…
“I appreciate your reassurance and kind words,” I expressed to them. “And for the blood.” I smiled at the elderly man, who reciprocated with a smile of his own.
“Certainly, Molly,” he replied gently. “I require you to remain resilient, however.” At a minimum for this evening. Do not allow Jack to undermine you. Do not acquiesce to his desires.
“Justice will arrive for him in due course,” the masked man stated, crossing his arms over his chest. “I am aware of it.”
I smiled and gazed at the ground where my blood was starting to dry and discolour the concrete surface.
We were startled by the voices outside the prison doors. It appeared to be a furious Jack, addressing the guard who had succumbed to slumber from the powder the masked man had discharged into his face.
What are you doing?Jack whispered to the guard.
I… He stammered, sounding perplexed. “I am uncertain…” he remarked, maintaining a subdued tone.
“It appears to me that you are slumbering while you ought to be monitoring the prison,” Jack hissed.
“I sincerely apologise, your majesty,” he stated, breathless and still appearing bewildered. “I genuinely have no understanding of what transpired.” I cannot recall the moment I fell asleep.
“Will I also have to incarcerate you?”Jack enquired, his tone laced with anger.
“N…no, your majesty,” the guard replied, his tone betraying palpable fear.
Jack possessed an extraordinary influence over individuals; he could induce fear to the extent of making a mature guard weep. The notion unsettled me, as I despised the idea of my future being linked to this man.
I turned to the masked man and the elderly man to instruct them to depart, but they had already vanished. I scanned the area frantically, attempting to locate them, but neither was visible. I exhaled, relieved that they had escaped.
I merely wished for their safety.
I quietly offered a brief prayer to the lunar deities for their safe departure and enduring protection throughout their lives.
“It shall not recur,” the guard stated, his tone pleading for absolution.
I can perceive the derisive sound produced by Jack.
“Ensure that it does not,” Jack hissed.
Jack forcefully opened the prison doors and entered, accompanied closely by the same guard as before.
I recoiled in the cell, pressing my body against the wall as I prepared for Jack’s arrival. He halted before my cell and scrutinised me intently, his gaze sending a chilling sensation up my spine.
My hands quivered as I maintained contact with the wall.
Jack derided my healed wounds but refrained from commenting on them. He merely rolled his eyes as the guard unlocked the cell door, permitting Jack to enter, followed by the guard.
“Re-secure her restraints,” Jack commanded the guard.
I recoiled as the guard approached and seized me, effortlessly lifting me off the ground and thrusting me against the wall where the chains were affixed.
Jack approached me as the guard completed fastening and securing the chains around my limbs. Jack’s breath wafted towards me, inducing a gag reflex due to its offensive odour.
“Now…” Jack uttered through his clenched teeth and tight jaw. “Let us examine the new information you have gathered.”
…
“I informed you,” I exclaimed. “I committed no wrongdoing.”
Jack swiftly struck me in the abdomen, expelling all the air from my lungs. I coughed, and blood gushed from my mouth.
Do you believe I am foolish?He enquired, gazing at me with animosity in his eyes.
“Certainly not,” I wept.
He swiftly struck me across the face; I expelled the blood that accumulated in my mouth onto the ground beside me. My entire body trembled uncontrollably; I was uncertain how much additional pain I could endure. Nevertheless, I continued to contemplate the masked man’s words: I merely needed to survive the night, after which Jayce would exonerate me during the trial tomorrow.
Jack seized the wooden plank and struck me as if wielding a bat; I experienced a sharp pain as the plank collided with my face. My features became swollen from the impact, and I realised I likely had an unsightly purple bruise on my visage.
“Did Jayce compel you to murder her?”Jack enquired, his words laced with barely contained anger.
“Negative!””I wept. ‘It was not I…'”
“Falsehoods,” Jack spat as he retrieved a lighter from his pocket.
I inhaled unsteadily, uncertain of his intentions with the lighter. He advanced rapidly and positioned the lighter at the tip of my nose. His finger hovered over the switch; my body quaked as I met his gaze.
“I will not enquire again,” he spat. “Did you murder Vera, and was it for Jayce?”
“I am conveying the truth,” I whispered.
I recognised the futility of my situation; he would never accept my truth. I was already deemed culpable in his perception. He intended to eliminate me, and I felt powerless to prevent it. I merely wished for the opportunity to see Kylie one final time before my demise; I longed to express my deep affection and longing for her.
I wished to convey that irrespective of my future circumstances, I will perpetually support her and wish for her amnesty and release. I understand she is reluctant to depart the palace in my absence, yet she will have little option if I am deceased.
My heart shattered at the notion of her being devastated by my demise.
