Kira lay against the cold hard floor, leaning on the wall and looking outside the window at the top of the wall. Nothing, it was pitch dark.
She sighed heavily, turning her gaze back to the danky cell around her. The bars on one side of the room that allowed her a vew of the rest of the prision, and the thick stone walls separated her from the rest of the prisoners.
She pushed aside the thick plate of dry bread and a cup of water and twisted around to face the other prisoners instead. In the cell opposite hers lay Otto on his back, unbothered and snoring away on the cold stone with his ankles crossed and a thick arm behind his head. The short burly man was dressed in thick pants and shirt, and an armored vest that for now stood against the wall.
Kira continued her perusal, eyes now darting to the cell on the right of Otto, where she could find another figure curled up on the cold stone, shivering, a single thin sheet covering her. An old woman, who had been brought in only a few days ago, a few days after Kira herself had been brought in and thrown to her fate.
The old woman had finally screamed herself hoarse, pleading to the people who brought them food to atleast let her daughter Calista go, crying, and begging for release, rattling the bars with the little strength she had for justice.
Kira couldn't even begin to know what the situation was, and didn't dare ask the broken woman.
She was still awake, staring at nothing in particular. The tear tracks had dried and hardened on her cheeks, cutting through the dirt on her face in streaks.
Kira thumbed the blanket lying beside her, the standard one given to all the prisoners here, and with a small clearing of throat, scooted forward.
"Here."
Upon reaching the bars, she swung the blanket in her hand outside the cell towards the other woman, whose eyes were trained on her. Slowly, the elder lady got up, and using her hands, got up to her knees. She eyes Kira distrustfully even as she followed the swing of the blanket as it fell back against Kira's hands.
Kira swung again, "Take it." It had been just lying there anyways.
This time, when the blanket reached enough height, she let it go.
It sailed from cell to the old lady's, who too was pressed against the bars at this stage, having abandoned her doubts. She tried reaching for the blanket, which fell despite her attempts, but was thankfully still withing her range so that she could reach out and pick it up.
Kira looked away from the tentatively grateful look directed at her as she settled on the corner of her cell, against the bars this time. Determined to take an undisturbed look her fellow prisoners around her some more in the solitude and stealth the dark provided.
There, in the cell on the other side of the military guy was some other boy, very young and spindly. His scrawny face pressed on the ground where he lay. Next to him in another cell was the man he had been brought in with, likely a friend or a brother. Similarly shaggy, and loud. God, could the two of them argue!
Something about who had been assigned watch while they robbed the sweet shop. It was the highlight of the day, for everyone, she believed.
She craned her neck further.
Next was the middle-aged beggar, and she had assumed so from his clothes, who was evidently very happy to be here, if the way her devoured his meal and his smile was anything to go by.
Probably on hard times.
All around this group, she could see a few empty cells, a few cells at whose inmates he had been too scared to look.
She sat, her eyes travelling to the whole prison before returning and landing on the cell next to hers.
There, unbeknownst to Kira, a figure had sat pressed up against the bar, in a position mirroring hers. Her dark hair, very similar to hers in colour, fluttered in the air around her.
Kira startled. This was a change. She had never seen this young woman, and would not have even been aware of a presence in the cell next to hers if it had not been for the bread that a young guard brought in daily.ย
Her eyes took in the next addition to her environment. She was desperate for a change. Anything to keep her mind off the humdrum and how utterly helpless she was in this situation.ย
'๐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ.' She thought derisively.
Over the past few days, after she had been brought in, given water and food- ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ!- and allowed to her devices, Kira had tried multiple times to find a way out.ย
Tried picking the lock with the single pin she had in her hair. Useless. Tried grouging out the stone in which the door had been somehow placed- just enough to make space. Useless with a broken nail. Tried climbing up the bucket in the corner to reach the window- which she had succeeded in! Despite her height! It didn't budge.
So now she waited. And observed.ย
The questions about everything she had heard in her time here- The wolves, the Hunt, the supposed blood spillage- she wanted to know about them all. Curiosity gnawed at her, but she daren't ask them.
Not here. Not after her ignorance of the traditions and culture was what had lead to Gerard ratting her out- for what though?!- and her being here in the first place.
So she sat, answered innocuous questions. And she listened.
"...The Princes aren't here..."
"...Majesty is furious!..."
"...get him out before anyone sees!..."
"...๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ...!"ย
The guards who did their round loved talking. And she had taken full advantage of that..well, after her dehydration had gone down. On its own, thankfully, as no one had bothered to take a look at her when she had been barely consicious for two days.
She tried not to think about what would have happened otherwise.
The sound of the heavy bolt moving had her looking away from the young woman beside her, whom she found she had unconsiciously been staring at. Straightening up in discomfort she twisted, her eyes instead sought the old soldier who came into view after walking down the stairs, thumping at the stone with his heavy footfalls. Another two followed behind, torches in hand.
Her eyebrows furrowed. This was very unusual. The guards didn't even bother with them except for their food. She had been beginning to think they had forgotten her. Had hoped it.
Her anxiety kicked up as the torches lit up the walls, chasing away the shadows she had taken refuge in.
Her heart beat in her chest as they passed the first few cells that lined the hallway, and then the next. Their strides did not falter.
She shrunk back when they reached her cell, scared as her breaths came in short gasps- ๐๐ฉ! ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ! ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ง๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐๐๐!...
...Until they passed her cell altogether.
Her hands which she had raised instinctively lowered, as she watched the progression come up to a stop in front of the cell next to hers. In front of the young beautiful woman she had been observing, sitting against the wall.
The dark haired woman didn't look up, or acknowledge the people, her head against the bars but her eyes wide open.
"Mhhm." One of the guards in front, who looked to be a seniour officer if his age was anything to go by, cleared his throat in an attempt to gain the woman's attention.
The woman remained unchanged.
The man scowled at being ignored, and motioned for the guards behind him to move forward. They did so swiftly, opening the cell and dragging the woman to the outside harshly.
She remained nonchalant and gracefull in their hold, her eyes staring down the taller man in front of her, unblinking. The man's eyes fluttered.
Kira looked on, intrigued. She shifted forward for a better view.
The older guard clasped his hands behind his back and raised his chin self-importantly.ย
"Gemma, daughter of Alda, you are hereby summoned for your death penalty. It will be enacted upon in the second hour of the day. Any attempts at an escape or a hindrance will be met with brutality and a swift justice. You are commanded, by the King Anselm, our mighty ruler born under the grace of the Wolf Gods and the flow of the Udodin river, to die as ordered."
'You've got to be kidding me!' Kira thought as she scoffed internally.