Of Ashes and Stars

Chapter Two

When Jasper awoke, he found himself in a musty and dark cell, with a throbbing headache and burning pain in his back. From the arrow that shot him or the crash on the apple cart, he didn't know. As he struggled to stand, he thought about Aelis and her baby girl. Had they been caught? Were they going to be okay? He struggled forward in the darkness, grasping onto the rough stone wall. Blindly, he searched for anything that could indicate where he was. His fingers slid over what felt like a door frame. Jasper pushed against it with all of his strength (which wasn't much, really). The door shook and rattled, but didn't move an inch. He figured he wouldn't waste energy in case he needed to escape. Exhausted, he fell to the floor into a deep slumber.

"I told you that he's our guest, not a prisoner!" a voice exclaimed, pulling Jasper into consciousness. He heard two pairs of footsteps heading his way. As quickly as he possibly could, he slipped into the darkest corner of his cell.

"B-but y-y-your m-majesty! H-he's a k-k-killer," a different, less confident, and a high-pitched voice said. Majesty? For all Jasper knew, the king never gave a damn about his prisoners. Must be the prince then.

"Open the door," the prince commanded.

"B-but-" the other person was interrupted by the prince yet again.

"I said, open the door," he growled.

Reluctantly, the guard unlocked and opened the door to Jasper's cell. As he waited for them to fully enter, Jasper wrapped his black torn-up cape around him, making him near invisible in the darkness. Silently, he scooted closer and closer to the door, doing his best to stay quiet while the guard and the prince tried lighting the room. 'Idiots,' Jasper thought as he got to the door.

You'd think that for an assassin, Jasper would have been smarter. Sadly, he didn't notice the two guards at the entrance to his cell, which ended up tackling him to the floor, adding another injury to his increasing list of injuries. "I thought you would have been smarter than that," a voice said behind him. That voice being the prince.

"If you're going to kill me, then get it over with," Jasper rasped, the weight of the two guards being too much for him.

"Why would I do that?"

"Why else would I be here?"

"Get up, you're coming with me," was all the prince said.

Reluctantly, the guards got off him to let Jasper get up. As soon as he did though, he stumbled and leaned against the wall. His injuries had started taking a toll on him. "I thought you had brought a medic to him when he arrived!" the prince exclaimed to the guards.

"W-we a-assumed t-t-that y-ou w-would h-have liked h-him m-m-more dead than a-alive," the guard that accompanied Brian to the cell said.

"You're an idiot. Really. Why did my father even assign you to me?" the young prince mused.

The guard blushed in embarrassment.

The prince went to help Jasper, who would usually argue but didn't have the energy to do so. He carried the assassin up the stairs and into the infirmary, placing him down on a cot. "Sorry about them, they don't appear to be much help," the prince apologized.

Jasper only stared at him, a scowl taking over his face. "I'm Brian. And while I do know your name, I'd like to be civilized and ask yours," Brian introduced himself.

"If you know my name then there's no need to tell you," Jasper replied in a monotone voice.

"Well... okay then. Let me help you," the prince offered.

"I don't need your help. I can take care of myself thank you very much," the assassin retorted sharply, struggling to get up from the cot.

"Your wound is infected, even if you manage to get out of the castle alive, you won't make it far before you drop dead or before our guards catch you. Pick your poison."

As much as it pained Jasper to admit, Brian was right. He would never make far enough to escape, at least not without bringing uninvited guests to their mansion. "Fine," Jasper grumbled, sitting back down on the cot and removing his white blood-stained shirt. Brian silently and carefully cleaned Jasper's wound on his back. Jasper hissed when the young prince softly touched the tender area where he had landed on the apple cart.

"It could be broken," Brian suggested.

"No."

"Stop being difficult and let me help."

"No."

Brian sighed deeply and looked through some cabinets and drawers until he found a small tin can containing a homemade ointment made by Brian himself. He gently rubbed some on Jasper's bruise, which earned a yelp of pain and his hand gripping the prince's own hand. "You've got to let me look at that. If it's broken, it'll get worse," Brian insisted.

"No."

"Fine. At least let me lead you to your rooms."

Jasper looked at Brian with a puzzled look dancing on his face. "What do you mean, my rooms?"

"As I said, you're a guest here, not a prisoner. Follow me."

The prince briskly walked through the marble halls of the castles; the high ceilings adorned with angelic murals. Jasper had to admit the place was beautiful, he didn't think anything else he had ever seen compared to it.

But it was also very big. And easy to get lost in. He counted the turns they took, took note of anything specific or noticeable in case he ever decided to escape. Soon enough, they arrived at a pair of ornate white doors. The prince opened the doors and stepped aside to let Jasper into the room. "This is a room? Looks more like a small apartment," he muttered, looking around the place he was to stay in.

The prince laughed at the assassin's comment, replying with, "Well I guess you are right. And you also have a sense of humor."

"I don't do humor," Jasper commented with a snark look.

The prince nodded and looked down. He would steal secret glances at the assassin. He had to admit, he was handsome. Brian could see the powerful muscles stretching the black shirt he was wearing, given by Brian, as his previous one was no longer in prime condition. His white-blonde hair was messy and reflected the setting sun, giving it a sort of fiery look. While inspecting the assassin's chiseled pale face, he noticed a faint scar that ran from his temple to the end of his sharp jaw.

Compared to the assassin, Brian was a bug. While his looks attracted a lot of ladies in court, he wasn't built very strong, instead, he was more on the lanky and skinny side. But don't think for one second that he wasn't strong. It just didn't look like it. He had brown-black wavy hair, usually left unkempt with bright blue eyes. One thing that always embarrassed him was the fact that Brian... needed glasses. Most of the time, Brian went without them since his father already disapproved of him, favoring his younger brother Milo. Yet he couldn't deny that he needed them.

The young prince returned to the present when he caught Jasper staring at him. He cleared his throat and blushed slightly, "Well, I'll leave you alone now. If you need anything, anything at all, just call for me."

"Alright," the assassin whispered, looking down and then out the balcony doors, getting lost in thought.

By the time the prince left the room, Jasper was already outside on the balcony, looking toward his home. Towards Aelis.

A/N: here's chapter two. have fun reading and until next time <3