One of a Kind

Chapter 3

I fell asleep next to Helix and when I woke up I found myself in a dungeon cell. Helix was beside me, his eyes were closed yet they showed pain. I looked him up and down. His ankle was in ruins and his wrist was badly damaged. I didn't know how long we had been down there or how long I had been out but with the way his wrist looked it must have been a while.

"Helix," I whispered as I slid close to him and pulled him close. His skin was blue and his lips had turned purple. A small groan escaped them.

"Yukinari? You're awake?" he whispered to me. His voice was scratchy but I was able to make out the words.

"I'm awake. I'm alright. But you seem the worse for wear my friend. Let me see your wrist," I muttered back. He held his arm out to me and I carefully cupped my hands around it. I thought happy thoughts. When I looked at my hands again they were glowing.

Helix looked at me, his eyes wide. When I removed my hands his wrist was healed. No infections, nothing. I did his leg the same way. When I pulled him close again it was because he still seemed frost bitten. His limbs were still blue and purple.

"Yukinari? I never told you my age did I?" Helix whispered against my shoulder. I had heated my body up so as to warm him. It seemed to be working.

"No Helix. You didn't," I muttered back. He nodded.

"I'm sixteen. I thought you should know. I'm probably younger than you huh?" He muttered to me. I gave him a cocky grin.

"Actually it's the other way around. Now get some sleep. You need it," I whispered to him. His eyes fluttered shut. And thank god they did because not soon after that a man in a guard's outfit came in and wrenched me to my feet.

I looked back at Helix and made sure his sweatshirt was pulled shut around his throat. I then followed the guard out of the cell. I let him chain my hands and feet together and marched along the hall behind him.

We rounded a couple of corners and then made our way up a spiraling staircase to the top of a tower. My ankles and wrists hurt from the chaffing of the chains on them. I moaned as I was forced to knock on the door in front of me.

"Come in," a gruff voice responded. The guard pushed open the door and then pushed me into the room. What I noticed first was the lack of guards in the room. The person holding me captive must have a great sense of security if he didn't have guards with him when seeing a prisoner.

"Ah. Welcome! You must be our other friend. The one whom we dragged here unconscious. Your friend fought us the whole way and for that we had to give him a few injuries. Anyways, I'm Lord Jacque Kingsford. It's a pleasure to meet you. And you are?" the man said.

He was different then what I expected. He was fat and dressed lavishly. His eyes seemed too big for his face and his lips were stained purple. I didn't like the look of him whatsoever.

"I'm Yuriki. My friend Jeremy and I were just making our way cross country from the borders of your lands. We're very sorry if we trespassed on them sir. We had no intention of doing so," I said. My ears and were hidden and I was very grateful for that at the moment.

The lord looked me over. I bowed to him as much as the guard and my chains would allow. The lord growled at me but it wasn't in anger. It was in pleasure. That's when I realized that this man must be one of those who fancied themselves, well, me.

"How has his friend been fairing? Is he as weak as we hoped he would be at this point?" Lord Kingsford asked the guard. The guard shook his head. The lord got angry.

"I'm afraid it appears as if the other prisoner has found a way to heal himself. Nor does he have any infections. He also doesn't seem to be dying from frostbite in that soaked cloak, though the cloak is no longer soaked," the guard replied. And then the lord snarled.

The guard cringed. This lord used my name to scare people into submission. It seemed that sometimes it worked, like with the guard, and sometimes it didn't, like with the little girl.

I looked between the two. Lord Kingsford seemed to know what would scare him most as he began to rise from his seat. The guard was backing toward the door.

"We can try again sir but I can't be sure about the infection part because he was asleep when I went to fetch this guy," the guard stuttered. I looked at the ground so as to hide my smile.

"Well I want you to go and break him again. In the same places. Let's see how much he can heal," Lord Kingsford growled with a very sinister smile. This time it was my turn to growl.

"If you break his limbs again I can't promise things will turn out different. Besides, you can't compare to the anger of a friend sir," I sneered. The lord arched his eyebrow at me. He didn't seem convinced. But I didn't have to convince him. My words would be proven should he lay a hand on Helix.

I looked up. The lord balked. I don't know what made him do it. Whether it was the anger in my eyes, my snarl or the ready position and concentration written all over my body. He gestured to the guard. I was dragged from the room laughing at the top of my lungs. I loved torturing others and lords were no exception.