Realities Vengeance

Chapter 17: Prison

I went to bed that night with a lot on my mind, and woke up with even more. I meet Reael down at the beach and as we went through the drills I told her what the king had done. She sympathized with me, but I knew she agreed with his decision. The work out was exhausting, but I was getting better and I was very thankful for the ability to learn and develop skills like a full blooded elf. I felt like I had made a ton of progress and I felt like I was taking big steps toward my goal. We ended training early, and I decided to try and find Allister and Aditi. I had a bad feeling about them not being in the castle, and I was desperate to see them. I decided that the person most likely to help me, and the most likely to know where they were, would be Zacael. I asked Reael where his room was, and she reluctantly told me after I annoyed her long enough. She asked me why I wanted to know, but I only gave her vague answers. I didn't feel like telling her my plan to find Allister and Aditi.

When I finally found Zacael's room, I knocked on the door, and prayed he was there. At first no one answered, but then it opened, and I saw Zacael. He didn't have a shirt on, and I tried to ignore how muscular he really was. "Esmeray?" he asked, and I gave him a tight smile, "I need your help." I said in a quiet voice, and he looked skeptical, but let me in anyway. His room reminded me of Allister's, and it made my heart ache. When I turned to look at him, I had to again try my very hardest to ignore the fact that he had no shirt on. "Did you know that the king moved Allister and Aditi out of the castle?" I asked, and by his reaction I knew he did. "Why didn't you tell me!" I said, and he crossed his arms, "because I knew you would react like this." he said, and I shook my head, "I want to go see them." I said, and some emotion flashed across his face, but he hid it instantly. "No." he said, and I crossed my arms, "Why not?" I asked, and he glanced down, "Just, no." he said, and I started to get really upset. "Zacael! They are my friends! They mean so much to me, and I want to see them! I am going to find them weather you help me or not." I said, trying not to yell, and he looked very torn. "I know you know where they are!" I said, and then he seemed to give up, and he threw his hands into the air. "Fine! But you cannot tell the king I helped you." he said, and my scowl turned into a grin. "Where are they?" I asked, and he let out a long breath, "He had they put into the prisons below the castle." he said, and my smile melted. "What?!" I said with venom, and Zacael looked down at the floor. "The king thought that their presence here was too dangerous." he said, and I threw up my hands, "He thinks the presence of a little girl, and a mortal is dangerous!" I said, and he shrugged. "The king isn't the most trusting person. It might seem like he trusts you, but it takes a long time to earn his trust. The fact that he is letting you stay here is showing how much he is trying." he said, and I could see his mind was on something else. "I won't tell him you told me." I said, and he nodded, but he still looked worried. "What is it?" I asked and he gave me a strange look, "He is my brother Esmeray... I just betrayed him for you." he said, and I swallowed. I had forgotten that Zacael was the king's brother. I didn't know what else I should say, so I decided to leave. Was he really that scared of his brother, or was he scared of the fact that we was willing to betray his brother for me? Him doing this for me did prove something for me, I wondered if it had done the same to him.

As I walked down to the prisons I felt a chill crawl up my spine, and I had a feeling they kept some pretty freaky people down here in the prison. I came to a stop when I saw the prison guard. What was I going to say? I walked up to him, and he eyed me, "What do you need?" he asked, "I am here to visit two prisoners." I said, and he inspected me for one long second. "What are their names?" he asked, "Allister, and Aditi?" I said, and he picked up some sort of list and looked over it. "Your name?" he asked, and I hesitated, "Esmeray Spinder." I said, and he looked up at me as if he recognized the name. "Aren't you Koehmil's long lost sister?" he asked, and I was surprised he knew my half-brothers name. "Uh, yes." I said, and he gave me a smile, "Koehmil is one of the best elf's I know, and one of my best friends. Any sibling of Koehmils, is a friend of mine." he said, and I was surprised. "They are both in cell 215." he said, and I gave him a big smile, "Thank you very much!" I said, and he nodded. As I walked down the dark hall of cells I let of a sigh of relief. I finally found cell 215, and I whispered, "Hello!? Allister? Aditi?" I called into the dark cell, and then their two faces appeared. "Esmeray?" Allister said with such a surprised tone in his voice. "Esmeray!" Aditi said with a huge smile on her face. "How did you find us? What are you doing here?" Allister asked. "I had no idea that the king put you down here, and as soon as I found out I started looking for you!" I said, and he shook his head, "That king is evil! He thinks that anyone who isn't elfish is bad." he said, and I held up my hands, "I know he overreacted, but he is trying to protect his kingdom." I said, and he stared at me, "Are you actually defending him?! He threw us in a prison cell with absolutely no reason, Esmeray!" he said, "He is a king who is trying to rule his kingdom, and the only way he has found that works is to trust no one except his own." I said to him, and he looked betrayed somehow by my words, "They are taking over your mind! Do you not realize you are starting to sound like all the other self-righteous elves!" he said in a vicious tone, and I took a step back. Those words stung, and I looked at him as if he was someone I didn't know. "I came down here to help you! I came down here because I don't agree with what the king had done!" I said right back to him, and he glared at the floor. "Look, I'm sorry that I'm part elf, and they accept me here and not you, but at least you aren't being hunt just for your pure existence." I said, and I glared at him even though he was looking at the floor. "Are you going to get us out of here?" Aditi asked in a soft voice, and I nodded. "I don't think that it going to be the plan anymore." I heard a voice from behind me, and I spun around. My heart dropped when I saw the king with his arms crossed.

I sat across form the king, with only a desk separating us. "I trusted you enough to let you into my kingdom, and provide you with a safe place to stay. Then you go behind my back, and breath my rule." he said, and I sat with my arms crossed. "You threw my friends into a prison cell, and you didn't even tell me! What did you expect me to do? Was I supposed to ignore the fact that you moved my friend somewhere and you wouldn't let me visit them?" I asked, and for the first time I saw a flash of annoyance on the king's face. "I am the ruler of this kingdom. You have no experience ruling, and you are just a child. I do not have to explain my reasoning to you. Your friends will stay in their prison cell, and if you visit them one more time you will never be welcomed back into the elfish kingdom... and trust me, you do not want us as enemies. You can leave now." he said, and barged out of the room in a hurricane of anger. How dare he say that he has the right to keep them locked up! It wasn't fair! It wasn't right! I paced back and forth in my room, and by the time I finally had settled down the sun was long gone from the sky. I decided that I would think of a solution after a good night of sleep. Tomorrow I was going to think of a way to get Allister and Aditi out of that prison cell, and make sure the king knew that locking innocent people up, just because they were different than him was wrong.

When I woke up, I channeled my anger into training with Reael, but we were only half way through when one of the maid elves came running down to the shore. "Ms. Esmeray, Ms. Esmeray!" she was yelling, and chills ran though me. There was no good that could come from this. She ran up to Reael and I, and her eyes were filled with fear, "What! What is wrong!?" I asked, and she stared at me with big eyes, "The Gifted school was attacked!" she said, and panic shot through me. I didn't even know what to say. "They are come through the portal seeking healing, and help. The king had no choice but to help them." she said, and I was trying to understand what she was saying while I tried to not freak out, "They are here?!" I said, and she nodded. I dropped everything I was holding, and started running in a dead sprint towards the castle. Adrenaline was pulsing through me, and all I could think of was all the terrible things that could have happened.