Time trickled by with agonizing slowness as Cody sat alone in the suffocating darkness of the boys' dormitory. The absence of any window in the servant quarters left him utterly disconnected from the outside world, unable to gauge the passing of time. The pain on his face still throbbed, a constant reminder of his fate.
Restlessly, Cody tested the door handle repeatedly, hoping for an opportunity to escape his confined prison. But the door remained bolted shut, sealing him off from the outside world. The room, once shared with other boys, now became his barren cell. No friendly faces entered; no familiar voices echoed through the air. All he could hear was the dull clinking of the guards' armour and the muffled shuffling of their feet.
Eventually, a voice pierced through the heavy silence, signalling the arrival of a guard. The bolt on the door ground open, and a stale bread roll on a rusted plate was callously shoved inside. Hunger gnawed at Cody's stomach, and he eagerly devoured the meagre meal.
As time wore on, the room became increasingly uncomfortable, the air thick with an unpleasant stench of his own making. The absence of a bathroom in such a confined space left Cody feeling physically sick.
Within the dimly lit room, shadows danced along the crack beneath the door, their twisting forms taunting Cody's imagination.
Cody's heart yearned for a relief from the suffocating loneliness. He longed for the warmth of sunlight. But for now, he remained trapped in this dim chamber.
Suddenly, a voice pierced through the thick silence, echoing from beyond the door. It was the first sound that had reached Cody's ears in what felt like an eternity. His heart skipped a beat, a glimmer of hope flickering within him.
"Now, what do we have here?" inquired a man, his voice unfamiliar to Cody. It held a certain authority.
"Nothing of concern, sir. Move along," responded the guard stationed outside Cody's door. It was the same guard who had brutally beaten him earlier. Cody's body tensed with unease.
Cody winced at the memory of the guard's violence, causing fresh waves of pain to wash over his face.
The stranger's voice, however, carried a peculiar blend of kindness and playfulness, mixed with an unsettling undertone of velvety menace. It sent a shiver down Cody's spine.
"Well, there's a rumour you see, that has drifted into my Lady's ear," continued the mysterious stranger, his words drawing out with deliberate precision. "But we know how rumours can be, don't we?"
"No rumours, sir, just your round about normal day sir," the guard replied curtly. "However, the Duke himself has decreed that these servant corridors remain undisturbed until a court magician arrives."
The mention of the court magician piqued Cody's curiosity. With bated breath, he strained his ears, hoping to catch any further titbits of information that might shed light on his uncertain future.
“So much security for what?” asked the stranger.
“Pay it no mind, sir.”
“Ah yes, so no truth about you locking up a child, then?”
Cody's entire body flinched involuntarily, causing him to knock the rusted plate clattering to the ground.
"Shut up in there!" the guard barked, punctuating his words with forceful pounds on the sturdy door. "No child here, sir, just a criminal."
Cody's mouth parted slightly, the impulse to speak surging within him. Perhaps this stranger could offer him help from his agony. Yet, fear tightened its grip on him, silencing any words that might have escaped his trembling lips.
"Right you are," the stranger agreed, his voice receding into the background along with Cody's fading optimism. The echoes of his footsteps grew fainter, and the sense of desolation settled once more.
Cody retreated into a small nook within the room, seeking refuge from the looming presence of the guard outside. He braced himself for the inevitable punishment, for daring to make a noise. But to his surprise, no one entered the confined space. Silence enveloped him once again, punctuated only by the steady passage of time.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Hours seemed to stretch into an eternity as Cody huddled in his meagre bunk, his heart's rhythmic beat and his own measured breaths becoming the sole indicators he was still alive. Fatigue eventually washed over him, lulling him into a restless slumber, his body quivering alone in the darkness.
Just as his eyes closed, a sudden commotion erupted beyond the door, a woman's voice cutting through the hazy veil of exhaustion.
"What is this, then?" she demanded, her tone filled with disbelief.
Cody jolted awake; his senses instantly sharpened. He had barely drifted off to sleep.
“Ah, Lady Amber," the guard stammered, his voice trembling.
"Fredrickson here has informed me that the rumours are true."
"Ah yes, I mean, that's not for you to know," he blurted, his words tumbling out in a jumble.
"Not for me to know? I am an esteemed guest of your master," she spat. "Now move aside."
The guard hesitated. "No! No, we have orders," he stammered, desperately clinging to his dwindling authority.
"From whom? A Duke? You forget yourself," Lady Amber retorted, her voice spiked with a veiled threat. "What if my husband were to hear about a few guardsmen halting the General's wife from helping a poor child?"
