VI
Unfortunately, James had miscalculated how long it would take to reach the knights' post.
?He had tried his best to stall for time, with the hope that the knight would settle for the night and give him a chance to escape. However, this man wasn't taking chances, and had dragged James along whether he liked it or not.
?"I'm not him." James had tried to protest earlier on their walk, "Jay has been killing for decades, I'm in my twenties."
?Alex had given him a sideways glance, but did not say anything otherwise.
?His panic had continuously grown over their walk, realising that, with the pace he was forced to go at, he would be back in the town before it got too late.
?It was cutting it close, but it was already dark by the time they had reached the cells and James got thrown into one after being stripped naked; his weapons and clothes being taken from him.
?James grazed his hands on the rough stone after being pushed inside, tripping onto the floor with a skid.
?He turned to glare, but the man locking the door was not the knight that had brought him here.
?James clenched his fists on the ground, gritting his teeth against the frustration.
?Calm. He needed to be calm.
?After a moment to gather composure, he got up and sat against the wall, covering his nakedness with his legs and trying to keep his core temperature comfortable.
?He watched keenly, beyond the bars, as knights walked by with their torches; some alone, some laughing with each other. He tried to memorise every face he saw, and did his best to map the hierarchy of command from their behaviour.
?Perhaps it was because it was the night shift, but the prison was not nearly as active as he expected, with long drags of silence where only a single guard will be on duty here.
?"What are you looking for?" a female voice asked.
?James looked to his left, squinting to see a woman in the cell next to him.
?These cells weren't absolutely secure, since there was only one hard wall, and the other three were barred - two against the cells either side. It would make it easy for criminals to talk to each other, as proven.
?The woman next to him was gorgeous and, unlike him, was clothed. The long ribbons and light material did not cover much, but was probably still warmer than nothing at all.
?"A way out." he said vaguely, not bothering to lie.
?She hummed, humouring him, and shifted closer to the bars, her dainty hands wrapping around the dark, thick rusting rail.
?"What are you in for?"
?James tried to avoid looking at her breasts, instead glancing at her face. "Carving rude messages on the front door."
?She laughed, not holding back her voice.
?James glanced towards the knights walking by in concern.
?"Don't worry," she said, winking, "I get special treatment here."
?"A regular?"
?She grinned, "I'm on a first name basis with most knights here."
?That piqued his interest; such information was definitely valuable to James.
?"Someone high is also a regular of mine, that's why I always get released, no matter how many times I try to steal." she continued, and then clarified; "I work in a brothel."
?James wondered if her getting to keep her clothes on was a part of such special treatment.
?"Heard of a knight called Alexander?" he asked her.
?"Oh, yes! Brown skin!" she exclaimed. "He's handsome isn't he? Exotic."
?"What's his rank?" he said, ignoring her physical assessment of him.
?She touched her lips in thought.
?"I'm not entirely sure, but I believe he's pretty high up there. I don't think he has a partner. Though I don't think he's from this territory. It's rare I ever see him. So, that's all I know."
?James smiled at her. "Thanks for the info, it'll come in handy for me."
?"No problem! It's better than me sitting here in silence every time, you're friendlier than most." she looked him up and down, unabashed, "Feel free to come visit my workplace, I'd give you a discount."
?James took the compliment. "I'm flattered."
?The jangling of keys pulled his attention away. A guard stood at the door of her cell, unlocking it.
?"Looks like my loyal customer wants me to pay to get out," she said, standing up to stretch her arms above her head, "it was nice to meet ya!"
?"Likewise."
?She seemed to be in a playful mood as she strutted down the corridor behind her escort. He was thankful of the information she had volunteered him.
?It was certainly strange that Alexander worked on his own.
James wondered if he'd just been separated from his partner at the time he had been arrested, but apparently not.
Knights always travelled in pairs, and it wasn't a matter of preference, it was policy.
Punishment for being on your own was severe, so he must have been allowed by those on high.
?But to get that much special treatment...
?Either Alex was from a very powerful noble family, or his presence was unproductive for other knights. Both of these possibilities could be equally plausible. This kingdom wasn't a stranger to corruption nor prejudice.
?James sighed deeply, letting his head hit the coarse wall behind him.
?What a mess he got himself caught up in.
?James pondered it for a moment, his tired eyes unfocused.
?"The nobles don't stop them?"
?Jay spluttered a ridiculous laugh, coughing on his food. "Are you joking? Those nobles don't give shit as long as they get some of the spoils. They just don't get their hands dirty, unlike those sadistic knights that enjoy it. And, trust me, a lot of them do."
?"How do you know all that?"
?"I was one."
?James stalled in shock. He looked at the older man, who suddenly had a serious grim look on his face. This was the first time Jay had ever revealed anything about himself to James.
?"Did you...?" James trailed off.
?It suddenly seemed as if Jay was in pain, his face contorted into a shadowed wince. James hadn't needed to finish the question to receive his answer.
