CHAPTER 13: CAGED

Water dripped from a crack in the wall, breaking the silence each time it plopped to the floor. It was dark, with the only source of light coming from the sun shining through the foggy windows. The floor was a hard cement, and so were the walls. Jail cells were spread out everywhere, with hundreds of criminals alike inhabiting them.

Jack sat in one of the cells, with metal bars surrounding him at every side. He sat on the hard, cold floor, with no bed for him to sleep on, or a chair to sit in. There was nothing. Just the floor.

Jack stared at the ground, almost motionless. He hadn't gotten any sleep the night he was taken to the dungeons. Heavy bags started to form under his eyes, pure exhaustion and stress overcoming him. He couldn't sleep. There was too much on his mind. Too much to do.

A rat crawled into his cell and began to creep around the floor, searching for scraps of extra food. Annoyed with all the rats that kept entering his cell, Jack got up and kicked the rat away. The rat let out a small squeak as it was booted out of the jail cell. Jack sat back down with a sigh and continued to stare at the ground.

Although Jack had only been down there for about a day, he was already starting to go a little crazy. Rats kept crawling into his cell, and when he tried to sleep, they would sometimes crawl onto him and prevent him from even gaining a wink. The dungeon was dark and dusty, and smelled horrible. He was mostly ignored by the other people in the cells, all except for one man.

"Jack!"

Jack turned his head to the left, making eye contact with an older man sitting in a jell cell next to him. Jack immediately rolled his eyes.

"What?" Jack hissed.

The old man scooted closer and pressed his face against the bar cells separating Jack and him.

"Whatcha doin'?"

Jack immediately face-palmed. He couldn't believe his luck. His jail cell was right next to the older man's jail cell, giving the man plenty of opportunity to bombard Jack with questions.

"I'm sitting," Jack hissed angrily.

The older man nodded, his eyes wide with curiosity. The older man had bright green eyes, and had long, bushy eyebrows. He looked around the age of fifty, with gray hairs visible on his head. He had a long beard that grew down to his chest, along with brown and gray hair that grew down his back. He was insanely filthy, with dirt and sweat caked all over him. He was also extremely skinny, his bones visibly showing through his skin.

Ever since Jack arrived, the older man had been talking his ear off. He continued to talk while Jack attempted to sleep, which was one of the main reasons why Jack didn't sleep the night before. Jack didn't understand why the man talked so much, considering the fact that most of the people in the dungeon kept quiet. He decided that the man was just simply insane.

"You still haven't told me why you're in here," the man stated. "You've been ignoring me. I don't like it."

Jack huffed out in frustration. He was going insane. He'd rather be executed than spend another minute with this man.

"Would you tell me, pretty please?" the man pleaded, pressing his hands together like he was in prayer.

"Oh my gods…" Jack muttered under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose in stress. He couldn't take it anymore.

"If I tell you why I'm in here, will you tell me why you're here?" the older man asked.

Jack sighed angrily.

"No," he hissed.

The man ignored Jack's reply and continued to talk.

"I was a servant here a long time ago," he started, his eyes wide in excitement. "It was around the time before Zelda was Queen, when her father still ruled. I guess that makes him your grandfather, hm?"

Jack continued to stare at the ground. He didn't know what to say to that. He always had just settled with the fact that he never had a grandfather, or grandparents at all. His grandmother died while giving birth to his mother, so he never got to meet her. He also never got to meet his grandfather, considering the fact that he had ditched the throne long before he was born.

He also never met his father's parents. When he was a young boy, his father barely ever spoke about his grandfather, and never spoke about his grandmother. Link would always tell him that his grandfather was not a good man, and that he should never have to meet anybody like that.

"Anyways," the older man continued. "I was very poor and had little money to my name. I was the only one who worked in my family, so I had to work hard to scrape up some rupees for my wife and my daughter."

Jack's eyebrows raised a little in shock. He thought the man was just some insane criminal. For the first time, he was actually a little interested in what the crazy man was saying.

"You have a family?" Jack asked curiously.

The man nodded.

"I used to," he said sadly. His eyes suddenly became foggy, immediately lost in memory. "There was a time when I wasn't making enough money for my family. Our financial situation was getting worse and worse, and we needed rupees desperately. So, I had to begin to take desperate measures.

"I noticed that the king had a necklace with a beautiful emerald on it. I figured that the gem was real, considering how wealthy the king was. I knew that the necklace was worth hundreds of rupees, or maybe even thousands. So, I set my eye on that necklace, and vowed to myself that I would one day take hold of it, sell it, and bring my family out of poverty.

