Child of Time: The Pendragon Line

Part 20: The Prison

Betrayal washed over me and I sat down hard, sliding my back against the wall until I hit the floor.

I had been verbally slapped in the face by someone I trusted. Misty was right, the world I had come from was much better than this one...and this was exactly why. Back home I never got locked up but here it was almost a weekly occurrence.

The dungeon was huge and had winding tunnels and passageways that looked as if they had been carved directly from rock.

The groans of prisoners echoed off of the walls and made it difficult to tell from which passage they were coming from.

I wanted to curl up and die. Looking down I noticed how worn my hands looked. No longer were they the perfect, manicured hands of an office worker. Now they were dirty, caked in mud with only flecks of the once vibrant pink polish left.

I'm not the girl who has longed for adventure, I'm the girl who longed for a hot shower and comfortable bed after a long day of answering phone calls.

"I never asked for this." I whispered to myself.

Choking back tears I pulled out the golden dagger. Even in the dim candlelight the bladed edge shone and reflected into the darkness.

"I never asked for this" I said again but directing the statement to the dagger, which sat inanimately in my palm.

Catching my reflection in the smooth surface of the dagger I ran my fingers through my tangled hair, plucking leaves and debris.

I was completely alone for the first time. No one was around to drag me in one direction or another, anything I did now was 100% my choice.

I stared into my own tired looking eyes before resolutely raising the dagger.

Slowly but surely I ran the razor edge over and through the length of my hair. I needed to be a different person, a person who could handle all of this bullshit and survive. I needed to change from a person who was used to being viewed on looks to get by to a person who had to now reply on her own cunning and intelligence.

I couldn't stop to care anymore that my nails were broken or that skins was now calloused rather than silk.

Watching as my hair fell to the ground, I continued to shear it all away. There was no turning back, from my sudden haircut, to the locked door. Despite everything I had seen and witnessed I had to accept that there was no turning back time.

Standing up on shaking leg I peered at myself once again on the surface of the dagger.

I did a shit job, my hair was unevenly cut but above my shoulders and out of the way. It was one hell of a fashion statement.

My legs shook in fear but forced myself to begin walking down the nearest tunnel with my head held high and dagger at the ready.

I entered the shadows, following the dim light of oddly scattered torches. I passed by cell doors, that were engulfed in complete darkness.

"Be brave" I whispered to my dagger as I tightened my grip. Its handle warmed slightly as if answering my hushed words.

I couldn't help but wonder why Misty had simply locked me down here rather than placing me in my own cage.

As I went deeper into the dungeon, I heard noises that got louder with every step. The sound of screams, groans, whips and splashing of water echoed through the chamber.

Chains rattled from every darkened cell reminding me that I was never alone.

Inching forward I came to a round room as I entered my footsteps crunched oddly against the ground and the floor felt loose and uneven against my bare feet.