A/N:
This story is based off my series, The Legend of Crystal, an "AU in an AU" if you will. You should probably read that if you're going to read this one. It's certainly the better of the two spin-offs I wrote, but it's still pretty old and was written at the time when my writing was just beginning to mature. Please do not judge me for the awkward narrative.
Inspired by Kuroy's Inner Sanctum
Spending three years wallowing in nothing but darkness really starts to get ya, you know? Of course you don't. You've never spent three years in some ancestors-forsaken room, have you?
Oh, there was the peephole. That mesmerizing, beautiful block of light that hit the floor when it was opened and my food and water was shoved through it.
And there was that rare occasion when the door was opened wide and light spilled into the room, when the guards came to 'inspect' the area to be sure I wasn't trying to get out or was hiding anything. But that only happened about once a month.
And there was the semi-annual occasion when all of us were blindfolded and taken outside onto that great, beautiful meadow. But we were only granted an hour of free time before we were hauled back into our cells again.
It also was silent here; for the most part, the only sound was my breathing. Sometimes I heard the guards talking or jeering at us, at me. Sometimes I heard the other one in the room beside me muttering to himself. But most of the time there was nothing but silence and darkness to seek solace in.
I was bored, but of course, I had become used to being bored by now. My thoughts wandered to my arrival to the prison three years ago.
They led me to this place blindfolded, all the way from Warfang to Barrin's Keep. When we got to the doors, the guard, a midnight black panther, pulled the cloth off my head and faced me towards the horizon.
"See that?" he asked. "That's the last time you'll ever see the world." Then he laughed, put the blindfold back on, and shoved me through the doors.
Our claws clicked on the smooth stone floor. The metal of the collar that was around my neck, attached to a chain that the guard held, was very uncomfortable. And this place was hot.
After what seemed like hours of walking, I was finally forced to a stop. The blindfold was taken off again.
I looked around the room. It was made of stone, like I assumed the rest of the rooms were, and was bare in terms of furnishing. Spread about the room were two people, one dragon and a cheetah. Standing on the other end of the room was a tall, bulky dragon. His element appeared to be fire, as his scales were bright red accented by orange. His ash-grey eyes were always narrowed into slits, which gave him a mean appearance.
"Get in line," the guard said to me. I followed his order and got into the line of prisoners. To my left was a female with the element of electricity.
"Now that we are all here," the fire dragon said, "I can explain to you just what you will be facing."
I kept my gaze locked on the wall in front of me.
"This prison is known as Barrin's Keep, and this is where you will be serving your respective sentences. I am Khadi. You are a murderer, a thief, or just in general criminal scum." Khadi stepped forward until he was in front of the cheetah. He walked along the line, observing us, until he came to me and stopped.
He turned, raised his eyeridges, and turned to the guard. "Why is there a child here? Is this some sort of joke? I do not like jokes, Kai."
The guard, apparently called Kai, shook his head. "She committed a crime, just like the rest of this lot."
"This is the purple dragon who saved the world not but a few months ago. You simply must be joking."
Kai shook his head and clucked his tongue decisively. "I am not."
Khadi came down to eye level with me. "Have you become like Malefor, young one?"
I didn't answer, only glared into his grey eyes. It took me off guard when the warden slapped me.
"I asked you a question!" he snarled.
I looked up, gazed him dead in the eyes, and said, "Yes, sir, perhaps I have."
Khadi chucked, raised himself back up to his normal height, and began to pace back and forth between us three prisoners.
"Then allow me to continue. We have rules here, and you expected to follow them to the letter. First of all, if you are a dragon who can breathe an element or have the ability to cast spells, you are not allowed to use your magic. Ever. Second, if you are caught planning or starting riots, I will personally flay you alive and throw you into the lava pools. Finally, there's one last thing you should know." Khadi paused. "Escape... it is simply not possible. Nobody has ever escaped Barrin's Keep; nobody ever will escape Barrin's Keep. If you are caught trying to escape, you will be killed where you stand with no if, ands, or buts about it. Do I make myself clear?"
When Khadi received no answer, he said it more forcefully. "I said, do I make myself clear? !"
"Yes, warden," we said.
"Good. Kai, take them to their cells."
I was drawn out of my moorings over the past as the door slot slid open. "You have a visitor," the guard on the other side said. The peephole closed with a slight bang, and a moment later, the door swung open.
My breathing heavy and labored, I looked up. The look hardened into a glare as I saw who it was.
Spyro.
The door closed, leaving us in total darkness. I heard Spyro step closer to me.
"I will never forgive you," I growled. Even after three years, my anger had not evaporated.
"Crystal, I'm—"
"Sorry?" I laughed dryly. "What you did to me, what you said to me, it broke my heart. You think you can just apologize and everything will be alright? If you were sorry, I wouldn't be in this hole. If you were sorry," I spat, "you wouldn't have said what you did."
"You've brought this on yourself," Spyro said quietly after a few seconds had passed.
With a snarl of rage, I hopped to my feet. "Go, Spyro. Go away, and don't come back. Leave me to rot for the rest of my life in here." I laid back down again.
Spyro didn't move. Even in the pitch-black darkness, I could feel him gazing at me with remorse.
"Go!" I yelled. So, he did. Spyro backed away, opened the door, and left.
I wanted to cry, but I didn't. I tried to comfort myself with the cold hatred that had fueled me for so long, but now I felt bad for what I had said to Spyro. After a long battle with my tormented thoughts, I huffed angrily and closed my eyes.
"You're a horrible person," I said to myself. "Everybody was right. You've become like Malefor." I drifted off into a sea of dreams. I didn't have nightmares anymore. I was already living in one.