"For almost a year, I had my eye on that necklace. I watched it closely, and I planned very carefully when I would decide to take it. I waited patiently until I had the perfect opportunity to take it. One day, that perfect opportunity finally came.

"The king was out for the weekend. He was traveling with his teenage daughter, or your mother, searching to purchase a vacation estate they could visit during the summer. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to check if he had left the necklace in his chambers. Late at night, I snuck past the guards and walked into the king's bedroom. Sure enough, the necklace was there, sitting on his nightstand. I grabbed it and quickly got out of there.

"As I began to walk out of the room, I was suddenly surrounded by guards. I had mistakenly thought that I had gotten past them. The guards caught me red-handed, with the king's necklace in my hand. Soon after, I was thrown in the dungeons. I haven't seen my family since."

Jack was silent, his cold, dark eyes softening a bit. He stared at the ground, processing the story that the older man had just told him. He suddenly felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. Sympathy.

The man suddenly snapped out of his gloomy mood, the fog in his eyes moving away.

"So that's why I'm in here!" he chirped. "Now you have to tell me why you're here!"

Jack shook his head immediately.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I just can't."

"Just tell me."

"You don't want to know."

"Come on, just tell me-"

"I said no!" Jack suddenly yelled. The older man flinched a bit, startled by Jack's sudden outburst.

"Alright, alright," the man mumbled, putting his hands in the air defensively. "Didn't mean to push your buttons."

Jack glared at the ground, the little sympathy that he had for the man disappearing in an instant. Silence passed between the two men, with only the sound of water dripping onto the cement in the background.

"You must have done something pretty bad then, didn't you?" the older man asked quietly, breaking the long silence.

Jack didn't respond. He clenched his teeth together, in awe that the man was still hung on the topic.

"I figured," the man declared from Jack's silence. "It's alright, we aren't perfect. Don't be angry at yourself. Move on. It only can ruin your present."

Jack again didn't respond. He stared at the ground, refusing to look at the man in front of him.

"I made that mistake when I first got down here," the older man continued, his eyes fogging up again. "I was angry at myself. For years, I sulked down here, wallowing in my own self-pity. I was angry at myself for losing my life, for losing my family. But one day, I came to a realization. I realized that my life couldn't get any better than it was now, and it was never going to change. I accepted that fact and began to make the best of it down here. I tried to talk to every person who came down here. I tried to make my life down here better."

"So that's why he talks so damn much," Jack thought.

"Instead of missing my daughter and being angry at myself for missing out on her life, I began to imagine what she could be like now," the older man continued. "I imagined that my daughter had grown into a beautiful young woman. That she was kind, intelligent, and hard-working. It made me feel better. It made me feel like less of a horrible father."

Jack stayed silent, the same foreign feeling of sympathy returning again. He knew what it was like to grow up without a father. Did his father possibly feel like a failure also?

"What was your daughter's name?" Jack suddenly asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

The man rubbed his beard, trying to remember what his daughter's name was. It had been a while since he had said it.

"Her name was Jessica," he recalled, smiling. "Jessica Mardone. She was not even a year old when I was arrested."

Jack's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't even believe his ears. His daughter was Jessica? His mother's personal maid?

Suddenly, an idea popped into Jack's head. A very good one. A wicked smile began to grow across his face, realizing what he could do with that information.

Jack turned towards the older man, finally making eye-contact with him. He still wore a devilish smile on his face.

"I know your daughter," he said slyly, leaning towards the man. "And I know where she is now."

The man's eyebrows suddenly shot to the top of his head. Out of all the things he expected, he did not expect the general to even know his daughter existed.

"Really?" the man squealed, his eyes widening in excitement. "How?"

"She was a servant in this castle, too," Jack replied. He then paused before speaking again, thinking hard on what to say. "But she's not in the castle anymore. She moved away."

The older man was practically giddy with excitement. A huge smile was on his face, and his eyes glowed happily.

"Do you know where she moved to?" the man asked, leaning forward intently.

Jack nodded quickly, a sly smirk glued onto his face.

"Yes."

"Wow!" the older man said excitedly. "What's she like? How old is she now? What does she look like? Does she look like her mother?"

"You might be able to figure out all those questions for yourself," Jack said slyly.

The man's eyes widened with shock.

"H-how?" he asked. "I'm stuck down here."

Jack leaned even farther towards the man, his smirk growing wider.

