37 Savarine & the Nameless

_Savarine & the Nameless_

Her cheeks felt dry and tight, her salty tears long since drying them out- the throb of her wounds seemed like a distant memory- even the sting from her burning red eyes seemed to fade from her now. It was over for Eric. He had come to her rescue only to be thrown in the dungeon. Her lip trembled at the thought.

Savarine had been examined from head to toe by the court physician, he had taken into account all her injuries, and even checked her for signs of her defilement, but found none. From the sounds of the crime he had mentioned that it would be physically visible but sometimes that was not always so. He did belong to the court- Savarine supposed he was likely on their side whatever the case may be- which did not benefit her. If this was the case then she would need an overwhelming amount of evidence against the prince to prove herself and her brother not guilty. Evidence she did not have.

She had told her side of the story to the court physician several times now, trying her best to remember despite the ache in her head begging her to forget. The whole ordeal made her feel nauseated. How could things turn so sour so fast? It was not right that he could so easily ruin her life like this. 

As much as the black hair girl wanted, she could not find hope for the future during this time. The royal family got whatever they wanted at the cost of anyone at their disposal. Their words were law. Eric would either spend his days locked away in the dungeons or he would be executed. And if Savarine did not end up there she would never be able to marry a respectable man. She would forever be known as defiled- by her own brother too. She did not even dare to think of how tarnished her family name might have become from all of this. Oh how hard they had worked through the years to even be invited into court.

Savarine's fingers curled around the sheets below her, gripping onto them as she made a tight fist. They had given her the day to rest in the physicians quarters, she had not gotten any sleep, only found herself crying occasionally all night or staring off into the dark. The girl wished she had stayed in Fordorne- her real home. 

The sun had come up by now, and she had dressed herself proper so that she could appear before the king and his court once more. Waiting had felt like an atternety- the girl could not even get herself to eat her breakfast. As she was marched by guards down the hallway, she regretted her choice. It was going to be the last real meal she would have.

She was not going to lie, and they were not going to find her mentaly unsound. She knew from the beginning of this trial that she was going to be thrown in the dungeon with her brother- and she was going to rot with him.

Savarine could not find it in her to focus through the entire trial, she answered questions and attempted to explain herself but she could not bring herself to look anywhere but the floor- perhaps she was in some sort of shock- but everything seemed so far away. She felt as though she was underwater, riding shakily on horseback. What hurt the most was that she could not even bring her eyes to meet her father's out in the crowd.

Before she knew it, everything came to a close all too fast. Though she was there and answering questions, it felt like nothing had happened or been said. When she heard those words leave the king's mouth she looked up, distressed. "Please your grace, your majesty please!" she found herself begging.

"Guards, escort her to the dungeon." He commanded.

"Please, believe me! I would not lie about such a thing!"

He said nothing as he watched the guards drag her to the large courtroom doors. 

 Her desperation manifested first in fear, but then quickly turned to anger. "You are no just king, no fair king! You let an unwell monster lie beneath your nose and do nothing about it!" She yelled as she was pushed out the doors, only catching the king's glaring face and then the prince's wry smile as the doors slammed behind her.

_______

She was tossed in next to Eric's cell. Reaching through the bars they held each other, her body shaking with sobs. "Oh sister," He cooed to her. "I told you not to make things worse for yourself."

"My life was ruined either way," She cried to him. "I should have never indulged him, Eric, I shouldn't have." She cried as he pushed the hair out of her face. Neither of them said anything more as they sat in the dark, musty dungeon. This is where she'd die, she thought. She'd either get sick and die, or she'd grow old here. All of her training, all of her potential.. Gone just like that. It made her sick. 

For hours they sat, reaching through the bars to hold one another, she did not know how much time had passed before noise roused her from the sleep she had drifted off into. Savarine's eyes met Erics as they gazed out to see who was coming. She noticed the guards escorting two men into the cell across from hers. She had never seen men quite as dark skinned as these two, but she had heard tales of people such as these. Westerners, she assumed.

