The Land of Shadows

Chapter One

The heavy oaken door creaked open, and upon instinct I shied away. Peeking out from under my dirty, stringy hair, I saw that it wasn't Matt, but the man who he sent to bring food to me. It was different every day, and so far I'd refused to eat or drink anything he offered, resulting in Matt himself being fetched to keep me from starving myself.

Admittedly, I was hungry, and beyond thirsty. I didn't let myself think about that; purely thinking of my kingdom. I was queen, it was my duty. If I let him see that weakness, he'd have what measure of power over me that he did not yet have. And I was unwilling to let that happen. 

"Am I going to have to fetch Lord Matt today?" the servant asks. For the first time I notice that he's old, his hair receeding and gray. "Don't you always?" I reply, my snark dulled by my dry mouth and throat, causing the words to force their way out. "At least have some wine to wet your throat. Then you can insult me properly, darling," he says, moving towards me with a goblet in his hand. I flick my tonuge over my lips. It's tempting, too tempting. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to resist," I tell him, raising my head even though it feels like there's a heavy weight pressing it down. He gives me a small, sad smile. 

"I won't fight with you. My old bones don't have it in them. I'll give you one last chance, and then I'll go to Matt. And he will make it more unpleasant than the last few times." I close my eyes, considering. "All I have left is my pride," I say quietly, mostly to myself. "Aye, I understand that, lassie. But you're just growing weaker by not eating. He'll be able to break you quicker that way," he tells me. Keeping my eyes close, I decide to let go of my pride. "Fine," I say, my voice giving out. 

He continues towards me, his footsteps shuffling, until he presses the goblet to my mouth. Hesitantly, I open my mouth and let the water-diluted wine in, swallowing greedily. I had been desperately thirsty before, my words scraping through my throat. The wine was relieving and cool. After I'd drank half of it, the gray haired man took it away, laying it on the tray. "Will you eat as well?" he asks. I nod reluctantly as he picks up the bowl of stew and the spoon, which shake in his unsteady hands. 

I shift my weight, wincing as the iron manackles rub against my already raw flesh. I open my mouth as he brings a spoonful of stew to it, and slowly he feeds me until there's nothing left, then lets me drink some more. As I drain the last few drops of liquid hungrily from the goblet, the door swings open once more and Matt saunters in. Instinctively, I shy away, the remainder of the wine splashing onto my tattered white chemise. Matt laughs when he sees me, a cold, calculating laugh designed purely to piss me off. 

I glare at him as the old man bows and scurries to gather everything and leave. "It's fine, Andrew. You can leave it here for now," Matt instructs, and the old man, Andrew, as I now knew, scurried out the door, letting it fall shut with a final thud behind him. With his hands clasped behind his back, Matt walked over to me slowly, his every movement graceful and predatory. 

He kneels down in front of me, his cold silver eyes meeting my own. "And so you're beginning to give up," Matt taunts me. I raise my head to look at him, refusing to let any fear into my eyes. "I am not giving up. I am gathering strength," I say, even though my eyelids are now impossibly heavy. He must know, because he laughs. "I put a little bit of sleeping potion into your wine, dear," he informs, standing back up. My head falls back down, even though I don't want it to, and all I can see are his polished shoes as he paces in front of me. "Don't worry, darling Allie. You'll break soon enough. I've a special session prepared for the morning," he whispers, his voice echoing in the underground room. My eyes fall shut, even though I'm fighting desperately to keep them open.

What kind of special session? I try to ask, but my muscles won't work, and it comes out as a series of whimpers. I'm already starting to loose consciousness, my dreams racing towards me like a speeding train. "You'll prefer this, Allie. It'll test your mental strength," Matt says, and that's the last thing I hear before I slip into my dreams.