Chapter 16 Sixteen

Chapter 16 Sixteen
When I woke up I was warm.

Though thankfully it wasn’t the same blistering heat of the dungeon, but instead a gentle, peasant warmth, sinking into my aching muscles and easing away my pain.

I was floating in water up to my shoulders, it felt like a pool or some kind of bath. The water was perfectly clear and warm, almost hot, with steam rising around me and the smell of roses and lavender filled the room.

Someone was washing me.

I felt the gentle scrape of a washcloth against my skin, moving in slow, gentle circles. 

Cleaning away layers of grime and dried blood and... other things. Signs of what I'd done with the Dragon King made shame burn hot in my chest.

I forced my eyes open, though it was a serious effort since they felt glued shut, and found myself staring up at an arched stone ceiling lit by soft, flickering firelight.

A large washroom, then. Private, by the look of it. With a natural hot spring pool set into the floor and smooth black stone walls that shone in the light.

I turned my head slowly and saw her.

A young Nexium woman. Tall and willowy, with the typical blue skin and grey hair. But there was something different about her, something that set her apart from the soldiers that I'd seen.

Where most Nexium were brutal and harsh-featured, only built for violence, she had an odd sort of beauty with refined, delicate features.

Her eyes were the hollow, empty grey of all Nexium, but her face was completely symmetrical and perfect.

She was so enchanting to look at, I had never seen such beauty in all my years.

She was washing my arm with careful attention, her touch professional but not unkind.

"Where..." My voice broke off into a cough so I tried again. "Where am I?"

She didn't answer, nor did she spare me so much as a glance. She simply continued washing, moving the cloth down to my hand, carefully cleaning underneath my fingernails.

"Who are you?" I asked, growing a bit stronger now. 

The warmth was bringing feeling back to my limbs, chasing away the bone-deep cold. "I mean... wait. Thank you, for helping me. But I think I can manage now."

I was starting to feel embarrassed, actually. Being bathed like a child, completely naked and vulnerable in front of a stranger, especially a stranger who was technically the enemy.

I reached for the washcloth, intending to take over from where she’d left off.

Her hand snapped out and grabbed my wrist with surprising strength.

I looked up at her face and was startled by the fury I saw there. Her empty eyes had suddenly filled with a hot, possessive and deeply offended glare.

"My king," she said, her voice soft but cold, "has trusted me with the command to care for you." Her grip on my wrist tightened so much it hurt. "You will not take the privilege of serving him away from me."

I stared at her in shock. "What?"

"The Dragon King," she continued, releasing my wrist and returning to her washing with renewed intensity, now scrubbing my skin aggressively "He gave me this task personally. It is an honour, and I will not fail him."

My mind struggled to process this. "But... he's evil. He's made you into a slave. He keeps you here against your will, forces you to serve him…" I leaned forward, trying to catch her eyes. "Aren't you afraid of him?"

She glared at me and huffed in frustration. And without answering my question, she moved the washcloth to my other arm and started all over.

I grabbed her hand, stopping her mid-motion.

"Listen to me," I said urgently, searching her face for any sign that she could be reasoned with. "You seem like a kind person. Even though you're Nexium now, I can see it… Your eyes are kind, your hands are gentle. You're not like the soldiers. You're not cruel."

She tried to pull her hand away but I held on firmly, looking deep in her eyes so she knew I was serious.

"I can help you," I continued, the words tumbling out in a desperate rush. "I can get you your freedom. Come with me. Help me and the others escape and I'll set you free from him. We'll go back to Heartland together and…"

"Escape, you said?"

A deep and dark and dangerous voice came from behind me, 

Every muscle in my body locked up in pure instinctive terror.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop despite the warm water, and the air grew heavy with tension.

I turned slowly in the water, my heart hammering so hard I thought it might break through my ribs.

The Dragon King stood there in the doorway, his massive frame filling the archway completely. His red eyes glowed in the dim firelight, fixed on me with an intensity that made me want to sink beneath the water and disappear.

He took one step into the room, then another, marching with that predatory grace that filled me with the urge to run from and fast even though there was nowhere to go.

"Escape," he repeated, his voice ominous. "How fascinating."

He crossed to the edge of the pool and looked down at me with an expression I couldn't read.

"And here I thought," he continued quietly, "that your time in the dungeons might have taught you the futility of such plans." 

His eyes slid over Cersei, who had immediately dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead to the stone floor. "It appears I was mistaken."

He crouched down at the pool's edge, bringing his face level with mine. Close enough that I could see the flecks of deeper crimson in his burning eyes, close enough to feel his breath on my face.

"Tell me, little spy," he murmured, his voice dropping to a velvet growl that made my skin prickle.

At the sound of his voice, memories of our time together resurfaced in my memory causing me to shudder, half in desire and half in disgust. 

"Were you planning to take my most trusted servant with you? Corrupt her loyalty? Turn her against me?" He demanded.

His hand shot out and gripped my jaw, forcing my head up until I had no choice but to meet his gaze.

"Or perhaps," he said even more quietly, "you simply cannot help yourself. Such a devious mind hiding behind those innocent eyes, constantly scheming, always plotting. Forever looking for the next way to manipulate those around you."

It wasn’t true. I wasn’t like that at all, was I?

His thumb brushed across my lower lip, the touch almost gentle.

"I wonder," he mused, his eyes searching my face with that terrible intensity, "what I should do with such a dangerous, deceitful creature."

His smile was slow and cruel and promised nothing good.

"What do you think, Cupid? What punishment fits the crime of trying to steal from a king?"