IP: 129.81.56.195
Posted on February 25, 2015 at 05:23:35 AM by
Click... Click... Click... Click... Click...
A small pile of pebbles was growing about a foot from the wall as they were tossed, one by one, by the woman who sat leaning against the opposite side of the cell. Click went another, as it bounced off the edges that, perhaps were once jagged and sharp but had been worn smooth by whatever prisoners had come before the Duchess. They would no doubt continue to erode long after she left this sorry hole in the ground. She was making her own edges by pulling at the cracks on the floor and in the wall at her back until the new pebbles broke free. And then… click. She was bored of waiting, of biding her time as plans were hatched. Myna, her recently acquired familiar, was particularly adept at repeating messages and had become a sort of go between. Although the bird never strayed far from the small box of sunlight the Duchess had been left, Spider always managed to sneak close enough to pass information to the outlaw’s leader. Of course, as helpful as the mockingbird was, if it weren’t for her, neither the Duchess nor her family would be in the predicament they were currently in. It seemed some members were glad for the bird, however. According to Spider, one of the men, who had earned his place in the gang for his keen abilities with his fists – whether they were empty or held a more menacing weapon – had decided that he would make a far better Duke than the Duchess did. Rhino had told Spider that this man, who had come to call himself Fury (a rather dull and uninspired name, if you asked the Duchess) had asked her to join him in his little coup d’état. It appeared he had set up the heist after alerting castle guards what would take place. It was only through the quick actions of the Duchess that the group who had set out on the mission had escaped. Or, most of them had. Myna had refused to shut her beak. The constant twitter of words that had been exchanged during the theft, combined with the mockingbird hanging around her fairy, had led the officers directly to picking up the Duchess, though there had been more than a few injuries the guards had to nurse after the arrest. Click… click…. BANG! Despite herself, the Duchess startled at the sound of something heavy slamming against the door of her cell, though she hid it well when the ugly face of the prison guard appeared through the bars. “You will stop that now or I will come in there and end your sentence now,” he growled. The Duchess smiled smugly at him, daring him to join her in the cell with any weapon he liked. Magic – her usual choice to subdue anyone in her way – was gone; she’d discovered that on another heist involving some town chief’s “cut” of tax payments. Despite that, she was adept with a blade and a bow, though she lacked the physical strength some of her comrades, like Rhino, had in spades. She had watched guards often enough – especially this one – to know his weaknesses; she could see ways of using his own power to her advantage. Besides that, she was quick and he was lazy. Click. He smashed the mace against the heavy door again, in frustration and anger at her insubordination, before leaving. The Duchess smirked at the far wall, though the expression turned serious when the mockingbird flew through the small window and perched on the fairy’s raised knee. “The stones we need,” the bird began, always repeating the last words she had heard. “And a jar filled with clouds the color of the dusk sky. The one with the glitter crest wants special rocks, and his chick saw one in the sky jar.” Myna ruffled her feathers and hopped forward a fraction of a centimeter, hopeful to regain the approval of her fairy. The Duchess, showed no such pleasure; she was busy thinking of a way to use the information the mockingbird had brought her. A messenger ran down the long winding steps into the dungeon before the ideas were fully cooked, however, passing the mission for rune stones to the guard. Sir Percival was desperate to remove himself from the dank role he was currently playing, yelling at criminals as they wasted away – both in body and in time – on stale bread and daydreams of better times. He’d been to blame for a recent break in by a thief, having watched some blonde noble woman on her way to a banquet rather than keeping look out. This position was his punishment. Gaining favor again through the acquisition of such a stone would be a step in the right direction. But the Duchess knew him; she needed to get his attention. Click The messenger’s steps echoed away up the stairs before Sir Percival’s face, purple in anger at a prisoner’s obvious disregard for his orders, appeared in the barred window of the door. Cli-cli-clunk. The keys jangled and the lock opened, the door swung wide, but the Duchess remained seated, her face innocent except for eyes dancing in merriment of a plan beginning to take root. “That’s it,” the man huffed as he pulled the prisoner to her feet. This grip was tight around her upper arm and would likely bruise, but the man was taking no precautions. “You want a chance to get out of here early? Yeah of course you do.”He pulled her closer to him, close enough that she could smell the foul stink of too much mead the previous night, and sweat (from what exertion, she wasn’t certain) and faintly of sex (likely from some whore in a brothel beyond the castle walls). She pulled back, but he held strong, keeping their bodies pressed tightly together. “You’re coming with me, and then you’re going to find me one of those stones and bring it back to me. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll think about looking the other way once you have. Who knows, I suppose you might even run off while I can’t see.” Her grey eyes stared into his browns, waiting for what might happen if she disobeyed. Taunting him. “Disappoint me, and I’ll find your little nest and, well, you may not survive to return to your cell.” As he finished, he began to drag her up the steps and into the castle proper. |
Replies:
- everybody's looking for something; (quest) part 2 - By
LinneaThe Duchess February 25, 2015 at 09:05:12 AM
Post a reply:
"We use cookies and other data collection technologies to provide the best experience for our customers. You may request that your data not be shared with third parties here: "Do Not Sell My Data