Chapter 18

Divina had only been to the dungeons once before. They were more like caves deep under the castle where the only light provided were from torches, but the torches often flickered out and the dungeons were left so dark that prisoners often went mad.

Prince Gabe had dragged Divina down the impossibly long staircase when they were children. She had accidentally broken a toy of his so as punishment he said he was going to lock her up in the dungeons. Prince Gabe held a torch in one hand and her wrist in the other. She had long since learned never to fight him, but it took all her willpower not to fight him as the air around them grew heavy and stale as they went deeper and deeper. When they reached the bottom of the stairs they were met with a flimsy-looking door guarded by the most intimidating-looking man Divina had ever seen. He was tall and broad and Divina was scared that he would gobble the both of them up like an ogre.

"Step aside," Prince Gabe said, but the guard didn't move. He only glared at him. Divina started to tremble, but it wasn't because of the cold that was sinking into her skin.

"Do you know who I am," Prince Gabe snapped, "I am your prince and eventual king. You have to do as I say." The guard just stared for a moment, but then his lips pulled back to show black rotted teeth. The guard was smiling, but it wasn't friendly. I looked threatening. Prince Gab stubbornly stood his ground, but Divina felt his hand tighten around her wrist. Silently the guard stepped aside and opened the door. The door gave a loud deafening creak. Prince Gabe puffed his chest in triumph and pulled Divina through the door which promptly closed behind them. The torch did little to cut through the darkness that seemed to have somehow turned physical like smoke or mist wrapping around them.

"Which cell would you like to occupy? Would you like a cellmate?" Prince Gabe taunted, but there was fear in his voice. The sounds of moans started to rise. They grew louder and softer as if they were carried by waves. Somewhere in the distance, there was an awful wailing. Strangely the sound of whispers was heard over everything else. Divina could quite make out what the whispers said. Only one phrase repeated over and over was understood. Kill me.

Finally, Prince Gabe lost his nerve. He turned to push back through the door but the door wouldn't budge. Prince Gabe shouted to be let out, but the guard on the other side either didn't hear or was ignoring him. In a panic, Gabe dropped both Divina's wrist and the torch which went out as soon as it hit the cold damp stone floor. Something brushed against Divina's ankles causing her to scream. Gabe kicked and pounded against the door. The smell of ammonia flooded Divina's nose. The whispers were getting louder and the moans were getting closer. Divina joined Gabe in throwing themselves at the door.

Finally, the door opened and the two fell through into heaps on the floor. Prince Gabe took no time to jump back up and rush up the stairs. Divina looked back at the now-closed door and the man guarding it. He stared at her again, thankfully unsmiling. She hurried to follow after Gabe. Neither spoke of that day again.

Divina supposed the dungeon wasn't as scary as it was in her memory. They had replaced the flimsy door with one made of steel. It was no longer guarded. There were no torches, but glowing rocks embedded in the stone walls gave off a faint glow. They were probably put there by wizards or mages. They made it so Divina could now see what she couldn't so many years ago. It was what seemed like an endless room. There were a few barred cells built into the sides of the stone walls, but the rest of the room was filled with cages. Divina was in a cell and the cells around her were empty. Most of the dungeon was empty, empty of life that was. About a dozen of the cages held the bodies of long-forgotten souls. It didn't seem like the dungeon was actually used much anymore. All the bodies were nothing more than dust. Except for one cage. It was barely big enough for someone to sit up in. It was a dog cage, but a person was in it. Divina didn't know if the person was alive or dead. The head was slumped down on its chest and the feet stuck out through the bars. The person's shoes were purple. She recognized those purple shoes. A silly duke's favorite shoes.

About a year ago, she had a vision of a man, Duke Calloway. She dreamed that he was going to try to convince the other nobles into an uprising. He was going to fail. Too many nobles refused to go against Eyrja's light. Divina told the king about it and Duke Calloway was punished for crimes he hadn't committed yet. Unfortunately, if she had kept her vision to herself he would have arrived at the same fate. But somehow as Divina looked at his motionless body trying to determine if he was breathing she couldn't help but feel responsible.

Divina was huddled in the corner of her cell with her knees close to her chest. There was one thing from her memory that didn't change. The smell. It was heavy. So heavy that it was hard to breathe. She tried to keep her eyes from wandering over the cages so she chose a spot on the wall and stared at it. There were scratches. It looked like the scratches were made by a forgotten prisoner. They could be words or symbols, but Divina couldn't tell what it was supposed to say. She just kept looking at it.

The steel door dragged against the ground as it opened. Footsteps walked toward her cell.

"Lady Divina." Divina's chest squeezed. She didn't want to see him. He was just a reminder of the hope she had. The hope that was now locked away in the darkness where she should have left it.

