VII
James hadn't been returned to the same cell he left.
This time they had taken him further and further down, a place where light nor warmth reached.
The torches the knights carried were the only dim source of light he had.
His bare feet squelched in the wet slimy cobbles, the ooze coagulating between his toes as the knights forced him forward.
The stench of mould flavoured the air, the dusty taste stinging his tongue.
?One of the two guards retched at the stench.
?"Why'd you go and piss off clay face. This is disgusting."
?James scrunched up his nose. It was unpleasant, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the smell of the rotting child he had found a couple of days before.
?From the way the guards behaved so carefree around him, it meant that Alex probably hadn't told them of his identity. If these guards knew he was Jay the atmosphere would have been a lost frostier.
?Even as he did his best to memorise the prison's layout, his mind couldn't help but wander.
?James couldn't understand that man, there was something he was missing. If Alex was so convinced he was Jay, why hadn't he announced the career-making capture or suggested his execution? Alex could have killed him right away in the woods if he had wanted to. He couldn't understand his actions.
?Rather than an open cell, this time he was taken to a locked room. James felt his heart sank once he saw the shackles hanging from the wall, the low stench of stale blood underlining the damp.
?For the first time since James had been arrested, he struggled.
?He got one knight in the face by lurching his head backwards, catching the man off guard.
The other yelled in surprise. James rushed his body at the other, trying to tackle him at the waist before any sword could be drawn.
James' balance was slightly off and he ended up tumbling to the floor with the knight, struggling to keep the other man down with his legs.
?A sudden sharp pain bloomed at the top of James' head, and a boot struck his chest, winding him. He gasped for air desperately, his eyes searching for his assailant in his disorientation.
?"You fucking bastard." the first knight spat, his nose bloodied.
?The other got up from the floor, his clothes covered in filth. "This arsehole..."
?The oncoming assault made James regret not taking his chances in very beginning in the woods.
They kicked his useless body as he lurched on the ground, protecting his ribs and stomach with his arms and legs.
They battered his body, the lack of clothes leaving him with broken skin, forcing him into physical submission.
?They had caught his head a few times with their boots, leaving James' consciousness gravely slipping away. He grappled frantically to stay awake, to remain aware, but his vision began to blacken despite his will.
?He wasn't sure how long the assault lasted, his mind coming and going.
He could hardly remember being chained up the wall, his body hanging forward by his arms. After some time had passed, he tested his feet, which had been predictably chained to the ground.
He must have been there long enough for his shoulders to have begun aching when he properly came to.
?Although the room was dark, there was a faint orange glow of a candle on a table a few metres from him. He tried to blink away the dizziness, worried that he needed to get a grip of his situation and surroundings.
?The sound of soft scraping against rock startled him and he squinted to notice a dark figure sitting beyond the candle.
?Heart stuttering in alarm, he watched the man sit silently, not paying much attention to James and instead reading a book in the candle light. The silence gave James enough comfort to calm himself, trying to stay composed and rational.
?Eventually, his eyes adjusted. To his surprise, Alex was the man sitting in his cell, his brows furrowed slightly in concentration. His endlessly dark eyes reflected a flame as they moved from one line to the next.
?James craned his neck slightly to try to see the book's title, and instead hissed in pain as a stinging soreness erupted. Moving was not a good idea.
?The sound caught the attention of Alex, however. They stared at each other for a moment, a weirdly relaxed demeanour slumping Alex's shoulders. James would have expected any man to be smug in that guy's situation. Everyone had the ability to be sadistic under the right circumstances.
?Alex broke eye contact first, and regarded his book once again.
?"That was stupid." Alex said.
?James secretly agreed, his body hurt everywhere from where the knights had retaliated, but didn't have the energy to reply to a comment like that.
?"Why are you sitting there?" James instead asked him, his voice coming out hoarse and dry. He coughed from the rawness in his throat, causing all the aches and pains in his body to complain.
?Whilst Alex didn't appear sympathetic, he didn't seem satisfied by James' pain either.
