Neo was sitting against the wall with his legs crossed. In his gloved hand, he held a small deck of cards - something Kyrana had brought him to keep him occupied throughout the day, and to keep him from being upset. He had been playing solitaire before he had grown bored and began cleaning it up, scooping up the last half finished row. It wasn't until he heard the door at the end of the hall open that he glanced up, seeing Christopher round the corner. Looking back down at his current objective, he heard the man stop in front of his cage and open the bars.
"Nice to see you're in a cheery mood, Nathan," He said. "I'd like to ask you a few personal questions, if you wouldn't mind."
"I wouldn't say I'm in a cheery mood anymore," Neo replied. "It was the perfect temperature in here and you have to come make it cold again." He stacked up the cards, shuffling them on his knee. "You can ask away, but I don't guarantee I'll answer truthfully, or even at all."
"We'll see about that," Christopher stepped closer to stand above him. "What did you say to Liene? What did you possibly talk to her about that is making it so much easier for her to heal? She still neglects pills and medicine, but… She actually grins when someone talks about you. What is it with her being in such a way? What did you do? What have you said to make her so… Infatuated?"
"I said abra cadabra," He answered.
Neo started placing the cards down in six rows, deciding to experiment a little with the deck. Instead of placing them all face down with only the end facing the ceiling, he alternated them so one was down, one was up, one was down, and so on. He didn't pay attention as the cell grew a bit colder as a response to his reply.
"That is not what you did," Christopher seethed. "We were watching. I saw you holding her hand before I came in. Quit the games and give me a bloody answer, Nathan. It pisses me off that she was even hurt in the first place."
"No need to get cranky. I warned you that I wouldn't answer truthfully, so you stepped into your own hole." Neo straightened out the rows, setting the remaining stack of cards on the top left corner.
Christopher glared at him, scowling hard as he stormed over, kicking away the cards. He picked Neo up by the shirt and slammed him into the wall, forcing a hand into his chest. The cold grew from his touch, Neo grimacing as it burned his skin. His own glare bore into the other man's eyes, wrapping his hand around Christopher's wrist, gripping it tightly.
"Listen to me closely," The dark skinned man seethed. "Take this in with any sense you still have. Do not touch Liene like that. Do not become close and kind to her, or else the pain you feel right now will become far worse."
"I've known worse," Neo hissed. "You may be able to touch me because of your so-called ability, but it doesn't mean anything. The only reason I haven't killed you is because, from the way you put it, Liene wouldn't like having to lock me up again because I murdered one of her faithful henchmen. Besides," He smirked. "Who are you to tell me what to do?"
Christopher jabbed his nails into Neo's upper chest. His nails grew longer as a much icier chill spread through Neo's body and onto it. Neo grit his teeth as the pain exploded in the new wound, blood slipping out from the punctures in his skin, rolling down his chest and staining his already dirty shirt. Then, Christopher threw him to the ground, stepping back.
"I do," He growled. "Her brother. You will abide by my rules if you want to see the outside of this cell tomorrow."
He waited in silence for a second as Christopher turned around, holding his chin high as he seemed to believe he had won the argument. Neo knew very well the queen had a sibling - but he was a bastard older brother, therefore having no right to the throne. He glared at Christopher, bringing up his hand with the palm facing outwards to him. Another invisible force shot out from the fingers, hitting Christopher in the back and making him stumble, scorching his clothes.
The bastard prince turned around and seethed, two spikes of ice shooting out from the ground on either side of Neo, making him flinch. He had yet to master his new mysterious power, but he had clearly been practising from all the circular broken and dark spots on the walls. Maybe he could easily free himself from the prison, but he didn't.
"You're lucky she didn't order you into cuffs!" Christopher yelled. "Try that again and- Nevermind, I don't have time for you. I need to focus on the paperwork for getting my sister married."
"So leave," Neo snarled.
Christopher sneered at him for a moment, as if he was about to say something else, but he only scoffed and turned away. Opening the bar doors and then slamming it closed behind him, he locked it shut as he walked away and down the dimly lit corridor. Neo let out a gravelled huff, glaring at the stones below him as the ice spikes dissipated.
His eyes travelled to the frosted over and ruined cards before him, and he held out his hand above them. The edges of them blackened and shrivelled up, as if burning from an invisible fire. The cards broke apart until nothing was left of them but a scattered pile of pitch black dust.