Disciple of Fire

Chapter 10: The Letter

Oswin's eyes shoot open. He wearily looks around and sees he's still in the tower. A shot of pain fires in the back of his head and he groans, reaching up to rub the swollen bump and finding a soft cushion behind his head as well as one behind his back.

"Well, that was quite a hit you took there." Hrithika's voice causes a flinch in Oswin.

"God, you scared me... How long have I been out?"

"Three weeks."

"WHAT!" Oswin shoots up, a whirlwind of lightheadedness sending him crashing back to the ground.

"I'm kidding! Good Lord, do they teach you nobles anything about comedy? It's been about two hours. Viralia tried getting in a couple of times, but that obviously wasn't gonna work. You need a more secure bedroom door though. That passage isn't as hidden as you probably want it to be..."

"Right, thank you. I'll have to have some workers take care of that."

"Nooo. No. N-O, no. If Viralia hears even a whiff of this, she'll probably tear the whole room up and down."

"Ah. True. Why is she so... insistent about keeping track of me? It's ridiculous... I'm not a child, I know my way around and I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Uh-huh, this isn't the first time I've had to move you while unconscious, sir. Are you sure about that last statement?"

"... No need to be so blunt about it." He gruffs and looks over the room again, seeing it halfway cleaned up. Hrithika cackles and continues picking up the havoc she wreaked on the room. "Thank you. For picking up, I mean."

"Pssh, I know how to clean up after myself. How do you think I slink around so well?" She shoots Oswin a sly grin.

"Fair enough. So... How long have you been under the kingdom?" Hrithika's body freezes in place, her eyes seemingly locked in space.

"It's been about eleven years, Oz," she says softly without breaking her gaze.

"Wow... What sort of... test did they give you?"

"Well... They tried just about everything. No one could hit me in the arena but I refused to fight and just dodged anything they threw at me, I could do basically nothing in the nature group because I have the worst green thumb. Manufacturing didn't do it for me either, felt too... inhuman. Nothing they really tried fit, but they couldn't exactly let me leave. Dunno if you've noticed but they're very strict about powers outside of the inner ring."

"Yeah... I've been forced to partake for twenty-nine years. It wasn't until the past few that I learned what was really happening behind those doors. I was.... Abhorrent. I knew I had to do something, but... honestly, I feel I don't have much choice in the matter. My time is dictated by servants, and I have no idea what my day has in store for me. I feel like I'm just sweeping through my life, brushing by anything that holds any meaning... I'm sorry, I'm rambling."

"No... please," Hrithika is immediately in front of Oswin, crouched down and making direct eye contact, "This is the first real conversation I've had in ten years. The last thing I want to hear is an apology."

Oswin quietly chuckles, "Understood. I'll try to refrain in the future." He palms the pendant around his neck, eyeing it and noticing the crack has grown to take up more than half of the gem. Before he can have any thoughts, as his thumb runs over the crack of the amethyst, a zapping feeling courses through his mind, sending him keeling over onto the ground. Hrithika jumps forward, unsure of what to do, but all Oswin can manage is to point toward a cabinet on the far side of the room. She runs over and swings open the small doors, only a few different packets of paper resting inside. Hrithika desperately holds all of them up and, even with his eyes closed, Oswin's finger hooks to the right. She shoves the other two back into the cabinet and runs over, pushing the stack into Oswin's extended hand. He slings the file open and begins reading, a searing pain fills his head and he lets out an exasperated scream of overstimulation.