Legacy

12. The Underground

Raina pulled at the collar of her tunic in attempt to stop it from sticking to her skin. It had been a few hours since Raina had been blindfolded and brought to the prison. The dungeon was extremely humid, so much so that even the metal bars of her cell were warm. When the soldiers had finally ripped off the blindfold, Raina could barely see her hand in front of her face. The only thing that lit up the prison were a few torches down a long passageway before they too faded into nothingness.

Raina couldn't be sure, but the jagged walls and dirt floors caused her to make the assumption that her captors had taken her underground. She had tried to memorize the turns she made as the men dragged her along, but quickly lost track. This place was like a maze, and Raina's only hope of getting out was someone finding Lance. She had been pacing back and forth, glancing nervously at the door.

She cursed herself. Why did she ever have to be born into a royal family? Raina would have rather been anyone else in the world right then. It would be so much easier to be a carpenter, a merchant, or even a nun. Maybe, if she had been lucky, she might have died young of the plague.

Raina tilted her head in thought. It still wasn't too late for that. As soon as Lance showed up, she could hightail it out of there, forget the princess life and saving the kingdom. She could change her name and disguise herself, become a completely new person all over again and go into hiding. There might be another group of knights up the road that she could join. She would have to act like a boy, but false identities were sort of her thing at this point.

"So what did you do?" Raina broke from her thoughts at the sound of a raspy voice from the neighboring cell. Raina had to blink a few times before she could see the younger girl's dark figure. Her thick hair had puffed out in the humidity of the cave, and her eyes glowed like emeralds in the darkness.

Raina huffed. "Nothing at all."

"Yeah?" The girl rolled her eyes. "That's what they all say. I've been stealing from these jokers for years."

One of the guards glared at the little girl, but she just responded by sticking her tongue out at him. Raina blinked in surprise at the girl's bravery. That wasn't the only thing that surprised her either. Raina hadn't expected to find someone younger than herself down here.

"So I'm guessing you got caught?"

"I didn't get caught!" The little girl frowned in disgust at the question. "I turned myself in."

"Yeah?" Raina crossed her arms. "That's what they all say."

"I did!" The girl protested. "Who the hell are you anyway?"

"Raina." She offered the girl a small smile. "And might I ask what your name is?"

The little girl tilted her head, not so sure how to react to Raina's kind response. After a long silence, she finally piped up. "The name's Ari," she said coldly.

"That's a nice name," Raina said.

Ari grunted. "I didn't ask for it."

"Riiiight," Raina muttered awkwardly. "So, um, why'd you turn yourself in?"

Ari glared at her. "None of your business."

"Oh ok, that's cool," said Raina in an attempt to make conversation. "Well, in case you were wondering about me, I was framed for the murder of this guy I just met a few days ago. He just happens to be friends with a bunch of notorious criminals, and now I'm here waiting for someone to drag him out of the woods."

Ari barely heard Raina speak as a group of Mal's men walked in. The little girl cowered at the sight of them, shrinking into the shadows of her cell so as not to be seen by them. Raina's mouth dropped as the dungeon went silent in seconds. The men scouted the cells in search of someone, their faces nothing more than shadows in the flickering light. They worked quickly, throwing open doors and grabbing men as they struggled and scream against the men's unrelenting strength. They dragged a thin, elderly man by his arms and legs, and Raina watched in horror as he was thrown into the dirt. He pleaded with them, his voice sobbing and cracking until he had faded into the darkness with his escorts. They grabbed a few more people who reacted in a similar fashion before only the echoes of their screams remained.

The dungeon remained quiet for what felt like hours, and Raina stood frozen, her mind still horrified by what she had just witnessed. "What just happened?"

"They're taking them to the gladiator fights," gulped Ari, less brave than she had been minutes ago. "Every day they come and take a group of prisoners, and then we never see them again. No one has ever come back from them."

Raina's heart sunk. At least she had hope of leaving this place, but the rest of these prisoners had nothing to look forward to except not being chosen for their supposed doom. If Ari was here, then Raina could imagine there were many other children scared for their lives in this dungeon. Suddenly, her life didn't seem so bad. She had always had someone by her side to protect her, but it never had occurred to her that not everyone had an Antonio.

"Hey." Raina nudged Ari through the bars. "My friend is going to clear my name and get me out of here, and as soon as he does, I'll do something to help you too. All of you if I can."

Ari's eyes lit up, and Raina could tell the little girl hadn't had any good to hope for in a long time. "You will?"

"It's a promise."

Ari jumped as the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway once again, and she cowered back into the shadows. Raina rose to her feet as a figure came to a halt in front of her cell. Her blood red lips were curled into a sneer, and her hooded eyes glared through the bars at the princess. Immediately, Raina felt her blood boil.

"I suppose you're here to apologize." Raina crossed her arms and returned Mal's look of disgust.

The anger in Mal's eyes seemed to intensify. She snapped at one of her men, who stepped forward with something resting in their palms. "Recognize this?"

Raina peered forward at the sword the man was holding. The hilt was carved in incredible detail, and the princess recognized it immediately. "Of course. That's my old master's sword. I left it with Lance before I left."

Raina let out a sigh of relief. If they had found the sword, then they had to have found Lance and Luna. She hadn't realized how nervous she had been until the burden had finally been taken off her shoulders.

Mal nodded as if she had come to some conclusion. "The only thing we found at that location was this sword and a Ladon horse, but my men also reported seeing blood. I suppose if you were telling the truth, he would have been there."

Raina's mouth dropped. Where the heck could Lance have gone? She had watched him try to walk, and he could barely move one step.

"That's impossible! Please, he must be in some type of danger. He couldn't have gone far."

Mal pretended not to hear the girl. "Tomorrow morning, you will be escorted to the gladiator fights. Sleep well princess. I have a feeling there will be a good showing." She threw Raina one last look of disgust before turning on her heel and marching into the darkness.

Hey guys! Sorry this is a short chapter especially after taking a weekend off from updating. It's a busy time of year, but I'm making some more time for writing with nanowrimo coming up.

I hope you all enjoy! Thanks for reading! :)