The Three Realms

Chapter 4- Dark Days

 Fraya woke with her head pounding and opened her eyes. The girl shrieked and closed her eyes again. It was so dark that she could not see, or whatever the traitors had given her had made her blind. Fraya opened her eyes again as far as they would go and stumbled around, trying to figure out where she was. Fraya was finally rewarded by the sight of a floating candle just outside her cell door and sagged against the wall. She wasn't blind.

That was one of Fraya's worst fears. Not being able to see the sun every morning as it came over the horizon, the rolling hills and forests of her homeland, and especially Balthasar. How would she live if she were not a Guard of her Realm? What would she do with her life? Fraya shuddered and looked for a window, seeing a small one with bars over it about a jump away from the ground. Fraya jumped and her body slammed against the wall, but she'd grabed the bars just in time and pulled herself up to see what she could see.

The girl saw many slippered feet rushing past , and thought it was odd that she heard not one sound from them. The people were entirely silent, and it gave Fraya a very bad feeling. She hopped down and turned around to survey her cell with her adjusted eyes, "Well." She harumphed, feeling her heart drop lower each second.

"Well what?" Said a voice, distinctly male. Fraya jumped and walked the four steps to the barred door, "Who's there?" She asked as steadily as she could. "Nobody, just some other poor deprived soul rotting in the cell to your left." Fraya rolled her eyes. If he thought he was getting any sympathy from her, he was going to be disappointed. "Where are we?" She asked. "A jail, one under the capital building."

Fraya's breath hissed between her teeth, "I never knew of such a prison. Only the one adjoining to this building."

"Yeah, only the same three guards come down here, and if there's a special prisoner that needs talking to, Aurelio." The person in the other cell said chattily. "Do you know how long it's been since I've had someone to talk to? There's someone else in here somewhere but the guy is not social at all! It's really irritating."

"Yeah..." Fraya muttered. This guy was obviously cracked. "How long have you been down here?" She asked. "Oh, I don't know. The floating candles let me know whenever someone comes and goes down here because they're lit when the cell is occupied, but that's not much of a way for tell... Oh, and I think the guards come in twice a day for meals so..." He trailed off, thinking, and Fraya could practically see him in her mind's eye, squinting as he counted on his fingers. "Probably a couple years." Fraya's jaw dropped, "What did you DO?" She gasped.

"I found out a secret. A really big nasty secret, actually you could say it's more than one, that the King didn't want known so I'm down here for the rest of my life actually... But I get better food then you do because I'm a permanent resident! So ha!"

"Um, that must be a plus." Fraya said, feeling her initial horror and shock at being locked in a prison receding. Talking to this guys was like therapy, not that she'd know what therapy was like because whenever anyone suggested it, Fraya would stare them down for so long they would forget what the conversation was about.

"Will you tell me your secret?" The girl asked curiously.

"Only if you become my bestest friend, and tell me who you are and why you're here."

Fraya was slightly taken aback at his bluntness, "Well, first, how long have I been down here? You must have seen them bring an unconcious girl-" "YES I KNOW! Yesterday. And?" Fraya jumped back at his sudden outbreak and her hands started shaking slightly. She did not like this place. Not at all.

As she answered, Fraya moved away from the door, looking for whatever else was in her cell with her, "I'm not quite sure why I'm down here." She said as she crossed her arms at a hole in the ground that was obviously for the call of nature. "The Council is corrupt. Poisoned, probably by that power hungry Aurelio and his stupid dragon, I'm sure."