They had freed the kingdom of Asari, the battle fueled over two nights and lives of the elves, humans and dwarves had been lost within the fight. Nathaniel stood in the King's throne room, admiring the statue of the horrendous beast that was built wrapped within the throne. It was made out of sacred designs, ancient to the forests of this land. The previous occupier laid lifeless in his throne, his body fired upon with a flame so hot that it scorched every cell of skin that was on his body, clothes and organs reduced to ash as the skeleton remained. The crown stood upon the old King's head proudly, showing itself off for the person who dared take it next.
"There you go dearie, it's there for the taking." The slimy, scaled crocodile of a man saunter from the shadows, his high-pitched, cruel toned voice spoke to the Nathaniel as he continued to gaze at the crown waiting for him. "But you did not summon little old me just for a crown, did you?" Rumpelstiltskin grinned devilishly, giggling.
"I want more." Nathaniel declared, turning to the Dark One.
"You have the King's riches, the dragon from his mountain. You claim the man's throne." Rumpelstiltskin squinted, strutting around as Nathaniel reached down to pick up the King's crown.
"I want the dragon's power." Nathaniel spoke as he brushed the dust from the crown, feeling it between his hands. Rumpelstiltskin cocked an eyebrow, curiosity peaking him tremendously. "Her necklace harbors all of her powers. I want to reduce her to nothing."
"How quaint." Rumpelstiltskin commented, a grin further spreading on his glittery gold scaled face.
"She was already a slave to the mountain. I want stronger restraints. I want her worthless."
"All magic comes with a price, my King. As does greed."
"Whatever it takes." Nathaniel brought the crown to his head, exhaling as it placed it on himself ceremoniously. "I have a particular bean that might peak your interest, Dark One. Along with the riches of the mountain, my loyalty to you." Nathaniel darkly said, unsheathing his sword and hooking it on the remains of the skeleton to remove it from the seat of the throne. Rumpelstiltskin reached into his pocket, pulling out a roll of parchment. He unraveled it to reveal the terms and conditions of the contract that had been conjured between them.
"Please, sign here."
"You fear me." Nadri's voice was soft and gently spoken. The last time another soul was in her presence she was alive in the form she was now and that was the last time she could remember her heart beating before the blade pierced her heart. She didn't know how to act around him apart from timid and cautious. She remembered how those who ventured into her mountain felt, the terror, the earth-shaking fear. They looked at her like a vile beast that needed to be slayed. She could only remember Killian's face when he first came across her, the shaking in his soul.
"You didn't see it from my view." Killian defended himself, trying to smile reassuringly. Nadri was sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest, resting her crossed arms on them. Killian held his side in comfort, still wheezing and struggling for breath. The material of her dress flooded around her, Killian careful not to step on the delicate material. "I wasn't expecting-"
"This?"
"Something like that." Killian sheepishly admitted. "I'm sorry I did not listen to your concerns." He apologized profusely, his expression washed with regret and guilt. Her hand reached out to his neck suddenly and Killian stopped moving as he felt the woman's hand gently trace the wound around his neck.
"The puppy got you." She brought her eyebrows together, pressing her lips together as she looked over his wounds.
"You call that thing a puppy?" Killian raised an eyebrow, the warm touch of her hand radiating through his skin as if he was laying out in the sun and the star was warming him from the inside. Nadri couldn't help but deliver a shy smile and shook her head.
"Compared to me, he is a puppy."
"I can't disagree with you there, love." Killian agreed apprehensively, remembering his encounter with the demon dog that was chasing him down in the Underworld prison. Nadri's hand lingered before she realized that she was probably making him uncomfortable and pulled her hand away as if she had burned herself. "Your face-"
"It's not the first time and I'm sure it isn't the last time either." Nadri shook her head, trying to dismiss his concern. "I will be expecting worse." She dropped her look and looked at the glowing bracelets on her wrists reminded her of her capture and slavery. The engravings gleamed under the orange and red light of the candle chandelier above them. Killian had never heard of a fable of a woman being able to transform into a dragon in his realm. It was unheard of in the Enchanted Forest apart from Maleficent, even then she used that power for evil.
"Because of me?" He whispered, looking down with same as he couldn't help but think of the reign of terror that Hades was going to bring down on the woman who tried to help him suffer a lesser punishment. Nadri knew what lied ahead and he deliberately ignored her.
"Yes, Ruveyzun." Nadri admitted. "I defied Hades, hoping you would listen. You did the opposite."
"Why do you keep call me that? Ruu-vee-zan?" He poorly pronounced, eventually waving it with a nervous beam on his lips.
"It is the language of the Dovah, it is what you called yourself. Captain." She tested the words on her tongue, not quite feeling the same as she said it.
