A Deal With the Enemy

Chapter 2

"Call me Grey". Rylee glanced back in shock. Just when he had given up on receiving a reply, the dark-haired man spoke to him. Grey still leaned against the cage bars with his eyes closed.

Although outwardly not betraying any emotion, inwardly Grey felt amused by this easily excitable fellow. A few days ago, Grey began having an odd sense of being watched. Without giving himself away, he managed to pinpoint his ogler. He quietly observed as Rylee flitted from one position to another within the confines of his cage, his goal seemingly to keep Grey within view. Grey long speculated the blond man was a Healer based on the few times he crouched among his fellow injured cage inmates, helping them or comforting those in need. Now up close, he could see the Healer insignia on Rylee's uniform, confirming it.

"Grey...how did you end up here?" Rylee was curious how someone seemingly strong could have fallen victim just like him. "Probably the same way you did," Grey replied without opening his eyes, his expression still neutral. Rylee mused, 'Hmm, not one to trade stories, are you?'

"Are you a skilled warrior?" Rylee pressed on in his questioning.

This question finally made Grey look at Rylee. Straight-faced, he replied, "Indeed I am. What about you? You wear the mighty uniform of Aura. Your skills must not be lacking." Rylee recognised the undercurrent of sarcasm and disdain in the tone of his voice but was not perturbed. After all, his own family members spoke to him in a far worse condescending manner so he was fairly used to it.

Rylee smiled good naturedly without skipping a beat, "Alas I am not as qualified in the art of war. My skills lie elsewhere. I am a Healer." Without pause Grey shot back, "Ah, so you are underappreciated and overlooked." This time, Grey's words hit a nerve.

It was one thing to look down at his miniscule martial arts skills. But to speak ill of his profession as a Healer caused him ire. "I... that is not true, I do not consider myself unfairly treated at all. We Healers spare no effort in our life saving efforts to help our people, and in turn we receive due respect and are treated well."

Grey countered, "Perhaps the civilian peoples appreciate you but I know how lowly your division ranks within the army. In fact, isn't being a Healer the lowest ranking? In Blue we hold our Healers with high regard, we know their worth."

Grey could not help himself. An enemy soldier sat before him. He wanted very much to rile up this young Aura Healer whose emotions were utterly exposed by the open expressions on his face, no matter how well he tried to hide it. Currently Grey felt smugly rewarded for his efforts. Rylee's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish several times. With no comeback at hand, he remained pouting in silence.

Once he was thoroughly satisfied after witnessing Rylee's discomposure, Grey got down to business. "Have you been paying attention to our captors' conversations?"

"No not really. Why? They aren't the most talkative bunch. Have you managed to pick up something?"

"I think we may be in bigger trouble than initially thought. These men aren't just a ragtag bunch of bandits. They belong to the King."

"Ahh...are you sure?!" Rylee felt trepidation at the mention of the King. The nameless bandit king lived deep within the desert in a rumoured subterranean hideout. Very few who entered could find their way out of the maze of winding tunnels and caves in near pitch-black darkness, mostly finding the escape route through pure luck.

"Yes, I'm sure. I overheard two of his men saying that the King has entered the slavery business, which is why they've become emboldened enough to start picking people right off the streets of Blue and Aura." Grey frowned slightly. The bandit king had never dabbled in such lowly business before. He pondered the reason in silence.

Rylee felt the colour drain from his face. He pressed his hands to his cheeks in horror, "We're going to be slaves..."

Grey turned to study the other man and felt a twinge of sympathy for him. Should Rylee become a slave, there would be endless sick minded slave owners clamouring to own such an exquisite looking creature. The thought left Grey feeling slightly nauseated, his sympathy growing exponentially, against his will, for this enemy soldier.

"Who do they sell their slaves to?" A wide-eyed Rylee wanted to know; trepidation clearly present in his voice. Grey could only calmly shrug his shoulders, "Rumours say there are many nations far to the West, beyond the Desolate Lands, where slavery is the norm."

They sat in silence for a while. The chilly breeze of the night added to the discomfort of the prisoners, many of them huddling together in groups for added warmth. Both soldiers fared far better than the others, as their uniforms were well insulated. Above the cages, the clear night sky sparkled like well-cut diamonds, the brilliance of these stars twinkling away timelessly.

Rylee stared intently at Grey. Now was as good a time as any to pose the important question to the enemy soldier. He gravely asked, "Are you willing to put aside our differences and work together to get out of this mess we're in?"

Grey replied in the same calm manner, "Yes."

The blond man sighed in relief. His survival was fully dependent Grey's cooperation. "Then let's come up with a plan. We have to escape before we reach the King's lair. Once we enter, there's no way out."

Grey shook his head, "And how do you propose we do that? I'm injured. The cut on my leg isn't life threatening but it's deep. I can barely put my weight on it without falling over." Grey paused for emphasis before continuing, "Secondly, even if I wasn't injured, we are outnumbered at least twenty to one. You will definitely be of no help during a fight. I don't have a weapon. And we're in the middle of the desert with no landmarks to guide us back towards our own lands.

"We'll have to use the location of the sun and stars as a rough guide. We could head back the way we came but that would mean days of travel, which in turn means we need food and, more importantly water. I've seen the guards bring back water and rations but wherever it is, it must be a well-hidden location. I don't think we are in a position right now to free ourselves, steal the necessities and flee with two camel mounts."

Rylee listened to Grey's logical assessment of their situation, bit his lip and then nodded. There were quite a few things he did not take into consideration in his escape-driven mind-set. He asked uncertainly, "Then what do we do?"

"What can we do but to lay low, keep our eyes open and look for opportunities. I will be more confident in escaping once my leg heals."

"I'll help you." Rylee began rummaging through his uniform pockets, "They took my weapons away, but I still have my hidden bags of medicines, herbs and ointments. The faster you heal, the faster we flee. Deal?"

A pair of blue eyes observed the Healer's movements for a moment before returning to slumber. "Deal."