Cody, listening intently from behind the door, could almost hear the guard gulp audibly. The once formidable sentinels now quivered in their armour. Reluctantly, they shuffled aside, creating a path for her.
Seconds later, the jingling of keys echoed through the corridor as they unlatched the lock, and the old door swung open with an eerie creak. The dim light from the hallway spilled into Cody's prison, illuminating his weary form.
"Goodness," the Lady exclaimed.
Cody raised his gaze to meet the sight of a tall woman dressed in a flowing brown gown. She delicately held a white handkerchief to her nose, trying to ward off the stench that had permeated the room. "This poor thing," she murmured with genuine sympathy. "Fredrickson, pick up the poor child."
A man, presumably Fredrickson, stepped forward, striding confidently between the guards. He swiftly tore off a clean strip of cloth from the nearest bedside and draped it around Cody, providing a modicum of comfort amidst the squalor.
“Who the hell beat this child?” the man's voice ran out with an edge of deadly anger. The man was skinny yet powerful, with a pointed beard and moustache clad in green with a brown sash across one shoulder. On his hip sat a long, thin blade that shone even in the dark with a hue of brilliant silver.
The man was a sword master. Cody gasped.
Gravity vanished as Fredrickson tore Cody off his feet and carried him out of his prison.
“Take him to my guest chambers.” The Lady said, while glowering at the guards.
Cody, feeling a mixture of relief and confusion, nestled against the man's shoulder, wrapped snugly in the soft fabric from his bedchambers. The sight of the stammering guards fading into the distance brought a sense of fleeting triumph.
Once they were certain the guards had turned the corner, the man couldn't help but voice his curiosity. "So, where are we really going?" he asked.
Lady Amber smirked, appreciating the man's perceptiveness. "Always two steps ahead, I see. So you know how Lady Gerrenthia departed earlier this evening?"
Fredrickson nodded. "Ah, was she the one who discovered the child?" the man inquired.
Lady Amber nodded in confirmation. "Indeed. The woman may be conceited, but her heart is in the right place."
With a quick twist of her palm, a golden key slipped from a chain and into her grasp.
Fredrickson nodded once more. “This way, then."
Moving swiftly and silently, they navigated the labyrinthine corridors, slipping into the other guest quarters without arousing the suspicion of the servants.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Lady Amber turned her attention to Cody, her expression concerned.
"You poor thing. Fredrick, please heat the bath," she instructed, her gaze fixed on Cody's injured face. "We need to get him cleaned up as soon as possible."
The sound of water splashing filled the room as Fredrickson busied himself with the task. Meanwhile, Lady Amber delicately unfolded her handkerchief and used it to gently clean the edges of Cody's face. Her brow furrowed in distress as she worked, her determination to ease his pain clear in every touch.
"You know, I hate attending these damn parties," Lady Amber confided in Cody, though he was unsure how to respond. "But as the wife of a commanding General in the King's army, I have duties to uphold."
She finished tending to his wounds and surveyed her handiwork, a soft smile gracing her lips as she looked at the child before her. “And sometimes it allows me to actually do some good in this world.”
The lady looked deep into Cody’s eyes, then tilted her head. “Fredrickson, come here a second.”
The man quickly strode over and knelt beside the Lady.
Lady Amber's gaze shifted to Cody's eyes, her finger pointing directly at them. Fredrickson, with a perplexed expression, searched those eyes as if trying to unravel a hidden truth known only to him. After a prolonged moment of contemplation, he finally spoke.
"So, not only is he free from the Slave tonic, but he's also not even human," Fredrickson revealed, his voice carrying a mix of surprise and curiosity.
Lady Amber's brow furrowed, and she posed a question that had been lingering in her mind. "Then what is he?"
"If I were to hazard a guess, he's a hybrid," Fredrickson conjectured, his tone filled with a touch of uncertainty. "A Felren maybe. And I would even wager that he's unaware of it himself."
With a casual shrug, Fredrickson removed Cody's tattered and bloodstained garments, swiftly preparing him for the soothing embrace of the soapy wooden bath.
As Cody settled into the warm water, a gasp escaped his lips, the sensation providing relief to his aching body. Then he grasped It was his first-ever bath.
While Cody relished in the comforting embrace of the bath, Lady Amber turned her attention to Fredrickson. "How much time do we have?"
Fredrickson approached the window, peering down at the world outside, a tinge of sadness clouding his expression. After a moment, he let out a sigh. "Not long."