Eglantine

Chapter 2

Six burly guards stood barring the front entryway. At the sight of our small parade, they yelled for someone to open the gates.

I was taken into a bird cage, centered in a hall near the kitchen. The rusty bars scratched my skin and made my wings tingle. They gave me a dirty, sleeveless poppy fiber tunic. It itched almost constantly, similar to the thoughts in my head that buzzed all through the night. Sleep was scarce.

***

That whole night, before I was given my meager and tasteless meal, I was introduced to the king of this land. The greeting was not kind, nor did it bear any splendor. Iron shackles met my wrists, and I was ushered into a dark, dirty room. 'Why am I here?' I wondered. My heart was pounding in my ears, and bile started to worm its way up my throat. Suddenly, a large hand grabbed at the shackles and I was thrown forward. My abdomen started to turn.

"Welcome to the Caelan Palace," said a gruff voice. A flame sparked and a lamp in the corner of two stony walls was lit. The stranger had a sharp, tapering jaw, and a mop of auburn braids and twists that framed his high cheekbones. "I'm Ceidric, and I'd like to ask you a few friendly questions." He jeered, "But be warned, the Great Bear is fierce and deadly, and does not take kindly to traitor elven scamps like you. Take care not to wake him, and you will escape with your life, and hopefully most of your limbs."

***

Torture and interrogations followed that morning-- day after day... They bombarded me with questions about allies, elves, and other neighboring fairies. I told them they must have had the wrong name. I knew nothing of anything outside of my own village, yet my name was in their books. My criminal record took up pages of leaf-bound tomes.

I remember the guards at my cage jostling and poking each other. Whispers of my name and fragments of "little viper" and "going ta' get a piece of her" rolled through the hallways when they switched shifts.

I craved my mother's lemon biscuits...

***

The night then was thick, and its shadowy cloak suffocated those who dared pass without light. A figure crept up close. I couldn't see much, but the presence was, without a doubt, someone. Probably a guard on night watch, taking to mind the rush of his leather garb. Leather... I shuddered. These people were truly beasts, with no concern for the living. The cage door was opened, and I braced myself as a hand grasped my forearm. 'What more life do these brutes want out of me?' I was lead outside, where moonlight speckled five men's faces. The lot of them looked hungry, as if they forgot what the food was, and looked me over up and down. Ten starving eyes seemed to pierce through my dirty, tattered shift. Four rough hands dragged my body through the forest, and into a small shack tucked inside a tree root.

"It's about time we got a decent pay for once," one of them grunted. Five men cackled and moved closer.

Ten hands ripped at my clothing. Ten greedy fingers ran up and down my figure.

Through the door, the sky was shrouded in a blanket of clouds...