?James stewed over the revelation for the rest of the night, and not another word was shared between the two of them. He let his mind engrave the atrocities Jay had spoken of into his mind— atrocities that Jay had been a part of for a time.
?Just as he thought, there was no such thing as justice in this world.
"Get up."
?The piercing clang of metal hitting metal bounced in James' head.
?Three bored looking guards stood at the door, two with their swords drawn. One entered alone, a rope in his grip.
?"Stand up and turn around, I will need to tie your hands."
?James nodded and slowly pulled himself up, his bones and muscles aching from the awkward position they had been set in.
?He slowly and obediently offered his hands behind his back to the guard, who looked a little more nervous than the others, his eyes blinking constantly. A chill swept over James' bare body making him jerk slightly. The guard flinched.
?James' keen eyes caught it.
?Once the rope was secured around his wrists, the door was opened wide by one of the armed knights.
?"Follow us."
?After being pushed out, James walked with them, keeping his senses aware of every stumble, every hitch of breath, every water drop that fell to the floor.
?James had one benefit at this time. It seemed like the knights weren't vigilant nor wary and it didn't seem there was a mass of personnel at their disposal either. Whilst they did pass the odd guard here and there, a normal knights' post would have a lot more than this.
?He supposed they didn't do their jobs properly anyway, he thought so spitefully as he recalled the blatant trafficking he'd found. They had more resources at their disposal than he did, there was no excuse for their ignorance.
?James wouldn't try his chances to escape just yet though. More importantly, he didn't know where Eris was and it seemed like the best place to start was that brown skinned knight who was suspicious of him. It was that man who had taken her from him after all.
?There was no point escaping if it meant he lost all chances of ever getting her back.
?"Where are you taking me?" James asked his escorts.
?"Shut up, man."
?"Just say sorry and leave peacefully, yeah?" another one said to him, "it saves us time too."
?The first knight laughed at that. "It's clay face on duty this morning. There's not gonna be anything peaceful about this."
?The other guy groaned, long as exasperated. "Fucking annoying."
?"Guys, be careful what you say. You could get arrested."
?"That's not gonna happen." the other replied. But, despite his words, none of them spoke any further than that.
?They brought him through a long rocky corridor which sloped upward, the damp musty air seemed to get lighter and fresher the further they went.
?Multiple wooden doors flanked them on either side, but it wasn't until they got to one at the end that they stopped, with one knight giving a quick rap of the knuckles.
?"Come in." was murmured from within.
?James mentally prepared his typical script of responses to the questions he would inevitably be asked. This was far from his first time being captured, but he did fear his luck would eventually run out.
?They pushed him in, causing him almost to trip. He dampened the urge to bite their heads off with an array of colourful words.
?The room they entered was a lot brighter than the dungeon, with small barred windows gracing the highest parts of the walls. The sight of shoes walking by confirmed to him that he was partly underground.
?The bastard who had arrested him was sitting at his desk, writing something.
?"Sit him down."
?The knights who were so chatty before followed Alexander's orders wordlessly. They forced him onto a metal chair, bolted to the ground, and tied his hands to the back. James gave an experimental tug, but his arms wouldn't budge.
?"Get out."
?The knights bowed and obeyed. James could hear their chatter and laughter from the other side of the door fade as they walked away.
?He finally got to see Alexander face to face, although the man didn't pay him much attention and had his focus directed only at the papers on the table.
?It wasn't until a few minutes of silence that Alexander finally looked him in the eye, putting his pen down.
?Alexander slowly and deliberately looked James' naked body up and down, examining it.
?Although James knew the nakedness was simply a psychological tactic to make him feel vulnerable, his scars being so blatantly on display couldn't help but make him nervous. His body told a lot of stories.
?"Let's start with your name." Alex finally said, picking his pen up once again.
?"Thought you know better than I do."
?Alex didn't seem to appreciate his sarcasm, his brows furrowing.
?"What would you claim it is?"
?James thought to himself for a moment, wondering what name he hadn't used with the authorities yet. He felt troubled about having to give the closest thing to a real name he had, but it was the only one that was clean.
?"James."
?"James... what?"
?"I'm a commoner," James replied, "no surname."
?Alex tilted his head in thought, his suspicious eyes narrowing. "Most commoners have a last name."
?"Not this one."
?The man grunted and wrote some notes.
?James stretched his neck to the side, trying to get the ache to subside.
?"Current address?" Alex continued.
?"Don't have one."
?"Location and date of birth?"
?"I've always been an orphan. I don't know either."
?"Okay, then what was your orphanage called?"
?"I didn't have one, I was always homeless."
?James yawned. He could tell the knight was getting more and more frustrated with the smooth and convenient answers he was giving. It was probably annoying for Alex that James was claiming to have no paper trace of his entire life, but he couldn't prove it was a lie.
?"What can you give me?"
?He thought for a moment. "There will be tax documents submitted in my name and details. That would be enough surely?"
?"Where?"
?"Corbella."
