DisPLACEd: Beginnings

Chapter Twenty

Jake followed the King and two of his guards down a cold, dark stairway under the castle. One of the guards took a flaming torch from the wall and guided them through the cells. As Jake peered in at the prisoners, he could see skinny men and woman covered in filth. Some of them yelled pleas of mercy to the King, others tried to attack him through the bars. Jake turned away from them, feeling useless at the sight of their suffering. They came to a halt in front of a cell. Jake moved to the gate and saw Reb sitting on the ground, arms laced through her neighbouring cell, chatting to someone. He was amazed, in an aggravated kind of way, that she seemed so casual about being in a medieval jail. As he looked to see who she was talking to, Jake realised he knew her. Thea sat across from Reb, her long curled hair damp and muddy. Her clothes were ripped and she had purple bruises all over. The gash on her leg that she had attained during the fight with Sampson, had not been attended to. It lay open and festering. Jake cringed at the treatment of this poor woman and was suddenly thankful he was getting his sister out of this place.

"Rebecca," Jake said softly.

Reb turned her gaze to Jake. She had a red mark on her cheek; Jake could only assume from when one of the guards got fed up with her attitude and smacked her for silence. A pang of guilt shot through him. Reb's casual demeanor disappeared. Her face hardened.

"Rebecca of Sun Valley, ye are free to go," King Malcolm announced.

"Why?" Reb asked, still on the ground.

King Malcolm was taken aback. "'Cause I pardon you."

Reb rose to her feet, her frown not budging. She looked to Thea, who had been thrown into a cell to rot.

The other prisoners let out a mighty uproar, yelling for the King to pardon them as well. The two guards dashed to the side of the King and drew their swords. Within seconds, five more guards were rushing down the stairs to help control the situation. They drew their swords and bashed them against the cell gates, forcing the rowdy prisoners away.

"Rebecca, we need to go," Jake urged.

"What about Thea?" Reb asked Malcolm.

The King, shocked by Reb's request and unsure how to proceed, looked to Thea. He saw an injured woman, not much older than himself, sitting in the cold, dank corner. She smiled slightly as his eyes met hers and bowed her head in respect for her King.

"What is her crime?" King Malcolm asked of his guards.

"She killed a noble knight, Your Majesty," the guard replied.

"Because he was going to kill her," Reb cried.

King Malcolm's heart fluttered in panic. He felt bad for Thea, but relaxing the rules more than once would set a dangerous precedent.

He closed his eyes, blocking his view of Thea's kind face, and shook his head. The prisoners began to murmur. When Malcolm reopened his eyes he saw Reb's furious glare. He went to apologise but she stormed off before he could.

Reb rushed up the stairs past Eric and the girls, leaving them baffled. They reemerged into the crowds of the tournament, the horde of people filing out of the stands.

"Where's everyone going?" Harley watched the procession of people.

"The melee must be over," Eric said.

"Over?" Jake asked.

"Let's head back to the tent - maybe we'll find Ryan there." Aadita led the way through the crowds.

People yelled and shoved them as they walked the opposite way through the swarms. Finally they came across Ryan. He was embracing two of his teammates. All of them were grinning and talking over one another in excitement. Ryan spotted his friends.

"Hey!" He shouted as he threw his hands up in the air, happy to see them. He said goodbye to his fellow knights and joined his friends walking back to their tent. "How good was the fight?" He boasted. When no one answered he repeated his question.

"We didn't see it," Aadita admitted.

"You didn't see it?" Ryan asked, shocked. "None of it?"

"We saw the beginning," Harley said, trying to appease him.

"What were you doing?" Ryan asked. Everyone fell silent and turned their gaze to Reb. "What did you do?" He asked her.

Reb rolled her eyes and kept walking. Ryan turned to the others for an answer.

"She posed as a knight in the melee and got caught," Jake explained, his tone still heavy with accusation. "She spent the last three hours in a jail cell under the castle."

"Really?" Ryan couldn't keep down a thrilled laugh.

"It wasn't funny," Eric said sternly.

"I know." Ryan stifled another laugh. "I know. I just didn't realise how much of a badass Reb was."

Before anyone could scold him for his inappropriate response, Ryan ran off to catch up to Reb. He wanted to hear all about her time in prison.

Percy rushed around the tent, his hands full of the gifts and trinkets people had sent to Prince David.

"What are you doing?" Ryan asked.

"I am packing yer things in preparation for the tent to be disassembled, ye Highness." Percy continued to hurry around the room.

"What? Why is the tent being disassembled?" Jake asked.

"Because the tourney is over, milord," Percy told them.

"It literally just finished though," Jake said.

"Aye," Percy nodded and walked away.

The others went to collect their things. Harley walked to the cupboard, gathering some sentimental things she had collected over the last couple of days.

"Miss Harley, where would ye like your dress and necklace?" Percy enquired.

"Necklace?"

"Aye, milady." In Percy's hands was the Dragon's Breath Opal she saw at the markets.

Harley's face went white. "Is this another gift from Haviland?"

"Not sure milady."

"Leave them both." She took one last look at the dress and necklace, wishing they hadn't come with such bad memories. She silently walked away and helped Ryan pack his things.

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