Young Writers Society

(Oh no...you better have some lotion and stuff on hand!)

Emery took out the key and unlocked the door. "Okay! Go ahead."

(Yeahhh I got anti itch cream I already put on after my shower. So. Uh. We shall see if this is a thing or if my brain is just catastrophizing)

“Thank you.” Ky dipped her head to him and knocked then pushed the door open without waiting for a response. He wouldn’t be in a compromising situation right now. Not after all this.

She was correct.

He’d instead been anxiously pacing. His heart was fluttery when she opened the door, even though he’d heard her voice.

“Hey,” she said quietly.

“Hey,” he said, glancing over her shoulder to see what trouble was in her wake. He was surprised to see that neither Aleth nor Ash or Bay were with her. Just a harmless looking man. He looked back at her and raised his eyebrows in a silent question or if she was okay. She nodded and furrowed her brow at him to return the question, which he nodded to.

She strode inside.

(Ok good. I hope it all works!)

Emery nodded to Tadaaki, then headed down the hall to give them privacy.

Tadaaki returned the nod.

Ky shut the door behind her.

Tadaaki rushed forward almost instantly, letting his stoic persona shatter in an instant. He wrapped his arms around her in what he intended to be a tight hug, but thought better of it when he remembered her sling. He still hugged her, though. “I’m so, so, so sorry, Ky! I-I didn’t know — I feel so stupid — I should have known he was tricking me…”

(Aw baby)

A soldier approached Aleth's cell and handed a loaf of bread, a cup of water, and a heap of blankets through the bars.
"Lucky lucky lucky!" Loren jeered, spitting at the soldier.

“Thank you,” Aleth murmured, ducking his head. He was lucky. And he wasn’t going to push said luck.


“It’s okay,” she murmured, embracing him as tightly as she could with only one arm. “It… was not a great decision… a bad one, even…”

Tadaaki nodded miserably.

“But… it’s… if it had to come out, it’s best that he dragged it out of you now rather than a month or two or three down the road. We’d be fucked if we’d already caused harm…”

Tadaaki nodded again, still holding her close. It was anyone’s guess whether it was for himself or for her.

“… they just took Aleth to the dungeon,” she murmured after a moment.

Tadaaki was silent for a long moment, then, “Gods.” He let out a shaky breath.

The soldier nodded, then kicked Loren's cell. Loren chuckled and bared his teeth.

Now it was Ky’s turn to nod. “I… feel like we are…” she let out a shaky breath. “What’s going to happen to us, Aaki?”

He tensed, swallowing hard. “You… you’re the one who’s supposed to know… to be able to predict…”

“I couldn’t have predicted a goddamn thing that’s happened in the past hour.”

Tadaaki pulled her closer. “I know. I’m sorry. This isn’t your fault. I’m sorry.”

She’d tensed defensively, but now crumpled against him again. Her voice was very, very quiet when she said, “they’re claiming they believe us. That we’re safe here. Even once Aleth starts talking.”

“…. You believe them?”

“… I want to…”

"Hey, Al." Loren leaned through the bars once the soldier left, turning his good eye to Aleth. "It's cold in here....would you pass me a blanket, hmm?"

Aleth hesitated, considering.

He couldn’t give fewer shits if this man was cold or hungry or anything else. These were his resources. His.

But what would a slave do? Ash would probably be watching.



“… so what do we do?” Tadaaki asked after a moment.

“Be on our absolute best behavior,” Ky said. “When they say ‘jump’ we don’t even ask ‘how high?’ We just jump as high as we can as many times as we can before they say to stop.”

Tadaaki nodded quickly. “Straight and narrow.”

“Straight and narrow,” she agreed with a nod, finally pulling away. “Make sure you don’t look even a little bit suspicious. Like… stay with your babysitter. Perfectly. No wandering off even if they say you can go a little ways away. Make sure they watch you. Every single moment. Make sure they have proof you’re behaving.”

“… what about now?”

“Emery is coming back very shortly to start watching us again. Hell, for all I know he’s listening at the door now. But. Well. We have a moment breathe until then… I think he feels bad for us.”

"Come on." He reached through the bars with a bony hand. "Please? I'll tell you a secret."

“… what sort of secret?” Those were a precious commodity indeed.


“Okay, okay, so obey. Beg them to watch me. What else?” Tadaaki looked at her like a little boy waiting for orders even though he was quite a few years older than her. “I’ll do anything you say. I promise. I won’t get tricked again.”

Ky shook her head slightly. “Just tell the truth. At this point, nothing else could be worse than what they already know.” She took a deep breath. “… we… can hope… that it takes a while for word to get out. Maybe we can figure out how to get to Aashi and Tasia before the plan goes into effect?”

“Gods.” What had he done?

"A good one. Blanket first."

“About what?” Aleth walked to the door and weighed one of his blankets in his hands to torment the man. He wasn’t a fool. He was going to come out on top; regardless of if that meant he had information or warmth.


Tadaaki started trembling so Ky pulled him into a hug again. He held her tightly. “I-I shouldn’t have—gods.”

No. He really shouldn’t have. But what use was there in kicking him when was down? “We’ll figure this out. We just… have to stay calm. Don’t panic.” Again.

“I have to get to them,” Tadaaki said firmly. “I have to get them away before the assassins know to go after them. I have to go.”

“You have to wait,” her voice was gentle but firm. “If you start begging to leave now it’ll look terrible. Like you’re hiding something else. Or trying to get a message out or something. We are stuck here. At least for a while. Until we can prove ourselves.”

“Gods.”

"Getting out. Blanket. Give me the fucking blanket."