Chapter 28

When Alexis next woke up she couldn't see anything. But a nasty musty smell met her nose, and she crinkled it as she looked around.

She was on a cold stone ground, it was chilly and the sounds of a draft travelling through pipes rumbled all around her.

Her eyes adjusted to her surroundings eventually and she realised there was a very faint light above her. Thanks to the light she could make out the iron gates surrounding her and behind her where there was a stone wall. But nothing else, she couldn't see beyond those gates. She felt an eerie feeling, as if a pair of eyes watched her beyond them.

"Awake, are you?" A voice came from her right. It sounded like a woman, an elderly one.

She jumped when she heard it, but soon felt relieved she wasn't alone.

"Who are you? What is... this place?" She looked around. wondering how she got here and when she moved her head, she felt a stinging at the back of her head and, like a match lit, she remembered.

"It's a dungeon, a royal one at that, but not so much fancy as it is cold", the voice complained and Alexis agreed.

'That scumbag really locked me up...'

"A dungeon..?" She realised it did feel just like a dungeon would.

"So, what are you here for? With the amount of magic I smell on you, you must've been a wicked witch like me", a cackle came from the voice. It was proud and somehow still kind.

"No. I'm not a wicked witch". Alexis' reply was rather tame as if she was tired. Very, very tired.

"How boring. Then you must be an intruder or a petty thief", now she sounded disgusted.

"No. I'm neither".

"An assassin then?" Her voice filled with disbelief, "you look a tad bit too... frail for that".

"No".

"Then our with it! Why are you here!" She let out a frustrated outburst.

"... I broke a magical contract" Alexis sounded meek when she said this. That was because she started to fell ashamed of her actions.

"That's it? The kings gone mad to jail you over that! You poor thing, your hand must be full of blisters!" She suddenly took a liking to the voice.

"Ah... the blisters..." she felt her hand and they weren't there anymore, "Eh? They're gone?" She questioned out loud.

"You'd be dead if you actually broke it, but I'd say the blisters are usually punishment enough for any sane person" she spoke, "yours must have dissapeared because the person you signed it with touched your hand, if they don't do it ten minutes after you breach it then your stuck like that until it naturally heals. No magic can help you then".

Alexis remembered how he grabbed her hand with a conflicted look. Part of her wanted to thank him, and another part wanted to beat his head in. As to which side was stronger, well... you'll find out.

'That bastard scumbag!' She seethed.

"I never liked that kid, he was always too silent for me to like him and they say he's violent too!"

Alexis bit her lip at the woman's words, for some reason she didn't seem to enjoy people bad-mouthing Alastair and it... irritated her.

"He's silent because nobody speaks to him. He's been ostracised since childhood. That's why his social skills suck!" Alexis wished he could hear her shouts.

"You know the guy?" Asked the voice again.

"Yeah I know that good for nothing Scumbag! And he's not violent, he's a petty"-

"Shut up!" A loud voice boomed from her left causing her to jump, "people are trying to sleep!"

"Oh don't be like that Shane! We got a new friend here and she knows all about that new Emperor" the other voice said, it seemed like they were good friends.

"Fuck off".

Or not.

"Come on, tell us. What's the brat like?" The voice pestered and Alexis had so much to say.

"He's rude. He doesn't even bother to call me by my name. Instead, he uses this awful nickname so I've given him one too".

"What is it?"

"Scumbag".

"Hahaha" the shaky voice laughed.

"He does what he likes and he hates people. But, he likes magical beasts... and he treats them nicely and makes sure they're all happy..." her voice became bitter as she recalled him.

'Why does my heart hurt?'

"So he treats them nicely, he sounds like a good man", the voice was now gentle.

"Yeah, but he's rude to me. Sometimes he's really nice and then he's so mean. He confuses me so much..."

"Sounds like a lovers quarrel" the voice tuned and Alexis' head snapped at that.

"What?"

"The more you speak, the more it's kind of like a lovers quarrel. You really love him, don't you?"

Alexis coughed in surprise and then scoffed at the womans voice.

"D-don't be ridiculous! I've only known him for a month!" Alexis shouted in defence, her cheeks flushed from embarrassment.

"Sometimes that's all people need..." a waft of melancholy seemed to float around the prison.

"No!- that's not it! I don't think of Alastair that way even though he's"- she quickly cut off her words as she realised she was about to start talking about his looks. She flushed again. "He's... nice... sometimes".

"Oh to be young again" the voice reminisced.

"I'm telling you it's not like that!"

"Well if you don't like him, then I feel bad for him because he sure seems to like you", Alexis was ready to pull out her hair at the woman's words.

"What about him sticking me in a dungeon shows he likes me!" She cried in frustration.

"Nothing". The voice deadpanned, finally making any sense.

"Exactly!"

"Unless he comes to pick you up. If he does, then that man's in love", she answered and this time Alexis didn't argue back as violently as before.

"He's only known me for a month, that's impossible" she dejectedly spoke, knowing full well the old lady would argue back.

"His elf blood could play a part in that".

Alexis had read that elves could be easily influenced and when they want something they deeply desire to the point where if it weren't in their possession they would go crazy. The way they mate is most interesting because they only ever choose one partner, but since Alastair was only half she thought he wouldn't be too bothered by his elf blood.

She shook her head, dismissing the words as an old ladies crazy talk.

Her head felt dizzy and she seemed to be mentally spinning around, despite not physically moving. She leaned into the wall, groaning when the skin on the back of her head touched the cold stone and whined with sharp impulses. Her head hurt and her eyelids felt heavy.

Staring at the dim light of the lamp that was utterly useless she fell into a dazed sleep. She heard the old ladies voice bothering her here and again, but what she said sounded into a blur.