I hardly slept a wink after my night terrors, nor did I dare meditate. The thought of experiencing another magical vision filled me with dread.

Did the serum make me hallucinate? Was Dahlroth reaching out to me for help? Or was my mind playing tricks?

After that madness, I wasn't sure if I wanted to tap into my abilities again.

Promptly after the ninth bell, metal screeched against metal as a guard unlocked the cell door. A female Dragonborn leaned against the door frame.

She took one look at me and shook her head. "I wish the damned bastards didn't have to drug your ass," she growled under her breath. "That does all kinds of crazy shit to the system."

Tell me about it.

After she ensconced a torch on a metal wall fitting, she sat beside me. "Bet it feels like a tornado screwed a hurricane inside your head."

"That covers it, more or less," I replied with a groan as I propped myself against the stone wall.

"They give apprentice magic users and healers that crazy tonic to suss out their skills."

"Wait, what? How does that work?"

"It's a kind of assessment test for magic," she said. "Unlocks sealed areas of the mind and gives Lord Darius an idea of what you're good for."

"He was watching me?"

"Mm-hmm, inside your visions." The guard reached into her leather belt pouch, took out a vial of viscous blue liquid. "You probably don't remember."

All too well.

"You're the first to wind up here, though. What d'you do to piss him off?"

"I don't know. I don't have to do much to upset him."

"Yeah," she said with a toothy grin, "I think he sees something in you."

I furrowed my brow when she handed me the serum.

"Seriously, lady?" she said with a snort. "If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need poison."

I was no match for a Dragonborn warrior--the guard could probably crush most human males in one hand. Her legs were almost as large as my whole body, and I'd read that very few weapons could pierce her race's dense, coarse reptilian skin. That didn't even take into account those large, sharp horns on either temple.

Under my scrutiny, the guard's reptilian pupils narrowed. "What? You ain't never seen a female Dragonborn before?"

"Only in books."

"Get over yourself and take the damn health tonic," she said with a scoff.

I gulped the potion without any further protest, grimacing at the bitter, soapy flavor. "It tastes like crap on a rat turd, doesn't it?" the guard said, curling her lip. "It'll help you feel better, though."

I muttered my thanks. Within a few minutes, my haze began to clear and my nausea and headache settled.

The guard rummaged in her other pouch and pulled out some food in brown baking parchment. When she opened the wrapper, she handed me a golden-brown roll, and my stomach growled with envy.

"Here, have a bite to eat. The honey will help."

I took the roll from her, and as soon as I took the first bite, I discovered a ravenous hunger I didn't know I had. I couldn't wolf the bread down fast enough, and the guard gave me a wry smile.

"If you manage not to piss off the Shadow Rider, you can get on with your training," she grumbled.

"Yeah, that's the trick, isn't it?" I retorted.

"He ain't all that bad if you follow the rules. I've worked for much crappier lords, trust me." She paused for a second and gestured by shaking a casual thumb across her shoulder. "This one's a loner. No funny business with him if you catch my drift."

I suppose I should be grateful for that.

"He ain't leaving the castle all that much. He only does them crazy meetings with them other Shadow Lords. Otherwise, he likes reading in the library and walking in the gardens."

Wow, she's a talkative one, isn't she?

"Hey, I meant to ask--what's your name?" I asked.

"Flohtrath ka Pui'maveth."

I gave her a blank stare.

"Just call me Axa," she grumbled. "That's what everyone does."

"Oh, that's pretty. What does it stand for?"

"On the battlefield, I crush men's skulls with an ax," she replied with a deadpan expression.

I almost choked on the last bit of my roll and had a small coughing fit. She gave my back a crazy wallop.

"They tell me Axa sounds more ladylike than Skullcrusher, which was my first choice."

Since I wasn't sure how to respond, I chewed the roll a bit longer than necessary and nodded.

I bet that's not the only reason she likes the name Skullcrusher.

"I'll be glad when you become a healer," she said with a petulant sigh. "I can finally fight and do less medicine shit."

I gave her a pointed look.

"Well, get your skinny butt out of bed!" she roared as she dug out soap, a comb and a toothbrush from another pouch. "Go wash up before you meet the other trainees."

