The Calamity House

Chapter Nine~Sasha

Sasha sat in a cold, damp cell which she assumed was underground. She had grown quite thinner, as the food her guards had served her wasn't exactly nutritious. Her school uniform was also filthy; the cell was not in any way clean. 

After the Golden Guard had taken her away, she had been locked in an interrogation chamber where a woman called "Headwitch Clawthorne" asked her a few questions, all of which Sasha refused to answer (as she wanted to give them quite a hard time). Eventually, she had grown frustrated and had ordered for her to be thrown into a cell underneath the castle. She kept hearing mentions of this mysterious "Emperor Belos", who Sasha assumed, based on his name, was in charge, and so she decided she needed to get in good with him to be let out.

But first, she needed to make the guards like her. If she did that, they'd be more generous and her life in - well, wherever  this place was - would be easier. Unfortunately, the guards weren't that talkative. 

She had been attempting to scratch her name into the stone wall with her nails when the cell door opened and a Coven Guard came in, giving her the usual disgusting grey sludge-like substance. She eyed it with disgust but quickly recovered and beamed at the guard. 'Thanks for that. Anyway, how are you?' she said casually.

The guard stared at her for a moment. 'Why do you ask?' he asked gruffly. Sasha shrugged her shoulders. 'From what I've seen, your bosses probably don't ask you that enough, do they?' 

The guard continued staring at her, before nodding his masked head. 'No, they don't. They really don't..' he said sadly. Sasha smiled. 'Well, you can tell me anything! I may be a prisoner, but I'm trustworthy. Like, can I even tell anyone else? Nope! 'Cause I'm in a cell.' she said this in a sincere tone. 

The guard seemed to consider her for a moment. He then plopped down in front of her, the cell door still open. 'I don't get paid enough. I never see my family. And that's just the start!' he finished in a wail. Sasha was surprised at how sensitive the hulking guard was, but she knew her goal would be much easier to reach because of it. 

'Aw, don't be upset! I totally understand. My mom had a job that paid so little and I barely ever got to see her.' she said energetically. This was a half-truth. She lived with her dad one month and her mom the other, since they were divorced, and she felt like she barely saw her mom anyway. But her mother did have a job that paid very little.  

'I just want to be accepted for who I really am...and that's a musician! I don't know why I even joined the Emperor's Coven...' the guard continued sadly. 'Okay...hey, what's your name?' she asked in a kind tone. 

'My name's Percy.' the guard said meekly. 'That's a wonderful name! I'm Sasha. Call me Sash!' she extended a pale hand and it was shook by the guard's strong hands. 'So, you don't think you get paid enough?' she asked him in timid voice (which was part of the facade).  'Of course not..I know it's all for the Titan and Emperor Belos but...it seems harsh.'

They went on speaking for half an hour until Percy was yelled at by his superior. Sasha was very pleased. She had made a guard begin to adore her, and she knew lots more things. Emperor Belos had ruled over the Boiling Isles (where they were) for one hundred and fifty years and was doing so in the name of the Titan, which, according to the guard was the whole Boiling Isles, all of them living on its corpse.

She retreated deeper into her cell, smiling. She had much more information to work with now.