Skylight

Chapter 5: Abandoned

My eyes fluttered open as I took in the scene in front of me, mind still hazy from the memory. I was lying on my side in an unlit, grimy cell, not a ray of sunshine filtering through the air; only the faint glow of a candle. Lifting my head up, a chain tightened around my neck, dragging me back down. With a grunt, my chin collided with the concrete ground. Pushing myself off of the ground, I found that the chain allowed me just enough room to sit up.

Perfect, I thought to myself grimly, checking my other body parts. Other than the iron neck chain, the only other binding I had was a thick chain that wrapped around my torso, securing my wings down.

Having heard the slight shuffling inside the cell, the warder outside my door turned and hung onto the bars, leaning in with a ghoulish smile. "Up already, eh?"

"We both know the answer to that." I returned quietly, my voice low and husky. My lips were dry, making it hard to talk.

"No need to get spiky." he said, holding his hands up in mock terror. " I do gotta tell you something though."

He extracted a long scroll from his clothing, scanned over it before stuffing it back in. Looking back at me, he explained, "We ain't gonna kill you. Yet." My eyes narrowed at him, and he held up a stubby finger with a grin. "Hold your horses, I ain't done, princey. Only if your old man doesn't pay the ransom we'll torture you for information, then kill ya when you can't talk anymore."

I groaned, leaning forward and propping myself on my elbows. "Lovely, I'll await that thrilling day when my father refuses to come through." I guess it was up to me to escape on my own.

The jailer only laughed. He knelt down in front of me, sitting with his legs crossed and pushed the candle a little closer to me, the flickers of flame lighting our faces.

Looking around, I tried to strike up a conversation. "Is this where the people you shoot down from Empyrea go?"

For a few years now, when Empyrea refused to hand themselves down as slaves to Icarians, the Icarians took matters into their own hands; they began to capture our citizens, specifically targeting the homeless who lived closest to the ground. I'd no clue what happened after, but if I made it out alive with information, we might have some new ideas for how to prevent it.

"Nah." he responded, waving his hand in dismissal. "We only lock 'em up in a different area back down." Not quite comprehending what he meant, I just nodded my head, shifting into a more comfortable position.

"I do feel bad for ya." he said, his expression softening as he studied me. With his face closer to the light, I could see now that he was fairly elderly, the corners of his eyes wrinkling gently when he smiled at me. "You're still young. You should be outta here, livin' up to the fullest."

My face fell as an idea came to me. Following the steps I'd seen before... I couldn't underestimate him even with his age in consideration, especially since I was so weak from the bonds; nevertheless, I vowed not to hurt him any more than necessary, and hopefully, not at all. Unlike some.

Inhaling to take a deep breath, I shuddered, but lowered myself to the ground, my head resting on my arms to gaze up at him. "I'd gladly, but I can't. I wasn't born into a role that allows me to do that."

As expected, and as dreaded simultaneously, any remaining roughness in his demeanor was gone, leaving behind a kind, gentle old man. "Fate has a way with that, son."

Son. I faltered for a moment, not wanting to be manipulative like him. I hadn't heard someone call me that in a long time. Just the word made me choke up a little.