His Fading Humanity

Chapter 29: Candie Speaks

The few prisoners that inhabited their cells were fast asleep, curled up in fresh hay piles or on their old mattresses. Some didn't awake as she passed them by.

But she was seeing someone in particular. Asheria had not visited Candie for quite some time, and she knew she needed to talk to her again, lest she go mad with the emotions she had been feeling.

She stopped in front of the thick, sturdy bars of Candie's cell and found herself looking at the young woman curled up in a thick pile of hay. Her body faced Asheria, and the soft, dim light from the torches scattered the darkness and sent the entity fleeing.

Her hair was matted and oily around her, laying like a wild mane around her skull. Her clothes were plain - a long-sleeved dress. Oddly enough, though, were her eyes.

They were wide open.

And they were looking right at Asheria.

Her eyes didn't even blink. They remained unwavering and blank. Bloodshot and almost...creepy from the expression they bore.

Asheria found it very unsettling.

Nevertheless, though, she opened the cell and even proceeded to sit down in front of Candie. She leaned her back against the bars of the cell so she could appear less threatening and relaxed.

"I can't sleep," Asheria confessed, her voice was quiet but it sounded loud against the dead silence of the prison, "It's been like this for many nights."

Candie didn't move. 

She simply stared.

It was unnerving.

"I figured it was...a phase. Something that happens from time to time. But, then I realized. It was stemming from you."

Candie's eye twitched.

"Candie, I know you are hiding something. Something is hidden behind those eyes of yours. I want you to understand that you can talk to me anytime you want. You can talk to the guards anytime you want, with no consequence."

Candie didn't even move, nor did she speak.

"I also want you to know that if something happens as a result of what you are hiding, and I find out, you will regret it. Right now, you can come clean with no consequence."

Asheria tried to picture herself in Candie's position. What would she do if she was locked up for a crime? What would she do if she was hiding information? What would she do if she had the option to be honest, or face severe physical and mental pain later on as a result of hiding information?

She knew what she would do.

It was logical, after all.

She would be upfront and honest.

But Candie was stubborn. Strong, even.

In a way, Asheria admired that. Candie was the type of woman who would've been an outstanding soldier or leader had she had chosen the right path and not have been corrupt. She would've been loyal and brave.

But it was an unfortunate decision Candie had made.

Asheria approached Candie, her face mere inches from Candie's.

"Oh, and Candie, I will find out. Whatever you are hiding will be the shovels to dig your own grave."

Asheria sat in the cell for a few more fleeting moments, looking into the deadening eyes of Candie. She maintained her innocence with strength, despite being barred from her freedoms of the outside world. Asheria decided to give it another day or two and turned to exit the cell.