?It took a moment for Alex to realise where that was. "The other side of the kingdom, huh? What bullshit."
?James shrugged.
?He'd noticed Alex's eyes had dark bags under them, the man must have been awake all night to look as exhausted as he did.
?"I'm sorry for everything, I won't do it again."
?"You don't even know what you're apologising for." Alex murmured, not looking up from his desk.
?"The knights outside said it would make their work easier if I did."
?"Did they now?"
?That's what they got for making him stumble.
?Silence came once again, and James settled in his imagination to avoid boredom. He just had to be patient in the meanwhile, something he was good at as a career assassin, it was like lying in wait for any other target he had.
?After a few minutes, Alex reached under his chair and dropped James' bag on the table, followed by his sword, his clothes, and a number of weapons he had hidden on his body.
James felt nervous at seeing Eris without her rags, her sheathe was like a delicate gold embroidery on top of black metal.
It had been a while since he'd last seen her like that.
?Out of his bag, Alex silently took out his purse, his vial, and a dagger and placed them in front of James. He watched James, as if waiting for him to explain.
?James didn't know what Alex wanted him to say. "Yeah. That's my stuff...?"
?"This is all very expensive," Alex said, "too expensive for a homeless commoner."
?"Well, I'm not homeless anymore..."
?Alex raised one eyebrow. "Oh? You don't have a fixed address though?"
?"Yeah, I was in the middle of moving."
?"And all these weapons...?"
?"I like hunting." James replied smoothly.
?"With all of these?" Alex gestured to the excessive pile of daggers and small blades on the table.
?"I really like hunting."
?Alex slammed his fist into the wood, his indignation for James finally boiling over. "Listen, these are royal orders, from the king himself. I know who you are."
?"You don't even have proof." James spat, getting irritated. He was sick of hearing about royal this, royal that. "If you really believed I was Jay you would've put me down for execution by now."
?Alex didn't respond to that.
?Instead, he stood up and strolled around behind James' back. James kept a constant eye on him, watching every move.
?Alex placed his strong rough grip on James' shoulders, his fingers digging into flesh.
?"Your left arm must have been so severely burned. I'm surprised you can still use it." Alex said, his voice low and dangerous.
?James did his best to keep his heartbeat steady, knowing it could be felt through his skin. "It happened a long time ago, it's fine."
?Alex leaned forward, crowding over him, his mouth at James' ear.
?"The ones on your hands are new." Alex uttered.
?James' hands and feet suddenly felt cold. He clenched his fists as if it could undo what Alex had seen.
?"In fact, they look like they've been burned over and over again." Alex continued, as if he was hypothesising to himself. "Especially on your right hand, despite there being no other burns on that side. It's strange."
?James kept his eyes trained on Alex's, even if it was difficult with viscous dark eyes blazing right back into his.
?"This is quite weird too." Alex went on, standing up straight and picking up Eris. He leaned against the table, towering over James, as he examined her, his fingers tracing over her glorious craftsmanship. He made a show of trying to unsheathe her, but not being able to.
?The cold had spread into James' chest.
?"Now, most idiots have no idea what this means," Alex explained, "they probably wouldn't care further. But, I know. She's a relic."
?James kept his mouth clamped shut, his brain stirring up multiple trails of thought at once, not knowing which one to follow.
?"Jay's victims all look like they had been eaten by their wounds, with nothing but ash left. I wondered if those were just exaggerated rumours before, but now..."
?He couldn't stop his mind from racing, his blood running fast yet cold. He needed to kill this man. Now.
?"It's you." Alex smiled, with a dead indifference about him, "I know it's you."
?"It's not—"
?Alex hushed him by grabbing his mouth and face. "I don't care whether you deny it or not, all that matters is that I know."
?"What do you want, an autograph from the guy? You sick piece of shit." James got out after yanking his head away.
?Alex grabbed James' jaw once again, rougher than last time. His face crowded his.
?"It's not about what I want. It's about what your king wants."
?James glared with all the hostility he could muster in his panic.
?After a moment, the psycho let go and took a step away, looking through his belongings with particular interest in his vial.
?He needed to calm the situation down, and quickly. There was one other thing he could rely on.
?"Jay has been killing for decades, how can it be me? I'm twenty five you idiot."
?Alex didn't immediately answer, and stared at him.
?There. He had clutched it.
?Alex tilted his head in thought. "You know, I do have a theory. I know it's you still."
?Fuck. Fuck, fuck. "It's impossible."
?"It's not."
?Fuck.
?Alex walked past him and opened the door.
?"Guards!" he shouted down the corridor.
?The three knights from before rushed in.
?"Take him back." Alex ordered, "No clothes, no food, and no sleep."
?"I already said, it's impossible!"
?Alex's oppressive gaze stared at him, he seemed completely cold-blooded. James quickly learned that silence was the only option right now.
?"Douse him in cold water too."
?And just like that, he was taken back to his cell. James' luck had indeed finally run out.