The Happy Couple (Tag: Alidia and Rahim) rated M

Emma was done doing her chores and decided to visit the cells. She knew the inmates enjoyed her company. She was walking down the jail's hallway and she began to sing her melody about her past experiences in the slavery.

Then she stopped when she saw a darken cell. "Anybody in here..." she said as she looked.

Nahusha looked up when someone spoke to him directly. At first, he thought it was one of the guards come to check on him. But the voice sounded too feminine to be one of them.
"I'm here." he responded, his voice a little hoarse. The Cihpromorhtna peacock didn't talk to many people. It stood to reason that he was going to sound like that.

Emma heard a voice but still couldnt see anything. "Ummm...hold on..." she went to get the keys. The inmates warned her not to open it but she ignored them. She opened the door and walked in. Her ragged dress getting more dirty and she didnt care. "Hello..." she said with a candle in her hand.

It wasn't that she had come into his cell that made Nahusha freeze. It was that he didn't recognize her face. After nine years in that cell, he had become quite familiar with who came and went. He would've remembered her.
The light of her candle illuminated the darkened cell. It revealed his blue feathers, black and brown wings, his striking brown eyes and the filthy rags he'd been forced to wear. He moved his train, which was in need of attention, out of her way as he pressed himself against the far wall.

Emma gasped at the sight of the feathers. "Oh..." she started to said as she saw the poor creature. "Were you the one that spoke to me?" she sat the candle down and noticed the train. All rags and dirty. Luckily she had her needles and thread. She smiled as she began sewing it. She looked at the brown eyes. "I am Emma.." she started to the conservation as she kept sewing "Theres no need to be frighten..."

"That was me who spoke to you, yes. My...my name is Nahusha, Miss Emma. You must pardon me, but this is the first time a human has shown me kindness." Nahusha said, hardly daring to move.

Emma frowned when he told that. "People need to treat others with compassion and respect cause you never know if they are in a disguise or a curse. And nice to meet you Nahusha." She smiled and then she pricked her finger. "Ouch..." she took a second to mend it. Her hair began to fall out her ponytail. she playfully growled as she fixed it and continued sewing

"The king would see things differently. After all, it is by his order that I've been imprisoned here since I was ten years old. I am nineteen now, and I still haven't submitted to his will or the purpose he wishes to use me for." Nahusha said, bitterness coating his voice as he thought of Cassius.

Emma frowned. "I'm so sorry...if there was a way I could help I would...wait the king? He sent you in here? Hes my master...you see I'm only a peasant girl traded many times...the stings of the whip and te endless beating but the king pulled me in and I've been in the castle ever since..." she smiled as she showed him his newly sewn train. "Tada..." she giggled. "I'll get you some fresh water and some food." Emma smiled as she walked out the cell leaving it opened unknowingly.

Nahusha watched her go, amazed that she had spent that much time with him without a harsh word. That's when he noticed the cell was left unlocked and open. He longed to get out of there, to be free. But he had been in that prison for nine years and much might have changed in that time. Where would he go if he did escape? So, he sat there obediently and waited for Emma to return.

Emma was getting the water and food ready then she heard a voice. "Emma what are you doing..." it was the annoying head of the servants Dani. "Great..." Emma thought. "ummm I'm giving this to a friend downstairs...he needs it and ..." she got a slap in the face. Emma started to cry but held her ground. "I wouldnt if I were you..." Dani said. Emma glared at her as she brought the tray to the cell and she hid her face. "Here you go...fresh water and food..."     

Nahusha dived at her offering of food. The guards had not been feeding him because the king hoped starvation would break him. He practically bolted down a ration of bread and some fruit. When he reached for the cup of water she'd brought, he remembered his manners.
"I'm sorry. I haven't been fed in a long time." he apologized as he took a slow drink of water. As he put it down, he noticed that she seemed to be trying to hide her face.
"Emma? Is there something wrong?" he asked with some degree of caution.

