The Princess of Light and The Knight of Shadow

Rescue

They took him deep in a dungeon below the city, in a cell not unlike the one he had been kept in Daryon. Dark, windowless, small enough for a cot and a sink.

They hadn't bound him in chains this time, but it wasn't much of a difference; as before, the bars were studded with anti-magic crystals, and once again Nox's mind was empty save for his own.

Perhaps it was better that way. He was still reeling from what Erebos had told him about, and he didn't think he could fully believe it. Not any time soon, at least. Arabella wielded Erebos once? It seemed a cruel revelation.

There wasn't anything to do to pass the time in his cell, so Nox whittled away the hours mulling over the events of the past days. The king acted strangely, he knew, even if his reasoning was valid. Nox didn't expect him to be so calm facing the man who had almost killed Estella.

The first meal was brought in the evening, and Nox devoured the hard bread and thin soup given to him with gusto. He didn't complain; he was used to it, and he knew it would be a constant in his life once he reached Tarson.

Just thinking about that place sent shivers down his spine. Daryon may be an impenetrable prison for Faven's greatest criminals, but Tarson was hell on earth. It wasn't a prison; it was a tomb. A place to break Faven's most hated enemies.

Enemy. The thought alone sent his heart throbbing in agony. He was an enemy now, wasn't he? And if he met Estella again, she wouldn't see him the way she did before. She would probably be disgusted to even lay eyes on him.

As he lay on the cot, Nox's gaze drifted to the fork in his empty plate. Perhaps... Perhaps taking hius own life was for the best. Erebos would no longer be a threat to the kingdom, and he could finally atone for the crimes he had committed.

Slowly, he rose and knelt on the floor, taking the fork firmly between his fingers. Such a small thing that could end one's life. It would be painful, he knew, and he would suffer long before everything ended at last in eternal darkness.

And he would finally be reunited with his family, with Ria. And they could all be happy once more.

Taking in a lungful of air, Nox raised the fork... and let it clattered to the bare floor.

No. What a foolish thought. He had died once; if he took it by his own hands, then what was the point of his struggles? What was the point of having lived through everything? And Estella. He still had a promise to keep. A futile promise, but a promise nonetheless.

And he would fulfill it, no matter how long it would take.

***

They came for him at what Nox presumed was dawn. The trampling boots roused him from sleep, and he sat up, knowing what was to come.

Somehow, he wasn't afraid. They were just exiling him. It didn't matter if he escaped along the way. Thus, he formed a plan. A risky plan that could just as well kill him.

Outside his cell, the guard appeared. Behind him trailed a line of six Wielders. Five were armed, tall and imposing, but the last one, lithe and a foot shorter, was barehanded.

Odd. Then again, Nox was bound in anti-magic chains. The escort leader was confident that he wouldn't pose any harm.

How wrong he would be.