Even after years of walking down the long, eerie hallways, Rykea still disliked the hollow clang that came with every step she took. The walls of the Alliance's headquarters were made of metal, and the entire structure was simply a space station on Earth. The corridors to the dungeons were cold and clammy; at the turn that led to the hallway, a heat shield had been put up long ago to prevent heat from entering the space. Rykea never knew why, but she had heard no complaints. Perhaps the Alliance was just trying to get into the mood that death and imprisonment often brought.

Despite her knowing that it was wrong to feel for prisoners, she couldn't help but think back to the conversation with the salvador, Kyou. Rykea had visited the dungeons where he was chained the day before, only a few minutes after she had walked out. The talk with him had shaken her, even though she had tried her best to hide it in front of him. It left her feeling restless, as if she had just awoken from a nightmare. Wanting to assure herself that he was telling lies to get away, she had returned to the dungeons sheepishly, only to find him asleep.

Rykea had stayed in the dungeons, quietly observing the salvador in his sleep. She told herself that it was all for the better, and that she was simply gathering more information through her observations. Strangely, Rykea found Kyou more interesting than the other salvadors they had captured in the past. To ease her subconscious' frequent nagging, she had stayed quite awhile in the dungeons, carefully observing in detail his behavior, but not finding out much. The situation wasn't exactly under typical circumstances, she had told herself. His was a unique case. Rykea had eventually given in to her curiosity and marched boldly up to him, running her eyes over the tattered skin and taut muscles. She found herself grimacing each time her eyes landed on the streaks of dried blood that coated his entire body. She had hurried out the dungeon doors only to return with a basin of cold water and a washcloth. Through her wiping and cleaning the blood off his body, he had not once awoken. Rykea knew it would look suspicious if there were no blood on his body when the caretakers returned for the second whipping the next day. The caretakers were not told much about salvadors themselves, but knew quite a bit through experience. And through experience, they knew that it wasn't normal for a salvador to be perfectly clean after the first lashing.

Rykea had kept the thought in mind, cleaning off the deeper cuts and leaving the shallow wounds to heal by themselves. It wouldn't look too suspicious, right? Her eyes traveled to the rusty iron chains that delved into the flesh on his wrist. Almost unconsciously, she reached up to pull out the screw that bound each chain before pulling back abruptly.

No, it would definitely be suspicious if the chains were lose and the prisoner gone. Rykea chuckled to herself and turned around, twisting her fingers nervously. Prisoners weren't allowed food, but would it hurt if she sneaked some food out from the kitchens to give to Kyou? Perhaps, despite the fact that human food doesn't work very well for salvadors, he would feel better with something in his stomach other than air.

The dungeon doors burst open and Rykea thrust the cloth into her pocket in a fluid motion, praying for whoever it was not to notice her jumpy movements.

"Is there something wrong with the prisoner that Mistress Rykea herself has to approach it…" The pale hair and wrinkled face easily marked him as one of the elders as Rykea took a step back and bowed respectfully. She watched in anticipation as his clear blue eyes landed on the basin of water she had used. An air of apprehension hung in the room as he scanned what she knew was Kyou's limp form behind her. "And that is…?" He gestured at the basin with a callused hand.

"It was left here by the caretakers," Rykea lied before bowing her respect again and continuing, "they wanted to keep the dungeon floors as clean as they can." Her face twitched a smile and her heart drummed in her chest.

"I see." His eyes finally left her seemingly relaxed form and scanned the salvador once more. "You must be careful, child," he spoke in a quiet voice, "Salvadors are tricky creatures, they are." There was a strange glint in his eye and Rykea couldn't help by think back to her conversation with Kyou. Of course, she knew that salvadors were tricky. They would do anything to escape, after all. It had happened on her watch more times than she would’ve liked to admit.

She stated her agreement quietly, "I am aware, Chrono," she paused before adding wisely, "sir."

"Yes, well. Do not fall for their ostentatious stories or beliefs. Such things are not real and cannot be taken seriously."

"Have you encountered such cunning, sir?" she questioned curiously.

Chrono scanned Rykea’s figure with intense eyes before taking a step forward, his cloak trailing softly behind. "I have, but you need not know the details," he said, glancing at his left hand remorsefully.

Rykea followed his gaze and found herself staring at an aged scar that twisted from his thumb in a spiral across his back of the hand and disappeared in the darkness of the long sleeves of his garment. She watched, both horrified and fascinated as he raised his right arm and pulled back his sleeve, showing Rykea the path of the scar. As he drew the path with a finger, Rykea realized that it spiraled its way up the arm and stopped sharply at the elbow.

