I had stood out there, under watchful and scrutinizing stares of the guards, for what felt like eternity, but what I knew was no more than ten or fifteen minutes. I was holding onto the reins of the horse tightly and stroking her body to give us both comfort. There was shouting I couldn't make out, and then I heard the gates start to creak open in response.

Five guards stood on the other side, and they rushed at me, two grabbing onto each of my arms. One grabbed my horse and started to bring it inside, the others checked me over for weapons. When they realized I had none, they started to yank me along roughly, causing me to stumble every few steps.

So many thoughts were flooding my brain, it was making it hard to focus. I really wanted to demand and beg that they take care of my horse, but I knew if I did, they would probably harm her. It would just be another thing they could use against me, and they were evil and would do anything to hurt me.

"King Torryn is going to take pleasure in torturing you," The guard on my right side hissed, as he gripped my arm tighter. His face was so close to mine that I almost gagged from his horrid, sour breath. I held my tongue, and turned calmly away from him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a reaction.

The halls of the castle were as dreary as I remembered. The torches on the walls did not provide nearly enough light, and casted many shadows—no, it was more like demons. Demons that haunted every corner of this place, looking for its next, helpless victim.

As we approached the throne room doors, a guard waiting outside them hurriedly opened the doors and announced our arrival. I heard a couple of the guards behind me snicker in delight at what the future held for me.

"Then what are you doing, you fool? Get out of the way!" I heard King Torryn tell, his tone full of annoyance. The guard, embarrassed and scared, practically jumped out of the way. The guards proceeded to pull me forward.

Once I was shoved into the throne room, the guard hastily shut the doors behind us. The guards holding my arms pushed me roughly to the floor, but didn't take their hands off me as King Torryn, who usually lounged on his throne in boredom, walked slowly towards me with a look of pure delight.

"Well, well, well..." He put a finger under my chin, lifting it so I would meet his eyes, which were like two unlit pieces of coal, but instead I deliberately looked past him. And my gaze landed on a green-eyed boy several years older than me. Cyrus!

His eyes were slightly widened, as if in shock or fear. His hands, which were at his sides, were clenched into tight fists. The stormy look he had was getting darker every second. I was fearful of loyal guards noticing and inquiring about it. Cyrus should not, and would not, go down with me.

"You returned to finally apologize for leaving so suddenly without even a goodbye?" He chuckled, and his face grew ever so serious. "But really, sweetheart, why would you, a traitor to this kingdom, come back when you are clearly not welcome?"

I was silent. My mouth was dry, as if it were glued shut. I couldn't utter a word. I brought my head down to look at the floor, scared at what my face revealed. I couldn't bring him the satisfaction of knowing he had this effect on me.

"Huh," King Torryn said, and it was as if my sentence had been decided in that single word. He turned on his heel, swinging is royal mantle back as he returned to his seat on the throne. "A shame really. I saw such great potential in you. But I'll have to put you down, just like I had to with that brother of yours. What a fight he gave me."

"What?" I finally spoke then and raised my head, my eyes wide in confusion and my blood boiling in anger.

"Oh, of course you don't know." King Torryn leaned forward in his throne, his hands laced together in his lap. His mouth curled up in an evil grin, enjoying what he thought of as entertainment. "Gil didn't die on the docks that day. He was quite alive, actually. Just a bit... incapacitated. He put up a good fight against my guards, but the fight in him as he was being tortured was... delightful."

"You monster!" I screamed, enraged. I broke free of the guards grasps with a burst of adrenaline, dashing at the king with only my bare hands for weapons. I didn't get very far, the guards were on top of me as I reached within feet of the king. They pushed me to the ground, the side of my face held against the floor as I struggled and shouted hateful and distasteful things. His hideous smile did not fade from his face the entire time.

"There is the feisty little traitor I know. Don't worry, I made it long and horrible for Gil. The more he fought, the more he suffered. And oh, how I made sure he suffered." King Torryn announced proudly. "I showed him a mutilated, bloated body we had found in the water, your pal, John Reed... It was amusing, when he thought you were dead, he finally ceased fighting... Of course, that meant it wasn't fun anymore and I had to do away with him." King Torryn shrugged his shoulders and waved his hand as if the whole ordeal didn't matter.

A ghastly wail escaped my mouth. My stomach was queasy, and my mind was an even more sickening blur. Silent tears slipped from my eyes and onto the cold floor, pooling beneath my cheek.

Gil... I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve this. You suffered because of me, because of the decisions that I made. And you were punished in horrible, sickening ways all because of your love. I wish I had made your sacrifice worth it, but I don't think there was ever any way to have made it so. Nothing was ever worth the price of losing you. The pain... all the pain I feel is proof of this...

"Why don't you give her my favorite treatment for all the people that betray me?" He sneered at me from above. The guards grabbed me and started carrying me along to the door, not caring my feet were dragging across the floor.

"Father, if I may..." Cyrus interfered.

"What is it my son?" King Torryn wondered.

"It might be too bold of me to say, but I think it's a little hasty to sentence her to torture. We still do not what it is she came back here for." Cyrus, underneath his calm tone, was so far from calm. "Perhaps she has information to offer us on Siva?"

"That is too bold to say. We have spies in Siva, we do not need her."

"But Father, you would also know from our spies that she was in the heart of the kingdom itself. She will know things we could only dream our own spies could find out. Maybe after a days rest, she will be inclined to tell us what she knows. Is it not worth the wait to find out? If she doesn't cooperate, we can just kill her." Cyrus whispered this last bit, but I know I was meant to hear it.

King Torryn thought for a moment before
holding up a hand for the guards to stop. He was glaring at me, as if he weren't sure if he really cared enough about Siva at the moment to not see me tortured. He pointed and waved at two of the guards behind me.

"Make sure this girl is given some food and a room. And I want you two to guard her room at all times. Understood?" King Torryn ordered.

"Yes, Your Highness!" They said in unison and with a bow they departed, the guards holding my arms switching out. These guards were being fairly more gentle though.

"No funny business, you hear? We are welcoming you to our home." It looked as if King Torryn was gagging and choking on his words. He waved us off, and the guards led me out of the throne room, to where I'd spend my day, guarded from everyone in an actual room with a bed and food. But I couldn't let myself get too comfortable.

I only had one day to figure out how to save my life.