The Dragons' Crystal

Chapter Thirty

I woke to thunder, followed by crashes of lightning. Despite my blurry vision, I started to try and look around. I could last remember being at the river, helping mother with laundry. Wherever I was didn't look anything like the river. Grey walls surrounded me and the air was cold. The ground was hard with pieces of straw scattered about. I could see chains piled on top of each other in the far corner. I sat straight, pulling away from the wall I had been leaning against as my vision cleared. I lifted my hand to brush hair out of my eyes when I realized that there were chains around my wrists as well. The chains were connected to the floor, keeping me locked in that one position. 

This hardly made any sense. The only thing that made sense was that I had fallen asleep and was dreaming. While the coldness of the room and the aching of my body should have been enough to tell me it wasn't a dream, I pushed it aside. I had merely been washing clothes and crying over things I wasn't able to change. How did I end up in such a strange place?

In front of me was a metal door. There was a little box at the top with little bars between the spaces. Some light poured in, but not nearly enough to give me any clue of where I was. Despite the eerie situation, it felt oddly familiar. Whenever I looked up the plain, empty stone ceiling I was rushed with emotions of anger, fear, and determination. I felt as though I had been in this position before; locked and helpless in this room. I could hear several heavy voices laughing nearby, or at least on the other side of the door. None of the voices sounded familiar. 

"Hello?" I called out, gently tugging on the chains which caused them to rattle against each other. The sound itself was familiar. I had heard things similar to it, but never the same. It was a specific rattle. I had heard these chains before. Though, from where? "Is someone out there?"

A shadow blocked the light coming in through the window in the door. From my angle on the floor, I wasn't able to see the face of the other person I was speaking to. "You're awake."

"Yes, but where am I?" I relaxed my hands in my lap, tilting my head in attempt to see who it was on the other side. I was only able to move so much, as the chains only had a couple of inches of moving room.

The man began to laugh. "Don't be coy. The time for playing games is long over. You might have been clever then, but we've caught onto you."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." I replied, unable to stop myself from shaking my head as if he could see me. "Where am I?"

"She's pretending not to know?" Another deep voice joined the conversation that was beginning to feel one-sided. It wasn't anything I wasn't used to, but this was a fairly different situation. At least home, I knew where I was and I had the ability to roam freely. This was concerning. "I wouldn't expect anything less. Do you really think she wanted to end up back here?" He snickered. 

"Excuse me! Will someone please tell me where I am?" I called out again, keeping my tone of voice even and neutral. I felt convinced that in this strange dream I was having that there had been a misunderstanding. I wasn't supposed to be here. 

"Just leave her be. His royal highness will want to deal with her personally. Let her be stubborn. It'll be a fun game for him." 

I watched as the shadows disappeared from the window, revealing the light again. I sunk back into my corner, bringing my knees up to my chest for warmth as the chill grew. It bounced off the stone walls, slowly growing in numbers. I was beginning to grow tired of the dream-like world around me, despite the cold feeling ever so real. I crossed my hands as best as I could and began to pinch the skin on the back of my hand as hard as I was possibly able. I shut my eyes, believing that the pinch would cause me to reopen my eyes and I'd be back in the sunshine beside the river. I was interrupted by the crackling of lightning. 

When I opened my eyes again, I was met with the same grey wall. I swallowed, the fear settling in for the first time. I had been calm under the impression that I was merely dreaming but it had all changed. I glanced down at my hand and examined the nail marks that I had left into my skin. This was no dream. "Excuse me!" I called out again, more desperate this time. I pulled again at the chains, just in case anything had changed. It hadn't. "Please tell me where I am! Who are you? How did I get here?!" I grew louder as I heard people roaring with laughter. I was beginning to attempt at shouting over them, but their voices thundered over mine. It was of no use.

Just when I thought each attempt of mine was useless, thunder shook the building I was in. I braced myself, pushing my back against the wall and using my palms as best I could. It was hard to not cower beneath the sounds. Thunder had never made me nervous before but this was different. It sounded so close, as if it was right behind me. I had never felt thunder shake me before like this. I could feel it in my chest, just as a person could feel loud music. I held my breath as it continued, letting it out once the thunder faded away. 

When the next crackle of lightning sounded I had flinched. It sounded around me, making it sound like it was coming from all directions. Throughout all the noise caused by the thunder and the lightning, the people that were outside my door continued to laugh and carry on their conversations. While their laughter was loud, their voices were lowered. I listened for any clue of where I was, but all they said to each other was small, simple, and not of use.

They had my brain searching for answers of why this had happened and why they thought I was acting like I didn't know where I was. What had I done to them? How long would I have to wait in this cell before something happened and I went on to the next place? One of them had mentioned someone of royalty, leading me to believe I was in a castle of some sort.

"Hey!" 

I lifted my head at the sudden increase in their voices. I could hear things falling over, some shattering on the ground. Thunder shook the building again.

"You're not supposed to be here!" Another shouted. 

It was hard to understand what was happening based on hearing alone, but it sounded like a fight was happening. I could hear people yelling and I could hear smacks of objects, or fists, meeting flesh. There were several thuds moments later. Following the thuds were hushed voices that were coming closer. Lightning sounded over their soft talk, leaving me completely blind to what was happening. The handle on the door began to jiggle.

I held my breath, unsure if I was waiting for the thunder or for the door to open. My chest began feeling tight while my heart raced out of the fear for the unknown. I swallowed and braced myself as thunder engulfed the place once more. I shut my eyes, quickly becoming fearful for what was about to happen.

"I found her!"

I gasped, recognizing the voice. I hadn't ever expected to hear it again. It was a voice of the past, something I thought I had completely lost. With hesitance, I began to open my eyes. Relief flooded over me. I had been right. "Finn!" I grinned.

He stood in the door, one arm holding it open. "Good to see you again, Odelle. It's been a while."

"Where am I?" I asked, lifting my hands to show him the chains. "Can you get these off?"

"I can't answer that." His eyes lowered to the chains. "I don't know how. However, I know someone that does."

"Really? Who?" 

I should have kept holding my breath. 

Finn stepped aside, revealing the man behind nearly all the tears from the last six months. He revealed the man that had casted me away and had destroyed the hope within me. 

Darius.