Silence reigned as I scribed awkwardly, not able to see the whole page due to my bound hands. My eyes kept slipping towards Ayna who knew so little of the world she had stumbled into. All she could hear was the the chains chimed like a bell as I wrote, the same I was familiar with. It took me longer to write them I was used.

As I finished, Morningstar leant over my back, and with a quick swipe pulled the completed letter from me. He read it over as I paused before beginning on the second, giving a sideways glance to Ayna. Now she had gained some of her strength and will and was standing there with fists clenched, glaring at Morningstar.

“How long do I have?” she whispered.

“As long as you wish,” Morningstar shrugged as I moved onto the instructions for where to find the project I had been working on, and what to expect when there. “But the longer you take, the more he suffers. And if you never come to me … well,” he slammed a hand onto my shoulder and squeezed it hard, so I winced. And smiled, “whatever my agreements with him, he's mine for eternity.”

“You're an arsehole,” I muttered, but I continued to write. Faster.

“Yes you are,” Ayna echoed my words, “you're cruel. How can you do this to your own brother?”

“Well he has spent the last four or five millennia being bonded to the King of Death,” Morningstar mused. “This isn't the worst. I'm much kinder.”

It was not a question, but a statement. And that was because I was a fact I had to admit. Mad as if might be Morningstar was far nicer. The King of Death would have made her swear allegiance to him already, possibly made her kill. But all things according to what they are, he was still an arse.

I found as I wrote my anger and frustration died somewhat. This was just another moment of my being a captive in my life. I would figure out the way to freedom within time, even if Ayna never came. Rolling back my shoulders I finished writing, my heart less frantic, and I let out a sigh. No sooner had my hands lifted from the page and thrown the pen aside than Morningstar pulled the paper from underneath my hands. Briefly he scanned it before holding it out to Ayna.

She did not move, only glared at him, anger now residing more than anything. Fear was gone by this point, the initial worries cast aside by fury as she and I did what Morningstar bid.

“Take it!” He waved it at her. “Or I torture him too.”

Slightly, I rolled my eyes, knowing it was not the likeliest outcome. Torturing me and therefore rendering whatever part of me useless was not a method Morningstar often used.

“He won't,” I said quietly to her. “I'll be fine.”

“Bah, you'll be locked in a cell. That is hardly fine.”

Ayna breathed slowly, eyes on me, but reached to take the paper with dark, elegant fingers. Her eyes drifted from my manacled hands, to the chain in Morningstar's hand, then to me. Encouragingly I gave her a small nod, forgetting all the possibilities of her attraction to me. At least for now. Right in this moment I needed to be the comforting teacher. A peer. An adult to reassure her all was going to be well.

“I'll be fine,” I told her with honesty.

“Ugh,” Morningstar grinned and pulled me closer towards him. “We will see you soon, remember do not tell anyone.”

He poked a finger at her. She nodded fast. It took him a moment to be satisfied before he switched his focus elsewhere. He wound a loop of chain around his hand, further bringing my wrists to his hold. Again he wound, until he was a few inches away from me.

“Have you finished your struggles?” He asked me.

I flatly stared at him, not moving. He smiled, and he waved a hand in the air. I gave one last nod to Ayna before the world began to fade around us.