Things at the fortress got vary tense out of nowhere, talk in the mess was low murmurs and a few fights broke out. I strained but count make hear enough to understand what was so unsettling. then at a very formal dinner assembly the commander announced in words that could only have been scripted as stiff as he read them out. 

“on this day we fest in celebration of our good kings marriage and the new ~ soldiers~ this union brings for our victory over  the island of Jumb.” he took a belabored sigh then told the men "Just drink you ail and eat your food I want no talk of our new troops.” and they did eat and drink in a fashion that made me think they were all rather disgruntled banging their tankers down so hard it echoed down my hall making me flinch. 

I had over the year become accustom to the solders, it was like seeing tapestries telling a story of their lives distant in time. However when they were angry I felt the fear of thirty well trined fighting men just on the other side of my metal door. I sat after they had finished their dinner picking at my food in the dark sipping the ail I too got to was given on this forced celebration.

Things stayed tense for a long while only escalating the blond solder appetite, he brought new and more aggressive partners to the courtyard corner. One was so bad he really hurt the young man to the point he couldn’t stand to walk away for a long time. I was so shocked at the brutality, that I was paralyzed in fear for the man till he finally picked himself up and hobbled back into the night. At mess two nights later I learned the aggressive man had to be sent to the hospital. he had “fallen asleep on duty” falling off the ramparts into the sea. many of the men said good reddens to that misfortune many asked who pushed him but no names were suggested at the dinning table. 

Everyone was so high strung and yet so quiet, rumors of a crown spy had everyone an edge but the only new person I could see in the courtyard exercises was a far too skinny solder that had returned from the front lines with a head injury, he was a bit slower then the rest and would get painfully dizzy and faint. however he was the most able body man to replace the one that fell off the ramparts. so they made do with him. 

Soon I could tell something was happening the whole place was being cleaned up, they even moped and cleaned the hall outside my door. The courtyard was manicured so on day all the solders lined of for excursuses in their best dress uniforms and stood at attention. They looked again like a tapestry in the morning light.   They just stood their at attention of a long lone time. I thought our veteran was going to pass out again when I herd a carriage approached. My mind buzz wondering who could possibly draw up this kind of pomp. was the king coming to finely kill me? no, killing a royal was most degraded and cursed thing that was said could be done, that was the whole point of this cell you cant kill the royals so lock them up safely. Had Jame worked some way for my freedom? no there was no reason for this pomp if i was just to be let go. thoughts drifted though my head quickly but i was indifferent to all of them freedom wasn’t any freer then my prison, in a country at war and drowning in despair. death would be a reprieve from all this trouble… as long as I was not the one to do it I was free to basque in the thought of deaths release but as a royal my duty above all was to protect the crown and I was part of the crown and could never be harmed my self or anyone else.

The carriage was a grand monstrosity of dark woods carved into images of death and sorrow, the cavalry that accompanied it were hauntingly adorned in morning garb as well. As they all moved by and out of my limited view of the courtyard I did see one rider at the very end in James house colors! no matter the what the procession I should get some news of the village, I hoped. I quickly ran to the door and moved my listening set up hoping against hope that I would get one last care package!

I quickly put on one of my best modified dresses. I had made adjustment so I could dress myself as most of my clothing had required a lady’s maid to help and were far to uncomfortable to be worn when staying in. so I had made a few into tea gowns that I could easily slip in and out of.  My under things were my daily were and all I wore for exercising, it made doing the laundry in my creek so much easier if most days I only were knickers and bodice. so wrapping a slowly tea gown on was easy work to look presentable. 

I stood stock still wanting to dart to the window to see the courtyard or to the try flap to hear what was going on but good manners meant I stand and politely wait for information at the corner of my bed. Their was defiantly something going on I herd loud arguments getting closer with what sounded like a lot of people. They seemed to stop, someone made a Loud declaration fallowed by many quieter voices debating a thing. before long a voice I knew to be the commander said something then they all seemed to make their way to my door! The door was unlocked, James man was the first man that had come with me to the fortiss more then a year ago. Fallowing him two solders in uniforms I has never seen came in looked the whole place top to bottom and more solder brought in some other things but I couldn’t keep track as James man took my attention 

“I’m afraid your on your own for a good while, we did what we could but I’m sure you herd the trouble that caused” He looked around at my cell realizing i probably hadn’t hurd what had happened  “ Anyhow” he rushed on knowing our time was short “it wont be safe for us to bring you more as things. so make do and stretch what you have. I’m sorry for this but this really is the safest place for you if” he got very quiet “if need be there is a horse’s dose of opium in the chest but Martha begs you to remember your duty and not make use of it. she also” he was cut off as a solder pulled him out of my cell. Without me saying a word the most human contact I had had passed, the door locked and I was alone. 

