Sweet Escape

     It's cold today. Winter must be wrapping its ice-chilled fingers around the earth again. Leaching away the warmth of all that wander through these dark woods. My small dirty dress offered no reprieve. Trying to find shelter from the biting cold, I wrap my limbs close, huddled in the corner. The room is small. Thick unfeeling stone walls meet crudely with the dirt and cobble floor. I have no real protection from the chill that drifts in the barred window. I draw my knees closer to my chest, trying to escape from my body and retreat deep within myself...Maybe tonight will be the night...

     "It's getting colder, isn't it?" the voice comes in with deep rasping whispers.

     "Yes, it is," I whisper back; not wanting the guard to hear me. I lift my head just over my knees to see the familiar hooded figure standing opposite the corner of me. His dark body casting a deep shadow. His hood covers his features, but I can still make out his eyes. Those raven eyes gazing upon me. Never far away. Never close enough. He has been my only companion for the last... I am not sure how long it has been. They keep me in perpetual darkness. Crushing darkness. He comes every night, standing in the same spot. We talk sometimes, and others, simply sit in quiet acknowledgment of each other.

     On the nights we talk he tells me of the world so far out of my reach. All those people living, loving, wanting, hating... He will take them someday, he says. Why won't he take me...

     "What is it that you want?" he says to me, taking a small step in my direction. The dirt under his feet makes no sound to accompany his movements. His head leans to the left slightly as he moves ever closer.

     "Should I release you? Is that really what you want? Or perhaps something else..."

     "You know my torments. You see me." I raise my head from my knees but keep my voice low. His eyes stay on me as if willing me to see something just out of sight.

     "Set me free and let me finally leave this place behind!" I am nearly shouting as I raise from the ground and take a stumbling step toward Him.

     "Shut your damn mouth you cur!" Yelled the guard, hitting the iron bars in the thick wooden door. I look to the floor and exhale, shaking with fear and spite. Look at my body... What it has become. All the beatings have left me battered and bruised. Cuts riddle my legs, some still bleeding from just a few hours before. They don't feed me much at all. Most days I think they forget. I am thin; too thin. My bones stand in deep relief just under the tattered cloth of my shift. Look at my hands. They are small, bony, and never seem to stop shaking. They used to be strong and well-calloused from those long days of fun.

     My hands reach up and touch my hair, trembling with anticipation at what they will find. It used to be so long. So long I could feel it brush against my thighs as I walked my horses to the stables. Now, it hangs limp and thin at my shoulders. I wish I could go back. Back when things made sense. Before all these scars. I slide down to the floor on my hands and knees, not minding the burning from the dirt as it presses into my numerous cuts, and feel the tears sting my eyes.

     "Please... let this end..." I plead softly. My voice coming out is soft quavers as I work to hold back the sobs choking me, "I just want to be whole again..."

     I can feel his robes brush my side as he settles next to me, placing a cold hand on my back. He doesn't pull away as the silent wails rack my body.

     "And so, you shall..." he says, so softly. I look up at him, wiping my grime-streaked face. Being this close I can see the skeletal outline of his face, his blazing red eyes. He holds my gaze. I can feel the sorrow in those eyes. But for who... For me? Or simply for all he has seen.