In the Open Cage

Chapter 25

Gasping for breath, tears running down her cheeks, Misa shot awake and found herself still in Royle's bed. The room was dark, lit only by the lamp that sat on his desk. The curtains were drawn, but Misa could see that it was daylight.

"Misa?" Royle's voice sounded from the shadows. Misa heard him shift around before the curtains were drawn to let the light in.

Misa blinked at the brightness. She sniffled, her heart still aching at the memory of what she saw. At what Royle had been put through at such a young age.

The bed sank with his weight, and he peeled her hair from her tear-stained cheeks.

"Are you alright?"

"R-Royle." Misa hiccupped. She threw her arms around him, her heart squeezing. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The terror in that boy's eyes, the horrors he had to witness. Nisha's sadistic grin as she slit Rellon's throat right in front of him. Everything...How had he lived with it? How had he found the strength to get up every day?

"It's okay." Royle pressed his hand against her head. "I'm here."

"Y-you had to watch." Misa sobbed. "You had to see it all happen in front of you. You were only a boy. Just a boy."

He stilled. "Misa." Royle leaned back, his eyes intense. He cupped her cheek. "What did you see?"

A tear slid down to his thumb, and he wiped it away. "Everything. Nisha. She...Oh heavens. How? How did you live through that? I-I-I was there, and I couldn't stop her." Misa curled up her knees, her hands fisting the blanket. "She grabbed him and...and-and she...I just sat there and watched. I-I didn't stop her."

Royle's face was unreadable. "It's in the past. You had nothing to do with it."

"I know, but..." Misa slipped her hand over his. "I was there. And Rellon—"

"You saw him?" Royle said softly. Sorrow flashed in his eyes. "You saw Relly."

"Royle..."

He let out a breath and turned from her, resting his elbows on his knees. "Thirteen years."

"What?"

"It's been thirteen years since it happened. I was only twelve."

Twelve. Misa's heart broke even more.

"It was the worst day of my life. Everything I knew was gone in an instant. I had nothing left. Nothing to live for." He let out a weighted sigh. "You want to know how I kept going?"

There was darkness in the way he spoke. Fear gripped Misa's heart for what he might say. But she knew she would have to listen to him and accept it because it was his past and he was someone she loved.

"Yes," she whispered. Her throat hurt too much for her voice to be any louder.

Royle looked away. "Hatred."

Misa remained quiet, wanting to give him the space and time to say what he needed to say.

"I was a monster," he continued. "I tried to end Tika when she took me to Giligha. She didn't even try to stop me. I would have killed her then and there. I would have, but I needed to kill Nisha first. That was where it started. We made a bargain, Tika and I. That she would help me end Nisha, then herself. In return, I would move on and live.

"How could I refuse?" He took a moment to calm himself, sighing as he brought out his darkest memories. "So I spent my life looking for Nisha. Tika was always there to help. She taught me what she could about witches. In a twisted way she really was like a mother to me. Maybe it was the guilt or maybe she actually cared for me. The reason didn't matter. I used her to get into the purgehouse, then I used the people there to climb to the top, to get the power I needed to find her. It's easy when you don't care who gets hurt in the process."