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                                                               CHAPTER 8

                         "It's when we die that we are truly reborn."

                                                    ― Anthony T.Hincks 

"WHAT DID YOU do to her? Why isn't she getting up?" A voice echoed in her skull, making her groan. Her head throbbed painfully, and she felt as if it was about to split in half. 

There was a loud shuffling and the right side of her bed dipped. "She's groaning," another voice said.

That bitch, Legion.

Instantly, she opened her eyes and blinked them hard, trying to get rid of the heaviness on her lids. The lights above her blurred and she blinked again, adjusting to the sudden brightness. When she could finally see again, she saw Cas and Legion leaning over her. Her left hand was a fast blur as she reached out and a loud smack echoed in the room. Legion cried out in surprise and raised his hand to his right cheek, astonished.

"What the hell?"

Helene sat up, her right hand shooting up to clutch the side of her head. "I could ask you the same thing. How dare you use your mind controlling powers on me? Do I look like your minion to you? You do not get to do whatever the hell you want with me! You stupid idiotic bastard! I'm going to rip out your brain and I'm going to be the last person you control! How could you do that? I get the fact that you're the prince, but you don't get to control me like that! I thought-" she paused, trying to catch her breath, still angry.

Legion glared back at her. "You were being stupid! You were going to die. And plus, I had just gotten you back."

Helene sneered. "That does not give you the right to go into my head! What were you thinking?"

"Keeping you from killing yourself! What do you think?" he snapped.

Cas stared. He continued staring. Awkwardly, he motioned towards both of them, trying to connect the dots. "So, let me get this straight. You brain freakishly controlled her and she's angry, yet you both are arguing like a married couple? The sexual tension is just oozing. And I'd thought there would be no drama!" Cas laughed to himself.

Realizing that he was the only one laughing and receiving death glares by both the prince and his best friend, he stopped. Making a zipping motion with his finger and thumb, he pretended to throw away the key. Helene turned back to the problem. Legion.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered, running his hand through his dark hair. "Instead of appreciating the fact that I helped you, you slap me in the face! I'm the prince. You don't do that to the prince. You could get thrown in jail."

"Oh, don't use the prince card on me," she snapped at him. "And if you want to throw me in jail, then go right ahead!"

                                                    »»————-❈————-««

THAT WAS HOW SHE ended up in a cell, locked up to rot. It stunk of dried old blood and fungus. She didn't know how fungus smelled like or whether it even had a smell, so she assumed it was the fungus. She didn't want to find out a dead corpse rotting in the cell behind hers. She kicked the bars of her cell, the clanging noise echoing through the whole dungeon. She peered outside, looking for a way out. 

The dungeon was eerie and dark, shadows lurking in the corners and the constant pat pat pat noise of water dripping from a leaking pipe, distracting Helene for a second. Looking down the hall, she wondered when her meal was going to arrive. Or did they starve the prisoners as a punishment?

Sudden anger bubbled inside Helene, making her want to smash Legion in the face. He was being dumb. How could he lock her up inside the cell and leave her? And she thought he cared. How rude.

Twirling a tangled lock of her blond hair in her left index finger, Helene traced the lock with her right. It was bothering her. She wanted to leave. She wanted food. She wanted company.

She didn't want to fight with Legion.

Even though she was angry with him, a part of her knew he was right and she was wrong. The stubborn part of her disagreed and didn't want to agree with Legion at all. In fact, the stubborn part of her never wanted to talk to Legion ever again until he apologized.

Okay. Time to be sensible, she told herself. Then she laughed. "Am I ever sensible?"

Nope.

"Uh, yeah. Actually, I should have just listened to Legion and this would have never happened. Did I really slap the prince in the face?"

Looks like it. And now he hates you even more.

Helene frowned and stopped twirling her hair. "Except, I hate him too. Basically, we were both wrong."

Nope. It was all you.

She ran a frustrated hand down her face. "Why is my life so messed up?"

"Why are you talking to yourself?" Cas appeared in front of her, jingling keys in one hand and holding an apple in the other. "Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness. Are you mad?"

"Yes. Mad. As in angry, not as in 'mad, mad,'" Helene grumbled as the door opened with a screech. "And hungry. Is that apple for me?"

Cas pretended to take a long look at it as Helene stepped out. "I don't know. You want?"

Helene snatched it from his hand without much of a thank you. He smirked and didn't say anything as he shut the cell door behind her.

"So, how did you get me unarrested?" She asked between mouthfuls.

He tapped his head. "Used my brain and some other techniques."

Helene's eyes widened. "You didn't seduce anyone with that pretty face of yours, did you?"

"Maybe. Just some hookups and all-"

"Cas."

"And might have used your room-"

"Cassius Lonsay!" Helene choked on her apple.

He burst out laughing. "I'm kidding. You think I would do that?"

She shrugged and tossed the apple core into the garbage bin. "God knows what you would do."

