Captured

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"No! Let go of me!" Rosemary struggled under his iron grip. 

"We have to take you to Queen Raven. All trespassers must be executed," another soldier explained patiently. He had freckles over the bridge of his nose, green eyes, and bright, blinding red hair. 

"What? No! Wait, the queen? The queen of what? What is this place?" Rosemary had an entire list of questions. 

"The Queen of Erebus, of course," Freckles said, looking at her like she had just grown an extra head. 

"Ere-what?" asked Saffi, she and the soldiers having arrived from where they were when she had tried to escape. 

Iron Hands glared at her but answered her question anyway. 

"Erebus," he enunciated, his chest puffed with pride. 

"Still no clue what that is," Saffi replied, confused. But Rosemary understood it all: they had been captured by the border patrol and now they would be executed for trespassing. 

"Why is execution the consequence of trespassing?" Rosemary questioned.

"Because," Freckles answered, losing his patience, "you could be spies."

"Can't we at least have a trial?" Rosemary pressed.

"You can have a meeting with the queen but we don't have trials," 

"But, Freckles, that's not fair!" she protested.

"Well, that's just how it works around here," he shrugged, "also my name isn't Freckles; it's Edward."

Rosemary opened her mouth to protest but Edward said they had arrived at Erebus. The kingdom was gloomy and busy. It was also dark, despite the morning sun. There were stores and markets and a town square, where civilians sat under trees. Everyone had a frown on their face and looked defeated as if they no longer had a reason to live in this godforsaken place. One kid, a little boy around the age of 7 or 8, caught her gawking and threw a rock at her. Thankfully, he missed. 

They had been here for only ten minutes and Rosemary was already disgusted. 

The soldiers marched on, dragging them through a crowded market and to an even darker, shady area. Rosemary squinted and through the fog, she could see the silhouette of what appeared to be the dungeon. Half a mile from the dungeon, there was something that resembled a school. Rosemary turned to the left, and there it was. 

The castle. 

It was beautiful, in an eery kind of way. The towers were black and tipped with silver. Apparently, the queen had an obsession with black. There was a red moat around the castle. Rosemary shuddered, not wanting to know what that red liquid was. 

The soldiers pulled them to the dungeon and were welcomed by another pair of soldiers. They opened the doors for them, and they went inside. It was dark, cold, and musty. The only light was coming from torches lining the walls. It was like a giant hallway, with cells on either side. At first, they saw empty, broken cells but later saw a few full of skeletons. 

Then, there were the cells containing prisoners. The prisoners barked at the girls, as if they weren't already uncomfortable. They kept walking until they reached a few empty, brand-new cells. Edward opened one of the cells and threw Saffi inside. She grabbed at his arms and screamed, as he quickly locked the cell, and Saffi attempted to get out, clawing at it like a rabid animal. 

Iron Hands dragged her farther into the dungeon. 

"Why aren't you putting me in the same cell as Saffi?" Rosemary said, struggling against his grip.

"You both are friends," he replied simply as if that had answered it all.  

He pulled her along, farther and farther, until finally, they were standing before a large cell, much larger than Saffi's. Rosemary squinted. There seemed to be a silhouette bundled up on one of the two cots. 

He rapped his hands on the cell and said, "Oi! Your punishment is here!" 

Rosemary was both offended and confused. She wondered how she was a punishment. Then she realized that there was another person in the cell. She had to share a cell. With another human being. 

The silhouette, who appeared to be a boy not two years older than her, pushed off the blanket and got up. Rosemary gasped in shock. Could it be-?

"What do you want?" he asked, rubbing his head, and yawning. 

Rosemary squeaked. This caught his attention and glared at her as if to say what are you looking at? 

She regained her composure and turned to Iron Hands. "Could you please explain?" she asked sweetly. 

Both Iron Hands and the boy scowled at her. No explanation was given despite her polite request. 

"Do I have to share a cell with her?" the boy asked, rudely. 

"Queen's orders. You have to share a cell with a girl until you learn your lesson: not to hurt your mother again," Iron Hands shrugged. 

"Wait what? What do you mean? Can you please explain this to me? I have to know!" Rosemary continued to pester Iron Hands with questions. 

Iron Hands sighed, unlocked the cell, and shoved her inside with the boy. She tried for a smile, but he just stood there and glowered at her with those gorgeous, once-sweet, brown eyes. 

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