The Heartless Hybrid Queen

Chapter 1 - Aurora's POV

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I wake up to the familiar pain of a spring digging into my back. Goddess, this cot is unbearable. How I am able to fall asleep every night is beyond me.

I groan as I sit up, stretching my back and arms, trying to ease the pain. After a couple of satisfying cracks, it feels a bit better. I shiver and watch as my breath rises above me in this bitter dungeon cell.

Living the same day every day has been exhausting.

I always wake up too early; it's hard to sleep through all the nightmares, and it'll be a while before they bring around breakfast. It's not much to look forward to, but it keeps me alive.

Then I'll probably do some pacing. Contemplate every life choice I ever made that ended up with me here.

I'll curse myself a bit for being so careless as to get arrested in the first place.

Then, to calm myself down, I'll remind myself that I'm getting out of here soon. I have an escape plan; I just have to wait until my birthday to put it in motion.

After my internal mental breakdown, my day will be spent sitting cross-legged in the center of my cot, planning every little detail of my life for when I get out of here. I have a list. And I am so excited to cross off every person on it.

Eventually, a measly dinner will be delivered, I'll inhale it like always, then be led out to the bathroom.

Then, straight back to my cell and lights out.

But my least favourite part is the ice-cold shower I'm allowed once a week. It really jolts my body into shock in this already freezing dungeon.

It's always nice to be a little clean though, even if I can't feel my extremities.

Aside from death, life in the dungeons is considered the worst possible punishment in the entire Empire.

I scoff at the thought. Whoever said that never lived through this. Death would be more merciful.

I sigh as I start some stretches. I have to get my body moving in the mornings or I'll have a deep chill in my bones all day.

As always, my thoughts start to race.

It's been so long. My seventeenth birthday was only weeks away when I was arrested. I tried to keep track of the days after I was sent here, but it was difficult. They all morphed into one long, cold, dark night.

I repeat the same words to myself as I always do: "when you're 18, your wolf will reveal herself to you and your magic will be unlocked, you'll be strong enough to survive, but until then, please stay safe... and blend in."

I try not to hear my mother's voice in my head, but I have to repeat the words to myself, without them I would lose my strength to go on. I just have to wait. Soon I'll be strong enough to get myself out of here.

***

Dinner tonight is the usual unsatisfying and disappointing broth, accompanied by a small roll, and a glass of tepid water. I inhale it all desperately, my shriveled stomach begging for more.

Not long after, I'm escorted to the toilets. The guards give me the decency of going after all the male inmates, but they still watch me, two of them, holding their weapons and glaring at me, always making the experience a dreaded one.

After being rudely shoved back into my cell, I curl up on my dreadful cot and try to relax myself into sleep. Eventually, I can feel myself starting to drift off, until my ears pick up some distant sounds.