They had eaten better when they were on the streets…
A turnip came flying at Ferris' head through the small, barred window of their cell door. It didn't really hurt, but it did wake her up. The adolescent jolted upright against the cold, stone wall at her back.
It wasn't nightfall yet—she could tell that much from the thin beams of red light that managed to filter through the slits above her—but it was still dark enough that she had to find where the turnip landed by feel. A quiet breath left her when her hand landed on its round surface. If spongey, at least it was a bit larger than she expected.
Ciara was still fast asleep. Ferris still didn't know whether to call it luck or not that her little sister got caught in this mess with her. On one hand, she'd probably be dead or in a far worse situation if she hadn't, since Ferris was the only provider between them. On the other, Ciara didn't deserve this and was only taken thanks to the crimson eyes the two shared.
It wasn't a rule, but odd-colored eyes were typically tied to strong magic. Whatever color matched a Human's soul hinted to what kind of magic they could use. That worked in her case, but Ciara didn't have any magic, and if she couldn't prove some kind of worth to these people then…
Well, that's what her magic was for: To get the both of them out of these situations. Ferris would never forget the day her powers first awakened. She's lost a hand—a clean cut, even if nothing she did could stop the bleeding. No one was interested in patching up a kid who already looked like they had one foot in the grave. She'd died clutching her useless limb alone in an alley only to open her eyes a moment later and find herself crouched behind the same wall she'd hid by before she even thought of trying to steal a money pouch right off of the Sheriff's belt.
Crimson mages were a rare type of balanced magic users and were the only ones that could become seers. She'd never heard of any mage coming back from the dead, yet she couldn't doubt what had happened to herself. Ferris stopped asking 'why' a long time ago. Why did she come back? Why didn't anyone else remember? Why did the golden stars appear and why was she the only person who could see them? The important thing was that she was alive and, as far as she knew, she could cheat death as often as she liked.
The girl had gotten a lot of second chances since that first time, and they all went the same way: Death; darkness; a single, sudden light; revival. It was a cycle Ferris was more used to than she cared to admit…
The girl tugged at her sibling's shoulder. As Ciara stirred awake with a tired moan, Ferris helped her sit up, offering the turnip, "Supper's here. We'll need to share again."
"I want bread…"
It was rare for her to complain like that, a child's luxury that she had to let go of early. "When we get out of this place, I'll find you some."
"You have a plan?"
Although the other child couldn't see it well, Ferris nodded. She did have one, just not a plan Ciara would like or even knew was an option: She would have to die again. It couldn't be helped. Except for a couple of failed escape attempts, they'd been locked in that cell for over a week now. According to the guards, the local lord who'd ordered their capture had left his palace on business and they weren't going to be let out until his return.
Ferris didn't want to sit around until then. Although she'd never tell anyone about her ability to come back from the dead, she did have some other magic to show off. If the lord thought she had potential, she could possibly earn a good life for herself. Just herself. Ferris doubted he would simply wait for Ciara to show any magical abilities of her own.
Ferris used the stars regularly. It was the only way she knew how to save a moment a time when she died. If she went back, there was a chance they could avoid capture altogether. However, if she waited, the lord might put them in a tougher position than the one they were already in—not to mention Ciara could get hurt and, whether her only sibling would remember it or not when the clock was turned back, Ferris didn't want that.
There was nothing in the cell to strangle herself with. Her only weapon had been taken and she was too weak to steal any of the guards' own. Getting Ciara's help was out of the question. It was a gamble, but if nothing else worked and she did reveal her ability, maybe she could trick the lord into killing her when he finally did arrive.
After Ciara had her fill, she passed back the remaining half of turnip. Ferris twisted it in her hands thoughtfully before taking a bite. At this rate, if they had to stay there for very much longer, then maybe starvation was an option…
She chuckled at her absurdly dark thoughts, earning herself an odd look. "What's so funny?" her sister asked.
She'd become a pretty good liar, "Remember that time we tried to eat wild onions right out of the ground? I was just thinking about that."
The other girl stuck out her tongue, "You should have cooked them!"
"You wanted to eat them then and there."
"You should have warned me!"
A small fist struck her shoulder as Ferris chuckled again, then Ciara buried her face into her sibling's arm. The older girl leaned her head on top of the other's with a soft grin.
Despite the fact that there was little they could do in their cell except eat and sleep, Ferris was still exhausted. Worrying about what steps to take next was one issue. The lack of sunlight and slow drag of time was another.
