His eyelids flutter at the slightest sound, but it takes him a few minutes to adjust to his surroundings as he comes to his senses. He has been there plenty of times - but never the one being locked inside. It usually takes him only a fraction of a second to dump someone inside there, show them his back and never set his eyes on them again. But this time the tables are turned and he is sitting on the stone-cold floor, bound and gagged. His headache feels like it would split open his head any second and the musty smell around him threaten him to empty his stomach contents right there and then. His nostrils flare as they try to search for fresh air, but they prove to be inadequate when his chest only rises a little before deflating; the process repeating instantly. The gag tied to his mouth is so tight that it made the edges of his lips bleed, and he sees his own blood - the dirtiest of them all - yellow in colour, dripping and soaking the white cloth. In contrast to his chained hands, his legs are free and he uses them to scoot nearer to the bars. Outstretching his neck as the chains bolted to the wall only allow his body to move so much, he tries to take in the view of the world outside his cell as much as he can.
The prison is a separate entity from the palace, but they are still considered to be located in the palace's compound. The queen has full power over the prison just like how she has over the rest of the kingdom, but she never actually exercised the power. According to the queen's standards, the prison is the most heinous place one can ever set foot in and she would never be caught dead in a place like it. The soldiers; most often the general and lieutenant overlook the order there and make sure that everything is under control. People rarely manage to escape and if they ever do and get caught, they will not return there. Instead, they will be dumped into the swamp circling the building, handing over their fates to the crocodiles and other ferocious creatures waiting to get a bite off their heads. That is why they say that if you ever get sent to prison, you will be as good as dead. You will never find your way out, and the only way to escape is through death. Either you die naturally or you let it come to you early.
There is a loud clang followed by a sound of anguish screaming, before shouts and indistinctive muttering pile on top of each other. There are curses towards the queen, towards the whole kingdom and the damned hierarchy that should not be allowed in a million years. Some prisoners are incohorently speaking, uttering something about how the kingdom will fall someday and that the queen will meet her death in the most gruesome way possible. He notices that some prisoners are only quiet, as if they are consumed by their own thoughts but lack the ability to say it out loud. Some look like they are praying, wishing for something and others not looking like their own selves anymore. One thing for sure is that this place is not a place to keep your sanity. You either lose it as you step into the building or you gradually let it go as the time you spent in here increases.
Yunho is undisturbed by the situation around him; he faces this almost everyday. But being behind the bars himself with no way out, proves to be harder. He knows the layout of the building well; it is a cylindrical tower located on a land surrounded by a swamp, with 15 floors and each floor boasting a number of 20 cells. It might seem like a lot, but considering how frequent they dump wrongdoers in here, they might as well add more. The only way to access each floor is through a spiral stone staircase located in the middle of the tower, built to make sure that the prisoners have no way to escape except by using them. Another choice is through the window, but looking out, even then they know it is not a plausible choice. One cell is for one prisoner; they don't risk it by putting more than one in a cell as they could be working together to plot an escape. Plus, being alone in a cell makes you lose your sanity faster.
He knows that he's a special case; the rest of the prisoners never had their mouths gagged or their bodies bound from the get-go. It is only when they get violent or cause a disturbance that they will be tied and made sure they couldn't produce anymore sounds from their mouths. However, Yunho had been knocked unconscious by a soaked cloth over his mouth without even having a chance to fight back, dragged to the prison in a drowsy state and dumped in the cell with his body still not responding to his own commands. The bars were slammed against the frame, the lock turned and now he is left alone not knowing what will become of his fate. The walls and floors are splashed with a mixture of blood colours - showing how the dungeons know no discrimination. A cocktail of blood splatters in crimson, blue and yellow decorate the space. Noblemen, commoners and servants have faced the same fate inside the cell.
It was most definitely an order from the queen, but he couldn't deny that he was surprised that the queen didn't kill him straight away. She had wanted him to suffer and not just have his life end immediately. The prison is the most perfect place to do that. He has lost his sense of time, but he knows that it's useless to know. His fate has been sealed and it's only a matter of time before he starts losing himself for real.
---
Hongjoong knows that look in her eyes, and at this moment, it's not a good one. This is exactly not what they needed. As he anticipates her next move, he finds himself almost lunging at her, grabbing her arm. He did it gently, but he makes sure that his grip is firm. "You are not going anywhere, young lady. You are especially not going back to Lucida."