They climbed the dirty stairs as fast as they could, skipping steps, trying to beat each other. Cas stepped on the floor a second before her. "You lose. Loser." He stuck out his tongue playfully.

Helene eyed him weirdly. "I'm not having that conversation with you. No thanks."

He laughed again. "Okay. Whatever her Imperial Majesty says."

Helene ignored him. "So what happened to the fighting? How did you guys even get me to the castle?"

"They moved tore down the base camp. The Creatures, I mean. So we had to fall back and Brenna led everyone back to the castle. They had an entire battalion carry the wounded, including you," replied Cas.

Helene scowled at that. "I was not wounded. Somebody, that little bastard, made me faint."

Cas looked at her. "Hel, you looked like someone had thrown you into a washing machine and made you spin in it for days."

Helene did not like being compared to a washing machine. Ignoring him, she said, "I am going out to explore. Want to come with me?"

He shook his head. "I'm training with Raylan in room 6. Second floor, I think. Join us later if you want."

"Okay. Maybe."

Before they left in different directions, Cas stopped her. "Oh, and avoid the gallery. Ella, your very sweet sister is in there. She's contagious and in a very bad mood. Like, Hulk bad mood."

"When is she not?"

Cas shrugged and began to walk away, patting Helene on the back as he left. "And please avoid Legion! I don't want to be cleaning my friend's blood off the floor!"

"They have servants for that," she called back. "And thanks for the apple!"

"Don't mention it." With a wink and a mock salute, he disappeared down the hallway.

Helene set off to search for Legion.

She searched his room, the halls, asked guards and even asked Damien. He was on his way to complete an errand and was in a hurry, but stopped for a quick chat. Helene greeted him warmly and did her best to be the nicest. Whether he noticed that, he didn't say.

After he left, Helene gave up. She was tired and bored. She wanted company. As she walked past the gallery Cas had warned her about, Ella came into her view. Helene looked in her direction wearily.

"Oh! Helene. Hi." She waved awkwardly.

Helene waved back. "Do you know where Legion is?"

Ella stared at her. "The last time I saw him was with Ciara. You might want to check the hallway with the big painting-"

Anger boiled in Helene like fire. She flexed her fingers into a fist and clenched her hands tightly. "Thanks."

Turning around, she stormed off into the direction of where she had had her first conversation with Damien. And then Legion had walked her back. It was better when they weren't fighting. The fact that even if they did fight and even if she was right, Legion would always have the upper hand because he was the Heir.

Helene kicked the wall as she turned the corner and the next and the next, furiously looking for the hall she had wandered off to when she had gotten lost. Her anger was blowing steam out of her ears as she gritted her teeth.

When she finally turned the last corner to the hallway, she found two figures standing side by side, leaning close and talking. Helene stepped back to compose herself and control the fire that was threatening to burn Ciara down to ashes. Then, acting as if she was just walking past, she stepped out and gazed around trying to act clueless.

As she approached them, they turned around and Helene pretended to make herself look surprised. When her gaze landed on Legion, it automatically iced over. "You," she muttered. "How nice."

Legion scratched his neck uncomfortably. "Uhm. Hello."

Ciara put her hand through Legion's. "Ah. Hanna, isn't it?"

"Helene. Clara, isn't it?" Helene mimicked her movements, scrunching her face up in disdain, just to match Ciara's face.

"Ciara," she snapped. "Now leave us alone. We were fine before you came along."

Helene made sure to make her face look hurt when Legion said nothing and emptily gazed at her. "Okay. Have fun." She made sure to sound disappointed and show a hint of sadness. It seemed to do the trick.

"Helene! Wait!" Legion's voice echoed.

Helene smiled, her back turned to them. As she turned, she wiped the smile off her face and her poker face replaced it. "What?"

Legion looked back at Ciara, quite alarmed. "Uh, Ciara..uhm...I'll talk to you later. Helene and I have something to fix...and it's quite important."

"Sure." Lifting her chin, she smirked at Helene. With a mock wave, she walked away, her head held high and her back straight.

"I'm going to bash her head against the wall and burn her corpse until it's nothing but ashes." Helene turned her head towards him and added, "And burn you alive with her."

Legion cleared his throat. "I was angry."

"And I wasn't?"

"You were. But you see..."

"Just because you are the heir and you have freakish powers doesn't mean you use them in a wrong way," Helene said, sucking in a tired breath.

They were silent for a long time, just staring at each other, waiting for the other to apologize. Helene finally gave in just as Legion started to say something.

"I'm sorry-" They both started together.

They laughed.

Another moment passed.

"Okay," he nodded. "Since we're having a moment, that means we're fine."

Helene scrunched up her nose. "We are not having any moment. This is called a conversation."

Legion smirked. "A moment in the conversation."

She ignored him. After a very long time, Helene felt free.

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Damn. Jail? Was anyone expecting that?

Legion is my baby no hate please no hate. LOL. Comment yall reaction!