In the Open Cage

Chapter 11

Executed. The word echoed in Misa's mind, refusing to die down no matter how much she tried to block it out. Raki could be executed. And for what? Being a woman? For defending Misa and standing up for herself?

Misa twirled her fork on the mush given to her for dinner, unable to work up an appetite with her stomach coiling at the sickening thought of Raki's fate.

She sat away from the other cadets, though they seemed content in leaving her alone for the time being. Gaveth, thankfully, had earned himself a cowardly reputation for beating a girl while she was incapacitated. Misa didn't think much of the judgement was fair, considering he didn't know Raki was a woman when he attacked her, but it was a well-deserved punishment for all the torment he had put them through.

Misa raised her fork, watching the soft white mush drip down in thick clumps. The sight of it made her want to hurl. The stench of it didn't help. Misa had enough. She grabbed her plate and returned it to the kitchen. After doing her dishes, she left the mess hall. Cleaning duty was left for Gaveth and others who participated in the fight. Even though Raki was no longer a recruit, a fight among the cadets needed to be punished accordingly.

Her footsteps were unnaturally loud against the wooden floors in the empty hallway. The muffled chatter of officers still having their dinner gave her some comfort. She stepped through to the office, where desks with scattered papers, ink, and books had been left behind. There was a door made of iron bars in the room that led to the dungeons, and it was towards it that Misa went.

Through the gaps, Misa glimpsed the dim firelight flickering against a wall that obscured the curved staircase leading underground. Misa pulled at the door, and though it gave just a little, it remained impassable. The reason became clear when a rattle brought her attention to the padlock keeping a thick chain below the handle.

Great. She had no keys. She turned to survey the room, sneaking by each desk for a cursory search. It was more likely that the key was in an officer's person, but she still snooped through the nearest desk anyway.

Finding nothing, Misa growled in frustration. She returned to the iron door and kicked at it, cursing at it for keeping Raki locked up in a dark hole made for murderers and other vile criminals. She didn't deserve it.

"Having trouble?"

Misa jumped. She spun around, going rigid on instinct and snapping her fingers to her forehead. "Sir!" she greeted the voice.

A spark of amusement in soft brown eyes dropped her pretense. Misa's cheeks warmed, and Royle glanced at the doorway to the dining hall before approaching her.

"I wondered what the racket was," he said. He stopped too close to her. Misa took a step back.

"I have to see her," she murmured, looking back at the iron bars in a vague hope that the chain would have fallen off. "It could have been me. I could have easily been in her position. I have to make sure she's okay."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Royle asked softly. "If you'd simply explained, I could have helped."

"Help? From you?" Misa shook her head. "It's difficult to divulge sensitive information like this when I don't know how you're going to react. When I found out about her, we weren't on the best of terms. I didn't trust that you'd let her stay."

"I wouldn't have. The purgehouse isn't a place for her."

"Why?" Misa snapped her attention back to him, annoyed by his words. "Because she's a woman?"

"It was dangerous. Look where it led her. As much as I sympathise with her intentions, infiltrating the purgehouse as a woman would have achieved nothing. What would she have done once she finished training? Reveal her true gender? Then what? You think the purgehouse would have let her stay? Perhaps, it's better that she was caught now, when she's only a cadet. The higher ups will be less inclined to give her a harsh punishment."