Elba's mornings began every day in the same way, with the sound of her breakfast sliding across the floor. She peered over from her goose down pillow, saw the hatch at the bottom of her door slam firmly shut, a piping hot bowl of porridge with bits of smoked fruit and a cup of weak, mulled wine sitting neatly on a platter.

She ate the lot in silence, her room as quiet as the royal library back in Byzantia, save for the hissing rock in the middle of the room as it relentlessly poured out heat to drive away the cold. A snowstorm had been brewing outside for some time ago, fat flakes whipping past the window sill, a thin layer of frost creeping along the panes.

Elba mused over her situation as she chewed. Strange, how quickly she'd grown accustomed to the new routine. Three days had passed since her arrival at Kel Dracon, and already she'd settled well into her new home, and the new schedule that came with it.

First there was breakfast, then free time, which usually involved either pacing about the room like a caged animal, staring at the incredibly strange hissing rock and its metal cage and burning a few fingers in the process, or pondering endlessly over what the next step of her plan would be.

She sighed and settled down after a fretful bout of pacing, one hand rubbing gingerly over her tender belly. They'd confiscated her traveling gear and weapons after she'd been taken to her room, but the gown they'd given back in exchange was comfortable enough, stitched accordingly to allow room for the eventual swelling of her stomach.

After that it was time for lunch. On Elba's first day she was happy to discover, much to her own joyous surprise, that the food was not in fact cabbage soup, but a hearty, and rich shepherd's stew. It seemed even with Danic being an icy hell under King Erik's rule, there was still some chance for luxury. She blessed her lucky stars and wolfed the food down greedily.

After lunch she was escorted to the great room, or the stitching room as Elba had come to know it as, where she was expected to socialize and practice odd hobbies with the other women. Usually, it was needlework, but on one occasion they'd gathered to read books together and discuss what was in them.

Incidentally however, only three out of the six women there could actually read, and out of those three only one of them knew the languages they were written in. Elba had been classically trained to read and write in Byzantian when she'd married Libro, even took the time to understand Danic's gruff language, but reading it was completely out of her skill set. Saga, meanwhile, had her own excuses.

"I'm from the Eastern Isles," she'd said, her accent sounding like a soothing harp being smashed to bits by a savage. "I don't understand any of that gibberish."

"This word means sheep," Emme had told her once, trying in some vain attempt to help.

"Then why not just draw a picture of a sheep like how my people do it? That's just a bunch of squiggles."

The argument was quickly settled after that. Emme ended up reading the story for everyone, answering questions like Elba's old storytellers used to back when she was little. She remembered sitting by the fire and listening to the old men and women tell their tall tales, frowning each and every time a hand shot up to cut the story short.

Good times, great even, but long since gone. The past only existed in her memories now. Everyone else had simply forgotten them.

After socializing, Elba was escorted back to her room with dinner arriving soon after, and from there she would lay in bed until sleep finally took her, whisking her back into the darkest corners of her nightmares, where the ivory mask waited to chase her once more.

Three days had passed since then. Three days of good food, decent company, and a little room she could call her own for the time being. Never before had she been so comfortable, so well fed, so warm in all her life, and it made her feel all the more guilty for it.

She hadn't forgotten about what Astrid had said, about what the Right Hand planned to do to her and to all the other women in the tower if he had his way. She swallowed past a growing lump in her throat and steadied herself. Fear would do nothing but waste time. She needed to focus.

She needed to think.

Elba consolidated the facts. The tower in and of itself consisted of multiple cells and a large central room, having only one entrance and exit, leading down via a tight, corkscrew staircase. A natural bottleneck to stop any potential escapees.

Outside, her plans for escape fared little better. The tower, she'd come to realize, was the tallest part of the entire castle and built directly in its center, surrounded on all sides by multiple walls, watch towers, and more importantly, armed guards. Even if she somehow found enough cloth to make a rope from, she'd either be quickly spotted, or plummet swiftly to her death soon after.

Which meant she would have to approach her plan very carefully. Stealth would be a must, but only up to a point. Once she'd been figured out she'd need to move fast. Finding a quick means of escape was paramount, but her first spot of trouble started with the logistics. She knew nothing of the castle's layout, save the damned tower, and judging by what she could see outside, the place was built to confuse any would be invaders if it was ever besieged. .

Which meant she would need someone on the inside to guide her. She'd tried getting Astrid on her side so far, but even that had proven difficult. The woman had practically poofed out of existence after they'd spoken, and the other prisoners in the tower didn't seem keen on wanting to escape save for Tergrid, who unfortunately was an entirely different dilemma all on her own.

"Nido's tits," she muttered, then snorted as she realized what she'd said. Goddess, even with Libro gone he was still rubbing off on her. A memory of him flashed past her mind's eye, and she had to grit her teeth to stop herself from crying.

Three days in this godless tower and there was still no sight of him. No tell-tale signs of his rescue, no ringing of bells, no heroic charges. Inside the tower, it felt almost as if he no longer existed, as if he'd been some trick of the mind, a fleeting memory.

