CHAPTER THREE: ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BARS
Carefully, Felix walked down the spiral staircase that lead to the basement. The basement was the last place anyone would want to be in.
Rumors and stories made it clear. On the basement, the most dangerous and scary creatures of the boiling isles remained locked for everyone's safety.
But Felix wasn't just anyone. Felix was a Lieutenant for the emperor's coven.
He would sometimes command small missions, but mainly served his Captain, H. Jagger.
But right now he had to do as he was told. And he had been ordered to bring food to one of the creatures. He was accompanying his Captain, who decided to carry the tray himself.
At the entrance of the basement there was a stone hallway. It had round arches at equal intervals. Between the arches, and on the right wall, there were torches. After some steps, they passed the first cell. Captain Jagger kept his gaze straight ahead, but Felix couldn't help but peek at the prisoner.
Inside was a giant ball of brown fur. It looked cute until its head turned to look at them. It had a wide mouth filled with sharp, unequal teeth. The frightening jaw was covered in blood. The eyes, glowing red like the depths of hell, glared into his soul. Felix froze in place.
"Are you coming?"
Captain Jagger placed his free hand on Felix's shoulder. He slightly jumped at the contact.
"The first time you see them can be very scary." He said with a cold tone, avoiding eye contact. Felix regained his composure and simply nodded.
They kept walking, Felix getting progressively more anxious. Each time they passed a cell, he would tens up and avoid looking.
Finally, they stopped walking in front of a cell. This was it. What horrible creature were they going to feed?
Gradually, Felix turned his head to look at the prisoner. He expected the creature to be large and in the center of the room, but that was not the case.
His eyes scanned the cell and landed on the far corner. On it was the prisoner. He was surprised at it's small and soft nature. It didn't have claws or horns. It didn't have sharp fangs or scales.
To be honest, it certainly looked like… A witch. The prisoner was a young witch.
Why was it locked here? He was aware that witches that practice wild magic got locked up, but this was preposterous. This was the feared basement, not a simple conformatorium.
His captain started talking. Much to his surprise, he was referring to the prisoner by 'human'. Of course. If you look closely, his ears are round as the moon.
It looked miserable and scared. The human boy was dirty and hurt. Its clothes were ripped and with hints of crimson.
Captain Jagger signaled to open the door.
He walked over to the lock. "So maybe the boy is evil and a danger to all", he told himself. "For emperor's sake, Felix! You are an important Lieutenant. You can't go around feeling pity for every creature on the isles." He internally monologued.
He open the door slowly, with caution. The boy didn't start a fight. To be honest, it seemed that he was expecting them to attack him. His eyes were full of fear, but they relaxed when they closed the door.
He and Jagger were about to leave when the human questioned them. The poor thing desperately wanted to know why he was being looked up. Apparently, he was there for preventive detention (fancy words for staying in prison until your punishment is decided).
The human also asked for bandages, something he didn't expect. Prisoners usually didn't talk to guards.
Once Felix had left and was in the castle again, he was ordered by Captain H. Jagger to lead a small exploration squad. He still kept thinking about the human and it's request. If it was up to him, he would have obliged.
"What am I thinking of? That criminal surly deserves whatever punishment the Emperor has decided."
Luz awoke a bit confused. She couldn't believe she was sleeping on the owl house. It all seemed so unreal. A wooden owl that came to life, demons, witches and… That boy. - Luz got up and looked through the window.
That's right, when she found the portal, there was a boy with her.
He was about her age and a bit shorter than her. His hair was a light brown with some golden highlights. His eyes were dark green. She didn't remember anything else about him. After all, she had only seen him for an instant before starting to run.
He had run along with her to get her book, but she doesn't remember if he actually went through the portal. If he did, she would have to find him. After all, she decided to stay on this realm, but maybe he wanted to go to the summer camp.
Luz stretched her back and walked out the room. It was going to be a long and exiting day.
Hello, author here. Shoutout to my three readers from Spain. Also, next chapter, we are going to decide Oscar's future! Very interesting and important.
Farewell peasants.