The Lost Princess

Chapter Fourteen

I sat straight up, breathing heavily. I felt my racing heart with my hand as I tried to catch my breath. I looked around the room. It was completely pitch black. I waited for my eyes to adjust. I felt straw under my legs as I sat there. I felt through the thin layer of straw to the cold, stone floor beneath it.

I looked around, still unable to see anything. I got on my hands and knees and inched forward, feeling the rough, cold floor. I kept inching forward feeling around the floor with my hands. "Where am I?" I whispered to myself. The back of my head ached as I tried to think.

I reached a wall. I felt the cold, stone of the wall as I slowly stood up. Large stone bricks made this wall. I tried to think of what building in town had large stone bricks, but I couldn't think of anything. Then I felt a light, but salty breeze. I inched closed to the breeze and found a small, open window with thick, metal bars through it. No glass on the window, just bars. I looked through the bars, but couldn't see anything. I listened to the sound of the waves and bugs. I was close to the ocean.

I followed the wall, touching the stone wall with my shoulder. I slowly crept to the edge of the wall where the wall made of metal, bars met the stone wall. I felt the wall made of bars to another wall made of bars.

"Hello?" I whispered seeing if anyone was on the other side of those bars. "Is anyone here?"

Complete silence. I felt that wall of metal bars until I came to a stone wall again. I felt the straw as I sat down with my back towards the stone, brick wall. I was in a cell.

I had been caught. I tried to think of what I was doing before everything went black, but I couldn't. I felt the back of my head. There was a large bump under my hair. The bump hurt as I touched it. I brought my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms tightly around my knees. I buried my head into my knees. Tears streamed down my face instantly, but I refused to make another sound.

I am alone. I am scared. My heart sank. No one knew where I was. No one could help me now.

Flashes of Kat, laying on the kitchen table bleeding took my mind. The sword slicing through her wrist. Me sneaking out. The drunk soldiers. I remember holding the brick and I know I was about to break the window, but did I actually break the window.

My mind raced as I tried to remember how I ended up in this cold, dark cell. But I couldn't remember. I can't believe I thought I would get away with stealing Kat's medicine. I knew better. Now Aunt Rosalie lost me and she'll soon lose Kat. I will never get to say goodbye to my family. I will never get to hug my family, laugh with them, or create anymore memories with them. My heart sank as I continued to think about my family.

I sat there crying in my knees, trying to not scream. My body shook as I rocked back and forth. I shivered knowing that my execution was near.  I tried to not think about my execution, but it kept creeping into my mind.  They would probably make a spectacle out of it.  Showing the people what happens to traitors, especially during the Zenith Celebration.

I held my face in my knees until the sun came up. The sun shined through the bar window casting a shadow of bars over me. I looked around at the small cell. There was no bed or bench. There was no area for cleaning myself.

As I looked around the cell, I noticed the straw was mostly piled together under the window. A bed of straw. Even the worst criminal deserves more than a bed of loose straw on the hard, stone floor. The smell of death and sadness filled my nose as I took in the view of my cell.

I paced around the cell trying to think of everything that happened last night. I didn't know who caught me and I didn't know what was going to happen to me. I noticed that the scarf on my wrist was gone which means that they know that I'm undocumented.