"How…?" Rykea wasn’t sure what to say and resolved to not saying anything.

"Ah… this is an ancient scar, young one," he paused, allowing the long sleeves of his clothe to fall back in place as he let his arm hang stiffly by his side, "this was a scar from the Enchanting."

Rykea’s eyes widened, surprised at the mention of the times of sorcery. "You fought in the battles, sir?" she asked.

"I was a prisoner of the first battle," he paused before adding, "the Enchanting was a long time ago. The people have forgotten about it."

"I have the powers of the sorcerers who fought in the Enchanting, sir." Rykea said quietly, looking up into his eyes.

She thought back to the days after her father’s death, when she first realized that she had the ability to transport things without physically touching them. She had been frightened and kept the discovery to herself, worrying that she was perhaps bewitched. The villagers didn’t take nicely to those who were “different”. And Rykea knew enough at the tender age of twelve that if her abilities were discovered, she’d find herself in the woods, scavenging for fruits on trees just to stay alive. It took some years before she accepted her powers and used them discreetly to her own advantage. Not many knew about her abilities; she meant to keep it that way. There were times at night when she found herself alone with her thoughts. Those were the moments when she pondered her future and the paths that she could take. Her memories of her father’s support were the only things that kept her going. She was his pride, he had said so himself.

Rykea blinked, clearing the thoughts from her mind and focusing back on the old man before her. He was staring intently at her, as if he knew every thought that had just ran through her brain. "I know, child," he whispered, "I know." At Rykea’s silence, he continued with a reassuring voice, "do not be scared, Rykea. You have responsibilities far above those of your age. The Prophecies have spoken."

He did not bother to explain anymore and, despite Rykea’s confused look, tipped his head at her in a gesture of acceptance before turning to leave the dungeons, his robes billowing out behind him in a cloud of colors. As he rasied his hand to confirm his departure, he spoke again, voice harsh, "It does not matter your past if you are dormant in your sleep."

With that, the dungeon doors closed behind the layers of fabric of his cloak and left Rykea alone, her hands in a fist so hard that her knuckles turned white.

"Perhaps I could do you a favor and reawaken your salvador senses before you come to be of age…"

The way Kyou had said the words bothered her. She knew that salvadors had a certain age they needed to reach before their powers and inhuman strength reached maturity. The information was etched into her brain when she was only twelve.

She hadn’t killed her father.

Rykea shot up, looking around wildly at the dirty stone walls. "I’m being stupid," she murmured, more to settle her own unease than anyone else's.

"I could never have guessed."

Rykea squealed and spun around, hands at her side, spells and incantations in mind. "You!" She spat, glaring at the amused look on Kyou's face.

"Me," he acknowledged quietly, "indeed, Mistress."

She knew he was mocking her, but said nothing of it. "You’re awake."

"Yes, and I pray you have sent the caretakers on their way for my second beating?" His voice was cold as he nodded at the rust-colored whip that lay quietly in the corner. Rykea followed his gesture and shuddered involuntarily, her voice steely as she slowly turned to face Kyou again.

"No, and I have no desire to," she said, surprising herself.

Kyou raised an eyebrow at her, eyes narrowing into a suspicious glance. "Really?"

She did not answer but turned away sharply. Rykea never talked to prisoners like this, nor did she ever help heal one. In fact, she had nothing to do with them after they had been sent to the dungeons. The only reason she was present the day before was because-

Because she wanted to be there. There was just something about Kyou that attracted her curiosity. Rykea bit her lip and crossed the room to the stone walls. She leaned against it lightly, fingering a strand of hair. "How do you feel?" she asked, looking up into his eyes.

"What?" he questioned, eyes scrunched in confusion.

"How do you feel?" She repeated patiently.

"What do you mean 'How do I feel?' How the hell do you think I feel?" Kyou shot back.

Rykea rolled her eyes, "Oh yes, of course. You must feel wonderful."

"Yeah, I do."

She glared at him only to receive a glare in return. "You’re welcome,” she spat vehemently, willing him to understand her words and what she had done for him. She backed down at the last second as she changed her mind and, without waiting for an answer, turned and reached for the dungeon doors.

"Wait."

Rykea didn't want to wait but she complied, knowing what was to come.

"You did this, didn't you?" His tone held no trace of accusation.

She turned slightly before saying, "I don't know why. God help me, but I don't know why." Then, she pulled open the heavy iron doors of the dungeon and exited the room, the rusty gates swinging to a close silently behind her already fading footsteps.

