6: Duncaster (1)

Icarus faced him with his arms crossed, and the little girl hid behind his leg, looking up at Miciah with apprehensive eyes.

"This is a Baician child," Miciah said.

"Yes," Icarus said.

"This is your child?"

"Yes."

"By blood?"

"No."

"From blood?"

At this, Icarus didn't say anything.

Miciah stood from the chair, and then knelt down a few feet away from the child. He gestured for her to come forward.

"Don't be scared," he said with a smile, "I'm not going to hurt you."

The little girl didn't move, and her hand clutched tighter to Icarus's robe. Icarus watched the scene, neither approving nor disapproving of what was happening.

Seeing as the girl wasn't moving, Miciah looked at the bunny in her hands. It's head turned to look up at the girl. With a small cry, she dropped the doll.

The bunny, which had fallen onto it's face, pulled itself up and then turned to the girl. It waved at her.

After a moment, the girl waved back.

The bunny spun around again, and then walked towards Miciah. It stopped a few steps in front of him, and then plopped down. Miciah picked up the bunny and held it out to the girl.

The girl looked up at Icarus. He didn't say anything and had a blank expression on his face. Taking this as approval, she came out from behind him and went to take the bunny from Miciah.

"Can you make it move?" She asked.

"I can. What do you want me to do?"

"Can you... make it dance?"

Miciah looked at the bunny. It stood up, did a little dance, and then sat down again. The little girl giggled and picked up the bunny.

"What's your name?" Miciah asked.

"My name?" The girl held up the arms of her bunny, trying to make it move, "Flower."

"Flower?" Miciah looked up at Icarus. He shrugged. Miciah supposed that he had started calling her that in place of a name, and then just never came up with another one.

"Well, Little Flower," Miciah said, "What do you think of me?"

A thoughtful look passed Flower's face.

"You can make my bunny move," she said finally, "And... you look like me. I like you!"

Flower pointed at Miciah's hand at 'you look like me'. At the same time, Icarus's face changed imperceptibly.

"Don't you want something to eat?" Icarus said to Flower. Her eyes lit up as she remembered what she was originally there for. Miciah stood up.

"Oh, yeah!"

She put her bunny down, and then ran to open a cabinet. She pulled out a blue bowl with yellow flowers painted on, and then faced the corpse chef, who was still stirring the pot.

"Can I have some soup?" She held the bowl over her head. The corpse turned and looked at her, and pulled it's sewed-up mouth into a horrific smile that didn't reach it's eyes. It poured soup into her bowl.

"Thank you!"

Flower ran to the table, picked up Icarus's spoon from the seat next to her, and began to eat.

"Does she know?" Miciah asked in a low voice as he stood up. Icarus watched Flower eat carefully.

Does she know that, besides Icarus, everyone in the mountain was dead? Does she know that chef's normally don't have their mouths sewed up? Does she know that every smile, every movement, every serving of spoon ladled into her bowl was all done by one person?

Icarus's face was dark, "No. She knows nothing."

He looked at Miciah, "And you won't tell her a thing. Right?"

The first sentence had been spoken in a low voice with his jaw set. But when he said 'Right?', he broke into a smile, and his voice went back to normal.

"Of course," Miciah said calmly, not breaking eye contact.

Icarus turned and walked to the table, taking a seat next to his daughter.

"Now," he said to her, stroking her head gently as she ate, "We're going to have a guest for a little while, okay? Treat him nicely, and don't forget your manners."

Miciah's eyes narrowed. Icarus had spoken a little too loudly to just be talking to Flower. The undercurrent in his voice made it clear: despite the hospital charade that he was putting up, Miciah was in no way, shape, or form a "guest".

"I hope you'll be a charitable host," Miciah said, putting on a smile and taking his seat again, "And while we're on this subject, where will I be staying?"

__________

Icarus pushed the door open to a room, "You'll stay here."

The room was simple, nothing more than a bed, chair, and desk. There were no windows, and the only light came from lanterns.

"You won't be able to leave this floor, so don't try it," Icarus said brightly, "When you want something to eat, you can go to the kitchen at any time."

Miciah glanced at Icarus. He couldn't move around the floor freely, but he could move to the kitchen freely? A room that would most definitely have knives and a way to make a fire? Although, Miciah thought, with Icarus's Ability, even if he did have a weapon it wouldn't matter. But still...

"Am I the first outsider that's stayed here?" He asked casually.

"The very first."

"I'm honored. Where will you be staying?"

"Don't worry about that."

Miciah was about to walk in when Icarus spoke up again:

"Tomorrow, we're going into town."

"'We'? You and me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"There's something there I need to get."

"Why would you take me with you? Won't I just be a hindrance?"

"Either you come here with me, or I leave you alone here with Flower. I can take care of you better when I can see you, so I'm going to bring you."

Miciah nodded. When they went into town, he would be able to tell where they were. It would be better for him.

Icarus turned to leave.

"One more thing," Miciah said. Icarus paused, but didn't turn around.

"What is it?"

"Where's my sword?"

Icarus didn't expect him to ask so bluntly, and finally turned around, raising an eyebrow.

"Your Highness," the words dripped with mockery, "Do you really think that I would tell you that?"

Miciah smiled, "No, but it was worth a try."

Icarus's eyes flicked up and down. For once, Miciah could see the contempt in his eyes.

"Sleep well," he said curtly.

As Icarus left, Miciah entered the room.

This was what he had been waiting for. Miciah picked up all the lanterns, and sat cross-legged in the corner of the room, placing them around him. He put his hands on his knees and closed his eyes.

Even if Icarus walked into the room, he would just think that Miciah was meditating. But in reality, he was starting to familiarize himself with the mountain.

It was impossible to move an entire mountain. Miciah knew that much was true, but there were other things he could do. With time, he would be able to tell where the mountain was, how high up he was, and how close he was to other people. If he spent long enough, he might find a way to send a message to someone.

Besides that, the more familiar he was with the mountain, the more he would be able to do. He wouldn't be able to move the entire thing, but he would be able to move a wall or a floor. When the time came, all he would need was one shake in the ceiling. With just a few feet of stone or a few inches of movement, he might be able to find a way out.

So, he sat quietly, and timed his breath to breathe with the mountain.