I tried not to race to the window deliberately taking my time but I almost missed James man racing away on his steed at lest he would take the key away, so the frightening new solders could not come into my cell. Things stayed on high alert as the fortress solder made continued loud paroles, marching in a stiff commanding way the carriage remained and from time to time I could hear more arguing but no one close enough that I could hear what was being said. 

I though it would be safe to leave eavesdropping till dinner so when to inspect my cell there were three large chests close to the door and a bundle of something that smelled horribly on my bed! my surprise was doubled when it was much heavier then I had first thought my shocked multiplied more then my math skills knew that there was a person in all of the tangled bloody mess. Thankfully I had some muscles now from my daily exercises and moving the great thing was manageable, it took me a good long time to get the thing untagged to the point that I could see a lady of my age in the mix. She was breathing but looked well drugged. She was in the finest dress I had ever seen, real gold threads through out pearls and showers of gemstones. However she was coved in blood, so old and drying it was putrid and flacking of in places. the juxtaposition  of the whole situation was mostly lost on my bewilderment of another person being locked in with me.

I took my time getting her and the mass of adornments she was bound in, to sit by the little creek I took a cloth and cleaned her face and hands hoping she would wake up. She groggily came to with me gingerly cleaning one of her hands. she grabbed on to mine with a wiled terror that frightened me. When I looked up to her eyes her first sight of me was one of fear with did not help our situation. I open my mouth to reassure her but found it had been so long sense I had spoken to anyone that nothing came out I tried to rase my hand to cove my mouth to clear my throat but her grip remained! she had more life in her grip then I had in all of my being… how strange I had faded so much in such short time. I looked down and cleared my throat then with perpas I tried to remember the smily Daisy had worn that always cheered and placated me, I looked to this new strange girl and said.

“Hello My name is Samantha, you are safe now this is a place of forgetting as long as you are forgotten then no harm will come to you. You are in quite a state would you like help cleaning up and removing all this?”

She flinched and recoiled at the last part pulling her hand back I wasn’t sure if she was understanding me. “how, how did I come here were am I were are my people?” she had a thick accent that I really enjoyed or maybe I just enjoyed that some one was talking to me.

I leaned back on my heals to give her a little space “ I’m sorry I’m forgotten, so all I know are these walls you might explain to me the events, I have not had that door unlocked for some about a 6 months mayhap? would you happen to know the date?”

She shook her head in a vain effort to clear it, only losing her  composure her tan skin taking on an unfortunate green tinge “the last date I know is the date I met my husband. the fist of spring” 

I really had lost track of time “then it has been more then a year for the door, are you hurt you look very unwell but it didn’t seem right to remove your finery with out you consent, so I just tried to remove the blood. however did you come to such a state?” my voice crack not having used it in so vary long, over a year … not speaking to anyone how very sad. 

She gave a pleading remorseful look to something I sad “ I can not feel my body I was given opium as soon as I was loaded in to the carriage. I would not like to discus my state but could you remove my shoes they are awful and I am quite thirsty.”

I removed her what seemed to be solid gold shoes and set them in the stream to rinse off, then picked up my cup and dipped some water from the head of the stream and held it to her. she looked shocked by drinking from the steam on the ground like I had offered her pure mud!

“my apologies this is a pure stream from the earth so is incapable of being poisoned. This end is for drinking the middle is for washing and cleaning, it is vary cold so don’t get your hopes up. the end is for reliving your self, it gos though a 6ft stone wall to what I am lead to believe is a death drop. To the rocky sea. they really put a lot of thought into this place and it has has so much use.” I drank the cup down then dipped her up a bit more and she cautiously drank it.