Imona sniffled as she smoothed her dress down over her legs. The dress was now horribly dirty and tattered from her journey here. She remembered how long it had taken her to come up with the simple design and to finish sewing it. She had put so much heart into it not that long ago just for it to be ruined.
She maneuvered so she could see the bottom of her feet more closely, even though the only light in here came from the torches lining the hallway outside and it was now too late for any sun to come through her small window, Imona was always able to see in the dark. There were the more light scratches everywhere, and then there were the larger gashes from jagged rocks and the like. It wasn't too much, but enough blood that she would leave bloody footprints for a while yet.
She sat up and scooted on her behind towards the cot near the left wall of her cell, the chain clanking noisily as she moved. She put her hand out to touch the fabric of the cot only to find it rough and itchy. Still, it might be better than sitting on the hard, cold, stone floor. She maneuvered onto the cot and waited. It wasn't long before she heard footsteps approaching.
'Now might be your chance Imona… We could overtake them and flee in the dead of might…. There are ways my child…' , the voice said to her. Imona responded in a harsh whisper, "I am not your child!"
The metal door was soon unlocked and creakily swung open. Two guards came through first, both adorned in the standard armor of gauntlets, hard leathers fitted around the waist, shin, and wrist areas, and metal plating on the shoulders and knees.. One was tan, muscular and harsh looking. The other guard had darker skin with close-cropped kinky hair and a scar on his left cheek and he looked down at Imona with what she could only describe as insatiable hunger. It terrified her. Last to enter was a meak nursmaid of fair skin, her brown hair tied back with a white cloth, who looked at her with utter fear.
Imona averted her gaze slightly. The nursemaid looked up at the guards, then down at Imona before approaching slowly with a bucket and some bandages. She kneeled down in front of her with shakey hands and whispered under her breath, “P-please don't hurt me...I've just come to bandage your feet..under order of the Kingdom Holder.”
Imona knew better than to attempt to plead her case. She had come across many who had made up their mind about her and what she was apparently capable of, including hexes, bad weather, ruined crops and anything else they could blame her for. Besides, there was nothing this girl could do for her. Maybe over time, if they saw each other frequently, she could convince the girl to help her escape. For now, she averted her gaze and let the girl work on her feet.
With the trembling hands, it was a bit painful to feel small shards of rock and glass be pulled from her feet, but Imona did her best not to cry out. Once all the shards were removed, some kind of balm was applied, it smelled of lavender and honey, and bandages were wrapped tightly around both feet.
“I'm...done..” The girl said while rising quickly and rushing out of the room. After she was gone, the two guards stared down at her. The stern one turned to leave, but upon realizing his partner wasn't moving, shook his head and left. Imona's stomach dropped. The metal door was still open, but the chain would not permit her to reach that far. Imona backed away closer to the stone wall as the man approached her and crouched down in front of her. A crazed smile only made worse the hunger in his eyes.
“I've heard a lot about you....blue girl. Despite the obvious corruption,” He reached out to tug lightly on the hem of her dress, “you are beautiful. I bet sweet to the taste as well...like blueberry perhaps?” He began laughing low and Imona felt chills run up her spine.
Suddenly, with a speed she wasn't expecting he grabbed her ankle and pulled her close enough to use his other hand to grab at her hair. “Let me go!” She screamed at him, but the smile never left his face. She put her arms up to try and rip his hand out of her hair, but he lunged in close and licked a long slimy stripe along her cheek.
'Oh dear...look at that...' The voice in her head said as images of the guard started flashing through her mind. A young black boy, crying in the corner as he watched his mother being raped and beaten by his father, a slightly older boy being beaten near to death, a teenager mourning his now deceased mother, running away, joining a faction, meeting Killian. And the final image she saw was of the future. How far away, she was unsure. But what she did see was this man, his name was Jonah, dying in an excruciating and painful way. Blood everywhere.. dripping... swallowing.... Imona snapped out of her visions and back to the present.
He was laughing at her, thinking the stunned look on her face was because of him. He bent her head back and prepared to take her mouth with his when she finally spoke, “Jonah...” There was no longer any fear in her eyes or in her tone of voice, in fact, she couldn't help but smile a bit.
He looked at her in shock, the crazed smile finally faltering. “How...did you know my name.”
“I have seen you die...gruesomely...calling out pitifully for your mother... what would she think, knowing of the women you've hurt? You disgust me. You're just like your father!”
Upon hearing these words, Jonah pushed her back forcefully and whispered, “Demon..” Before bolting out of the cell and locking the door quickly. She could hear the other guard ask him what was up, but Jonah didn't say anything. Their footsteps echoed around the chamber as they left.
'Well done my girl...I can teach you so much more...You will have so much power, you can make the rumors they start a reality.' The voice sounded excited. 'I've never seen this side of you girl, not even when you were being beaten by the kids in town. You fill me with joy. You must accept your power at once.'
“No...just no.” Imona curled into a ball on her rough cot and did her best to sleep.
'Mmmmm.....I have a feeling all of the no's you have thrown my way will soon turn into yes..yes!...More... All of it!!' The voice in her head trailed off in a string of wild cackles, and for the first time, Imona wondered if the voice might be right.
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