---

Kyou wasn't surprised when the caretakers failed to show up later in the day. In fact, he wasn't surprised when a week went by with no lashings. His wounds were healing quickly; the deeper cuts were closing and the smaller ones had already smoothed out, leaving no trace behind. Kyou knew how he was healing so fast, knew why the caretakers had not shown up. What he needed to know was why. He had not seen Rykea for a week and secretly wondered if anyone still knew of his existence. Why had she helped him? The doors creaked open and the thoughts flew from his mind as he snapped his head around to view the intruder.

It was Rykea, with a bowl of what appeared to be thick soup and a stone basin of water that trailed idly behind her. She seemed paler than the last time he saw her, a strange contrast to the dark hair that hung past her shoulders down to her waist in a thick braid. Kyou blinked, tilting his head to stare at the stone basin, noting the soft towel that hung at its side. It seemed to be floating an inch above the dungeon floors, which was like nothing he had ever witnessed.

The Enchanting. Those who fought in the Enchanting; they had powers such as these.

His mind was a blank as he fought to make sense of the situation. She's a sorceress? His thoughts were disturbed, however, when Rykea released whatever force she had applied on the basin and letting it fall on the ground with a dull thud. Kyou watched as the water splashed out and trickled down the sides onto the stone floor. The sound of creaking hinges caught his attention and he snapped up, watching with a mixture of curiosity and dread as Rykea pulled a metal barricade over the dungeon doors.

“What the hell is that for?” he blurted, not really expecting an answer.

As he had predicted, she did not respond but lifted her hands so that her palms were facing him. He cringed and leaned back heavily into the walls and waited anxiously for what he thought would be a personal lashing. Damn, why the hell did I tease her? He was surprised when his worries were rewarded with the screech of rusty nails being pulled out from the chains that bound him. Before he could react, he felt himself fall and landed, a second later, on the hard floor. He yelped in shock as pain shot through his body.

Kyou managed to recover quickly and sprang up, hands in a fist, ready to fight if he needed to. His actions were returned with a stony glare from the young girl before the bowl of soup drifted calmly towards him, ending up in front of his face.

“Drink it. You’ll probably feel better.” She said, her voice betraying no emotions.

He eyed the bowl wearily and said, “How do I know it’s not poisoned?”

The girl sighed a histrionic sigh and waved a hand toward him in exasperation. “You don’t, idiot. If you want to drink it, drink it. If you don’t, then let it go to waste and amuse yourself by watching the rats gulp it down.”

Kyou narrowed his eyes and wrapped his hands around the bowl, swallowing his bruised pride and savoring the warmth that was emitted from the bowl. Dipping his head, he placed chapped lips on the bowl’s rough edge and drank, cautiously at first but quickly devouring the liquid completely, relishing in the renewed warmth that flooded his body and soothed his sore muscles. He never thought sapien food would affect him in such a way.

His predatory senses snapped him back to reality, however, when he realized that Rykea had been watching his actions. He cleared his throat sheepishly and scuffled back a few steps. The bowl tugged itself from his hands and was pulled back towards the slayer by some invisible force. Kyou finally decided it was safe enough to let loose his defenses, especially when the slayer was standing by in a relaxed fashion. He still had trouble taking in strange scene he had witnessed a moment ago. Bowls don’t float by themselves... Kyou wondered if there were any strings attached, literally, just to trick him and drive him crazy. He quickly pushed that thought out of his mind. It wasn’t one of the methods sapiens used. The only things they liked were whips and dungeon cells. It was only when the young girl spoke that Kyou returned his attention on her. “Come over here,” she said.

Kyou blinked and squinted at her, feeling his body once again shift into awareness. “Why?” he questioned.

She sighed again, her frustration obvious before disappearing from sight and reappearing right in front of him. She purposely stuck her face up close to his and Kyou yelped in surprise, jumping away from her. “What the hell are you?” he blurted as he felt his back come in contact with the wall. The girl only rolled her eyes in reply, muttering softly about men and stupidity. “You know I can hear you, right?”

Rykea did not reply but marched towards him calmly, snapping her fingers. A roll of bandages fell from somewhere above and she caught it easily, unrolling them as she stopped directly in front of Kyou. He was glad she had good sense to keep her distance this time. He was surprised however, when she reached out and grasped his right arm, her grip surprisingly strong for her age. The towel from before drifted into her waiting hand and she started cleaning the wounds on his arm, all the while keeping her gaze away from his.

Kyou felt anger build up in him as she started wrapping the bandages firmly on his arm in an experienced way. Special treatments? Did sapiens value perfection so much that they even wanted their enemies to be completely clean and healed before death? He had never heard of such a thing, but expected no good to come out of it. “Do all your prisoners get the special treatment before their execution day?” he hissed in disgust, expecting to be killed right after this.