"You could call me Killian, love." Killian said back with a poor attempt of a charming grin, his face just feeling more painful as he smiled.
"Pretty name." Nadri spoke with a small, broken smile, the action feeling foreign to her. It felt strange for her to hold a smile in such dark and traumatic circumstances but there was something about the man sitting with her, he managed to find that small, tiny little fire that still burned inside of her.
"To be fair, I wasn't expecting a three-headed dog to chase me down and start tearing me apart." Killian replied nervously with a slight chuckle, referring back to their previous conversation. "How did you even get here, love?" He got more comfortable on the rug, the two of them sitting in front of the flickering flames of the fireplace.
"My tale is different to many. Hades brought me here when I died. He used my suleyk against me to make sure I couldn't be free of his control. I was human for many years until last night." Killian couldn't help but be sadden by what she was telling him. He could see the young woman was trying to hold back her tears at recalling the memory.
"It sounds like a long and agonizing story." Killian gave her a sympathetic tone, unsure of what else to say.
"Hades uses me terrify everyone. I have to do as he says even if I don't want to." She explained to him, swallowing hard at the already burned in memories of the things that he had put her through. Killian noticed her expression changing, her guard slowly coming back up and he did not press the issue further. "Please do not fear me in this form, Killian."
"I don't. I understand, love." Killian agreed with her regrettably, trying not to think of how easily he grabbed hold of the darkness for it to consume him whole. He wanted to leave the world peacefully, he had a chance to save the others and the pain has still continued on even in the afterlife.
"I'm sorry you know the pain of being a slave to someone's control." Nadri exhaled heavily, rubbing her hand over her forehead and pinched the bridge of her nose. "He kept me locked away in here. I escaped for years, managed to hide away until…"
"Until my friends came to save me." Killian concluded. Nadri looked down, upset, his friends had come all this way to retrieve him back to the Land of the Living. They wanted him back that much that they were willing to lose their souls trying. Nadri had been left alone for almost a thousand years and became accustomed to being at Hades' every beck and call.
"The Underworld will start changing now there are living souls. You have the chance and you need to get out as soon as you can." Nadri pushed, determined for him to leave this horrendous place. "Don't get trapped here when you have a way out with your friends."
Killian reached out for Nadri's hand, taking it in his gently and embracing it. She wasn't expecting him to take her hand, she was able to feel the rough skin of his hands as his thumb slid across her knuckles gently.
"I won't leave you here to be a subject to his torture anymore." Killian spoke, deadly serious as he looked into Nadri's eyes. They could have consumed him, it was almost like he could see through the windows to her soul.
Her story wasn't over yet, he was going to make sure of that.
"We can get out of this together." Killian assured her firmly. His hand lingered against hers briefly, intently staring into the pools of violet that consumed him. He was sitting so close to her, her dress draping across the rug and Killian could see that it was almost see through. The scaled pattern on her dress dug into her skin and Killian come to realize that it was not fabric at all but the scales of her own dragon skin folding with the skin of her human form.
Nadri felt like she was under a microscope as Killian's eyes burned a hole through her. He realized that he was still holding her hand when he was caught staring at her, pulling it away gently and the absence of the touch felt strange. He cleared his throat before looking back to her.
"We need to get a message to the others."
Nadri sat beside the fireplace, laying across the thick, looped rug as she stared at the twists of flames spluttering and flickering. It felt like Hades had been gone for an eternity, she felt the sense of impending doom constantly linger around her waiting for the moment that she would be summoned to Hades side. She looked over at Killian limping around the room, wearing down the marble with how many times he had gone back and forth thinking out loud and muttering to himself.
"You said you escaped last time, how did you manage to get water from the River of Souls?" Killian questioned again, Nadri sighing. She regretted telling him about her previous escape, he was hell bent on trying to find a way out of this place. She couldn't blame him however, he promised her that he would try and get her out with his friends so she had to comply with helping work out a plan. It was difficult to try and mull over old plans and then knowing that Hades would have placed new defences to make sure that she wouldn't be able to escape the same way again.
"It was difficult, a friend helped but I'm not sure if he even moved on or not. I'm convinced he just wanted me to taste freedom before locking me away again." Nadri replied as she pulled herself up from the warm rug as opposed to the cold stone floors. "Your friends might find us before we find them." She felt weak, the power continuing to drain from her around the clock.
"That's if we succeed in getting those damn bonds broken." Killian retorted, finally stopping his pacing and moving around to the table in the room, leaning against it as he looked down at the woman on the ground. He held his ribs gingerly, still feeling the agony and broken bones beneath his skin. The adrenaline had to wear off eventually.
