Chapter 11: Visiting Hours
It was dark. There was pain; lots and lots of pain . . . in her head, to be more specific. Where was she? Why wasn't she aware of her surroundings? Did she actually die this time? If so, where did she go? Adria never thought that the afterlife would smell so much like manure, nor did she imagine that the floor would feel like it was caked with a thick layer of dirt. Wait a minute . . . Forcing herself to open her eyes, Adria realized that she had not died, but worse. She was in the dungeons. The pain in her head throbbed as she pushed herself up to sit, letting out a groan as she did so. Another quick inspection of the small room she was in confirmed that she had, indeed, been placed in the dungeons after her failed attempt at an escape. Now that she knew where she was, more questions formulated within her head. What was her fate? As she had feared, she had been discovered. Now what? The obvious answer was that she was going to die. More precisely, she was going to be burned alive. She was going to die . . .
"Is it true?"
Being pulled away from her thoughts, Adria whipped her head around to see who had spoken. A tall figure was silhouetted behind the bars of the cellar.
"Arthur!" she exclaimed, not knowing whether she should be pleased about his visit or concerned.
"Is it true? Everything my father said – you being a witch, you trying to kill me – are they true?
A long sigh escaped through Adria's nose. She knew that she could not run from her true nature any longer. "Yes," she whispered, almost choking over the word. When he silently stared back at her with a hard look, she continued, "You have to believe me, Arthur, I have changed!"
He snorted, obviously unconvinced.
"Please, just listen. I – I was sent here to kill you, yes, but the longer I stayed the more I realized that it was not what I wanted. You showed me that I wanted a simple life; one where I did not have to run away from my evil deeds." Adria finished and took a big gulp to help push down the tears which threatened to leak through. Not only did she have her impending doom hanging over her, but the look of pure disappointment Arthur was giving her sent her emotions over the top.
After several seconds of silence, he spoke. "So you admit it: you are a witch and an assassin."
She looked at him through watery eyes for several painful moments. "Yes." Again, that word was hard to get out. "Except, that was the old Adria. Arthur, you must believe me!" Desperate to have him on her side again, she pushed herself up off of the floor and traversed over to him, grabbing the bars when she got close enough. She had gotten so close that she could clearly see his stern, unchanging face, and he could easily see the grime which outlined her own features. The two guards, which were stationed by her cell, stepped closer as if to push her away from the future King, but Arthur lifted up a hand and they backed off. Clearing her throat, she continued, but this time lowering her voice so only he could hear.
"During my stay here, I have come to love Camelot . . . almost as much as I have come to love you."
For a fleeting moment, Adria swore that she saw his expression soften in response to her words, but the moment passed and his face was as spiteful as ever.
"Well then," he began, his eyes locked on hers, "you shall die knowing your love is not returned."
And with those last words, Arthur turned on his heel and left, leaving Adria to fall down on her knees, crying and in pieces.
---
A few hours had passed since Arthur's visit and Adria finally got herself back together. After her meltdown she had gotten an idea, and thus began to follow out the said idea. She was huddled over in a far corner, leaning over something she was working on. For the most part she was silent, except a few times she muttered a few disjointed sentences, which would have made no sense to anyone else, save for those who studied under magic. Adria had taken to muttering to herself for the fifth time when another voice had pulled her back into reality.
"How did you do it?"
Turning her head slightly so she could hear the recognizable voice better, she raised a hidden eyebrow. "Do what?"
"How did you disappear after you jumped out Arthur's window? Did you turn invisible, or was there some sort of dark magic involved?" Asked the only other person besides the prince who would have witnessed Adria's first escape: Merlin.
Adria turned herself around fully, so to look at the tall boy clearly. Seconds passed by in silence as they looked at each other, each refusing to break the laser-like gaze they held. The silence was then broken when the prisoner burst out laughing.
"You mean to say that you think, because I am such a powerful sorceress, I am able to turn invisible at will?" she asked in return, unable to hold in the fit of giggles welling up inside. For the first time in many moons, Adria was actually laughing. "Merlin," she began, trying to stifle her laughs, "I do not attempt to deny the fact that I indeed possess magical abilities, but to be able to disappear? That is something not even I can accomplish."
