"I... never did anything wrong. I didn't do anything, you've got to believe me."
The bandit looked up from the bars helplessly, his arms chained loosely to the wall behind him and his clothes dampened from the constant dripping water inside the dungeons. Pala looked on in silence, shocked to see her brother who she used to idolise stuck in the shabbiest jail cell she had ever seen.
"How did you even get in here?"
"Nothing. Look, you've go..."
In a sudden fit of anger, Pala kicked the closest bar of the cell, immediately silencing her brother and sending a sharp pain through her leg which she would do her best to hide.
"You're thief scum. I don't want to hear your spiel about being innocent. I'm going to ask one more time, what did you do?"
The bandit hesitated for a moment, a worried expression replacing his put on puppy dog eyes. After a moment or two of impatient glaring the bandit leaned forward, his voice dropping in volume and his tone having some sincerity to it.
"They're blaming me for killing a rich girl's daughter."
"YOU WHAT."
Pala erupted almost immediately, her hands curling into fists and her proud strut turning into a grumpy stomp. After pacing back and forth for half a minute while her brother watched in confusion, she groaned towards the ceiling in a bout of frustration before turning back towards the jail cell.
"I thought you were just a piece of shit thief, but now I'm finding out you're a murderer as well. Honestly... I don't know what to tell mother."
The bandit immediately collapsed to his knees, raising his hands into the air while keeping his head down.
"Please, just don't tell mother. I'm begging you."
Pala looked on with a hint of disgust in her eyes, turning her nose away once he finished speaking.
"Begging isn't going to get you out of this. You have half a minute to explain yourself. Make it quick."
The bandit quickly looked up with a smile on his face only to be met with an annoyed glare which told him his time had already started. He quickly scrambled to maintain a more compose sitting position and to get his story straight, which was followed by a deep breath and a panicked explanation.
"Look right, I didn't kill her. I nicked her stuff and sold her off to one of those industrial guys. It was around a big town on the south side of the forest. The factory was honestly one of the better ones popping up if you consider how awful it is to work there. Just don't tell mo..."
"So you screwed someone over and now you're paying for it. How is this proving your innocence?"
"The girl's parents aren't really angry at me becau... well, they are angry at me because I screwed over their daughter, but they'll be a lot less angry when they have a corpse, especially if it's far away from anywhere I am. Because I'm not guilty."
Pala glared towards her brother, communicating as much as possible how suspicious she found his story.
"Look, I swear I'm telling the truth. Pinkie swear on my heart, I'll prick a needle in my eye or whatever we used to say."
"I'm not twelve anymore, you do realise that right?"
The brother looked up towards his sister, unamused.
"You were cooler when you were twelve."
"Well, it's a shame that you disappeared from my life and left me to be uncool. Honestly, learning swordplay is nothing compared to being cool, right? Because that's all you ever cared about. Maybe you should go take your ape brain and learn something relevant."
"Harsh."
Pala scoffed and quickly turned towards the end of the corridor, where a guard peeked out from past the corner and beckoned her to come with them. Quickly, she turned towards her brother, learning towards the bars while squatting down slightly.
"Look. I'm tired of dealing with your shit. Since father lost his eye..."
The brother suddenly leaned forward, intrigued on what his sister had to say.
"Father lost his eye?"
"... and his leg. Don't interrupt me."
The brother nodded, now seated cross legged and sitting upright.
"Basically, mother has to lead everyone while father spends all his time training any newbies instead of doing anything he's supposed to. Which leaves me to deal with you. I've bailed you out twice now, so this is your last chance. I'll go on your stupid wild goose chase for a year. If I manage to find this corpse and it somehow gets you out of a life sentence, you're going home with me and you're taking care of father for the rest of your life. I don't want the last time you see your mother to be when you stole her favourite axe. Got it?"
Pala emphasised the end of her explanation with finger pointed straight at her brother's head, which was followed by silent nodding from her single audience member. Still keeping her eyes locked to him, she stood up and then began to leave, her glare unflinching until he moved out of sight. As she turned the corner, the guard began to walk beside her, seemingly strangely energetic for someone with a tiresome job.
"So... can't your mother visit jail? You were saying something about the last time seeing her..."
Pala looked on for a second, almost insulted at the nosiness of the stranger, before a smile crept back on her face when she was reminded of the answer.
"The last time she was here she gave six different inmates panic attacks. Apparently seeing their criminal comrades getting maimed has some long term effects."