She didn't even know what made their abductors come after the two them when they did. Did they just see a random opportunity or did someone turn them in? Maybe it didn't matter since no one would be looking for them anyway. Kidnapping young magic users was more common than not.
Ferris had nearly drifted back to sleep when a sudden uproar jarred her awake once more: Indecipherable shouts echoing off the rocks from some other place within the prison. She'd heard them before as other captives were brought in or tried to escape like they did. This time was different. Instead of the higher-pitched cries of children vainly trying to fight their way past the guards, these were the harsh screams of adults.
She stood up and quietly inched over to the cell door. The passage beyond it was so narrow that she couldn't see anything besides an empty torch-mount attached to an otherwise vacant wall. After a moment, one of the distant voices grew loud enough for her to make out just a few words:
"Don't run! Cowards, it's only a—!"
A streak of light reflecting off the stone walls cut him short and was immediately followed by a choked cry. Ferris moved back until she herself was out of view from anyone that might pass by their cell. A rescue? It was rare, but not impossible: Someone from a high family or a strong mage that already had loyalties to a guild or rival noble house could've been taken like they were. It didn't mean whoever was out there was on their side though.
"Ferris…" Her sister clung tightly to the back of her tunic. She reached back to give the other girl's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. All the while, she continued to stare at the door with a hard expression as the noise died down.
Apparently, none of the other captives wanted make themselves known either. Nearly ten full minutes passed in silence before the chorus of screams from earlier were replaced by a single set of footsteps. They moved at a brisk walk through the halls. Somewhere, another cell door groaned as it swung open, barely concealing the terrified yelp from within.
"Out."
The voice barking orders now didn't belong to any of the guards and was surprisingly young. Whoever it belonged to couldn't have been much older than Ferris herself. Nevertheless, it spoke with such authority that it barely had to repeat the command before the shuffling of much smaller feet was heard next.
It didn't end there. Again, a steady footfall echoed down the hall: Again, there was the groan of another door. Then a third, then a fourth, and so on until the steps drew discomfortingly close.
"Out."
Whoever was in the cell next to the two sisters' couldn't have scrambled away fast enough. Ferris brushed Ciara further behind her, shuffling back. By then, there was barely any natural light left and only a stark white glow illuminated the passage.
Ferris momentarily squeezed her eyes shut as the door to their own cell finally opened. She expected magic, but not its shape: From what she knew, while it could be manipulated into almost anything, there were some forms just a little more common than others—like bullets. She'd never seen anyone create a bone out of it before. However, as her eyes readjusted, she found that the shape of this magic perfectly matched the person who wielded it.
Standing in the doorway before her was a skeleton dressed in a dark travelling cloak. His face almost looked painted on, his mouth a firmly stitched line, but this gentler appearance didn't take away from the daunting aura he carried with him. Flecks of red still clung to his skull. Brilliant white pupils, glowing as fiercely as the magic in his hand, drilled into her.
A Monster… What was a Monster doing here? Hybrids or more humanoid species sometimes found themselves in similar situations to Humans with magic, but this one was clean and clearly well-off. He couldn't have been one of the other prisoners.
His sudden appearance jarred Ferris so much that her entire body froze. She didn't react quickly enough to move away as he closed the remaining gap between them. He raised his staff and the girl instinctively ducked, shielding her face with her free arm from both the light and possible blow. However, he only used it to get a better look at her, now holding the bone in his hand like a torch. Their eyes met and she glared at him, squinting from the harsh gleam still looming over her face.
A moment later, he backed off. "Out," he repeated in the same, cold voice as before, then turned to go.
By then, Ciara was trembling against her back, little fingers digging through the elder sibling's clothes and into her skin. Ferris pulled her off, but kept her hand in the child's own. Unless they planned on staying put, what other choice did they have?
The skeleton motioned for them to go down one direction of the passage and then turned to move further along the opposite. The latter path led to a dead end—the girls had tried escaping that way before—but there were a few more cells ahead of him. Was he really just going to let everyone go like this? Without keeping track of anyone, even to the point of turning his back on them? No one's intentions were that pure.
Ferris' suspicious gaze followed him until he dipped into another cell a few doors away, then she tugged Ciara's hand, "Let's leave." Whatever waited for them at the exit, it had to be better than waiting for someone else to lock them away again.
((Author's Note: Hey, everyone! For those of you who remember the original version of this story's first three chapters, I ended up not liking how it was going and did a complete rewrite. However, those chapters are still saved on my computer, as of now, if anyone would like me to put them back up. It wasn't much there, but I wanted to leave this note just in case.))