Dark Queen

xxx.

     Jurauk had woken up in some strange places before. There was that one time when he'd sleepwalked into Soren's chambers, stolen a towel, and found himself outside in the garden beneath a hedge of peonies. Once, he'd played hide-and-seek with Vlad and fallen asleep in the kitchen oven. Had the cook not screamed, he might have become one with an apple pie already.

However, Jurauk hadn't expected to wake up shackled inside a cage like some rabid dog. First, he was very groggy, blinking back to reality and registering a slab of metal as the ceiling. When he shifted, the harsh clanking of chains rang out. "What the hell?" he murmured. He scanned the cage. The bars were as thick as his arms and were spaced evenly. The skin around his wrists were cold from the manacles, and when he shifted, he found that his feet were bound too.

There was some white peeking out from beneath his tattered shirt, and when Jurauk glanced down, he saw that there were clean white bandages crossing his torso. Why had they bothered to dress his shoulder wound and then lock him up?

Just then, the door creaked open, and someone entered the room. Even without the torchlight, Jurauk's keen eyes could analyze the person's facial features easily. It was Zora's brother, the one she called "Pyter".

Pyter waved a hand to the guards behind him, dismissing them. "Hello Nefari. I'm glad to see that you've awakened."

"What is the meaning of this?" Jurauk tugged futilely at the chains. His arms strained; It should have been very easy for him to break free.

     "Don't try that," Pyter said as he came to a stop in front of Jurauk. "It won't work. Y'know, it's a good thing my little sister brought you along. You make a wonderful specimen to study. Thanks to you, we've already found a Nefarian weakness."

     With a smile, Pyter nodded towards the chains. "Obsidian. Works much better than iron, eh? We tried putting you in iron, but you tore out of them like they were butter. If one of my guards didn't happen to have an obsidian wedding band, we may never have figured it out. He brushed it against your face while restraining you, and your limbs went limp."

     Jurauk gritted his teeth. Damn. The Imperius had always warned him about this trait of humans. Indestructible curiosity. "Great. You found me out. Now, why am I kept here? I fought for your side against Gregori. Is that not what you wanted?"

     Pyter curled his lip. "I admit that you have done me a great service. However, you are uncharted territory. You're not even human. I don't want to risk you by my little sister's side. Who knows what you could do to her?" He paced back and forth in front of Jurauk's cage.

     "Now that I think about it, this whole situation is extremely suspicious. Why would my sister associate herself with you? There must be some underlying cause." He arched a brow, gripping one of the bars. "Are you perhaps threatening her? Has she offered you anything? Why else would you help a human?"

     Pyter continued rattling off his train of thoughts. "Gregori cast her outside the walls with nothing but the clothes on her back and her comb. Obviously, you haven't tried to eat her, and you've even come as far as to kill Gregori." His cerulean eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me. You took her chastity?"

     If Jurauk had been sipping tea, he would have spewed it out immediately. "Gods no. What do you take me for, a monster?"

     Pyter gave him a pointed look. "Yes. Now, seeing as you contributed to Gregori's death, I harbor no ill intentions towards you. I simply wish to conduct some more tests on you." Jurauk's gaze flickered towards a metal table laden with shining metal tools.

     "Hell no. You take one step into this cage and I'll –"

     Before he could describe in detail what he would do with his fascinatingly sharp teeth, the door burst open and in tumbled Zora. Her black hair was disheveled, and she didn't even have her eyepatch on. "Brother!" she gasps, eye widening when she spotted Jurauk trussed up in the cage. "What is the meaning of this?"

     She rushed over to grip the iron bars. "Are you okay, Jurauk? Did Pyter hurt you in any way?" Pyter's hand touched her shoulder.

     "Zora, I think you should leave. You're still exhausted. I'll have the cook make some broth for you." Angrily, she pushed his hand away.

     "Jurauk has saved my life multiple times. I'm not going to eat some damn broth while you conduct tests on him in this dank dungeon. Release him now!"

     "He's dangerous, Zora. What if he's using his powers to manipulate you?"

     Zora snorted. "Please, as if. If anything, I'm the one who manipulated him to jump over the wall to fetch me bread. Let. Him. Go." She enunciated each word, grinding her teeth. Jurauk could only watch her in awe.

     This little human girl who he towered was standing protectively in front of him, arguing with her own brother. Zora raised three fingers, her face solemn. "I swear on my life that Jurauk will not harm us. I only need to repay him for this deed."

     Right. The deal. Jurauk had nearly forgotten about the oath, had he not remembered the twisting vines of ink on his skin.

     Pyter was taken aback. "What deal?" His voice was panicked. "In exchange for your life?"

     "Help me take back my kingdom," Jurauk put in. "My step-mother -the current Impriessa- planned to assassinate me and dump my body outside the kingdom, but obviously, she's failed. You humans may be weaker than the Nefari, but your technology is strong. You also have mages, am I correct?"

     Zora looked at him. "Magic? I thought it was lost to humans." Jurauk shook his head.

     "When I went over the wall the first time, I was chased by an old woman waving a staff. If I'm not mistaken, humans have somehow unlocked the ancient secrets again. The Nefari may also have magic, but I suspect it is very rudimentary."

     Pyter pulled Zora over to his side. She squirmed and fought against his grip. "Don't do it, Zora," he said through gritted teeth. "He's trying to trick you into becoming his free snack. Stay in Etharia with me. In consideration of his help, I will arrange for him to be dropped off outside the wall."

     "Not so fast. Take a look at your dear sister's arm." Reluctantly, Zora held up her arm. Pyter snarled.

     "What is this?" He whirled to face her.

     "A contract," muttered Zora, pulling away.

     Jurauk smirked. "I've upheld my end. If she doesn't...well, I don't think the gods will be especially kind." Pyter gave him a long, scathing look. Then he fished a ring of keys out of his pocket. 

*blows dust off the cover of this book* whew, it's been so long. good news, i'm on summer break! more writing, hehe. for those of you who've had the patience to stick with this (kinda shitty now that i'm looking back on it XD) writing, thank you so much. i love you all so much!

Discussion Questions: What do you think would have happened had Zora broken the contract? How will they approach this matter?