Necromancer's Descent

68 - Caught Red handed

[AN: Remember through this, and in the future, that everything that happens from this point onwards with Theodore, is your faults for answering the polls as you did.]

Rosalin's Point of View

Alexis lands gracefully on his feet back at the end of the cell, and without looking remotely shocked or afraid of Theodore's red magic. He casually brushes his hand through his brown hair like a commercial model. The poor metal bar Theodore hit is completely bent out of shape, almost split apart where he hit it.

I feel my stomach knot up. Was Alexis trying to hurt me? I step back, and feel Theodore's chest against my back protectively. But- why isn't there a warning popup?

"That's enough messing around, your highness."

The low, acrimonious voice of a man sounds next to my ear... and it's not a voice I know.

Who?

I lean back, putting my head on the shoulder of the man behind me, looking to his face. It's Theodore's helmet. The bandage I wrapped around his head and under his jaw is visible from here too... so it's not a mistake.

The one who spoke just now... was Theodore.

"You can talk?" My voice comes out as a tremble, and Theodore's red magic aura fades with almost a poof at my words, like I poured a bucket of cold water over him.

"I did think it was a possibility that she didn't know, when you kept making gestures behind her back to back up her statements, rather than just say it out loud, but to think I was right. You can be so sly, Theo."

Alexis quite bluntly taunts Theodore, but rather than answering anything, it just brings more questions.

Before I can push away from Theodore, Theodore himself gently puts a hand between my back and his chest to support me, as he steps back a bit, and properly stands face to face with me as I turn around.

Gracefully, he places one hand on his chest, and the other behind his back before bowing to me.

"I apologize for my late introductions, Rosalin. My name is, as you know, Theodore Troyfort, former heir to House Troyfort. It's been a pleasure to travel with you this far."

...

..

.

This feels like a bad joke. This isn't just Alexis playing a trick on me, right? I press my lips together. I don't like being manipulated and tricked. Even more so by someone- or something I trusted.

I walk up to Theodore, who's straightening back up, and I grab the strap of his helmet, and pull him down so we're almost face to face as I open the helmet strap, that flaps open quite easily.

"Kneel." I make sure it's an order, and Theodore immediately drops to his knees without a choice. I pull off the helmet, and put it on the floor, before I unwrap the bandages I used to cover his face. Theodore just quietly and patiently waits for me to unwrap him without a word, but despite his eyes being wrapped, it eerily seems as if he looks up at me.

Back at the river, and when I wrapped up his face, his eyes didn't focus on me, and his jaw was slack... if Theodore really has control of his own body, like he had just now then-

The part of the bandage covering his eyes is finally unwrapped, and silvery grey eyes look up at me calmly, with focus... and with emotion...

I remove the rest of the bandages. I feel so manipulated. I know that I'm the one who turned him into an undead, but I sort of came to think of him as kind of sort of trustworthy sort of companion...