O' children

Chapter 12: Flesh and Glass

Aron entered the dungeon of Perido's fort. It was dank and musty, but the draught that ran through it was frosty, there was no warmth down here expect for the pale flames of the lantern light. The gaol cell furthest from the door held Caysa, on his knees, facing the back wall. His hands were clasped in front of him, muttering quietly to the stale air. Aron was neither pious nor scholarly, but he recognised the grieving rites the Caysa was tearfully whispering. The guard that had accompanied Aron banged against the metal bars with the hilt of his short sword, Aron looked over at the man - unassuming as he was – with seething anger. The guard stepped back sheepishly as Caysa's shoulders jumped with fright.

Caysa turned around and stood up, almost running to Aron.

"Aron," He sounded breathless as Aron reached through the bars to hold Caysa's hand. "I thought," Caysa stopped himself as his eyes searched Aron's face and body, searching for injuries to fret over. Caysa looked a vision – eyes dark and bloodshot, lips chapped from weather and wear, his cheeks were glistening with relentless tears, even now he wept. The front of his shirt was bloody, and dirt stained, if anything Aron should've been fretting over Caysa.

"I'm fine," Aron held fast onto Caysa's delicate hands. Dried blood cracked and flaked from the rivulets lining his right arm, his left shoulder was not much better with painful looking wounds weeping, the blackened stain of dried blood darkened his monks' clothes. "But you," Aron licked his lips unable to phrase what he wanted to say.

Caysa pulled his hands out of Aron's grip: "It's true, I am not human."

"It can't be."

"And if it can be? If I'm right?"

"Then I'd" Aron reached further into the cell, but Caysa stepped back just enough that Aron couldn't reach him, "I'd make an exception for you. You're different, they would make an exception for you."

Caysa made a broken sob and Aron nearly turned around and stole the key to the cell from the guard just so he could finally hold Caysa. Another sob and Caysa was crying again, shaking his head.

"There's no such thing as an exception, Aron! My livelihood will always be conditional, it's not freedom! It's servitude! That is not a life, Aron."

"But dragons are dangerous, you won't be safe living amongst them," Aron bargained, but I can not protect you if you are not next to me.

"Humans are dangerous" Caysa gestured to the dark, cold cell "you should go now."

"Perhaps I should," Aron swallowed down everything else he wanted to say and stiffly pushed away from the cell. Every step away Aron had to fight his instinct to run back but his mind and heart hurt, a sharp ache radiated out from somewhere in Aron's body that he had never been conscious of before.

~~~

They had retrieved the body sometime after Aron had found Caysa. Draped with a white sheet, Aron did not dare lift it. Not even the small desperate part of him that was convinced that it had all been some great misunderstanding, that it wasn't really Marko lifeless and broken under there could make him confirm what he knew was true. Marko's hand was the only part of his body visible like this, his skin tanned well, golden and warm but now in the lantern-light it was drained of colour and life. Aron looked at Marko's limp hand, the thick strong fingers, blunt nails and raised callouses.

Humans are dangerous.

They were dangerous, to others and to themselves, they had the capacity to be incredibly cruel. Aron knew that perhaps in another life were he not the dragon-slaying knight and he was a regular soldier, he'd have slaughtered as many men as he had monsters. He too had that capacity within him.