Prisoner

(10 years later...)

Gyah!

I woke up from what seemed like an endless nightmare. I look around to see that I am still in the bleak dungeon, my reality. I catch my breath, confused and a bit shaken. I try to focus on my only friend, Cameron, in the cell across from me. He was 18 and the only member of the castle staff to survive when Labia took over. He knows I need to be cheered up a lot, so he doesn’t hesitate to tell a joke.

He is free to be himself even when things are tough. But I’m not free. He knew that even when we were children. He thinks I’m still “Prince Sky Newton, heir to Sozzaria”, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m forbidden to leave the dungeon or be who I was in the past. Being someone important was an honor to the gods whether it was a royal, a knight, or a guardian of temples scattered all over the country. Keeping people safe was a risk people made for themselves.

That was long ago. Before.

For a decade, Labia had controlled Sozzaria and slaughtered my family when I was only six years old. That day, I was stripped of my royal name and locked up in the dungeon. Mark, King of Labia, spared me for reasons unknown to this day. It wasn’t his nature raising me since he hates children, but someone insisted that I should be “kept with a roof over my head”. So he decided to keep me in the dungeon with the rats and Cameron.

It wasn’t a good living space, but I’m grateful he kept me in the castle rather than being a slave to someone I’ve never met. There was nothing I could do exept sitting on the floor, with my eyes fixed on the barred window, dreaming of escaping. The chances of that are slim and the punishment is death, but I’ve endured more than that. While I’m not staring out the window, I was tortured severely when people wanted to rebel against Labia.

I suddenly heard a soldiers footsteps from outside the door. Oh no. He’s come to stab me to death with a sword. But it wasn’t a soldier, it was a man -possibly in his teens- standing in the hallway. He had a sword on him and he was quiet as ever.

“Hello?” I ask, looking at the darkened figure.

If I remember correctly, any race other than Labia is forbidden into the dungeon exept those who are loyal to the King. Anyone who attempts to escape a prisoner is immediately killed. Believe me, I’ve seen more deaths than Cameron has.

I don’t know this man, but he possibly heard of me a long time ago. “Is your family dead?” he asked in Sozzarian.

I recognize the language before, he must be a Labian loyalist. His question was difficult to answer, but I nod yes, barely saying a word. The man noticed the marks I had and must have been sorry for me.

“Oh…is it that bad? You must have been through a lot. I know what that’s like. Bein’ stuck working at a train station hours a day for five years. I’m a hell lot stronger than I was at six years old!”

I can’t manage a reply. Five years working at a train station in order to survive. No wonder he looked brave and strong. My decade here has been a nightmare, yet he was able to provide for himself.

“You were enslaved?” I whisper, though I don’t know why I’m surprised. Most Sozzarians were sent to slavery. But if this man was working as an engineer for five years and avoided death, he’s been loyal to Labia and obeying rules.

Suddenly his smile faded as he turned to another cell. He unlocked it and a prisoner was screaming for mercy and saying something I didn’t understand. The mans words to him were, “Forgive me.”

The man slashes the prisoners chest. A quick death. I was shocked when he killed someone else other than me. Blood was on his hands and the blade. He dragged the corpse into my cell and dropped it. He then grabbed my hand and we left without a single word.

What is the man doing? Taking me hostage and covering up the evidence was not the plan. He’s going against Labian orders! The man doesn’t speak and I do the same. He expects us to leave without being seen, but when a soldier came by, he killed him instantly. He stopped and dragged the soldier to the side, making sure no one follows us.

We continue walking until we reach a dead end. He pushed away a large rock leading to a secret passage. I go in first and then the man did. He sealed up the entrance with a torch in hand and we continued walking. “Stay close.” He ordered. As we walked by, I saw rotting corpses lying on the floor and the wall. I try not to gag and focus on the man in front of me.

I wonder what he’s planning to do? I want to make sure he doesn’t sell me into slavery or get us both caught. After the invasion, a former knight had a plan to get me out of the castle. I was so happy that I would finally be free and that I would someday be reunited with my family. However, things didn’t go as planned and we were caught. I was given ten lashes and the knight was killed. That day I understood that people would sacrifice their lives for me more than their own. When we reached the exit after two miles of walking, we both climbed out of the tunnel and arrive in a forest. For the first time in a decade, I was free.

I can’t help but look at the clear blue sky as the man blew out the torch. I smiled as I breathed the fresh air once again. I look back to see the castle two miles away, and realized that we need to be farther away from it. I started running as the man followed behind me. I needed to let my energy out, even if it’s my last. I stop running after a mile and I’m relieved. I look at the man and ask, “Are you planning to sell me. If you are than this is not what I expected.”

“No, I don’t plan to.”

I look at the man straight in the eye, “Then who are you? Why are you helping me?”

The man was hesitant at first, but he took off his hood and mask. I look in disbelief. The man who saved me was none other than a girl. She had fair skin, Brown eyes, and brown hair that was cut to her neck. She smiled,

“I’m Luna Rodney, a Sozzarian like you.”

Chapter end