Dawning Skye

508 Bird Cage

***WARNING: LANGUAGE AND DISTURBING CONTENT***

Nicolas sat in quiet horror as he watched Doctor Stein dissecting a goblin through the tiny bars of the bird cage he had been thrown in. He had done an excellent job making the palace guards and soldiers chase him. There was a good two dozen or so trailing behind him when he’d come across Draco and Sheri.

They were walking down the hallway when they’d heard the commotion, and had caught Nicolas shorty thereafter. Sheri was a master at manipulating water with her magic. She used the light streaming in from the windows, and reflected it into his eyes as he was flying towards them. Within those few moments of blindness, Draco had ran up, and smacked him against the wall.

The next thing Nicolas knew, he was waking up in Doctor Stein’s new office. Since Marco was in charge now, he didn’t care if anyone saw the doctor cutting into a goblin corpse. The man had a hundred things to do, and not nearly enough time to accomplish everything that he wanted. Multitasking was the only way that the doctor thought he could get everything done according to his King’s timetable..

A kind of upbeat music that Nicolas had never heard before was playing in the background as he dismantled the goblin. The smell was what had actually woken Nicolas up from being knocked out cold. As he tried to keep the contents of his stomach in place, Doctor Stein caught his movements from the corner of his eye.

Whirling around with blackened gloves, Stein grinned broadly as he stared at the old Fae, and said; “Oh! You’re awake! Good! Good, good, good, good. Now we can get started! The King wants a report on you as soon as possible, so I better set this down now, but-oh! I need to take out the other liver first. The second heart can stay, but I don’t even know what that thing is-”

“Excuse me, but can you tell me what’s going on?” Nicolas asked with a groggy-sounding voice.

The surge of adrenaline he had felt from seeing Stein cutting into the goblin had brought his senses to a screaming height. But Nicolas wasn’t stupid, either. It was obvious from what the man had said that he needed to buy some time..

‘I have no doubt that when he says ‘report’, he means an autopsy.. I need to buy time, or I have a feeling that I’ll end up like that goblin..’

.....

As the thought stayed in the back of Nic’s mind, he rubbed the side of his head as he lazily looked at the foul-smelling doctor in front of him. The man didn’t seem malicious, just...insane, to the old Fae. But that didn’t mean that Nicolas was going to underestimate him.

As he stayed sitting on the cold floor of the bird cage, Doctor Stein came closer as he spoke; “Of course you don’t remember. You were konked out by Draco and Sheri. They’re the ones that brought ya to me. It’s my job to learn things..”

Nicolas swallowed hard as he asked; “What kind of things?”

Stein burst out laughing for a few seconds, then said; “All the things! First off: what class of Fae are you? I know it, but I still have to ask. In case you Fae have terms or names for subspecies I that don’t know about. Like this guy back here! Did you know-”

Stein whipped around, and went back to hover above the dead goblin’s head as he continued; “That apparently goblins have their own version of lords? Fascinating stuff.. But the best parts are always on the inside. Like this!”

Reaching in with his already-bloodied glove, Stein lifted up what looked like three waterskin bags strung together as he spoke; “Look, look, look! Five! Count them! FIVE stomachs! Why so many?! Are they the reason that goblins can eat any kind of raw meat? Oh! And this! It has two hearts! One even looks like it’s been damaged! But the thing was still tickin’ along like nothing!”

As Stein tugged and shifted the organs as he spoke, the smell from before became even more intense. As Nicolas covered his face with his arm, the doctor glanced inside the body. A surly expression instantly covered his face as he reached in, and pulled out a leaking intestine.

“Fuck! The acid will corrode the body from the inside now! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!” Stein yelled as he stomped his feet like a child in a tantrum.

When Stein’s eyes landed on Nicolas, he felt the icy chill of death creep up his spine. It was well known that Stein wasn’t stable, but Nicolas had never heard of him going full-blown mental like this before. As he walked towards the old Fae with a deranged look in his eyes, Nicolas tried to think of a way to stall him..

As he reached for the cage, Nic quickly said; “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you doing an autopsy on a goblin?”

A kind of light came back into the doctor’s eyes before he replied; “Oh, it’s a hobby. I cut up anything I don’t know. It’s the fastest way to learn how it works! The King only cares about weaknesses, or how we can use them. But I just want to see..”

Nic didn’t want to ask, but knew it would keep him talking; “See what?”

Stein grinned like a child at Yuletide as he answered; “Them. What makes them, them.. Their insides, their outsides, how it all connects to create individual works of art! And! And I get to be the one to take it all apart..”

As a twisted smile stretched across his face, Nicolas knew that he needed to keep buying time.. ‘Or I’ll end up his next project..’

Forcing a smile to his own face, Nicolas nodded as he commented; “Well, that’s a-a lovely way to see it. Most people just see...the, the mess and morbidity of it. Ahem-It’s rare to find a person that sees the beauty of the intricacies of living beings.”

