Chapter Seven

Diamanté woke up in a shock. She wished that she woke up in her chambers at the Manor. But instead, she woke up in a dingy room and a tiny bed. The blankets were scratchy and old, not like the soft, fresh blanket with soft griffin feathers filled inside.

She tries to get out of bed. That is when she realizes that her foot and wrists are bound up to the bed with chains. She sees that her dress is now an itchy nightgown over her corset. Diamante wipes herself and notices that the makeup is completely gone from her face. But her throat still feels pain from the way he strangled her.

Why in the devil's name is she in this prison? After everything she's been through, surely execution must be immediate. The fact that she is going to be stuck here is already torture. But just as she is planning a way to escape, Diamanté turns her head around as she hears the door unlock.

When Diamante sees that it is the fire twin, she can't stand it anymore. She jumps out of bed to attack him. But the chain prevents her from getting even close to his proximity. He begins laughing at her fail attempts to get to him. In his eyes, she is acting like a wild animal.

"Look at you now. I could free you, but I don't think I can do it." Diamanté yells out in anger and frustration. Her screams echos through the walls of the prison as she continues to pull the chains from the bed. Her fury is more than enough to make the strongest man cower in fear. However, the red twin continues laughing; he knows that she cannot do anything to him at all.

This is Diamante Stanzolio in her truest nature.

"I hope you enjoy your stay here. You only have two weeks to live." Diamanté glares at the fire twin as he leaves the room. As soon as he leaves, Diamanté searches around, desperate to find a way out. She continues to pull on the chains, not caring about the bruises forming on her wrists.

Fourteen days. Diamanté has about fourteen days to live. Her mind goes back to the time when Onice came home after he was due to hang. She remembers the worry from the entire family for him. She also remembers the confusion, first, why they arrest Onice, and secondly, how he can return without dying.

It turns out that Onice's reason for almost dying is arson. He and his gang (at the time) manages to burn an entire town, killing fourteen people and making hundreds more homeless. On trial, Onice manages to convince the jury that the fire is due to the people's corrupt background.

Upon further review, it turns out that the fourteen people have been secretly stealing money. So with this, Onice and his gang get to go back home free. However, the family doesn't know about the new information, and they assume that Onice is dead.

They are wrong.

Diamanté has to find another way out. Pulling against the chains is futile. So it may seem that her only logical option is to convince the court that she is innocent.

Diamanté is sitting on the dirty floor. Now she has to find a way to convince the public that she isn't responsible.

Diamanté hears the door open. She sees the fire twin come in with a small bowl of oatmeal, nothing like the fresh bread, sweets, and meat she usually eats in her Manor.

"You're not gonna try to escape again?" The fire twin holds a look of surprise when Diamanté responds with a chuckle. He waits for her to try to jump at him again, but it never comes.

He slowly gives the bowl to Diamanté and watches in confusion as she takes the meal with no complaints. The way she eats isn't one that hates the food; in fact, it seems that she's eating it with manners. Diamanté gives the bowl back to him with a smile.

"Thank you." The fire twin nods as he takes the bowl and left.

Diamanté smirks. Of course, he will expect her to go off on a rampage. But she realizes that it is idiotic behavior. If she were going to die, then at least she will die with some dignity.

She hears footsteps at the front of the door, but no one opens the door. Diamante assumes that he is guarding her entrance; in case she pulls any shenanigans.

"You know what?" Her reply is the deafening silence, but Diamanté knows that he is listening to her carefully.

"After all this time, I still don't even know your name." Diamanté can hear the shuffling in front of the door. Diamante is provoking him, and she knows it.

"I think it's pretty funny if you think about it. I saw you locked up; now I'm the one who's trapped." Diamante can hear the ghost of a chuckle come from outside the cell. But as soon as it is there; it's gone.

"When I was a kid, I was always picked on. Even though my mother said I had eyes that shimmered and shined, I didn't want them.

Do you know what it feels like; for people to treat you like garbage because of how we are different?" The silence returns. Even though she is sure that he is listening, another part of her is thinking otherwise.

