Effie sat on the cold, hard floor of the dark, tiny holding cell, her knees drawn up against her aching chest, almost defensively, as she waited... Waited for whatever this hell-hole of a place had to offer her next.
First they'd ripped Anise away from her, leaving her cold and alone in this wretched prison. She could only imagine what awful things this place still had in store for her. Whatever they were, she had a feeling they wouldn't be good. She stared down at her arms, and legs which were mottled with welts and bruises, and somehow she knew things were only going to get worse from here.
Effie's stomach suddenly growled fiercely, drawing her attention to a gnawing sensation of hunger that she hadn't noticed before. In response, she hugged her legs tighter to her chest, trying to smother the hollow pain growing inside of her stomach. And there in the dark, she kept on waiting.
She didn't know how many countless hours she waited, before the echo of distant footsteps began to ring hollowly in her ears. The footsteps were swift and purposeful as they drew nearer. And soon, the silhouette of a large man was standing ominously at the door of her little cell.
"Well, well," he said, his voice deep and gritty. "So this is the little mouse I've been hearing about. Hmm... Somehow, you're much smaller than I imagined. I can see why they call you 'mouse.'"
The man slipped a large, noisy ring of keys from one of the rungs of his belt. and shoved a large, black key into a keyhole in her prison door. He turned the key, the pin tumblers rolled inside the lock, and then it clicked. The man swung the cell door open, the hinges screeching loudly throughout the quiet prison.
"Come with me," he ordered, grabbing Effie roughly by the arm and pulling her to her feet before he'd even given her a chance to stand on her own.
'Here we go again,' Effie thought, as she found herself being hauled through the prison corridors once more.
But this time, they arrived at their destination much more quickly than before. The large man dragged her into a dark room that was only lit by a few flickering candles. It wasn't much light, but it was just enough for Effie to finally catch a glimpse of the man's face. And to her surprise, his face was actually kind of handsome, though rough and rugged. His jaw was square, his nose long and sharp, and there was a long, jagged scar running the length of the cheek below his right eye. Jet-black hair fell in waves almost down to his shoulders, and he regarded her in the dim light with steel-grey eyes that were small and piercing. Effie wanted to squirm under that gaze, and disappear from it. But she stood her ground.
'This must be the warden,' she thought. 'Here to torture me, no doubt. Well, no matter what he does to me, I will not break. I will bear everything, and then I will find a way out of here to rescue Aunt Anise.'
"Now then, little mouse," the warden said dangerously. "What shall we do with you? I'm not sure we can just throw you into any old cell. You see, you're something of a rarity here. We hardly ever see witches come down here. They're usually killed, not imprisoned. But for some reason, Prince Reign seems to have taken a particular liking to you. I wonder why..." he hummed.
"What did you do with my Aunt Anise?" Effie demanded, ignoring everything else the warden had just said.
"Who? Oh... you mean that old hag of a witch who came in here with you? Well, she wasn't doing so well when I saw her last. I guess the runes we've placed all over the prison to ward off witch's magic was probably too much for her body to handle. But not to worry, she is in good hands. Provided those hands have any interest in saving her, that is. But we're not here to talk about her. You see, normally I don't meet with every prisoner that passes through our doors, but you on the other hand... Well let's just say I had to catch a glimpse of the girl who seems to have bewitched the prince's heart for myself."
Effie had no idea what he was even talking about, but instead of asking questions, she didn't dignify him with a response. She just kept her mouth pressed into a tight line, not letting her eyes waver from his intimidating gaze.
"It must be some sort of magic spell..." the warden finally concluded. "Otherwise, I don't really get what he sees in you. You're so... ordinary. So plain and scrawny. Although, there is something very unusual about those eyes."
The warden reached out suddenly, caressing her cheek in a large, rough hand, and Effie nearly recoiled in response, disgusted by his touch. But still, she stood her ground. She would not let him get to her.