Emma shyly came to the candlelight and held her hand to cover the handprint that Nahusha wouldnt see it her face. "I'm okay..." she sat down next to him and watched his feathers. She smiled as she stroked them not really seeing that she let her hand go showing the mark. "Theyre very beautiful Nahusha..." 

'She's touching me, she's really touching me. Her touch is so soft and gentle.' Nahusha thought to himself. The only one who had ever touched him like this, that he could remember, was his adoptive mother. Just then, he noticed a red handprint on her face. But he wasn't sure what to say about it.
"Thank you, Emma. My feathers would be more beautiful in the sun, and if they were properly cleaned. I've often thought of escaping, but I have no idea where to go from here. Still, I would like to know who my real parents are, who I am." he finally said in response to her compliment.

Emma did like the castle life as a servant but with Dani making it miserable. She had an idea. "Umm... Nahusha how about we; you and I run away...escape together. I'll hold/carry you and everything." Emma smiled as her blue-green eyes sparkled in the candlelight. "We could go to my uncle's old circus grounds...we'll do it tonight..."

"Tonight? That sounds like a great idea. Although, I think it will be a little hard for you to carry me anywhere." Nahusha admitted. To prove his point, he shakily stood up and brought her to her feet with him. Standing his full height, he was a few heads taller than her, but he attributed that to the length of his neck.
"See what I mean?" he inquired with a shy smile.

Emma smiled and giggled "I now know what you mean...but maybe ..." she remembered that her uncle was a magical caster. She remembered he made potions. She had a couple. She took them out her raged dress pocket. She gave it to Nahusha. "It'll make you human temporary but once we reach the circus grounds you'll be normal..." her eyes sparkled with excitement. "Until tonight my Nahusha..." she walked out of cell. 

"Until tonight...my Emma." Nahusha called after her, quietly. He looked at the potion in his grasp. It was actually happening; he was going to escape. But that was only half of the reason he was excited. The Cihpromorhtna peacock had made a friend. He couldn't wait for tonight.

Emma was so excited for tonight she began working overtime and she made everything spotless. And when it came for the servants' dinner she ate a lot but she saved some in a pouch for her and Nahusha. She hurried to "bed". Dani knew something was up but she didnt say anything. Then around midnight Emma woke up and put on a cloak on and walked down the cell. She had her body covered and she walked to Nahusha's cell. She whispered "Nahusha...you ready?" she threw another cloak in the cell; when she unlocked it.

"Just about." Nahusha whispered. He quickly downed the potion before putting on the cloak she offered. He felt something happening almost immediately. When he looked down at his wings, he saw hands instead, human hands. But he didn't have time to marvel at them. They needed to go, now.
"Okay, I'm ready. Let's get out of here." he said to her.

Emma stared at him awestruck. He had long white hair and looked amazing. Her heart was skipping beats. She cleared her throat and shook her head as she opened the door. "Lets go..." she whispered as she took his hands, she blushed but she temporarily forgot about it as they ran away.

Nahusha held her hand tight. He was having to rely on her for a sense of direction. But he trusted her, even though he'd only known her a few hours. Emma just...made him feel comfortable. She was a good friend to him.

Emma was walking around and then she found the path. The moonlight was bright tonight. "Come on..." she said as they walked the path and she found the mountain. Her flashbacks began. Her kidnapping and the abuse. She shuddered as they walked up the snowy mountain. Wind was blowing her hood and hair. But she didnt let go of his hand.

Nahusha decided to move closer to Emma. She seemed to be shuddering from more than just the cold. He didn't want her catching a cold either.
"Emma. I wanted to say thank you for this. For helping me." he said to her as they went.

Emma locked her blue-green eyes into his eyes. "N...N...No ppproblem..." she tried to smile but she was so cold. She saw the cave. "Cccome on it will hhhelp uuuus in thisss ssstorm."