When The Stars Align

chapter three | salt to the wound

BEING A PRISONER is no fun.

For the moment, there was nothing to do. Truth was that all the king's men were scared to let me out of the cell, but in most cases, criminals - if not sentenced to death - usually aided with regular tasks. Cleaning streets, dusting, regular household chores, but heavily guarded. These criminals weren't charged with, say, murder, but it kept them busy besides staying in a cell all the time.

Each day, I was taken out of my cell, cuffed, then was forced to kneel as I was given my ten lashes of the day. I spent a couple minutes letting the sting settle into my bone, knowing very well that soon enough, the pain wouldn't affect me. An infection was possible, but not likely for me, unfortunately. I was never treated for my wounds, and if anything, I was given things that would worsen my cuts.

As assumed, after the morning of my first night, I was given a new change of clothes to replace my old, blood soaked ones. That continued day after day, as I gained new cuts on my back, yet no bandages or stitches. It was probably a waste of clothing, with giving me a new set each day, only to be worn for the day. I guess they might've been washing them and giving them back to me, some days.

In the span of three weeks, I had only one bath. With three guards standing in front of my room, and with no windows in my room, I sunk into the old bathtub, full of ice cold water. I was used to not having warm water, but never with injures as bad as I possessed. Every inch of my back was it on fire as I slowly slipped into the tub, my naked body freezing along with it. I guess the cold water would be good with numbing the pain, but boy, this was torture at the moment.

When I got back to my cell, I returned back into my one place, in the corner beside the window. I liked the view, and it was the only one I was going to get for a while. If I had the right tools, I could've probably find a way out of the cell, through the window. But I had nothing, and even if I had any weapon, I practically had to be carried to the bath, my body already growing weak.

On top of that, I refused to eat. The stale bread and vegetables were almost always sent back to wherever the hell it came from. Guards usually had to shove water down my throat so I don't get severely dehydrated. I usually just took a couple bites, and that was all.

Starving myself would continue to make me weak, but I know that it wasn't enough to kill me. I can't die. I won't die as long as I was locked up in here.

Guards often came to inspect me, but never the Captain. At this point, I assumed that he was on a mission abroad for the king, but why my trial was conducted without him present, I don't understand. The king might've decided most of the faiths, the Captain of the guard had a decent say in punishments, since he was the one that dealt with the criminals most of the time. Plus, with the Captain being the king's brother in law, he had a decent amount of power within the family.

The guards always inspected my condition, never providing help. They watched as I didn't eat, didn't move. Half the time, it was the two of us having a staring contest for the longest time. They reported back to the king with next to nothing for information.

I was sure they thought I was plotting something.

And then, on one sunny morning on the last week of September, I heard the guards mutter to each other as they walked their rounds.

"Her Highness has given birth to a baby girl, have you heard?"

I could only imagine the disappointment going through the king's mind. Just shy a few days of October. Sure, he was probably over the moon, with another addition to the family, but he was so close this time, the baby supposedly due the third week of October.

I guess the couple would be welcoming another child in the next coming years. The heir had to be born during the month of October, as tradition stated. The month where the stars almost aligned - with, of course, this year, perfectly lined up, the child had the potential of being a very powerful ruler in the future.

Maybe this was a result of karma.

The guards continued their conversation as they slid the tray of food into my cell. I didn't motion towards the tray, leaving it where it was. The guards watched as I didn't move.

"You're going to starve yourself, girl."

"Maybe that's the point," I stated with my hoarse voice. "You think I was joking when I wanted to be executed?"

The guards didn't say anything in response, turning around and resuming their conversation. The blue cloth of their uniforms slowly faded from my range of vision. It would be twelve hours until another guard comes back with another tray of food that was going to be wasted.

But apparently, that wasn't the case today.

Another guard came back, barely two hours later. His footsteps echoed in the hall as he slowly walked in front of my cell. I watched suspiciously. I had already received my lashes and got my food. I was expecting silence for the next couple hours.

He pulled out a key and slid it into the lock on the cell. The old, rusted key looked as if it was going to fall apart any second now. Incredible for me - who knows when it's gonna break and I'll be forever locked in here. But as far as I was concerned, that key only ever came out when I was going to get my punishment.

"What are you doing?" I asked as the guard stepped into my cell.

He yanked me upwards, pain shooting through my back. The blood already hardened, sticking my shirt to my skin. As the guard handcuffed me, the pain continued to grow uncomfortable, with the metal pressing into my skin.

"Where are we going?" I asked when he didn't answer my first question. I wasn't supposed to be let out. Frankly, I didn't want to go out.

The guard replied simply. "The queen has requested to see you."