Taken
Your head was pounding. That’s all you could focus on, the pain. You tried moving but your body refused. Groaning, you slowly opened your eyes and were met with instant regret. The dungeon was it's usual dark but even that seemed too much for you, wincing you quickly closed your eyes again. What happened? You strained to remember anything from before you blacked out.
“He…o?”
Huh? Was that a voice? You could barely hear anything over the pounding in your ears.
“Ar..…yo…wake?”
Definitely a voice. You tried to focus on the sound. Whose voice was that? You didn’t recognize it.
“Are..u….ok?”
The boy! The events of last night came flooding back. He survived! You willed yourself to speak, to move, to do anything to signal to him you were alive. Frantic, you tried to open your eyes again, flinching at the soft light emitting from the cell door. Pushing through the pain, you focused on finding the source of the voice. Your eyes slowly began to focus and you realized you were looking at the roof of your cell, you tried to shift your head to get a better view but a searing pain caused you to stop. You let out a groan.
“You are awake.”
A shadow moved into your vision, blocking some of the light and relieving some of your headache. You blinked a few times, refocusing your vision again. The boy’s face came into view, he was a little less pale than you remember but you couldn't make out much more of his condition from here. He stayed at arm’s reach, his eyes locking on to yours as if he was sizing you up. You stared back unwilling to be the first to blink. He moved first, shifting out of your view. You tried shifting your head again but this time something stopped you. You froze. Cold. So cold. The boy had placed his hands on your shoulders, holding you in place. How were his hands still so cold?
“I would resist moving at this time. You seem to have hit your head. I bandaged you up the best I was able, but sadly I do not excel at healing.”
I thought my head felt heavy. I must have hit it when I passed out.
“th….u?” Your voice came out hoarse. How long have I been out? You cleared your throat and tried again. “Thank you.”
A look of surprise flashed across the boy’s face but it was soon replaced with a sheepish smile as he turned away.
“A-Well, I could not let you die after you so graciously saved me.” The boy was looking at his hands which were fidgeting back and forth. Wait! How did he know I saved him? As you began to playback the last night in your head you heard the boy breathe out. You looked back in his direction, he had plastered a calm façade across his face, but his fingers still twiddled between his hands. He looked back towards you, “Thank you.”
You responded with a slight nod, as much as you could muster without hurting your head any further. Your headache had nearly subsided and you were regaining your ability to move. You slowly lifted your hand, feeling your head for any remaining injuries. You let out a soft gasp as your hands brushed across a cloth-like material placed on your forehead.
"My apologies, I can assist you with that."
The boy shifted beside you, and shortly after you felt his cold hands brush against your forehead.
"I thought it would be best to cover the wound, but if you wish it removed that is your decision."
You caught glimpses of green and gold cloth as the boy pulled the fabric off of you. He must have used his own robes to bandage me.
“It seems to have stopped bleeding, however, I am sure you have suffered some sort of concussion. I would suggest not moving for a while to let it heal further.” He removed the last of the bandages from your head, setting them all in a neat pile beside you. “I am surprised at how quickly you have healed. When I woke up and saw your condition I had assumed you would die no matter my involvement.”
You gave a half-hearted laugh, which sent a dull wave of pain through your body, “I am glad you took it upon yourself to get involved anyways.”
Your body was always quick to heal, a unique ability of your race. Usually, a non-fatal injury would heal in a matter of hours. So you must have exhausted yourself more than you thought for an injury like this to take so long to heal. You gently placed your hand on your head and used your other arm to slowly prop yourself up.
“I thought I suggested you not to move.” The boy begrudgingly helped you into a sitting position.
“Yeah sorry.” You groaned as you lay back against a wall. “I’m a little bit stubborn.”
The boy let out a small laugh, “clearly.”
He sat down beside you, still out of arms reach. He must be as sacred as I am. This was a first for you. In your entire time here as a prisoner you never had a cellmate before. It would be foolish to think the guards did not have some ulterior motive for putting him in this cell with you. However, he did help you, which means a little trust was owed and if you both wanted to survive here you would need to trust each other. You turned towards him.
“(Y/N).”
The boy turned to face you. Eyebrow raised.
“(Y/N), that’s my name.”
The boy looked down as if weighing his options. You waited patiently until he looked towards you again.
“My name is Loki.”
“Nice to meet you.” You gave him a small wave and a little smile. He responded with a small smile of his own. You blushed a little. He’s cute when he smiles. You looked down, trying to think of something else to talk about. However, he was the next to speak.
“How long have they kept you here?”
You looked back towards him, then turned towards the back wall. Loki turned his head to follow your gaze. Your eyes traced over the tally marks on the wall.
“Too long,” you sighed.
Loki’s eyes widened at the realization of what he was looking at. He turned back to you. You saw pity in his eyes.
“I stopped counting a long time ago, I’m guessing something like 300 years or so. This is the only home I remember now.”
“Why?” You raised an eyebrow at him.
“Why what?”
“Why would they keep you this long, you must serve a purpose?”
As if on cue footsteps echoed through the dungeon. You both turned to the cell door. This is bad. You haven’t had time to recover from healing Loki. If they come for you now it will not end well. You turned towards Loki. His calm demeanor was failing as a look of dread covered his face. Your hands were shaking as you heard the footsteps get closer and closer. You couldn’t let the guards see that you healed Loki, they would punish you, or him, or both of you. I have to protect him. You let out a shaking breath.
“Move back.”
Loki turned towards you. You could see the fear in his eyes now.
“Move to the back wall. Stay in the shadows until I come back.”
The guards were nearly at your cell. Loki crept towards the back wall, pausing a moment to look back towards you. You tried your hardest to look brave, giving a slight nod and then turning towards the cell door. You took a moment to gain your nerve, then slowly stood up, using the wall as a support. The guards came to a stop near the front of your cell.
“Shields up.”
The guards made the all too familiar motion and blue shields materialized in front of them. Slowly, you moved toward the front of your cell. Your head began pounding again but you ignored it.
“Well, well, not going to put up a fight this time?”
One guard let out a loud laugh.
“Open cell 5.”
The door was disarmed and the guards slowly entered the cell. One stayed in front of you while the other circled behind. You were used to this dance by now, and while you normally resisted you didn’t have the will this time. One guard came from behind grabbing your arms while the other guard aimed a gun at your head.
“Aww come on (Y/N) I expect more from you.”
The guard behind you clapped handcuffs on your wrists and pushed you towards the cell door. You nearly lost your footing, catching yourself from stumbling forward at the last second. Neither guard seemed to notice, or care. The guard in front of you turned around, lowering his weapon and shield, and walked out of the cell. You followed shortly behind him. You could feel Loki’s eyes on you and you silently prayed he wouldn’t move. You made it out of the cell and continued walking through the dungeon.
“Close cell 5.”
You let out a breath you didn’t even realize you were holding. At least he was safe.