Aurelia.

I stare after him, my anger almost forgotten in his sudden shift in demeanor.
He seemed fine when he walked in.
Heck, he was fine teasing me about my quarters.

I slump against the rough wall with a wince, eyeing the tiny bottle with greenish paste wearily, hoping it's not another "hopefully it won't kill her', like the Brazel.

Which did not end up with me dead.

Sighing, I pop the cork on the bottle and read the little label wrapped around it's middle.

"𝓜𝓪𝓼𝓼𝓪𝓰𝓮 𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓸 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝔀𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓼.  𝓗𝓸𝓹𝓮 𝓲𝓽 𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓹𝓼. ^⁠_⁠^ 𝓦𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓪."

A small smile spreads on my face.
Maybe not all of them are stab worthy.

I dip my finger into the ointment and rub it into the broken, peeling skin of my wrists, exhaling in relief when it soothes the burn that arose when I scratched it.

My mind wanders, but eventually returns to the bane of my existence.

Darius.

He left this here for me.
But that's not proof that he's the owner of a heart.
It only shows that he'll take...decent-ish care of me because I'm a hostage.
For the ransom of what, I still have no idea.

My brain replayed the expression on his face after I ignored his question; pure hatred, but beneath that...all consuming longing.
Well really, it was more of a need.

But for what?
To see me gone?
The city falling?
My father dead?

Ugh. This was so confusing. If only the jackass would give me something to work with other than assumptions and questions.

And what was with his mood switch?
He did seem bipolar when we first met.
Either way, he's dealing with it while laying on a nice, soft bed, during which time, I'll be sweating and getting stiff in this stupid pit.

Ugh. I hate him and his damn bipolarism so much.

If I could just get a knife from somewhere and...
I sigh. I should stop thinking like this. It's likely bad for my mental health- not to mention extremely frustrating when I can't act on it.

Not that I would,-or could, if I'm being honest- even if I had the advantage.

A sharp sting brings me out of my thoughts -somewhere I've been retreating to more recently lately- and I slap (and miss) the insect that very impolitely poked a hole into my skin.

It seems I've changed my mind.

Advantage or not, if I ever get my hands on that filius litore, (son of a beach) it won't be a very pretty sight.

What even is this stupid insect?
I swat at it with one hand, since the other is scratching the itchy bump it left on my arm, and finally manage to trap it in my palm.
I examine the half-squashed creature closely; the long needle thing that was stuck in my arm, tiny- almost invisible- wings, and black and white legs.

I don't think I've ever seen something like this before. We certainly didn't study it in the city. I would've remembered it, if that was the case. We learnt about all the insects there were before the Multi-Quake, but it seems we've either forgotten some, or this one was left out.

There was a bright flash of blue and then a tingling sensation spread through my hand. I realised that the insect had stuck it's needle into me again.

"Argh." Mildly disgusted, I wiped my hand on the sand, still experiencing a kind of tingly numbness.

So now they have radioactive biting things?

I blinked and my veins glowed blue for a second; it happened so fast that I wasn't entirely sure I hadn't imagined it.
And I was still trying to figure out what the hell that was, when the pounding started.

~*~*~

I am the embodiment of agony.

My body fails to obey me, and I'm getting a taste of what it feels like to be paralysed. It's not exactly pleasant.

I ache everywhere -as though someone beat me up with a steel bat- and my arm burns with the intensity of molten fire.

But the worst is my head.

I can almost feel my mind ripping, something twisting and poking and tearing at my brain, forcing me to glue my lips shut to stop from screaming- or begging someone to kill me.

Death- anything, really- would be better than this repeated stabbing in my head.

But nothing comes easily, because it's only god knows how many hours I layed on the sandy ground, my body so stiff that I'm unsure if I'll ever be
able to move again, my mind torn to shreds, molten fire spreading through my entire being, before a merciful unconsciousness pulls me under.

~*~*~

I wandered the dark halls, sleep avoiding me as it usually did, when a flicker of candlelight from beneath one of the doors piqued my curiosity. 
I followed it to a room that was vaguely familiar, and a tempting scent wafted in the air.
It was my stomach growling that gave me the courage to knock, and the door cracked open and inch, to show a sliver of an eye. It looked at me, then fearfully darted behind me, before the door creaked open a little more for me to enter.
"Come in, quickly!" A soft voice said, ushering me into the well-kept room.
I instantly recognised the voice to be that of my mother's lady maid, Nina.
She was a kind woman, with a ready smile and willingness to help. Maybe that was why she'd been able to serve my mother so long.
But now, her chocolate skin had lost its lustre, and her eyes their light-hearted spark. Her eyebrows were knitted together in a worried frown, and she looked at me wearily, as though I would bite if she got too close.
That hurt, because she was a person I could always rely on to have a cheerful smile on seeing me.
"What's wrong?" I asked her, wanting desperately to help her like she'd helped me so many times before.
She looked like she was on the verge of tears, then her face crumpled, and I reached out for her hand as tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.
"Tell me, I can help." I whispered, feeling my own tears gathering.
I didn't understand why anyone would want to make this woman cry.
I vowed to find out who did it- and make them pay.
"Oh my dear." She muttered, brushing my hair back with her fingers.
"I'm afraid even you can't help- but I appreciate the offer, all the same."
"Why not?" I demanded, my sadness quickly morphing into possessive anger.
"I'm the princess, I can exile whoever hurt you or-" "Shh, please." She murmured, her eyes flicking nervously to the door.
Then she turned back to me, her eyes hard.
"It's not safe for you to be here." Her voice was harsh- something that surprised me even more than when she pushed me back to the door.
But before she closed it, I saw the same tender look that she would have when my mother shouted at me.
But after the door closed, I stood there, my heart beating a bit faster than usual.
That's when I heard the cry of a baby.