"I'm planning an escape tonight," Jack declared. "But, I don't know my way well down here. If you help me get out of here, I'll show you where your daughter is."

The man's eyes widened in shock, excitement, and anticipation. His spirits were practically soaring, the thought of seeing his daughter again raising his mood to an unreachable height. He felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. Hope.

"I-I will do whatever you need me to do!" the man agreed happily. "There is a secret exit out of here that I know exists. I will help you find it."

Jack's wicked smile grew even wider.

"Good," he said lowly. "Very good."

"All rise."

The court room was full of people. People who were in high contact with the general were all called on to discuss the controversial discoveries of General Jack Avalon.

News spread quick throughout the castle about the general's arrest, sending every noble and every servant into a frenzy. They were shocked that their own general, the queen's son, was a murderer. Jack's arrest was practically all anybody could talk about in the castle. Soon, it would be all anybody could talk about in the whole entire kingdom of Hyrule.

Some people in the castle began to say that they were suspicious of him from the start. Others simply didn't believe that it was true, practically in denial. A rare few even dared to say that the court was wrong in making him general in and first place, and that Ralio should have kept the military position.

"Thank you. You all may be seated."

The people in the court room sat back down in their seats. In the way back of the room, Link, Barnes and Ralio were seated together, all called in to discuss Jack's crimes.

Link was still in a state of shock since the day he discovered the dark book. He couldn't believe that his own son had done such things. He couldn't believe that he had murdered somebody. He didn't want to believe that this was his reality, but it was.

Link had seen the dead body of Georgie himself. The cut across his throat was brutal. The way he was sprawled on the ground, completely motionless, was an image that Link could not seem to get out of his head. It was deeply disturbing. Georgie clearly did not die in a pleasant way.

To think this his own son was capable of doing such things brought deep pain to his heart. He wanted so badly believe that he was dreaming and was bound to wake up from this terrible nightmare. Unfortunately, that was obviously not the case. There was a large chance that Jack was to be executed, which was something that Link couldn't possibly bear to live with.

He couldn't even imagine was Zelda was thinking right now. He had heard from the rumors that Zelda had witnessed Jack getting arrested. He wondered how she was feeling. He wanted to comfort her, to tell her it would all be alright, and Jack would be okay. He wanted to see her. He needed her right now. However, they were not on the greatest terms, as they haven't been for years.

"We all gather here to discuss the fate of Jack Avalon, former general of the Hyrulian Army. Queen Zelda will not be joining us today. She's a little shocked, as we all are, considering what our general has done."

Darrien stood at the front of the room behind a podium. Since he was the head of the court, he had to direct the discussions.

"Let us begin," Darrien announced. "Is there anything anybody would like to say at this moment?"

A nobleman in the front of the room abruptly stood up.

"What are we going to do without a heir to the throne?" he asked.

The people in the room began to murmur to one another, their whispers echoing off the walls. Who was to take the throne now?

"At this moment," Darrien started. "We do not know."

The room grew louder, the people's whispers turning into shouts. The room had turned into a madhouse in a matter of seconds.

"Settle down, everybody!" Darrien shouted over the loud group of people. "This matter will be figured out soon, so all be at ease!"

The room slowly quieted down, the people's shouts turning back into murmurs.

"Boy, that escalated quickly," Barnes said, perhaps too loudly for the quiet court room.

"Shut up!" Ralio hissed, elbowing Barnes in the ribs.

"Ow!" Barnes whispered. He whacked Ralio on the arm.

"Don't touch me!" Ralio hissed, whacking Barnes back.

The two men continued to whack each other, starting to cause a scene.

"Stop!"

"No, you stop!"

A few people turned around in their seats to see what all the ruckus was about. Even Darrien paused for a moment to see what was going on. Link hid his face in embarrassment while his two friends continued to fight childishly.

"Would you two stop?" Link hissed through clenched teeth. "People are looking at us."

The two men immediately stopped fighting and looked up to see practically almost half of the room starting at them. Barnes and Ralio both gulped nervously.

"Sorry," Barnes said awkwardly, waving to all of the people who were staring.

Ralio immediately face-palmed and rolled his eyes. Darrien averted his gaze from the two men and cleared his throat.

"Anyways," he started, attempting to ignore the idiotic soldiers in the back of the room. "That matter will be figured out soon. Do not fret. Today, we are figuring out Jack's consequences."

Link took a deep breath. This was what he was nervous about. If his own son was executed, he couldn't live with himself anymore.

