Chapter 16: Healing

The screams that Arlyn had heard for the last three days haunted her mind. If it was too quiet she could still hear them ringing out in her ears. The prince had been in terrible pain, and given his pain tolerance, it must have been excruciating for any normal being to go through.

Currently, the raven-haired demon was sitting in a small chair that she had gotten from the common area and was sitting next to Jarod's "bed", where the halfing laid, sweating profusely as he slept uncomfortably, twisting and turning.

After Fiin, one of Mackerel's top men if what she had heard from the other prisoners was correct, had taken Jarod somewhere that most don't come back. The teen's screams had reached the common area and were almost nonstop for three days straight.

She wanted to rescue him, save him from the pain he had endured but knew doing so would be nothing short of a death sentence. She needed to live in order to protect him and she knew that Mackerel wouldn't let Jarod die.

Jarod's abilities were too powerful to just waste. He had the power to manipulate and create ice and snow whenever he wished, an ability that only Lucifer was rumored to have in his angel years in the Beginning before he fell to the darkness and instead found himself able to create black flames that burned hotter than the sun.

She knew Jarod's latent potential surpassed the king's by miles, and her master had even suggested that he could even take on God if he were to train diligently. She didn't doubt her master's words but still found them highly unbelievable.

God had made this world from nothing, he was there in the Beginning when there just Heaven, no Earth or Hell being present. That was hundreds of thousands of years ago and the fact that Jarod had the potential to reach that level of power made her skeptical.

She removed a now hot wet rag from his head placed another cold and wet white rag onto Jarod's forehead, hoping to at least cool down the prince's body so he would stop sweating so profusely.

She wondered what Mackerel had done to him, secretly cursing the deranged demon who was obsessed with power. Stealing power, the taboo of Hell. She had never met another demon who practiced the forbidden art and wasn't all too happy that she had met one of the very few who had their eyes on the prince.

Jarod let out another groan, his face turning into one of fear. "S-Stay back!" He whispered in a small panicked tone, getting Arlyn's attention as she looked at him with worried eyes. "I, I didn't mean to! I w-won't do it again!"

What was he blabbing on about? He was probably having a weird dream, so why the fear?

"Please James I'm sorry!" Oh, that was why. She immediately felt a pang of guilt course through her gut at the sight of the unconscious boy who was having a nightmare, or rather, a memory of being abused by his hateful stepfather who was now six feet under, having been indirectly killed after Jarod let his power run rampant after the death of his best, and most likely, only friend.

It saddened her to think of that. She had gone through her own troubles in the past, being treated as a lesser demon by those of the council and by the other high-ranking demons, but that experience made her understand the white-haired boy in front of her.

He truly had a miserable life, and there was surely going to be more misery as they continued their journey and even beyond that. She frowned as he jolted suddenly, letting out a soft groan before going still once more.

She often wondered how he could keep joking and smile as he did. He had his moments where he was angsty and angry, like when he killed those two demons in the common area three days ago, but other than he was all smiles and laughs.

Was it because he was separated? Dark Jarod was supposedly the combination of all of the suppressed negative emotions Jarod held back. Was that why Jarod could remain the way he was? Because of the existence of Dark Jarod?

She didn't know the answer and knew that neither did the prince. He was just as clueless about his darker half than she was, perhaps even more so.

"Here you go, miss!" A small voice said, interrupting Arlyn's thoughts as she turned in her chair and saw a little girl with shiny blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes holding a small cup of water."It's for him."

Arlyn cautiously took the cup, holding it by her nose and sniffing it first. It didn't smell like it was poisoned. . .

"Thank you," She replied. "But why'd you bring this to me? I could've gotten it myself." The girl brightened up, shining her somehow white teeth.

"He got rid of those two meanies! They bully people a lot and he saved us from them!" Arlyn's eyes widened at that. She had assumed that everyone in the prison kept to themselves and tried not to involve with other prisoners, least of all the son of Satan.

