Lunar Palace

Chapter 10: Cress

Cress felt a heavy, drowsing sensation sweep over her, as the needle went into her side and her eyes drooped. This had happened to her for the past few days-eat, sleep, needle, eat, sleep, needle-going on and on the same way every day. In the short time she had been there, she had recognized the routine of everything-once the serum wore off, another needle was injected, in a way that Cress felt she never really thought clearly anymore. There was always this weighing sensation over her mind.

Jacin was in the cell next to her, and in the daylight Cress could see him hunched over, half of his bed dipping down on his weight. They never really spoke to each other, but at night Cress could hear Jacin talking in his sleep, always about Winter. She felt guilty that she hadn't once thought of missing Thorne yet.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway, and Jacin's head snapped up, alert. Cress turned to the door, too. It was about lunchtime, and she could already smell the stale yet delicious aroma of the food heading their way.

She took the tray of food from the floor after the guard set it down through the slot in the door, and surveyed the tray. Soup, bread, and water.... Not bad, for a prisoner. Her teeth tore through the bread and she devoured the soup, leaving the water for later. She had learned that water made the whole serum-clouding-mind prospect much better. It cleared her head a little, at least.

She turned, and saw Jacin crouched over his tray of food, picking at it and nibbling at the bread. Cress opened her mouth, feeling the urge to speak but nervous to. Finally, she murmured,"You might want to finish that."

Jacin's head slowly turned to her, and Cress stiffened in nervousness. For the first time, feelings began to course through her. She hadn't felt anything but fear for the past few days. "Just a tip," she whispered, the words barely leaving her mouth.

Jacin neared her cell, and stepped right behind the bars that separated their enclosures. His eyes never left her. "Do you think the others are okay?" He croaked, his voice hoarse from little water.

Cress squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to answer the question in fear of giving Jacin any false hope. She gulped, and opened them again. "Yes," she murmured, her voice hesitant but there. "Don't worry, Winter will probably be sa-"

"I'm not afraid!" Jacin burst out, his eyes blazing and his fists clenched at his sides. "I just want you to know that. That I'm not scared of what's going to happen next."

Cress swallowed, her throat already dry from lack of water. She looked into Jacin's eyes, her own strong and unyielding. "Good."

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Thorne.

Guilt surged over her. What had happened to him? Surprisingly, Cress felt no sadness at not seeing him. For some reason, the last time they had seen each other, something about them felt wrong. I'm not sure there's supposed to be an us.

She was crouched against the bars that separated she and Jacin's cells, Jacin's body on the other side leaning against the bars too. If she stretched just a little, she could reach Jacin's arm, but she didn't. Cress raised her head and watched him, a still being among more stillness.

Jacin stirred in his sleep, and Cress got up, fanning out her dress and stepping across the stone floor of the cell. The wall on the far side of the cell was layered with brick, and Cress kneeled beside a familiar spot on the wall. The brick there was light and almost crumbling, a detail her captors should've noticed. She picked at it with a fingernail, watching some bits of brick come away onto her hands. Brushing them off, she continued until she had etched a rectangle around the brick. Her scraping was deep enough that now, she could see through the wall to the other side. Light. But not the filtered light that was inside the cell. Cress had to squint to shield her eyes from the blinding light that was shooting through the hole in the wall.

She kept picking at the brick, getting the idea of using the spoon from the tray to scrape at it. After about thirty minutes, she had half of the brick out and could see outside a bit more clearly. The blinding light from outside hadn't stopped being...blinding yet.

Yet, as Cress looked through the hole in the wall more closely, it wasn't the pure sunlight she had thought it was at all. No, it was more like a mirror, that made all light reflected on it brighter. A vessel, that glowed brightly for all eyes.

Right in front of her was a Lunar warship.

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I was so excited to write this chapter, until I realized that... um.. Since Cress is locked up, there really isn't much going for this section. So I added a bit of discovery at the end. We'll just have to find out what that discovery means.

Next chapter: Kai!

Bye!

@lunaspell