Cursing under my breath, I tried to detangle my thick hair with the narrow-toothed comb. "Are there many trainees here, Axa?"

"Nah, but we growing," she muttered. "Five now with you. Hope to have twenty or thirty soon."

"I heard this is a special group or something."

"Yeah, all the trainees here are ... different."

"In what way?"

She paused before she muttered, "You all freaks for one reason or another. Broken minds, broken souls, weird skills, you know?"

Oh, great.

"We don't fit in Gatál society, but we got too much value to be killed off." She gave me a wry chuckle. "Take me for example. The Gatál love my bloodlust but hate my giant heart. You humans seem to think there ain't never one with the other."

When I left the washroom, Axa looked me over from top to toe. "You look a damned sight better," she grumbled. "Almost human. Come on, let's get you outta this shit-heap."

Casting a heavy arm around my shoulder, Axa grabbed the torch and led me from the dungeon. As she slammed the entrance to the dungeon and locked it, I turned around to see Lord Darius striding towards us, black cape billowing behind him.

When the Shadow Rider approached, Axa gave the customary Gatál salute, which he answered by raising his right-hand palm beside his head.

"Hail, Gahlt Darius," she said.

"Give me time with the prisoner, Sergeant Flothrath," he commanded in flawless Draconic.

"Ka, Gahlt Darius," Axa replied with a bow before departing.

For a moment, the Shadow Rider and I stood face to face in silence. I stared at his chest to avoid his gaze and set my jaw.

"Look at me, Helena," he commanded in a low rumble.

Filled with anger, I grit my teeth and remained perfectly still. At that, he neared me and lifted my chin, but I averted my gaze.

"I said look at me," he roared so loudly that my eardrums hurt.

With a defiant glare, I stared at the eye-slits in his metal helmet. "I did nothing wrong," I said through clenched teeth. "Why did you have your thugs drug me?"

"That serum allows you to explore the deepest caverns of your mind," he said in a terse tone. "The science grants you access to powerful inner magic that--"

I crossed my arms. "I don't want you to derail my mind like that again. I'd rather be at Castle Halcía."

"You need to learn how to use your magic, and that is the quickest way."

"You need Dahlroth's strength, his morals, and his character," I insisted. "He would never do that."

"Silence!"

"Cast this evil alter ego aside," I insisted. "You don't need it anymore."

Lord Darius grabbed me by the arms. "Listen to me carefully, Helena. I need this form now more than ever."

"Dahlroth has more strength than you give him credit for."

"Dahlroth can't protect you, the other trainees, or the staff in this castle," he hissed. "I employ over two hundred souls at this facility. Shall a tall, lanky humanoid protect them with feeble human magic?"

We stared at each other in silence, both unwilling and unable to budge an inch. "Fine," I hissed. "You win."

He recoiled in surprise. "What?"

"I can't force you, Lord Darius," I said in an angry whisper. "If you want to reject everything decent about yourself, I can't stop you."

He released my arms with a frustrated sigh. "Finally, we've reached an accord."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "But I don't have to like you."

When I said that, the temperature plummeted from pleasantly warm to freakishly cold, like in the depths of winter. His magic turned the humidity in the air into crystalline structures that twinkled like diamonds in the morning sun.

"Let me know when you decide not to hide away the best parts of yourself, Dahlroth."

The Shadow Rider almost reached out to me before he clenched his fist. "Helena ..."

"Until then," I hissed, "don't invade my dreams anymore, and I want no part of your magic."

The Shadow Rider gave me a curt nod and stepped aside to let me pass. When I looked back, I could almost feel his piercing gaze even behind his inscrutable metal helmet.

---

A/N: Thanks so much for reading. Well, this chapter was a bit less dark, whew. :D I don't know about you all, but I needed a bit of levity this time around. Let my mind play around in the light a bit more.

Hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. If so, please do vote and/or comment to let me know.

As always, bear in mind that this is a raw draft and therefore subject to substantial changes. If you see anything that needs fixing, please let me know. :)

However, for the avoidance of doubt, Axa speaks in a kind of dialect/sociolect because human dialects aren't her native language. It sounds rather broken...on purpose. Not because I'm being a careless numb nut. ;D