Author's Note: So turns out being sick for two weeks is one heck of a demotivator! Hope everyone is doing okay out there!
Alexa was led down more stairs, away from the top most level of the Gargareans' camp. Every level proved to show more of how their tribe worked. One level down she found younger boys being taught by clearly overworked and older women than the ones upstairs, and two levels down showed far more stressed out women chasing around little male toddlers all of whom seemed to delight in causing headaches for their caretakers.
After the last of the daycares Alexa found herself being shuffled through a set of iron bars, which were slammed shut behind her. Directly across from her was another barred door, to her right was a camera behind a thick set of glass, and on her left a white wall set with a thick black height chart.
She didn't exactly need the instruction but one of her escorts felt the need to bark it anyway.
"Stand against the wall and face the camera!" Rolling her eyes, she did as she was told. They took her mugshot, and Luna's as well before they led her on. Alexa would've thought they'd pat her down or watch her as she changed into the orange jumpsuit, but they either didn't see a need for it, her being a girl and all, or they were too scared of her after the display with Chad. They did take all of Luna's supplies, though. All the food, not to mention Alexa's enchanted toolbox, but they didn't think to take her bracelet or the bobble around her neck.
Decked out in her new prison jumpsuit, Alexa was led deeper into the concrete facility. They gave her a cell, with a toilet on one side and a painfully thin cot on the other.
They left her there alone on that first day, just her and Luna, only broken up once. One of the women from the top most level, one of the waitresses, had come down with a plate of food for her; a small cheese burger, some fries, and a soda. Alexa had been about to thank her, but she hurried away without a word.
After her dinner she left the tray it had come on in front of the cell door and sat down on her cot. After a long silence she finally spoke.
"You know...I always expected to be giving Jazz a heart attack right about now."
Luna creaked a quizzical response.
"Well you know, they tend to give you one phone call. I thought for sure that I'd get her cursing up a storm the first time I got arrested!" Alexa explained.
"Aroo?" Luna asked, trotting over to the bed and laying down at the end by Alexa's toes. The whole thing creaked under the automaton's weight.
"Of course I knew! I mean look at me! I threw myself into this quest with barely any hesitation! I obviously have no common sense or impulse control. Ending up in cuffs was just a matter of time." As she talked she began tapping her fingers on the concrete wall. They were alone in the prison block as far as she could tell, she couldn't even see any security cameras or other prisoners. This place obviously wasn't used very often.
She sighed and settled down on the really uncomfortable cot and began to think. Thinking gave way to daydreams after the first hour, and sometime after that Alexa fell asleep.
How long she slept she honestly couldn't say. The only thing she knew was, when she did eventually open her eyes, there was someone sitting on a folding chair just outside her cell, staring at her.
"Bwah!" Alexa yelped, falling out of bed.
"Bwah!" Yelped the guard, tumbling out of his seat.
"Woof!" Barked Luna, glancing between the two.
"What's the matter?" The guy asked. "You shouted!"
"Of course I shouted!" Alexa barked "You were watching me sleep!"
"Of course I was. That's my job." He groaned. Now that Alexa was actually looking at him properly she was better able to take in his appearance. He was African American, around her age. His hair was cut short, his face lean with just a little bit of facial hair as if he was at the very beginning stages of growing a beard or had simply neglected to shave recently.
He wore a simple dark blue uniform, with a pair of ridiculous reflective sunglasses over his eyes, despite the relative gloom of the cells. On his hip was a sword that Alexa felt reasonably sure they didn't usually have in normal prisons, and on his chest above his right breast pocket was the name "Stevens".
"Call me Marcus, or Mr. Stevens if you like. It's all the same to me." He said with a slight yawn. "Just don't make the job difficult for me and we'll get along well enough."
"Your job that involves watching me sleep." Alexa pointed out flatly.
"Look, the shift starts at 6:00 AM and chow time for prisoners isn't until 7:30, the time between is just me hanging around. Maybe I was watching, maybe I just had my head pointed in the direction of the cell. Do you really want to make a big deal about this on your first day?" He asked in an exasperated way. In truth Alexa didn't want to make a fuss...part of her only did it because she felt she was expected to. Marcus correctly interpreted her silence and relaxed a bit.
"Now, this is how things'll work." He began, talking in a way that felt rehearsed, and not at all as if he enjoyed saying it. It sounded as if he were saying it because he had to. "They're going to bring down breakfast. After you eat I'm going to take you to work. You'll be working a twelve hour shift, with two bathroom breaks and a ten minute lunch. After that you'll be allowed one hour in the yard, then you'll be brought back here for dinner, and lights out about two hours after that. I'm your chaperone for the majority of the day, but if I have to go for any reason just listen to whoever I leave you with. I'll be out of your hair after lights out and come back before breakfast. Got it so far?"
Alexa nodded but said nothing.
"Good. At the end of every month the king'll be down here to check if you changed your mind about marriage." He paused to let out a snort. "Or at least he'll do it this month, I doubt he'll be back after that."
"Why not?" Alexa asked shortly.
"Because the king is all about instant gratification. He'll come one month, maybe two, then he'll get tired of you always refusing him. Then he'll put you up for grabs and let someone else try to get you to marry them, and judging by what you did to Chad, that won't last long either." Marcus explained with a chuckle.
"You don't think I'll cave eventually?" Alexa asked, a little surprised. This was not the attitude most of the Gargareans had.
"Maybe, but I doubt it. Most of the girls who end up down here are shaking like a leaf or screaming at the guard or something. They break real quick. Odds are either the king'll get rid of you, or he'll forget you're even down here." Marcus said with another shrug as if either option didn't bother him overly much. Alexa couldn't help but wonder just what he meant by 'most of the girls'. How many had been thrown down here?
"Well, we'll see how you take to the work in any case. Who knows, maybe you'll give up after five minutes and I can go back up top" Marcus said with another chuckle and a roll of his eyes.
"What sort of work are they going to have me do?" Alexa asked. The pause between the question and Marcus's answer worried her.
"Customer service." He finally said
"You might as well just kill me right here." Alexa responded.