Magic Weaver

Chapter Three(v2)

Rafe clicked his tongue in agreement and steered Cedric around. Concentrating was becoming difficult again, but his mind could still grasp one simple fact: Cedric was to live a little longer. He wasn't sure how much longer, but he felt as though he had still beat Rafe. Rafe wouldn't receive the pleasure of killing him yet. They descended down flights of stairs. The air felt cooler down here. There was a clicking sound and Cedric was pushed into a room. The door closed behind him.  

"Don't think you're going to get out of this." Rafe hissed through the door. "You've wiggled out of a lot of traps in your time, but this one is going to swallow you up before you can scream."  

"I wouldn't be so sure." Cedric muttered under his breath as Rafe's footsteps moved away. "After all, I've already wiggled loose."

Stone surrounded Cedric from the floor to the walls, to the ceiling. The room was relatively small in diameter, and circular, but the ceiling rose high. A metal door faced Cedric, with a little hole in the middle covered by thick bars. Once again Cedric was clutched by a small feeling of panic, though it was less of when his hands were tied. The space was bigger now than it was then. He wondered if this was the same room he had been in the first time he was here, when he was nine. Pushing down the fear, Cedric walked over and kicked the door softly. It was extremely solid, as was the walls. Cedric doubted he'd be able to get out on his own. Guess his only choice was to hope that the duke would believe Jack instead of Rafe.  

Cedric sat on the edge of the cell, facing the door, his back touching cold stone. His head felt like there was a mitten over it.. At some point he realized how exhausted he was and fell asleep.  

            Cedric opened his eyes in the morning to stone. His heart sank after a moment, remembering what had happened last night. His head still ached with pain, confirming that what had happened wasn’t a dream. It was reality. Cedric was in the prison of the castle for a crime he had accidently committed. He was to die unless Jack could convince the duke to spare his life. Cedric sighed, not sure what to think of the situation. He wished all of this would go away, and return to the way things were before.

It wasn't long after Cedric woke up that the cook came to Cedric's cell.  

"Cedric?" the cook's voice called from behind the door.  

"Yeah Cook. I'm here." His said the words as though they were admittance.  

The cook sighed, but whether in relief or in frustration Cedric couldn't tell.  

"Cook, it wasn't my fault that I was out after dark. Some men-"  

"I know you weren't trying to run away Cedric. You aren't stupid and you wouldn't blatantly try anything like that when Rafe could just track you down. I just wish you hadn't made Rafe so determined to kill you."  

Cedric chuckled. Despite everything that had happened, he found that he didn't share the cook's opinion. Breaking rules was the only thing that kept him sane in this place, the only thing that reminded him that he was still his own person, and still had free will despite the cage that surrounded him. Now it was going to come back to get him, if Jack didn’t save him.    

"How did Jack know that I needed him?" Cedric asked curiously. The question had been bothering him for some time now.  

"You have Emily to thank for that." The cook replied. "Once she spotted you and Rafe, she rushed up to Jack's room to explain the situation, and as you know Jack came down to try and convince Rafe to spare you the only way Rafe would understand."  

"And now what's happening?"  

"Both Rafe and Jack are presenting the duke their cases. He'll decide and Rafe will have to act accordingly." There was something in the cook's voice that Cedric wished he didn't hear.