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For those that feared magic, it was a warning not to allow even one witch to take residency in your land. Witches were perhaps the lowest of nobility for a long time; not due to a lack of strength, but others’ fear of them. Much like the power of Borealis, I greatly suspected that each noble witching coven's power was partly exaggerated. Borealis blood was strong, yet I had heard ridiculous notions of my capabilities. Fear of the unknown could be a powerful tool when used correctly. It appeared that either the witching nobility knew not how to wield the fear used against them or chose not to.
22. Who’s Bright Idea Was This?
Persephone Flores
Remy and I had talked a little. I had learned that he had grown children that had left his village for the Kings City. He had worked hard to provide for his family but his wife had become ill and unable to work. Without her income they could not afford the tax of House Vouna and he was arrested.
Soon, we fell into a comfortable silence. The cell's temperature had increased, with our combined body heat trapped by the moss. There wasn’t much of anything to do but think.
I thought of my Princess. I imagined hearing her shouting commands as she marched down to the dungeon and rescued me. I imagined her hands running through my hair and her arms holding me. I imagined her speaking softly as she lulled me to sleep.
A tray, landing with a loud clang near my feet, awoke me.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Remy spoke, and I flinched at his voice. “It’s food,” he continued.
The tray held two thick slices of stale bread and nothing else.
“Nothing to drink?” I asked.
He laughed. “Afraid not this time.”
I looked at the bread and knew I couldn’t eat.
“You can have both slices,” I told him.
“Now, flower girl, you’ll regret not having eaten, come tomorrow,” he said in a fatherly kind of way.
“I ate last night,” I said, waving at my dirty dress. “I was at a ball.” I laughed.
He looked at me and despite his face being mostly in shadow, I saw his concern.
“You still need to eat,” he said eventually.
“Tomorrow,” I said.
After a few silent minutes, he nodded and scooted forward pulling the tray towards him.
“How long did I sleep, do you know?” I asked him.
“A few hours. It’s late afternoon, or early evening, from what I can tell. Difficult to keep track of time down here. But I worked in the mines long enough to trust my internal clock. If I had to guess, probably a little after three o’clock,” he said. Could he really know the time that accurately? Maybe he could.
We sat in silence for a little longer and the small crack in the stone in the top corner of the cell captured my attention. What was up there? A brightly lit room, so bright the light leaked through the cracks? I didn’t think it was artificial light. It was slightly brighter now. If it was mid-afternoon, as Remy said, the sun would be high in the sky.
“Keep your neck craned like that and it’ll get stuck,” Remy said. I looked away from the crack back to him.
“Do you know what’s above us?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Didn’t give me a tour when I got here. Dragged me straight down.”
I moved closer to the bars of the cell and tried my best to look up and down the corridor. I couldn’t see the guard, but he had to be about somewhere. I moved back and sat next to Remy.
“Do you think the guard listens to us?” I whispered.
“If they can hear us above the noise.” He didn’t whisper like I had but spoke low in reply.
“I think the stones in that corner are weak,” I said, glancing back up at the cracked stone.
“And what of it?” he asked.
