Interrogation...?

Rafael glared at me from his cell.

"Okay great, what did I ever do to deserve this..." he huffed.

I wanted to cackle like those villains from cartoons, but I knew I'd just sound dumb. So I didn't.

"What do you want?!" he asked.

"Uh..." I thought for a minute. My eyes trailed over his face. His gorgeous, beautiful face.

(No! Count all the prime numbers, you lecherous body!)

He tilted his head, confused, "Out with it!"

I shook my head to snap out of it. "Hey, I'm the interogator here!"

He sighed, "Sure, sure."

"Ahem." I cleared my throat, "So, you mentioned that when the bear attacked, you may have gotten possessed."

He furrowed his brow, "No."

"No?" I asked incredulously.

"No." he replied firmly. "Something may have happened then, but I don't think it was possession."

I racked my brain for an answer. What the hell was this game about...? All I remember was the promotion constantly talking about the cute girls! Why didn't they mention any of this!

He looked up at me, "Actually..."

"Yeah?" I asked, hopeful.

"Nevermind." He darted his eyes down.

We were getting nowhere!

"Now's not the time to be shy!" I yelled.

"I'm not being shy!" he yelled back. He looked suspiciously at me, "This isn't even an interrogation!"

"Of course it is!" I said back.

He pointed to the various assortments of whips, ropes, and strange gadgets lined up neatly on a rack next to me.

"That's what is used in interrogations," he said.

"Uhh..." I looked at them. They definitely looked very threatening, and I wasn't willing to deal with that. But Rafael tied up and—

(No, Ethan! Don't even go there!)

I cleared my throat once again. "I won't be using those."

"Why?" he asked, in a suspicious voice.

"Because," I grasped at straws for an excuse. Finally, I just decided to tell the truth, "You see, I think you're innocent too."

Rafael said nothing. He was eerily quiet, his face stony. So I continued.

"I could tell from what happened you clearly wasn't yourself. Besides, I knew from the start you weren't lying about being loyal to the King. So we need to find who's really responsible and get rid of them!" I finished.

He looked at me, his mouth wide open, "You... you really think that?" he asked, his voice cracking.

"Yes," I replied. The vulnerability on his face was quite heartbreaking to see.

He hung his head down, "It was... I was tempted into it."

"Tempted?" I asked, confused.

"Yes." He said. "This woman, she promised me freedom. Freedom from an eternity of servitude. She showed me the outside world and everything that I would attain if I simply handed my soul." He laughed bitterly. "I suppose this is what I deserve."

I was surprised, "But I thought you were loyal to the King!"

He smiled. But his smile did not reach his eyes. It looked tired and unhappy. "I am. I really am. But I couldn't resist..."

Rafael's eyes filled with tears. When he realized, he put hands over his face and covered it. In a sad voice, he said, "I'm sorry. Just... please leave me alone."

I knew I had to do something, but there was nothing left to do here. Rafael admitting he fell prey to a demon's temptation probably would just make things worse.

However, I could find an escape route or something to let him free. Just sneak him out without anyone realizing. That'd probably be the only way.

I told him, "Listen, somehow I'll get you out of here, ok? For now, just stay put." As I walked away, I heard his protests, but I didn't respond.

I walked out of the disgusting row of cells and right when I was about to approach the stairway, I heard a familiar voice.

One I'd heard when I first been down here in this dungeon. And I stopped in my tracks.

A soothing, deep voice from an alluring man, "I see we meet again..."