Heart of Fire

Chapter Thirty Six

I've been in this cell for two days. 

I'm getting married today.

As expected, there wasn't much for me to do, especially since Zehra was sleeping most of the time. I couldn't even talk to her for more than five minutes before she'd pass out again. Even now, she's sleeping soundly in her cell. I won't complain, seeing as though this is the first time she's slept without having a nightmare and screaming until her lungs were hoarse.

This isn't how I expected to spend the morning of my wedding. This isn't how I expected my wedding as a whole to be either, I suppose. Here I am, dirt covered and exhausted, sitting in a cell. I should be with Amelia as she frantically paces the room trying to make sure everything is perfect. I should be nervous about marrying the love of my life while Hudson calms me down, talking to me in a soothing manner like he always does. My father should be walking me to my future spouse, hugging me as he gives me away.

I don't get any of that.

The jingle of keys unlocking my cell startles me out of my imagination. I look up through puffy eyes to see the last person I expected to see getting me out of this cell.

"Kenton?" I croak, my voice hopeful.

He looks down at me in my cell, giving me a sad look. "Hi, sweetheart."

I stumble to my feet quickly, reaching through the bars of the cell to touch him, to make sure he's really here. Tears spring to my eyes as I remember the last time he was getting me out of a cell. Once again he's come to save me.

"Kenton, how are you here? Did your father truly let you down here to get me?" I ask, more confused than relieved now.

He gets the key unlocked to my cell, throwing open the door to hold me in his arms. "No, I had to pay the guard who was supposed to come get you to let me do it." He chuckles lightly, somehow finding humor in this twisted fate.

"I'm so sorry, I told Bastian that I didn't want this marriage. I tried to protest, I tried-"

"I know, I know sweetheart. It's alright, I'm not upset with you." He cuts me off, rubbing my back reassuringly. "I need you to listen to me carefully. Can you do that for me?" He says, pulling me back as he keeps his hands on my shoulders. He looks me in the eyes pleadingly, determined. I nod, calming down from my hysterical state.

"The group and I, as soon as we found out about the wedding, we knew this was what Bastian was hiding. We have a plan, and I need you to go along with it." He says.

"What? What plan?" I ask, that hopeful feeling now returning to my body.

He starts leading us out of the dungeons, keeping me close to his side. "We don't have enough time to go over everything, I just need you to trust me. Go along with everything that goes down in there, alright?" He says.

"Alright." I say hesitantly. I might hate not knowing what they plan to do or what I'm supposed to do, but at this point I'm desperate for anything.

We're almost to the stairs that lead out of the dungeon when I remember something. I quickly steal the keys that Kenton holds in his hand, running back towards the cells. He calls after me worriedly, but I ignore him. I have someone to get out of here.

"Zehra!" I call out as I fiddle with the keys.

I rapidly unlock the cell, throwing open the door and crouching down to her level. Shaking her shoulders, she finally wakes up, looking at me through hazy eyes.

"Woah, how'd you get in here?" She asks, still in her sleepy state.

I laugh at her lightly, "I'm getting you out of this place." I say. "Go. Be free to do whatever you want in life, yeah?" My eyes start to tear up. "I may not get my happy ending like I wanted, but I want to make sure you get yours."

Tears stream freely down both of our faces as she pulls me to her, hugging me tightly. I help her off the ground, making sure she's steady on her feet before I let go of her.

"There's a staircase down the hallway and to the left, it'll take you straight outside. When you get up there, run through the woods so the guards won't find you. From there you can go anywhere you want without having to worry about Narva." I explain. Hudson and I used to take those stairs as kids when we would run around the castle in boredom. Guards are rarely ever out there.

"Thank you." She squeaks before making a beeline to the stairs, limping slightly.

As I walk back to Kenton, who looks at me like I've lost my mind, I hand him back his keys.

"What the hell did you do?" He asks, obviously having seen the break out I caused. I remember now that he hasn't seen what I've seen in Zehra. He still thinks of her as the snotty princess who ruined me.

"We sorted things out." I shrug. "Come on, I have to get ready for my wedding you're about to crash."

***

I scarf down the food the servants gave me as an old woman pulls and tugs my hair. This is the first solid food I've had in two days and I'm thoroughly enjoying every bite. The food they serve to prisoners here in Narva is much like what they gave to me in Caraq. Inedible slop.

I look in the mirror that sits in front of me as the woman does my hair. It's awful, truly. I would rather have her cut my hair off than keep this birdsnest of a bun she styled. My makeup is even worse, like I've just stepped out of a very intense battle with paint.

Just when I think this can't get any worse, another servant comes into the small room holding my dress. I physically have to stop myself from gagging at the sight of it. It's all white, as expected, but the style is what makes me want to gauge my eyeballs out. It's horribly poofy, with tulle spilling out everywhere. Even the sleeves are poofy, like two large snowballs that rest on my shoulders. It's utterly awful.

The servants, however, seem to love it. They hurriedly put the dress on my body, carefully tying the strings and pulling the sleeves up. They smile in approval once I'm ready, gawking at the work they've done. Honestly, the way they're acting almost makes me believe I look beautiful. When I look at my reflection, I am deeply humbled.

I'm forced to look away from myself when someone opens the door. I turn around only to find Bastian himself walking in with a smug smile on his face. He's dressed nicely for the occasion, he even has his golden crown resting above his brow.

"Miss Farrington, you look lovely." He greets, taking in my appearance. I give him a deadpanned look, knowing I do not in fact look 'lovely'. "Everything is set up, whenever you're ready we can start." He says.

"I've told you multiple times I'm not ready." I say, even though he truly doesn't care if I'm ready or not.

"Great! Let us go then." He says, completely ignoring my previous statement.

He leads me out of the room, walking me to where I'm supposed to enter. I stare at the wooden doors in front of me, not ready at all to change my life.