Quirking an eyebrow at Felix, Mouse pivoted and pressed his fingers against Felix’s forehead.

Startled, Felix stiffened, then immediately relaxed. “Feels like there's a breeze righ on my forehead…”

“That’s all I was doing. He’s just being dramatic.” Mouse lowered his hand. No blight in him… or Felix, not that I was expecting any. But then… where’s the blight?

Felix cast Mouse’s hand a reluctant look. “That’s a nice spell for hot nights.”

“Mmm? I can teach it to you,” Mouse muttered, distracted. He scanned the small room, but it was nearly empty. Stone walls, stone floor. A torch on the wall. A small cot in the back of the room next to a filthy bucket. The man, the bars, the manacles. No clutter, no mess. Nowhere to hide blight.

“The two of you have finally come. I knew this day would come, sooner or later,” the man laughed. Blood ran from the cut on his forehead down his face, dripping off the end of his nose.

Mouse took a handkerchief from his sleeve and mopped up the blood. “Your name, please.”

“This kindness… I will not bow! No matter how much kindness you offer, my blood howls for revenge!”

“Seems pretty quiet to me,” Mouse mumbled, glancing at his stained handkercheif.

“Xenozar, dinner,” a guard called. He turned the corner and startled, nearly dropping a tray of food. “Your Majesty! I had no idea!”

“No, no, never—never mind me—” Felix lunged to stop him mid-bow and barely caught the tray before the guard spilled soup all over all of them.

“You! Not you! Mortal enemy, have you come to taunt me again?” the caged man screamed.

“Yes, yes, I’ve come to taunt you by feeding you dinner.” The guard unlocked the cage and stepped inside.

Xenozar instantly retreated to the back corner, spooked. “You won’t best me today! Never! I shan’t.”

The guard set down the tray and moved to Xenozar’s side. “Hands out like a good boy.”

“No! You know naught what you ask! Freeing me from these manacles—without these enchanted manacles, I would rip the world apart! They are the only barrier that keeps my sanity intact, that prevent me from massacring this world and carving oceans of blood! Save yourself, and leave me bound!”

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“Mmm-hmm. I guess we’ll just have to take that risk.” A key clicked in a lock. The manacles thumped to the floor.

Xenozar tensed. “My blood boils! My mind writhes! I—I—”

His stomach grumbled loudly.

Mouse raised his eyebrows. Felix turned to stare.

Xenozar blushed. Embarrassed, he took up the fork and knife and sat quietly by his food. “I… suppose you have won today, foul adversary. But tomorrow, tomorrow, mark my words, releasing me… could send the world into the abyss.”

“Is that where you’ll carve the oceans of blood?” the guard asked, leaning back against the door.

Xenozar grumbled under his breath.

Abruptly, the guard jolted. He turned back to Felix and bowed. “Ah, forgive me, I forgot I was in the presence of such majesty. It’s just… Xenozar is a bit of a handful.”

“No, no, don’t mind me. Er, but… who is Xenozar? Why is he here?”

The guard shrugged. “He’s been here for longer than I have. I’ve asked around, but no one’s quite sure. Best guess is he’s a distant relative of the crown, locked up here to prevent him from being an embarrassment.”

Felix frowned. “How cruel.”

Xenozar laughed loudly. “This is nothing compared to the cruelty I would unleash upon this world! Were I to escape this prison, I would crush humanity as easily as I crush this tomato!” He squeezed a tomato between his fingers.

“You crush it, you clean it,” the guard warned.

Xenozar froze. He glanced at the tomato, back at the guard, then tossed the tomato into his mouth and, mouth wide open, bit down. “Aha! Witness my crushing prowess!”

Mouse cocked an eyebrow. “Incredible, indeed."

“That was all of humanity,” Xenozar informed him, smug.

“That was a tomato,” Mouse countered.

Xenozar narrowed his eyes.

The guard glanced at Felix. “Not to… question Your Majesty, but… did you have a reason to come down here?”

Felix glanced at Mouse.

Mouse shrugged. Xenozar isn’t blighted. I don’t see anything marked with blight. The dark, oily marking blight left behind on objects was unmistakable and unsubtle, usually. “There’s nothing blighted here. It must have been a mistake.”

“My apologies,” Felix said, nodding at the guard.

“Oh no, not at all! Your Majesty is welcome here whenever you like!”

Xenozar smiled. “Retreating before the horror of my wrath? Weaklings! If my full power was unleashed here, you would already be ash!”

“Alright, enough. Are you done with dinner? Hands,” the guard said, holding up the manacles.

Obediently, Xenozar held up his wrists. The guard slotted the manacles around them and clicked them shut. He took the tray and shut the door to the cage.

The second the cage shut, Xenozar rushed the bars. He grabbed them and rattled them, teeth clenched. “Pathetic creatures! I’ll get you next time. Then you’ll feel my wrath!”

“You already used wrath,” Mouse said.

Xenozar hesitated. “My… fury.”

Mouse nodded. “Better.”

“It was great to meet you, Xenozar. I’ll come back to see you again,” Felix promised.

“Such persistent foes. I should have known I would not be free of you so easily,” Xenozar grumbled. He glanced aside and flicked his long hair into his face, but not before Mouse spotted a slight blush on his cheeks.

Mouse rolled his eyes. This kid just wants friends, doesn’t he. Then he sighed. Locked up down here for so long no one knows why he’s down here, of course he’s a little crazy. “I’ll see you next time.”