Stay Away From Me (JefforyXReader)

2. In the Nether

Your POV

I pounded at the walls, but there was no way out of this dank hole. The floor was brick, but the rest of the cell was bars. I was in some kind of birdcage hanging over an ocean of lava. In the distance i could see a hulking structure that looked like a giant, spiked castle. I wrapped my hands around the bars and closed my eyes.

"You must be new, eh?"

My head shot up. I hadn't noticed the other birdcages around me. They were all empty except for the one closest to me. In it was a young man with dark brown hair and friendly green eyes that sparkled in the light of the lava below. He had on iron armor with emeralds embedded in the chest, arms, collar, and legs. There was a horrible gash in his chestplate, as if someone had brutally driven a sword through the metal, but i tried to ignore it.

"U-Uh.." i mumbled. The man gave me a small smile. "Don't worry. Well, that's kind of impossible, since these cages could break and we could take a warm bath in lava at any second." He chuckled sadly. I was impressed at how he tried to be upbeat when he could literally die at any second. "What's your name?" he tried.

"Um, i'm Y/n." i murmured. He flashed me a winning smile. "That's a beautiful name. My name's Jeffory."

"W-WHAT?!" I yelped. "B-But your d-dead!" His smile disappeared. "Yeah," He said quietly. "About that. I...didn't die. I was close to, of course, but...I hate to say this to appreciate her, but Ivy saved my life."

"MY SISTER?!" I shouted. "HOW COULD SHE DO ANYTHING GOOD OTHER THAT NOT KILLING ME?!" "Woah, woah, woah, let's slow down." Jeffory shushed me. "Let's back up. First: HOW IN IRENE IS IVY YOUR SISTER?!"

I wiped a tear from my eye. "S-She really is my sister. When we were little we used to fight all the time, but the big fight happened around five years ago. I was training over at the barracks by our house, and she came up to me and said that I would never be as important as her. I denied it, and then she straight up tried to kill me." I brushed the horrible wound on my leg and i winced. "I barely got away with my life, and that's that. She's been hunting me down ever since. Last night, at least i think it's day, heh, she caught me trying to escape O'khasis."

Jeffory nodded. "It's strange, isn't it? One day she's saving a life, the other she's ending one." I sighed. "So, um..." "What happened to me?" Jeffory said, taking the words out of my mouth. He gave a pitiful chuckle. "Let's just say I got on Zane's...bad side. Very bad side." He sighed. "I was supposed to guard two lords and then kill them, but a woman came along and she wanted to take the lords to safety. I had seen her earlier in the day and had lunch with her, and I had told her about my little girl, Abby. She asked me what Abby would think if she found out what I was going to do."

I blinked sadly at him. "So...WAIT. YOU know ZANE?!" Jeffory shook his head. "I do, but i wish that i didn't." "Z-Zane was my friend!"

Jeffory stared at me if I had grown two heads. "Zane had a friend?" he scoffed. "Huh. I thought it was impossible." I bit my lip. "I don't know where he went. He just...disappeared. I've been searching Tu'la and Ru'an for him."

"Wait, if you visited Ru'an, did you happen to pass through or by a village called Phoenix Drop?" Jeffory demanded.

"Yes, i did. Do you have friends there or somethin'?" He nodded briskly. "Y-Yes...my best friend, Katelyn, that was the last place she was seen. I need to know she's okay. Did you see her there? She has powder blue hair, turquoise eyes, and she's wearing armor just like mine--just with sapphires."

I was already shaking my head. "No. The only people i saw were, and i quote, Lord Levin, Malichi, Alexis, Kyle, some dude named Dante, and a Mief'wa. I stayed with them for a few days before going out again. There was talk of a few people that had gone missing."

Jeffory shook his head in dismay. "Katelyn...she can't be...dead..." And with that he slunk back into the shadows of his cell so i couldn't see him.

I sighed.
So much for trying to keep friends....