The Autumn Mage

Chapter Six

     Aki pushed his eyes open and wished he had not. His head screamed from where the guard hit him. He blinked until the dank stone jail cell came into focus. He tried standing up from the small wooden stool that was digging into his butt but he could not; he was shackled around the ankles and wrists and dark iron chains had been linked to a metal plate underneath where he sat. He shivered and his chest felt tight; it was cold and wet and his eyes burned from the smell of mold and old urine. The dungeon was scarcely lit by a few torches on the far wall where the guards would eventually pace by. His cell was only about ten steps in either direction and had block slabs on either side of him, the only view being the thick steel bars before him. He let out a sigh and tried to think of a way to escape. He looked at his chained hand and focused.

     "C'mon. Come on, Light! Light! Work damn it!" he barked. He did not know what to expect; maybe a beam of Light to destroy his shackles, or a shield that would let him pass through the floor. Something miraculous to let him escape. He stopped after a couple of minutes and chuckled sadly; how crazy he must have looked.

     "It's nice to see you still have your sense of humor," said a gravelly voice. Aki looked up surprised to see a tall slender older man standing at his cell dressed in silver robes. The robes had a long trail that flowed behind him and he had a large white snowflake on his chest, the symbol of the duchy. His head was shaved and his craggy face had a long braided beard that came to a harsh point at the center of his chest. His arms were held behind him and he glared at Aki intently.

     "Look, before things get weird nothing happened with your daughter," Aki exclaimed, feeling very vulnerable.

     "No, absolutely nothing happened to Minda. Except for the Ogre that attacked her and you burying her in an avalanche." He unlocked the cell and opened the door with a groan before gracefully moving forward. His feet were obscured by his robes and he appeared to float. Aki opened his mouth to speak again but was met with a strong backhanded slap that left a radiating red handprint on his cheek below where the guard had struck him earlier. "You really are an idiot for coming back here!" he scolded.

     "What the Hel are you talking about?" Aki yelled back. His head hurt even worse after being jostled.

     "Don't be so pathetic to think that playing dumb is going to work on me," the Duke coldly responded.

     "I have never been here before in my life. And believe me, I'm never coming back."

     "That is if you ever leave. Last chance boy; why did you come back here?"

     "Ask Minda. She told me I was just escorting her home. If it were up to me I would have never come to this frigid manure-filled Hel hole in the first place. She's been more trouble than she's worth."

     "Do you really think that is anyway to speak about her," he said crossing his arms.

     "I know she's your daughter, but she can be a real bitch," Aki calmly responded. The Duke scoffed as if part of him agreed.

     "So you claim that you've never been here and you were only helping my daughter return home," he said a little more calmly. He stroked his beard methodically. "Perhaps I don't have who I thought I did. I cannot let you go just yet considering your little indiscretion at Alpine Flats; I will return soon enough to tell you what the Council decides." He unshackled Aki from his seat and then walked back through the barred entrance. He locked the cell again and stared once more at Aki unsure of what to make of him. "Although sometimes it can take several days for them to reach a decision," he said poignantly. Aki spent the next two days lying in the filthy pile mattress filled with straw that butted against the rear wall. He lay on his side simply staring at the grey blocks even after all feeling left his arms and he felt a sharp pain in his hip. The guards would occasionally bring him a bowl of watery grey gruel and taunt him but he would rarely look up. Only sometimes would he drink the dirty glass of water before lying back down with a sigh. One the third day he heard his cell unlock and he stood up to be reshackled. He was taken aback to see Minda standing sheepishly in the center.

     "What the Hel do you want?" Aki asked furiously.

     "Aki, please. Let me explain."

     "I've never hit a woman before, but I'm willing to make an exception right now."

     "This is not what you think. I, er, I –"

     "Betrayed me? Almost got me killed? Got me arrested? Ripped me off? Played me? Which explanation are you going to use? Because I don't want to hear any of them." She bit her lip and looked away for a moment. She began to fidget with her hands in front her.

     "I did not think that they would keep you down here. I thought father would have arranged a meeting to talk things through." She let her hands fall to her side out of exasperation.

     "Talk? Talk about what exactly?" Aki was beside himself. Minda blinked at him sadly before taking a deep breath.

     "I see that would have been a waste of time anyways. Come now, before father realizes that I snuck you out."

     "Wait, what? No, tell me what you meant. What was I supposed to discuss with him?" Aki was becoming more confused than angry.

     "It does not matter. Now shut up and follow me." She led him up the slick stone spiral stairs towards the main hall of the palace. Through the long cut openings in the stone wall Aki could briefly see that the sun would raise within the hour. A harsh chill cut through his body as he looked out; he had not seen the world in days but it felt much longer. Minda grabbed his hand and forced him to continue. Once they arrived into the main building she quietly led him to a far rear room where the armory was.

     "Here; your belongings," she said quietly as she handed him a small burlap sack and his staff. He took his robe off of a hook and put it on; it felt heavy after not wearing it for several days. He stashed what he could inside his robes and left the rest in the sack. He took his staff back and felt a fleeting tingle shoot through his hand to his chest. He breathed in as if for the first time and he felt a little more like his old self again. He looked at the floor and then to a small stand and then back to Minda curiously.

     "Where is Aran?" Her face fell and Aki felt his stomach drop.

     "Oh, no! No, he is safe!" she exclaimed, realizing how misleading her body language was. She gulped before raising her robes above her shins to reveal a small hairy mass on her leg. It scurried down to the floor, Minda gagging at the sensation, and crawled up to Aki's shoulder. He purred against Aki's neck excitedly.

     "I guess I can hate you a little less now. Thank you for caring for him."

     "Please," she pleaded, "do not mention it." She led him further towards the rear of the palace where they briskly walked through a long wooden dining hall sparsely decorated with old oil portraits of noblemen and the occasional crossed hanging swords. The only furniture was a long wooden table and matching regal chairs. There was a fireplace at the center of the wall that was currently not being used and a large red rug under the table and chairs. They continued on into the kitchen where five Hume women and one young Elf lady were preparing food. The Humes knew well enough not to look up; the Elven girl tried asking about Aki but was met with a "shush" from the oldest Hume woman. Minda approached the rear entrance, usually reserved for the servants to enter from, and opened it with a howl of snow; as the sun began to rise so did the wind. "The sentries are changing shifts. You have about two minutes to reach the forest back there," she pointed, "before the guard returns. Also, I want you to take this." She handed him a small powder blue envelope barely larger than a matchbook. "When you get somewhere safe I want you to write me," she pleaded with her eyes.

     "Do you seriously expect me to be your pen pal after all of this?" he sneered without taking it.

     "You do not have to physically send it; I have a special notebook that will show me what you write. Now take it and go!" He rolled his eyes and palmed the envelope. "I will see you soon!" she said hopefully.

     "Maybe a little too soon," he muttered. He ran for the nearby trees kicking up the thick fresh snow and stumbling several times.

     "Hey! Come back here!" A guard shouted as he rounded the corner. He glanced at Minda in the open doorway and ran up to here. "Who the Hel is that?"

     "Just a courier," Minda lied quietly.