There was no natural light that trickled into the dungeon. The air was thick with filth and moisture. Anderina knelt and meditated, purifying her thoughts from the darkness that threatened to cloud over her mind. But death wasn't nearly as despairing as the worry she had over the girl she raised as her own.
Anderina was Viscount Kerus's wife, and Illysa was Kerus's daughter. She was only a stepmother to that girl, but that did not stop her motherly affections. They tortured her and interrogated her for information but even when each of her fingers and toes was broken, even when her back was reduced to nothing but a slab of mangled, bloodied flesh, Anderina did not relent.
Even delirious from pain, she did not relent. Viscount Kerus was not pleased with the situation; after all, she was the mother of his son and heir. But they were not the ones that faced any punishment; that was Illysa's alone to bear. Or at least it had been before Anderina decided to step in, even at the cost of her own life.
She had no regrets. She loved that girl. Always wanted a daughter of her own but Illysa was more than enough to fill that life-long desire.
The dungeon door creaked open. The jailer came back, his lips pulled down in a pitying frown, but he kept silent. An Inquisitor, Inquisitor Nathaire if Anderina remembered her name correctly, stepped down the wet stone stairs. Her dark eyes were cold and judgemental, and she looked down on Anderina as though the woman was a stupid child, lost and foolish in her actions.
"It is not too late to repent." The Inquisitor's voice was high and lyrical, betraying nothing of her power and cruelty.
Anderina found that she was not afraid. A smile tugged her lips, and fearlessly she said to the Inquisitor, "Do you have any children of your own?"
Inquisitor Nathaire said nothing but her cold eyes grew colder. Anderina didn't even flinch. "I take that as a no then. Perhaps that is why you don't understand my love and my dedication. There is nothing for me to repent."
"I was a mother." The Inquisitor corrected. Her expression was as still as stone, "But that child sinned, and as a mother, I could not ignore his crimes. I killed him."
Inquisitor Nathaire did not have the appearance of a mature woman. It was undoubted that the child she spoke of could not have grown past his tens. Anderina shuddered for the first time before this Inquisitor. "You are no mother," she said, "you are just a heartless monster."
"I see." Nathaire did not show a flicker of emotion, "Then you shall answer for your sins."
Anderina laughed, climbing up on her shaky injured legs. Beaten and weak, she stood with her chin held up. "If motherly love is a sin, then I shall answer to them gladly. Go on. Burn me at the stake. Impale me. Behead me. Why don't we get this over with?"
"Let's." Nathaire agreed, motioning at the jailer to unlock the cell.
Anderina sighed, sending another inward prayer that her stepdaughter was well and alive.
…
Leonel threw off his cloak, wringing it for all the water it held in its fabric. Despite how much it took in, the material itself was suspiciously light. An interesting enchantment was woven in. He didn't overthink it and shook his head as well, splaying water around like a dog.
"Mind helping me?" A voice called from behind, "Oh great Inquisitor, how have I wronged you this time around? Would it so kill you to help this helpless old man?" Julian was still in the spring, hanging off by the ledge. For whatever reason, he'd been insistent on being helped up, and Leonel had initially left him there.
Illysa was still panting, shaking at the same time from the chill. She tried to climb to her feet, but her legs quaking legs stumbled. Leonel groaned and held his hand out to stop her. He finally walked back to the spring, arms crossed and glared down at the Doctor.
Sharp cat eyes blinked up innocently at him. Julian was smiling, head leaning against the arm clinging to the water's edge. "Pretty please now?"
"Why don't you help yourself?"
Julian rolled his eyes, "I am delicate and frail. How many times do I have to tell you this?"
Leonel continued to scowl, but upon closer inspection, perhaps the Doctor wasn't lying after all. He was shaking like a leaf in autumn and was probably without enough strength on those tiny little arms to lift himself out of the water.
"..." There was a pang a pity somewhere deep down in his heart, and with a grumble, the Inquisitor reached down and pulled the man out of the water by his bicep. "Can you stand?" He was supporting Julian's full weight leaning against him; each breath came in deep and shuddering. Leonel instinctively wrapped an arm around that thin waist to hold him steady.
"Hmm…" the Doctor was suddenly short of words, leaning against the Inquisitor's shoulder with closed eyes. He was about to fall asleep at a moment's notice. Leonel cursed and unclasped the wet cloak, now chilled from the night spring winds.
He looked toward Illysa and said, "Go and gather some firewood."
"Right." She nodded quickly, stumbling a few times on her weak legs but eventually set out in search.
They were surrounded by woodlands, trees that offered no shelter from the swelling chill. As an Inquisitor, strong-bodied and reinforced with anti-mana in his veins, Leonel sleep without much trouble even without any cover or shelter. He feared it wouldn't be the case for the girl and the weak Doctor who shook so violently from a little tossed and water-induced cold. He held Julian close to him, hoping to at least share a bit of body heat.
Leonel had to drag Julian over to the little spot they had decided to settle down for a bit of rest. The Doctor was grumbling, but he was mostly incomprehensible, so Leonel chose to ignore him while waiting for Illysa to return.
"The…cloaks…" Julian repeated over and over again. His voice was heavy with fatigue, and he snuggled up to Leonel like a fearful little kitten. Only he wasn't shaking in fear, but from the cold instead.
"What about them?" Leonel asked, allowing Julian to nestle against his chest for warmth. Both their clothes were still damp, and he was reaching around the Doctor to take off his heavy, soaking boots. There was a little splash of water that trickled out of them when he took it off.
"Can dry…Quickly." Julia took a deep breath and looked up at the man who had his arms circled him. "They're enchanted. Bring them over, and I can dry them quickly."
Leonel blinked. The cloaks were mostly discarded by his side, he reached over and took one to hand over to the Doctor.
The Doctor's magic was pathetic, weak like he was in body. The blue light of mana flickered precariously above his palm, but he held his breath and focused. When his hand touched the cloak, a blue flame erupted and engulfed the fabric whole. It was only for a moment before the mana disappeared. The cloak was dry in a single instant. "The…others." Julian sighed, exhausted.
Leonel wordlessly nodded, bringing the two other cloaks so that Julian could dry them in a single instant. But doing so expended the last of his man. The Doctor shuddered a little when he retracted his hand from the final cloak and instantly fell back into Leonel's arms, his consciousness out like a candle flame in the wind.