"I wish there was something I could do." Nadri bit her lip, watching with shame as Killian gingerly moved around. She could have healed him with Dragon magic to stop his ongoing pain, the curses on her bonds kept her from being able to conjure even the easiest of spells. Killian was thankful for the concern.
"What about those?" He said referring to her bracelets uneasily.
"Magical ties are easy to break with the right ingredients. These are obsidian however." Nadri clinked her wrists together. "They heavily weaken dragon magic."
"What kind of magic can reverse the spell?"
"The same magic in which it was created - dark. That and anyone who can read ancient Dragon language. I've only known restraints since I was born to the mountain. If I could get my magic back entirely then the restraints can be broken."
'Great, more dark magic'
Killian thought to himself, sighing. He was sick of being around dark magic. He thought he was doing Emma a favour by taking the power of the Dark Ones but it was still haunting him. Hades, dark magic, Emma coming to the Underworld to bring him back all resorted down the original reason they were there. He wanted away from Hades reign of terror and he promised this woman a way out. He had to do that. She took on compassion for him, thoughtfulness even though she had been through more torture than he did in the short time he was there. He had to do it for Nadri at least.
"Killian." Nadri spoke, watching him as he delved further into his thoughts. "Killi?" She said suddenly again, pulling Killian away from his thoughts. He snapped out of it and looked at, paying attention again. It was almost as if she was listening to him the whole time, she was trying to read him silently.
"Sorry, love." He sighed deeply, Killian muttered, sick of the world throwing more plot twists at him.
"The candles were lit but no one was home." Nadri made light of it and received a matching smile from Killian.
"I suppose we should be thankful we're alone." He said without thinking, witnessing Nadri's cheeks burn a deep pink.
He made her blush.
"Because of Hades." Killian attempted to cover up but Nadri couldn't help but sheepishly smile. It was the first, real smile he had seen from the woman. It was beautiful, enlightening. He couldn't understand how such a conflicted soul could still have a beautiful radiance.
"He comes and goes, I'm often left naalein." Nadri was used to the lonely silence over the years, remembering Hades wanted to keep her bound to one room where he frequented in and out of the realm multiple times a day. "But usually not like this." She ran a hand over the front of her body, fingers tracing the exposed skin. "I think this was for your benefit." Nadri replied anxiously, knowing how it sounded when it came out of her mouth. As innocently as she was trying to say it, Hades did not want it to sound that way.
Hades wanted the sight of her to lure him in a false sense of security but Nadri had fought Hades at every turn.
"I don't always get distracted by a beautiful woman." Killian quipped without thinking, his eyes glued to her hand that rested in the middle of her bodice. A nervous waiting silence came between them.
'Did I really just say that?' Killian slapped himself internally.
"As opposed to a gnarly dragon?" Nadri innocently pondered.
"I've been in the presence of dragons before, love."
"Well, at least you can still see beauty in this bruised face." Nadri quietly said, trying not to allow the crimson to flood her cheeks anymore. She cleared her throat, attempting to change the subject. "Your friends. Any of them wield dark magic on the off-chance?"
"Regina…" Killian trailed off and Nadri cocked an eyebrow. "The Evil Queen. She has some serious kick-arse magic that could get those off. It's our best chance." Nadri winced, feeling a tugging at her soul.
"The Evil Queen? What kind of suleyksejun did you come from?" Nadri baffled, confused. She had never heard of this man in her realm or even the Evil Queen. She came from the magic lands of the Asari, inhabited with all kinds of creatures. The people were humans, dwarves and proud elves, only one ruler stood above the rest and it was no woman.
She cracked her neck, feeling uncomfortable as she stretched out her back. She felt the sudden burn inside as if her insides were beginning to be pulled out of her. Nadri gasped at the sudden feeling, the burning sensation beginning to creep up down her skin and down to her wrists where the obsidian scorched into her sink.
"Nadri?" Killian swooped to her side, wincing and frowning, flooded with concern. She had gone pale as a sheet, the binds around her wrists burning hot.
"I'm fighting it." She hoarsely whispered, refusing to let Hades bring her to him. She imagined herself pulling on the rope in a tug-of-war, trying to win.
"What is it, Nadri?" Killian's voice full of alarm as she grabbed his arm, squeezing and whimpering.
"He's trying to bring me to him." Killian held her hand as she grunted in distress, it felt as if her soul was on fire. She broke into a cold sweat, refusing the apparition. "I need to go, I can't hold it much longer. Find the scroll, it is here, hidden." Nadri clung onto Killian's hand as hard as she could, afraid of letting go.
"I'll find you, Nadri." Killian promised, the hand he was holding disappearing into a cloud of red and black smoke until her touch and warmth completely disappeared leaving him begging to the air for her presence to come back.