The Red Throne | TUQ Book Two

16 | captive

     The dungeon cell we were locked up in was situated far deeper underground than the cell I was previously locked in, and I could no ray of sunlight at all, the only noise we heard was the sound of water dripping from above.

         "Oh Anne, do sit down," my mother-in-law fussed as she beckoned me to sit on the straw mat next to her. It was horribly cold in the dungeons, and there were no sources of heat around.

         "I'm too afraid to sit down," I say to her. "I fear that if I fall asleep, I will never wake up again."

I glance at her, not daring to say more than that. This is all my fault. We would not be here if it were not for me. It was my stupidity, my impulsiveness that got us here, and I was afraid that she would start blaming me for putting us in this predicament eventhough I was well aware that I was the cause of all this.

          "Don't say that, Anne," she says comfortingly as she pulled me closer to her, enveloping me with warmth. "Have you forgotten that I am a shaman ?"

Her eyes twinkled brilliantly as she said so, and once we were certain that there were no soldiers outside, she covered her mouth with her hands and began to chant in a language I had never heard of before.

Then, she pulled her hands away, and sitting in her palm was a small flame, burning weakly in the damp air.

        "Step aside," my mother-in-law said as she knelt on the floor, and gently she allowed the flame to slide off of her hands and onto the floor. She quickly drew a circle on the floor, and as the fire grew, it was confined inside the circle, not spreading even an inch outside it.

          "Oh, it is so warm, Mama," I say, breathing in relief as I sat next to the fire. "Are you able to conjure food too, Mama ?"

My mother-in-law laughed, but then she shook her head. "I'm afraid no, Anne. This is as far as my abilities go."

My smile faded, and all I could do was to stare at the fire as it roared and hissed. It required no wood or oil, and it continued to burn despite the damp air. It was marvellous indeed, but now I only felt dread.

          "Isn't the fire very enchanting, Anne ?" my mother-in-law said. "Do you know about the tale of the great Queen Moirai of Therondia ?"

I nodded eagerly, not wanting to lament on my misery and woes. "The one who wielded fire ?"

           "They say that before she became queen, she was a performer. The fire that she blows out of her mouth is said to be so beautiful and mesmerising that you'd feel as if you were drunk."

As I stared at the red and yellow flames dancing around, I envisioned the legendary queen, her golden eyes bright and fiery as she walked through the flames. The great Queen Moirai was an exceptional warrior who fought by her husband's side, securing his victory, while I was locked in the dungeons, passive and useless. If I were to ever become queen, how could I live up to such a person ?

For the first five days, we were mostly calm and relaxed, but after a week had passed, I began to panic. Surely, my father would have been alerted by Cecily and sent over soldiers to secure my release, but nothing happened. No one came. A hooded soldier would come everyday to give us rations, and that was it.

The dungeons grew remarkably colder as the days passed, and I was certain that it was now winter. We had only eaten cold wheat bread for the last week, and I felt so tired and drained of all energy, and was reduced to a silent pile sitting inanimately in the corner of the dungeon cell.

             "Edmund will come, Anne," my mother-in-law would constantly say. "I know that he will."

At first I believed her, but as the second week passed, I stopped listening to her entirely. I was so exhausted that I could barely open my eyes and swallow food.