The cell's dank air carried the metallic tang of fear and unwashed bodies. Elara leaned against the stone wall, her hair so matted and dirty the color was undistinguishable and almost blended into the darkness around her. In the adjoining cell, Princess Lyanna sat huddled, her golden hair dulled by the absence of light, her caramel eyes wide with unspoken terror.
"Quite the royal welcome, wouldn't you say?" Elara remarked, her voice low but tinged with humor. Despite the stinging pain radiating from where Aurelia's blows had landed, she managed a wry smile.
Lyanna's brows knitted together, then relaxed as she caught on to Elara's attempt at levity. "I suppose the amenities are minimal, although the brochure promised a view."
"Indeed," Elara chuckled softly, moving closer to the bars that separated them. "But I hear the dungeon tour is to die for."
Their laughter was brief, a fleeting rebellion against their grim reality. They shared a look, an unspoken understanding that they were in this together, at least for now. As the echo of their chuckles died away, Elara's blue eyes locked onto Lyanna's, conveying urgency.
"So, Your Highness," Elara began, her tone shifting to one of curiosity, "Just how does a Crestfall Princess end up in the Verdantian dungeon?"
"Lord Edric accused me of being a sympathizer when I mentioned he would have to hold trials instead of outright executing my citizens." Lyanna exclaimed. "My brother is going to wage war as soon as he hears I've been arrested."
Elara raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I see. And do you consider yourself a sympathizer?"
"No," Lyanna shook her head firmly. "But I believe in fair trials and due process. I can't just stand by and watch my people be executed without a chance to defend themselves. It's not right."
"Interesting," Elara mused, scratched idly at the soot on her cell wall. "Say, aren't you a little young to be an envoy?"
Lyanna's expression softened, her eyes misting over. "I'm 17" she sighed, "but I highly doubt I will live long enough to see my 18th."
Elara's eyes widened. "Seventeen? You're still a child."
Lyanna brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, her eyes reflecting the severity of their situation. "But I am the Princess. My duty is to my people, not my age." Her voice was firm, but it trembled slightly with the weight of her words.
"Indeed," Elara said thoughtfully, her gaze never leaving Lyanna's face. "And what will happen when your brother wages war?"
Lyanna nervously chewed on her bottom lip, her gaze shifting between the dirty walls and the intense scrutiny of Elara. "I can't say for sure. I just hope they're able to save us before... before we're sentenced to death."
Elara's jaw unclenched, her brows furrowing. As she spoke, the harsh lines of her face relaxed and a hint of sorrow touched her lips. "Oh sweet child," she sighed, "I am already dead. There's no escape for me."
Lyanna stared at Elara, her heart aching at the realization that her newfound ally may never leave this dark prison. She shook her head, trying to dispel the gloom that was settling over her. "You don't know that for certain."
Elara let out a weary sigh as she pressed her back against the rough, damp stone wall. "I've been around long enough to know the odds," she said, her voice tinged with exhaustion.
Lyanna, for her part, couldn't help but feel a strange sense of kinship with Elara. Despite their very different backgrounds, they shared a common thread: they were both prisoners in the very same dungeon. And as fate would have it, they were the only two people who could understand the depths of the other's despair.
In the flickering torchlight, Lyanna tried to muster up the courage to ask Elara a question that had been weighing on her mind for some time. "You've been in this place...for a long time, haven't you?" She asked, her voice barely more than whisper.
Elara looked at Lyanna with her weary eyes, her face etched with sadness. "Yes," she said in a low voice, "I was captured in the forest back in March, I'm not sure how much time has passed now."
Lyanna took a deep breath, trying to process the weight of Elara's words. "March... so it's been nearly five months since then?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Elara nodded, her gaze fixed on the floor. "Oh, so it's August already? That explains the temperature drops."
Lyanna's heart ached for the people Elara had spent her time with I this dark place. "What if we try to escape, and avoid a war all together."
"Escape," Elara mused aloud, rolling the word on her tongue as if tasting a forbidden fruit. "I've danced that deadly waltz before."
Lyanna's gaze snapped to her, caramel eyes wide with a hunger for hope. "You've tried?"
"More than tried." Elara's voice was a low drawl, thick with the memory of near-liberation. "Once, I nearly made it. Shadow-walked right past the guards but Thornwood—" Her lips twisted at the mention of Aurelia, "—she has eyes like a hawk and a grip like iron."
"But maybe if we work together," Lyanna countered, her own resolve hardening to steel.
"Maybe." Elara's fingers traced the scars on her wrists, remnants of shackles and past struggles.
Their conspiratorial exchange was abruptly cut short by the sound of heavy boots and the jangle of keys. Captain Thane Westwind, his uniform disarrayed and face bruised, was shoved unceremoniously into Lyanna's cell. The door clanged shut behind him, the finality of it echoing off the stones.
Lyanna rushed to the side of her Captain, exclaiming, "Captain! They arrested you as well?"
"As soon as you were out of sight," grumbled Captain Thane, wincing in pain.
"It seems the gods are indeed against us," Lyanna whispered, her voice heavy with despair.
Captain Thane's eyes met hers, his usual stern gaze softened by the gravity of their situation. "Perhaps not, my lady. We cannot give up hope just yet."
Lyanna nodded, her eyes full of resolve. "You're right, Captain. We must find a way to free ourselves from these chains, before it's too late."
Captain Thane sighed, rubbing his temples wearily. "I fear it may be more difficult than we realize. The guards here are ruthless, and the tunnels beneath this prison are a deadly labyrinth. We need a plan, Princess. But we need it soon, and we need it well."