Two Minutes

A Bloom

Faith had always been an explorer. As a baby, she'd have to be watched carefully or she'd crawl away and disappear. One time, she was even found in a neighbor's apple basket. It was humorous for the neighbors, but terrifying for her parents. As she grew older, her parents constantly reminded her to not wander off and told some of the stories from when she was a baby.

Faith hadn't paid attention to her parent's words. She wanted to see the world, to explore. At one point, she even proudly exclaimed to her parents that she was going to be a cartographer and map the world. Her parents told her that the world was already mapped and that there was nothing more to be found. Her father sternly reminded her that she was going to be married to a noble in King Tyrus' court, so she can be someplace that was safer than a river-side logging town. In response, she wandered off and got lost in the woods. She was out there for hours before one of the older loggers found her crying behind a log and took her home.

Faith often reminisced about these parts of her life. She was, by all means, a woman now, but her father still had yet to marry her off to some stuck-up noble. This was partly thanks to her mother's softening over the years. This softening also allowed her to go out and explore more, and for longer periods of time. Her father set the cut-off to late evening, just before sunset. This was fine enough for her. Over the years, she'd gotten gradually better at navigation and survival in the wilderness, but she also made sure to stick to certain paths, as her father insisted she still wear beautiful dresses and would get angry if she returned with dirty or torn dresses.

There was a snap. She stopped in her tracks, pulled from her thoughts as her head spun towards the sound. She tensed up as the bushes moved, taking a step back, prepared to flee. A deer hopped out of the treeline, stopping one second to look at her before dashing off down the trail. She breathed out a sigh of relief before she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. She staggered forward, falling onto her stomach. Her vision blurred and she slipped into unconsciousness.

She awoke with a start. Everything was dark and the ground was hard and cold, like a stone. She winced hard, remembering the pain from before and still feeling a residual stinging at the back of her head. She brought her hand up, lightly touching the back of her head. She felt an old-ish wound, dried blood. She pulled her hand back. Touching it was still painful. She felt around the room, slowly crawling around. The floor was stone, feeling like stone bricks. She kept feeling around, soon finding a wall. It was stone brick, as well. She felt her way to a corner, then slowly turned and pressed her back into it. She looked straight forward. Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness. It seemed that she was in a cell. Beyond the iron bars, she saw no light. There was another cell across from hers, but she couldn't see far enough to tell if anyone (or anyTHING) was in the other cell.

There was a heavy, echoing bang somewhere down the hall, farther than her view allowed her to see. Footsteps were approaching. She felt a heavy sense of dread and started to panic. She stood up, stumbling around and looking for something. A weapon. An escape. Anything. The footsteps grew closer. They weren't heavy, they sounded almost like her own. Unable to find anything, she pushed herself back into the corner and curled up, looking out to the cell bars in fear. There was a light "fwumph" as several torches suddenly ignited themselves, bathing the room in light. She squinted, her eyes not adjusted to such brightness. In fact, it kind of made her head hurt...

A figure appeared in front of the bars. The first thing Faith noticed was their piercing red eyes. She took in the rest of their face. It could just be a trick of the light, or her tired eyes, but their skin seemed almost grey. They wore a curious expression, seeming to not have believed anyone was down here. "So..." the voice was female. Striking, from the apparel they were wearing. Faith shifted a little. "I didn't think they had actually captured someone." They grew a smug smirk, "What's your name?" Faith said nothing. "Do make this easier for yourself. I'll tell you my name, as well, if it makes you feel better."
"G-go."
"Ah, a word. I assume that means 'go ahead'?" they cleared their throat, "My name is Kenzo Valentine. You are currently residing in the dungeon under my manor. You trespassed onto our grounds, so one of my guards put you in here."