He had red marks all along his face, as if he had been slapped over and over. He had bruises on his hand arms and legs. She could see whip marks across the backs of his arms. "Hey Rach..." He mumbled, and tripping over his other foot, fell flat on his face. "What happened?" She gasped, running to him and laying him down. "Never such a beating before." He mumbled. "I... I can fix it." She said, laying him on the floor, careful of his bruises. He winced. "No...I'll be fine, really..." He mumbled, trying to get up. She forced him to lay down. "Let me see." She whispered, undoing the buttons of his shirt. "Nononono, it's fine." He said, pulling the sides of his shirt across himself. "Nothing a girl needs to see." "Kay, I can help. Just... Trust me, okay?" His eyes widened, and he stared up at her. His heart thumped loudly, and he felt his cheeks go pink. He slowly and reluctantly slid the shirt off his back. He was thin, oh so thin, but had abs, and looked fit. His chest was fine. She walked around to his back, and gasped. Many large red whip marks were across it. They were deep. "Sorry you had to see this..." He muttered, wincing when she touched his shoulder. "Ouch, don't you just hate the whips?" She said, remembering the pain. "I can help you, but you have to just trust me. Do you?" "Definitely." He said, a light blush forming in his cheeks. She felt a blush come on as well. She hugged him tightly, and he yelped, but oddly it didn't hurt his back. He hugged back softly, blushing darkly. They sat in a soft embrace a moment, hearts hammering. She awkwardly started singing under her breath. "I just got a key of gold..." The words just came to her. "In the dungeon, well breaks around me... Twenty years from now, when I'm 93, although my math there may be spotty..." She was singing complete nonsense. When she had finally finished, she let go. They stared at each other a moment. He reached for his shirt and slid it back on, glancing in awe at his arms- completely healed. He muttered "thank you", threw his arms clumsily around her neck, then glanced at a clock on the wall. His eyes widened. "Someone very important will be here soon. I'm supposed to be alone. Quick- hide." He gestured to the curtains obscuring the window. She ducked behind it, and he swung to his feet, sprinting to his shovel. He stuck it in the furnace, hastily returning to work. Silence. Rachel's heart was beating hard. Nothing.
