40 | caged; severed wings

The candle turned out to be useful after they stumbled down several stairs, gaining a multitude of bruises down the way. Kane hurried to examine Lucas before realizing his actions would be weird for a stranger.

He appeared like a lost puppy, sad and pleading, as Lucas glared at him suspiciously.

Kane awkwardly turned away—he was really worried. What if a fresh scar bloomed on his brother's skin? Another mark that proved his failure to protect.

The box Lucas snatched earlier was indeed a matchbox, and he used it to light up the candle lamp, holding it out. Endless stairs stretched out into the void before them, leading to an unknown destination.

There were no doors, windows; just the continuous stone walls and the quiet whisperings of the wind. But if this was a secret passage, then wouldn't the owner of the palace be aware of it too?

They needed to hurry down.

The pair of siblings had the same idea and started down the stairs. It was steep, an occasional drip coming from the ceiling, echoing.

Drip... Drip... Drip...

It was annoying that they'd missed the opportunity to check any other rooms, but Lucas had a feeling that this passage would likely lead to more answers.

Why else would they install a random area like this for no reason?

Otherwise, it was unnecessary and he had some complaints for whoever created the Story. This one definitely wasn't one that he wrote in his novel.

Or maybe it was? He didn't really remember what he'd already written. If it was that girl, his dedicated reader, she would've known in a instant, with absolute confidence.

Her memory was typically bad, but when it came to remembering random story facts, it was unparalleled.

As they continued walking, Lucas heard a muffled sobbing in the distance.

He slowed down slightly. High-pitched, tearful crying that seemed to belong to a young woman. Glancing back at his companion who was hovering behind him like a ghost, he took another step.

Something squished against the ground underneath his feet.

He froze.

Poking out was a long, feathered wing, the flesh slightly protruding from a gape where a bird's body should've been connected. Lucas fell silent, before crouching down to touch it.

Kane panicked, and reached out a hand to stop him.

"What are you doing?"

Lucas, half bending down, tilted his head. "I'm confirming that it is what I think it is. It might be something else."

"I think by appearance alone, you can come to a conclusion."

"One can't be certain in these Stories."

Kane shook his head with an exasperated sigh. "There's the possibility it could be stricken with disease, or that the fluids contain something other than simply blood. You can't touch whatever you want."

Lucas had a feeling of a child being reprimanded and fell silent. He supposed it was true—though he was more of an 'action before thoughts' sort of person.

Under the scrutinizing gaze of the hooded man, Lucas stood up again and lifted his foot. A feather attached itself to his shoe, tendrils of slimly liquid following his movements.

He scraped it off using the edge of the stair, disgusted.

But the further they went, the more dead animals stretched along the steep and narrow passage, barely noticeable with the flickering candle light. Most were dismembered, pulled into pieces.

The sobbing grew louder.

And so did the crazed whispering.

Lucas remembered something from the original, happy tale of Snow White—she liked to speak to animals. In the common version, she could understand them.

In this Story, he didn't think her speaking to animals could be considered normal.

They arrived in the mossy basement, cloaked in darkness with a heavy musk of wet stone. Rows and rows of cells stretched beyond them.

Lucas grabbed the match box and lit one of the hanging candles, slowly illuminating the way. At this point, even if the Prince entered behind them, they would have nowhere to hide so it was useless to keep roaming in the dark.

"Hahaha... do you think he'll let me see my darling brother soon? He did promise, you see! It's okay... it's okay, it's okay..." Somebody hummed in the depths, her sweet singing an echo chasing along the gloom.

"Hm... you won't leave me, right, my dears? My lovely friends!"

It was incredibly unnerving, hearing the words she spoke in a broken, pitched rasp. He didn't understand exactly what was eerier before realizing—whatever she was speaking to didn't talk back.

Who was the target of her speech?

He lit another candle, stretching out to reach it before he heard the creak of metal. A heavy item slammed against one of the bars near by.

Lucas slowly turned his head.

And a woman's white smile grinned at him.

"Have you come to save me? I've... been waiting."

He jumped backwards as she stretched out mangled fingers, coated in grime and blood, swiping out to grab him. Her hand unfurled, and something plopped onto the ground with a sloppy splash.

Lucas lowered his eyes. Splayed open, feathers ripped from its body, was the remnants of a bird, staring wide-eyed at him.

He stared.

And it was a strange thing, gazing at something and thinking that it was dead, never to move again. Thinking that it had once been alive, and then wondering what sort of life it could've had.

The cloaked stranger pulled him back harshly, narrowing his eyes at the woman. He gazed in disgust the animal remains, slowly dragging his stare into the cage.

The entire floor was covered in dead animals. Rabbits with their ears ripped off with trails of cartilage and blood peeking out, birds plucked until their raw, fleshy skin showed. The putrid stench hit all at once, and he covered his nose.

