The Songbird

Chapter 11: No More Pretending

Mina was outside herself, standing shoulder to shoulder with the shadow, looking down at her body sprawled across the floor of the cave. The walls were in ruins, jewels sprawled around her like tithes, and there she lay, gone to it all.

"No more games, shadow," she rounded on him. "What happened to me?"

His formless face gave no semblance of expression as he answered. "It seems I don't need to take you anywhere after all. You're playing into his hands all on your own."

"Whose hands?" Mina demanded. "The King's? One of those knights?"

"Who am I to divulge your own story? Live it through, little one. It's long past time for you to begin."

Mina felt the shadow grab her shoulders and shove her in the direction of her body, causing her to stumble and fall back inside.

* * * * * * *

She felt a piece of sunlight warming her closed eyelids right before she opened them. And when she did, she could only stare at that blinding sight of light from a crack in the cave ceiling, wishing she could crawl through it and evaporate into the sky.

She rolled onto her back with a groan, fatigue coming in waves as her hands felt around at all the stones surrounding her. Mina didn't even think as she put fistfuls into her pockets, so wired to ensure her own survival even as she wasn't aware of much else.

She remembered, though.

That scream. How it rang in her ears, ears that ached terribly now, and how it seemed to destroy everything in sight.

This isn't normal, Mina quietly admitted to herself. I can't pretend any longer.

She was one step away from saying the phrase that would brand her forever, the phrase that would separate her from all normalcy for the rest of a life she was allowed to live. The child she once was would have rejoiced. But the woman she was now recoiled in fear, and then outright gasped when she felt something nudge her foot.

Bolting upright, Mina saw three figures in front of her. And beyond them, countless other pairs of eyes, the only visible facial feature as the rest were obscured by masks.

She opened her mouth to scream again.

But they were faster.

"Gag her!" Someone yelled, and then there was a cloth tied over Mina's mouth before a decibel could crawl from her throat. Ropes soon followed, binding her wrists and ankles together.

She squirmed and fought and kicked at each interval, but she was overwhelmed by too many people to number.

"What do we do with her?" Someone asked.

"We have to kill her! She'll turn us in!"

"Are you kidding? That's a Favor-Born! Think of the use we could get out of her!"

"What use? You saw what she did to the cave. She'd murder us all!"

Then there was a tide of voices, all shouting and scrambling over one another and spitting venom over whether to spill her blood or try something else. And in that moment, Mina was aware of two things: one, that she felt panic as keenly as a brand, clawing through her chest. Two, that someone had called her the thing she'd been too afraid to call herself: a Favor-Born.

"Quiet, all of you!" A man outright screamed, and Mina whimpered at the sound.

Everyone in sight turned furious eyes at the direction of the voice, but their muted anger quickly gave way to gasps of shock and whispers, phrases of "Talmage, is that you? How'd you get out so quickly?" coming in from all corners.

Mina saw the man as he emerged from the crowd, marked by the fact that he wasn't masked, though he sorely could've used one.

He looked like hell, clothes ripped and blood caking his face as he limped in her direction. Dark, feathery hair was plastered to his skin, and one of his otherwise angular eyes was swollen and black.

But even with all of that, Mina recognized him.

The young man from The Square, the one who left the band, the one who was taken by the knight.

"Talmage, how? You told us to prepare for a long leave of absence," someone said, but he just continued to look at Mina.

"Our allies in Abbott's castle never fail to surprise," he said cryptically. "Besides, I would've died had I been there much longer. Some of our friends did their job a bit too well."

This set off a new flurry of whispers, which Talmage held up a hand to stifle.

"Never mind that, I'm back because of luck and good timing. The King and his knights were preoccupied with something, so I was able to slip out with help. I'm sure I don't need to name the source of that help given the presence of this outsider."

Mina shrank inward at being referred to.

"Now, what's the meaning of all this?" He asked, coming to crouch beside her.

"She came in here raving mad and screaming, started destroying the cave with her voice. Passed out soon after. We gagged her for our own safety."

"This is that girl who sings in The Square, isn't it? Comes in here to collect jewels, too," Talmage said, more to himself. "Never would've pegged you as a danger."

There were suddenly a thousand questions swimming in her head, but Mina could do nothing but stare at him with wide eyes.

Talmage gave her a long look, seeming to fight with himself over a decision. Ultimately, he gave his head a slight shake and reached out a hand toward her.

"I will lower this," he whispered, referring to the gag. "But only if you promise not to scream. I have no desire to kill you, but our safety comes first."

She nodded immediately, seizing the opportunity to bargain for her release. Talmage slid the cloth down to her neck, and she breathed in fresh air.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"Mina Blackwell," she answered.

"And why did you come to destroy our cave?"

"Why did you blow up The Square?"

He reeled back as if she'd slapped him, and people began yelling again. She heard the word "spy" thrown around a few times, along with other names that made her angry.

But another voice broke through it all.

"Hide!" Someone shrieked, sounding panicked and winded, almost as if they'd just finished running a great distance.

"For what?" Talmage asked, annoyed.

"The knights are coming!" The voice yelled back. "I saw them in the woods! They're coming right for us!"

People began tripping over one another as they filed out, orders for silence following in their dishevelment. Talmage turned back to Mina, a calculated look on his face.

"The King is looking for a Favor-Born. I wonder if you're it."

Cold fear settled in her stomach, and in that instance, she made up her mind on one thing that her fate would never be, the one side she would never join.

"If that's true, I ask that you kill me now."

But Talmage only smiled as he brought the cloth back over her mouth.

"I've got a better idea."

He then tied another cloth around her eyes before Mina felt herself lifted and carried through the cave's labyrinth.