The Dark Prince

Dungeons

I walked through the palace to the back of the building and descended the stone steps down into the murky chambers.

The dungeons under the palace had long since been abandoned. The rulers of the old time found it a unsafe to have prisoners locked up so close to royalty.

The prisoners are now kept in the Mourning Tower by the Vadikus Sea.

These dungeons have since been used as my torture chamber. It's well underground where no one would hear my screams.

I navigated the old and rusted halls full of cells. It was dimly lit and damp. Someone who had never been here before would easily get lost in the enormous amounts of twists and turns. But I've been down this path many times before.

Before I know it, I see light peeking through the cracks of a metal door across the hall.

I walked to it and swung the heavy door open. I stepped into the room. King Roman and Elias were already there, through I didn't see the guard leave the Great Hall before I did. But he does have a way of sneaking around unnoticed, one of his many skilled qualities.

The room is mostly bare except for a chair seated at the far end of the room and two shackles placed on either side of the opposite wall.

As I came in, King Roman walked up to me and grabbed my chin roughly.

"You have greatly disappointed me today" he growled. "Running the banquet late and ruining my opening speech."

"I know, I was foolish." I forced the words out of my mouth as much as I hated to say them. "I am sorry Your Majesty" I said through gritted teeth.

"As you should be" he said, letting his hand drop.

"You know what needs to be done" he said, walking back towards the chair by the wall.

"You shall be punished for your wrongdoings with fifty lashes" he established. I bit down on my lip from lashing out at him. I know that fighting back will only make my situation worse.

I stepped into the middle of the room and King Roman sat down in the chair, sitting tall and high as if it were his throne.

I unzipped the back of my dress, pulling it down enough to make it mostly bare.

I winced as my fingers brushed over my scabbed wounds from my last lashing. They still had not fully healed, but they were about to be reopened.

King Roman flicked his hand and the shackles that were once on the floor, now sprang up and locked around my wrists.

I was now trapped, no where to run or move.

I heard movement behind me and the scrape of Elias removing the whip from his scabbard.

I braced myself for the excruciating pain that was coming.

The first hit almost made me go down on my knees. With my back already sore and the sting of the new whip, it was almost unbearable.

I kept on my feet, trying to stay strong. I didn't want King Roman to see me as the weak girl he thought I was.

The second lash made my legs wobbily. I bit down hard on my tongue, tasting the metallic tang of blood.

By the fifth hit I was down on my knees. My whole body seemed to be shaking uncontrollably from the pain.

I willed myself to hold back the tears that threatened to rush out. I could see King Roman watching me with observant eyes, a mix of enjoyment and boredem evident in them.

I balled my hands into fists as Elias flung the whip again. I cried out and fell face forward, instinctively reaching out my hands but they were bound at my sides.