Pain

Even the Keep Master is here, taking time to respect each grave. This feels worse than anything that has happened before. Why am I so unlucky. Why did it have to explode? All these Thoughts cycle through my head pounding my consciousness to utter defeat for the first time since coming to this place. I am a criminal in a way, though I saved lives I also took lives, I have taken so much from these people. After a few moments I make it back to my cell not caring about freedom. I deserve this as I lay on the padded pallet giving up.

I have felt pain but not a pain this deep, not a pain that digs into your very soul. I don't deserve to have friends. Why have I been put here in this world? Was it to help the people here? I really have no clue what the purpose of me being here is. Why did I get reincarnated in the first place? everything is falling apart. I used to be human before, and now I have no clue what I am. Am I a human? Am I a snake? Am I.... a Wretch? A feeling of despair, of an abyss sucking everything out of me slowly forces me into a deep sleep fatigued from the mental toll of the situation.

I awake to a light. A warm light. Double stands there in my cell looking at me sadly, he holds a torch aloft as he sets down by the wooden pallet. After a few moments he finally talks. "You killed a lot of people. You saved a lot of people too. I know you wouldn't do that on purpose, you yourself would have died if not for our healers skill. The people here are looking at you as if you are a true monster, someone who's only goal is to kill humans, they don't look at the lives you saved but the lives you took." Double looks at me closely and continues " My real name isn't double, my real name is rather normal, but I was given a new name when I joined this keep and joined the mages guild. I was given the name double because it is said to be a name that I will live up to someday. Though I don't know what your name is, I have a gift, one that has never failed me. I am good at understanding you creatures, you beasts, I can just understand what you want and it has been useful. I know you are not like the other beasts I have seen before. You are a beast that almost completely resembles a humans mentality."

Double looks at me with tears in his eyes and speaks finally after a long silence "You are a beast but you are a human, though it is the most confusing thing that has happened to me, you are like me. You understand beasts and humans. Like I understand them. We are alike, you and I. I can't stand to see you treated like a prisoner. We are friends now, as a brother I will join you." his words quicken as he continues "We must leave here quickly, I believe the Keep Master wishes to kill you to deal with the peoples deaths, to point a finger at the peoples rage. We must leave soon, I have not a clue in the world where we should go but we gotta go somewhere."

Double takes a deep look at me and continues " I am giving up everything I have to trust you, please do the same for me. I trust you, so please trust me. We can grab your friends and escape in the forest. Though it may be very dangerous it is the only way to avoid humans for now. Do you trust me?"

I look at Double with confusion. He has forgiven me for what I have done how ever bad it was. A feeling of pain in my soul seems to lighten ever so slightly as I look at Double in the eye. I know there isn't anybody in this world truly like me, and though this boy has no reason to trust me or even to make me his friend but he has. He has made decisions that simply make no sense whatsoever how can he trust someone like me so easily? I shakily say to young Double " I trust you ". I really don't know what to do. I suppose the only thing I can do to redeem myself for what I have done would be to kill all wretches though I believe there to be to many to truly ever kill them. But I guess it will be my goal, my first true goal since coming here, it will be my purpose for now.

Double nods at me with determination before slowly leaving the cell after beckoning me to follow him. The telepathic link created by shell lets us talk in silence as we walk. "No one is in the keep right now, all of them have been morning for multiple days, and are currently out trying to rebuild what they lost." he takes me through the keep as he continues "Your friends helped a lot and haven't been put in prison like you did, they saved many lives and the Keep Master isn't a horrible person so he tried to save them from the peoples wrath." He stops at a makeshift wooden cell that I am very familiar with and continues "So they are still in the old keeping cell, they have been treated very well over the past few days."

He pulls out a key ring and slowly unlocks the door to the sight of Big Ape and the monkeys sitting there sleeping happily. I slowly move to Big Ape and tentatively wake him up. After a few moments the Ape slowly wakes up as he looks around. As his eyes lands on me he starts beating his chest excitedly before he grabs me and puts me in an incredibly crushing hug. Though suffocating I manage to communicate with him "You are crushing me bud, could you please stop". After a little more reminding he lets me go as he wakes up the startled monkeys who are just as excited to see me as the Big Ape was. Double smiles at the scene with almost joy before a look of realization fills his face "Could you quite down, if they hear there could be an entire town of humans after us." After a little explaining Big Ape quiets down.

We make our way to an one of the small exits of the keep as we narrowly dodge the weeping people as we head through the grasslands. After a day of travel we settle down to sleep. Double is a human after all, and though me and Big ape could go for a day or two he needs to rest frequently being a mage and the sort. Plus Big ape has many monkeys on him so it's not really viable to carry him. Though are movement is almost halved it's good to have some actual company to talk to, Big Ape doesn't speak much while double is the opposite, almost annoying because of how much he speaks.

To say the least I am happy to have him with us. The first night of camping he makes a fire, one of the first ones I had really seen since coming here. Us creatures really don't make fires to keep ourselves warm after all. After a little bit of silence double begins to speak "Hey, I never really got your name." After a little while of silence I speak "Alex" in an almost mumble of a voice. This was one of the first times I had told someone my name. "Alex, that's a nice name." He then looks at me for a second and continues in an almost embarrassed voice "I can't really tell if you are a boy or a girl, the name doesn't really help either....".

"..." What the heck. I quickly start hitting him with the end of my tail repeatedly while saying in a voice of anger " This snake is definitely a guy, don't even think this snake is a girl." After a little while double finally gives in as he starts laughing at my antics. Actually now that I think of it I don't know if I am a boy or a girl. I quickly examine my body for the little guy before returning empty handed. "..." am I actually a girl? No way this snake is definitely a boy. "I'm pretty sure I am a boy" I say shakily. Double doubles over in laughter.

After a little while we regain our composure as I ask a question rather seriously " Could you explain the concepts of magic for me, I really don't understand what it is I am using when I cast spells. It is just pure instinct." Double looks at me confusingly and replies " Creatures can't use intelligent magic, for the most part all they can use is natural magic." After that sentence I reply seriously " I don't have natural magic, I have to form all my spells consciously."

"WHAT?!" double looks at me intensely. "Are you being serious?" After I nod at him he continues "This is kinda unheard of, almost all creatures don't have standard magic, for you to have it means your bloodline must be pure or you are just purely lucky from birth to have enough intelligence to be able to cast spells."

"Well since you don't know the basics I could teach you a thing or two, you are one of the most intelligent creatures I have ever seen so you should be able to pick it up". The night fades into day as he awakes with great vigor as he pulls out his personal spell book and starts speaking in a language that seems purely alien language.