"Those eyes spark with a particular ferociousness," he said, drawing his face so close to hers that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek. Then his hand moved, his thumb now brushing along the line of her jawbone. Chills of revulsion trickled down her spine. "It would be all too amusing if I could be the one to snuff out that flame."
His eyes fell from her face down to her small bosom where she knew the Moonshadow Stone was hiding just beneath the collar of her dress. If he was about to... if he... He might discover the stone!
"Normally the guards are the ones who force the convicts into their prison clothes," the warden said eagerly. "But since you're a special case, maybe I should be the one to do it."
The warden pushed her body up against a nearby wall with his, pressing into her until she was pinned under his enormous weight. Then his hand moved from her cheek, slipping down to the front of her dress where he began tugging and pulling at the seam, buttons ripping off, beginning to expose her bare skin to the cold air.
"Don't!" Effie cried, wishing she could use her hands to cover herself; to cover the Moonshadow stone before he could lay his greedy eyes on it. But judging by the way he had stopped short almost immediately, a breath of air catching in his throat, Effie knew that it was too late.
"Now, now, what is this treasure?"
"D-Don't," Effie begged as he lifted the pendant up from between her almost-exposed breasts, holding it carefully in his palm. "It's a family heirloom. It... It was my mother's. It's precious to me. Please don't take it."
But he wasn't listening to her. He was examining it now, and she watched as the shimmering purple light of the gem reflected in his hungry eyes. He may not have known that the stone was capable of great power, but what he did know was that had just hit the jackpot.
"Well I'll be. I've never seen a gem like this before," he breathed excitedly. "I can't imagine what this thing might be worth. I should have it appraised. Maybe I could finally get myself out of this stink-hole of a prison and build myself a palace of my own. Perhaps one grander than the La Croix's" His laughter was sickening.
"You can't have it!" Effie demanded this time. "It's not yours! Don't take-"
SLAP!
Effie's jaw screamed in pain as his large palm collided with her cheek hard enough to snap her head back, sending her body buckling to the ground.
"Know your place, wench!" He barked, looking down his nose at her crumpled body on the floor, his eyes two burning orbs of anger and disdain.
Hot rage now poured dangerously into every vein in Effie's body, but this time there was no power behind the rage. All of her powers had been blocked by whatever runes the warden mentioned earlier that were placed around the prison. All of her power was gone. She couldn't hurt him even if she wanted to. There was nothing she could do.
"Now then," he said in a much more controlled voice as he squatted down beside her on the floor. "Don't forget that you're a prisoner now. Nothing belongs to you anymore, not even your own body. And especially not this gem right here."
With that, he ripped the Moonshadow stone from her neck so hard the chain snapped, and her skin burned. Then he grabbed hold of her jaw in the other hand, hard, wrenching her head up so that she was looking him in the eye again.
"A girl with your ordinary looks isn't even fit to wear something as beautiful as this. And yet..." His thumb strayed again, now stroking her lips as he eyed them hungrily. "I think I'm beginning to see why the prince is so intrigued by you..."
And as the warden lowered his head toward her mouth, panic nearly choked her. Effie jerked her head back trying to pull away, but the grip he had on her face was too strong. No... this can't be happening. She had to do something before his lips were on hers; before he'd swallowed her in them. She had to do something... Anything...
In the next moment, a metallic taste of blood burst inside her mouth as Effie sunk her teeth hard into the warden's thumb, and he cried out in pain, letting go of her. This time she braced herself for the next blow to her face.
"Wench!" The warden screamed, cradling his torn and bleeding thumb in his other hand. "Tramp! Whore! You will pay for this! Perhaps the prince won't let me kill you, but there are other ways to make you suffer for what you've done. Guards!" He called out.
Almost immediately, two soldiers rushed in waiting for his orders.
"Guards! Take this retched witch and throw her into a cell on the lowest level of the prison. Lock her up with the rest of the degenerates, and leave her there until I've figured out what to do with her!"
"Yes, sir."
And with that, the two soldiers dragged her out of the room.