Myxoze paced the kitchen, arms crossed over his ‘cooking bitch’ apron. His master had finally done it; she had kidnapped a troll from off the road and was keeping her in the basement.
He shuddered at the thought of the basement. He had been there once and that had been enough. Many things in there Myxoze had experienced with from his previous master, but Lady Slizme had much more imagination... At least her preoccupation with her new ‘plaything’ explained her recent absences.
That poor troll.
He had to do something!
Didn’t he?
Despite the fact that Myxoze desperately wanted to free the kidnapped troll, his masters’ fury was not something to be taken lightly. He wasn’t a coward but there was only so much a troll could handle.
... like the one in the basement.
Damn the consequences, he needed to help them!
Myxoze tugged the apron off, roughly hanging it from its proper hook, and stalked out. Slizme was out tonight, on one of her visits to her “friend”, so he had to do it now.
The hive was quiet, the slaves and servants taking a well-deserved break with their mistress gone. Myxoze sent a silent thank you to them as he strode as casually as he could through the long halls towards his destination. He was pretty sure he hadn’t seen Slizme lock the door to the basement before... Myxoze thought she left it open so curious trolls would get more than they bargained for when snooping. If he was right it would be fairly simple to get the kidnapped troll free. If he was wrong... well, he would figure something out.
He pretended to wipe a window as he looked around, making sure no one was around to see his disobedience.
Thankfully, he was alone.
Myxoze approached the door and wrapped his fingers around the knob. Slowly, he began to turn it, waiting for it to not open.
It opened with a click, thunderous in the silence.
He froze, breathing in sharply. It was open, he could do it! He could get that troll out of there! But... but Slizme would know. She would know or she would find out and oh god he would be culled! A mutant and a disobedient slave, no one would contest her decision to be rid of him!
Myxoze bit at his lip, chewing hard enough to draw blood.
No. He had to do this, it was only right. And if he got culled for it at least he would have the moral high ground.
Steadying himself, he pushed the door open and stared down the stairs before descending into the darkness of Lady Slizme’s personal cells and torture centre.
He did his best to breathe steadily through his mouth, not trusting himself to be able to handle the smell of the place. God, this place was horrible. He was doing the right thing, he was doing the right thing... There!
The soft glow from the lanterns filled the room, casting ominous shadows behind the murder devices stacked and hung against the stone walls. Myxoze could see the cells through the door, and the slumped shape of a troll within one. He thought he could see her breathing, which was a good sign.
Ignoring the twisted spikes of metal around the first room, he began looking for the keys to the cells, hoping that Slizme had left them and not taken them with her. Though the locks didn’t look too complex, so if he had to he hoped he could open it.
It didn’t matter, a shelf along the connecting wall of the cell chamber and torture room yielded a box filled with keys. Feeling dismay at the number, Myxoze began picking through them, trying to find the right one, when he discovered that they were virtually all the same. He stared at a trio of identical keys in disbelief, realizing that it was a mind-game of his masters; have a box filled with keys to make the prisoner feel no hope of escape.
Myxoze took one of the keys and approached the cell that the troll was in. She didn’t seem to notice his presence, which worried him. He slid the key into the lock and turned it cautiously, breathing a sigh of relief when the mechanisms caught and the cell door swung open.
The troll still wasn’t moving.
“Um, excuse me.”
No response.
“Excuse me, miss,” Myxoze stepped into the cell and slowly approached the unconscious troll, “I must i^sist you wake, miss. You ^eed to get out of here.”
He kneeled on the cold stone floor, reaching for the troll.
“Miss -”
The troll jerked up and, seeing his incoming hand, flinched away from him. Myxoze quickly withdrew his arm from the terrified troll.
“Miss, please, I i^te^d you ^o harm,” he attempted to comfort her with a small smile, but made the urgency in his tone clear, “please, we ^eed to move if you wa^t to get out of here.”
The troll lifted her head to stare at him and - were those fins on her head!? Why on Alternia would Slizme kidnap a sea-dweller? Myxoze blinked at her in surprise for a moment before he noticed the bright blue of her eyes. That explained it.
“We ^eed to get you out of here. Do ^ot worry, I am a muta^t as well,” you made sure she could see both of your eyes and the strangeness of your right one.
The mutant sea-dweller stared at him, confused.
‘you’re... going to help?’
Myxoze nodded solemnly. “Yes, but we ^eed to do it ^ow. Ca^ you walk?”
At her small nod he felt a small sense of relief; he wouldn’t have to carry her out.
“Alright miss, please follow me. We’ll be usi^g the door closest to the trees. From there I ca^ take you to a frie^d who will keep you safe. Do you u^dersta^d?”
He felt her caution and fear, but also her understanding.
“Excelle^t,” Myxoze stood, holding his hand out for her to take. He noticed her fingers were shaking and the skin was bruised. He grimaced in disgust, promising himself he would not let this happen again. He would tell Japhge that he was in; Slizme needed to be stopped.
“I wish we could take our time as you are i^jured, but I do ^ot k^ow whe^ Lady Slizme will be back to^ight, so we must go as quick as you are able.”
The troll hugged her sweater closer around herself. ‘Oh.’
They took the stairs slowly, due to the darkness and the sea-dwellers’ injuries. At the top, Myxoze made sure the halls were clear before ushering her after him. He kept silent as they passed through the hive, occasionally gesturing for his companion to stop while he checked around the next corner.
They had to cross through one of Lady Slizme’s grand dining rooms to get to the outside door. Myxoze paused a moment before stepping into the open room and crossing as fast as he could with the injured troll behind him. He was just about to open the door when he heard a noise from one of the entrances.
“<:~~~ Myxoze... ~~~:>” Sutana stopped in her tracks when she saw him. Him and the troll that was supposed to be in the basement.
Her gaze travelled from the sea-dweller behind him, to him, eyes wide. He could feel her fear and shock from across the room. He stared back at her, lips pressed into a thin line. Sutana radiated terror and indecision for a few moments before she straightened her back and nodded at him firmly. He nodded back and flung open the door.
Myxoze didn’t slow down until they were into the forest and the hive was well behind them.
He looked down at the troll and slowed, gently placing a hand on her sleeve.
“We ca^ stop for a mome^t if you would like. You are exhausted.”
She shook her head quickly, stepping back from his touch. He felt her desperation. ‘i want to go hive.’
He lowered his hands and crouched down so he could be more on her level. “I u^dersta^d you are scared and worried, but you are safe ^ow, a^d my frie^d will make sure you ^ever have to go through what you did ever agai^. We ca^ keep goi^g if you wa^t, it is up to you.”
The sea-dweller wiped at her eyes and Myxoze had to restrain himself from getting closer to comfort her; it wouldn’t help the situation any, a strange troll touching her. ‘i just want to go hive.’
“You will be hive very soo^, miss. We just ^eed to get to my frie^d a^d he will take care of the rest. Yes?”
She hiccuped softly, but nodded.
“Tha^k you, miss. Do ^ot worry, we are almost there.”
Myxoze smiled gently and once more took the lead.
Their path through the forest wound on for a few minutes more before coming to a larger tree marked with an ‘X’ carved into the wood.
A troll with large horns and a deep green shirt stepped out from behind the tree. He gave a long, steady look at Myxoze before his gaze shifted to the mutant sea-dweller half behind him. He nodded in approval and stepped forward.
“v-v Good. Now leave before anyone sees.” he glanced at Myxoze, who frowned but stepped back the way he had come.
The oliveblood held his hand out to the sea-dweller.
“v-v Do not concern yourself with knowing my name, for you will only know me for a short while. Come with me now, you’ll see your mate soon.”