"Some of you believe he should be exiled," Darrien continued. "Some of you believe he should be thrown in the dungeons for life. And some of you think he should be executed."

The crowd of people began to murmur at that last statement. Suddenly, a short woman shot up out of her seat. She was seemingly a servant, based off her clothes.

"I believe he should be executed," the servant woman announced.

The crowd of people grew louder, now all loudly talking to each other. Link's eyes widened in shock, completely surprised at how bold the woman's words were.

"Settle down, please!" Darrien shouted over the people. The crowd began to slowly quiet down, their shouts turning to murmurs again.

"Now, can you explain why you think this?" Darrien asked the servant woman.

The servant nodded quickly and sat back down into her seat.

"Yesterday morning, he came into the dining hall, obviously angry about something," the woman started. "He came up to one of the servants cleaning the dining hall and demanded for the servant to tell him who had brought food to his chambers last night. Obviously, the poor servant had no idea.

"Jack began to question the rest of us. When we didn't answer, he threatened to strip us of our jobs. That was when I stepped forward and told him that it was Jessica. I didn't want Jessica to get in trouble, but I had to say something, otherwise we wouldn't be able to work in the castle anymore.

"Jack then asked us where Jessica had went. I knew where she was, but I told him that she was with Queen Zelda. I was afraid he was going to do something to her. Something very bad."

The woman began to shake a little, her hands trembling slightly.

"Jack then finally walked away from us and went off to continue searching for Jessica. I prayed to the goddesses that he wouldn't find her. He thankfully didn't."

The room was deadly silent, all processing the servant's explanation. Barnes and Ralio looked over at Link to see his reaction. Link's eyes were squeezed shut, and his head drooped below his shoulders. His breaths were ragged, and his shoulders were shaking slightly.

"After hearing that Jessica had taken the book from his chambers, I knew that Jack was not just looking for her to just talk," the woman continued. "He was looking to kill her, to silence her. It was clear. He was visibly enraged."

More silence continued to pass through the room. Nobody made one peep, the silence practically deafening. Link's eyes were still squeezed shut, and his lips were pressed into a straight line across his face.

"Thank you for your explanation," Darrien finally said, breaking the tense silence.

The woman nodded and bowed her head slightly.

"Would anybody like to add onto that?" Darrien asked the rest of the crowd.

A tall nobleman in the back stood up abruptly.

"I agree with the servant," he stated, motioning his hand towards the servant woman. "I don't feel safe with him in here. He knows dark magic."

The crowd began to murmur to each other nervously at that last statement.

Another man seated in the middle of the room stood up.

"I also don't think exile is a great idea," he announced. "If he is as powerful as you all say he is, then he could easily figure out his way back and threaten this castle."

The people continued to murmur to each other, most nodding their heads in agreement. If he was kept alive, their lives could possibly be threatened.

Link's head was spinning. He couldn't believe the direction that the discussion was going in. The people were now on board with executing Jack, his own son. He had expected them to at least keep him alive, considering that he was royalty. But now, the chance of that happening seemed slim-to-none.

"Alright, quiet down everybody," Darrien said loudly. Darrien then turned to the members of the court sitting together at the front of the room.

"From what we have heard, if you are in favor of the execution, raise your right hand."

Seventeen out of the twenty court members raised their right hands. The crowd began to murmur to each other, shocked to how many of the court members voted in favor of the execution.

"It is settled then," Darrien announced. "The execution will begin tomorrow."

Link's vision grew blurry, and his head began to spin out of control. He felt like he was going to vomit all over the floor, suddenly becoming extremely nauseous. He wanted to do something, but he couldn't. He had no control over the situation whatsoever. His son was going to die, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Link shot up from where he was sitting, startling both Ralio and Barnes.

"Link…" Barnes said softly. "…You alright?"

Link ignored Barnes and walked right out of the courtroom, with tears blurring his vision.

It was pitch black, with no source of light in the horrid dungeon. It was completely silent. Nobody was awake. All except for one man.

Jack sat upright, looking out the jail bars and into the dark hallway in front of him. He was waiting. For what it felt like eternity, he was waiting. He had been waiting.

Suddenly, a flash of light came into view far down the dark hallway. Jack stood up abruptly, realizing that what he had been waiting for had finally came.

A silhouette of a man holding a lantern was standing in the alleyway. He wore a long cloak and a hood, concealing his face. The man began to walk down the hallway, his cloak swaying behind him. His footsteps echoed around the dungeon, but not loud enough to wake the prisoners.

