Saving Kai

Chapter 6

Kai wanted to believe that his circumstances had improved, and physically, they had. Remarkably. He had food and his room was warm, proof against the autumn chill that created frost upon the window panes.

The air of anticipation that surrounded him, though, put a lie into any thought that his captors might have mercy in their souls.

It was quite clear that Kai was something to be used, if not immediately, then certainly at some point in the future.

He had merely gone from one imprisonment into another, albeit one with softer restraints.

As his health improved over time, his strength gaining ground, he waited for the time when he would be questioned. It had surprised him that he had never been forced to give information when he had first been captured, but now, in the very heart of the royalist camp, there was no reason to believe that they would overlook such a thing.

His own thoughts obviously had the power to invoke the very situation he feared.

The door opened, and Kai turned, fear rising as he realized it was not time for food.

Two powerful-looking men stood in the doorway and gestured to him impatiently. “Come, the general wishes to speak to you.”

Kai nodded and went to them, trying to hide his fear behind quiet obedience. This was no less than he had expected, and perhaps compliance would keep him in one piece.

The men did not touch him, but Kai could feel their eyes upon him, harsh with suppressed anger. It seemed he was no less hated here than he had been before, though these men seemed to have some restraint.

They passed through long corridors, the richness and luxury beyond anything Kai had seen in his life. The beauty and taste that surrounded him was soothing in some strange manner he did not understand, and he drank it in with wide eyes. He had heard his guards talking, knew that this was the very home of the General Nikolaus, the leader of the royalists, the rebels.

The general had to be a very, very wealthy man indeed, to possess such beauty in the midst of what appeared to be a civil war.

They approached a huge set of ornate double doors, and guards there drew them open at their approach, never glancing at the prisoner.

Kai was awestruck as he entered the vast room, his bare feet almost soundless as he walked, trying to take in everything at once. The floor was honey-brown marble, inlaid with black and cream stone in a geometric pattern. The walls were painted a soft green and the vast windows, over a story high, were crowned with dark green draperies that fell softly to the floor, drawn back to let the sunlight in. Paintings, some of them astonishingly massive, lined the walls, some of them portraits, some of them scenes, and Kai longed to view them more closely, to see if he could begin to understand the puzzle that was the country of Askara. He did not know if he was truly a citizen of the country; all he understood was that he felt a draw toward it, perhaps a longing to be part of something, to know who he was.

Never had his questions of his birth, of his parents, been answered by the guardians. Kai very much feared he would never know, would go through his entire life without any connection to his birth whatsoever.

He turned his attention back to the guards when one of them prodded him none too gently, as though resenting his gawking.

It was evident that this room was some sort of meeting place, and Kai stared in awe at the sheer scale of the vast table that dominated everything. Kai could not begin to count the chairs, and his vague thoughts of doing so disappeared when he saw the two silent figures seated at one end of the table, watching his approach.

A wave of nausea rose to his throat, and he almost stumbled, catching himself at the last moment and feeling heat rise in his cheeks at the sound of derision from one of the guards who flanked him.

It was all too soon before he stood uncertainly in front of General Nikolaus. The other man present seemed to be some sort of companion. He wore a uniform similar to the general’s, but his eyes seemed more gentle, his manner less hostile.

It was impossible to comprehend what the general himself was thinking. His expression was utterly controlled, those cold, brown eyes roaming over Kai’s form without a hint of emotion.

Kai swallowed hard, then stood in silence, not sure what he should be doing.

The guards snarled. “Kneel before the general.”

Kai flinched, sank down in silence, letting his eyes drop to the beauty of the floor.

He heard the general dismiss the guards, and heard their concern at the action.

The general snorted at their words. “Do you trust my skills so little as to believe he is any threat to me whatsoever?”

Kai hunched lower. Whatever martial skills he possessed, which were quite numerous, he would never consider attacking such a man. What would be the point? Whether it was his upbringing, ensuring he had little in the way of self confidence, or that violence held no part of him, he could not tell. He only knew that he was indeed no threat to this general.

The guards left, their footsteps echoing in the vastness of the room, the doors closing almost soundlessly in their wake.

The silence was almost physical then, and Kai shivered, feeling the weight of those intense eyes upon him.

“Look at me.” The voice itself was low and beautiful, but the anger behind it marred the effect.

Kai gathered his courage and raised his head, meeting those eyes, and hoping that he would survive the day.

________________________