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Chapter Eight
THE SCOURGE'S LAUGHTER
I.
Prince Gideon paced back and forth, cold hands clasped behind him. The room was small and round, with the smell of aging stone and putrid water. Sinews of cobweb littered the brick walls around them, and the cell beside him, with its iron bars rusting in age, stood with its door ajar. Behind it, a single window peered out into the setting sky outside.
The prince turned to the doorway with furious eyes. There, his mother, the queen, stood with her arms dropped to her sides, tense. Her grass green hair flowed down the sides of her face in makeshift twirls.
He felt an intense growling from inside as he faced his mother's eyes, teal and smiling.
"Gideon," she said, "why are you—"
"How did that godsdamned Cloud Cast escape from this?" he snarled, jabbing at the unlatched lock.
The queen shook her head. "That doesn't matter now—"
"Doesn't matter!?" Gideon spat. "That killer is on the loose, and Ashley is missing!"
Queen Griselda cocked her head. "I've captured and the Cast, and she's on her way here. Go threaten her if you wish."
The prince's tension melted. The wrinkles on his sweating face disappeared.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Surer than anyone." The queen smiled. "Oh, look, they're already here!"
As her voice died down, Gideon heard the loud clunking of iron upon stone. The sounds grew as he felt their presence looming, and soon, two Glassedge guards, clad in golden armor, came with the Cloud Cast, a young girl whose white hair ended with burnt crisps from Cosmo's breath, who looked down at him with her hands and feet free.
The prince tasted blood in his teeth as his eyes met hers.
"You wench," he said, gritting his teeth. "Where is she?"
The Cloud Cast turned to the queen, who returned the gaze. From his place, the prince saw the undeniable mark of a cloud on the girl's cheek, dark and immortalized.
Gideon faced his mother. "Why is she unchained? Bring her here. I want to talk to her behind bars—"
"I understand you're angry, Gideon. This girl could've killed our precious Ashley! We should certainly punish the guards who oversaw her here and all that."
Gideon studied her mother's stare, which retained smiling. A gear within him shifted the other way.
Then, the queen cleared her throat. "Oh, whatever. Lock him up."
In an instant, the armored guards marched towards Gideon and gripped him by his shoulders.
"W-What are you—!"
With heavy strength, they shoved the hapless prince inside the cell. Gideon thrashed his arms around, kicking and punching, but his fists and soles met impenetrable steel. They slammed him against the tower wall and walked out of the cell, locking the door behind them.
YOU ARE READING
The Celestial Princess
FantasyTo Ashley's grim misfortune, she grew up as an orphan in a town that hated orphans. For sixteen years, she lived under the hatred of the people around her without ever finding willing parents to love and care for her--and she is not surprised. Now c...