Doctor Stein’s entire demeanor lit up; “I know, right? I can’t believe we’re not carving each other up on the streets! Though, I suppose the cleanup wouldn’t really be worth it. Most humans are all the same, except for the outside. Fae are the real works of art..”

An eerie look reflected in the doctor’s eyes as he squinted at Nicolas, and asked; “Take you for example: I bet you’re one of the most interesting Fae I’ll ever see! I mean, you’re fucking Santa! You fly! How long have you lived? Do you make the reindeer fly, or is it something else? Is Maevis Mrs. Claws? I think she’s a bit bitchy for the role, but someone would need to keep you in line!”

Nicolas nodded and smiled along as the doctor bounced between rambling questions, and rambling off creepy stories about previous dissections. When he mentioned that the goblin he was working on now was around his two-hundredth, Nicolas swallowed hard as he asked; “Why have you been dissecting so many Fae lately?”

Not thinking, Stein started to go off; “Oh, the King wants me to be ready to test my new babies out soon. Stupid Norvis has some monstrosity that he wants to test out too, but I don’t see the point. My zombies are More than capable of putting down everything from people, to Fae. Him tagging along when I go to Warrick Forest has had me in a foul mood all day..”

Nicolas’ heart dropped as he asked; “Warrick Forest? Why would you go there?”

Doctor Stein stared blankly at him for a minute, then burst out in laughter before replying; “You really don’t get it, do you? The Fae, the Highlanders, even Dragonhorn will come to see it. But it’ll be too late then..”

“See what?” Nicolas inquired, ignoring the doctor’s derogative laugh.

After another hearty chuckle, he bent over to be level with Nic as he answered; “That this kingdom-no: this entire continent, belongs to my King. And no one will get in his way, and live.. That includes his brother and his allies..”

As shock and horror covered Nicolas’ features, Doctor Stein grinned at him as he said; “Now, let’s get you set up on your canvas, shall we? I really am curious to see if Tamer magic is all you have.”

Seeing a tiny opportunity, Nicolas replied humbly; “Well, I can honestly say I’m but a simple Tamer, but there is one thing that sets me apart from most other Fae alive.”

His curiosity peaked, Stein asked; “And what’s that?”

Nicolas smirked; “My knowledge.. I have been in almost every single library this world has: including the Fae Empress’ personal library. I can make magical items with ease, as well as have a vast knowledge base of history.. The Real history of this world. How many Fae have you met that can say that?”

Stein crossed an arm over his stomach, and rested his elbow from his other arm on it. He rubbed at his chin with a contemplative expression, smearing the goblin blood and bile all over the bottom part of his face. As Nicolas tried to maintain his stomach and nerves, Stein leaned back over to be equal with Nicolas, and said flatly; “Is this just an attempt to stay alive?”

Nicolas shrugged; “I mean, you could kill me easily enough. But then you won’t learn everything Only seeing my...inner art, would be ignoring the most beautiful part of me.”

As Stein internally debated with himself, a guard flung open the door, and announced; “The King is calling for you, Doctor Stein. He wants you to do an evaluation of the Vice Commander before she’s sent to the dungeons.”

“Why?” came his annoyed answer.

The guard swallowed hard as he tried not to gag from the smell of the room; “I believe it’s for a report that the King plans to send to the Ruscovic King.”

Stein deflated; “Which means I don’t get to see her soul’s art.. A shame.”

Looking at Nicolas, Stein said; “We’ll discuss extending your time when I return. But I wouldn’t get your hopes up if I were you. The King may not care what’s in your head. Only how we can add you to the army.”

Nicolas nodded like he wasn’t concerned, then sat quietly as they left the room. After making sure that no one else was around, Nicolas tried to use his Tamer magic, but to no avail.. ‘This bloody cage must be made of sealing stone.. Ironic the land that made it through the portal from our world is the only material that stops magic.. I wonder if the humans know that it comes from our home world?’

As Nicolas started to examine his prison, a familiar voice called out; “You look ridiculous stuck in that thing.. How many houses have you gone in and out of over the centuries? But you can’t manage to escape one little bird cage?”

A happy, albeit sarcastic smile stretched across his face as Nic turned around to see Maevis fluttering down from the ceiling. Three Brownie spies scurried across the floor, making sure that they were alone before Lieutenant Tryst jumped onto the table, and started to pick the bird cage’s lock. As he started to diligently work, Maevis landed, and put her hand on his shoulder..

Grinning evilly, she looked at Nicolas as she spoke to the Lieutenant; “For all of the trouble he’s caused, I say we don’t let him out until he clucks like a chicken..”

Nic glared at her; “Now’s not the time for your nonsense! We need to leave Now! Or Dragonhorn and our home will be leveled!”