Merlin's face had turned red from embarrassment. He cleared his throat, "Then, how did you vanish?"
Looking at him with an amused grin, she replied, "I am very good at hiding, I can tell you that. Hiding is one skill that does not need to be aided by magic."
Merlin stood there for a moment, looking as if he had been hit with the idiot stick. He simply responded with an "oh" and turned to leave, but Adria had stopped him.
"Merlin – Merlin, wait," she quickly fussed with something in the corner, then got up and headed over to the bars. "I know that you hate me, and that you have been wary of me since the beginning, but I have one favor to ask of you."
"A favor?" he asked, unsure that he had heard her correctly.
"Yes. I want you to give this to Arthur," Adria slipped her hand through the bars and held out a slightly crumpled piece of rolled up parchment. Merlin stepped away and scrutinized it, almost making her laugh again. "Do not worry, it is not enchanted; a mythical creature will not jump out when opened. I even give you permission to read it, if it makes you feel safer. But please – just make sure he gets it."
Merlin looked at her sincere face, then down to the roll of parchment, then back to her once more before gently slipping it out of her hands. Once it was relieved from her grasp, she smiled slightly and whispered, "Thank you."
Without another word, he simply nodded and walked off, stealing a glance over his shoulder after he was several yards away. It was at that point that he looked as if he began to doubt his decision. . .
---
"Adria. Adria, wake up."
Right above her, Adria heard a voice whisper into her ear. Waking up with a jolt, she looked up at who had taken the liberty to enter her cell and wake her up. To her great surprise, Arthur was the one standing over her.
"Come, we are leaving." He whispered, holding out a hand for her to grasp. Smiling, Adria wasted not a moment before she slipped her delicate hand into his own, rougher one. He pulled her up off the floor and gently led her out of the dungeon, glancing over his shoulder every-so-often to check for guards.
A wide smile stretched across Adria's face as she followed Arthur, her hand intertwined with his. For a moment she thought this must have been some sort of illusion, but no, he was actually taking her away from her imprisonment. Perhaps there was hope for her after all. "Does this mean you forgive me?" she asked with a pleading face.
Arthur turned to look at her over his shoulder. He said nothing, but smiled slightly. Something was off about his smile, yet Adria was too engrossed in her excitement to notice. They walked throughout the castle without running into a single soul. Adria again found this to be odd, but again shrugged it off because she was too occupied with Arthur. She was so occupied, in fact, that she allowed him to lead her around blindly, and it was not until they traversed down the entrance of the castle did she realize where they were. Glancing around at her surroundings, Adria found that there was still not a soul to be found, but instead a lone platform in the middle of the courtyard. A large wooden pole protruded from the wood and was laced with chains. Seeing the platform, Adria's eyes grew wide. Arthur wasn't saving her.
He was going to burn her.
"No..," she whispered, attempting to pull her hand away from his but his grip had suddenly tightened immensely. With his deathly grip on her, Arthur dragged her up to the platform and threw her against the pole.
"Arthur, please, don't do this!" She cried, desperate to free herself from his inhumane grasp.
"Guards," he called, and out of thin air two large men appeared and kept her pressed against the pole. Arthur then began to chain her up, all the while ignoring her pleas and cries to let her go. Adria had even offered to leave Camelot and never return, but Arthur simply gave her a grin in return. Once her chains were in place, he picked up a lit torch out of nowhere and held it in front of her.
"Say goodbye," growled Arthur as he dropped the flame-lit torch at her feet. With a loud, roaring noise, the fire rapidly curled around her feet like a snake. Flames licked the bottom of her dress and smoke began to rise up, filling her eyes with ash and causing her vision to go blurry. The heat got worse and, no matter how many times she called to Arthur, he made no move to help her. Finally, after many moments of screaming, the lack of oxygen got to Adria and she could not breathe. She felt like a fish out of water, struggling for a simple breath of air. She could feel her lungs fill up with more and more smoke with every passing second. Finally, when it got to be too much for her, she relaxed her muscles and forwent the whole thing. She could not fight it any longer. Slowly closing her burning eyes, Adria allowed death to take over her body. That was it. She was gone . . .