Akira stares at him, as if challenging him to a fight. Seonghwa and Jongho look on nervously, knowing that them intervening is not a choice. She narrows her eyes, shrugging off his grip. He lets go and she doesn't move. "My lieutenant is about to die soon and you're telling me to stay put? I was not raised to be a disloyal friend."
"It could be a trap," Hongjoong calmly replies as his hand brushes his scar. "You just got to safety and you're about to jump into another suicide mission."
"It's not a trap; the horse is really distressed about it." Seonghwa tries to offer, but the blacksmith glares at him as if to say, 'You better shut your mouth before I shut them for you.' and he sheepishly presses his lips together.
"Right now, in the entirety of Lucida, I will not bat an eye if anyone were to ever die," she says without emotion. "And that includes the queen. But I will not let his life go to waste because of me. He tried to warn me but he forgot that he is still in the queen's clasps. He got caught and is paying the price. If you ever know-" Her voice becomes sharper, trying to make a point. "-or experience how life is like in prison, you would think that even death is a more attractive choice."
"I understand where you're coming from." His eyes flick from the horses to her. "But we are not going back to Lucida."
"We are not going back without a plan," Jongho adds. "Sometimes he has a hard time of getting straight to the point and end up wasting time," he whispers, referring to Hongjoong.
The blacksmith tries all his might to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Instead when he feels he's failing, he turns around, bringing the horses together and continuing with the journey. Seonghwa gives a little smile. "What he said was true and we can't just barge into the kingdom right now. It's almost night and we can always crack a plan at the palace. We need as much help as we can get."
"That is what I have been trying to say," she grumbles. "I never said I would actually run back to Lucida now. I know better than to do that. Hongjoong made it sound like he was trying to forbid me from going back at all. He could have just mentioned about having plans first."
He chuckles softly, his irises turning slightly yellow - he's amused. "He has trouble getting his point across at the very beginning sometimes. It might even take a whole 10 minutes for him to actually say that he wants to eat."
She fakes an exaggerated sigh. "One does not know how to get his point across, while another says without thinking sometimes," she eyes Seonghwa, subtly referring to him.
"Hey, I'm trying to be a better person. I don't have-"
"-the best social skills. I figured that out when you practically drowned yourself among the flowers and got mad at me because I didn't admire them."
"That was a long time ago."
"It was 3 days ago. And just because it was a few days ago doesn't mean it didn't hurt."
"I said sorry, I really am," his voice turns panicky, as if he realized he has made a mistake again.
She smirks. "I'm joking. Come on, I have to be tougher than that, shouldn't I? Your mild words don't hurt me at all."
"And I really am sorry," he says slowly as he strokes the horses. They neigh while burying their faces in his neck, clearly comfortable with his presence. He smiles like a father proud of his child's first day at school. "I was... shocked actually, to find out that you're a soldier."
"Why? Because I appear weak to you?"
"No, because I know that I can never be on the same level as you."
"Ah, right. I forgot that I'm a servant." She looks down, a little disappointed with his words. She might have forgotten about it when she's in Nyla, but the truth is still there. Their blood colours represent their hierarchy, no matter how much they say they don't care about it. "You and I are different, aren't we?"
"How sure are you that I'm not also a servant like you? You can't actually see my blood colour, can you?" He stretches his arms, showing the rest of his body post-battle. His body relatively remained unscathed, unlike hers, besides small cuts on his hands. She sees some blood oozing out but he's right; she can't tell the colour. He searches her face, looking for a reaction. She doesn't give any. "You sure do know how to wear your poker face. I guess that's one of the criteria to be a soldier over there, isn't it? Anyway, that wasn't what I meant. What I meant was; you must have faced thousands of battles and saw numerous dead bodies haven't you? Yet even having witnessed all of that you still go on strong. Meanwhile, I see some and I still can't forget them until this day. I use that as an excuse for my behaviour towards other people."
"Strong, huh?" She sighs. "If you're looking for someone that represents the word, I'm definitely not it. I get nightmares once in a while. I see them in my dreams. All the people I've killed... they always haunt me."
Seonghwa's mind travels back to the incident 17 years ago. A bloodied incident that would remain in his mind for as long as he lives. He stops walking, and beside him, Akira follows suit, looking at him quizically. He asks, "Then how do you forget about it?"
She looks at him with the ghost of a sad smile on her lips before replying, "You don't. Once you see your first you will never get over it. The nightmares will start getting blurry as they mix with each other. You are trapped in your own prison, unable to get out. Even without colours, the images are so vivid I don't want to know how it will look like with them. You either learn to live with it, or you will find yourself consumed by your own guilt."