When the prisoners heard the steps of Claire walking past their cell, they stopped and listened. Some chuckled, continued their screaming or their crying. Claire held herself, she had never been to the Trinity dungeon, she hoped it wasn't as depressing or sorrowful as this.
Her eyes swept from cell to cell looking for Arielle but from the corner of her eye, she saw a child. She turned to them and her heart burned. Trinity sent children farther away from the war to live safely and to grow, but Infernal kids were being treated terribly and imprisoned for small crimes.
She heard the steps of a guard and she held her breath. She moved to hide in between two walls that seemed invisible to the monitoring guard. She felt a tug on her cape and she turned defensively. A woman, starved, thin as paper shushed her and showed her a worn out patch that had the Trinity logo.
The guard's steps were fainter and fainter until they were gone.
"You're from Trinity?" Claire asked softly. The woman nodded.
"I was part of an espionage group trying to find information on their power source, but they caught us and threw us in here," she said weakly.
"How long have you been here?" Claire asked gently,
"I cannot remember. here there is no night nor day, only darkness," she said leaning on the floor. Claire crouched down, a pit grew in her stomach,
they should've come for them. Trinity should've come. They needed Trinity but Trinity abandoned them,
"What is your name?" She reached for the woman's hands. Her fingers were like bones, but Claire still held on. The woman's lips quivered and she looked down.
"Calypso," she responded after a while "my name is Calypso, second lieutenant of espionage," she said smiling. "It's been a while since I've spoken to someone else," she said brokenly. Claire nodded and smiled sincerely. She pointed to herself and saluted.
"Claire, strategic lieutenant colonel," she said with her rank. Calypso nodded and held Claire's hands tighter. "Calypso, I'm looking for another soldier, Arielle, a young girl like nineteen years old, shoulder length brown hair, grey eyes, Have you seen her?" Claire asked softly. Calypso licked her chapped lips but she looked more with life and shook her head.
"They haven't brought anyone new lately, I'm guessing King Dale had probably started executing due to the lack of space here," she said looking around. "If your girl had a core, she might've been saved," she said thinking. Claire had a glimmer of hope. "Sahamid has started to experiment with core people," she said scratching her face. "We had a man with an electro core here, but they took him and he never came back," she said somberly. Claire's hope diminished and she felt grim.
"So if she's here, she'll probably be..." Claire began.
"Upstairs" Calypso finished her sentence, nodding slowly. "Where all the guards are," she said grimly. Claire nodded.
"First, we have to get you out," she said smiling. Calypso gasped softly and shook her head.
"You can't... the locks are too complicated,"
"not for a master strategist," Claire replied with a grin.
------
"Okay! now that we've got you out," Claire said proudly standing next to a very confused Calypso looking at the lonely cell she spent years in. The prisoners surrounding them began to shout and call for their release as well. "We'd better go before the guards come see what's making all the noise," she said trying to formulate a plan.
Calypso broke out of her confusion and turned to Claire before embracing her with all the strength she could muster.
"thank you, Claire thank you so much," she said
shedding tears. Claire hugged her back.
"Leave no one behind," she said smiling as they separated. "now, you're gonna go down that hall and turn a left to find a rusty-looking door, that's the way out of the castle," Claire pointed at the way she came. Calypso stood confused again.
"I'm not leaving you, Claire," she said firmly. Claire smiled sadly.
"This is my journey, you've served your duty, you're free to go, tell the others it is possible the Infernals can be defeated," she said smiling. Calypso looked down and nodded.
"Okay, take care Claire, I'll see you on the other side of the war," she said stepping forward and looking back at Claire. Claire nodded dutifully.
"I'll see you on the other side of the war," she responded before going the opposite way as Calypso.
-----
Claire crept around the edge of a seemingly quiet castle. I wonder where everyone went? she thought as she turned the corner. She was in the west wing, the wing she had heard that Sahamid stayed in, any sign of experiment was impossible to find, it all just seemed like big ballrooms and big dining halls.
She heard steps past and she ran to a dark room.
"yeah, they say the advisor has her new pet in the foyer, though I heard king Dale thought bringing a geo core would be dangerous in a flying castle," a voice sounded from the hallway. Claire took in a breathe. Arielle is a geo core!
"I heard she's from Trinity, it'll be fun using her to beat her own team," another said as they got farther and farther away. Claire bit her tongue. there was no way in hell she'd let them use Arielle to hurt the society she loves so much! she won't allow it! Suddenly she remembered that she was in a dark room. She turned and glanced around, it was weird, all the other rooms had the lights on, even if there was no one in them. She stepped in further.
"Lost are we?"
Claire gasped. it was a voice she would recognize from anywhere.
"Ari-"
The room lights turned on and there was Arielle, kneeled on the floor and when she looked up, Claire saw her eyes glowing with red electricity. A woman sat on a throne next to her holding a leash that was connected to a collar Arielle was wearing.
"I doubt you're here for me," she said grinning maliciously. "I should go,"
Sahamid said standing. "I'd hate to interrupt the touching reunion," she said letting go of Arielle and caressing her motionless face. "Cute one isn't she," She said glancing at Claire smiling before disappearing behind a door near her throne.
.....