Destined for Disaster ✔️

Chapter 4

It was dark and she couldn't make out more than his contours. She tried not to jump to conclusions, but as far as first impressions went, well, he didn't really leave one. He wasn't exceedingly tall, nor exceedingly muscled, nor exceedingly anything. She caught herself hoping that at least he might be exceedingly handsome, but as it was she had no way of finding out.

For a while he just stood there, and then he left. Just like that. It was possible that he would return, of course. That was what Reconciliation Day was all about, after all. On the other hand, she could hardly imagine the king consenting to her release, considering he saw her as a threat and a criminal. To be fair, she was both. But stranger things have happened and when sometime later five guards appeared in front of her cell, she knew she hadn't seen the last of her mate.

Other guards started leading the remaining visitors back outside, clearing the block of anyone but prisoners and guards. Ryleigh knew the drill and dreaded it. One of the five guards opened the door to her cell while three others pointed their spears at her, the sharp tips shimmering in the light of the torch the last one was holding. If it'd been Ryleigh's first day there, she would have liked her odds and wouldn't have hesitated to attack the guards. But it would be tough to fight as long as she wasn't even convinced she could walk.

The guards filled her cell, towering over her. Two of them kept their spears aimed in her direction. Two others traded their weapons for long chains and approached her. She stayed still as they drew an iron contraption over her head that slipped partly around her neck as a collar and partly around her muzzle, keeping her jaws locked. Two other chains were attached to her collar and they pulled them tight, dragging her out of her cell. The torch-bearer went ahead of them, lighting their way, while the two that carried the spears stuck to her side.

One pro to being silvered to the brink of death was that she hadn't been taken out of her cell to be questioned for a while. On the downside, that meant she wasn't fully aware of her deteriorated state. When she set foot outside of her cell and for the first time in perhaps a week took more than three steps in a row, she was faced with the reality of her injuries. Every time one of her paws hit the floor, pain surged up her leg and through her entire body. She swayed and received a sharp kick in the side for her troubles. She growled and glowered at the guard beside her.

"Hurry up, the king is waiting," one of the other guards said, pulling roughly at one of the chains around her neck as he spoke. She felt the stabbing pain of a spear lightly jabbed in her side and shot forward, increasing her pace even though she had no energy to sustain her. She glared over her shoulder at the guard who had stabbed her, but her head was jerked back by the chains. Even if she'd had the spirit to fight, she wouldn't have had the strength.

She expected them to take her to the interrogation room inside the prison, which is where each of the questionings so far had taken place. Instead, they led her outside. The fifth guard traded his torch for a spear now and closed the circle behind her.

She hadn't been exposed to full, unfiltered daylight since the day she was incarcerated and even though it was the end of the day and the light was dimming already, the brightness was overwhelming. Her eyes burned and she was forced to shut them. Without the orientation provided by her eyesight and also without the means to take a break, she stumbled forth awkwardly.

The sounds she'd been hearing from within her cell all day now drifted into her ears at their full intensity, which combined with the light and pain caused a sensory overload that made it hard to focus on the otherwise simple task of walking. She whined and pulled at her restraints, more out of a dire need to go anywhere but there than because she was able to fight. It only earned her another kick in the side.

She creaked her eyes open into slits and though she had to blink rapidly, they could stand the daylight then. The courtyard was filled with people and she froze. Queues twirled around the space in intricate patterns and everyone in her vicinity stopped to stare at her. She knew what she must look like to them, and saw the intrigue in their eyes.