?It was a pointless question to ask. James knew the nature of knights, and he knew why they had cells like these. There was no doubt in his mind that the chest near the door had an assortment of torture tools.
?Alex finally closed that book of his, giving James his undivided attention.
?"It would be a problem for me if you died." Alex told him, "Your head was pretty banged up."
?James inwardly scoffed, a man who was about to torture him wouldn't care that much. Still, it was strange. Jay was wanted dead or alive, there wasn't much benefit keeping him living when he posed a large risk. He was practically a career escape artist.
?"Why?"
?Alex didn't answer.
?"I want to know about the child you had." Alex said, instead.
?James was perplexed. Jay's identity was pretty much confirmed at this point. Some kid with red eyes on the human trafficking market meant absolutely in comparison. Although the lost goods would be a shame for the complicit knights, it should have been almost forgettable in this situation.
?"I don't understand why you care." James replied, sincerely. Milo was just some kid.
?Alex had a pretty impressive poker face, it was a hard one for James to read.
?"I was near the slums that day. A few people had seen you carrying a child away. I want to know what you did with him."
?The confusion must have been evident on James' face.
?"Don't pretend otherwise." Alex insisted. "There are too many missing children these days, the families need answers."
?This only made the situation more confusing. It didn't seem like Alex was speaking with any ulterior motive, his tone was even and seemingly honest. Unless James himself missed some kind of extra importance the child had that he didn't recognise at the time.
?He remembered his previous cell-mate had told him that this man in front of him didn't have a permanent post here; it was rare for him to even be in this area.
?Only then did it dawn on James. "You don't know. Do you?"
?That seemed to grate on Alex's patience, his eye twitching slightly. "Don't know what?"
?That was the only explanation. Somehow, Alex was entirely ignorant to the human trafficking the knights were allowing to happen in this city. This man probably didn't even know the first thing about the kid. The guy speaked as if he was genuinely concerned for the child's wellbeing.
?Even so, knights were never this compassionate. Any person with any kind of significant rank within the knights were corrupt; it was the only way to ensure their ecosystem remained beneficial and efficient. Alex seemed to be high up.
?But, the look on Alex's face truly made James think that he was ignorant.
?"I can't help but ask—" James heard himself saying, "the child disappearance rate in this area... it's excessively high?"
?Alex wore a scowl on his face, his eyes trying to drag in every inch of James' own expression.
?"This isn't relevant."
?James had no idea how this guy didn't know. Surely the people above him would have warned him against investigating child disappearances. Was it really possible he didn't know why they told him that? Did he never wonder?
?"Were you ever told to not investigate those things?"
?It was subtle, but Alex's eyes widened.
?James let out a breathy chuckle. This man was so completely and pathetically out of the loop.
?Alex stood abruptly, the chair screeching against the ground with the force. He came up to James and grabbed his face.
?"What do you know?" his voice was dark and sinister.
?James couldn't help but laugh again, a bitter kind. He stared the man in the eye, defiantly.
?"You're the only one who doesn't." James uttered.
?James would have been expected to be stricken, and God did Alex look like he wanted to beat the shit out of him. But, he didn't.
?"I'm going to ask you, one more time," Alex growled, his grip tightening, "where is the child?"
?James grinned. "Somewhere out of all you bastards' reach. And there's no place safer than that."
?Alex grunted in frustration and whipped his hand back to himself. Without another glance at James, the knight turned and stomped out the room, slamming the door behind him.
?James could not help but laugh to himself bleakly.
? ? ? ?
Over time James' stomach churned with hunger, so famished that it felt like he might vomit. Underground was chillier than above, his circulation couldn't quite reach his finger tips above his head, leaving his hands to go cold. Each shiver jostled his injuries, causing ripples of pain.
?He was slowly losing his self-respect, a hair's width away from begging anyone who could listen for clothes and food.
?He couldn't help but feel miserable for himself.
?Eris' absence was like a lost limb.
