Rocky road, dry trees, not a trace of grass, this landscape is depressing, it looks like a desert place with no signs of life; We kept walking, I didn't want a beautiful place, I just wanted to find civilization, nothing mattered anymore, I'm just looking for survival.
"And tell me... um... I... um..." I said awkwardly, we didn't say anything for a long time.
The communication skills of the moment weren't exactly nice, she didn't seem to care at all, it's like she was empty inside, a body that can move without a soul.
"We have arrived." She said as she pointed her hoove towards the horizon, expressionless as always.
I looked in the direction his hoove was pointing, I could see something similar to a... castle?, it looked like it, but it had a somewhat chaotic design, and just as my hooves had holes everywhere, it seems to be the most popular architectural design in this kingdom... maybe.
"Very well, we arrived... and now what do we do?"
She raised her hoove to silently point to the main gate of the castle guarded by two guards, both armed with spears of a material I can't determine right now.
"All you have to do is get past security and we'll be inside the hive." Said the girl with a more relaxed and less frustrated attitude.
She looks different, more relieved, maybe she was scared to be outside and that's why she was so tense... maybe; we crossed the door thanks to the girl, the guards inspected me with their eyes, but when they saw that I was accompanied by one of "them" they let me in, suspiciously.
"I think it's all from my side, I helped you find the hive, I helped you transform and I took away your amnesia, you're alone now." Said the carefree and indifferent girl.
Wow... from one moment to the next I was alone again, the mysterious girl left me at the entrance of the hive, and from one moment to the next she left, leaving me to my fate.
"...she didn't even tell me her name..." I thought irritably.
Now that he had found a civilization it would be easy to find information about this new "place".
"Hey you!, Come here for a moment!" A guard shouted from the distance, waiting for me to come with him.
In any situation I would have run, but I couldn't, I was in the lion's den now, I had nowhere to run, so I had to limit myself to obey.
"Your appearance is not familiar to me, I don't remember seeing you before, you still have your long hair, do you know how many rules you are breaking by not being shaved and by being out of the hive for so long?" exclaimed the angry guard.
"Excuse me, I'm really sorry, but I'm only gone for a few days, I don't think it's that bad, or do they restrict us from leaving these four…walls?" I said as I turned to see the walls with holes everywhere.
"I won't comment on it, you will have to tell our queen that, she could even deduce that you are a traitor who comes from abroad, a spy." The guard said irritated.
"Hey wait, I didn't betray anyone, I think I have the right to go out whenever I want." I said indignantly.
"Yes yes yes, walk! You have an appointment with the queen." The guard said angrily.
The guard began to push me roughly to the queen's throne, they wanted to judge me for having come from abroad, I
suppose my long hair made them understand that I had been outside longer than I said, maybe they think I deserted the hive and came back regretful, but now how do I explain that I'm not from this place? How do I explain that this is not my body? How do I explain that I got here thanks to a... "portal?".
Despite being roughed up, it's the most interesting tour I've ever been given, every inch I saw was something completely new to me, I had almost forgotten that I was being taken for interrogation.
"My Queen, I have brought a suspect charged with alleged treason." The guard said firmly, with a demeanor worthy of excellent discipline.
Is that the queen? She, she's taller than the adult changelings, I'm shorter than the adults, but she's twice as big.
"Wow kid, so, treason huh?" Said the queen with a mocking tone, but serious at the same time.
"G-good afternoon Queen, I just want to say that this is a misunderstanding, yes, I'm from abroad, but I promise I'm not someone dangerous, I'm only 12 years old, you can't do this to a child." I said worried and scared.
"A child?, yes of course, we know our camouflage abilities perfectly, and you emanate a magic more powerful than that of a simple 12-year-old brat." She said fiercely with all the intent to intimidate.
Different magic?, Maybe the magic I have from my home makes them believe that my magic is that of an adult, and that I disguised myself as a child so that they would have mercy on me, in a civilization in which every "being" can transform into whatever and whoever it is, it must be an environment where no one can trust anyone, but I can't help it, the magic I possess may be changeling magic, but I still have chaos magic, but in my current state, I have no idea how to use it.
"You can't fool a changeling with camouflage, only an idiot would do that, you can take off your disguise, it's no longer useful to you, guard!, Go to the dungeon, you know what to do." She told her firmly, without any mercy.
"Hey!, Wait!!!, This is unfair!!!, I really am 12 years old!!!, This interrogation was limited to unfair assumptions!!!, It didn't last as long as it should!!!, This isn't justice!!!, This is tyranny!!!" I screamed as they dragged me across the cold floor of the hive.
The damn interrogation lasted only two minutes, long enough for a tyrant to kill whoever he wants just for fun, I had no word in this verbal fight, he just limited himself to imprisoning me for stupid assumptions.
I struggled with the guard to get him to let me go, but it was useless, he started to drag me all over the damn hive, I could see guards everywhere, patrolling in perfectly aligned formations, until I saw something interesting, the hierarchy of that empire, a guard with obsidian armor seemed to be the highest ranking, I was dragged for a long time, until we reached some stairs that seemed to lead to a basement... oh, right, the queen said "dungeon"...perfect...; the guard had no mercy, he dragged me even on the stairs, causing me to hit my head sharply.
