You're still trying to figure out what you think of the man when the guards leave and you're left alone.
"It's nice to meet you." Laios extends his hand but you ignore it. You keep your eyes pointed at the table now. He should just drag you towards the guillotine and have it over with.
The man seems unperturbed and smiles widely at you.
"Oh and you shouldn't worry about... dying or anything." He pulls an odd face that isn't quite a frown. "We're all about rehabilitation here- or well it depends, but mostly rehabilitation yes."
Work Text:
"Criminal case number forty-seven." The chains around your hands clink loudly as a guard drags you forward. "The defendant has repeatedly robbed several stands throughout the capital. Jail time has had no effect and we seek more severe punishment."
You keep your eyes on the ground. Without your comfortable cloak you feel exposed. The fur on your arms stands on end. Your hideous appearance is revealed in the scrappy prison clothes you wear. You suppose you really do look like some sort of criminal now.
"Are you a kobold?" A loud voice rings out. The words bounce around the ornate room until they burns your ears.
You don't speak. You don't want to dignify his idiotic question with a response. The crown king or prince or whatever should just sentence you to death by hanging and leave you be.
The guard to your left smacks the back of your head. "Answer," he commands gruffly.
"I'm not." You mumble the words so softly you're sure you'll just be reprimanded again but the quiet words appear to be satisfactory.
"Beastkin then? Or some kind of-"
"Laios focus on your duties!"
Your eyes flick upwards to watch the... advisor or confidant- you can't pay attention to the intricacies of royal life -scold the king. They exchange quiet words that even your sensitive ears can't make out. When the conversation ends you bow your head once more.
"We'll keep her in the barracks for further investigation."
Your ears twitch but otherwise you don't react. Music sounds from your restraints again, jingling as you're dragged off.
—-
The cells in the castle aren't much nicer than any of the others you've been in. Most are relatively similar other than the temperature inside. You're warm here at least which is better than the wooden walls that let in every gust of wind back on the outskirts of town.
The guards are the same, quiet and rude.
You sit around for 3 days in absolute silence. All the other cells are far away enough that you don't know who else is kept locked up. The only sounds you hear are footsteps from the floor above and murmurs from the guards. They probably think they're being quiet but you can still hear everything the pair is saying. Mostly it's useless gossip. You now know all about who's fucking who and who slacks off and who is stealing extra portions at dinner.
Every once in a while you hear a murmur about the king. There's so many rumors about him that you don't know what to believe. You can trust the guards a little bit more but nothing they say is useful in any way.
"The guy's fucking weird, friends are too."
"I'm pretty sure he's been through fifty chefs at this point. All the food tastes fine but he fires them after one week."
"We get to eat some exotic shit though."
"Damn right."
All you get is the same bowl of porridge three times a day. For dinner there's two dry slices of beef to accompany the slop. You treasure the meat though. Even if everything tastes the same having protein is a gift. You chew it slowly as if you can pull any kind of flavor out of it.
