Prem was scared of the guest, and jealous. Yes he was commanded anew by the supreme one, but that was the worst he could've been tasked for. Working for his new worst nightmare. Something that sent chills into his spine with just a breath.
His shakiness added more time at feeding it.
The man was also frustrated from not finding his two unknown runaways. He spoke to fill the silence in the room.
"You can stand! Can you hold this? Maybe eating by yourself can make you feel better! I'll report it to the king once we are done with this meal."
He saw the kid pulling on his face's bandages, pulling hard and tightening the tissue, making him choke a little. His glassy eyes could be seen in-between the layers, making Prem wince in disgust.
"No you can't ! Please refrain from doing that dear guest. It's for your own good."
A new person entered the room, it was the king. The servant kneeled down when the man entered.
"You, out."
He said, pointing at Prem. A doctor entered as well, and a third person who hid behind the doctor's robe.
"I have organised many things for your needs. Here's your room-mate. He's shy but I hope you two get along. He's about your age!"
The king looked very exited.
'Maybe we can eat him.' Thought Keith. He began planning his next feast, he needed to refrain himself from becoming uncontrollable by eating regularly, but with this unstable schedule he failed so far.
'Can't you hold a little more? I don't think that's the reason he's here.'
Keith extended his hand toward the discussion. The king gave the new kid a gentle push so Keith could touch him.
"See! He likes you already! Let him touch your face."
The new kid saw the eyes through the falling wrap. He couldn't understand what he was staring at. The doctor was upset of his predecessor's work and immediately unpacked his material to begin both kid's daily care.
When the two were left alone in the big room, the new kid couldn't contain himself any more, he spoke.
"The king's assistant, he bought me from my parents and hit my head multiple times that's why it is bandaged too. Did he do that to you too? We need to escape! I am Satish, what's your name?"
He waited a few seconds before speaking again.
"Erm, are you awake? I'm not sure."
Keith was lying down since the doctor cleaned his burns and humidified his eyes. He lift his right hand with no difficulty and gave him a thumbs up.
"I'll just call you friend then. I saw the way out, I can guide you. We can wait for the night and escape together"!
'Do I mark him with the black line?' Asked Keith. 'No, I doubt we'll need to know where he goes. It's way easier than you think to follow and catch a kid.'
When Satish pushed Keith to help him get up, he managed to reopen a wound and make him growl. They couldn't possibly escape with him in this state. Satish gave up the idea of bringing him along for now and decided it was better to wait for both of their recoveries. Expecting to not get hurt anytime soon.
Three days passed where Keith was focused on sleeping and learning letters while Show was busy reconstructing Keith's tongue and a part of his lips, barely noticeable. The constant presence of Satish prevented Keith to try to speak in public. He didn't show any recovery from his skin wounds either and pretended not being able to move much to discourage Satish's escaping plan.
The room mate got used to the ugly face during daytime, though at night it was a nightmare to sleep next to the snorting lump.
'I can catch birds from the window but you need to eat them without him seeing.' Said Show. He knew the hunger was already here. Keith was nervous in the Explanation and had harder time to focus as time passed.
The problem was resolved the fourth night. Satish was tired of waiting and ventured outside of their room alone. Keith jumped on the occasion and swallowed two crows the monster caught.
With his tongue he could feel every fibers on the feathers, the muscles and tendons. The beak was crunchy and bigger than any other bird he had before. The bone's noise would've definitely woke up Satish.
He was partially conscious during this light meal, his full black eyes allowed him to see. The beauty of his room, the many lights of the city during the night, the full size of his bed. The red shades engulfed the colours as he swallowed his meal.
Not focusing on any place, he was in harmony with the room. The curtains dancing to the wind, the crackling torches from the level below his room. It made him forget his pain for a minute. What a peaceful moment.
Half an hour passed when the door opened again, this time with a guard and Satish.
"This incident shall be reported to the king. Try again and I'll cut your feet. Good night dear guest."
He threw the kid against the wall and closed the door.
"I failed. Next try next night."