The place was in deplorable conditions, puddles of water, (I hope so), on the floor, there are horrible smells, the walls are dirty and stained with substances... mysterious...
"Hey! Stop resisting! Or else I'll apply force!" The guard exclaimed angrily.
"Would you hit a child?!" I exclaimed as I continued to struggle on the floor thanks to the guard who kept dragging me across the dungeon floor.
"You are not a child, you damn impostor!!!" The furious guard exclaimed, raising his right hoove and hitting me in the face, knocking me unconscious.
I've taken hits before, but this particular one beats them all, normally it wouldn't be that painful, but I think my magic is too weak... it's not fully back yet...
An enormous silence filled the cell where I was now a prisoner, until I gradually woke up.
"...W-wh...what...happened?...where am I...?" I said weakly as I tried to regain consciousness.
"You're in the dungeon, brat." Said a mysterious voice coming from my right side, I turned slowly to see who was speaking, discovering that a changeling of approximately 23 years old was sitting quietly on one of the beds with a suspicious appearance.
"Ouch... my head is still ringing, are you... an inmate of this dungeon?" I let out a weak groan from the headache, asking the mysterious guy what was his status in that place.
"Yeah...your cellmate to be precise, I hope you make yourself comfortable, because you'll be spending a long time here." The man said with a relaxed and slightly mocking expression.
"...how much to be precise?" I asked knowing his answer.
"Probably forever." The man answered with the same mocking and hesitant tone.
"... haha, yes of course, over my corpse, I don't know about you, but I'll find a way to get out of here." I answered irritated, inside I was furious, but I preferred to remain calm and serene, at the same time that I thought about how I would get out of that dark and stinking dungeon.
It seems that the prisoners also have long hair, it only makes me understand one thing, the queen dictates will be what will be done, or you will be punished, tyranny in every word, the prisoners are only abandoned and excluded from the rules of the outside, allowing them to have long hair, but at the expense of their freedom, now the depressing sight of that girl who helped me makes sense.
"Definitely, you're an idiot, you know that's not possible, right?... Detransform already, you're not 12 years old according to what the guard said when they left you unconscious in the cell." Said the man.
"I would, if it were true." I answered angrily.
"I know that the cruelty of the Changelings has no limit, but imprisoning a 12-year-old seems excessive to me." Said the man confused and puzzled at the same time.
"If I wasn't 12 years old, do you think I'd keep hiding it while I'm locked up here?" I answered frustrated and irritated.
"...wow, the queen definitely hit bottom...I guess." The man replied with confusion and sadness.
I think I can see in his eyes and in his speech that this guy has dealt with the queen's tyranny several times before, it would explain why he's here.
"Well, don't play unpunished, what did you do?" I broke the ice by asking why he was here.
"Well... theft, disturbing public peace, that kind of thing..." Answered hesitantly the man.
"So a good-for-nothing, huh?" I replied hostilely.
At this point I was already a bit disinterested, I was just a thief, or so I thought.
"And tell me brat, how exactly do you intend to escape from here?" Asked mockingly the man.
"I'll manage, I'm not going to stay here forever, I have to go home." I said as I inspected the cell carefully, not missing any detail, looking for a way to get out as soon as possible.
"Child... your home is the hive, all the Changelings live here, does that mean you've adopted another place as your home?" Asked puzzled the man, the interest was finally aroused by that thief.
"Not precisely." I answered hesitantly, I was not willing to go into details.
"This boy is not afraid, if I had been an aggressive prisoner he would already be dead." The man reflected on the dirty sheets on the bed, watching as the boy was looking for weak spots in the cell.
"Kid, do you know how dangerous it is to insult an inmate, but if you're just a kid without the ability to fight...right?" The man asked hostilely, he was determined to see the two sides of the coin of that 12-year-old boy who was not afraid of imprisonment.
I responded fiercely to the hostility of the one who seemed to be looking for a fight, that was not my priority at that moment, I just made sure that he was looking at me to glare at him, I saw him out of the corner of my eye with death eyes, making it clear that I would not let me submit to the screams of a good-for-nothing idiot.
"...maybe you're 12 years old, but you're definitely not..."normal", you have combination and determination kid..." The determined man said, he had made up his mind.
At the man's words, I stopped investigating the cell, I turned to see him face to face again, to hear what he wanted me to hear.
"I'm not a 'good-for-nothing' like you think kid, actually I'm locked in this shitty cell for espionage, I spied on the queen for a while, and managed to get some useful information for my escape, I was going to execute the operation with my 'group', but they caught me... so the plans changed a bit, right now the mission of my liberation is being carried out, and soon I'll be free... you showed your courage... do you want to escape?, this is the right time." Said the determined man.
Perfect, a door opens before me, freedom is a few steps away.
"So, an escape plan?...great, what do I do?" I said determined, suddenly that man was no longer a good-for-nothing, now he was my ticket out.
"For the moment we have to wait, they will release us in 3 hours, that gives me enough time to explain the whole plan to you, we have to be quick and silent, if everything goes well, we will be outside the hive in 5 hours." The man answered, focused on the goal, focused on victory, focused on freedom.