Grancrest oneshots

breathing

3rd pov

The sound of a heart beat, the sound of someone breathing, the simplicity of these are not something most people pay attention to, not consciously, at least. Why would they need to, considering the body handles those all on its own, no reason for anyone to pay attention to the heartbeat or breathing of someone else unless they're checking to see if the person is dead. Otherwise, it's simply another thing every person does and no one pays heed to it. For the mages that have chosen to serve their Lords and remain by their side, even knowing the Emperor intends to get rid of chaos, the breathing and heartbeat of their Lords is something they're always paying attention to, because the loss of either of those is not something they ever want to happen, though they know if will eventually. For mages like Moreno and Siluca, who are a few years younger than their Lords, they're expecting to outlive them, if only by a couple of years, but they can already tell that every day, week, month, year without their Lords will be a type of hell they will not enjoy.

They aren't expecting it to be anything like this. They had been on their way towards Sevis, which Lassic is still the Lord for, since Theo is emperor, and they had met up, talking about how to improve the lives of those living there, both commoners and those of lower ranking that report to Lassic himself. Of course, with the way things are around those two, Moreno and Siluca have several plans made for in case someone tries to attack them, but they never expected to be taken from their beds while sleeping, a cowardly tactic.

They're under a building of some sort, a dungeon, the two of them chained in the same cell, against opposite walls, their wands resting in a case in the middle just out of reach of both of them, no matter what they do. The lighting is dim, the chains are new and the cell door does not appear to have a lock, looks like one of the ones with a switch that rises, but they have no clue where they are, so opening it won't help them right now anyways. They stare at each other, coming up with plans, before realizing they can hear breathing. Not their own, but two more sets.

One of the other people is breathing quietly, something those of war do, while another is almost snoring, something more common of those who are exhausted, which gives them a pretty good idea who the people are, even without being able to see them. Lassic had been extremely tired lately, with paperwork piling up and Moreno not there to help out, so he'd been pulling all nighters. Theo, more used to a large load of work, has few issues sleeping, but he's gotten used to breathing quietly, having lived in the forests with chaos creatures and normal animals for months before joining the war, where loud sleeping could get you killed.

The mages stretch, trying their hardest to see their Lords outside the cell, but the light does not reach far enough for them to see much more than the very beginning of a large area, bits of sand dirt clear but not helping them decide where they are anymore than the scent of the air. They have a bad feeling about this though, because the only reason those two would be asleep - considering they were either sparring or on their way to bed but certainly not in bed - is that they were knocked out or drugged, which means they won't be waking up any time soon, not without a good reason. Siluca sighs, getting as comfortable as she can, while Moreno continues trying to reach for his wand, almost glad they left him his sword, despite the fact he can't reach it without some serious acrobatics and they're not presently in a severe enough situation for him to do them.

It's a while before they hear more sounds, the shuffling of clothes as the other two wake up, groans that are muffled as well as a silence that's telling. They still can't see them though, which is extremely disconcerting for them, since they had been doing their best to keep their Lords in sight with the rise of people wanting chaos to stay trying to kill any number of Lords or even the Emperor himself, wanting to keep things as they are.

Theo wakes in darkness, unable to see but more than used to that. What causes him to stop is the jangle of chains as well as something looped around his throat. He shifts, trying to figure out what it is and dread fills him as he realizes it's chain, not rope or anything else he might be able to escape from. There's groaning from beside him, Lassic pretty clearly, but without lights, there's no way to figure out where they are or what's going on. His wrists are chained above his head, no give there in any way, and the floor is barely under his toes, forcing him to adjust in order to keep breathing. He's not certain how long it is before something happens, but he doesn't appreciate the lights turning on suddenly, bright and without warning.