Disarray

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

What seemed like hours were only seconds as Aden stood, in utter distress.

          “Fear not,” Malifar stated, sounding strangely compassionate. “He is only unconscious.” Aden breathed in shutters; the fear surging through his body began to calm, only then replaced with urgency. If Rylan were only sleeping, perhaps he would remember when he awoke.

          “A cell is no place for someone whose life still may be in danger,” Malifar said to Arilia. She glanced at him questioningly, as if asking why. “It seems to me that Zayleth is dead, why would Rylan still be a threat?”

          “You may move him to a windowless room with guards stationed at the door. He will not be permitted any visitors, except for Aden and you.” Arilia answered, her voice devoid of emotion. Without another word, she left.

          “Will you inform me when he wakes?” Aden asked, his voice hardly above a whisper.

          “Certainly,” Malifar replied. “It will be best if you are the first person he sees. Rylan will be temporarily living in a room near yours, on the second floor, until we are sure of his condition. You may visit him anytime you wish.”

          Aden nodded, silently thanking him. He suddenly thought of Raelein, how Rylan/Zayleth had killed her. He decided that he would visit her tomorrow, after he saw Rylan. He didn’t want to press further his luck, so he was going to refrain from seeing him until the morning.

          “Thank you, Malifar.” Aden said. Malifar nodded, and Aden left. The sun was beginning to set, but Aden was already exhausted. After the battle, and the few hours he’d spent cleaning up, he was positively fatigued.

          His body ached terribly, every muscle screamed at the cause of today’s overuse. He tried not to think about how it would feel tomorrow. Aden crawled into his bed, and fell asleep immediately.

Aden slept in quite late the next morning, almost until dinner. He was sore, as he had predicted, and wished to stay in bed all day. However, he wanted to visit Rylan and Raelein, so he forced himself to get up.

          After going to eat an early dinner/late breakfast, he eagerly made his way toward the sleeping hall. No one had come to alert him, so Rylan must be doing alright. Aden passed his room, and climbed the staircase leading up to the second floor.

          Which room Rylan was in wasn’t a hard thing to find. Two guards stood on either side of the door, looking bored, but alert. Without a word of questioning, they allowed him to enter.

          Aden had refrained from thinking about this visit; he didn’t wish to build up hope only to have it dashed. He didn’t really want to know what to expect.

          Rylan sat at the lone table in the room, and glanced up only slightly when he entered. Several candles lit up the room, for as Arilia had ordered, there were no windows of which he might escape. A plain bed was in the corner of the room, and besides the table and two chairs, it was virtually empty.

          Aden took a deep breath, and spoke.

          “How are you feeling?” he asked, somehow managing to sound composed. Rylan looked up, and raised an eyebrow. His eyes were green again.

          “Fine,” Rylan replied. “Who are you?” The question might as well have been a knife; it felt like he had been stabbed.

          “I am Aden.” He answered.