Highlander's Kiss

Chapter 6: Elyn

Elyn shivered in her cell. Despite there being no window, the wind and chilled air seemed to seep through the walls and into her skin. Her furs and clothing weren't enough to keep the encroaching winter at bay.

The guards came once a day to shove scraps and left overs in an attempt to keep her breathing. It was barely enough food to live on. The night before, she felt ill and begged the guard dropping her food off to provide her with something more.

She gulped and tried to not sound too desperate. It was revolting enough that she felt she had to fall to such a low level. "Sir, help me — I need more food than this..."

For a moment, the guard looked a little sympathetic. "I canae, ye know that, lass."

"Just a little spare bread or something, so I donae feel like I'm dyin' in here. Please."

The guard frowned and looked around, in case anyone was listening. He lowered down to the bars and nodded to Elyn. "I'll do what I can."

"Thank ye." Elyn gave him her best smile. He left the room to try and scrounge up some more food for her.

She collapsed against the hard floor and stared through the black bars holding her in. The light from the hallway barely leaked into the cell. At first, it seemed pitch black and impossible to see in, but thankfully her eyes adjusted as the hours passed. At some point in the night, she found herself examining the walls. Scratch marks and drawings had been etched into the stone work. There wasn't enough light to see with, but she could trace her fingers along the lines and paint an image in her mind. Drawings of the sun, buildings, and people... families even.

Elyn moved one of her furs to the floor and rested her face on it. She felt too weak to move from her spot, so she let sleep grip her. It was a loose hold, and she fluttered between bouts of wakefulness and half-sleep. She swore she heard footsteps or saw shadows passing over the light that crept into her cell, but she brushed it off as mad hallucinations.

She ran her hands along the metal bars and marveled at the texture of the harsh iron. It wasn't maintained, and some shoddy repairs had been done throughout the years. She touched each bar in turn, not so much out of a desire to test their strength, but out of obsessed boredom and exhaustion. As she stroked the last bar near the cell-door, she observed that it shifted at her touch. The bar moved in the stonework, wiggled free by age and disrepair. The bar itself was sturdy, but the place where it met the stone floor was weakened and sandy. She kept it to herself, thinking it wouldn't do her much good anyway.

Later in the night, the door creaked open and Elyn shielded her eyes from the intense light. She knew it was only dim firelight, but to her it was blinding. As her eyes adjusted, a figure moved closer and pushed his hands through the bars. Elyn clammed up and felt tears well in her eyes.

"G-Gavin? Are ye there?" she cried.

"Nay," the man said, his voice familiar but not Gavin's. Elyn sank back and reeled away from the bars, her confusion frightening her. Her eyes moved from the silhouetted man to his hands, which clasped a large loaf of bread. "I got this for ye."

She crawled forward and snatched it from his hands, taking large bites and savoring the long lost flavor. After swallowing a mouthful, she dropped it and grabbed the bars. "Thank ye so much, I donae know what I can do to repay ye."

The man didn't answer. He smiled politely and left, securing the door behind him.

Elyn retrieved the bread and ate the rest of it, feeling the surge of energy already coursing through her. The renewed strength only made her more aware of how tired she was, so she curled up on her bed of furs and dozed, knowing she'd be more able to think in the morning.