The Maiden in the Dungeons

Steps echoed in the dark; two pairs of feet creating noise against the marble flooring of the dungeon. The place was submerged in total darkness, only getting an occasional light when the food servers brought their torches. Most cells were occupied by a bag of bones wrapped in tattered clothing, but one, in particular, had a person inside.

The woman was bound in chains, probably needing assistance from a server during feeding time. Her arms were tied up behind her, and her ankles were kept together in a way she wouldn't be able to flatten them on the ground. Her clothes were slightly disheveled from the searches and rough handling. However, she wasn't touched inappropriately as much as the knights were concerned.

Her breath kept on misting before her, but she couldn't see it as she was in total darkness. The floor and the walls were cold, the bars were freezing, and the blankets were thin. Her body shivered even if she kept on telling herself that she had lived the life of a vagabond; such coldness meant nothing to her. However, she was hungry and drained of energy.

The footsteps echoed nearby and stopped in front of her cell. All of a sudden, a lamp was lit in front of the cell, momentarily blinding the woman. She lifted her gaze from the floor to the face of the man holding the lamp. Her chapped lips curled. "Miel, it seems like fortune failed to dull your senses. Do you still shed blood… even in those golden robes?"

"...Jillian..." Miel murmured before turning to the man next to him. "Your Grace, this is the assassin that tried to kill Lady Shen earlier in the morning. She seems to be working alone albeit receiving orders from a master. Her life is in your hands."

"Your Grace? The archduke?" Jillian chuckled before spitting to the side. "Nobles are all the same. Come take my head if you wish. Your judgment will come, and my evil spirit will watch you burn in the flames of Kolorantha along with me!"

Larkin only stared at her and her face distorted by anger. This woman was someone from the streets of Talcum, who had become more than a hired hand. Professionals like her had no space inside Ellis Plains.

By rights, she was supposed to be executed on the spot. However, Miel decided to imprison her instead. Maybe, if they kept her alive, they could extract the truth about her employer and quickly snip the problem from the roots. The interrogation team had tried, but this woman was rather strong-willed. That was why Larkin was able to convince them to let him see this woman.

"You loathe the nobility, and yet you feed yourself through money that graced their hands. How can a vermin not die from disgust and hypocrisy?" Larkin opened his mouth to speak, and the woman screamed back at him as he continued. She even tried to move around and break out of the chains. "Lady Shen is not a member of the Achlysian nobility. What were you trying to accomplish?"

"...Achlysian… not Achlysian, it doesn't matter!" Jillian laughed out as she tried to kick up, but she only resembled a flapping fish that was out of the water. "All nobles are bound to burn! You will die a painful death, and the sickles of the Koloranthan god will reap your souls from your rotten flesh!"

Miel frowned at her words. She kept on mentioning Kolorantha as if the realm of the dead would collect the living before their time. Could it be that her employer was a believer of the Koloranthan god? No, that sounded absurd even for a cold-blooded killer.

The archduke only huffed as turned away to leave as if not finding her worth his time after all. "You seem to heavily believe in the Koloranthan god. Very well, I'll arrange for you to meet. Through flames of the living do the flames of the dead arise, through the breath of vigor does the breath of decay shrouds. At sundown, you will be meeting your transport of fire."

"...! Your Grace, you must not burn her just yet." Miel twitched, and his hand shook its hold on the lamp. "She cannot be that useless to us..."

"A vermin that feeds on the hunger of nobles while spitting words of lecture against them is not someone who has a working mind. Her employer could be anyone as long as they do not meet." Larkin walked away, submerging himself in darkness.

Miel gripped on the lamp tighter. He then cast his quivering eyes on the woman who had returned to her previous stance. "Jillian, why must you lose your mind? You should've walked out on this life and exist under the soft sunlight. I called onto you to come with us, and yet..."

"Miel..." Jillian grinned at him, but her grin was horrendous with blood and tar mixing on her teeth. "If you think that the archduke will name you his heir, you're only deluding yourself. Your bitch of a mother is a hated person, and so is a portion of you. The archduke will never see you as his own, and this archduchess…? She will bear him beautiful children, and he will forget about you whose body was as impure as that woman's..."

Jillian laughed out as she tried to crawl closer to the bars to take a closer look at Miel. "My arms and legs are tied now, but your entire life is bound to ruin. I will be free in death while you continue to suffer. Tell me, is it really wise not to kill me when you chose to have a heart? If I escape, I will promise you this…

"Artie Shen's heart will be in my hands, and my master will own what's left of her body."

Miel then moved to a squat and reached out his hand to comb the fringe out of her face. The despair written on his eyes then turned into a blaze of anger. "Worry not, Jillian. You will not escape."

He quickly pulled away from her and got to his feet. He blew out the lamp and walked away with only Larkin's magic guiding him. When he reached the opening of the dungeon, he closed his eyes and sighed. He then placed the lamp at the side, his eyes soon finding Larkin's image standing around.

"The man she serves doesn't seem to be so simple, Your Grace. The people he sends are trained to endure and shift or even distort their beliefs just to escape interrogation. However, she seemed to be more passionate in claiming Lady Shen's corpse." Miel pursed his lips. "We should cancel the wedding. They might have designs on collapsing the peace and joy in such an important celebration..."

"No, let them come. Artie will be the safest next to me. As for them, never will I tolerate such behavior. Their lives will be forfeited the very instance they dare exist before me." Larkin turned towards Miel. "That woman seemed to be an old friend of yours. Will you endure watching her burn?"

"...the Jillian I knew died when I left the capital. I shot her dead with an arrow to the heart." Miel closed his eyes and sighed, facing the consequences of leaving. "The one dying later is nothing but a shell."

…

Artie sighed as she arrived at her room. Just earlier, Alfora didn't seem to have a big reaction after being given free-reign on the archduchess's wedding dress. However, the light in her eyes was different after.

"Sigh, I guess I'll just be sleeping—"

[Random event commencing! A tortured soul burns in the flames of the past and clutches of a promised future. Save the maiden in the dungeons underneath the castle before sundown. Save 1 life (0/1).]