Every prisoner inside had long since resigned themselves to their hellish fate.
The peacekeepers rarely spoke to them. Their only form of interaction was delivering beatings or tossing in a fresh unfortunate soul.
But today...
Today was different.
A young man with disheveled dark hair sat cross-legged on the bloodstained floor. The prisoners had assud that the color was dark purple as they could not properly see it due to the dim light.
The young man with a tender, innocent face looked completely unbothered by the horror surrounding him.
With curious equally dark eyes, he leaned forward. He picked up a small twig from the floor and traced it along the smooth surface of a chained skeleton’s ribs.
"Look at this, brother." Xion tapped the bones lightly, "See how the ribcage curves inward? This suggests prolonged malnourishnt. The sternum is slightly concave... probably due to excessive beatings in the past. And see these marks?"
He pointed at faint scratches on the bones. "Signs of rodent activity. Tsk. Poor guy must’ve been dinner for a couple of hungry rats."
Allen instantly went into student mode. He directly sat near Xion, trying to see the broken bones up close.
The other prisoners stared in disbelief. So of them had spent weeks, even months, in this hellhole.
The re sight of the skeleton was enough to keep them awake at night, yet here was this lunatic... treating it like a scenic spot?
There was even a smile on the prettier one’s face!
A scrawny, battered man in the corner shuddered. "T-That guy’s insane..." he whispered.
"Forget insane," another prisoner muttered. "That’s not how normal people react! What the hell he’s doing, and why is he so happy?!"
Now forgive Xion, but how could he not be happy?
He had been teaching Allen and Noxian about bones by sketching them. But nothing can beat the real thing.
Now, that he had a free skeleton, and ti on his hand, of course, he was going to use it properly.
A silly teacher and his ever-dedicated student completely forgot about the prison head and his cronies standing outside the cell.
The burly head guard who had thrown them inside stood by the iron bars.
He was waiting to see the pretty boy terrified by the view, to scream, to beg.
Only then would he let him out, and of course, he had to indirectly ’say’ that it was due to the benevolence of the prince that he was letting Xion out.
And yet... Their previous grins were frozen in place. Their intimidation tactic was failing spectacularly right in front of their eyes.
And then, as if the absurdity hadn’t reached its peak, Xion sighed in disappointnt.
"Honestly, this skeleton is in terrible condition. The bones are brittle, probably due to the lack of sunlight and poor diet. If this were a university cadaver, it wouldn’t even pass inspection."
"What is Unibersity Kadaver?" The head asked one of the peacekeepers who only shook his head.
No one knew what it ant, not even Allen. But unlike the baffled prisoners and stupefied peacekeepers, the Alchemist had experience in ignoring his teacher’s absurd vocabulary.
Allen was actually glad that Xion acted like this. After all, it was much better than watching him panic.
Sowhere in the cell, a man was on the verge of sobbing. "Oh god... oh god... we’re locked in with lunatics..."
Ignoring the words, Xion pointed at the pelvis while explaining "The pelvic bone is narrow, typically a male trait. If it were a female skeleton, it would be wider to allow for childbirth. See this?"
He tapped the femur. "And the muscle attachnt sites here suggest he was once quite strong. Given the condition of his teeth, he was probably in his mid-thirties when he died."
"Fascinating." Allen nodded along. If he had his pages with him, Allen would have been jotting down the notes with fervour.
A nearby prisoner clutched his head, whispering, "No, no, no... you don’t encourage the madness..."
The burly peacekeeper finally could not hold back. He took a step forward, scowling. "Oi. What the hell are you two talking about?!"
Xion turned to him with a bright smile. "Ah, would you like to join in too?"
"Shut up!" The peacekeeper barked, his face red with frustration. "Do you think this is a joke?! You’re standing in a pit of death!"
Xion tilted his head. "Yes, and?"
A heavy silence followed.
Allen cleared his throat. "What he ans is-"
"Enough!" The peacekeeper growled. "You’ll be rotting here soon enough, so you better wipe those smug grins off your faces!"
Xion imdiately put his hands up. "Alright, alright. No more talking."
The prisoners watched in a daze as the heinous peacekeeper who would have lashed out by now actually... stord off?
For a while, no one spoke.
Then, in a quiet voice, soone muttered, "...What the hell are you two?" To make even the prison guard angry and survive... This was really not a small feat!
Confused Xion, "A human?"
The prisoners had already labelled him as a demon in their hearts. Even the one who would usually co to pick fights stayed far away.
It was obvious that these two people had offended soone they should not and no one wanted to be a part of that.
Xion and Allen did not have to wait for longer before they were once again taken out of the prison.
Xion squinted his eyes as the first ray of the sun pierced his eyes. When he looked back to see the prison he was actually perplexed.
It was the sa building he had seen during his market visit, with huge flags with royal sign of a dragon, embroidered on them.
This was exactly the place he had avoided during the day, and yet he had to spend his night.
Xion sighed. Life never goes as planned.
However, there was sothing much more thrilling waiting for Xion. Sothing that would choke him from the sheer shock.
A carriage arrived and he and Allen were taken to a huge palace. Apparently, it was the official residence of Prince Nikolai.
As soon as Nikolai saw Xion he rushed forward with obvious worry on his face.
"Are you okay? They did not do anything to you, right? I ordered them not to hurt you-"
Xion subconsciously dodged the outstretched arms and quickly hid behind Allen. But after considering the prince’s high status, he hesitantly peeked at Nikolai.
"Your Highness, I am fine. But can you not touch ?"
Nikolai could only agree. His fingers twitched at the loss he felt but thinking about the scroll in his study, Nikolai gained his spirit.
With a beaming smile, he spoke very gently, "I have a way to solve your problem. How about you go and freshen up before joining for breakfast?"
Xion looked at Allen. It was a silent question, ’Can we trust him?’
Helplessly, Allen nodded. At least for now, their best bet was the prince, and they had to obey him.
That was how Xion and Allen soon joined the prince on the grand dining table filled to the brim with various dishes.
Barely had Xion taken a sip of the warm milk when Nikolai spoke.
"Marry , Xion. I’ve already asked his majesty to grant us permission for this royal marriage."
His words not only made Xion choke on his milk, but even Allen’s grip on the cup also lost.
Bang!
The cup shattered on the floor. The only sound left in the room was Xion’s heavy coughing.
Xion breathed heavily. Patting his chest he glared at Nikolai.
Marry your mother!
Black Box-
The criminals, horrified by two new inmates talking excitedly about the reason for the death of the oldest skeleton, "Fuck! They are so crazy!"
Innocent Xion, "...??"
Allen, knowing everything, directly ignored everyone and focused on the broken bone.
The prison guard waiting for Xion to scream for help, "... My precious gold is gone!"
anwhile, Darius who was rushing back felt his eyes twitch, "Who is coveting my Xion again?"
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