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“Zalith, forgive me for asking…”
I turn to Slyth with a raised eyebrow.
“But why are you taking such an interest in the human? Why now, after all this time seeing them come and go?”
“Well, what I sensed within her intrigued me. What’s the worth of curiosity if I do not follow up on it? Especially now that I’m going to be living a life of misery with Vippera.”
“I see.” Slyth chuckles.
But it’s not the truth, what I’ve just told him. Only I know why I’m pursuing her, only I know that I’m drawn to her riveting beauty, her sheer kindness, and the resilient strength of her character. She’s more real to me than any bride my parents could have brought my way, and certainly a woman far more deserving of my interest than Vippera.
Her ability to harness magic is something that makes her peculiar. I’ve never met a human quite like her, and so it only feels right to go after her, to at the very least help her get out of here. If it is my last good deed, then so be it.
Deciding then and there to see her first thing tomorrow morning, I turn to Slyth.
“I shall go and have a look at this… Aurora, myself, in the morning hours. Cover for me if anyone comes looking.” I rest a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, Slyth.”
“I love to serve my Prince,” he responds, bowing to me. He makes a swift exit, leaving me to mull over my thoughts as I stare out the window.
I may not know you now, Aurora, but soon you’ll come to find out I’m nothing like the others.
7
AURORA
Awhole day and night has passed since my imprisonment, or so I think. It’s hard to tell in the depths of the castle. All we have for light is a hole in the wall, secured with bars to prevent anyone from climbing out, as well as a dimly lit sconce outside the holding cell. Even with ventilation, it stinks down here, with all of us women having to share a singular bucket.
I’ve been trying to sleep when I can but it’s far too uncomfortable. As a result, I’m only managing to snooze off for minutes at a time. Then again, I can’t imagine comfort is what the naga were going for with the prison cells, evident as I take a glance around.
We’re enclosed in a space only big enough for five people at most, though there are more than ten here. The walls are made of large gray stones, moldy and slimy with years of neglect. There lingers in the air a pungent smell, though I suspect it’s been worsened by all of us being tossed in here like wild animals.
The bars are just about narrow enough to keep us in. If they were only a few centimeters wider, it’d make for an easy escape. Alas, the naga know nothing but cruelty, and I imagine they designed it this way on purpose so as to tease us.
I lean myself against one of the said bars, sitting down on an uneven bench as I try to get another attempt at sleep. As exhausted as I am, I still cannot grasp even a moment of shuteye, too consumed by all of the worries bouncing around within my head.
There’s no legroom on this bench as I shoot a sidelong glance to my left, prisoners taking up each inch of the seat that stretches down to the end of the cell. It’s the same story on the other side, too.
Almost every woman here has a look of accepted fate, casting downward glances at the ground filled with hopelessness. Those who don’t instead give me dirty looks, their angry glares dripping with resentment.
We were all thrown in here at the same time. Initially, we all had each other’s backs, promising to stick by each other’s sides. With no one else to turn to but each other, it seemed like the logical choice. I recount the conversations with them in my head, their once-friendly voices echoing like memories from long ago.
“What do you know of this Vippera woman?” I had asked.
“I heard she’s as cruel as they come,” they told me. “That she tortures humans for fun.”
“Surely she did not take us all away to be part of some dowry only to torture us?”
“Perhaps not immediately, but I would not bet on her pulling one of us aside just for fun, so she can get her scaly hands on us and shed blood.”
“No… It can’t be.”
“Well, what did you expect? She’s a princess from Jalma where they hunt humans for fun. In fact, I believe she pioneered a game of it.”
My attempt to gain intel on our captors only ended up ruining my hopes of getting out of this prison. Things only got worse when one of them pointed out that Prince Zalith selected me specifically, somehow causing each and every prisoner to turn on me.
I don’t understand. It’s as if being singled out makes them jealous somehow. No one here trusts me anymore, some of them ignoring me while others spit in my direction.
Did no one here see me trying to defend the village?
