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It was cold in the cell. Cold and damp. It sucked.
But as far as I was concerned, it’s what I deserved for trying to pick a fight with people stronger than me.
Turns out that being all by myself against three Crownsguard was not the smartest idea, especially when I began resisting arrest.
That’s when they had to break my leg and yank my left arm out of its socket.
That was my favorite arm.
But what else was I supposed to do? They were being such pieces of shit to this little tiefling girl, being all high and mighty and harassing her for her “fiendish” blood. I hate racist assholes like that, thinking that because they’re soldiers means they can boss others around.
What really set me off, though, was when they dared to yank her by the tail and pull her closer. And I could have sworn that one of them was about to draw their sword.
It didn’t take a genius, let alone me, to put two and two together.
So I rushed in and picked a fight. And got my ass kicked. A lot.
At best, I’d probably be here for days, or weeks.
At worst, no one would give a damn and leave me here to rot.
But that’s the risk you take when you’re practically a nobody.
The chill in the cell was really beginning to aggravate my already sore extremities.
I even ended up with multiple fractured ribs. Breathing was becoming a chore.
Didn’t even receive a lick of TLC from anyone in the stockade. It figured.
And that’s when she showed up. Some bigwig in society.
Wasn’t sure what her deal was. All I knew was that she had influence and connections, and that for some strange reason, she sought me out.
Me, of all people!
But I wasn’t really ready to play her game or get fooled into a false sense of security. Besides, I’d have rather died from my slowly worsening injuries than accept some sort of fucking charity just to get out of here. That’s not how life worked in the streets.
So I figured, I might as well be stubborn, see if that would get her to leave.
“Are you here to break me out? If so, don’t bother. Sure you got more important places to be.”
The woman didn’t respond. If anything, she was just silently staring at me. Sizing me up, probably contemplating what punishment to give me.
I couldn’t tell who she was; the shadows hid her face. And of course she wasn’t talking.
“Huh. Silent treatment. Fine. I don’t mind. Sure you know the way out,” I had said as I tried to roll onto my side. The broken ribs protested loudly. My attempt at scoffing became a painful wheeze.
I eventually gave up and just looked back in her direction. She was still standing there, not saying anything.
What was her fucking deal?!
I lacked any sort of telepathic message crap, so I repeated that same thought out loud.
Eventually, the woman finally spoke.
“So… it is you.”
The moment I heard her voice, my heart nearly stopped. It was a voice I hadn’t heard in years. Not since…
As I had those thoughts in my head, the woman stepped back so that the torchlight revealed her face.
My suspicions were confirmed the instant I saw those familiar eyes.
“Well… fuck me silly. Never thought I’d see you again. So… pretty well-off, huh?”
That biting sarcasm. That cocky smirk. There was no mistaking it.
“Fuck off, man. Leave a dying woman in peace already. Wouldn’t be the first time.”
I winced as soon as those words left my mouth. The moment that they did, she was turning and stomping off to gods know where.
After a few moments, I had heard her shouting.
“Hey! The fuck were you thinking?! You left her there without even so much as a bandage? You could have killed her, dumbass!”
“The bitch was resisting arrest, not our fault she—”
A slamming sound. Boy, she must have been MAD.
“Fix it. NOW. Or I will report your ass to the Martinet. You wouldn’t want that… Do you? And what was that about a tiefling kid that you were harassing? Buddy, you are a dead man.”
Yup. Totally mad.
“All right! All right! Gods!”
Footsteps coming back towards me and my cell. She returned along with the asshole that broke my ribs. Thankfully I still had the energy to flip him the bird with my good arm.
“Hey, none of that—”
A sudden loud slam against the bars. He turned his head towards her, frozen on the spot with her ice-cold glare that would kill gods if she wanted to.
“Potion. Now.”
As soon as the cell door was open, he handed her a meager potion of healing and cursed under his breath, muttering more curses as he walked off. She then walked into my cell and fed me the stuff.
It wasn’t anywhere near enough to treat all of my injuries, but at least the ribs were mended and my leg wasn’t nearly as fucked up as before. Just being able to breathe easier was a relief.
“You all right?”
“Yeah. I will be.”
I got myself into a sitting position. She then helped to pop my arm back into place and lent me some sort of staff. Taking the hint, I slowly got to my feet. Gods, it hurt like a bitch. But at least I was about to be free.
She headed to the entrance to my now open cell. Well, more like my soon-to-be-vacant cell. She then turned to look at me.
“You coming?”
All I could do was match the grin she gave me.
Gods, I missed that grin. I missed everything about her.
If not for the wedding band on her hand, I would’ve assumed that we could pick up where we left off.
She actually had gone and found someone special. Good for her.
Instead, I simply told her, “I’ll be right behind you.”
The last time this happened, I was kept in a cell like this while she was bailed out due to her old man and his connections.
I was just glad that she actually came back for me this time.
So I followed her out of the cell and back outside to the freedom I’d been craving.
And as we left the stockade, I couldn’t help but ask the only other question that had been on my mind.
“So… almost four years now. What have you been up to all this time, dude?”
She laughs. It’s a surprisingly gentle laugh. Hadn’t heard that coming from her before.
Time sure does change people.
“Come on, babe, I’ll tell you all about it over drinks.”
“Sounds good to me,” was my reply as we hobbled to the nearest open tavern.