Gerda stared at the bird with blurry eyes as it flew off into the distance. Her lips trembled with a foreign feeling of emptiness and pain tugging at her chest. She felt her knees grow weak beneath her and slowly fell to the ground with her hands balled up against her chest. She bit her lower lip as she held in a sob while tears slowly drenched her cheeks. This was pure abandonment.
"Your people despise you. Your queen betrays you. Now tell me was the genocide of my people worth it? Was slaughtering innocent lives for a queen who cared so little of you worth it?" Borra taunted in a stern voice that only added to Gerda's pain.
"Shut up!" Gerda cried as the sharp edge of betrayal and loneliness grew.
"Admit that you have nothing and mean nothing. The very kingdom you once fought and killed for now banishes every trace of you. From this day on you will be spoken of as the girl who slaughtered innocent fey and betrayed her king. You deserve every ounce of pain you're feeling." Borra continued ignoring Gerda's growing turmoil of emotions.
"Enough!" Gerda yelled to Borra as she glared up at him with red, watery eyes.
She then stood up and ran off not caring if he was capable of catching her. She ran until her body finally collapsed back onto the ground. Her eyes heavily gazed down into a pond that was faintly glimmering in front of her. She broke down into more tears when she was met with the image of her staring back at herself. The woman before her looked broken and lost.
After a while, she stopped crying and stared off into the pond in a vacant daze. There was nothing but the sound of wind caressing her pale skin and occasional birds chirping hidden within the trees. Her light blue eyes rested on a butterfly that flew around until it landed on top of a flower nearby. She sighed, reaching out and yanked the flower causing the yellow butterfly to glide off out of sight. Her fingers lightly skimmed the petals until she heard the sound of large wings landing.
Gerda ignored the approaching footsteps and tossed the flower into the pond. She knew it was Borra but still didn't care. Her eyes blinked several times once the footsteps stopped behind her. His presence was the least of her concern at the moment. She felt far too numb to worry nor did she have the will to live.
"Why don't you just kill me. I'm sure they won't care if I die." Gerda said in an emotionless voice as she blankly stared off over the pond.
"You humans are such dramatic creatures. No wonder you're all always at war with each other." Borra stated causing Gerda to glare with agitation.
"And I'm to believe that your kind is any better? How your people managed to survive this long baffles me. You're all so primitive." Gerda muttered with disdain as her fingers lightly traced circles onto the dirt.
"Us fey had our share of battles but that's now a thing of the past. We are all united and have been for hundreds of years. It's quite pathetic watching you reckless humans fight and kill over mild disagreements." Borra sharply replied, causing Gerda to turn around and study him.
"You speak as if you lived through such times. How old are you, creature?" Gerda asked as she tossed several loose curls behind her shoulders.
Borra stared down at her for several seconds before finally answering Gerda's question. She was curious how long their kind typically lived up to after hearing his remark. Surely they aren't immortal and aged just like humans. Any information would be useful in order for her to destroy them.
"I'm 104 years old." Borra firmly replied, causing Gerda's eyes to widen in shock.
She then fixed her composure to hide her shock but was unable to hide the smirk on her lips. Here she was thinking he was no more than thirty but clearly, he was ancient compared to her. For a brief moment, her mind was distracted from the grim reality of her current situation. A much-needed distraction.
"Don't you think you're quite old then?" Gerda bluntly pointed out, causing Borra's lips to switch.
"We age slowly compared to humans...the benefits of being fey." Borra said with a look of arrogance that made Gerda narrow her eyes.
Gerda then fixated her gaze on him wondering how the passing of time must feel to his kind. It must be lonely to live that long. She then wondered if he had a mate to keep him company or if he had any family. Gerda wanted to ask but wondered if such a question would come off as being too invasive. She reminded herself it would provide leverage when the time came to kill him or perhaps even cause more anguish to him.
"Don't your kind grow lonely to live out all those years? I would go mad if I lived to see the world around me change while I stood stuck in time." Gerda asked, carefully navigating her words in a way that wouldn't trigger his anger.
"Many of my people have mates and family to keep them sane. The passing of years to us isn't much." Borra said as he appeared uncomfortable by the topic.
Gerda had never seen him in such a state. She was used to his typical cold, harsh behavior towards her. She had the urge to ask him more questions. It would be interesting to learn about the many unanswered secrets of him and his people. Not that any of it would matter since she planned to rid herself of him.
