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Chapter 8
I must have passed out on the way over here because when I woke up, I could hardly see a thing.
My eyes fluttered open and they took a couple of seconds to adjust to my surroundings except I couldn't see much. The endless murky adjoining of the cell that the guards had thrown me in caused a sudden panic and I felt my chest begin to thud.
No, I thought. This can't be happening now.
I struggled to get up and realized that it was because I was weighed down by the metal chains on my neck. I tugged and pulled at them, I even trailed my fingers to the very end where they connected to the hard and wet pavement walls but it was obvious that there was no way on earth I could muster up enough strength to even loosen them.
"Hello!" I screamed out," Hello, is anybody there?"
The only reply I got was the echoing of my own words.
I screamed out for Damon and prayed that he had at least a slither of kindness in him.
How could I have been so wrong about him? Maybe he deserved to be betrayed by Isabelle and Seth. Maybe he deserved a lot worse.
I took a few steps forward and reached my hands out in front of me in an attempt to feel anything. I remembered the electrifying cell gates and quickly pulled my hands back.
I suddenly tripped over something and fell to the hard ground, feeling booth my knees scrape. I let out a scream at the sudden pain and looked down at what had made me fall.
I couldn't see much, but I felt something coarse, almost like clothing. I screamed out when my fingers made contact with a human face.
The jester. They had left the dead jester in here with me.
I began to scream hysterically, my body shaking with fear and horror.
I pushed myself back until I was leaning against the cold wall and brought my knees up to my chest. I sobbed for what could have been hours until I finally passed out again. I was awakened by the sudden sound of rumbling. I struggled to open my eyes and was met by a small amount of light emitting from a few candles.
I searched for the source of the sound and to my surprise, there stood Damon.
I stood up in a hurry and tried to run towards him but was pulled back by the chain on my neck.
"Damon-" I began," you have to get me out of here, please-"
He didn't say a word. Instead, he fumbled with the lock and opened the doors to the gates. I felt temporary relief and hoped that he was going to let me out but he didn't. Instead, he slid a tray of food towards me and proceeded to lock the gate again.
"Damon, wait," I felt the panic arise at my throat," please."
His eyes met mines and they told me to explain myself.
"I didn't know the jester would be down here when I found this place," I began," I didn't mean to get you in any trouble with the King and Queen-"
He began to walk away but I screamed out loud ," Damon, please! Just listen!"
He stopped again, but this time, facing away from me.
"Seth and Isabelle, they were down here-"
"Don't you dare mention their names!" He hissed, turning to face me now.
"You don't understand, they were talking about you," I struggled to form my sentences," They want to de-throne you like they did to Xavier, they have something planned-"
Damon marched towards the cell and looked me straight in my eye.
"What are you talking about," he spat out.
"Seth and Isabelle, they're together-"
"I know that!"
"She doesn't love you Damon!" I realized that I may have never said his name out loud," she wants to rule with Seth. They are the ones who told the King about the jester, that's how he found out! Just like Xavier and the witch-"
"You don't know what you're saying, eat."
"I know that they told the King and Queen about Xavier and how he mated with a witch!" My eyes were almost pleading now and I almost begged him to believe me," they are planning on doing the same thing to you, that's why I'm here so that I don't tell you-"
"Why didn't you say anything before?"
"Because," I sighed, feeling defeated," because they said that if I told you, they would kill me."
Damon was silent for a few minutes.
"Damon?" I whispered.
"I don't believe a word that comes out of your mouth you filthy human," he snarled and I felt any hope that I had shatter like a piece of glass.
No. This is insane. This can't be happening. No!
"Damon!" I called out," Damon please!" He ignored me and walked away, how body disappearing into the dark until I could no longer see him.
If there was any part of me that even felt a slither of emotion for him, it was completely wiped away and replaced with hate.
Damon didn't come back. Instead, it was either a guard or a maid that came down to give me a tray of food and water every couple of hours.
The only way I was able to keep track of the days was the number of trays I was given. I knew that they gave me three trays a day and so far I was on tray number 5.
