110 An affair

The dank air of the prison cell was suffocating, a stark contrast to the freedom we had so recently enjoyed. The walls were damp and cold to the touch, the stone floor covered in a thin layer of straw that did little to cushion our fall as we were unceremoniously thrown inside. The cell was dimly lit by a single flickering torch mounted on the far wall, casting eerie shadows that danced across the rough-hewn surfaces.

"But it's me, Leora! Don't you recognize me?" I shouted after the guards, my voice echoing off the walls, but they paid me no heed. "Shut your mouth," one of them barked, his words cutting through the silence before he turned on his heel and left, the heavy door slamming shut behind him with a resounding clang.

"Come back!" I pounded on the bars with futile anger, the metallic sound ringing out, only to be met with the resigned voice of Chief Sebastian. "It's no use, they won't come back."