A Court of Queens

The Seventh Son

That night as Jazlyn drifted off to sleep she was awoken by the noise of scratching against the floor, she looked over at the door and saw a rat's head poking out from under the frame, the creature struggled to squeeze the rest of its body through the gap. The sight would have startled Jazlyn if she hadn't been so desensitized to vermin behaving strangely. The rodent finally fit itself under the door and approached her bed. It stood on its hind legs and extended its arm towards the door as if it were instructing her. 

"Godmother?" She whispered to the animal. The rat nodded its head. It stayed put waiting for Jazlyn to leave her bed, then it stood in front of the door and waited again."Fine, this best be important Godmother," Jazlyn grumbled. The rat squeaked enthusiastically.

Jazlyn opened the door and saw the guard stationed by her room fast asleep, leaning against the wall, snoring while standing up. He wasn't injured at least not visibly and he seemed to be enjoying his slumber so Jazlyn let him rest. She followed the rodent down the corridor, and the rodent looked back to make sure she was following. They reached a dead-end corridor with an iron door built into the wall. The bolts of the lock slipped into place and the door slowly creaked open revealing a rusty iron staircase descending deep into the earth. 

The rat raced down the steps, Jazlyn hesitated but eventually descended, the passage was just barely illuminated by the purple gems embedded in the ore. She held her hand directly in front of the violet light and felt the warmth ruminating from the crystals. She followed the rodent to the deepest depth of the cave, and a foul smell hit her nose.

"What the hell is - eww what's that smell?" Jazlyn retched

"Hello? Is someone there?" A raspy weak voice said. Jazlyn looked up and saw a pair of iron chains anchored into the ore, suspending a man in the air by his wrist. The man's face and body were almost entirely concealed by his long filthy and knotted hair. His feet dangled twenty feet off the ground but the ends of his hair coiled into a nest on the dungeon floor.

"Yes," Jazlyn said instantly regretting speaking.

"Are you real?" he asked.

"Yes of course I'm real. My name's Jazlyn, I'm from Agrabah. What's your name?"

"I'm Raphael. Do you wanna be my friend?"

"Uh yes. Yes, I do. Can you tell me why you're down here Raphael?"

"I-I'm not sure." Raphael stuttered and sniffled. "I just woke up and I was stuck, I can't get out."

Do you feel that? The godmother asked the djinn

Feel what?

 That man, I can feel his blessing potently but there's something else there speaking as well. Something inside of him or on him rather. It's screaming. 'That's a lie' 'I know' 'I remember' it says. 

"How long have you been here Raphael?" she asked.

"Hmm, I dunno, a long time."

"Days? Months....years?" Jazlyn said

"Since before the hair was on my face and my legs," he said. 

Jazlyn gasped, she wondered what a child could have possibly done to warrant such a punishment. "What do you remember from before you were in here?"

"I remember the house and my family." Raphael reminisced with longing in his voice.

"Who's your family, they're probably looking for you."

"I don't really remember mommy and daddy, but I remember my brothers and my sister. Sometimes Ms. Hiedi would play with us."

"How many siblings do you have? I'm an only child." Jazlyn said.

"I have this many brothers." Raphael extended six fingers."But one of my brothers I've never met. I've only seen him in paintings, and I have a sister too. She's my twin but she's a girl and I'm a boy." Raphael said

"Oh shit five brothers and a sister. And I thought my family was bad" Jazlyn muttered to herself.

He's an innocent prisoner just like me. The djinn sorrowed.

So this is where the seventh son ended up.

"I really miss them. I hope they find me soon."Raphael said.

"I'll tell them you're here." The words slipped from Jazlyn's tongue.

"You met them!?" Raphael said excitedly, with true hope in his voice.

"Uh y-yeah." Jazlyn stammered.

"Oh really! You mean it?" He jostled his restraints rattling the chains. In the dim light, Jazlyn could just hardly see his wide happy eyes and his big stained smile.

"Yes, I do. I'll tell them where you are and you'll see your family again real soon."

"Oh thank you! Thank you!" he cried. "I can't wait to see them all again-" Raphael rambled, reminisced, and possibly chatted with someone who wasn't there.

"This must be what it feels like to be you," Jazlyn said to the Djinn. 

No, this is far worse. I don't get hungry, or cold, or crave touch. At least I have someone to talk to even if it's not great company. Jazlyn glared at it. But my life is infinite and his is finite. I live in paradise compared to this.

"I just wish I could eat food again, drink water, or maybe milk. I really miss milk." Raphael sighed.

Technically he did just make a wish. The Godmother noted, and I could grant that wish.

You should do it. 

If I let him out... He's harmless but his hair is not. It's going to hurt a lot of people if we let him out.

I don't wish for anyone to get hurt but the girl may use a wish to imprison him again and I'll be one step closer to freedom. Do it.

Fair. I mean I wouldn't mind seeing a little carnage in Batavic it's been a while. Wish granted.

"I'll find you some mil-" Jazlyn said. There was a bright flash in the cell and the rusted iron chains turned to polished silver threads. The smell of sulfur clogged Jazlyn's nose. "What the hell just happened?"

Raphael easily pulled his hand out of the silver shackle, then snapped the other chain easily with a tug of his arm. "No way! No way!" he giggled happily as he dropped. The threads of his hair caught him before his feet touched the ground, suspending his frail malnourished body in the air. The strands of his hair solidified like thin rods, balancing Raphael's body weight on hundreds of legs. Each strand of hair sounded like a pickaxe hammering the sheetrock. The hair crawled Raphael's body over to Jazlyn, she used her shirt to cover her nose from his stench.

"Thank you," Raphael said softly. The ends of Raphael's hair dug into the wall and ascended his body up the iron steps and out of the corridor.

"What the fuck did I just do?" Jazlyn muttered to herself. She felt an invisible hand grasp her shoulder. "AH!" Jazlyn shrieked.

"Relax it's me, Isaac." a congested voice spoke. The scrawny gaunt-faced brother materialized in front of her with tears running down his face.