.

Sebastian had no idea how long he stayed there. There was no food that was sent for him, and there was no bed either, so he just curled up on the floor and tried not to use any energy. There was an unsatisfying ache in his stomach, but soon enough his body grew used to change and he simply felt most of his time dreaming. A few times, he thought he saw a shadow that looked oddly like Jylan, so he tried calling out, but his throat was too dry, so his mouth just moved silently. 

Another time, he blinked awake to see Jylan, who was wearing a bandana over his face, gently stroking his hair. He tried to say something, but then Jylan moved to sweep his fingers over his eyes instead, closing them. And then Sebastian drifted off to sleep before he could even try to keep himself awake.

When he woke up, Jylan was gone, but there was a black bandana tucked in his hand. 

That whole week, Sebastian continued to suffer, until one day, while he was staring at the wall and trying to calm the raging beast of hunger in his stomach, he heard the door open. He looked up slowly to see what looked like Jylan, but he couldn't make sure. He tried to move his head, but his body wouldn't move. Then, something touched his lips. The cold glass of a vial. The water that followed was cool and blissful, a balm on his parched throat. He swallowed, and suddenly he wasn't hungry anymore. Instantly he moved his neck and sat up to see Jylan, in another bandana, crouched next to him and holding an empty vial. Respectfully, Jylan capped the vial and put it in his pocket. He was dressed in all black, loose clothes that made him look like a bag, and combined with the bandana made him look like an assassin, but his eyes were still visible. 

Sebastian rubbed some dirt off his clothes and sat down on the opposite wall, meeting Jylan's eyes. He wiped the spare drop of water off his lips, and said, 

"I think you ought to fill me in on some things, butler. Just a few."

Jylan was silent for a minute, then he sighed. 

"Do you still have the bandana, My Prince?" 

Sebastian nodded and took the bandana out of his pocket, but when he held it out, Jylan didn't reach for it. Instead, when someone yelled something, and there was a loud clang of metal on metal, Jylan stiffened, hastily stood up, and brushed one of Sebastian's strands of hair aside with a smile and a look or urgency in his eyes, before the door closed again, and he was gone.