Ch. 17: The Choice

Something no one really talks about is how incredibly BORING dungeons are. I mean seriously. Never have I been so incredibly bored. All I could do was sit there, think, and stare at a stone wall. There was a little drip coming from a crack near the ceiling.

Drip,

Drip,

Drip . . .

The sound was slowly driving me mad. 'This must be a passive form of torture.' Hours upon hours had passed by. Luckily they left a chamber-pot near me so I could maneuver it with my legs and do my business. All I needed was to go crazy AND be covered in my own filth.

Sitting in the dark (since the candle had long died out) I was about to doze off when unexpectedly the hatch creaked open. Light filtered down above me as a silhouette hopped down from the opening. A young boy stood before me as he dusted off his garbs.

"So you're Ezran huh?" The boy tilted his head. His shoulder length blonde hair swayed with the angle as his violet eyes curiously inspected my face, "I saw you in the arena. You were absolutely amazing!"

The boy sat down in front of me with his legs crossed. He was dressed in an elegant black robe with golden tassels. His face was fixed with a smile and I noticed he had a deep dimple in his right cheek. Leaning forward, he whispered, "I'm actually not supposed to be here . . . but you don't mind right?"

I shook my head no and the boy straightened up while clapping his hands together, "Good! When I saw my brother order the guards to take you away, I just knew I had to meet you. No woman has ever been able to talk back to a man and live - you must be really special."

"Your brother? I take it that your a prince then?" I asked. My voice came out a little horse since it was so dry. Concern appeared on the boy's face, "You must be really thirsty. Have they given you anything to eat or drink?" He pulled out a flask from the folds of his robe, "Here, it's not a lot of water, but it's better than nothing. I'll make sure you get some food later, okay?"

He reached forward and carefully poured the water down my throat. "In answer to your question, yes, I'm one of the princes." After pulling back again he said, "My name's Iren, although it's not as cool as your name. Ezran - it has such a nice ring to it." The boy hesitated then asked, "So are you really a spy? I've never met a spy before." He reached forward to touch my face, like he was looking at a priceless jewel. I felt a little awkward and pulled my head back causing him to lower his hand quickly, "Sorry - It's just that I've never seen a spy, or even a woman up close. What's it like being a woman?"

'Is this an even worse form of torture?' I shook by head, completely confused. Was this boy my interrogator?

"Why are you REALLY here?" I asked.

The boy lowered his eyes shyly, "You were just so cool, the way you fought all those guy's off without having to do much killing. I was rooting for you the whole time. Not many of the soldiers use small weapons - I couldn't take my eyes off you! And then when I found out you were a woman . . it was just too amazing. No woman has ever got to fight in the arena - It was like you made history today! I just wanted to talk with you a little . . . I don't get to talk with females." His face dropped to a frown, "Do you want me to leave? I'm sorry if I came on too strong - Brother Derrick says I'm annoying sometimes and that I ask too many questions."

The frown nearly broke my heart; he appeared so disappointed. "No, it's okay. I've been waiting for the guards to come and interrogate me, so I was momentarily confused thinking this was how your society gets information."

Iren's face slowly lit up with a smile and he began to laugh, "Hahaha, you really thought I was here to interrogate you? Me? I'm only fourteen - You really ARE not from around here." He swiped a tear from his eye, "Ha, I'm sorry, you're just so serious it's hilarious. I'm so glad I got to meet you." Just then a sound could be heard from above and Iren's eyes widened in fright, "Oh no! I thought for sure that serum would work for a little while longer. Curse Devin and his amateur sleep potions." Iren quickly stood up and slung a grappling hook at the entrance, "Gotta go! Maybe we'll talk soon so long as brother doesn't have you killed. Bye!" At lightning speed, Iren pulled his way up and lowered the hatch. Once again met with darkness, I couldn't help but think that Iren was such a strange child.

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I'm guessing I slept quite a few hours, but it was hard to tell in this dark. I did notice a little light appear from the crack near the ceiling, so I assumed it was morning. After a little while longer, the hatch reopened and I was quite surprised not to see the young prince again. Instead, three guards lowered a rope ladder and came down followed by Captain Sarce.

"Good news wench. Our merciful King has decided to give you a choice - you can stay here and await your death, or you can get dressed and appear before his highness to explain yourself. King Derrick is allowing you this golden opportunity, so I advise you to not waste it." He looked down at me with piercing eyes, "I could care less which option you take, but make no mistake - if you choose to be presented before the King, you had better not try to escape or -" with that he made a slicing motion near his throat.

Hmmm. This was rather interesting. The King wants to see me huh? "Let's go then."

Shortly thereafter I found myself in an elegantly decorated bedroom with my wrists bound in chains attached to cuffs around my ankles. Two soldiers stood guard at the doorway as the Captain gestured to some clothes laying on the bed.

"The King has ordered you to wear the following outfit. A servant will assist with changing your attire. Remember, no sly moves," with that the Captain left the room as a white-robed servant entered.

"Richie?" I asked in disbelief once the doors closed.

"Thank the heavens!" Richie ran to me, hugging me to his chest. "When I heard that you were taken, I thought for sure you were going to die. What happened luv? Are you hurt anywhere?" His bright blue eyes looked me up and down for traces of harm.

"Just a minor bump on my head and a small gash on my shoulder, but other than that I'm fine. Why are you here?"

"Well, the palace noticed how amazing I am and realized I'd be a great servant to assist with mending, sewing and dressing up the breeders. So, I'm pretty much a 'maidservant' I guess." Richie pulled back and flicked his hair a little, "Aren't you dazzled? Promotions are sooo my forte."

Rolling my eyes I said, "So dazzled."

"Anyways . . . How did you convince the King to arrest you instead of killing you on the spot?"

"I have no idea. One minute the man is about to behead me and the next he was saying I was a spy. All I said was that I came here to witness the downfall of their pathetic society - he must have mistook that as me investigating them."

Richie's eyes bulged, "You insulted the King?! Are you insane woman?"

I heard a slight shuffle outside the door, "Keep your voice down. We don't have much time anyway, let's get me dressed."

"Right, right." Richie reached over to the bed and pulled the dress up in front of him. "Wow, what a dress. Not much room left for the imagination, don't you think?"