"What of you then? Do you have anyone to keep you sane?" Gerda asked, attempting to gain some insight into the strange, rageful creature.
Borra appeared taken aback by her question with his eyes hardening. His wings flickered behind him with balled-up fists at his sides. It was obvious that her question deeply bothered him. She certainly overstepped her boundaries with him.
"It's time we take our leave. I have far more important matters to attend to than stand around wasting my precious time with the likes of you." Borra callously said with a sneer.
She glared up at him feeling offended by his choice of words and attempted to stand but hissed in discomfort when she realized her legs had fallen asleep. Borra growled in annoyance at her weakness and reluctantly extended out his hand to her. Gerda stared at it for a moment, feeling her body still.
She hesitantly gripped onto it feeling his feverish, rough skin counteract the coldness of hers. Her cheeks heated up when he effortlessly pulled her up with his eyes observing her. She quickly fixed her composure as if none of it bothered her and looked away from him. Gerda was relieved when she noticed her vined cage waiting for her. The guards must have brought it closer when Borra found her.
"I-Is there a reason we're still waiting here?" Gerda stuttered when she noticed Borra was still intensely staring at her.
He then broke out of his daze and glared at her with hard eyes, baffling her with his sudden change of behavior. Borra proceeded to walk away ignoring her presence as she followed next to him. She grew irritated when he started to quicken his pace and soon enough it was too fast for her to keep up.
"Do you mind slowing down." Gerda impatiently asked, earning a frosty glare from Borra.
"I grow sick of your presence and would like to distance myself from you." Borra harshly stated, causing Gerda's steps to falter.
She then slowed down her pace and allowed him to continue on till he was no longer next to her. Gerda nearly flinched at the unexpected sound of him shooting up from the ground, flying off into the sky. How foolish of her to forget her place with him. She was still nothing more than a worthless slave to him so it was ridiculous that she'd bother sharing words and thoughts with him. Her mind reflected back to where she stood in the world. She couldn't stop the full-blown betrayal and pain that followed suit.
She numbly walked into her cage and sat down with her head on her knees. She remained in this position till they landed back at the cave. The guards led her through the dusky tunnels until she reached the stairs that led to her room. She barely noticed Celtra and didn't bother meeting her eyes as they walked up the stairs.
"Your mind seems to be preoccupied." Celtra stated as she opened Gerda's door.
"Just brooding over my fate." Gerda emotionlessly responded as she stiffly laid down on her bed and faced the wall.
Celtra then left, leaving Gerda lost in her thoughts and tears. For the first time in years, Gerda cried until there was nothing left. She mourned for the life that used to be and the betrayal of someone that she considered the world. For many years she fought for the queen and covered up all her dirty work. Now here she was with nothing or nobody that cared an ounce about her hard-earned achievements. Gerda was truly alone.
She had no purpose nor did she know what to do with herself. There was no place for her in this new world. All she had was gone and now she will slowly rot away in this cell of a room and the emptiness of a cave. There was nothing just as she is nothing.
The very creatures who have orders to keep her locked away would kill her without resistance if Borra said so. She knew the best thing to do would be to escape and perhaps start a new life by herself. She was to forever be alone but she'd rather do it as a free woman. However, as the weeks turned to months only then did she gradually deteriorate. She would eventually break down. Something she never imagine was possible for someone as heartless as her.
Month one...
Gerda noticed Celtra sometimes attempted to initiate small talk with her, though it was useless. Gerda ignored her presence because she despised the creature and wondered why she even bothered speaking to her. Couldn't she see the hate Gerda held towards her? Either way, it was irritating.
The plan was to study every detail of the cave looking for any possible escape routes. She would have to take out Celtra first when the time comes. Then figure out a way to either take out the guards or move around them without being detected. That alone would be difficult since her scent is very distinctive. She'll figure it out one way or another. She will leave this place.
Month two...
Today has marked another month since she arrived at the cave that she had now grown familiar with. Borra hasn't returned nor did she care. She deeply hoped to never see his face again though she did want to kill him. A part of her looked forward to facing him again if the time came. Each day she was tasked with cleaning, which only fueled the anger she felt toward his kind.
How she went from a powerful woman to a slave who spent her days scrubbing floors and dusting walls began to drive her mad. She wanted so terribly to make them all pay in blood but patience was required on her part. For now, it was best to do her part and memorize what she could of the cave. She just had to be patient.
Month three...