"Arthur!" Adria screamed, waking up with a start, swatting at her body to get rid of the flames that threatened to burn her alive. She clawed and clawed until she came to the realization that she was not being eaten by flames, nor was she even on the platform. Instead she was back in her cell, still half asleep and dirty as ever. Still in a frantic state, she glanced all around her surroundings to make sure that she really didn't die, but was dreaming yet again. Once her suspicions were conformed, Adria fell onto her back and took in a deep breath to calm her nerves. It was just a dream, she told herself, just a dream.
All of a sudden, a distant thumping sound reverberated through the halls. Several grunts followed the sound, then nothing. It sounded like someone, hopefully the guards, had been knocked out. Without even having to ask the question, Adria knew exactly who had stealthily disposed of the guards. Grunting, she turned over on her side and closed her eyes, hoping that if she wished enough the person would just go away. . .
"How pathetic."
Sighing, Adria shut her eyes tighter and chose not to respond.
"I give you one simple task, and you fail me? No wonder you are sentenced to death." The voice sneered.
"Go away, Mother. I do not wish to speak to you." Adria shot back with as much force as possible.
Her mother, or "the queen" as she likes to be called, grinned slyly. "I raise you for eighteen long years and yet you show me so little respect. My, my, love has quite changed you, my child."
"And it has changed me for the better." Replied Adria, still lying in the same position. Without warning, she felt a strong hand grab her shoulder and lift her up off her feet, spinning her around so she had to face her mother. Reluctantly, she locked eyes with the vile woman, but carried a disgusted expression as she did so.
"You have failed me for the last time. I now know that if I want someone killed, I must do it myself. Come," the queen commanded, releasing Adria and heading towards the exit of the cell, "we have a prince to kill.
"No."
The Queen sharply turned around to face her daughter. "Do my ears deceive me, or did you just refuse your queen?"
"You heard correctly. I will not help you kill Arthur." Adria stared back at her mother with pure hatred. This was the first time she ever refused her mother, and she loved every moment of it.
The Queen paused for a moment before she let out a sinister laugh. "Do not fool around with me; we have a task to complete."
"I'm serious, mother. I am loyal to you no longer."
At this, the queen rushed up to her daughter and stopped nigh but an inch away. "Youshall be loyal to me until your dying breath, do you understand?" She hissed, her anger rising with every moment.
"You," Adria started, her voice as venomous as her mother's, if not more, "are nothing but a cruel, unforgiving, controlling witch. I hope – no, I pray – that you suffer a slow and cruel death, all by Arthur's hand."
A quick, shooting pain fell upon Adria's face the moment the words left her mouth. Rubbing her now red cheek, she looked up at her mother, who had backhanded her in reply to her harsh words. "You are to return home at once. I shall deal with you later." Spoke her mother before turning around and walking to the exit. She stopped just a few feet shy of the door, however, and turned back over her shoulder to cast one last look at the red-headed girl. "Remember; there is not one place where you can hide that I will not find you." Sending one last glare at Adria, she turned and disappeared down the hallway.
Adria gawked at the open door for several moments, dozens of thoughts pouring into her head. If her mother was determined enough – and she was – she could easily kill Arthur without lifting a finger. The urge to go help Arthur erupted within her, but she pushed it aside. Arthur would never accept her help. If he were to survive, he would simply send Adria back into the dungeons to await her death. Taking in a deep breath, Adria slowly walked out of her cellar. She traversed down the hall, planning on heeding her mother's command and heading back to her home. But, as she got about halfway down the hall, the urge to go save Arthur returned once more, yet this time it was stronger than ever. She just had to go save Arthur. She had to.
Quickly turning on her heel, Adria rushed down the hall, her mind set on a new task. And this time, she was determined to accomplish it.
