Strings - Camp NaNoWriMo 2017

«Forbidden - 1»

{Start of Story Two: Forbidden}

The lock clicked open.

I scrambled to my feet, startled out of my trance-like state. Two figures entered my cell, clad in a whirlwind of embroidered robes. Deep red, golden stitching. Who are they this time?

Out of habit, I reached up to brush my hair over the left side of my face, covering the scar. However, before I could do so, I was grabbed roughly on either side. I bit my tongue as gloved hands encircled my thin wrists. It would be no use to struggle.

I was led through hallways, up and down staircases. All the while I stared at my bare feet, watching them half-trudge, half-drag across the stone. It was silent for a good while - I had gotten increasingly worse at keeping track of time. There was just the rustling of my captors' robes, the click of their boots. I glanced up. Their faces, as always, were concealed behind polished metal masks. I wasn't quite sure what to make of them. They were engraved, carved with intricate patterns and symbols. The most noticeable part of the mask itself, however, was the large, beak-like formation that hung from their nose past their mouth, ending in a deadly point.

I tore my eyes away from the unsettling sight and gazed instead at the ceiling. The torches were slowly fading out, giving way to natural light. Suddenly I gasped, craning my neck forward.

People.

Actual, alive people, with actual, real faces. And - the sun! The bright sun, the real one that hung suspended in the sky. After so much time underground, to feel its warmth on my skin had nearly become a fantasy.

The sight sparked some life within me. My hard features melted a little, and I raised my hand as if to caress the rays of warmth.

But before I could, my hand was yanked down again, and I was brought back to harsh reality. The people around us, mostly maids and their young children, stepped back to let us pass. I became suddenly aware of  words on everyone's mind, upon every pair of lips.

Prisoner.

But so young...

Where are they going?

I kept my eyes down after that, becoming overwhelmingly self-conscious. All around us, parents pulled their children back, people of all ages pressed themselves against the wall, ducked into rooms.

Dangerous.

A wave of emotions hit me like a storm. I let out a low, almost inaudible moan, squeezing my eyes shut. People around me only seemed to become more wary. Wherever I looked, eyes darted away, and people started, flinching.

All of a sudden it hit me.

I was the monster, the creature, the thing on the end of the leash. Nobody wanted to look, to even awknowledge that something like me existed. Yet... they couldn't look away.

I was tempted to call out. "Hey. You. Do you see me? Do I scare you?" Perhaps I would laugh. "Good." However, I stopped myself. Days upon days of solitary confinement, and perhaps I would loose my sanity here, in the open, upon being let out. The bitter irony.

So I didn't. Instead I watched my feet, watched the stones grow increasingly polished and well-kept. We were entering a wealthier district.

The sounds of a busy street began to rise up around me. Vendors yelling, horse-drawn carriages clattering past in the distance. I yearned to look up, to take it all in, but I couldn't. I refused to. Refused to see myself, reflected in all those people's eyes as an abomination.

The minutes continued to slip me by. Finally, we halted at a shining gate. I put in the effort to glance up. The place looked like a manor, and an expensive one at that.

Words were exchanged, and the guards let us in. We entered the first building. More walking. More stairs, a seemingly endless spiral. When we at last reached the top, I was out of breath.

Suddenly I was thrown down to the ground. I threw my hands out in front of me to catch myself, only succeeding in scraping the top layer of skin off my palms. I winced, trying to stand up, but was gruffly shoved down again, the sole of a boot digging down into ny shoulders until I stayed down against the floor.

"She may look up," uttered a voice, laced with the deep current of a command. Whoever this person was, they were used to being in a position of power.

I sat up on my knees before anyone could make me do so in a more violent manner. Before me sat a well-groomed young man, wearing robes of light blue and pearly white. He studied me with a haughty sneer, a slender hand propping up his chin. On either side of him rested all sorts of exotic animals. A panther, chained to the floor. A vibrant tropical bird, behind gilded bars. I avoided eye contact, choosing instead to examine my surroundings. For some reason it seemed as if looking upon him would somehow be wrong, treasonous.

The masked guards were exchanged for different ones, leaving the room in a brisk, precise fashion. I waited, wordlessly.

"Tell me," the man finally said, having finished his examining of me. "How does it work?"

I stared directly at the marble platform beneath his feet, expressionless.

"Hey." The man shifted his position, clothes rustling as he leaned forward. "I asked you a question. And when I ask you a question, you look me in the eyes, and answer. Is that clear?"

As told, I looked into his eyes, noticing their shade of oceanic blue, their flecks of gold. "Crystal," I replied, with only the slightest hint of a drawl.

The man frowned disapprovingly. "Very well." He ran a hand over his neatly trimmed, deep brown hair. "Now answer me- how does it work?"

"I don't know." Before the words had even finished leaving my mouth, something hard collided with my back. I let out a grunt as I collapsed to the floor, folding over at the waist.

"What was that for?" I demanded as calmly as I could after I had recovered. Admittedly, it still sounded like something close to a growl.

"I didn't like your answer," he replied simply, shrugging it off as if it was nothing. Perhaps to him, it was. "Now... why don't we try again?"