Reliving the past

Chapter 1- Part 1

Sydney began reading the chapter:I DON'T LIKE CAGES.

I drew in a sharp breath. It was my time in prison. I detested the remembrance of that time.

Sensing my unease, Dimitri pressed a soft kiss to my hair.

I don't even like going to zoos. The first time I went to one, I almost had a claustrophobic attack looking at those poor animals.

"Ooh, I remember that," Lissa said, grinning at the recollection.

I narrowed my eyes, hoping she wouldn't say anything else.

Sadly, she continued talking. "I really wanted to tour the zoo. There were so many different animals there. But Rose took one look at the first cage that held a leopard and went so pale that I had to half carry her outside."

Everyone laughed at the image of Lissa carrying me.

I had to admit, it was pretty funny, even if I was miffed that Lissa made that story public.

Once the snickers subsided, Sydney continued reading:I couldn't imagine any creature living that way. Sometimes I even felt a little bad for criminals, condemned to life in a cell. I'd certainly never expected to spend my life in one.

I shuddered.

But lately, life seemed to be throwing me a lot of things I'd never expected, because here I was, locked away.'Hey!' I yelled, gripping the steel bars that isolated me from the world. 'How long am I going to be here? When's my trial? You can't keep me in this dungeon forever!'

"Ah! The Hathaway spirit can never be crushed." Christian said, looking sort of proud.

"Rose, you shouldn't yell at the guardians. They were just doing their jobs." Mom chastised.

"I know, mom." I grumbled. "But I couldn't not do anything!"

"Dungeon, Rose?" Abe asked, amused. "Really?"

"Please continue reading, Sydney." I said, glaring at Abe.

Okay, it wasn't exactly a dungeon, not in the dark, rusty-chain sense.I shot a glance at Abe. I was inside a small cell with plain walls, a plain floor, and well . . . plain everything. Spotless. Sterile. Cold. It was actually more depressing than any musty dungeon could have managed.

Dimitri nodded with a hint of pain visible on his features.

I'd nearly forgotten that we both had been locked in same jail cell and had suffered similarly.

"Don't think about it, comrade." I whispered to him, rubbing circles on his palm.

He nodded, pulling me closer.

The bars in the doorway felt cool against my skin, hard and unyielding. Fluorescent lighting made the metal gleam in a way that felt harsh and irritating to my eyes. I could see the shoulder of a man standing rigidly to the side of the cell's entrance and knew there were probably four more guardians in the hallway out of my sight. I also knew none of them were going to answer me back, but that hadn't stopped me from constantly demanding answers from them for the last two days.

"What could stop Rose?" Eddie asked rhetorically.

I chuckled.

When the usual silence came, I sighed and slumped back on the cot in the cell's corner. Like everything else in my new home, the cot was colorless and stark. Yeah. I really was starting to wish I had a real dungeon. Rats and cobwebs would have at least given me something to watch.