The days were starting to blend together but luckily Gerda managed to mark them down on a wall in her room. Sadly it did not ease her growing feelings of torment and loneliness. She found herself missing her old life with each passing day. It's been so long since she last spoke to a human and it's taking a toll on her mind.
As mad as it sounds Gerda found herself responding to Celtra almost forgetting who she was. She still hated the creatures but noticed her hatred mainly focused on Borra. Oh how she wanted to see him one last time just to make him pay. She wondered when he would return or if he ever would. Her hopes of escaping were slowly dimming. One of those hopes was the chance to cut out Borra's heart and pin it on a wall.
Month four...
She was losing herself. Gerda forgot what it was like to be free and realized that she may forever be stuck inside the cave. The world is continuing on while she rots away, living in the past with her mind declining. This was her life and there was nothing she could do to escape it.
Each night was filled with nightmares while her days were filled with emptiness. She's grown used to Celtra's presence and at times found herself confiding in her. The creature listened to Gerda despite the crimes she had committed against her people. Maybe she deserved to be punished like this after all.
Present...
Gerda spent the last few months nearly going insane with isolation. The only person she spoke to would be Celtra. However, there would be days when Celtra never came so Gerda would spend her time stuck alone in her room. On those days she was overloaded with thoughts and memories from her past. It mentally destroyed her, making her wonder if Borra purposely kept her isolated. Perhaps he hoped to drive her mad from loneliness though he did keep her well-fed. It had to be only to keep her alive so that she could suffer for as long as he wanted.
The times Celtra visited meant that Gerda would be allowed to leave her room and head down to the cave to clean. Most of the cleaning would consist of dusting and sweeping. She began to wonder if any of it was worth living for. The lingering depression continued and there were very few distractions to help her cope with it. Gerda felt like she was losing herself and it scared her to not know who she was anymore.
She had no kingdom to cling on nor did she have anyone who cared. Everyone was simply moving on without her presence. So now here Gerda was inside her cell staring off into the range of endless skies and beautiful mountain tops from her window after cleansing herself. The weather was perfect and crispy fresh air slightly helped with her mood. She spotted a few birds and creatures in the sky that would occasionally fly around in the distance. A part of her was envious of the winged beasts for being able to glide in freedom.
"I hope you're feeling better because today we have a special guest. We will head down to our village and celebrate her victories for our people. They say it is a special day for the Moors and Ulstead." Celtra said not bothering to hide the excitement in her voice.
"What exactly is so special about today? I feel no difference." Gerta admitted, trying to hide the growing feeling of relief.
She will finally get to leave this ghastly place. It didn't matter if it was temporary.
"You shall see very soon but first let's fix you up a bit. I believe a change of clothes shall do." Celtra said, eyeing Gerda's potato sack of a dress.
Gerda nearly groaned in vexation as Celtra fixed her hair by braiding the front pieces and tying them back. She then allowed the rest of her orange hair to cascade down her back in its usual loose curls. Over the months her hair had grown so much that it now reached her low back. She wondered if a simple trim was ever allowed.
"I suppose you wouldn't mind changing into this. It's a much better improvement than walking around in that rag." Celtra announced as she brought out a cream-colored dress that looked very fey-like in design.
The dress was beautiful but something she would prefer to not wear. Gerda was quite hesitant at first but gave in and slid it on. It had reached below her knees which made her feel much more covered compared to her usual rags. The sleeves on the dress were short and ruffled in a way that left her pale shoulders and collar bones exposed.
It formed a v on her chest but didn't expose too much that would make her uncomfortable. The bodice and waistline clung onto her curves but then lightly loosened out around her hips and legs. The material was sheer but thick enough to conceal her bare skin.
"You have filled out quite well over these past months, you were nothing but skin and bones when you first arrived. The dress fits you well and compliments your complexion." Celtra admitted as she brought forth some of Gerda's curls to frame her face.
"As if such things matter. I'm still a slave who belongs to no land." Gerda scoffed feeling her chest tighten at the thought.
"Don't think such thoughts now, perhaps one day that will change. Now come." Celtra said winking at Gerda, only causing her brief confusion.
Gerda followed behind Celtra with unease when she realized this would be the first time in months that she was around others. She only now wished that she wasn't dressed up in a way that might draw attention. Surely there was no need for it but then again it's supposed to be a special day for the fey. Gerda couldn't help but smile when her bare feet touched soft green grass for the first time in ages. She went into her cage and sat down feeling grateful to be outside again.