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They did not ask him, why? They were lost in conjectures, but it never occurred to them to talk to him. Didn’t they consider him a person too? Did he feel like a man himself? Same as these people? They were like in another world, as if behind glass, and he had no desire to break this barrier and become one of them. Their attitude towards him did not jar him, did not upset and did not excite. Arel would probably feel the same if a homeless dog banged him on the street. So what? He would immediately forget about it. These people were just as distant, alien and not worth the attention for him now. Just a given. It would be foolish to react to the dog; he was just as indifferent to the humiliation of these people. He did not consider anything; he simply did not notice him. So, he did not care what happens to him and around him.
And Arel suddenly felt uneasy. He must wake up! Wake up!Wake up! And it was not freedom! Imaginary freedom! It was a captive! And he is not Nikto! He is the prince of Arel! Prince Arel, who thinks, makes
plans and takes offense at people, because they are not indifferent to him and he is one of them! And he does not want to be different anymore!
“I want to be myself again!”
And he screamed.
Hard hands shook him, what was the strength in them! The iron bars of the lattice are expanded, if necessary. This is Nik.
“Arel?” – he asks in a calm, everyday voice, he has long been accustomed to the fact that Arel often jumps up screaming at night.
And as confirming that everything is as usual, Arel jumps out of bed, despite the dizziness, which makes it darker in the eyes.
Nikto fits to the side again, tucking the mutilated half of his face into the pillow, but does not close his eyes. His eyes glitter in the dark, and he watches Arel light the candles, fumble around the table, rattling the bottles.
"What are you looking for?"
"Food!"
"?"
"I feel bad! I need to eat! I need to put myself in order! I … I do not want, do not want to become like you!"
Nikto is yawning.
“I see,” – he says indifferently. Another Arel nonsense, well, he has long been accustomed to this.
"Heck! There is nothing here! Nik!"
"Arel, we have no food here."
“And when did you eat?”
“Yesterday, we ate …”
“Nik! You are hungry!"
Nikto laughs softly and says nothing.
"What did you eat?"
Nikto thinks for a second.
“Vegetables, I don’t remember the name, they were completely rotten,”
– he laughs again.
“Did you eat rotten vegetables ?!”
“The servants fired them; we all ate. And you too."
Arel makes a movement of the head, as if it drives away the annoying fly from itself.
“And I?”
“Yes.”
“And Enriki?”
“And Henrik.”
“Does he again inject himself with "water"?”
“Yes,” – Nikto replies, the illogicality of Arel questions does not bother him.
“I promised you the golden mountains when I took you to the team, promised profits, lands, slaves! And what is the result! Rotten vegetables!’
“Carrot.”
“What?”
“I remembered there were carrots, and …”
“Stop doing that! Stop it, Nik, I'm ashamed!”
“Take it easy. I picked up pretty well at Dim in the Colosseum.”
“Yeah! And he gave me everything!”
“Not all. To restore the streets, you need a lot …”
“Streets! The streets are eating everything! And my people are starving! I'm a crappy boss! And I am hungry! I need to eat! And have some coffee, do we have coffee? Or water at the worst!”
Nikto moves his lips slightly, as if uttering a new phrase to himself.
“I do not want to die! I was a living corpse now, a walking corpse! This is scary! I have to appreciate my body, take care of it! Control it! I need to eat! I want to eat!”
“Well, go and eat! Who keeps you up! Just do not yell here in the middle of the night!” – Nikto tries to lie down more comfortably, closes his eyes.
“It was scary! It is unbearable! I am human! I want to be a man! This is such a happiness; I did not understand! I need a wash! It stinks from me!”
Nikto opens his eyes again and lets out a sigh of fatigue.
“Is there water?” – Arel rushes into the adjoining room, rattles the jugs. “Nik! Call a servant, let him bring warm water!”
“Wash yourself cold, huh?”
“Are you kidding me! It is cold as ice!”
