Not again! Odelynne shook off her dizziness and confusion and focused her attention back on the wall. It didnt help that she was winded from exercising. She shouldve been used to this by now, but it had been a couple years she had been switched. No warning. At random. Poof! New jail cell. A new cell mate to get to know all over again. Hopefully this one wouldnt be an ass like the last one. Two years stuck in a cell with Old Man Aart would drive anyone to insanity. Odelynne, why must you run around in circles? Its unnecessary, loud and annoying! It was the last he said before the switching. She did learn a valuable lesson. Not all Regime Retaliators were truly peaceful people. For a group that advocates peace and gets jailed for it, he seemed pretty angry. Maybe he had been a decent person once. Hed been locked up twice as long as she.
Their cells were seven feet by seven feet by seven feet. There were two mattresses on each end. A thin layer of worn out foam would hardly be called a mattress, but she got over that her first few months in prison. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all a solid off-white grey-brown color. There were no windows or holes to send in light, but there seemed to be brightness emitting from somewhere. Food, or two bowls of bland soggy what could be vegetable bread soup and two glasses of stale water materialized twice a day. An hour before the magical light goes out, and an hour after it turns on. A worn old black wash cloth along with an empty rusty metal bucket, a bucket of cold soapy water, and a bucket of regular cold water materialized once a day in the middle of the day. With it was one set of scrubby brown clothing. Usually an overly baggy shirt, and some kind of pull string shorts. She was thankful for the pull string, because the bottoms were always just as big as the tops. It generally got worked out between the cellmates who gets to bathe when. It all dematerialized when the lights would go off. Everything was run by magic. Corrupt magic. But she had no choice to abide by it if she wished to continue living.
She missed her own magic, but it all got stripped away when she was caught. Not that she could use it freely anyway because of the Regimes persistence to regulate powers, but she did miss it. All she was doing was protesting. She wasnt sneaking into the Headquarters and stealing important documents. She always got away with that. No, the one day they send a squad to snatch protesters, she just happened to be part of the group. She did hope her friends on the outside were making use of those papers. They contained spells and lists of every magical ability each Regime Staff member had. It was enough to finally begin to launch war. But it had been ten years since she had been caught. Hope seemed to dwindle. For all she knew, there was either a war going on now, or the Retaliation was finally overpowered. Her last few cellmates had been imprisoned longer than she had been. So for six years she had heard no news from the outside.
Every once in a while, they would switch cellmates. There was no knowing when. Days, weeks, months, years, even hours. The shortest time together with a mate was two hours. The longest had been four years. She had gone through fourteen cellmates since first arriving, and remembered each one by name. They would always remain apart of her. Even her last asshole. She shook herself out of that grudge. They did have a few decent conversations from the heart. He was a good soul. Just a cranky asshole.
Bloody fuck! A male voice behind her caught her attention. Another man. Couldnt they grant her a break from men? Hopefully this one didnt come with an attitude. What just happened? Wheres Nartan?
First switch? Her dizziness was centered enough to turn around to the room. She was immediately struck by his handsomeness. Even the way he carried himself gave her body tingles she had long forgot existed. He was at least a foot taller, with dark brown hair and matching eyes. He was thin, but most usually were in this place. However there was healthiness about him that suggested he was still new. The initial anger in his eyes subsided when they met hers. He seemed to be at a loss for words though. Youll get used to it. When were you caught? It was the standard first question she always asked her new cellmates. Some dont like giving their name first to avoid getting close to somebody. She didnt mind giving hers though, but she left it to the other person to introduce themselves.
I think about a year ago. He blinked away the initial spinny feeling still confused.
Was Nartan your cell mate? She chose a mattress and sat down, hugging her knees as she leaned up against the wall. She felt her leg hair against her arms and never thought shed miss a razor this much. She wasnt a self conscious person, but if she was the only female he had seen in a year, she couldnt help but have those thoughts. It didnt help that she was brought here as a teenager. Ten years was a long time without physical attention.
Yes. He was. He took a deep breath and chose to sit on the other mattress mirroring her body language. When were you caught? Does this switch thing happen often?
Odelynne smirked. Yes. You never know when we may poof to another room with another person. Ive been here a decade, and Ive lived with fourteen people. Some hours. Some for years. So, like I said. Youll get used to it. The mans eyes widened. There seemed to be a hint of fear growing in him. Possibly the realization that he may be here this long too. What was it like on the outside when you were captured? I havent heard anything in about six years.
Quite different from a decade ago. He shook his head. About five years ago, the Retaliators raged war. It was still going on a year ago..
Its about time something happened though. She didnt know if she was fearful now that there was a definite climax to this whole thing or relieved. This could go both ways. She feared for her friends that were still on the outside though.
What were you captured for? He asked her. She was surprised he hadnt asked her name yet. She was becoming curious as to what to call him.
Protesting. She laughed. My young rebellious mind landed me in prison.
You are lucky. He told her. They execute protestors now on the spot. Nobody protests anymore. Her body went slightly cold. It wasnt like she feared death. Sometimes she wished for it instead of being cooped up in these boxes. It was the savageness of it. The damn Regime in all their evil nature. He must have seen the look on her face because he responded to it. Yeh. I hate them too. A lot of good people have been lost.
What were you captured for? It was his turn to answer.
Carrying stolen documents from one side of the city to the other to share with different Retaliator groups. He shook his head at himself. I was trusted to keep them safe. But one of the Staff decided to randomly search me on my way through town. I think there was a new form of a magical sense detection. They took the documents and me. I just fear I hindered Retaliation progress.
You didnt. She gave him a reassuring smile. I used to copy all documents ten times for fear that something like this were to happen. I added spells to wipe their information when they landed in the wrong hands. I made sure I left instructions in case I were to be caught or killed.
Copy? He eyed her quizzically. But they are protected.
Odelynne couldnt help but laugh. Those spells were easy to get past.
You mustve been pretty powerful. His amazement made her blush.
Well not powerful enough to crack the spell holding us here. She rolled her eyes at herself. I gave up after a couple years.
There was a look that appeared in his eye just then and a slight mischievous grin that went with it. Even though there was no noise any way, it seemed as if the room got quiet just so he could speak. What if I said I can help you? Odelynne found herself almost laughing but then stopped when she saw the determined look in his eye. But it was impossible. He was still new here with dreams of escaping. Everyone goes through phases where they have that dream. It was stronger in the beginning. Nartan and I spent the whole year coming up with this. His eyes bore into hers, and she couldnt look away. He was serious. But this was crazy. She couldnt let herself succumb to those silly hopes.
Trust me. She chose to laugh it off and not give in. If there was a way to escape, someone wouldve figured it out. There are an insane number of powerful people locked in here. Our powers are stripped any way.
How do you know where here is? He retorted with that mischievous smile. It gave her body those tingles again. It made his face that much more handsome.
Listen. Looking at his seriousness did not help her stay ground to reality. She shook her head to get rid of the vision of escape. It was silly. These are perfectly legitimate theories and beliefs you have. Weve all had them. And we all have theories about the nature of this place that we can speculate for hours, but the truth is that we are here. There is no way to get out unless the Regime is finally taken over. I came to accept this a long time ago. You can still believe and hope all you want, but please keep it to yourself. I cant go back to false hope.
The man nodded, but it seemed just to humour her. I dont just hope and believe. I plan and make things happen. He gave her one last smile and proceeded to lie down. She decided to do so as well and stare at the ceiling. I will convince you. There was a smile in his voice. Ody decided not to comment back. What is your name?
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