As You Wish
Chapter Fifteen
The blue and orange flames intertwined, dancing a silent dance, while casting shadows along the stone walls causing imaginations for those around to run wild. A man sat in a wooden chair against the wall in view for all those locked away to see his presence as if threatening any of them to break the silence around them.
A man a Gods. He wore the attire appropriate for only those who had given their life to live by the Gods in a vow of silence, yet his appearance was more like that of a serpent of Satan and his silence filled with vile words of hate.
Her vision was blurred by the swelling of her eyes, the pain from her broken hand long forgotten, replaced instead by the pain of her ribs and the other bruises she had endured during her beating from her earlier visit from Jon. The pain, she knew, with time would end, but the bruises, though they may fade to invisible, would always remain with her scoring this memory with her forever.
The voice that had spoken earlier fell silent when their watcher had returned and she waited, refusing to give into the sleep that begged to grip her hoping they would soon find themselves alone once again so that she may discover whom that soft voice belong.
His voice had been gentle, almost childlike, and as the words continued to echo over and over in her head she came to the conclusion that it was just that....the voice of a child. The Gods should damned any man who could lock away a child in a prison filled with filth and cold and stench of what could only be described as death freshly taken from the flesh leaving the imagination with thoughts of horror. In that matter the Gods should damned any man who could lock away a child period.
Alises eyes followed the tips of her fingers as she ran them up and down the bars in a slow motion as if by some magic those bars would melt under her touch at any given moment. She began to hum softly, a tune Yvette wasn't able to make out, breaking the tension of the silence around them, lulling Yvette into a restful state as she laid back on the cold floor listening as another voice began to hum along. Their soft hums consumed her, driving her deeper and deeper into another world where for but a short while, the pain no longer existed and peacefulness laid all around.
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Lord Andrew held the boy under his heavy glare daring him with silence to repeat any knowledge he had of the sealed entrance, and remained behind Joshua hoping for any distraction to quickly occur. When none would bless him, he cleared his throat placing his hand on Joshuas shoulder, but quickly removed it as a threatening tip of a sword came dangerously close to his face.
"Gentlemen, you must be starved. I beg of you, let us step to the castle and have ourselves a feast and some wine. Once our bellies are filled, if you wish to continue this silly nonsense, then we shall return to the fields so you can see for yourselves the stones cover nothing, but is the mere begining of wall for a new washing shack."
"Prince Joshua I am famished, as well as the other men I am sure. Can we not end this ridiculous quest that Lancelot has started and grab ourselves a meal so that we can continue on?" Justin stated, growing bored and tired with the fascination of a stone wall, and though Joshua still felt uneasy with why they ended up at the castle, he had to agree with Justin, and nodded his head as he placed his hand on Lances shoulder.
"I must agree somewhat with Justin fellow Knight. I do feel the pangs of hunger and would be happy to sit for a meal. If it would make you feel better, we shall return here before departing to discover if Lord Andrew is correct."
An uneasiness sat heavy on his stomach, one he knew he should not let go, but he was new to the Knights and pushing his limits with them, especially Justin, would be a stupid, if not a dangerous move.
"If we part only with the promise that we may return to this spot for a look, then I too will admit that I am famished, and would love nothing more than a good meal." Lance admitted, smiling back to the Prince as he received his nod.
"Enough said them." Lance shouted. "Let us dine."
Lord Andrew let his worries wash from him as he led the men to the door of the castle where they were greeted by the lady servants and led to their rooms to wash away their journeys dirt and prepared to feast.
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"The Gods dined upon the fruits of the earth and drank the freshest waters the springs could offer. We as men continue to thrive from those gifts the Gods of land and sea continue to grace upon us and live by the ways they left us to know. You are all sinners, and as sinners you will be denied those gifts and punished until you no more wrong do."
Their watcher bellowed, marching around the circled floor in front of their cells, making sure to wake those who may have found some peace to sleep.
"We offer to you bread and nothing more than a few drops of water to which you will eat and drink to begin your cleansing process. May you make your meals last." He stated, stopping in front of each cell to shove between the bars his offering and stopped in front of Yvette's to hand out the last of the offerings as he stared inside to her, speaking the last of his words. "For this will be the only offering of the day, if not the only offering of your life."
Yvette snatched from the mans hand the small amount of bread that had been offered to her and the small tin of water she tried carefully not to pour down her dried throat in too large of a hurry. Her thirst was large, but her need to survive was much larger than her willing to die and that small amount of water would have to last a long as possible.
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The food had been abundant, followed by goblet after goblet of wine, putting each knight into a drunken stupor, erasing their memories of the occurrences of their day and their reasons for their journey. All the Knights that was, except one.
Joshua stood on the terrace of the music room watching the commoners in the distance as they continued to work in the dark of the night as guards paced around, stopping frequently to lash their whip across the flesh of one of the poor souls growing too tired to continue on. Prisoners.......those poor people were nothing more than prisoners, and Joshua was determined to find out what was really going on inside the castle walls he once loved as a Child.
Looking over his shoulder to the commotion going on behind him Joshua couldn't help but laugh as his Knights stumbled around the room, goblets held high in the air, as they each attempted to dance to the music playing around them and grope at the lady servants as they moved seductively around them batting their lashes and attempting to grab a knobleman to bed for the night.
His men deserved it though, for their journey ahead of them remained long and many answers were there still to seek before home would be seen again. This time for them would do them all well.
A soft hand stroked at his bare arm pulling his attention away from his Knights, and Joshua looked down to the young blond haired girl smiling up at him, her breast practically spilling from the top of her dress possessing his eyes for a moment before he lifted them away to search around the room as the Knights chose their woman for the night, disappearing one by one up the stairs to their chambers till light.
His eyes stopped as he reached those of Lord Andrews, nodding as the man raised his goblet giving him a sly smile, and returned his eyes to the blond whom continued to stroke his arm in patient waiting. He wanted nothing more than sleep, and thoughts of turning her away entered his mind, but vanished just as quickly as they came as he placed his hand on the small of her back and led her up the stairs to his chambers where he closed the door, shutting out the evils around.