“Arel, go to hell!”
“Why is it so cold! Why not melted the fireplace! Call the servant!”
“What good, if there is no fuel.”
“Fuel?”
“Wood! Firewood! Coal, I don't know …”
“Okay! I do it myself! I'll go down and do everything myself! Here you will be bent without me from cold and hunger, and no one will lift a finger to at least do something!”
“I feel neither one nor the other, Arel …”
“I know! That scares me! I want to feel! I want to feel hunger, cold, everything! All manifestations and emotions! As a person, not as an animal!”
Nikto laughs.
“What wrong with you?”
“Nothing! Just stayed a bit out of my skin!”
“And in whose? Animal’s?”
“Not! Nik! I was you! And … And it is wrong if you live like this …”
“Another glitch, Arel …”
“I would be happy about that! Let it be just a bad coming, because if this is your life, then this is hell! Why didn't you say anything to them? Did not explain? Although yes, you didn’t really know the language, they would be even more scared, and your voice …”
“What explained? To whom?”
Arel rushes to him, snapping abruptly, squeezing his shaggy head in his hands, clinging to himself.
“To these assholes! They humiliated you! Gods! How I love you! Why – don’t know! Why do I love you so much?” – he kisses Nikto on the injured forehead, on the scar. “Poor, poor my being! My poor monster!
You are a monster, Nik, do you know about this? And I love you so much!”
Nikto meekly allows him to squeeze himself, squeeze in clumsy embraces, touch the scars.
Arel removes him from his face, gazing in the wavering light of candles, his gaze glides over the body, neck, chest, and arms, all painted black for good.
“What a horror,” – he says quietly and squeezes Nikto again in his arms. “What a horror to be like you!”
He suddenly abruptly pulls away, as another thought comes to his mind:
“Would you like to be like me? Do not cripple? Would you like to be me?”
“You are in my heart.”
“Yes! For sure! I live in you! And you in me! That's why I catch such parishes! Did you do this?”
“If there is something wrong about you, then I have nothing to do with it!”
“I believe you now, strangely enough, why would you put such memories in my head! I probably really caught them myself, I was there, on this street in Lower City, at this well!”
“Well?”
“Yes! I have never been on a plain, but if I come there, I will find this place! I swear it exists!”
“So, you were me?”
“Yes!”
“Well, you felt like a demon in human form, or obsessed?’ – in the voice Nobody reveals blatant sarcasm.
“Not! Heck! Not! But … But there was a lot of emptiness … There was enough space … for … maybe Enrique and the others are not so …’
Nikto covers his mouth with his hand.
“Enough! I do not remember any place, no well and no people, and I do not like it!”
Arel moves back even further.
“Maybe because you were not there! I was not you; I was a piece of that little man! That's why it was so awful! Gods! Poor, poor man! Not you! You just squeezed it out of your own body!’
‘That's it, go to hell! I was afraid that this would end! You wanted to be engaged in an economy, so go to servants and be engaged! And leave me alone! Leave me alone, the demon who settled in someone else's house! You see how great I am! See how good I am!’
“I see that is not very! The lodge did not suffer very little during the battle for it!”
“So, I will find a new one! Everything! Did you want to hear it? Heard? Now get out! Go, eat, you really have to take care of your body, it is still useful. And not to spoil it, like the others, it still didn’t lead to anything good and didn’t help them!’
Arel tries to laugh, turn the conversation into a joke. “Scare me on purpose? Yes? Nik? Sweet…”
“Sweet?” – a nasty smile is playing on Nikto's half-dead lips.
“Well, forgive me for those stupid words about a demon!” – Arel returns to the bed again, bows his head, trying to snuggle closer to Nikto.
Nikto removes his hands.
“You're … are you kidding me? Forgive me! Punish me! Fuck me! This is the only thing you need! Nothing else!”
“You still want in my house?”
“That’s all! Conversation is over!”
“Nik …”
