiously. Her right was just over her gun handle. The guard outside pulled his weapon and pointed at him.
"Easy." He raised his hands. He slowly reached his right hand out to her face and gently held her chin. "What role shall I play, your grace," he wondered curiously with a tilted head. He drew closer to her, ignoring the guard's tightening grip on his gun. "What role would you have me fill as your servant?"
"Unhand her," the guard outside of the cell ordered. He motioned for him to back away. "Away from the princess!"
As a chill ran down her spine, she shoved him away. "For now, follow the usual rules of the servant to ruler conduct unless ordered to!" Her face was flushed red as she glowered at him. Hold on… He's attracted to me?! Is it because I attempted to save him? The hell is that about?! She shook her head and ran a hand over her face. He's just toying with me, that's all.
"I was just having a little bit of fun…," he jested. He rolled his shoulders. "I've been alone for quite a while, your highness. I thought perhaps I could try my hand at making a friend- especially one who has gone out of her way to attempt to save me." He sat back down on the cot. "That kind of risk breeds loyalty."
She growled furiously. "So this is a ploy to usurp me- to use me," she accused, shoving a finger towards him. "If this is all so you can gain power and respect easily, I won't have it and neither will the empire," she defiantly claimed, throwing her left arm out from her chest, motioning to outside the cage.
He stared at her in awe before he cracked a grin and began to guffaw. "I have to hand it to you, you certainly know how to make me laugh, your highness!" He leaned forward. "Ha! I've had plenty of respect for years! Until I was so dishonorably let go, there were guards and citizens who hoped for my success, who thanked me." He stopped for a brief moment as his sudden cheerful demeanor fell a little. "There were plenty still that detested me- those are the ones who plague my consciousness." He looked down at the ground and resumed his chuckling, holding his sides. "Even when I was let go, the Cowlipha herself wished me well, informing me that I was lucky to have Rashaad on my side." He pulled his leg up on the bed and placed both hands on it, leaning toward her. "I want nothing of yours. In fact, all I want is to have one solitary friend in this new life."
She raised an eyebrow, though her expression remained cross. "And you plan to do that by flirting with me?!" She scoffed and quickly threw a glance at the bars of the other cells and back at him. "That's not the best way to make a friend, Areole." There was a snicker and she tilted her head.
"Like that, she misses my intention," he commented, snapping a finger.
She blinked for a moment as she stared at him. She ran back through his previous words. "Y-you're accepting this life?" She looked down and searched the brick floor. She raised her head and pressed a hand to her chest. "Why are you choosing me? Of all the people to choose as an ally, the person who you assaulted?!"
"And the person who has given me the most time to listen to my words." He leaned back. "If anything, you've given me the most respect despite recent events." He nodded, accepting his rationale. "I owe my life to your father, but you've been the most honorable. What better an ally- a friend- than one who has fought for me despite my actions." He chuckled and looked at the wall the head of his bed faced. "That- and you've truly caught my attention." He returned his gaze to her. "You fascinate me, your majesty."
She hummed in response. She stood in mild contemplation, looking up at the ceiling. "How good are you with a sword, Areole?"
He scoffed indignantly with narrowed eyes. "You seek to replace your uncle."
She leaned back suddenly out of confusion. "What? No!"
He leaned forward with a sly smirk. "You don't fool me, your highness." He relaxed, leaning back again. "I've read up on Hamelin history. I was allowed so as a palace guard. The firstborn heir of Hamelin should be proficient in the sword and in their wealth of knowledge. You tend to value intellectual prowess over most other things." He examined the brick wall to the right of him. "This is the machine capital of the world!" He chuckled as he returned his attention to her. "You may be trying to fill an endless hole out of grief- but let us examine the truth, shall we?" He raised a hand in a half shrug and tilted his head. "You lack a mentor, and you do not prefer your father. So you're trying to replace what can no longer function."
She growled and took a single stomp towards him. "You- you're nothing like Swaine! You could never be him! How dare you make such assumptions!" She recomposed herself but continued to look down at him with crossed arms. "I'm not trying to replace him."
He chortled again. "How blind you are to yourself. It is amusing, your grace." He continued to stare smugly at her. "If you wish to learn your uncle's second weapon of choice, perhaps ask someone other than I? Or maybe-!" He placed a hand on his chin and rubbed it in thought. "Examine a few artifacts?"
She scowled at him fiercely. "You refuse to serve, then?"
"I refuse to hold your hand," he retorted. "In fact, I refuse to deny you the ability to work this out on your own, your majesty." He leaned forward. "Come to me when you believe you have all the pieces."
"You're in no condition to give orders." She let her hands drop to her side and eyed him with an authoritative air. "Watch your tone," she warned venomously.
He laughed from his place on the cot. "And you want answers. I'd say as long as there's a puzzle to be solved- one with which I've gotten answers to just observing your behavior thus far- I hold some power over you." When her face shifted from anger to fear, he laughed again. "Don't worry- I do not plan to use it maliciously. I just want you to think." He grinned. "I love watching people figure things out, struggling to better themselves. In the end, it may be worth it- or maybe not." He narrowed his eyes. "Life is a game I enjoy observing. It is a looming opponent I constantly duel at the risk of my own life- especially under these new circumstances."
She huffed through her nose. Her arms were crossed again. "That's a sick way of viewing this. I could just order you to tell me what you know, you know," she spat.
His grin widened as he, too, crossed his arms. "But you won't. You wouldn't trust a man with blood on his hands for information. You wouldn't trust him training you in the ways of a sword, either." He got up from his cot and drew dangerously close to her. He loomed over her as his grin disappeared. "Find your closure elsewhere, princess Lynnea. All I am is a dangerous dead end," he whispered menacingly. He turned his attention to the guard outside at the sound of his gun being drawn again. He backed away, resuming sitting on the cot with his legs crossed.
This conversation was going nowhere. She shook her head and let her arms fall to her sides again before walking out. "You have a kind heart, your highness. Use it well," he shouted after her, slightly leaning his head back with a smirk. She froze. She nodded quietly back at him over her shoulder. It wasn't right… nor was it wrong then- it was just her nature. With a small smile, she left him in the dungeon to play his game.
