The Queen's Wife (girlxgirl)

29. How easy it is to lie

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⚠️ mentions of death, terrible conditions, swearing, cruel treatment, hunger⚠️

"Remove all guards from the nearby area. Guard the surroundings for possible spies, I'll be discussing classified state secrets with the criminal"

Adelio looks down at her head guard as he bows and scurries away, two other guards following him out of the dark dungeon hallway. The city dungeon of Birds is just as horrifying as one might think it could be, considering the state of the rest of the city. They let civilized people live in terrible conditions, and uncivilized ones in what can only be described as: the remnants of hell. The floor is filled with mud, a possible mixture of the groundwater with the dust from above. The only source of light during the day is the exit, a narrow sandstone staircase that leads to a closed wooden door. The dungeon itself exists completely underground, the cells small and placed right next to each other, holding several criminals in one. It is cold and the stinging smell of dirt and mud rises in the air, Adelio powering through it without holding his nose to show strength in front of her guards and the criminals, who watch her from their metal cells with nothing but hollow hunger in their eyes.

This dungeon is a fate worse than death, perhaps even a fate close to the one that awaits those who die without their sins forgiven. It is the last place that will ever be reformed, as nobody cares more about criminals than they do about anything else.

However, Adelio sees this terrible hellhole as an opportunity to pressure her current number one enemy, and bend her to her will. This old woman, whoever she might be, no matter how crazy, attention-seeking or dumb, is the current number one enemy of the crown prince and therefore the current number one enemy of the future state and crown. She is the first person who has ever dared to voice the words Adelio fears more than anything.

"I'm a woman?"

She opens the door with a cold voice, cutting through the thick air of the nearly empty dungeon cell. While all other cells are filled with criminals, this one holds only one woman. She is a danger to society. It's not selfish for Adelio to think that. If it got out that she is a woman, through the rumours originally spread by this woman, there is no telling what the other kingdoms would do if they saw fault in that. They could join an uprising against Red Lion, lead by Blue Knight, take over the kingdom and slaughter the people while they're at it. Red Lion is powerful but nobody is strong enough to stand on their own against the entire world. Not even Adelio. Therefore, this woman is an enemy of the state, and the most dangerous woman in their entire empire. Also, a personal enemy of Adelio.

"Care to explain?"

The woman sits on the floor, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. Her only sign of life is the chest that slowly moves up and down with her ragged breaths. Adelio feels no pity for her. She feels pity for all of her people as a whole, but can easily acknowledge that there are many bad apples out there. And sometimes, bad apples don't have to be evil to be bad for her. All they have to be is dangerous, even if they are kind within. She is crown prince, and her duty is to protect her people from harm, no matter if that harm is good or bad. So she feels no pity for her, simply because her pitiful situation is an asset to Adelio. A night in this dungeon will surely have cracked her defences wide open.

"I've lived for eighty seven years-"

Adelio listens intently as she croaks out her words, wheezing them through her teeth, coughing halfway through. She stands above her with her arms folded over her chest, piercing eyes staring directly down at the old woman. They call it a miracle when a poor person in a city like this one reaches above the age of seventy. This woman is a walking miracle, and yet she has no better use of her remaining time than to aggravate and get involved with Adelio's immense problem. That's what is truly pitiful.