Light Shadows

Chapter 17~Captured

I slowly become aware that it is not bright here. It is dark and i sigh. I groan as i move and then i remember the pain. I sit up with a jerk and whip my hand up to my face. All i see is my regular skin color just tinged a slight pink color. The queen had burned me. The pain is gone, thank the darkness. Now i only had to figure out where i was and where everyone else was.

It was dark here, of course, but there was also a kind of drafty feel to the moist air. I sniffed the air and did not like what i found. The metallic scent of blood greeted me, whispering of memories of pain to come. There was only one place i could be: the dungeon. Why would the Forelands need a dungeon? Then, i stumbled upon the right thought. I was in the dungeon. The dungeon. My eyes widened and gripped the bars in a death grip and tried to shake them. They did not budge and panic filled my senses. My vision went red. Although, as quickly as my anger came, it was wiped away almost instantly. What had i managed to get myself into?

I slump back to the ground of the cell. I was in a cell! A cell! I was the daughter of the Devil and i was in a cell! I was in...a cell... I crawl over to the corner and bring my knees up so that i can wrap my arms around them. I rest my head on my knees and close my eyes trying to forget everything. However, scenes dance on my eyelids. Scenes that i do not want to see. Scenes that show me how i got here. I look at my hand again and feel the ghost of the pain i had felt before.

I wonder if my shadows would help me get out but when i try to summon my dark magic, nothing happens. I feel no magic flow through my veins. The cell must be made of iron. I place my hand against the cold metal and confirm my suspicions. Definitely iron. Iron made it so that magic could not be used. But why would the Forelands have a cell made of iron? Why would the Forelands have the need of containing a magical being? My magic was totally not getting me out of this situation that i had someone got tangled up in. Without my shadows, i feel drained. I was so used to having constant access to it that now that it was temporarily taken away, i was exhausted and could not think very clear. But that did not mean that i could not think at all.

How long ago had that happened? How long have i been i the dungeon? Where was the Prince? Was where Father? Where was the queen of the Forelands? Where was everyone? I have never been patient in my life. The one thing that i could not master. The silence kills me. And the waiting. The waiting is torture. Which is probably ironic because i thought the waiting was torture. I let out a quiet, nervous laugh that echoes down the long dungeon hallway. That must mean that the dungeon is very large and spacious.... Is there anyone else down there? Was there anyone else that was thrown in a cell and left to rot in this place?

I listen intently, trying to still my breathing so that i can hear over my loud breaths. Silence greeted me. I was most likely the only person here. And the worst part was that nobody would know what had happened. Nobody would know where i was. Except for... The Prince. He was the one who led me out of the ballroom and like an idiot, i had followed. Had this been the Prince's plan all along? To get me away from the crowd so that the queen could throw me in the dungeon? The thought made my head give a throb of pain. This entire situation was giving me a headache.

I do not know how long i was in the space between being awake and being asleep. It felt like years but... it must have only been a few hours in reality. Time seemed to stretch out as it went on and on. I felt like i must have aged years in this time.

I must have fallen asleep for the sound of footsteps makes my senses go on high alert. However, i do not make a sound. I do not even open my eyes for that matter. I just listen very intently and concentrate solely on those footsteps. The footsteps could be my savior. But, way more likely, it could just be death waiting to take me into its clutches. I wait, impatient, for the footsteps to come closer to my cell. Then the noise stops, the footsteps stop. They cease right in front of my cell. I do not dare to open my eyes. I did not want to know who was there. Why was everyone just no able to leave me alone in peace? Why was i not able to just be left to my thoughts?