In Exchange for Magic

I was severely out of breath by the time I got up into the wing where the servants sleep. My hands shook as I rummaged through a wardrobe, trying to find something that would constitute as a uniform. I gasped in triumph as I pulled out a plain grey dress with a boat neck.

I placed A History of Magical Deformities and the Mixing of Breeds on the nearest bed, but kept my eyes on it as much as I could while changing. There was a front, kangaroo-type pocket in the dress in order to keep cleaning supplies and such in it. I slipped the book inside, and grabbed a random feather duster to make it seem like I knew what I was doing.

I followed the man's instructions down to the dungeons and, thankfully, I wasn't stopped by anyone. I realized, too late to go back, that I still had on the skinny heels that Ez had provided for my disguise. I wrinkled my nose at the thought of running away in them. With my luck, we'd end up hiking somewhere.

Breathlessly, I flitted down the dungeon stairs and was met with a wave of musty air. It smelled like mildew and I could hear, somewhere in the distance, a dripping noise. Cells lined the dark walls. The shape and size of each cell depended on the shape and size of the creature being contained in it. I saw a blue pixie sleeping in a small birdcage-like cell and was violently reminded of Tinkerbell being held captive by Captain Hook.

A gnome with a dirty white beard lay snoring in a cell to my right, and what looked like some type of nature nymph was doing the same in a cell to my left. The dungeons were relatively empty... But I got the horrible feeling that prisoners weren't meant to be kept here long. That, when the King was done with them, they didn't need to be contained.

"Rose?" I heard a sharp whisper coming from around the corner. "Rose is that you?"

My heart jumped up into my throat and I dashed around to see Ez, stripped of his boots, and slumped in the corner of his cell. The skin under his left eye was the color of raw meat, and his lip was split and trickling silver blood. He smiled at me, but he winced, as it pulled on his cut.

"Ez, did they beat you?" I asked incredulously.
He ignored my question and scowled as he saw my outfit. "Hey, what happened to the sexy?"
I rolled my eyes and countered his question with one of my own.
"Where are your shoes?"

He wiggled his bare toes. "I tried to hit one of the guards with one of my boots so they took them away."
"Guards?" I gasped, looking over my shoulder.
Ez pointed to an empty chair where his overseer would usually be sitting.
"Break."
"Good," I sighed, tossing the feather duster to the floor. "Then I won't need this!"

He laughed and then gasped.

"What?" I asked him.
"I think they broke my rib," he said, thoughtfully prodding his chest.
"You've only been gone for twenty minutes!" I exclaimed. "How did all of this happen?"
"Twenty minutes?" he asked. "Really? Wow, you've got to hurry up and get me out of here. If I heard right, I've got about ten minutes to live."
"You what?!" I shouted.

He winced and waved his hands in an attempt to silence me.

"Shhhh!" he hissed. "Do you want to wake her up?"
"What? Wake who up?" I demanded.

Ez grinned goofily and pointed silently to the cell connected to his.

I gasped when I saw who was sleeping, hunched up in the corner of her cell that was furthest from the walkway. Her blonde hair cascaded down from a high ponytail, and her bruises - unlike Ez's - had begun to fade.

"Oh my God..." I breathed.
"I know!" Ez whisper-shouted, giddy with excitement. "She's an elf! She's a real elf! Isn't that so cool?"

"Hey!" I shouted at the girl. "Wake up!"
"Rose!" Ez cried. "What the hell do you think you're-"
"Come on, Miss Priss!" I screeched, banging my fists on the bars of her cell. "Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!"

The girl sighed as she was brought form her nap, gingerly turning her head to look at me. For a split second, her eyes widened with fear - as if she thought I was another guard coming to give her a couple more bruises. But, once she recognized me, her face melted into a look of relief mixed with surprise.

"Y-You!" she exclaimed.
"M-Me!" I repeated sarcastically. "What are you doing, sleeping at a time like this?"
She blinked heavily, confused.
"Heal him!" I barked, throwing a dramatic finger at Ez, who had his face pressed up against the bars to her cell. He was openly staring at her... Wether it was because she was absolutely radiant, or because he was fascinated with the fact that she was an elf... I'll never know.

"Hi..." Ez mumbled.

The girl groaned when she saw him.

"You again?" she groaned.
"Again?" he asked, perplexed.

I folded my arms across my chest.

"Ez, meet the Healer who fixed you up after your run-in with the imp," I said. "Healer who fixed Ez up after his run-in with the imp, meet Ez."

Excited, Ez shoved his outstretched hand through the bars of his cell, reaching into the Healer's.

"So you're the one who gave me the scars!" he cried. "Nice! Thank you very much! I'm Ez and this grumpy girl's name is Rose!"

She eyed his hand warily.

"Look," she said. "I don't know who you guys are... Or why you seem to be following me... But I don't want anything to do with Half-Breeds or humans. I'm in enough trouble as it is."
"What did you do?" asked ever-curious Ez.
She sighed. "I was caught trying to steal from the Palace's kitchen. I needed food..."
"So you were convicted for being hungry?" I asked. "That's-"
"Unfair," she finished for me. "I know."

"So... So why don't you heal yourself... You know," Ez wondered. "Your bruises?"
"Because then they'll know I'm a Healer," she explained, still hesitant to talk to Ez the Outlaw. "And... Hell, I don't want to know what they'd do to me if they found that out."

We were silent for a moment, imagining what sort of sick punishments the King could cook up.

"And that is the very same reason why I'm not going to heal you... Erm... Ez," she said.

I rolled my eyes. "Hon, we're not going to be sticking around long enough for them to find out about your little talent."

I reached around to the hook on the back of the Guard's empty chair and shook the ring of keys. I smiled and jammed a particularly rusty one into the padlock on Ez's cell.

"Thanks much, Sweet!" he said, leaping up off the ground and limping out of his cell, his fingers pressed to his broken rib.
"You next," I piped, and pushed a different key into the Healer's lock.
"Wait!" she cried. "I don't want any part of this!"

"What?" Ez snorted. "Escaping from Hell?"
"No!" she insisted. "I am not at all interested in storming the castle!"
"Look," I snapped. "You can either stay here and continue being beaten, or you can come with us. If I were you, I'd take choice B... Because, quite frankly, you haven't been much help as of yet."

She hesitated.

"Uh... If you don't mind... Can you hurry?" Ez pressed. "I think they're coming down to collect me soon..."

The elf girl sighed and nodded. As I unlocked her cell, I asked Ez, "What do you mean by collect?"
"You know... I don't really know. I have a feeling it is going to be very unpleasant, though."

The cell door swung open and I realized what Ez was trying to tell me. The King had no need for him... In fact, the King would be happier if Ez was dead.

And that's just what the King planned to do.

He was going to kill Ez.