I had been taken back to the dungeons after I broke down in front of the King and Queen. Balthazar had no patience for a 'snivelling child,' as he called me, and ordered for me to spend the night in the cells.
The guard with the broken nose led me down into the depths of the fortress, where the light of the torches was dimmed and the air musty and cold. In my thin shirt and trousers made for the light and warmth, I was cold. Goosebumps rose on my arms and I shivered.
A scream echoed through the tunnel from deep in the depths. The red carpet was worn here, like thousands of feet had tramped over it for years. The guard held me by the scruff of my neck, pushing me along like I was some dog. My stomach clenched in anger.
We passed through a heavy wooden door with studs of gently gleaming metal embedded in the wood and into a row of cells. Each was full, with barred doors and some soiled straw in the corner, with a bucket in one end and a stool in the other. As I was marched by, the prisoners inside looked up with dead eyes, grasping the bars weakly or shaking their heads slowly, pitifully. It was a world away from the atmosphere upstairs.
The prisoner in the last cell was a young woman, tears staining her pale face. Her eyes were like nothing I'd seen before - a brown-green mixture, with flecks of copper around the pupil, but instead of the bright optimism I'd come to expect, her eyes were dull and silent. Her hair was long and straight, a coppery brown, and it was tucked back to reveal small, pointed ears. She lowered her head as I passed, and raised a thin hand in farewell - like it was impossible to escape.
The guard unlocked another door with a set of huge keys that were larger than both my fists pressed together. He pushed me through the door, locking it behind us. This row of cells was almost completely empty, apart from a small bundle in the cell nearest the door and a few dark figures in the one right at the other end. The guard pushed me down the aisle until we reached the cell on the end, which was empty apart from a small mattress and a bucket.
The barred door unlocked with a loud click, which drew the attention of the prisoners in the cell opposite. I was pushed into the cell until I overbalanced and landed on my hands and knees on the hard floor with a cry.
The guard sneered down at me. "No more than you deserve," he scowled, locking the cell and leaving me. I drew my legs to my chest, the silence suddenly deafening. Now I was alone, thoughts started to crowd my mind again, over and over until I wanted to scream.
I probably could. No one would hear me down here.
Your father is a monster. He killed them - killed them all. And you're related to him!
"I'm not," I whispered, my hands over my ears. "No, I'm not -"
"Autumn?" came a whisper, and at first I thought that I was just imagining the voice. But no, they were real - I looked up in surprise. "Oh, my God - you're okay!" Keira was pressed up against the bars of her cell. Iris and Celie were sat next to her, watching us. Celie looked like some kind of ghost, her eyes large and staring. She looked impossibly sad, her eyes dull and tearful.
YOU ARE READING
Eyes of Emerald
Fantasy"The thing on top of Keira got up, slowly, and stood smaller than I thought. It stood on four legs, like a dog, and growled like a wolf. I swore under my breath as it leaped at me, claws extended, and I knew I was about to die." Behind the clouds on...