The man reached Jack's cell and stopped in front of him. He lowered his hood slowly, revealing his face to Jack.

"Darrien," Jack said slyly. "You finally came."

Darrien stared back at Jack with a hint of fear in his eyes.

"We must hurry," he said quickly. "The guards will catch us if we linger down here for too long."

Darrien dug into the pocket of his cloak and pulled out a large, iron key. He began to move the key towards the lock on the cell, but Jack suddenly interrupted him.

"Stop."

Darrien stopped moving the key and froze.

"W-what is it? Do you sense someone here-"

"Let him out first."

Jack pointed to the older man sleeping soundly in the next jail cell. Darrien narrowed his eyes between the man and Jack. He opened his mouth to ask a question, but Jack quickly silenced him.

"We don't have time for questions," Jack stated. "Just do it."

Darrien hesitantly walked towards the man's cell and unlocked it. The door creaked open, causing the older man to stir in his sleep.

"Unngh…wha—what the hell?"

The man shot straight up, a little startled by the dark figure with a lantern standing right outside his jail cell. The man's eyes suddenly widened, noticing that his jail cell was wide open.

"Jack?" The man squinted at the figure standing in front of him. "Is that you?"

Jack immediately face-palmed.

"No, I'm right here," Jack hissed. The man shot his head towards Jack sitting in his cell, and then shot his head back towards the man standing in front of his cell.

"Oh," the man said, thinking hard. Jack could practically see the gears turning in his head. "OH WAIT! Oh my gods, we're escaping! This is actually happening! I can't believe it-"

"Let me out of here," Jack cut in, interrupting the man's obnoxious celebration.

Darrien walked over to Jack's jail cell and opened the door with the key. Jack walked out and stood in front of the man's prison cell.

"Come on," Jack encouraged. "We don't have much time."

The man scrambled to his feet and sprinted out of his jail cell. He looked around at his surroundings in awe, shocked that he was finally free.

"Wow," the man marveled. "It feels so good to be out of that cage."

Darrien eyed Jack curiously. He was confused as to why on Earth Jack wanted some crazy man out of his jail cell.

"He agreed to help me escape," Jack stated, practically reading Darrien's mind.

Darrien nodded quickly.

"I'll leave you all then," he said. "Good luck."

Darrien began to walk away towards the entrance that he came from, until he heard the older prisoner speak.

"Wait. I know you."

Darrien whirled around and locked eyes with the prisoner. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"You're Edward's father," the man continued. "I remember your son when he was a young boy. You are apart of the queen's court, and were previously apart of her father's, correct?"

Darrien's eyes widened in shock at the man's memory. He remembered his son? How?

Darrien opened his mouth to reply, but Jack suddenly cut in.

"We don't have time for this," he growled. "Let's get going."

Darrien shook off his moment of shock and walked towards the entrance to the dungeon. The three men began to walk their separate ways, all leaving the dungeon for good. In the distance, the dark spirit watched, laughing wildly as they all left. Everything was going perfectly as planned.

Jack and the man crawled out of the secret exit, the cool, night air immediately hitting their faces. They both scrambled to their feet, brushing themselves off as they did so.

The man looked around in confusion. He had expected the tunnel to take them right outside the castle, but they were now in the middle of a grass field, with the castle far in the distance.

"W-where are we going now?" the man sputtered. "Are we just going to stay here? I'm confused."

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose, already annoyed that he was immediately being bombarded with questions.

"I'll tell you soon," he replied.

Jack began to walk towards a forest surrounding the grass field and the castle. The man blindly followed, still having no idea where they were going.

Jack walked deep into the forest, not stopping once to check if the man was still behind him. They walked for about thirty minutes. The man felt himself grow suspicious, wondering why they were wandering aimlessly in some random forest.

"Okay, this is weird," the man finally said, breaking the silence between them. "Where are we even going?"

Jack suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face the man.

"I guess this is far enough," Jack stated, looking at his surroundings.

The man raised a suspicious eyebrow. He was now regretting leaving his cell. At least he felt safer there. There was something odd about Jack. Why was he even down in the dungeons in the first place?

Jack stepped closer to the man, about three feet away from him.

"I am going to find King Aiden of Volagio," Jack explained. He took another step closer to the man, now uncomfortably close to him. "However, it will take me a while to find him. Therefore, you are not needed anymore. You're a distraction."

