Dawn's Light

Chapter 23

Celia stumbled along the tunnels she was being led down. Though the angles at which her feet landed on the ground told her she was walking up a slight incline, but otherwise, she was left with barely any sense of direction and could not see where she was going. She heard the footsteps of the guards around her, but the bag over her head snuffed the rest of her senses. Blind, she continued to allow the guards to force her to go wherever they were leading her.

Since she did not feel like she had any better options, he decided it was in her best interest to follow willingly, just like Xan had suggested. Secretly, she hoped she would not receive the same treatment as Xan. Based on what Celia put together from the sounds she had heard from the other cell, the Ulven guards had unceremoniously tossed the egotistical human boy back into his containment cell. Because he had not even made a peep from the of the rough handling, Celia theorized that Xan had been unconscious, and she was fearful of receiving the same fate.

After they traveled for what felt like a considerable distance to Celia, someone forced the human being into a seated position on a flattened stone. Once she was seated, Celia felt new chains appear on her feet.

"Remove the bag," Celia once again pieced together the words from the muffled sounds she heard from under the sack over her head.

In accordance with the order, the bag was immediately torn off of her head and a rush of sound filled Celia's ears. In the process, however, her ears were brushed a bit by the bag and burned slightly. So far, Celia remained unscathed and hoped she would remain that way.

Celia blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light as it filled her eyes again. "Huh," she squeaked in surprise and blinked again. Once her eyesight recovered, she looked around the room and noted the features of the new room.

A glowing black metal lantern hung over her head and acted as the major source of light in the polished white-walled room. Celia suspected the walls also released small amounts of light like what she suspected the walls of her cell. She glanced down to the white and grey stone the guards placed her on, then looked to the smooth, polished stone table in front of her.

Many of the guards left the room through the door behind Celia, but five of them remained to actively guard the room. Three guards blocked the door, and the other two stood near the wall on either side of Celia.

"Ahem," an Ulven man from across the table snapped Celia's attention to him. Like all of the Ulven she had seen, he wore armor, but his armor was gold compared to other guards. "Now, down to business at hand."

Celia blinked in confusion and remained silent as she waited for the Ulven to say something that she felt the need to respond, unsure of what to say to the man she thought was irritated, despite how calm he seemed.

For a few moments, Celia simply sat in the seat the Ulven had placed her in, fearfully staring into his dark grey eyes. She may not have wanted to admit it to herself, but she trembled slightly under the Ulven's powerful gaze. Also, she hoped the guards were blind to her fearful shaking.

"Now, how well will your telling of the story match your friend's version of the story? Answer honestly, or there will be consequences." He never removed his gaze away from the human girl in front of him as he sat up straight and leaned forward slightly. After a rather long pause, he folded his fingers together on top of the table before he spoke again in his slightly rough tenor-toned voice. "Let us start with why are you traveling with a companion."

Celia paused in fear, then took a deep breath, 'calm,' she mentally instructed herself. 'calm down Celia. If I answer truthfully and refrain from resisting, maybe I will not get hurt. I also need to try to not anger them too much. That may get me in trouble as well and I could end up like Xan.' She took another deep, calming breath, then looked up to the guard across the table from her.