‘That’s a.m.,’ said Mr Jontson, a smirk showing rotten teeth.
Silence fell as he walked away, and Scarlen moved her head to the side as best she could to see some inmates staring from the canteen.Great!
She glanced at her hand quite close to her face, seeing the harshness already making an appearance on her palm. This was her life now, well, for the next six months, unless her father felt the need to punish her some more.
I hate you! I fucking hate you for this!
Gritting her teeth, she took a calming breath. Show no weakness. It wasn’t too dissimilar to life at the palace. Stand tall, never cry, take your punishments like a warrior, hide all emotion. She was pretty sure her father had none at all.
It wasn’t long before everyone had to return to their blocks for the evening, and some Ambers passed her in the courtyard, which she thought odd, seeing as it was a bit of a detour for them, but as soon as the first rotten piece of vegetable smacked her in the face, she realised why those inmates had been herded that way.
Closing her eyes tightly, hoping they survived the ordeal, she had to wonder why she hadn’t seen Bear covered in such muckwhen he was in the pillory. Perhaps the rain had washed his shame away, that or the inmates were too afraid to pelt him with anything, which seemed more likely.
As soon as the jeers and laughter faded, she peeked with one eye first. The coast was clear, so she flicked off the slimy cabbage leaf from her fingers and tried to shake her head to dislodge whatever sludge was on top, but someone tugged her plait, banging her head against the edge of the small hole.
‘Who’s there?’
No one answered, but the movement told her whoever they were, they were sawing away at her hair.
She tried to kick back, but caught nothing but air, then part of her plait was waggled over her head, the black tip still tied at the end, and she just caught the familiar colour of amber on a cuff before footsteps hurried away. Judging by how much of her hair she had seen, her locks would now be just below her shoulders, and questions would be asked in a few days when the ends of her hair darkened to black once more.
A sliver of tomato skin slowly slid down her cheekbone, leaving a trail of slime like a slug, and she jerked to help it on its way. At least the inmates were locked in their blocks now, she hoped. All she had to do was not let her emotions crumble and put all her energy into her legs. Her body already ached, and perhaps her soul died many years ago, because no pity party came for her, nothing to prove she was human. Just blankness with a smidge of anger.
Trying to nod off was futile, as the pillory was designed to be uncomfortable, and the bitter cold had numbed her within an hour, but still she tried to rest, as unused muscle started to make itself known. Had she not had the silent system today, she would handle the pillory a lot better.
A dark cell sprang to mind. Was it any worse? It was indoors, for a start. At least Kylar was warm.Stupid bitch!
So much of Scarlen wanted to scream, but nothingness took hold once more, controlling all thought and feeling.
The lights in the canteen went out, and complete darkness surrounded the courtyard, not that it made any difference to the fear levels in Scarlen. Along with numbness, the jittery feeling crept onto her skin, prickling, burning, unable to make up its mind what to do under the circumstances.
She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but it felt like she had been confined for hours. It was definitely going to be a long night. One filled with cramps, stiffness, ice burns, and hunger pangs.
‘Hey.’ Bear’s face came into view, unless she was dreaming. He gently wiped a warm cloth around her face, then used another to dry away the dampness.
Blinking hard, she simply stared, as all words were as frozen as the rest of her.
‘Eat this,’ he whispered, placing a pork sandwich to her chapped lips. ‘Try,’ he urged when she failed to open her tight jaw.
Scarlen bit into the food, chewing slowly, unsure what was happening or how he was there. A jolt to her memory reminded her who he was, so she spat the remaining food, in case poisoned, as her mind was too fatigued to think clearly.
‘I know you’re hungry. Just eat.’
She had to wake, have a word with herself. He didn’t know who she was, and in his own warped way, he’d made her his own, so it was highly unlikely he would try to kill her, right? With that firmly in place, she took another bite, not tasting much but cold air with each mouthful.
Once the sandwich was finished, a cup of water was offered, which was hard to sip, as she couldn’t tip her head up too much, but somehow they muddled through.
‘More.’ She wanted some more water, as that had slipped easily down her throat, replenishing at once.
‘No. The last thing you need is a full bladder.’
Good thing she went to the toilet chamber on her way to dinner. It wasn’t something she had thought about until now. ‘Why are you here?’ There were other questions, but that one would do.
Silver eyes, the only twinkle of light in the blackness of night, shone like the moon. ‘Have to take care of my girl.’ A definite jest was in his tone.
She would have snarled had her face not been frozen, not that it mattered, because he had gone, leaving her every bit in the state of confusion she had been in when first locked in the pillory.
Bear paidMr Lackly on his way to his ground-floor cell, then watched as the bars locked him in for the night. He was still questioning why he had bothered to go above and beyond. It wasn’t part of the plan.
