What? His head whipped around as he turned to stare at her. The girl had a habit of asking the strangest questions."Why do you want to know?" he questioned her with a suspicious look.
"Do you?" she repeated more persistently.
"What does it does matter, when we are both likely to die soon?" he countered.
"You have not answered my question, General."
"Well, I do not," he replied in a flat voice after a moment's hesitation. It was an honest answer. There was little that he knew about her in the short period which they've spent together. As a rule, Severin despised everyone, but he despised her less so. Trust was another matter. The only person he could rely on was himself.
She sat for long moments in quiet contemplation, her expression inscrutable. At last, Aaliyah spoke, "I can... get us out of here."
She was definitely ill.
"The hunger must have affected your mind," Severin remarked as a frown deepened on his face. Despite her refusal to eat, he knew that she could not last much longer. The healthy glow had longed left her skin, as dark shadows were now prominent underneath her eyes. She was too thin and too frail. "There is some leftover bread which you can you eat," he offered. Their food ration was scarce--hardly enough for a single person--but he had saved some for her in spite of his own gnawing hunger.
Aaliyah shook her head.
Damnable girl. "If you have death-wish, then I will not interfere. Perhaps it's better to die of starvation than to repeatedly raped by a bunch of mercenaries."
She flinched at his harsh words, her pale gaze averted.
Any of the other men would jump at the chance to claim her as their conquest. If not for her beauty, then for her title. How many of them would love to boast of having bedded her? It was a wonder that she remained unmolested thus far.
He has seen the way the guards looked at her. The desire which lurked beneath their heated stares was undeniable. But they did not dare to do more than look.
The murderous glares that he sent their way was threatening enough. It might've been worse for her, Severin thought, if he was not here.
"Why am I not surprised?" Vex asked with an exasperated sigh as she approached their table, "It's hardly passed mid-day and already the two of you are drunker than monkey's uncle."
Devin promptly rose from his seat at her arrival. "Have you come to see me, love?" he teased.
She scoffed at his remark, "I've come for the girl. The bastard has asked for her."
"Now, that's no way to speak about our dear brother," Szeth chimed in.
"Just how far is your tongue shoved up his ass?"
"Hurry up and open the lock, Devin."
"Fine, fine," he muttered as he grabbed the keys.
From the corner of the cell, the general watched the three of them approached--
The one with spiked, silver hair entered first. From afar, he had initially mistaken her for a man. She had the height and shoulders of one, although slimmer in build.
The brutish one in the middle, Severin recognized to be a guard by the name of Devin, as the others called him. Even at a distance, the general could almost smell the ale coming from the man's breath. He was also one of the guards who leered at Aaliyah. Most of them did.
To the right stood a man with long, red hair and emerald green eyes. His features were delicate and fair, bordering on feminine. But despite his seraphic appearance, he was probably the most dangerous of the three. There was a sadistic gleam in his eyes, as he was probably one to take pleasure in pain.
All of them were staring at the Asharan princess.
"Get up," the woman commanded in a sharp tone.
When the Asharan princess remained unresponsive, she went over to yank her up by arm, as if the girl weighed no more than a rag doll.
"A beauty, isn't she?" the red-haired man remarked as he gazed at her appreciatively.
"Do you think that Cadeon will let us have a turn after he's done fucking her?"
That comment had been the breaking point of the general's temper--
He leapt from his position and tackled the man onto the floor, not giving anyone time to respond. Immediately, his fist connected to the man's face, making a loud cracking noise. There was not a more satisfying sound.
"Stop them!" the woman shouted.
The sound of the commotion--the yells, the screams--soon attracted the attention of the other guards who came running forth.
But still, Severin had refused to stop, and began to punch even harder. If he was to die today, then so be it.
They would not have her--not while he still drew breath. She was the bride of Ramiz, his prince and master. That should have been the reason why he felt the need to defend her honor. Duty would dictate that he protect her life with his.
However, the savagery and viciousness of his attack told of a more personal reason.
"Malik--"
The general froze. It was the first time that Aaliyah had called out his name, he realized. Why did it sound so strange, when delivered from her lips?
"Enough," she whispered. There was a quiet plea in her voice which would have gone unnoticed had he not listened carefully. That single word had been spoken so simply--so softly--and yet it held an unexplained power over him that was absolute.
"Ah, gods--he broke my nose!" Devin yelled out as he held on onto his face, blood gushing through his fingers. Holding onto the wooden bars for support, he was able to heave himself upwards.
"I say we kill him now," Devin hissed between ragged breaths, "He's already killed a dozen of our men on the ship--"
"No!" the woman shouted as she got between them. "Our orders were to capture him alive. He is not to be harmed."
"Szeth! Devin! Come, we are leaving. Now."
"How does my nose look?"
"I would say that it's an improvement."
"You fatherless, son of a whore. And just how long were you planning to stand there as I was getting my face pummeled in?"
Szeth shrugged. "You've had it coming, my friend."
For hours, he had paced back and forth in the emptiness of his cell, waiting for her.
But Aaliyah did not return that night, or even the nights thereafter. He had earlier realized that she would that she would not be returning at all.
Although she was long gone, the sound of her voice still lingered. I can get us out of here, she had said.
By what means? Had she thought that if she offered her body willingly, their captors would agree to release the two of them? It was a fool's hope. They would have raped her again and again. If she were not already dead, she would soon wish that it was so. Meanwhile he was left to rot in this cage, helpless and unable to do anything.
A priestess. She had told him once that she would have been a priestess. He laughed bitterly at the memory. Truly, what justice was there in this world? One such as her did not deserve a fate such as this.
With a final yell of frustration, Severin fell back against the stone wall, and slumped onto the floor. His body was trembling, he realized, either from rage or grief he could not imagine.
With vacant eyes, he looked to the spot where she had stood days before. With one hand outstretched, he grasped at the air, reaching for an essence of her that still remained--or so he had imagined.
Aaliyah, he whispered her name.
Solitude was once something he readily embraced. But now, for the first time in his life, Severin understood the true despair of being utterly alone.
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