"Oh," Was all Arlyn could say. "What's your name, child?" The little girl beaconed at being asked such a thing, causing Arlyn to feel pity for the girl. How long had it been since someone had asked her name? Or even shown her the tiniest bit of kindness?

"My name is Ellie! I was with my daddy here but those meanies took him away from me! I'm waiting for him to come back!" Arlyn couldn't bear to look the girl in the eyes, instead choosing to focus on Jarod and try to get him to at least swallow the water Ellie had given her.

Ellie stood there for a moment, swinging her arms back and forth energetically before speaking. "What's your name? And his? Will he be okay? He looks hurt," She said in rapid succession.

"My name is Arlyn and his name is Jarod. I think so but I'm not going to be entirely sure until he wakes up. He is hurt pretty badly," Ellie frowned for a moment before brightening back up.

"Did you try kissing his boo boo?" She asked. Arlyn's head shot towards the girl.

"How old are you?" She asked seriously.

"Uhhh," Ellie took out her two hands and began counting before she was showing five fingers on one hand and then two on the other. "I'm seven!" She continued speaking. "Kiss his boo boo! That's what my daddy does whenever I get hurt!"

Arlyn's cheeks turned a light red, a healthy blush spreading across her face as the image of her kissing the prince crossed her mind.

"Ridiculous," She quickly said, slashing the idea in half. "Healing doesn't work like that." Ellie frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Then he won't get better!" Arlyn felt her eyes threaten to fall out as she rolled them. She stuck out the cup, handing it back to the girl.

"If you aren't going to fetch me some more water, then feel free to leave." Ellie's frown disappeared in an instant as she grabbed the now empty cup from Arlyn and dashed to fill it up.

Arlyn looked over to Jarod, who was now resting peacefully, his face blank and devoid of any emotion. She quickly felt his pulse and found a weak yet study bumping against her index finger, confirming that he indeed was just sleeping.

"A kiss to heal huh?" She whispered in a small, slightly embarrassed tone. She scooted her chair closer to the bed, her knees now touching the metal frame as she leaned over, hovering over his body. "If you don't wake up in the next couple hours after this I'm killing the little girl and then I'll finish you off."

She bent down and slowly placed her lips on his and closed her eyes, holding the connection between the two for a little bit over ten seconds before pulling back, her face now a bright red.

She touched her lips with a slightly shaky hand and observed the fingers that had grazed her lips as if expecting something to be on them. She looked back at Jarod whose breathing had steadied and became more regulated.

Was the little girl right? No, there was no possible way, especially if neither of their abilities were activated. She looked down at the boy in front of her and swallowed a bit of saliva that had gathered in her mouth.

She had liked it. As much as she hated to admit it, she liked the connection she had with the prince. It was a human thing but she had enjoyed it. Maybe she could steal another before Ellie arrived. . .

She moved her hair behind her ear, her hand still trembling slightly before going towards Jarod's lips again before she heard light and quick steps coming from behind her. She jumped back into her chair, scooting it away from Jarod's bed just in time as Ellie came in with another cup of water.

"Here ya go!" She shouted exuberantly, shoving the cup of water into Arlyn's hand. "And since you won't kiss his boo boo!" Ellie picked up Jarod's hand and placed a small kiss on it. "I did it!" Arlyn nodded, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

"Thank you for doing that for me, he's a tad bit too sweaty for a kiss." She lied easily. She looked back at Jarod. "When he wakes up I'll be sure to tell him about you." Ellie grinned.

"Thank ya, Arlyn! I gotta go now but I'll talk to you later!" The seven-year-old exclaimed before exiting the room in a hurry. Arlyn shifted her attention back to Jarod.

"You better wake up idiot, I didn't kiss you for nothing." She waited a full minute and didn't receive a response. She looked down at the floor. "Please Jarod, you need to wake up."

"Wake up for me. . ."