Smoke and Mirrors

Chapter 11

Val was the one that hauled him back to the cabin, Mystice being too weak to carry the sleeping boy back.  Now, he laid on a small bed in one of the spare rooms; she laid next to him, keeping him company.  Her head rested on his chest; she could feel it rising up and down with every breath.
  "Mystice," he yawned. "Are you awake?"
  "Yeah."  As he said that, she snuggled closer.  She felt his body relax as he wrapped an arm around her.
  "Who killed who?" She was consumed with curiosity.
  "My father," he paused, sniffling. "He killed my mother."
  She looked at him, tears filling her eyes. "I am so sorry, Aske; I had no idea."
  "It's fine.  It was a long time ago."  He pushed the hair away from her eyes.  Her cheeks grew hot and her body started to tremble to his touch. "You're beautiful, you know that?"
  They grew close until their lips touched.  His lips were soft. Softer than a satin dress.  She could feel Aske filling this space of loneliness that was engraved in her heart.
  They pulled away, gazing into each other's eyes.
  He gave her a smile, then kissed her one last time. "I'm going to help you find your father, if it's the last thing I do."
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  Fluego could feel himself withering away from reality.  It was painful; it felt as if someone was rearranging the bones in his body repeatedly.
  Out of nowhere, the cell door opened for the first time in weeks- almost a full month.  Aries walked through, shut it, and leaned against it.
  "You do realize no one's going to come and save you, right?"  She made a sound that resembled a laugh. "Even if they do, you'll be dead before they arrive.  So, what's the point of holding on anymore?"
  "I have to see her," he mumbled.
  "The dragon?"  This time she did laugh.  She actually full-on laughed.  It sounded like a laugh that a person did when they heard or saw something that they found hilarious, and they couldn't stop laughing or thinking about it for a while.  "She's dead!"
  His heart seemed to stop, and his breath caught in his throat.  After hearing that, he was starting to lose the last bit of hope he had left.
  "My friends ate the poor thing, ripped her to shreds.  It's tragic, really."
  "You're a liar,"  he didn't think he would actually say those words out loud, but there he was; he had actually done it.
  This angered the crap out of her. "Believe me or don't believe me: you're still going to die here!"  The frustration was clear in her voice.
  "I don't care,"  he looked away, avoiding eye contact with her.
  "Fine, be that way!"
  Slam!  He was all alone again.