Mortance: A Miscarriage of Hope

Angus Ⅵ

TRIGGER WARNING: torture and stuff

When we left Esson, we were nine. When we departed into Elsinct and enemy territory, we were nine. When we arrived in Shali to speak with Sha Orion, we were nine. Eight knights and a prince should've been more than enough to make an alliance. I didn't even need to bring so many. These were some of Sacreon's best, after all. I thought this would be easy, I remembered. I never thought it would come to this...

Ser Arthur had been the first to die. His wounds killed him, though Ser Marlon insisted that they could be easily healed. It was hard to tell down here, but I would guess it was four days before he finally died. He tried to save me from this, I thought hollowly. We should've listened to him.

The witch Amarantha, advisor to the sha, was the one who watched over us. She'd stripped us and locked us up in this cold hellhole, one cell each. Wherever we were, it was ancient. It was cold, too. The walls were black stone, and it was too dark to see how big the room really was. All I knew was the eight of us that were left each had a cell along one wall, and an endless torture chamber stretched out before us.

We don't deserve this, I knew. I'd tried to tell them, but the evil witch who was our only companion thus far wouldn't listen. She would only feed us some vile substance once a day and pull one of us out to torture. It was for the good of Ert, she claimed. She said she was learning the limits of magic. It was poorly disguised torture. We came for an alliance, and the elves betrayed us. They'll pay for this when I get out of here.

Amarantha seemed to bring food once a day. Or maybe it was twice, and we'd only been here half as long. She would bring food, and then choose one of us to torture. When Ser Arthur died, she took his corpse for her experiments. He was hardly recognizable when she finished. Magic is truly evil, I knew then, and Amarantha is the worst of the witches.

The next time she visited, Sha Orion came with her. I sat against the cold wall of my cell, naked and shivering, praying to the Sacred One that she wouldn't choose me as her next victim. Ser Philip, Ser Roderick, and Ser Aaron had already been subjected to her tortures. Their whimpers afterwards were my only confirmation that they lived. I had no wish to be chosen this time. I was afraid... but my knights couldn't know that. The chosen hero must fear nothing.

My bravery shattered when they stopped in front of my cell. "Prince Angus Kingson of Sacreon," Sha Orion greeted me. There was worry in his voice, though he hid it well.

"Sha... Sha Orion," I managed. My whole body spasmed as I coughed from the effort of speaking. The sha stood before my cell, robed in some color that I couldn't distinguish in the dark. Amarantha stood beside him, torch in hand.

He turned to the witch. "What are you doing to them?" he demanded.

Amarantha shrugged. "Experimenting. They are prisoners of war, after all."

"There is no war," Sha Orion lied. "You know those troops were sent without my leave."

"Troops?" I asked, trying to sit straighter. He dares send troops into Sacreon and claim there is no war.

Sha Orion turned back to me. "I suppose you should know all that has happened," he said. "Fugitives of Elsinct have been found in Sacreon. Whether you knew of this doesn't matter now. One of my generals thought it wise to send a small army after them. He is being dealt with as we speak. The village of Untot is under siege now, and will remain so until we have obtained our fugitives. After that, I want no part in your war."

I'd never known a village to fall under siege before, but I'd also never heard of Untot. It sounded better defended than most villages were, but it would still fall. My father would never send anyone to break the siege while I was prisoner. He would never risk his golden prince. People will die, I knew. These are not soldiers. Sha Orion seemed to know it too.