'How stubborn he is.' Thankfully he arrived ten minutes too late to witness the midnight meal. Nothing was left to see. His adrenaline was low and his blind condition was back.
The next morning they had a new visit of the king. The first thing he did was inspecting Keith. How he was healing little by little was fascinating. He didn't ever look at him with disgust. Just interest and curiosity.
"Little one, can you do the same things today too? I want to see more."
With a nod from Keith, now standing nearly straight, Chandragupta then turned toward Satish and slammed his head against the wall, pushing hard to have his face printed on it.
"As for you, there's no going out of this room without my permission."
Keith took his wooden mask and followed the king. In the palace, the great ruler held the hand of a disguised child. No one ever saw that before. They entered a remote room upstairs. The temperature was warmer and the atmosphere seemed dense.
"Long time no see, Foreseer."
"Welcome my king."
A voice Keith knew already. 'That's the fat woman that came visit you at the house.' Show confirmed. 'She has some attire I could never envy.'
Her clothes were composed of a myriad of furs. Some were purposely kept unwell and once more gave off a bad smell. The thing she wore let her torso naked, her breast was mostly exposed and hanging free. She had many trinkets in her hair, adding a mystical style to her whole outfit.
The king cleared his throat and said.
"I introduce you to your second. Give him a number as a name, he's not to be found yet. He can write and hear you well. I look forward to have results."
A smile sliced her face in two.
"I'm sure we'll coexist well!"
Chandragupta left the room. The big woman explained Keith his new name, and her function in the palace.
"I give the king a blurry piece of his future, I've been doing that for two decades now. He brought me many partners, with whom I had to share my visions and materials. We won't bother with the names. I'm Foreseer. Just like my job. You are thereby Seven. The seventh assistant. And..."
A sudden ache in her eye reached her brain, freezing her for a second.
"And maybe I overdid it to find you. This work is so tiring he he. I knew from the beginning you were special like me!"
As the woman compared herself with Keith, he understood he had encountered someone who practised magic.
"Come here, I want to know if you'd succumb to your injuries before investing my time with you."
She peeled a crust from the kid's neck and put it in a stone bowl. She then used a tool to grind it, she added a pale liquid and some herbs, then she drank it.
She stopped breathing a few seconds later, closing her eyes with a frown. She gasped when she opened them back.
"Death by strangulation! Perfect! Show me what you've got!"
Keith scratched his head, giving himself some time to think.
'I'll die strangled?'
'No, you died strangled. She needs to do her trick multiple times to get the right one ! She wants some magic trick, her was boring, but if she only uses her sight in magic we'll be rapidly lost. Just grab something in front of you, she should give you what you are aiming for. No! Lower for god's sake!'
The woman understood fast that he was looking for her belt. She gave him the scaliest belt he had ever touched. It was a whole emptied snake.
'Make a knot and hold tight.'
Keith tied the simplest knot he could with the thick rope and asked.
'What now? How is she cursed?' He hoped she wouldn't get hurt or a bad condition like his last specimen, Moore.
'Either she'll get a stomach ache, either she'll lose weight, but that'll be a slower process. We should try the second way, if she knows we can hurt her this easily, she won't trust us. Put her belt back, it'll be harder to get the two end together so don't force yourself.'
Again, the lady reacted and helped the kid. But because she did not understand how he worked yet, she asked, not impressed.
"Is that it? What is it supposed to do?"
'Foreseer my ass! She's barely connected with nature. Write 'one day' with your hand on the table, right to you and a step forward.' Show said.
'Is it good?' Keith asked, not sure if he wrote correctly. On the table, his gesture reproduced perfectly the symbols Show had taught him. The woman could read too and nodded. Just to notice he couldn't see her nodding.
"One day! What a smart kid! Do I have to wait this much to see the effect? I'll have to keep this belt even while sleeping?"
Nod.
'Do you lose weight in just one night Mister Show?'
'Nah, you exercise and you stop eating too much, the belt will numb her hunger, we'll have some test with her first. Can't hurt if she doesn't know she's our new test object. Maybe we'll be able to control yours better.'