The Stolen Soul Key

The City

Amaya sat in the cell of the City jail, contemplating on everything that had gone wrong in less than twenty-four hours. She had been so confident, setting off on her own to be independent. She should have stayed with River.

After running for hours through the forest, she had stumbled upon this quaint city that was hidden in the woods. It was cute. She had considered making this place her new home until she was arrested.

It wasn't her fault that she had no money. Eventually, she might have been able to get a job and work up some coins on her own, but she didn't have that option today.

Starving, she had made a poor decision that ended up costing her gravely. One of the richer looking men in town had stood ogling the new vehicles that they were showing off in the street, and she had reached into his pocket.

The man with the shiny shoes and fancy suit had noticed her and backhanded her harshly. He pulled out his sheriff's badge and shoved it into her face, announcing that he was arresting her. There was nothing that she could do to stop him.

Even though she pleaded with him that she was only hungry, he had pushed her into this slimy cell and locked the door. It was kind of ironic that she had ran away from one cage, just to be shoved into another. At least the pirate's cabin was clean.

She sighed, letting her back fall into the wall and sliding to the floor. Something clung to her back as she did so, making her cringe in disgust. She didn't want to know what it is.

By now, River would have woken up to find her missing and probably scoured the forest looking for her. He would never find her here. This time, she would have no saviour coming to her rescue. Nobody knew that she was here.

She wondered if Mizzen had looked for her once he noticed her missing. It had become obvious that night that she was simply a nuisance to him and his people. Mizzen was friendly, sure, but his people had made it obvious that she was more of an annoyance than anything else. They weren't wrong. She had a home, and it wasn't in the Evergreen.

Mizzen was probably thanking his lucky stars that the girl he was prophesied to protect had disappeared. He no longer had to worry about her.

Maybe her mother would come looking for her. But again, she would never find her here. This city was secluded and in the middle of nowhere. Her situation suddenly seemed more hopeless than on the pirate ship.

Her mother was probably back home, tending to her garden. She loved the simple life. Amaya didn't know too much about her mother's past, it was something that her mother had never wanted to talk about. Something had happened and her mother had decided that living alone with her daughter was better than being around other people. It didn't matter to Amaya though. She knew that her mother would share when she was ready.

The door to the jail swung open, startling Amaya from her thoughts. She pressed her back into the wall as she watched the man that had arrested her come stumbling into the room. He leaned against the cell and smiled, staring down at her.

"What's your name, Miss?"

Amaya swallowed, not wanting to answer him. She decided to say nothing.

He pushed his fingers farther past the bars of her cell as he continued to stare at her with that gleeful expression. "You said that you had no money."

"I have nothing," she replied flatly.

His lips pulled back to show off his yellow teeth as he smiled, "What would you be willing to do to get some?"

She knew what he was referring to. This man was very clearly drunk, and very clearly important in this town. She didn't want to risk angering him more so she said nothing.