They both seemed to look upon her with recognition she did not recognize. "Savarine?" the taller one asked, putting his hands up to the bars and peering across the hallway into her cell. She gave him a suspicious look and said nothing, only sharing another glance with Eric.

The two westerners across from her looked between each other before the taller of the two spoke up once more. "That is your name, yes? Savarine?" He asked with an accent she had never heard before.

Slowly, she nodded, and he smiled a smile that seemed to be a relieved smile, but then he froze. "Are you... are you alright?" he asked her.

She wiped at her face, taken aback by the question. "I am in a dungeon and I am innocent, what do you think?" She spat at him, before narrowing her eyes once more. "How do you know my name? Who are you and where do you come from? I have never seen skin such as yours," She pointed out only to be elbowed by Eric. 

"Rude," He whispered to her. She rolled her eyes.

"Ahh I am Kehan and this is Ryus, we are from the west- but we recently escaped but we were caught, and well we were sent here since this is apparently the capital." He explained to her.

"Then you will likely die," She deadpanned, making Kehan frown. "You never said how you knew my name," she pointed out to him.

Kehan looked to Ryus now before they both looked back at her. "You likely won't believe us..." He warned her.

"I am still not so sure I believe it," The other man, Ryus spoke now.

Kehan gave him a look. "Our friend we made briefly before we came here... she had a vision with you in it. That is how we know your name."

Savarine narrowed her eyes. "Right. And I'm just supposed to believe this? I don't think so. You are likely sent here by the prince to further torment me." She said with a scoff.

"The prince? We do not know him. We only got here today after many days of travel..." Kehan told her earnestly.

"What did your friend see in these visions of Savarine?" Eric spoke up now. 

"Well she saw you here, upset... but before that she saw Savarine use swords- said she was very good at it."

"I was good at it. Now I am as good as dead." Savarine said pessimistically.

"Not if we can get out of here." Ryus said.

"Why would we trust you to help us out of here?" Savarine said with narrowed eyes and furrowed brows.

"Because you are important." Kehan told her confidently.

"How?"

Kehan froze, unsure how to bring up this subject to her. She was already suspicious of mere mentions of Rhoswen's visions. "It is going to sound far fetched," He warned her.

"Try impossible," Ryus piped up, gaining a glare from Kehan.

"You are not helping," Kehan scolded. "Our friend, she sees much more than you or us, She sees seven of us in total- seven of us to stop a dreadful monster." he told her.

She gave him a bemused look. "A monster?" She repeated. "What kind of monster?"

"A Lich."

"A what?"

"An undead monster that sucks the life right out of the land- plants die, people and animals too. It will desecrate this land."

"How would I be useful in stopping that?" She asked skeptically, not at all believing in this lich monster.

"I... I do not know." Kehan admitted. "We need to gather the seven, somehow, someway and then we will learn from there. Our friend with the sight, she may be able to see something else if she meets with you."

"And if she doesn't?"

"I do not know, but if you meet with her and nothing happens then that is that. What have you got to lose by escaping here and going to meet her? She is not far, in fact she is from this country's Faun Gia," He explained to her.

"It all sounds far fetched. How do I know this is not a ploy by the prince to further torment me?"

"You do not know, but what have you to lose? We help you escape and the only thing you have to do is meet with our friend."

"And who is this friend?"

"Rhoswen Solone."

"From the house Solone?"

"Yes, She is the second daughter of the lord."

"So you have all your trust in this child?"

"She told us your name, she knew you would be her, how would a mere child know such a thing?"

Savarine knitted heer brows together in thought. "I suppose you are right." She mumbled to herself.

"So, shall we plan our way out of here?" Kehan asked her.

She looked at the dark skinned man for a long moment, considering it. "I don't think so. I cannot so easily trust in a stranger spouting strange things.

Eric spoke up now, nudging her through the bars. "What is the harm? I do not want to die here, let alone have you die here with me." He reasoned with her.

She sighed and met eyes with Kehan. "I suppose my brother Eric here is willing to take the risk, so I suppose we better get planning."