Run, Run, Run, As Fast As You Can

Again

My eyes fluttered shut with that thought. 

The next time I woke up I was laying on a cot in a prison cell. It wasn't like the cell in the HMH, though. It had actual bars for three of the walls, and the last one was made of bricks. 

"Sleeping beauty is awake!" someone shouted from outside my cell before running out and slamming the door shut. 

I stared at the little line of  light that leaked under the heavy, oak door. The next person to come in would take me to someone important or they would be important. 

 Seconds after the door slammed, it was flung open with twice the force. 

In stepped a man that looked like the embodiment of shady, followed by a meek looking boy. 

Small amounts of grey colored the shady guy's otherwise black hair. It was all slicked back, and reminded me of The Godfather. Three large gouges had been ripped out of the bridge of his nose at one point in time, leaving behind dark scars to remind him of the fight that he'd probably lost.

The meek looking one stopped just inside the door,  but Mr. Shady walked with purpose over to where I was sitting. 

"Rose," the man said in greeting as he walked up to the bars of my cage, "how are you feeling? My men weren't too rough were they?"

I just looked at him. If he thought I was going to feel talkative after being kidnapped and thrown into a jail cell he was sadly mistaken. 

"I've read your file, Rose," he continued, unaffected by my silence, "You have quite the record. How many times have you managed to escape from a HMH? Eighteen?"

He waited, probably seeing if I would correct him. His numbers were off. It was twenty-nine. 

"No," he said starting to walk closer with his hands clasped behind his back, "It's more than that, isn't it? You've managed to get away nearly thirty times, and each time you are successful they drag you back. They can't just leave you alone, can they? For you to truly be free, you would have to kill them all, wouldn't you."

So he wants me to want revenge? Help him get revenge? 

I kept my face carefully blank. This dude was obviously having some mental issues. 

"Who are you, exactly?" I asked, trying not to sound mean about it. 

"I'm sorry," he said with a slight smile tilting his lips, "where are my manners? I am the rebel king Jambres."

I nodded my head slowly, taking in the information. 

He thought he was a king. Totally crazy. 

"Why did you kidnap me?"

"Not kidnapped," he said shaking his head, "Set free."

I looked at the bars of my cage with a raised eyebrow. 

"I couldn't have you running out, before I talked to you," he explained, "You can understand that, can't you? Like I said previously, you have quite the record."

"Of course," I replied with an even voice, despite my growing anger. 

He was worse than the people of the HMH. I was still going to have a guard, but he wouldn't even admit the real reason for it. He was going to tell me that it was for my own good; to protect me from people like Bambi.

If I was right he was going to try and make me work for him but I would be under constant surveillance because people as crazy as him had trust issues.