"Why, who are you?" giggled the woman. "It's been a while since I've seen such a fresh face." Her eyes glazed over as she stretched out again. "You remind me of..."

Lucas was still staring at the animals, horrified. But the real question was, how long had they been dead before she started to mutilate them? How long had she sat singing in a cage with corpses, because she had nothing else?

She hopped on one foot, the other broken and limping. It was folded in half, curving grotesquely as she dragged it along.

Dark circles hung underneath her large eyes, dimming the beautiful brown.

Lucas fell silent, at a lost.

Snow White was found and whisked away by the charming prince—but what if he wasn't all that he seemed? In a modern reality, such a man that preyed on a young girl's beauty couldn't be a hero.

Snow White was a victim; the Prince, a kidnapper.

She'd been locked down here until she lost her mind, hallucinating speech and talking to dead animals that couldn't respond to her. Her leg broken so she couldn't escape, caged like an animal on display.

A rich man's toy.

Lucas closed his eyes. A Story was based off a Teller's memories, of when they were once human.

That meant there had been a girl chased away by her own mother, lured into an abandoned cottage for unknown reasons, before being tricked by a wealthy man who was infatuated with her looks.

There had been a girl who lost her mind, alone and abandoned in this cellar.

Lucas and Kane spun around, there nerves on a new high after witnessing the gruesome state of Snow White's cage. The voice prickled the fine hairs on their arms, and a cold gust of wind brought a faint chill.

Lucas turned towards Kane. "Hurry up and find a way to free her."

"No, I'll distract—"

"Now."

Kane turned, his profile lit by the flickering flame. There was a set determination in Lucas' eyes, a calm, oppressive air that left no room for arguments. And it hit him, all at once, a reality he hadn't fully accepted.

His little brother had grown up.

He didn't need protecting anymore; perhaps, he didn't need it even back then.

"Be careful." warned Kane finally before turning away, running over to the metal bars. Scrambling at the cell, looking for the entrance.

The dazed woman trailed after his movements, smiling foolishly before she watched the man tug at the lock. Crouching down, she hummed and watched as the man desperately slammed into the cage, using his nails to pry and break it.

Lucas watched the cloaked stranger leave, feeling a strange throb to his chest. He ignored it. Reaching his hand up, he swiped the candle and extinguished it, dimming the area to darkness.

Slipping further ahead where the quiet crunch of footsteps echoed, Lucas burned as many as he could before, using the shadows to cloak him.

He waited with bated breath.

The crisp sound of shoes on cobblestone.

The careless humming, and the sway of the air surrounding.

The distant rattling of a cage in a nearby place, now doubt with a frenzied stranger, hopelessly seeking a method of success. Lucas kept his eyes wide, unblinking.

Honestly, a game of hide-and-seek wasn't suited for a person like himself. Nor was waiting in the dark, praying not to get caught with anxiety beating against his ribs.

No, Lucas was a delinquent. Fist-driven, brainless at times and completely violent.

Therefore, when the Prince's humming neared him, and the shadows distorted to reveal an approaching figure, Lucas snatched a candlestick from the hanger, and raised it over his head.

Metal clattered, and the Prince chortled joyously, twisting his neck in half to avoid the blow. A sickening crack made Lucas falter, before bony fingers stretched out to grab him.

He ducked, jabbing the candle forwards, and knowing the other off balance.

His actions caused him to stumble on a slippery stone, and his knees slammed against the grooved floors, sending a rush of pain up his leg.

Doubling over, Lucas groaned loudly in pain.

The Prince laughed, excitedly reaching out before his eyes widened. The poor victim on the ground lifted their eyes, blood grazing the corner of their lips.

Lucas' mouth quirked slightly.

"Got you, bastard."

He slammed his fist up, feeling it plummet in the soft stomach of the Prince.

Then, sharpness rang out on his arm and he gasped. He flung the man away, raising his trembling arm. A strange sensation both burned and throbbed as he stared at the star-pointed badge wedged deep into his skin, the dull edge forced through.

Red started to seep as it wriggled back and forth, embedded in his arm. He thought he felt it scratch against bone, making him shiver.

"Found you~" The Prince exclaimed crookedly from the ground, lifting his half-peeled face and he laughed in a crazed fashion. Pieces of moss and stone clung to his face, poking a dozen small indents in the soft skin.

A person with trypophobia's worst nightmare.

Lucas seethed, snatching the badge out and tossing it across the grounds. It was on the verge of falling out, so it was pointless trying to keep it there.

He raised his bloodied arm in challenge. "You haven't caught me yet, damn prince."

In his fuzzy mind, he heard a click of metal, and the sound of something clattering against the ground. He turned towards the Prince whose smile stretched impossibly wide—he had heard it too.

They both bolted up, rushing towards the end of the basement.