Diamanté's mind goes back to her family. What will her mother think? Will she cry from hearing the news about her daughter's demise? Maybe, if she wasn't like this in the first place, this whole thing will play out differently. Diamanté is already a killer. Three people are dead because of her, and many more because of her actions. Just about their suffering and death make her smile in content.

"It's time for you to go to sleep." Diamanté hears fire twin grumble. She gets up from the floor and lays down on the scruffy bed.

"Goodnight." As Diamanté struggles to keep her eyes open, she can faintly hear him grumble something in his breath. It doesn't take an idiot not to know what he said.

"Goodnight."

***

Diamanté wakes up to the banging on the door. Of course, he will go right back to being cold. But the fun of the manipulation is to break down his walls slowly. The fire twin walks inside with another small bowl; this time, he fills it with cold soup

"How's your day going?" She asks. He looks at Diamanté. Diamante blinks innocently; confusion consumes her face. Why he was looking at her like that? All she did was ask a simple question.

"My day has just begun." Diamanté chuckles at his witty answer. So he is full of jokes, what a nice touch. But she also notices the slight raise of his mouth. As Diamanté's chuckle dies down, the fire twin looks at her.

Diamanté stares into his deep red eyes. Ever since that time at the circus, she never really had a good look at his face. His slight dark complexion makes him look like the sun is kissing his skin. She can tell that he is slightly muscular through the neat uniform, and his black hair is longer than she remembers.

He clears his throat and hands Diamanté the soup. She blinks and looks down at the bowl. She feels her heartbeat race, and her cheeks feel hot. Diamanté is getting closer to the fire twin, but it's scary just how much he affects her.

She quietly drinks the soup as her mind drifts off. What is she doing? The plan is to convince the court that she is innocent. Her life is running out, and she NEEDS to get them on her side. And she knows that to earn someone's sympathy, the person has to see her as the victim.

"Your interrogation is tomorrow." She looks up and sees the fire twin standing in the doorway. Diamanté chuckles at his statement. She doesn't even have enough time to defend herself.

"I understand."

"You know, if you are found guilty, then you will be executed." The fire twin's condescending voice implies that it will scare Diamante. But it doesn't. They need key witnesses to prove that she is guilty. But her fear will make sure that NO ONE testifies against her.

"I know, but at least that I finally get to see you again." The fire twin replies to her answer with silence. She takes this chance to continue talking.

"I did not write a letter to my mother. She told me that I had to write to her every month, otherwise, she would come back and drag me home," Diamanté doesn't know why she is telling the fire twin about her mother. But she knows that he can hear her.

Diamanté starts coughing. She is hacking in her hand; that was when she sees the blood coming out of her mouth. Staying in this dingy cell is killing her slowly, and Diamanté cannot imagine how Onice can ever survive like this. She can feel her body eating itself. The small rations that the fire twin gives her aren't enough for her to survive that long.

She can tell that he is enjoying her suffering. This type of treatment is the very reason she's against the wealthy aristocrats in France. They think that anybody who goes against them should go to jail or die. And the officers allow this kind of mistreatment because, at the end of the day, these aristocrats can easily give them anything they desire.

Diamanté has all the money to set herself free. But she is willing to right her wrong by going to prove her (non-existent) innocence. Unlike trying to use cash, she only needs to rely on her wit and determination to set herself free.

"It's time for you to sleep," Diamanté looks up and sees him standing in front of the door. She nods at his command, too weak to say anything at the moment. As Diamante crawls to her bed, she hears the fire twin grumble something under his breath.

"What did you say? I didn't hear you." Diamanté's scratchy voice makes him cringe. He walks closer so that she can hear her better.

"Rubis. My name is Rubis." She smiles at how the name suits him. The name sounds so familiar, but she cannot put her finger on it. She looks at Rubis with eyes full of fatigue as he starts walking away.

"Goodnight, Rubis." Rubis stops his tracks and looks behind him. He gives her a sympathetic smile.

"Goodnight, Diamanté". She smiles as she sees Rubis' lips curve into a smile. At this point, she knows that the dynamic between them is changing. She goes to sleep with a smile on her face.

Diamante cannot wait to prove her innocence.