I opened my eyes, grunting softly. A stinging pain ran along my back, and sweat dripped from my brow. I slowly became aware of my surroundings. A small, damp room, mostly dark, except for a small speck of light coming in from underneath the solid metal door.

I tried to move my limbs, slowly. It worked, although it was still somewhat painful. I hated the Light. Every last bit of it. But for now, there was nothing I could do.

Events slowly came back to me. There had been murders around the city. The guard force had been decimated. Before long, they stood on my doorstep and took me away with force. I wonder if Damon was in here too. Probably not, he was way too elusive to ever get caught. Besides, they suspected me, not him.

If that was the case, I'd be out here soon enough. He had his people around this city, and he wouldn't hesitate to use them to get his brother out of jail. A somewhat shameful display, admittedly, but that was something to worry about later. For now, I needed a plan to get out of here, if Damon wasn't coming to get me. Wouldn't put it past him, honestly. He never liked me much.

I always thought ours was the only case where the younger brother bullied the older, instead of the other way around. Nonetheless, I always had faith in him, as weird as that sounds.

I inspected the room. A bed, if you could it that, a small end table and something that was supposed to be a toilet, I figured. It's not like I could blame them, the guards had always been cutting corners when it came to inmate quality of life.

They said they didn't have enough money, that the king wasn't paying them enough. I say they had plenty, but decided to stuff their own pockets. No one batted an eye, of course, the guards were power-hungry and corrupt, and if anyone dare say something they'd be locked up, surely. The King didn't care either, why would he be interested in the lives of lowly peasants?

I sat down on the bed, my mass resting on the half-filled mattress. It wasn't that bad, I'd decided, and placed myself flat on the bed, staring at the ceiling. It'd be something I'd seen plenty of times, and will see plenty more times to come.

I always enjoyed learning the intricacies of the ceilings. I'd lay on my bed, and inspect them. Each cell had a slightly different ceiling, different grooves and marks, and the brickwork was always slightly off too, like the architect couldn't quite figure out what design he liked, so he went with all of them.

Just as I closed my eyes, putting my thoughts to rest, I heard footsteps. One, no… two pairs. A light tread, soft and elegant, and something more loud, a metallic sound. It was clear that the latter was a guard, and the former anything but that. A visitor perhaps, or a lawyer. Whatever it was, I wouldn't find out. There was a thick metal door blocking me from the outside world, and it only opened for a couple minutes a day. For now, I'd best close my eyes again. Nothing was going to happen for a while anyways.