Hazel clutched onto her things tightly as Melissa escorted her out of the warden's office. They climbed down a set of stairs and finally came to a door that led outside. Even from afar, Hazel could see the streaks of light passing through the space between the door and the floor.
Five years. It had been five long years since she last enjoyed the rays of the sun on her skin. Five years since she lived like a normal human being.
"Nervous?" Melissa asked as she watched Hazel's face with amusement.
She reached out in front of her and pulled open the door, allowing sunlight to spill into the wide hallway, bathing them in a golden glow.
Hazel's pulse quickened as a huge lump formed in her throat. She swallowed back her nervousness and took hesitant steps forward–toward her freedom.
"You changed your mind or what? Hurry up," Melissa urged impatiently, already standing outside.
Hazel's hands became clammy and her body almost turned stiff with the way her nerves were on edge. She took one final step and instantly felt the warmth of the sun on her skin. Tears prickled her eyes, threatening to break free and release all the pain that had been buried in the deepest parts of her heart for five years. The world rotated around her and she could hear the pounding of her heart inside her head, making her unable to move.
This time Melissa didn't interrupt and gave her a moment. She knew the overwhelming feeling that came with getting your freedom back, and she had seen so many others breaking down in Hazel's position. It was expected since the no-name prison wasn't a place for any human. Even she would never wish to be confined in such a hellhole.
After a few minutes, Hazel finally raised her head and welcomed the feeling of freedom. Her eyes glistened with tears and there was still a huge lump in her throat, but there was also a genuine smile on her face for the first time in five years.
She knew if she stayed there any longer she wouldn't be able to prevent the tears from falling so she resumed walking again, this time with determined steps.
There was a huge, empty area separating the women's prison cells from the men's, but at this point Hazel couldn't care less about the structure of the building. All she wanted now was to reach the door that now stood between her and her second chance at life. The door which was only a few steps away.
A new surge of energy coursed through her veins and a new rush of excitement made the smile on her face widen with each step she took, until she was only one step away from the door.
There were few steps to climb because the door was strangely on a raised platform. At the last step, Melissa stopped and glanced back at her, exhaling deeply as she reached for the keys to unlock the door. Once she did, Hazel practically hopped out and Melissa's lips tugged upwards.
"Enjoy your freedom Hazel," she whispered, the wind carrying her voice to Hazel's ears. Hazel looked back at her with a wide smile and tear filled eyes, then watched as the door slowly closed behind her.
For a few seconds, she just stood there staring at the high walls shielding the world from the no-name prison.
She had complicated feelings now that she got her freedom back and she didn't know where to start. All she knew was that she was free now. All her mind kept repeating to her was that she was now a free woman. She was free.
Turning toward the almost empty street ahead of her, Hazel retrieved her eye patch from the satchel bag and put it on. She knew that the scars on her right eye could be scary, especially because instead of amber like the left eye, the scarred eye was completely red. It was difficult to even make out the colour of the iris.
Hazel looked left and right, wondering which way to go because she wasn't a commoner in Hawksley and barely knew her way around. The prison was situated at a desolate area where the population was scarce but she knew there was a bustling town a few miles away.
Deciding to go left, she hang the satchel around her shoulder and started counting her coins on the way.
She needed a nice and warm bath, new clothes, a place to sleep, food, probably new shoes–the ones she had on were worn-out ankle boots. Hazel calculated inwardly, a groan leaving her lips because the money she had was just not enough. She would have to make priorities and the top priority at the moment was a bath and some fresh clothes. Thanks to her injury, she had the chance to enjoy a good meal before leaving the prison.
After walking for a while, Hazel reached an intersection and she could already hear noises, indicating that the town was nearby. Her heart swelled with joy as she imagined herself back amongst people again.
With a spring in her steps, she walked towards the noises, her eyes gleaming like that of a little girl's.
The minute she saw stalls and buildings towering ahead, her steps briefly slowed down and the grip on her bag tightened. There were all kinds of noises–merchants and shop owners advertising their wares, blacksmiths working in their shops, drunkards walking out of taverns, errand boys running across the streets and people going about their day.
For someone who had been locked up for so long with the same faces every day, it was truly a sight for Hazel. The feeling thay burst through her chest was inexplicable.
Hawksley had always been a busy place and even though Hazel didn't know her way around, it wasn't that hard to get directions to an inn. The people she asked for directions gave her strange looks, but they were all commoners so they didn't overreact to her awful appearance. One outstanding thing about Hawksley was that there weren't any nobles. It was a small town, but everyone was from the same social class so they all treated each other equally.
She bought a new set of clothes to change into, consisting of a blouse shirt and a long leather skirt with splits on both sides to allow her to move freely. She knew she would need it, and also a pair of loose black pants. She had never been one to enjoy traditional women's clothing because they weren't comfortable. The money she was left with couldn't afford her a pair of new shoes because she still had other things to do.
Hazel finally arrived at the inn called Koza, which was probably the most decent compared to others. She found a tall, lanky man at the counter with tousled hair and tired looking eyes.
Hazel expected at least a greeting or a welcome from the man, but he just gave her a bored look, not even attempting to get up from his chair.
"Ahem," she cleared her throat loudly and the man finally walked up to her.
"How may I help you?" He asked flatly.
"Uh… I need a room. But I'm not staying here. I just need to take a bath and then leave," she quickly added. She knew she couldn't afford a night in this place and she would rather sleep on the streets before she found a way to earn some money.
"Twenty," the man plainly stated.
Hazel's jaw fell slack, her eyes wide in disbelief. "What? That's not even… that's too much. I'm not even going to take more than an hour," she complained, but she received no response or reaction from the man who just stared down at her with slightly hooded eyes.
Huffing, Hazel pursed her lips and raised her chin. "Fifteen."
The man observed her for a second, then stretched out his hand. Hazel was only overjoyed for a moment before she started suspecting him. She expected him to at least raise it to eighteen. What if he was tricking her? Maybe the charges were lower and he stated the high price just to fool her.
Her eyes narrowed at him to see if he would crack and reveal something, but all she got was the same stoic expression. She sighed before counting fifteen crowns and handing them to the man.
She watched him count the money again, then took a key from the bunch hanging behind him on a wall and walked around the counter. Hazel followed closely as the man led her towards the rooms upstairs.
Just like she had thought, the place was really decent. The tavern was separated from the rooms, providing a quiet atmosphere. The place was also really clean and tidy, a very rare occurrence for local inns.
"You only have an hour," the man reminded as he dropped the keys on Hazel's hand.