"Tell me one thing," Owen said quietly. Divina kept her eyes on the wall.

"Did you have something to do with the crown prince's assassination?" Did it really matter? She was past the point of pleading her innocence. Was this fate that her mother had seen for her? Was this what she was trying to warn her about? Why didn't she run sooner? Before she was confined. No, before the tournament. No, before she was put under guard. Before her mother died.

"Please say something, Lady Divina," Owen said. Divina stayed quiet. She could feel his eyes on her. She wished he would just leave. After what seemed like hours he did.

Three days passed and she still sat there staring at the scratches on the wall and he came back.

"Divina." His voice was serious and stern. She had never heard him sound like that before.

"Look at me," he commanded. She didn't. Silence lingered for a few minutes. She was sure that he would leave her again.

"The king says you'll be executed after the prince's funeral," Owen finally said quietly, "The funeral is in two days." Divina tried hard not to react but she knew he heard the subtle intact of breath between her lips. His footsteps faded away then and something broke inside her. Something broke open and pumped through her veins. It made her numb. Blissfully numb.

The only way she could tell time was by the daily meals brought by a guard. If one could call it a meal. It was a moldy crust of bread and a cup of water. Every once in a while she sipped the water but abandoned the bread to the rats that infested the dungeon. By the count of her meals, three days had passed. They would be coming for her any second and she wasn't scared. She wasn't happy or content. She wasn't regretful. She just was.

She had been sleeping sitting in the same position she had been in for days when she heard footsteps again. She finally allowed herself to look up. A hooded figure stood in front of her cell. It was time. The figure opened the cell door.

"Come now," the figure said in a hushed voice. Divina didn't move. She had sat there unmoving for so long that it was like her muscles had turned to stone. The figure walked in. Divina tried to look up at their face but the shadows hid their face. They reached down. A pair of strong hands gripped her upper arms and wrenched her up to her feet. Her legs felt like jelly but she managed to stay upright. The figure let her go only to drap a cloak around her shoulders. They fastened it and pulled up the hood so her face was also covered in shadow. The figure took her hand but she barely felt their touch. They led her out of the cell and instead of leading her back to the steel door, led her deeper into the dungeon. Past where the light faded into darkness.

Divina didn't question why the figure was leading her the wrong way. The darkness stole her sight away and instead, she closed her eyes and pictured her mother. Her mother had dark skin, dark eyes, and dark hair, but she had shined in Divina's eyes

They walked for a long time. Divina didn't think that the dungeon was that big. But they walked so long it even ceased to be a dungeon. The cages and cells disappeared. It was just an underground cave. Why must there be a long walk before her inevitable death? Divina wondered if she would be killed there in the dungeon or if she would be taken into town and be made a show of. She wondered if her body would be displayed for all to see or burned to a crisp as they do evil witches, or maybe she'll be dumped into a deep hole.

Divina hadn't noticed the figure stopped until she ran into their back. Had they hit a dead end? It was too dark to tell. The figure let go of her hand. It was then that Divina registered the weirdness that her executioner hadn't tied her up or put chains on her. She heard scraping stones and suddenly she could see the night sky. There were stars before them that led to the outside world.

"Come quickly," the figure said. Divina struggled on the stairs but the figure helped her with a strong arm. Divina took a deep breath of the fresh air. She looked around. They had walked out from under the castle wall. They were on the outside of the wall. She had never been outside of the castle walls. How cruel of them to give her a taste of freedom now.

The figure didn't give her any time to take in more of her surroundings. Instead, they pulled her to a waiting horse. It was large and black and intimidating and strangely familiar. The figure lifted her into the saddle. The figure hopped on behind her. Divina again tried to peer at the figure's face but the figure forced her to sit straight with her back against their chest. It was a man's chest and he was warm.

"Hold on," he whispered. His breath, which tickled her ear, was warm too. The figure snapped the reins and the horse lurched forward. They rode fast and hard with no sign of stopping. They rode through the streets of the city, through the bordering farmlands, and through the surrounding barren lands. Where were they going? Was she being sold in lieu of execution? Fear started to leak through her blanket of numbness. The king had been her master for her entire life and the prince her nightmare. Would a new master provide a better life for her? Or would they be worse than anything she could possibly imagine? Divina remembered how the Wizard always threatened her mother when she became too argumentative. He told her he could convince the king to sell her off to a brothel in the seediest slum of the kingdom. What if that was happening to her now? What if she were confronted with numerous men far worse and less restrained than even Prince Gabe?

Divina shut her eyes to the stinging wind and tried to force the spiraling thoughts out of her head. She called for the numbness to come back. She forced her mind to go blank. She just focused on the wind on her face and the warmth on her back.