“my Lady, are you up?” a knock came, snapping me from my daze.
“kharon?” I called, just in time for him to come in. he bowed his head. I looked at him, noticing the scars on his face and some slight marks that were hidden just below his gown but his movements made them visible.
I opened my mouth, about to comment on them but decided against it.
“my lady?” he called, waving his hands in front of me
“sorry, I just…” I shook my head “I need water and a rag with bandage” he looked alarmed, his eyes raking my body as if to check if anything was wrong.
“my lady, are you… are you hurt?” he looked like he was going into panic mode.
“a little, just.. please I need it urgently” I said, avoiding his gaze as he looked at me intently, I was not really the best at lying
He looked at me one more time, wondering heaven knows what before he sighed and left. “I would be gone for only a moment” he said and in the blink of an eye, he was gone
*
I sat in the dimly lit corner of the chamber, my fingers trembling slightly as I held the rag and bandage Kharon had fetched for me
“here” he said stretching his arms forward.
I took the things from his hands, ignoring the look he gave me
“Thank you,” I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper. I lowered my gaze, focusing on the task at hand. The cool water in the bowl shimmered under the flickering candlelight, a small semblance of normalcy in this otherwise chaotic place. I looked around, wondering how I was going to tell him to sit down and let me check his wounds
I dipped the rag into the water, wringing it out carefully. “sit” I said, barely looking at him as I continued to wring the water out of the clothes
Suddenly, a sharp intake of breath broke the quiet. I looked up, startled, to see Kharon clutching his side, blood seeping through the fabric of his shirt. My heart skipped a beat. He was injured, even more than I thought.
“Kharon,” I called, my voice tinged with concern. He flinched, as if my words had physically struck him. For a moment, I saw something flicker in his eyes—pain, vulnerability, perhaps even surprise.
“It’s nothing,” he replied gruffly, trying to dismiss it. But the way he held himself, the tension in his muscles, told a different story. He was in pain, and he needed help.
Without thinking, I reached out and took his hand, guiding him to sit beside me. He resisted at first, “my lady I can assure you, it is no big deal”
“This is serious,” I said, more to myself than to him. “You need to let me clean it.”
He looked at me, his eyes hard and guarded. “Why?” he asked, the single word loaded with suspicion and confusion. “Why would you help me?”
I met his gaze, searching for the right words. “Because you need it, must there be a reason to clean them?”
He seemed to ponder this for a moment before giving a curt nod. With as much gentleness as I could muster, I dipped the rag back into the water and began to clean his wound. He hissed in pain, his muscles tensing under my touch, but he didn’t pull away.
I could feel Kharon watching me, his gaze intense and searching. It was as if he was seeing me for the first time
“my lady” he said softly, his voice losing some of its nervousness . “You’re... different.”
I paused, my hand hovering over the bandage. “Different how?”
He shook his head, a small, almost imperceptible smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Just... different. You are the only other master I have had that has treated me humanely”
“well, from the moments I have been here, I can tell that Hades is not human to say the least
Kharon looked down at the bandage, then back at me. “Thank you,” he said, his voice sincere.
“lay down, you need to rest” I said, taking the water to the other side.
“I am on duty, I possibly cannot”
“you are hurt, and I don’t know why, but it would be best you lay down” I said, not listening to what he had to say.
He nodded, not saying anything.
It was quiet for a while, with me going back to the ceiling.
“I assume you want to ask me about the injury?” he said after a while shocking me as I thought that he had gone to sleep
“there is no need for that, I assume you would have told me already if you wanted me to know” my voice echoing in the quiet room.
“it is pointless my lady” he said, causing my head to snap towards his direction. I caught him shaking his head, burying it in his hands
“Kharon, what do you mean?” I looked at him waiting for him to say something.
“it’s going to always happen. The demons bound to my soul, they want my life. It is going to always be the same pattern. Torture for all eternity, no matter the torture, I cannot die, I just heal to continue this torment.”
I looked at the miserable thing. He really was pitiful.
“I am sorry” I said looking at him genuinely sad on the inside.
“it is not your fault, you need not be sorry” he said giving me a smile that did not reach his eyes.
“would you care for a hug?” I asked without thinking much of the matter. Every time I was hurt back home, I always wished someone would hold me tight and tell me it’s all going to be alright, even if it was for a short while. I could not help but see him as me back under my father’s roof
Before I knew it, he had pulled me into a gentle embrace.
The door burst open with a loud crash, shattering our momentary peace. I jerked away from Kharon, my heart leaping into my throat. Hades stood in the doorway, his face a mask of fury and disbelief. His dark eyes burned with an intensity that made the room feel even colder.
His eyes settled on me, looking a bit surprised as he saw me. Well Kharon and I as we were very close and he was topless. Since I had removed it earlier to clean his wound
“well, this should be interesting”