The Rogue Lady

Chapter Thirty Two

    Okej guys, I know I should have posted it yesterday but I wasn't sure whether I should or not. Not because I doubt the story is worth it (I am too damn proud of actually finishing it for that), but because I sent a query letter to a literary agent. Oh yes, I did. And if it doesn't work out, I'll stick to the original plan and self-publish!! Anyway, they said to add EXCLUSIVELY if they were the only ones to read it. But did they mean the only agency? Or does this count?

     It doesn't really matter. Enjoy =D

     **

     When I came around, the first thing I noticed was the pain in my entire body. My head was pounding, my arms ached, and my wrists burned and so did my lungs. As for my legs, they were basically numb. My eyelids felt as if they had been fused together and heavy when I tried to open them. My mouth felt dry though there was a faint aftertaste of blood still lingering on my tongue, which was the most tasteful thing to wake up to. And my nose was no longer used to the moldy, humid air that all dungeons had in common.

     I finally managed to pry my eyes open, only to be met with darkness once more, making me doubt whether I really had succeeded to open them. Slowly though, light appeared, allowing me to discover the room as my eyes absorbed the light. It was a cell, a big one but a cell nonetheless, with a dusty floor and slimy humid walls; exactly what I expected to find really. The door, a big piece of heavy wood, was in the wall furthest away from me, obliquely across from where I sat. Apart from the four bodies hanging alongside another wall, there was nothing more to see. My eyes snapped back to the four bodies. They were standing against the wall though their feet barely touched the ground, their arms cuffed to the ceiling, or at least close to it. They weren’t dead; quite on the contrary, they were all staring at me.

     “Why are you staring? Didn’t your parents tell you it is rude?” I coughed out, my voice sounding shaky and hoarse.

     “I guess that answers your question Alex,” a male voice chuckled. It sounded like Bram. And sure enough, it was him when the light showed me his face, which was covered in bruises.

     “What question?”

     “If that blow to the head did any serious damage,” the blond archer grinned, though it made him look like the cell door had slammed him in the face one time too many.

     “Dragon! You look terrible.”

     “Have you looked at yourself lately?” he shot back dryly.

     “I can only imagine what I look like right now,” I sighed and I went to push a lock of hair out of my face only to find that they didn’t move. Of course, they would be shackled above my head; no wonder my wrists were burning. “What happened? How come we are in a dungeon cell instead of at camp?” My throat burned but I pushed it back, forcing the words out regardless.

     “We were hoping you could tell us that,” another voice said. “When we found you, you were passed out in the middle of a street.”

     It was Eric. How had he ended up in here? The last silhouette turned out to be Tom. This was really strange. How had it happened that we were all in here? Eric had gone back with William, and Alex and Tom had separated from us right at the beginning. And why were we in a cell? Feeling frustrated, I pulled on my cuffs, making them rattle and dig into my wrists but nothing more. Sighing, I let my arms go slack again. At least I was sitting on the ground instead of being tied up like the others were; I wouldn’t have been able to touch the ground.