Bandit Queen

Chapter Three

Lia slept soundlessly on the solid concrete. Her fiery red hair sprawled out in all directions around her. A reddish bruise had already begun to form, coating much of her face, and a dried clot of blood had formed under her now slightly crooked and broken nose. Three strips of light penetrated the dark room from a barred window in the corner, but that did nothing to combat the cold atmosphere inside of the cell.

Lia shuddered in her sleep and her vividly green eyes fluttered open. Slowly, her startling surroundings materialized in focus.

"Where am I? What happened?" she thought.

Instinctively, she felt for the comfort and safety of her headscarf. She felt nothing, nothing but her own hair. She had been discovered.

And then, the morning's events flooded through her mind like water, coating every aspect of her brain. On cue, her nose began to throb. She reached up to examine the injuries.

When she caught sight of the state of her hands, she inaudibly gasped. Her fingernails were brown and red with dried blood and it wasn't her own. She felt proud that she had caused some sort of damage to her captors.

"I'm gonna die anyway, so it doesn't matter. When those guards show their cowardly faces again I'll give'em even more hell " she muttered to herself, a slight smirk on her face, "No beastly, braindead, king and his stupid guards are going to kill me without a fight!"

She chuckled.

"Your attitude for being in a situation like this is terrifying, but to be honest, I'm slightly turned on," said a strange voice from the hall.

A tall and unfamiliar guard rounded the corner.

"Excuse me?" she said, whipping her head around to face the door.

"Your red hair suits someone as fiery as you," he flirted.

"I personally believe that it is more accurate to say that my personality suits the red hair. After all, it was here first," countered Lia.

"That's an interesting assertion, I like it!"

"I'm honored!" she stated rolling her eyes, "Now tell me this. Are you here to kill me?" she questioned, eyeing his sharp enough to stab and murder her, sword.

"Not today milady. I'm just your personal guard, here to escort you to meet the king's royal advisor, also captain of the guard. It's my job to make sure that nobody else goes bald at your frightening hands. The king," he said with obvious disdain, "Has ordered that all red-haired prisoners be examined and compared to a portrait of his missing niece, even maniacal ladies such as yourself!"

"I'm going to take that as a compliment."

"I am glad that you do not misunderstand!" he said with a wink, "Now if you'd please, I'd love to arrive in the office with all of my luscious locks attached to my head. I'm also sure that you would benefit from arriving without your murderous hands tied behind your back. Can we please call it a truce?"

"Can you promise that I'm not about to die?" she insisted.

"I do not believe that you are in a position to bargain, but I will consent."

"Fine. I will not attack you," she promised, "yet."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Since we are getting to know each other, I'd love to know your name," he said.

"I'm Lia. And yourself?"

"Percival, but most of my friends call me Percy."

"Do I count as a friend?" questioned Lia.