Stayn forced Scrub down, down, down into the dampness of the dungeons. The acrid odour of mildew and dust combined to make a foul stench thick enough to knock a man with a sensitive nose onto his butt. She coughed and then sneezed all over her captor. Needless to say, he wasn't happy.
SMACK! A hand flew forcefully across her face and she could feel blood from a shallow scratch in her cheek begin to flow. He grunted at her, then left, thankfully.
A weak voice cried out from the pressing darkness. "Hello?"
"Mirwana!" Exclaimed Scrub hoarsely. "Are you okay? I heard so many things...they're going to kill you tomorrow!" She blurted out.
A sour laugh, full of sadness and anger, rang through the bitter cold of the stone. "They won't kill me until they have an audience. " There was a hollow pause. "Why were you gone for so long?"
"What do you mean?" Asked Scrub incredulously. "We were only gone for a few-"
"Weeks." Cut in Mirwana. "You, Jareth, Sarah, and Willy were all gone for two weeks while trying to cure you from being so old. Time was unhappy with Tarrant again, so he forced time to go slower around Tarrant and those near him. It may have only been a few hours or minutes for you, but it was weeks for the rest of Underland." Scrub's eyes nearly bugged out of her skull, but she remained composed enough to listen to the rest of Mirwana's tale. "I was so worried that I didn't think to try and rebuild the walls and that's when my sister.." She spat. Scrub cringed, it was so strange to hear such venom coming from the lovely woman's voice. "..decided to invade. She stormed us easily because we were all frantic and scattered. She and her henchman Stayn have somehow managed to procure an army big enough to rival her former one."
"This is bad." Said Scrub. "This is very, very bad!"
"No doubt." Agreed the White Queen with a half-hearted laugh.
"How do we escape?" Asked Scrub, she attempted to crane her neck sideways to get a better view of her cell. It was tiny and dingey, rust was accumulating on the iron bars in some places and the floor was covered in...ew..she shuddered...she didn't even want to think about what was glistening on the floor.
Mirwana sighed softly. "There is no escape. There are enchantments around the doors so that only a certain key will unlock them. Otherwise, intruders or escapees will experience pain beyond belief just from touching the metal."
"This sucks." Scrub hung limply. She had been bound by her wrists and ankles to the wall of her cell. The worst part was the fact that the spikes on the inside were digging deeply into her skin and making her feel as if her hands and feet were slowly being pierced by the metal. Not a good feeling at all. "You would think that as their guests of honor that we would be given better treatment." She complained to Mirwana bitterly.
"No, my sister is cruel. She would want us to suffer through pain and humiliation before we perish at her order."
Scrub's heart dropped. "I'm sorry, Mirwana." She said quietly.
"Don't be, it isn't your fault, young one. Promise me something, though." Mirwana smiled at her fellow inmate, even though she knew Scrub wouldn't be able to see her.
"Anything." Vowed Scrub.
"When we are sentanced and are lined up to die, hold my hand." A single tear ran down Mirwana's cheek. "When my sister was younger and not evil, she would do the same thing for me when Jareth or me were scared."
Scrub gaped in what she thought was the Queen's direction. "Don't say things like that!" She admonished the older woman. "We're not going to die! Someone has to save us." She felt tears prick at her eyes and make her throat thick. "Someone has to." She whispered.
"Promise me." Mirwana pleaded. "Please."
Scrub nodded. "I promise." She looked up at the ceiling. "But somebody will save us." She told Mirwana in a firm voice.
"We can only hope." Mirwana answered her solumnly.
Scrub grinned crazily. "Sometimes hope is enough."