Marry or Kill

14

S O L

My senses struggle to reconcile with my surroundings for a long moment. The cold, hard floor beneath me offers little comfort when the pulse in my head bangs against my scalp like a thunderclap. My head rolls from side to side as if trying to shake off the fog that clouds my thoughts.

Flickering light dances across the walls, casting eerie shadows that seem to elongate and shrink with each passing moment.

With a groan escaping my lips, I shift my weight, feeling the chill seep into my bones

A sharp pang at the back of my skull draws my attention when I turn, and my fingers instinctively reach for the source. Tracing the outline of a lump, I wince at the tender touch, fingertips coming away sticky with dried blood that trails down the back of my neck.

The sudden realisation of the recent events hits me like a freight train, jolting me upright with a surge of adrenaline. Panic gnaws at the fringes of my mind as I scramble off the floor, feeling my heartbeat echo throughout my body.

Driven by a primal instinct, I lurch towards the door.

My hands, trembling, find purchase on the cold iron bars. Fingers slick moisture, slide against the unforgiving surface, leaving streaks in their wake.

The acrid tang of copper from the metal assaults my nostrils, mingling with the musty scent of the room.

A primal scream tears from the depths of my chest, ripping through the muted silence, as I hurl my foot against the door.

A surge of adrenaline courses through me, drowning out the dull ache of my knuckles as they split open upon impact of the unmoving metal.

For a moment, I breathe in and out of my nose, my ragged breaths coming unevenly.

Pressing my head against the cold iron bars, I peer into the dimly lit hallway beyond.

A shiver runs down my spine as I take in the desolation that stretches before me. There's no guards. Anywhere.

But a sudden voice startles me, jolting me out of my frenzied state.

A guard appears from the shadows, his gaze fixated upon me with a grim intensity. "Perhaps it would be wise for you to stop injuring yourself against the door when there's no one to give you medical assistance."

My nostrils flare as I meet his cold gaze, the simmering embers of anger smouldering within me. "I want to be released," I declare, gripping the metal in front of me that my knuckles turn into a ghostly white.

"Why don't you just wait until you're released," he replies with a lazy drawl. "Banging your feet and fists against the door is utterly futile when it's clearly metal. Or perhaps when you were knocked out, your senses were knocked out with it."

"Instead of waiting, I can reach through these bars with my fingers and tear your ear right off." I tremble with rage, flames dancing in my voice.

With measured steps, the guard retreats from my vicinity with a glower etched across his face.

"If I release you from that cage, my life is at stake. Consider that before you moan about your patience wearing thin," he snaps. "Now sit down and wait. I've had my fill of hearing your damned voice."

He's right.

Reluctantly, I release my grip on the cold metal bars, my fingers tingling from the pressure of the clench.

With a heavy sigh, I sink backwards.

"I would have reminded you of your selfishness much earlier if it had managed to get you to sit down," he murmurs under his breath, barely audible.