"Wait, wha-"

Jack suddenly whipped out a pocket-knife from inside of his boot and swiped at the man quickly. The man rapidly backed away, narrowly missing Jack's attempts to cut him. Jack quickly recovered and continued swiping at the man with the knife. The man continued to dodge his attacks, narrowly missing them every time.

Tired of constantly stabbing at the man, Jack jumped up and kicked the man square in the chest, sending him flying into a tree. The man crashed into the tree and toppled to the ground. Jack then sprinted towards the man on the ground and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. He raised his knife in the air, ready to plunge it into his chest.

"WAIT!" the man suddenly screamed.

Jack halted a bit, with his knife still raised in the air.

"I know how to get to Volagio. I've been there a few times myself."

Jack gritted his teeth together angrily.

"And how do I know you're not lying?" He gripped the knife even tighter, preparing to plunge it into the man's chest if he did not give a convincing explanation.

"W-when I was a servant for the castle, I-I used to deliver letters there," the man sputtered quickly. "When the Queen—I mean, your mother, was a teenage girl, she was arranged to marry King Aiden, or Prince Aiden at the time. Her father would tell her to send letters to him so they could get to know each other better before they married when they were adults. I would deliver her letters to the castle. I know where Volagio is. We can find some horses and we can get there in maybe a day or two."

Jack stared at the man, with his knife still raised in the air. The man squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for Jack to kill him. However, that never came.

Jack reluctantly let go of the man and dropped him to the ground. The man quickly crawled away, very afraid of him.

"Get up," Jack snarled.

The man quickly scrambled to his feet. Jack began to pace around the forest, pinching the bridge of his nose in stress.

"If I let you live, you must help me find the castle," Jack stated. "If you don't, you're dead. You'll never live to see your daughter ever again. Understood?"

The man nodded quickly.

"W-will you let me live after I help you find the castle?" the man asked nervously.

Jack closed his eyes in frustration.

"…I suppose I could. You cannot leave me, however. You will work for me, and only me. You will obey my every order, or you're dead. Is that understood?"

The man nodded his head again.

"Of c-course."

Jack nodded in approval and began to walk away again. The man followed him, but made sure to keep his distance.

"We'll need to make a fire," Jack said to the man. "Go collect some wood. I'll find a spot to sleep for the night."

The older man nodded quickly and got right to work. He found multiple twigs and logs on the ground as he searched. He gathered wood for about five minutes, until Jack declared he found a spot.

"Hey! I found a spot!"

The man quickly grabbed another piece of wood and ran to where Jack was standing. He dropped all the wood onto the ground near Jack's feet. Jack picked up a large log and two sticks from the man's wood pile and began to start a fire, rubbing the two sticks together on the log.

Jack soon started a small fire, which was enough to keep them warm for the night. The two men sat in silence, both watching to fire intently to make sure it didn't spread.

"You have a name?" Jack suddenly asked, breaking the silence. "I ought to know at this point."

The older man nodded.

"Yes. My name's Hagen."

Jack nodded in approval.

"Hagen. Alright."

Suddenly, Hagen began to feel nauseous. He had no idea what he had gotten himself into. He just wanted to see his daughter, but this somehow turned into helping someone who was clearly doing things for malicious purposes. He should have just stayed in his cell and minded his own business.

What did he get himself into?

Okay, a lot of things just happened in this chapter. I'm going to explain to you all just in case you all are confused:

First of all, the older prisoner is Jessica's father. If you all remember a few chapters ago, Jessica's backstory is explained a bit involving her mother, Francine, and her father. Francine had told Jessica that her father left them when she was a baby, but that obviously wasn't true.

Also, with the situation with Darrien, Edward is his son, if you haven't caught onto that yet. Yes, the same Edward that Zelda had an affair with years ago. If you all recall at like the way beginning of the book, it is stated why Edward lives in the castle, and says that his father is apart of the Queen's court.

Lastly, the whole situation with the mysterious 'King Aiden of Volagio' person. If you recall in the prologue of the book, Prince Aiden is briefly mentioned involving Link and Zelda's affair. He was the guy Zelda was originally engaged to. King Aiden is the same person as Prince Aiden, but now he rules over his kingdom which I called Volagio.

Anyways, hoped that cleared up everything for you guys. If you have any questions, leave a comment or directly message me. I'm also just going to start to respond to some of your guys' reviews through direct messaging because the comments I leave after every chapter are wayyyy too long.

Alright, done talking. I hope you all have a lovely rest of your day and enjoy the weekend. Please put a review on your thoughts or concerns on this chapter, or the story in general. I'll see you all next week!