In the Open Cage

Chapter 12

When Misa saw the rectangles of light reaching through the iron door, she rushed her final steps up the stairs. Without thinking twice, she burst through, clanging the thick padlock with the corner of the door and sending it skittering forwards.

She froze. Had it been ten minutes already? Her heart thumped against her ribcage as she saw eight men look at her. The officers had returned from dinner! Where was Royle? Had he failed in keeping them out for the duration that he promised?

She caught him straightening from a desk, where he had been studying a manuscript for a youthful officer. He narrowed his eyes at her, almost as if he hadn't known she was in the dungeon.

"You!" an officer yelled, this one with a thick moustache and rotund belly. He pointed a pudgy finger at her. "How did you open that?"

Misa's jaw worked to form an answer, but her voice was locked in her throat. She wished desperately that she was dreaming, but no matter how many times she pinched herself, she couldn't wake up. She grabbed her arms, covering her chest, flattened as it was. Somehow, getting caught sneaking back from a restricted area spiked her paranoia of revealing her true identity. After all, it had taken a mere squabble between cadets to send Leira into a cold, grimy cell.

"He must have picked the lock," came Royle's matter-of-fact voice. The surety in him would have convinced anyone that his theory was correct.

Misa's jaw dropped. What was he doing? She struggled to keep herself from blurting out that he had opened it for her. As much as she would have loved to expose his façade, she knew it could send her right next to Leira in the dungeons, and any chance Misa had to help her friend would crumble.

"Picked the lock?" The officer harrumphed. "Typical mischief. What have you gone down there for, boy?"

Another officer, a slim, tall man with round spectacles, offered an answer. "Perhaps he was fascinated by the woman. After all, he's been eating, sleeping, and training with her for nearly three months without noticing who she was! I imagine I would have been just as curious if the first woman I ever lived with was under the guise of a man."

Laughter rippled through the other officers, except for Royle and the older, plump man who had first spoken to her. Misa could feel her face flush in anger, but for once, she was glad. The implications the officer had about Misa's 'inexperience with women' would have had any boy turning scarlet in embarrassment.

"This behaviour cannot be tolerated," Royle said, a bit louder than he needed to. His words silenced the room, more from the authority in them than the volume. "This is unacceptable, Mikim. I thought your trip to Harthem would have set you straight, but I see that you need better discipline. Malingering to get out of training is one thing. Sneaking into the dungeon is a danger not only to you, but to the rest of the purgehouse. Should there have been a dangerous criminal down there, you would have risked giving him the tools to escape."

Misa swallowed her rage. With effort. It felt like she was trying to swallow a ball the size of her face, but she somehow managed to keep her lid on. She would have a word with Royle when she had the chance.

"Perhaps you should be sent to a stricter purgehouse to train you." Royle gazed around the room, but all the officers had either returned to their paperwork, pretending not to be paying attention, or kept watch on Misa. "You were particularly well-trained in Harthem."

Then, it clicked. Misa's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't expected the captain to be so cunning, and she certainly didn't appreciate how he had manipulated her situation to fit into his plan so she would remain a cadet of the purgehouse. But, she had to give it to him. It was a damn clever trick. He had even taken extra measures to put the padlock in the way of the door, to ensure Misa would attract the attention of all the officers in the room.