Dance of the Damned

Silence

“Roshi.” Oscar walked to Micah who was busy eating his bread. “Are you feeling alright?”

“You didn’t try to kill him, did you, Carvill?” Micah asked, looking up at him innocently, chocolate stained on his pale cheeks.

“I wanted to,” Oscar said, pulling out a napkin from his pocket and began wiping Micah’s cheeks. “But I knew I couldn’t. Not until you gave me the permission to.”

“You know I would never give you the permission to kill him.” Micah laughed, eating the last of his bun.

“I know, but it was worth a shot.” He shrugged, looking at Micah’s slightly downcast expression. “You were too nice to him. You should have been a little stricter and harsher.”

“And what? Gain his respect out of fear?” Micah asked, resting his head on the table. “I would never do that to anyone, Carvill. No matter what happens.”

“You are too kind, that is why people think it is easy to use you,” Carvill said, frowning as he took a seat beside Micah. “Don’t you wish for proper respect? Especially from the people you are risking your life to protect.”

“Now, now, Carvill,” Micah said, reaching up and patting his head. “I do not do the things I do to gain their respect. If they come to me and ask for help, and I promise them help. That is what I am going to do.

“I told Britton I was going to help him save his daughter and that is what I did. I kept my end of the bargain and that is all that matters.”

“You will wear yourself dry doing that,” Oscar said, sighing. “Should we leave then?”

“Sure.” Micah jumped off the table and took his walking stick in hand. “They should be here soon.”

Walking out of the cafeteria, Oscar held Micah’s bag of buns, now down to half, while they made their way out of the hospital.

Reaching the reception, there was a commotion of a man asking for something but no one seemed to be paying him any mind.

He kept saying, “Elizabeth and her father” but there were so many Elizabeth’s in this hospital and with each of them having a father, that does not help narrow it down.

Elizabeth never used her last name in the other kingdom and always just said that her name is Elizabeth, so that would mean that he does not know how to narrow it down and … now he is in trouble.

“Is that him?” Oscar asked, pointing to the man.

“Yes,” Micah said, looking over at Oscar. “He looks like he could use a bit of help, don’t you think so? Oscar?”

“Excuse me.” Oscar walked to the man and smiled kindly. “Are you, perhaps Elizabeth Hitosh’s fiancée? Brown-haired woman, from the neighbouring kingdom?”

“Yes!” The man said happily. “I am. Do you know her? Is she here? I heard that she is here with her injured father from a woman doctor and came as quickly as I could.”

“She is here,” Oscar said, putting on a solemn expression. “You will need to hurry, her father is dying right now and she has no one with her.”

“What number is her room?” The man asked, slightly frantic again. “Could you please tell me?”

“402,” Oscar said, putting his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Please hurry. I have urgent business to take care of so I cannot be there though I am a friend of her father’s. Here is my card, update me on anything.”

“Thank you, sir.” The man said, taking his card and running in the direction Oscar pointed him to.

Walking back to Micah, Carvill handed him another bun. “Are you not sick of this already? How many have you eaten?”

“I lost count after ten,” Micah said, shrugging as the two began walking again. “What do you think of the man? A good match for her?”

“He seems like a decent person,” Oscar said, holding the door open for Micah. “But I don’t know enough about him to place a judgment.”

“I can’t understand that.” Micah chuckled, walking down the stairs as the moonlight shone down on them. “Morgan did a good job sending him here.”

“She is right in the middle of the relief, so she must have met him. Then again, you already knew that.”

“You know me too well, Carvill,” Micah said, grinning at the man. “Hey, it’s such a beautiful night. Why don’t we pass that place?”

“Are you sure about that, Roshi?” Oscar asked, brows furrowing at him.

“I am,” Micah said, beaming. “We have the time and I want to go for a bit of a walk. Ok?”

“It’s dark and it’s late,” Oscar argued back. “Besides it might be cold and you really aren’t wearing anything warm too. Maybe another time?”

“It will be really quick. Pllleeeaaassseee.”

“Alright. A quick walk.” Oscar said sighing. Why can I never say no to him?

“Yay! You are the best, Carvill.” Micah said, as they turned the corner and began walking through the sleeping city, with lanterns hanging at the side of the road to light up their way.

The only things that could be heard were the little creaking of the insects and the hooting of the owls on the trees as a cool breeze passed them, playing with their hair and clothes.

Shadows of trees and buildings could be made out in the distance but there is not much else to see. It must be around two in the morning which makes it highly unlikely that anyone would be awake at this time.

“Do you know the way there?” Oscar asked, walking a few steps behind Micah as the boy continued in front of him, humming to himself.

“I have it memorized like the back of my hand,” Micah said, grinning at Oscar. “Do YOU remember, Carvill?”

“Of course I do, Roshi,” Oscar said, as their every step against the gravel road seemed to resound in the quietness of the place. “How could I ever forget?”

“Hmm? Let’s talk about something else for the time being.” Micah said, seeming to notice the solemn atmosphere around them. “Let me guess, you and Morgan went to see Juliet?”

“You knew?”

“I guessed Morgan would take you.” Micah shrugged, twirling the walking stick in his hands. “It appears my guess was correct. I see you both are as close as ever.”

“I wouldn’t say that we are close,” Oscar said, scratching the back of his head. “We are just … friendly.”

“Being friendly is good,” Micah said brightly, turning to Oscar. “So, what did you find out? Was the girl able to tell you what you needed to hear?”

“I wondered why you wanted someone stealthy just to start that fire. Because just about anyone can do it.” Oscar said, chuckling. “I guess I know now. You have a way of impressing me every time, Roshi.”

“I am glad you felt impressed,” Micah said, grinning. “But … maybe I should have warned her, the sight must have been horrifying to watch. Then again, if I did warn her, she may not have seen it.

“I should visit her one day and compensate for making her have to see that. You heard the details?”

“I did.” Oscar thought for a second. “She said that she ran from the fire and had to take a secret tunnel at the corner of the castle to get to the other side.

“There she ran into a group of people and hid just as screaming came from some people. Peeking out, she saw five people on the ground, blood pooling all around them and another five standing, looking at the dead.

“I believe, if it had ended there, then it would have been fine for her. But she had to witness them cutting their bodies up and disposing some part of the body into a fire while taking the other parts in a sack.

“She was shaking as she recounted this experience. Poor girl.”

Micah bent down and picked up a pebble, feeling the stone in his hands, he turned to Oscar. “Was she able to describe how they look like?”

“She was, and Morgan was able to draw the five out. But ... what are we supposed to do with this information? That kingdom is relying on us right now, though no one can tell what happened to the royal family and many are still trying to investigate.” Oscar walked a little closer to Micah, the darkness surrounding them. “The entire royal family disappearing in one night, I can understand their concern.”

“Do this first,” Micah said, throwing the pebble he picked up in the air and catching it in his hands over and over again. “Find those five men and bring them to me alive. Also, do not let anyone know of this.

“There are four of us that know about this. Make sure no one else does. Understand?”

“Yes, Roshi,” Oscar said as the two paused in front of a large iron gate. “We are here. W-would you like me to go in with you?”

“No, wait here,” Micah said, opening the gate and stepping in without saying another word.