The Arisen

Chapter 2

When Phoebus regained his senses, he felt as if he was lying on a cloud. It took around a minute for him to process that he was on a rather large bed in a bedroom of sorts. Despite the terrible ache in his head, the overall experience was comfortable. Within these first moments of consciousness, he felt like never wanted to leave this current position.

Was this what Metrissan prisons were like? He had never seen one firsthand, but this room far exceeded any of his expectations. The walls had a dark maroon color, which glowed from the light of several candles located around the room. The back of the bed rested against the wall, and a very small window sat above Phoebus' head. He could tell from the window that it was currently nighttime. He must have been out for a while. Granted, the burglary occurred late in the afternoon, but several hours is still a considerably long time. The combination of the hit and the exhaustion likely kept him unconscious for that long.

Phoebus decided to raise his head a little from the soft pillow and found himself staring at an open doorway.

"This is awfully unbelievable for a state of captivity..." Phoebus wondered.

He then looked down at his belly and was surprised to find a new tunic on his body, one that was a deep purple and felt much more soft and comfortable. No reason could be conceived as to why or how a new outfit could have been slipped on without notice. There's no way Metrissa could treat their prisoners like this, if he even happened to be caught. 

Phoebus jumped slightly when he saw a young face suddenly peek at him through the doorway. There were candles lit behind this face, since the room beyond the doorway barely had any windows. The candlelight cast a shadow over the face, but Phoebus could tell it was a boy who looked a couple of years older than him. It was hard for him to make any other conclusions, as the shadow hid most of the boy's facial features.

"Get up," he said blatantly, "You're late to the party."

The boy then turned and walked out of sight.

"What the hades is going on?" Phoebus asked himself, sitting up and scratching his forehead, "Party?"

After a few moments of puzzlement, he stepped out of the bed and observed the fanciness of the room he was in. There were scarlet, silken curtains draped down at the corners of the room and a strong scent of some Arabian spice. The floor, an arrangement of red and white tiles, felt cold on his bare feet. Phoebus proceeded to slowly walk out of the room and turn toward where he saw the boy walk off. The maroon walls continued down a small and slightly narrow hall leading to the left. Blinking his tired eyes a couple of times, Phoebus could see a larger room waiting at the end of the hall.

He trudged down the candlelit hall until he found himself in the room, where five other teens were assembled to his surprise. There was a large, cedar table in the middle with several refreshments on it.

"Ah, there he is!" the same boy he saw earlier said.

Just like Phoebus, this boy had flowing, brown hair of medium length. His eyes were different, being a gray color. He was also three or four inches taller than Phoebus, and his arms looked rather strong. If silver could be described as bright, that was the color of his tunic, and he also wore sturdy-looking sandals.

A teenage girl was sitting to the right of where the boy was standing, further away from Phoebus. From her looks, she was around the same age as the boy and was only slightly taller than Phoebus. Her hair, untidy and reaching to the middle of her back, was the exact same brown as Phoebus' and paired well with her dark brown eyes. She wore a short, dark green tunic and a gold-tainted cuff on her right wrist.