By the time Briar Rose made her way back to Sara's fortress, the sky was utterly dark but for the light of the stars and the waning moon. The Sea Kingdom was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, and it was a comfort to see a clear night sky again now that most of the magical residue had begun to fade away.
Idly, Rose dragged her fingertips along the smooth stone of the outer walls as she walked, not quite ready to go inside just yet. Even though here she was free to come and go as she pleased, there was still something very confining about a castle when compared with the sixteen years she had spent in the woods, and the many months she had spent camping with the wicked fairies during the height of the war.
The outermost gate to Sara's …show more content…
She pushed through the first dungeon gate, then the second, then the third, stomach churning so intensely she thought she might be sick. Was she losing her mind? Was some otherworldly voice or half-memory dragging her into this wretched place from which few had ever managed to escape and of which no one dared speak even now that it was abandoned?
Two more gates, both hanging open, creaking in the gentle breeze. There was that dreadful smell Rose tried to forget here—the smell of death and decay, and the air felt heavier and heavier as she passed through each gate.
"Someone is there!" the voice exclaimed, closer now, and more obviously corporeal. Rose felt a tremendous wave of relief.
"I was afraid you were inside my head," Rose told the voice. She hadn't quite dared to cross the final threshold into the room. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, and she grasped at the open gate to keep her balance.
The voice let out a choking, strangled chuckle. "I thought perhaps I was dead after all, and no one could hear me yelling. At least a dozen people have passed by this place today as though they didn't …show more content…
"Last I remember the place was running as usual, all groaning tortured prisoners and whatnot, then next thing, sometime earlier today, it's like someone torched the place. Gates hanging open and not a sound or a soul in sight."
Shaken from her troubled reverie, Rose let out a small huff of laughter and looked up at the clear night sky. "Sara was arrested and taken to the Sky Dominion for trial," she said. "All her living prisoners were released or relocated weeks ago."
"Arrested?" the fairy echoed incredulously. "For what?"
"Torturing a human, mostly, I think," Rose replied, but saying the words aloud still turned her stomach, and she rather hoped she wasn't called upon to elaborate.
"Torturing a—?" There was a moment of stunned silence, and then the fairy broke into a loud, uproarious cackle that chilled Briar Rose to the bone. "Torturing a human! Who'd have thought that was what would finally put her away!"
Rose bit the inside of her mouth. She didn't find it very funny, and she suddenly wondered whether this particular wicked fairy might perhaps live up to her name.
The fairy laughed for another minute or so before she took note of Rose's stony silence. "I'm sorry, dearie, really, I know it isn't funny," she said. "Friend of yours?"
Rose swallowed hard. "Something like
Idly, Rose dragged her fingertips along the smooth stone of the outer walls as she walked, not quite ready to go inside just yet. Even though here she was free to come and go as she pleased, there was still something very confining about a castle when compared with the sixteen years she had spent in the woods, and the many months she had spent camping with the wicked fairies during the height of the war.
The outermost gate to Sara's …show more content…
She pushed through the first dungeon gate, then the second, then the third, stomach churning so intensely she thought she might be sick. Was she losing her mind? Was some otherworldly voice or half-memory dragging her into this wretched place from which few had ever managed to escape and of which no one dared speak even now that it was abandoned?
Two more gates, both hanging open, creaking in the gentle breeze. There was that dreadful smell Rose tried to forget here—the smell of death and decay, and the air felt heavier and heavier as she passed through each gate.
"Someone is there!" the voice exclaimed, closer now, and more obviously corporeal. Rose felt a tremendous wave of relief.
"I was afraid you were inside my head," Rose told the voice. She hadn't quite dared to cross the final threshold into the room. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, and she grasped at the open gate to keep her balance.
The voice let out a choking, strangled chuckle. "I thought perhaps I was dead after all, and no one could hear me yelling. At least a dozen people have passed by this place today as though they didn't …show more content…
"Last I remember the place was running as usual, all groaning tortured prisoners and whatnot, then next thing, sometime earlier today, it's like someone torched the place. Gates hanging open and not a sound or a soul in sight."
Shaken from her troubled reverie, Rose let out a small huff of laughter and looked up at the clear night sky. "Sara was arrested and taken to the Sky Dominion for trial," she said. "All her living prisoners were released or relocated weeks ago."
"Arrested?" the fairy echoed incredulously. "For what?"
"Torturing a human, mostly, I think," Rose replied, but saying the words aloud still turned her stomach, and she rather hoped she wasn't called upon to elaborate.
"Torturing a—?" There was a moment of stunned silence, and then the fairy broke into a loud, uproarious cackle that chilled Briar Rose to the bone. "Torturing a human! Who'd have thought that was what would finally put her away!"
Rose bit the inside of her mouth. She didn't find it very funny, and she suddenly wondered whether this particular wicked fairy might perhaps live up to her name.
The fairy laughed for another minute or so before she took note of Rose's stony silence. "I'm sorry, dearie, really, I know it isn't funny," she said. "Friend of yours?"
Rose swallowed hard. "Something like