Ishihara // ATEEZ ✔

22 Trap-ped

His eyelids flutter at the slightest sound, but it takes him a few minutes to adjust to his surroundings as he comes to his senses. He has been there plenty of times - but never the one being locked inside. It usually takes him only a fraction of a second to dump someone inside there, show them his back and never set his eyes on them again. But this time the tables are turned and he is sitting on the stone-cold floor, bound and gagged. His headache feels like it would split open his head any second and the musty smell around him threaten him to empty his stomach contents right there and then. His nostrils flare as they try to search for fresh air, but they prove to be inadequate when his chest only rises a little before deflating; the process repeating instantly. The gag tied to his mouth is so tight that it made the edges of his lips bleed, and he sees his own blood - the dirtiest of them all - yellow in colour, dripping and soaking the white cloth. In contrast to his chained hands, his legs are free and he uses them to scoot nearer to the bars. Outstretching his neck as the chains bolted to the wall only allow his body to move so much, he tries to take in the view of the world outside his cell as much as he can.

The prison is a separate entity from the palace, but they are still considered to be located in the palace's compound. The queen has full power over the prison just like how she has over the rest of the kingdom, but she never actually exercised the power. According to the queen's standards, the prison is the most heinous place one can ever set foot in and she would never be caught dead in a place like it. The soldiers; most often the general and lieutenant overlook the order there and make sure that everything is under control. People rarely manage to escape and if they ever do and get caught, they will not return there. Instead, they will be dumped into the swamp circling the building, handing over their fates to the crocodiles and other ferocious creatures waiting to get a bite off their heads. That is why they say that if you ever get sent to prison, you will be as good as dead. You will never find your way out, and the only way to escape is through death. Either you die naturally or you let it come to you early.

There is a loud clang followed by a sound of anguish screaming, before shouts and indistinctive muttering pile on top of each other. There are curses towards the queen, towards the whole kingdom and the damned hierarchy that should not be allowed in a million years. Some prisoners are incohorently speaking, uttering something about how the kingdom will fall someday and that the queen will meet her death in the most gruesome way possible. He notices that some prisoners are only quiet, as if they are consumed by their own thoughts but lack the ability to say it out loud. Some look like they are praying, wishing for something and others not looking like their own selves anymore. One thing for sure is that this place is not a place to keep your sanity. You either lose it as you step into the building or you gradually let it go as the time you spent in here increases.

Yunho is undisturbed by the situation around him; he faces this almost everyday. But being behind the bars himself with no way out, proves to be harder. He knows the layout of the building well; it is a cylindrical tower located on a land surrounded by a swamp, with 15 floors and each floor boasting a number of 20 cells. It might seem like a lot, but considering how frequent they dump wrongdoers in here, they might as well add more. The only way to access each floor is through a spiral stone staircase located in the middle of the tower, built to make sure that the prisoners have no way to escape except by using them. Another choice is through the window, but looking out, even then they know it is not a plausible choice. One cell is for one prisoner; they don't risk it by putting more than one in a cell as they could be working together to plot an escape. Plus, being alone in a cell makes you lose your sanity faster.

He knows that he's a special case; the rest of the prisoners never had their mouths gagged or their bodies bound from the get-go. It is only when they get violent or cause a disturbance that they will be tied and made sure they couldn't produce anymore sounds from their mouths. However, Yunho had been knocked unconscious by a soaked cloth over his mouth without even having a chance to fight back, dragged to the prison in a drowsy state and dumped in the cell with his body still not responding to his own commands. The bars were slammed against the frame, the lock turned and now he is left alone not knowing what will become of his fate. The walls and floors are splashed with a mixture of blood colours - showing how the dungeons know no discrimination. A cocktail of blood splatters in crimson, blue and yellow decorate the space. Noblemen, commoners and servants have faced the same fate inside the cell.