Lucas saw a few scattered animals, and swept down to snatch one up between his fingers, feeling the flesh squeeze in his hold. His stomach lurched.

However, he ignored the wet sensation and threw it backwards, directly hitting the Prince in the center of his face. The man bellowed out in disgust, clawing the corpse away from his eyes.

Lucas kept on running.

Kane, who'd managed to break the lock, turned sideways in surprise. He could make out the dripping liquid running down his sibling's arm, and the hobbling Prince behind.

"Lu—Look out!" He couldn't help but yell, panicked.

"Open the cage completely, now!"

Kane pulled the cage wide open, and the Prince took a second to surpass Lucas, grinning wildly. He lunged towards Snow White, who blinked up in horror.

"Grab her!"

Kane reacted in an instant, snatching the woman by her frail wrists and yanking her out of the prison. Time slowed, and her body brushed by the Prince's as he twisted his head in anger.

He fell into the pile of corpses, and Lucas slammed the cage shut. He wedged a candle stick between the two holes, meant to hold a lock.

Lucas didn't wait for the Prince to lunge out, spinning on his heels and sprinting the other way. Without a word, Kane soon followed him behind, tossing Snow White over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

The younger man glanced back, slightly surprised at the lump, sprawled uncomfortably over Kane's shoulder.

"Don't you have any delicacy?"

Kane stared at his thoughtless brother dead in the eye and expressionlessly stated, "I have no more than you do."

"Ah." Lucas thought that was fair—and he didn't really care to begin with.

They rushed up the stairs, slipping once before pushing themselves up. The candle wouldn't hold the Prince in that cage for long, though with his hands slippery and covered in blood, it might last a decent time.

They stopped at the top of the stairs, huffing.

The doorway had closed.

Lucas cursed under his breath, spinning around once again. Was the only option to head back down again?

However, the hooded man shook his head. "I'll open it."

Lucas stared in confusion, before the man pulled on a sword that hung in the sheath of his belt, slamming it forth. It wedged between a gap in the book shelf, and he wriggled it until the slit slowly expanded.

He grabbed the edge with his fingers, pushing it to the side.

"...you had a sword this entire time?" deadpanned Lucas.

Kane nodded. "It was part of the costume."

They fell into an awkward silence. A sword would've been really useful, or even if it wouldn't help during the game, it could've been used as a defensive tool.

Kane noticed the accusing look—one that the other had often given when somebody stole his food from the fridge.

He cleared his throat sheepishly. "I apologize. I... forgot I had it until now."

He really had. He was too distracted with his long-lost brother speaking to him again, and the entire chase, that he had forgotten the heavy weight at his belt.

Thinking about it made Kane close his eyes in shame.

Lucas stared at the somewhat pitiful demure of this mysterious stranger, who originally gave an air of commanding dominance and calm. A quiet snort left his lips in amusement, and Kane widened his eyes in surprise.

Lucas' eyes curved vaguely, causing faint creases to crinkle, making him appear even warmer. His face relaxed, the furrowed eyebrows smoothened and soft.

A picture of youth; a reminiscent of the past.

Kane swallowed, choked.

"We... should head back to the castle now."

"Oh, yeah." Lucas blinked, and then nodded, his features returning to their usual indifference. Kane felt slightly regretful.

They entered the carriage waiting outside, and it rolled off, the screaming shouts of the Prince in the faraway distance.

Kane lowered Snow White in the seat across from the two, her body light and bony, hardly a supple of flesh on any location. She'd passed out when they entered, muttering incomprehensible thoughts.

Lucas hesitated, and then pressed the necklace he'd found into her palms—she instinctively wrapped her fingers around the cold metal, clutching it tightly.

She muttered to herself in broken sobs. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

To whom?

The man tore off a part of his cloak, lifting her dirtied, scarred feet. He wiped off the trails of blood and residue calmly, not commenting on the sight.

Her toenails were overgrown and split, skin peeled and flaking from underneath and around. Lucas watched as the man gently finished cleaning the feet, and then wrapped a new piece of cloth around it to prevent her walking barefoot again.

He was careful not to touch anywhere inappropriate, brushing off the feathers that clung to her ratted clothes, and untangling the matted ends of her hair.

Lucas wondered curiously, "What are you doing?"

Kane leaned back in the seat, glimpsing over. "She must be uncomfortable in her state, even if she's delirious. I hope for her to be a little more at ease when she wakes, at least."

"...are you aware of the objection completion method?"

"I am aware." Kane replied softly, downcast eyes gazing at the sleeping figure, a pitiful, curled up image of what she had once been. "But she's alive, presently. And I will give her the respect and care she has not been given, until the end."

Lucas stared at him, gleaming with the pointed look of a cat, prodding and curious. Finally, he nodded, agreeing.

"But, allow me to do one thing."

Kane didn't hesitate to agree. "Of course. What is it?"

"Let me be the one to kill her."