The thought alone made her mouth taste sour, and she spat onto the warming rock, hearing it crackle with agitation. She couldn't allow herself to think this way. No matter what happened she would not succumb to fate. She'd been driving a thumb in people's eyes for years now, and it made no sense to stop now. She would escape, she would find Libro again, and she would make the Right Hand pay.

"I'm leaving this place," Elba said under her breath, marking a solemn vow to herself. "One way or another."

A knock at the door drew her attention. She pulled the shawl around her shoulders close, gently sliding the wooden spoon from her dinner tray into a back pocket. Even if it had been purposely blunted, she could still pop an eye out if she needed too.

"Come on."

The door swung open, and to Elba's surprise it was Astrid who stepped in. She looked pale, paler than normal at least, her eyes slightly sunken in, sickly dark bags beneath her eyes.

"Nido's tits," Elba found herself saying it again. "You look like shit."

Astrid gave a watery smile. "The Right Hand has been very demanding these past few days. The Lightbringer's rebellion has only grown stronger, inciting many to rise up against the High King and his...supposed tyranny." She lowered her eyes, staring at the well trodden carpet. "There has been an influx of new prisoners as of late. By fate or good fortune, none of them were with child."

"That is good, at least." Elba fidgeted restlessly on what to say next. What could she say? "Astrid, you can't keep doing this. You know this right?"

She wouldn't meet her eye, like it was Brand all over again, weighed down by so much guilt. "What other choice do I have? If I disobey, if I fight back, I'll die."

"Then die defiantly," Elba snapped back at her. "But for goddesses sake at least die with some dignity!"

Astrid's gaze snapped back up, staring at her in silent astonishment, emboldening Elba to continue.

"After everything that's happened to you, after everything you've lost, this is how you want to live? Enslaved to yet another tyrant? Obedient to his every whim? The Astrid I remember killed the last person who tried to enslave her, but all I see now is a craven wearing her skin."

Astrid's left eye fluttered slightly. "You bitch! How can you say that? How can you be so cruel?"

"Because life is cruel!" Elba took a blazing step towards Astrid, head slightly spinning from the aggressive heat in the room. Or was it in her chest? "Life will always be cruel, but if we succumb to it then we are no better than the cattle we slaughter for our meat, or the vermin we kill to protect our crops."

She grabbed a fistful of Astrid's robe, made it so she couldn't look away. Damn, but she was angry now. Her vision had gone all blurry around the corners, the little life growing within her burning red hot inside her belly.

"I will not become some experiment for a monster that has no right to live," Elba said. "Nor will I allow anyone to succumb to such brutality. Not now and not ever." She shoved Astrid against the door, pinning her in place. "But I need allies, Astrid, not cowards. I need someone who can help me, someone who knows this place better than me, and I know you are the only one who can help me."

"I can't," Astrid whimpered, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Yes, you can. "Elba urged her. "You knifed your bastard husband, pardon, former bastard husband to death and helped the Vangen kill your own brother. You can do anything." She didn't want to say the last part, but in her experience a well placed lie can smash through a wall as easily as a battering ram. Time in Byzantia had taught her this lesson well.

"You can even see Brand again," she said.

Astrid paused to look at her, no doubt working over what Elba had said, seeing it from every angle and adding up every possible sum. Elba had seen Brand do it long enough to know exactly where he'd learned it from.

There was a hard bang on the door. "Everything all right?" A voice growled out. One of the Chosen. "I heard a noise. Astrid, answer me now."

"I'm all right," Astrid said calmly, the usual fearful warble in her voice gone entirely now. "Lady Elba has suffered from a fainting spell. The dreadful misery of her entrapment has left her quite weak, you see."

A hiss of annoyance, the shuffling of boots, and the guard was soon gone.

Astrid slid her gaze back to Elba as wiped away a tear. "All my life I have done nothing but sit down and allow others to decide my fate, but I suppose a time comes when you simply have to stand up one day."

"There will always be a time for such things," Elba pressed. She let go of Astrid, and the two of them stood facing each other, on equal terms this time.

"It will be difficult, if not impossible, and we have a narrow margin for time," Astrid said.

"Then we will have to move quickly, and pray for a miracle."

"You will need help, more than what I can provide."

"I will convince the others to join me. With all of us working together, we have a better chance of surviving." Elba smiled to keep her teeth from chattering. Her plan was working. It was actually working. "Besides, I'm sure they'd all love the chance to escape as well."

"I honestly don't even know where to start."

Elba's mind raced. The next step. What even was the first step? "We need to secure an escape route first, and then chart the quickest route towards it. You said you made the scrying wards here in Kel Dracon, right?"

Astrid's eyes went a little wide. "That's right."

"Then you should know how to unmake them. Start with the tower and work your way down once you've found us a proper exit."

"I...I can't do all that! What if the Right Hand notices and starts asking questions?"

"Then just lie," Elba told her. "Your good at it. You've been lying to yourself for years now. You're practically a natural by now."

Astrid stared at Elba in stunned disbelief.

"And we'll need some of those little charms you made for the Vangen back in Middengard, the ones that hid our presence when we scaled the wall. That would serve everyone quite nicely I would think."

"Anything else?" Astrid asked, her gaze drifting off into space.

Elba paused to think for a moment. "Oh, and while your at it, sneak us up a couple of hammers when you get the chance."

***