Truth - The Balance

Chapter 14 - Lock Down

 *unedited*

The young servant girl approached the iron door timidly, a trembling hand shook as she unlocked the door.

  Natalie watched from the corner of the room as the girl quickly entered and Arkadios appeared on the other side of the cell, watching with an emotionless expression. He took the key from her and locked her inside.

  The girl avoided Natalie's eyes as she took a wash cloth from the bucket and lifted it to Natalie's face.

  "You don't have to do that." Natalie told her, making the girl jump. She hadn't been expecting Natalie to speak to her. "It's ok, really. I can do it." She gave her a weak kind  smile as the girl looked up at her. "Thank you." Natalie whispered. "What's your name?"

  The girl cleared her throat, "A-Amelia." She stuttered, nervously glancing over her shoulder at Arkadios. "I'm not sup-supposed to talk to anyone."

  Natalie narrowed her eyes at Arkadios who shrugged at her, looking in the opposite direction. He looked as if he couldn't give a care in the world if the two women spoke. He didn't appear to be in the paying attention kind of mood. His eyes told Natalie he was wanting to be else where.

    Natalie gave Amelia a smile. "I think it'd be OK if you talked to me." She whispered, nodding her head towards Arkadios. "I don't think he minds." Amelia nodded, but put her head back down. "I'm Natalie." She told the girl in a kind voice. The girl nodded, "I-I know... Everyone knows. I mean," She cleared her throat once again, "they know who you are."

  Amelia's mind string was a pale pastel pink, gold shimmering off of it in specs embedded throughout it, when Natalie studied her. It was very strange, completely different than the way Janice's had been. She could tell Amelia was just a simple human slave girl though.

  Natalie tried to pull her mind string but she couldn't, she was zapped back just as she had been with Arkadios, just not quite so intensely. She tried pushing as hard as she could, but failed, there was a force keeping her at bay.

  "How long have you been here?" Natalie asked while washing her face, the mud dripping into the bucket. "All of my life." She squeaked back in return. "My m-mother and my grandmother gre-grew up here as well."

  Natalie felt bad for the young girl, but also realized she had someone civil to talk to instead of a hormonal insane man. Maybe if Natalie played her cards right she could have Amelia give her some important information.

  Those thoughts made Natalie feel guilty, it was a very selfish thing for her to think. But maybe if she could figure out a way to escape, she'd try to free her and the other slaves as well.

  "Amelia, will you please answer one question for me?" Amelia looked up and smiled at Natalie's nice tone. She nodded as Natalie continued. "Where are we at?"

   The small girl's eyes went wide and she bent down to whisper quietly to Natalie. "In Deceit's Boundary. I don't know how to leave... if that's what you're wa-wanting... I've never l-left the barrier..."

  The barrier! That could be why Truth hasn't came for her. "Is there a silver dome over the castle?" Natalie whispered, glancing over to Arkadios who was at the next cell over hitting the bars with his mace. A man had been screaming in a foreign language, so it was the perfect distraction for them to speak privately.

  The girl furrowed her eyebrows, "Silver? No...  it's gold." Natalie nodded, it made enough sense to her. "Where is this boundary located? Which state?"

  "State?" Amelia asked confused, "I'm not sure what y-you mean." Natalie searched her eyes, not sure what to make of it.

   "Here," Amelia handed Natalie the bread wrapped in paper towels and lied it on the floor. "I must go now. It was n-nice speaking with you, m-my Lady." She whispered in a hushed tone. "Likewise." Natalie smiled, washing her hands in the bucket.