I knew that that meant I had been down here for about two days but it felt longer. Every second dragged by and I found myself losing track of my thoughts, getting distracted by the constant dripping of the water on the roof. I tried to remind myself to stay strong. Remind myself that they couldn't kill me because it was against their law, I'm not a native villager after all but that didn't reassure me at all. Somehow, it was much harder to stay calm in an underground dungeon with metal chains wrapped around your throat.
Not to mention the corpse beside me.
It was hard to sleep or to even shut my eyes sometimes. I had an engulfing fear that Isabelle would come back, or maybe Seth, and snap my neck in half, claiming it was an accident and leave my corpse for the maids to find.
Her words echoed in my head again.
Drain me dry and feed my corpse to the werewolves.
I heard sudden shuffling and wondered if it was another maid coming to bring me a tray of food.
It couldn't be, it isn't time.
I scrambled to my feet at the realization that it was more than one person coming towards the cell. When they finally came into sight I recognized them as two guards and...Damon.
I breathed out feeling a sense of relief that I had no explanation for. He has definitely proven to me that he will not be my shining knight in armor, I had no idea what I was persistent to hold on to that hope.
"Damon," I meant to speak a lot louder but I ended up whispering.
"Take off the chains," Damon ordered the guards, not looking at me.
I wanted to scream out loud in relief but instead kept quiet. Two guards walked up to me and fumbled with the chain on my neck. I wondered what this meant. It could either mean one of three things. They were either going to let me back into my room, they had found me a witch or they were going to finally kill me.
I brought my hands up to rub my neck as soon as I could. I felt a thousand pounds lighter. I looked up at Damon who had been watching me.
"What now?" I spat out.
"I found a witch," he began," she agreed to do the ritual."
"What are we waiting for," I didn't take my eyes away from his," the quicker we get on with it, the sooner I could get out of this hell hole."
"She isn't here-"
"Where is she."
"She lives a couple of hours away, she refused to come here."
I can understand that.
"She agreed to do the ritual under a couple of terms, one being we go to her."
"And?"
"And...shell want to assess you first..." Damon was hesitant, almost as if he didn't want to say it.
"Asses me how?" I asked.
"She wants to take a look at your past, maybe your future. She doesn't want to touch you until she knows your safe.
"I don't care, she can assess me all she wants if it means I could finally leave this place."
Damon merely nodded.
He looked towards guards," take her to her room."
His gaze met mines again," clean up and change your clothes, we leave in a couple of hours."
It was almost a relief to be back in my old room. I missed the comfy bed and the clean running water and hell, a change of clothes. In a sick twisted way, I realized that I may have taken this room for granted.
After showering and putting on a fresh change of clothes, I stopped in front of the mirror and wondered if this would be the last time I see this room. Seconds later barged in a maid who I immediately recognized as the one that had helped me get ready the night of the ritual, Meredith.
"Hi!" I exclaimed," I haven't seen you in a while."
She didn't speak. Instead, she wrapped her hands around me in a comforting hug. Shocked at the gesture, it took a couple of seconds to relax in her grip.
"I heard," she mumbled into my hair.
"I don't want to jinx it," I replied.
She pulled back and took a good look at me," it'll be alright, it's about time they found someone for you."
"Do you really think it will work? I'll finally get to go home?"
Her kind eyes bore into mines and her gaze saddened," let's hope so."
She walked towards the dresser and grabbed the sandwich, proceeding to shove it in my direction.
"Eat this, there's no telling the next time you'll eat."
I scarfed down the food and left Meredith back in my room, making my way down to the main garden. I felt the nerves racing through my head and wondered if I really was never coming back. I felt awful leaving Meredith behind. I wish I could have helped her or somehow recused her from this place but it's as she had said.
It's in her blood to be here, she's a native.
Damon was waiting in the same black car as last time. The guards opened the door for me and I made myself comfortable.
"It's going to be a long ride," said Damon," a little over four hours."
I didn't respond. Instead, I leaned my head against the window and remained silent.
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