"How is she?" Asked Rashen,
"The human body reveals a lot of things Rashen," started Garle the Head Watcher, "And from what we've gotten,the girl has been through a lot."
"Bruises all over her body and she's heavily malnourished." Hanabi, Garle's personal assistant,added. Rashen sighed.
The three of them,along with some other members of the Grittshore Watch,stood just outside the interrogation room where Almyrah was currently being questioned by two members of the Grittshore Watch.
"I can't thank you enough for letting me use your interrogation room Garle" Rashen said, Garle smiled and patted him on the back,
"It's the least I could. I only wished I could've been more active in this case but I'm afraid I was far too busy with Macy and Ga-"
Just then the two people that had been questioning Almyrah walked out,
"We tried everything" one of them said,
"She wouldn't talk. She's just not cooperative" said the other.
"This is the third day and she's still not talking" Rashen said,his voice tinted with frustration, "Maybe I should go in there and-"
"No!" Garle said firmly
"But I can-"
"She's just a child Rashen,I doubt the person she wants to see the most is the man who brought her into custody" Garle said,
"She's not just a child...not after everything she's been through,I know I can get through to her" Rashen said, his voice steadily rising,
"That's enough Cadet. You brought her here because you trusted the Watch to get through to the girl...and we will." Garle said,his voice equally rising steadily,
"But I can-"
"Cadet this discussion is-"
"HEYOOO!!!" Gayle sang barging into the room,
"Ah, Gayle," Garle said clearing his throat, "What brings you here?"
"Y'know,the usual" Gayle replied casually, walking towards them. He put his arms over the shoulders of a visibly annoyed Rashen,
"RASHIKINS! WAZZAAAA!!!" He practically screamed in his ears. Rashen forced his arm off him,
"I'm not in the mood for your games Gayle, we're discussing a very serious issue here: So I'd appreciate it if you-"
"Who's the chick, she looks horrible" Gayle said looking at Almyrah through the interrogation glass.
"She's a thief I caught. We're interrogating her but she's not responding at all." Rashen said,
"Well that's because you're all stiff, boring. She's a child for God's sake, obviously she needs someone she can relate to,feel comfortable around." Gayle said sagely,
"And I suppose you can get her to talk!?" Rashen asked,his tanned face getting redder. Gayle simply smirked and said,
"Observe."
"What the hell is he even doing?" Rashen asked frustrated. It had been ten minutes since Gayle had entered the room and all he did was take a seat across Almyrah,relaxed in his chair,feet on the table and saying nothing, just staring at her.
Another five minutes passed and Gayle finally walked out.
"She's a tough nut to crack but I think it's working" he said,
"What the hell was that?" Rashen inquired, "You didn't even do anything"
"It's tactics Rashikins. I was obviously gaining her trust through mutual silence. A few more of those sessions and I'll have her comfortable enough to get her blabbing."
Rashen didn't even want to bother with him anymore,he turned back to Garle,
"Garle,let me talk to her, please, I know I can get through to her."
Garle simply sighed,
"I believe that's enough for today. We've kept her hear long enough." He turned to Hanabi and the other Watchers,"Have her taken to her room and give her something to eat please."
He faced Rashen, "We'll pick this up later. It's a process cadet,you need to trust us." He said with finality.
"Let's get going Gayle, I don't think Macy would be too pleased with how long we've kept her waiting" He said as he walked out the room, Gayle followed.
"I'll take that off your hands," Rashen said to the watcher charged with taking food and water to Almyrah. "It's for Almyrah right? I'll take it up to her." He said innocently. Although reluctant,the Watcher handed the tray over to him. Wasting no time, Rashen headed for the room she was being kept. He appreciated the fact that the Grittshore Watch had kept her in a room to look over her instead of a cell.
As he approached the room he saw Hanabi standing before the room,she threw him a skeptical look once she sighted him, Rashen cursed under his breath.
"Hanabi,Hi. I just wanted to -"
"Cadet you're not allowed to see her again till tomorrow" she said seriously,
"I'm just here to give her food" Rashen said,his voice shaking slightly.
"Don't lie to me cadet,I know why you're here" she said sternly. Rashen knew she had found out his true motives,
"Please Hanabi,I just need to talk to her once-"
"No Cadet, Garle specifically said not to"
"I know but... he's not here right now, I'll be in and out"
"I'm sorry cadet but I will not let you in. I am loyal to the Head Watcher and I will not betray his trust" She said with finality in her voice. Rashen was crushed,he looked extremely disheartened and he felt frustrated,why was Garle so against him meeting her?
"I understand Hanabi. I'm sorry if I'm being a nuisance." Rashen said gloomily staring at the food tray. There was an awkward silence between them, Hanabi sighed rubbing her forehead.
"While the Head Watcher did say you weren't allowed to interrogate her..." She started, "He never said anything about you serving her food. So under the premise of you simply giving her her meal,I don't see why I can't let you in" Hanabi said.
Rashen perked up,he looked at her and she looked conflicted about it, technically they weren't going against Garle's orders but she still didn't feel all too good about it,
"Of course" Rashen said calmly. She unlocked the door and Rashen walked in.
The room was small,there were no windows and the only opening in the room other than the door was a small vent where air passes through for ventilation. There was a bed with covers and a small table, that was about it, and a lamp, nothing else. Almyrah sat on the other side of the bed her back to door and so, Rashen.
"I brought your food" he said calmly. When he got no response he simply dropped it on the table,but he didn't leave,he stood there.
"You know..." Rashen started, "You're pretty fast. And a good shot too, hitting a moving target with that pellet. That was impressive." He added trying to spark a conversation. When she still didn't respond he continued,
"But I caught you so I guess that makes me faster." He said in a bit of a cocky tone. He thought he heard what sounded like a *tch* from her,
"What do you even want?" She said,her voice sounding parched. Rashen was elated to have at least gotten a response,
"You know what I want" he replied,
"Well then you're not going to get it" she said, " So don't even bother."
