Stephanie's Trial

Locked in a cage

The room was small, not even really worth the description of "room" actually. It was just long enough to let me stretch out on my back, but not wide enough to let me walk around. In fact, the ceiling was too low to let me walk in anything more than a stoop, which caused me no small amounts of agony the first time I tried getting some exercise. There was a window, but it was too small to let any significant amounts of light in, and I spent all day in gloom, before being plunged into darkness when the sun went down. It was stiflingly hot during the day, and below freezing at night, and as if that wasn't bad enough, it was completely sound proof. I couldn't even tell how many times I screamed for help that first day, but all I did was make myself hoarse, and by the end of the day, I had no voice left. 

Not that I even had anyone to talk to. No one was allowed to visit me, and the only time I had any contact with another person was when I had food delivered to me three times a day. The first time that happened, I made my one and only mistake of begging the deliverer to please tell me what was going on. The result: I got my food taken away before I even had a chance to have one bite, and I spent the rest of the day without, leaving me almost nauseatingly hungry the next morning. 

I learned my lesson, and when the deliverer came around again, I kept my mouth shut. This actually had the reverse effect, and I lost breakfast again that day. I was only spared a second day without food when they came back at lunchtime with a stern warning: it was only through the Alpha's kindness that he was permitting me to have my lunch even though I'd been so rude that morning. 

I learned another lesson that day, and went on to thank the deliverer each time they brought my food around. I never got a response, of course, but I was determined to not make another mistake. 

I never tried asking for anything else, and spent the days sitting huddled in one corner, watching the small patch of sunlight creep across the floor, perspiring heavily as the small box-like room heated up to almost intolerable levels. I was given water regularly throughout the day, of course, but that didn't relieve the utter boredom of staring at the same four walls day in and day out. I tried daydreaming, but soon found those paths blocked, and, as had happened on my first day at the mansion, I had no Kira to talk to, my link to her blocked once again on the day I was thrown into the box. Simon, it seemed, wanted me to be aware of my surroundings at all times, and had thus ensured I had no chance at escaping even mentally. 

I did sleep sometimes, but always woke up at odd hours, and as a result, my natural rhythm was thrown completely into disarray. It would have helped if I had even one pillow and some blankets, but I was denied even those simple comforts, and I woke up stiff, more often than not with a sore back and a crook neck for having slept in the same huddled position I'd more or less adopted since being thrown in here. 

Time soon lost all meaning; about the only way I could tell that the seasons were changing was by noting how earlier the sun rose and set each day, as well as the angle of the shadows as they crept slowly across the floor. That didn't stop the heat, nor the cold, and more often than not, I shivered my way through fitful sleep, waking up with chattering teeth in the middle of the night, often lying awake for hours before finally managing to slip into a light slumber. 

It also went without saying that my hygiene suffered horrendously. I was never one to pamper myself up, but I always showered every day, brushed my teeth day and night, made sure I had clean underthings, and washed my hair once a week. Without those considerations... well, let's just say it got very unpleasant after the first few days. I couldn't even take care of myself properly after using the facilities - a crude hole cut in the floor - which led to even worse problems downstairs. But even that all blurred into one, seamless, miserable, ongoing slew of discomfort, pain and sheer humiliation that seemed to have no end. I had no idea how long I'd been here, and I knew better than to ask.

Of course, there was the question of what would happen if I was to be ever let out. I knew Simon was ready to serve me some seriously nasty retribution for the failed Alpha challenge, even though the Lunas had decided on their own not to support him after having heard just how horrendously he'd been treating me and my friends, as well as his general arsehole-ish behaviour. I had, in his eyes, singularly failed in my duty as Luna, and I knew in my gut that when I did get out - if I ever did - I was in for a world of hurt. 

The question was - what would Simon do to me? Beat me? Rape me? Cast me out from the pack and leave me at the mercy of other packs? The last option seemed the most favourable, because at least this way I'd die a free werewolf. But of course, Simon would never let me go. Not when there was a small risk I'd run into a somewhat friendly pack who would then get me reunited with Doreah.

Therefore it came down to the other two options; beating, or rape. And Samuel, I knew, would be itching for a chance to do the latter, following his threat the night of my Luna ceremony. Simon would certainly give him free reign, and I shuddered at the thought of that brute having his way with me. Worst case scenario, I'd end up forced to bear his cubs. Best case - I lived to fight another day.

But as the days blended into one another, I slowly lost all hope, fearing that I would possibly be left in this box for the rest of my life, eventually dying in a ... well, in a not very pleasant manner. The thought sent shudders through me, but as the days continued to pass with no change save for the changing of the seasons, I feared that that was the most likely outcome. 

Unless I begged for mercy. 

That thought revolted me even more. But I knew if I was to have any chance of getting out of this hell, bowing my neck to the man who'd brought me so much misery seemed the sensible option. It meant I'd be free to move about, albeit in a limited fashion, and I'd probably be reunited with my friends. But then again, they were all probably locked up as well, if not dead, and I already knew that Simon would definitely keep us apart to prevent what he'd think of further "collusion".

I did have one small consolation; Natalia and Delilah were still free, and if word had gotten back to them, they'd likely be rallying their allies on behalf of their deceased Alphas. That gave me the hope that those allies would band together and rescue me, and I actually started feeling a bit more confident for the first time since getting thrown into this prison. 

Then that hope shattered.