Free *Editing*

Chapter 16

Barn's face is flushed with pure rage. He tries to follow Dyn up the stairs to head office, demanding that he knows when his sister will be set free from confinement. But he quickly turned on him "I should have the three of you slaughtered and fed to the dogs for all the trouble you've started!" It's a surprising outburst from the usually calm and collected head guard. "You boys are lucky that the king has taken a shine to your girl...now get out of my face. We'll bring her back when we are fucking ready to."

With that, Dyn storms up and slams the door to his office. Barn knits his hands in his hair and grunts angrily. Markus stalks up behind him. He feels a familiar pit of despair in his stomach and doesn't quite know what to do with his feelings. He tells himself that, yes, Birdy is indeed a fiery woman, but watching her beat Janie near to a bloody pulp was alarming. He could never imagine that the woman he has been working with this whole time has the capacity to become such a wild animal. Until now.

As if he can smell his hesitation, Barn turns on Markus and stares astounded. "She's not like that." he declares. Markus only blinks. "It must be all this stress, or something got to her." He trails off this time. Not so sure, he walks over to the railing and looks down below wanting to see what has happened to the mess they created. A woman in a white shirt and pants is cleaning the floor with a grey mop and bucket. The blood soaks into the strands and is squeezed off into the muddy cold water.

"Have you seen Ardenia?" Barn asks, turning his parental attention over to the other woman. Markus joins his friend, lingering over the metal bars with a melancholic glow. "No, after they took Birdy away she ran off..."

Unbeknownst to them. Ardenia is making her way up to the Warden's office. The two guards standing near approach her and raise raise hands to halt her approach. She shrivels up, crossing her arms together and sniffing up loose tears.

"I need to speak to the warden..." The man smiles. "What do we say sweetheart?"

"Please..." she mumbled. Her mind is still focused on her shame, and all that she knows is that she needs to fix her weakness. Make amends, for the fragile state she's let herself become.

"I'll see if he's available. The warden is still busy cleaning up after your friends mess."

That's right, Birdy. She had to save her, what an odd thing for a person to do. She never imagined that a fellow cellmate would risk their life for her, or go so far as to fight off her oppressors. She had to repay Birdy no matter what. And this is the way to do it.

"Come in...." The warden calls from inside his white office. Ardenia steps in, and sits down in the chair. The door closes on her as she begins to beg for Birdy's life in exchange for her own.

---

Birdy is left to her own mind. Lost in the dark. Every second that passes, feels colder and she becomes disconnected from reality. She finds herself acutely aware of her surroundings, but then flashbacks from her cottage home and her father blend into the walls and the air. For a second, she is staring up at his dark foursome eyes, and the next she is lying in her bed watching her fingers knit inbetween the dirty sheets.

After an eternity passes, the door opens. She shrinks back from the light and tries to process her surroundings. The first thing she needs is a grasp of time. She's not starving to death, so no more than a day or two have passed...

"Get up." The voice is like lightning cracking in the dark night. She blinks and sits up in the bed. Slow as a snail her feet land onto the floor and she tries to stand up. She stumbles a bit, before collecting her bearings and approaches the guard. He nods at her to step out of the cell, and she makes her way back through the dark hall up the stairs to heaven.