Her head snapped up as his words and she stared at him in disbelief. She opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind last minute as her gaze hardened and she let his hand drop. Turning curtly, she walked briskly towards the doors as the stone basin containing the unused water scooted frantically after her fast pace.

Kyou frowned and pondered whether to go after her and damage his pride even more, or let her walk out of the dungeons and leave him to wonder for the rest of his time alive why she had done what she did. He chose his pride. In a few strides, Kyou was at the doors, but the girl had sensed his approach and slipped through easily, reaching out in a heartbeat to pull the heavy doors closed and make her escape. He quickly edged his foot against the door and winced as the heavy door slammed into his bare foot.

“Oh my god!” the shrill exclamation pierced his eardrums and he groaned, both at the pain in his foot and in his head.

“Shut the hell up!” he yelled back, flouncing unceremoniously onto the floor to nurse his bruised foot.

Her hands were warm as she touched his foot gently, wisps of words escaping her lips. In a moment, the pain had ebbed away and he could only stare in astonishment at his completely healed foot. Kyou remained rooted to his spot and lifted stunned eyes to her nervous gaze. “Wha-?” “Don't ask, please.” she interrupted, “and don't say anything to anyone about what I've done.” the fear in her voice caught his attention and he nodded dumbly.

Kyou did not move as she stood up and dusted off her clothes. Once again, she made her way to the dungeon doors and paused, as if she was inviting him to come after her, before pulling the doors open for the second time. As she was about to leave the room, Kyou snapped out of his trance and marched towards her shakily. “Why?” he questioned softly.

Rykea's gaze was lowered as she shook her head, saying, “You're free to go. Please leave quickly and inconspicuously. Do not ever return and do not ever mention what you have seen today.” She lifted her head to meet his bewildered gaze.

“What about you?” he asked quickly.

“I have a prominent position in the Alliance. Do not worry about me.” she paused, hesitating, “once you return to your Council, you must forget everything that has happened here and talk to no one about what you have gone through.”

She started to turn and leave but he took her by the wrist and pulled her back towards him, their bodies touching for a brief moment as he bent down and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. “A little something for your hard work, love.” Twisting his body, Kyou slipped out the door and strolled casually past the bewildered girl, an amused smirk gracing his lips. His cocky expression did not betray the frantic beating of his heart. His lips still tingled from the kiss and he briefly wondered if the girl had placed some kind of spell on him.

Our souls are linked, sapien.

Kyou calmed himself and pushed the thought to the back of his mind and tried once again to make sense of the current situation. Damn it. He was free, but where the hell should he go? He slipped past the corner of the silent metal hallways and grimaced at the intricate surveillance set up at the end of the hall. Only those with the appropriate password could possibly get into the Alliance's headquarters. Kyou thought back to Rykea and raised an eyebrow at the power the girl apparently wielded. She's just a kid...

The muted thumping of running footsteps alerted him and he spun around, coming face to face with Rykea. “What the-” he started but was interrupted by her gesture of silence. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the only door at the end of the corridor.

“Shh. They're coming.” she whispered, pulling him closer to her.

Kyou stared at her in confusion. “What are you-”

“Shh!” she hissed, sending him a glare.

“But we're-”

“For heaven's sake just shut up!” she bit her lip and looked worriedly at the door. The footfalls were clearer now, and Kyou cautiously leaned forward. They were scrunched in a tight corner behind the door. As the footsteps approached the other side of the door, Rykea placed a palm on the cool metal, applying some pressure. As she moved, a pleasant smell of vanilla and cherry blossoms flooded Kyou's senses and he closed his eyes, breathing in her scent.

“Hey lover boy,” she whispered jokingly and Kyou snapped awake, blushing profusely. “We're going to make a run for it. When they open that door, you slam the door in their faces. Then, you run and I'll clean up after you.”

Kyou agreed silently as the door opened in a silent swing. When the first of footsteps were heard, he threw his entire weight against the door, slamming it shut. The loud exclamations and groans of pain could be heard from the other side of the door. He grinned to himself and pulled open the door, Rykea at his side. His elation waned as he took in the scene before him. It was one of the Elders; Kyou could tell from his aged skin. But it wasn't the Elder that surprised him. It was the eight men that stood sullenly at his side. These sapiens... isn't there supposed to be ten of them? A slight groan sounded from his left and he glanced down, noticing the man that he had knocked down a second ago. Number nine... The last member of the group was standing right next to him, and he realized it only when she stepped forward with a grim look on her face. Ironically, Kyou knew the group quite well. After all, they were the same group of ten who had captured Kyou only a week before.

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