"You know we're not going to hurt you or torture you for information. You're safe here, there's food and medicine and a bed. I'm willing to bet it's a fair deal above your previous living conditions."
"What are you even talking about!?" She scoffed, "You don't even know anything about me."
"I bet I do" Rashen retorted quickly, "I bet I know a lot more than you assume I do. I know you've been living it rough, you've been neglected,abused, abandoned. You do what you do because you believe you have no choice-"
" 'Believe I have no choice'?" She said getting up to face Rashen, visibly upset,
"Yes,you believe you have no choice,I would know.. I've been through the same thi-"
"Don't you dare say that. Don't you dare say that you know what I'm going through because you don't. You don't know what it's like" She said flaring up,
"That's the thing, I DO know what it's like because I've been abandoned, neglected, abused, hated. People cursed my very existence, spat on me and at some point...they nearly killed me - And I almost let them."
"Well you sure turned out alright didn't you!" snapped Almyrah,
"I did because I had someone. Someone who showed me the way forward,but even then it was all up to me on wether I would take that first step."
Almyrah didn't say anything,she just sat down, arms folded.
"Please Almyrah,help me help you. I want to help you." He said, practically pleading with her.
"Why?" She asked, "Why do you want to help me so bad? Why do you care so much?"
"Because you're a citizen of Ephyre" Rashen started, "And I'm an Imperial Soldier,and what kind of Imperial Soldier would I be if I can't help a citizen in distress."
"That's such a stupid response" she said with a faint smile. A smile that quickly turned to tears,she began to cry,
"They'd be in so much trouble...coming back without me...who knows what she'll do to them" she cried to herself. Rashen got closer and knelt down before her,
"You're talking about the other kids that were with you that day aren't you! Your friends." She nodded,
"Who's 'She' " Rashen asked, ", Who's going to hurt them?"
Almyrah looked hesitant to talk but she forced the words out of her mouth,
"Madam Rosaline."
"Madam Rosaline?"
"Yes. But we usually call her - Or more like she likes to be called, The Queen of Thieves."
"For as long as I can remember I never knew my parents. I only knew that I was alone,I knew that if I needed to survive I'd need to steal. Most of us kids knew that," Almyrah began,
"We stole together...but we never really shared what we stole equally. Our team work ended when we had gotten away from the shop or house we just robbed,if you were weak you'd go hungry that night.
We were good,we got better. We mastered our craft, found quicker and more creative ways to rob people blindly,but you don't always win every time.
We got overconfident, robbed the wrong people and they got really angry. They cornered us, about to kill us... that's when she came in. She killed them all, destroyed them. She told us that we'd be in her debt for that,we were too scared of her to run away." Almyrah paused to wipe the tears from her eyes with her sleeves, Rashen simply watched,not saying anything,not doing anything.
"She offered us food and shelter. How much food we got would depend on how well we worked.
We stole a lot of peculiar things for her,pots, pans,spoons and other kitchen utensils. We'd steal clothes too sometimes, rarely ever money unless it's the coins,never paper money.It was a good deal we thought,we were happy,she was happy and everyone got what they wanted...at first"
"At first?"
"Yeah. As the years went by Madam Rosaline became stricter, harsher,more...violent. She branded us out of nowhere" She showed Rashen the tattoo, "She wasn't exactly the best guardian but she was far better at the start than what she is now. Seemed like she was losing her cool demeanor, getting a lot more stressed out, taking out her anger on us for the slightest slip up that wasn't worth mentioning."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Not only that but there were a lot of people coming over where we stayed,they never worked though,they were only ever at her house or watching over the workers. Wore black cloaks with hoods so we never realy saw their faces."
"Cloaks...and hoods?" Rashen asked,
"Yeah"
"You said workers? What were they working on?" Rashen asked. She was once again reluctant to talk but she forced herself again,
"Well I wasn't supposed to know this. I did a little snooping around and I found out that Madam Rosaline had a bunch of workers smelting the metal utensils, reforging them, making metal sheets and rods and stuff"
"To sell them?"
"Yes, I bet that's how she makes her money."
Rashen was quiet,his veins on his head popping, breathing getting slower. He was angry, really angry. This Madam Rosaline was not only abusing the kids but subjecting them to intense child labour.
"Almyrah...I need to know the location if I'm ever going to apprehend Madam Rosaline...if I'm ever going to save your friends."
She didn't say anything at first,her body began to tremble,hands on her face,she was sobbing.
"I- I- I... just want them to be okay" she said trembling,
"Almyrah-" But before Rashen could finish his statement she pressed up against him hard crying even harder, Rashen didn't say a word,he just stood there as she cried,he knew that for now he just needed to be there for her. After about a minute, Almyrah said to him,
"I'll give you the location...if you promise me that you'll save them all"
Rashen looked at her, he thought of how much pain and struggling she'd been through,how much she needed help. His blood boil and eyes filled with determination,he replied
"I promise."
Rashen walked out of the room to find Hanabi there waiting for him, Garle was standing there too. Rashen didn't want to look him in the eyes,he bowed his head and said,
"I'm sorry I went against your wishes Head Watcher, please don't hold Hanabi responsible." When he didn't hear a response from Garle he continued, "I've gotten the information I need, I'll be going there tonight" he said with finality before excusing himself.
"Cadet!!" Garle called out with a voice that could've been heard all over the building. Rashen stopped and slowly turned to face him. Garle had a warm smile on his face, the same one Rashen had become overly familiar with,
"How may we,the Grittshore Watch,be of service?"