Broken But Unburnt

Chapter 18 - Gisella

Chapter 18: Gisella

Palace of the Centauri Throne: Kingdom of Karil

One learned much about oneself when there was nothing more to do than think.

Gisella had been locked in the dungeons far beneath the Karilish Keep for days now. She hadn't been surprised when the guards had come for her. Nicolas' pride would never have allowed her scolding to go unanswered. He was a king, after all, and a king always felt it necessary to remind everyone else of his kingship. Gisella considered herself reminded.

She didn't detest the dungeons as much as she expected to. The food was awful and the constant weeping prayers of her fellow prisoners became annoying after a time. But it was quiet enough and a good place to catch up on some much needed rest. In her dark corner cell, she couldn't see any of the others but she could hear them and she could feel them. In the dead of night, when she could sleep no longer, she entertained herself by reaching out to feel their pulses. She let it beat against her palm, spreading to her fingertips. When one of them grew too anxious, she helped him calm without even moving in her cell.

She was not permitted to bathe, nor was she given any fresh clothes. Someone was always coughing. Someone was always crying. The bread was stale and the ale tasted like piss but she'd faced far worse. Nicolas would not break her. She would break him. If she had to.

"You shouldn't speak to a king that way," someone said suddenly. Gisella looked up, squinting through the bars of her cell. The voice was close, disembodied in the dark but much closer than any of the other prisoners could possibly be.

She rose from her position on the ground, dusting herself off and kicking away the chain which bound her to the wall by her leg, a ridiculous precaution but an amusing indication of Nicolas' regard for her skill at least. Ronin emerged from the shadows, his expression a mismatch for his tone. While his words had come as a warning, his lips curved upward in a sardonic grin that had Gisella raising her brows as she leaned against the bars between them.

"No matter how right you were," Ronin finished, clearly amused by the current situation.

"My apologies," Gisella replied sarcastically. "I wasn't informed I would be having visitors. Please excuse the mess. I haven't had the chance to tidy up."

Ronin snorted.

"I have a proposal for you," he said.

"If it's marriage on your mind, I'll tell you where you can shove that proposal of yours."

"You're testy in prison."

"I'm testy in general. Get on with it, then."

"The council has already approved. Nicolas has as well. Although that, admittedly, took much longer," Ronin said. Gisella did not reply, merely leaned on the bars and waited for him to continue. "Maurin's was never big on espionage. My father wasn't either. He called it dishonest. Neither of them understood that this is how things are done now. Delos has spies within Karilish borders. I'm sure Idoria does as well. We risk this war, we risk falling behind, if we don't have a player in that arena. So I proposed the addition of a new division to the council. The division of spies. It's already been approved. I've been placed in charge of appointing its leader."

"Congratulations," Gisella replied. "And what does this have to do with me?"

"Who makes a better spymaster than the former king's most trusted assassin?"

Gisella blinked at the new Captain, uncertain if she had heard him correctly. He was offering her a position and not just any position. A position of prominence. The head of a division had a permanent place on the council. Whoever held the title of spymaster would always be granted a seat at the table, a voice in the decisions of Karil, a vote upon their future. It was a compelling offer.