After Katherine's insistence, Hazel was allowed to stay in the infirmary for two days. The warden hadn't even argued with the suggestion, surprising both Katherine and Hazel.
In those two days she had been eating like a human again. The food she got was supposed to help replenish her energy because she had lost a lot of blood–the highest privilege anyone would ever get in the no-name prison.
"I wonder why the warden is treating you like this," begun Katherine as she peeled yet another apple for Hazel. It was like there was a pit inside Hazel's stomach because not once did she say she was full, even after eating two full plates.
Hearing no response from Hazel, Katherine went on with her work, then a crazy idea popped in her mind and she laughed. "Do you think he found out you're his long lost daughter and wants to do right by you?" Katherine asked after her laughter subsided.
It took a moment for Hazel to process the words and when she did, she broke out in laughter as well. The image of the warden's always stoic face crossed her mind, and paired with them being father and daughter was just too amusing.
"You would choose being his daughter rather than being a prisoner, wouldn't you?"
Hazel didn't even have to think for long before an answer left her lips. "I would even marry him or be his mistress. Anything is better than my current situation," her voice lowered an octave at the last words, but Katherine seemed to have only heard the first part.
"God, no. Men like the warden would exhaust you to death in bed," she snickered loudly and they laughed again.
The time Hazel had spent in the infirmary was like a heaven in hell. She slept well, ate and even bathed without a worry. She even hoped at some point that the wound would open again so that she could stay longer.
An hour later, the warden requested to see Hazel and she walked to his office with much difficulty. Her wound was already treated and bandaged, but it wasn't completely healed because of her weak constitution and also the conditions surrounding her recovery.
By the time she reached the office, her head was throbbing with pain and beads of sweat coated her forehead and the back of her neck. She had never thought that walking could exhaust so much energy.
The warden sat on his office chair, one hand twirling a quail while the other rested below his chin. Despite seeing Hazel struggle to walk into the office by grabbing onto the wall for support, he didn't make any attempt to help her and waited patiently till she made it to the chair opposite his.
A huge sigh escaped her lips as soon as she was settled on the chair.
"I didn't ask you to sit," the warden uttered coldly, his face stoic and his eyes emotionless.
Hazel turned to him with an accusing look but the man was unaffected and she wasn't brave enough to reproach him for his lack of empathy. Grabbing the desk for support, she started getting up, and the warden waited until she was on her feet again to tell her to sit.
"..."
Hazel's mouth fell open, lacking words for the lunatic sitting opposite her. She drew in a long breath, then exhaled as deeply because if she didn't get her emotions in check, she might say something that she would regret for the rest of her life.
Her eyebrows now knitted together in both annoyance and anger, she sat back down and she had to bite her bottom lip to suppress the whimper that rose to her throat.
"Hazel Troyanda," the warden started, leaning back on the chair and placing one leg on top of the other on the desk. "Do you know that your last name is Baldwin?"
Hazel just gave him a bored look, earning an amused chuckle from the warden.
"You wouldn't be giving me that look if you knew how hard it is to keep you alive in here." The statement sounded like a reprimand, but his expression was plain and his voice flat. If Hazel didn't know any better, she wouldn't be able to detect the threat laced in those words.
"Anyway, I've decided to make this process faster. It would be better for both of us."
"What do you mean? I thought you said it would take some time to complete the paperwork," Hazel questioned, confusion evident in her eyes.
The last time she was in this office was when the offer was made to her, and the warden had told her that the paperwork for her release would take long.
"I did say that. But you're becoming such a pain and I also thought of something else…" he let her catch on to the suspense before continuing. "I realized that I have no leverage against you in this agreement. If I have the papers for your release, then you'll have a reason to fulfill your end of the deal."
Hazel's head bobbed up and down slowly, her mind running a marathon as she calculated what to do about this new information. Leaving her release papers wouldn't work in her advantage because it meant that if she ever got arrested again, she would be ruled out as a fugitive. But what if the warden was just confused and she didn't belong to any prestigious family? Would she really come back and risk her freedom when she already had an idea of what it meant to have it snatched from her?
"Alright," she said, raising her chin resolutely. Whatever this would lead to, she wouldn't miss the chance to be a free woman again.
"Alright?" The warden asked uncertainly. It was obvious that he didn't expect her to agree so easily. Suspicion replaced the uncertainty and he narrowed his eyes at Hazel. "Alright," he added, not giving Hazel a chance to back out. "Tomorrow then."
….
After leaving the warden's office, Hazel went back to the infirmary, just to get a little more rest before going back to her cell. She had requested to stay in the infirmary the last night, but the warden saw no need for that. For some reason, Hazel almost believed that he wanted her to suffer one last time before she left. His sadistic tendencies were extreme.
Katherine tried engaging her in a conversation, trying to fish for information on her meeting with the warden but Hazel's mouth remained sealed. She didn't utter a word and instead pretended to lay down to avoid the gossipy physician.
Hours ticked by while Hazel lay there unmoving. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't fall asleep. The thought of getting her freedom back plagued her mind and a little part of her was in disbelief.
It felt like forever since she last walked into the world, and she didn't know what to feel. Perhaps she was supposed to he excited, but all she felt was fear and nervousness.
"Hazel scar-eye," she heard Melissa's voice as she walked into the infirmary and she rose to a sitting position.
"I wonder if you'll still use that nickname," Melissa teased playfully.
Hazel ignored her and jumped down, a wince leaving her lips as pain shot through her upper body. As she walked towards Melissa, the latter brought out chains and Hazel sighed in exasperation.
"Is that really necessary?"
Melissa cocked an eyebrow at her.
Reluctantly, Hazel held her hands out and the chains were carefully tied around her hands. Luckily, her feet were left free.
"The warden wants to know what you'd like to do with Gale," Melissa said as they descended the stairs leading to the cells.
Hazel considered the offer for a while, her mind depicting different kinds of torture for Gale. Whatever spirit had possessed the warden to be this 'considerate' towards her?
After weighing her options carefully, her eyes turned downcast and she answered Melissa. "Just leave her. The fear of what could happen to her will keep her restless," a smile curved her lips as she remembered the many times she had sleepless nights, just wondering if she would wake up the next day. "Then tomorrow you can drill holes on her back."
—
Like every time she got escorted back to the cells, the prisoners stood by the bars watching her. This time they were just curious.
Surprisingly–or not–she found new people inside her cell and Gale was on the one opposite hers. Hazel's lips lifted to a smirk when her eyes locked with Gale's, knowing that alone would make her uneasy for the entire night.
Melissa unlocked the chains and she walked in, not bothering to take a look at her cellmates. She heard the sound of the metal door closing as she lay down on her bed, reaching under the pillow to feel the coldness of her dagger like the warden had promised.
Late into the night, Hazel's mind was still grappling with the thought of being free when she heard the bed opposite hers creak and her eyes shot open. Her senses now on full alert, she saw a shadow making its way to her bed and she rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"For fucks sake."