?James couldn't remember the last time he didn't have his silent partner and her cold reassurance.
He became so used to feeling her thoughts that the quietude was ear piercing.
Instead, he was left with nothing but his own disconnected feelings and tragic musings.
He needed her. Without her, he was alone.
?Because she wasn't there to distract him, his mind kept steering backwards. How did he get here? The entire course of his life led him to this chamber, and he couldn't help but point out all the places he went wrong.
?At some point, the door clicked open, and James welcomed the distraction. Even if it was those knights coming back for a second beating, that was fine enough. It was less torturous than the silence.
?James was pleased to see it was Alex, someone who he doubted would physically harm him. For some reason, James had value that Alex needed.
?"I'm hungry."
?Alex hardly glanced at James in response, his demeanour too conceited to interact with scum like himself.
?Unlike last time, Alex did not take a seat at the chair, but instead perched on the table, looking down on him.
?James didn't have much time to notice it before, but he felt somewhat small compared to Alex, which was a rare feeling for him.
He wasn't sure if it was just because of his vulnerable position that Alex seemed so big, or if the man was genuinely that much bulkier than him.
Either way, it wasn't a comfortable feeling.
?After a moment of studying James' face, Alex shut his eyes and sighed, rubbing a hand down his face.
?James wasn't sure how he should feel about that reaction.
?"If it was up to me," Alex began, his gaze heavy and keen, "I would kill you, right here, right now."
?James bit his inner cheek.
?"I wouldn't lose a wink of sleep over it." Alex affirmed.
?James was curious about this too.
?"What's stopping you?" he asked.
?It was probably a very stupid thing to ask, but James couldn't hold back his interest.
?Alex looked pained in response, his face wincing like he couldn't bear the thought.
?"Orders are orders," he declared, "I have to follow the will of my superiors."
?James rolled his eyes. Those superiors were probably the very people who were kidnapping his beloved children to sell them to decedent nobles. The loyalty of knights were always very much misplaced and wasted, in his opinion.
?Still, the 'orders' of his 'superiors' sounded very foreboding, and James' anxiety pricked.
The idea that people higher than Alex knew of his capture was disturbing.
All high military personnel were nobles, that's simply how the kingdom was structured.
No one hated Jay more than nobles. They feared him.
?His heart tried to crawl out of his throat in horror.
?"Orders?"
?Nothing could have prepared James for the next words Alex would speak.
?Alex shifted his body a little in discomfort. "How do you feel about the possibility of being completely pardoned of your crimes?"
?Even with James' habit of schooling his facial expressions regardless of the situation, he was sure his furrowed brows, wide eyes, and open mouth was enough to convey his utter confusion and shock.
?What?
?The distaste on Alex's face only became more sour, like he'd taken a bite out of something venomous. Even so, he still appeared determined and serious, despite his personal feelings.
?"... the hell?"
?"Do you want it or not?" Alex chopped in.
?"A pardon?" James enunciated slowly, as if he had perhaps misheard.
?Alex nodded impatiently. "Yes. All crimes from the beginning of time, all forgiven."
?James' brain stalled, not knowing how to think of the situation. There was too much for him to unpack on his own.
?"In return, my superiors want to utilise your... services, lets say."
?James had half a mind to blindly accept and use the opportunity to fool the knights and escape.
It would make his getaway much quicker and increase his chances.
However, he also knew that there was no way, regardless of who they wanted him to kill, that they would genuinely let him live.
Simply knowing of a request to assasinate someone, by the demand of someone on high, would put him in danger; regardless of what they were offering on the table.
?Those on high liked cutting off their loose ends, regardless of how well they danced.
?Half of him wanted Alex to tell him what it would take, the other half wanted him to keep his mouth shut.
?Once he knew, he would be gravely complicit.
?"My superior wants you to do a job for him, and he has the power to give you lawful freedom."
?James swallowed, his coarse throat dry.
?Alex's eyes crinkled with plight.
?"In return, you must kill his highness, King Fabien."