Chapter 3

After waking up from the same nightmare the next night, she just refused to sleep any more that night. Again, she got drawn to the object which laid too far away from her to reach. Every time she looked in the direction, her curiosity drew her back to the object. She had no idea what it was. They had not brought back the elderly woman who had thrown it into her cell, so she couldn't ask what it was.

It was now what she assumed was her third day in the cell, and she was still cold. Her bones were shaking due to the temperature. Ava´s eyes had now finally adjusted to the dark room and saw now the shapes of the rats moving around her cell. Now and then, they would crawl over her lap or legs, which somehow didn't disgust her.

Once a day, everyone got a meal, a glass of water, and a piece of dry bread. It was barely enough food to not starve, and even though the bread always smelled odd, she ate it nonetheless. When it smelled dreadful, she shared her bread with the rats.

To show their gratitude, the rats started to lay closer to her to give off some warmth. They didn´t give her much, but it was better than clattering her teeth, as most the girls did down the hall. Most of them were pleading, day and night, for anyone who would listen that they were innocent.

Today was no exception, and each time footsteps walked outside of the cells in the darkness, the pleading got louder. They were screaming almost to let them out like they were doing right now as the cry of the hinges appeared.

Ava furrowed her eyebrows as she tilted her head to look up at the roof, knowing that it wasn´t the right time for a meal. Her stomach had yet to growl for ages for it to be food time. Usually, she would get tired not long after meal-time, and she assumed that the meal happened late in the evening.

Once again, she could see the faint light coming from the torch get closer until it stopped - right in front of her cell. The man that held the torch was shaking badly. She understood why as she could see what her cell had the appearance off.

It was now the first time she could see what her cell looked like, and it was more horrifying seeing what it looked like than sitting in the dark. Rats laid in a circle around her, all curling up for warmth against her or against each other. Some of them were walking around the cell, which was coated in mold and moss. Every tile of brick was damp, and in places, it laid small puddles of water on the floor.

"You´re a doctor?"

It was the first sentence she had heard in days, which wasn´t I´m not a witch or please let me go. It stunned her for a few moments before she nodded, still startled by the question.

"Yes," she said with a hoarse voice. She hadn´t spoken in three days and quickly understood that the less talking she did, the worse her voice would get.

"I am", she declared a little louder after clearing her throat.

"Good."

The hinges to her cell door let out a heartbreaking cry as the man opened the cell. Ava was still in a state of confusion as he loosened the rope around her wrists. Without getting a single explanation as to why she was being let loose, she wouldn´t get caught complaining. Carefully, without stepping on any of the rats, she got up from the cell floor.

Her gaze glued itself to the floor to look for the object which had been thrown into the cell a few days ago and soon spotted a wooden bracelet. Her eyebrow twitched as she got a brief headache from looking at it. Without drawing any attention to herself, she quickly curled her toes over the bracelet and continued to walk.

For each step, she had to walk on her heel. Somehow she managed to not attract any attention from the man who walked in front of her. The wooden door at the end of the hall revealed sunlight which she had been aching to see. Instantly, she shut her eyes due to the bright light.

She could feel the wind brush past her skin, but for some reason, as they were walking down the hall, she could not sense the heat from the sun.

From what she could see of the hall, they were imprisoned in the dungeons beneath the court hall. She had never been here before herself but had treated some who had gotten let go years ago.

After walking to the end of the long hall, a door opened to her left. The man waited calmly for her to step inside the room.

Ava glanced back at him, and for a split second, he wore the same face as the man in her dream. After blinking due to shock, he was back to what he would look like; a young, blue-eyed, blond man with his whole life in front of him.

"Fix her."

Ava turned her attention over to a table, where it was someone beneath a white blanket. The smell in the room hit her all at once as she tried her best not to vomit. The smell resembled a dead person, a scent she had never wanted to be familiar too. The only thing which made her know that the person under the blanket was still breathing, was the constant hissing.

By the sound of it, she assumed it was the elderly woman who had gotten dragged out a few days ago. The same instant she could see the wrinkled and distressed face of the woman, the bracelet under her foot started to burn.

The elderly woman had started getting green boils on her face. Her eyes had turned grey and matched the color of her saggy skin, which seemed like it was melting. Ava was not capable of understanding how the woman wasn't dead. Judging by her condition and smell, she should have been.