Ol' Flint the Crow

Flint's Tale pt. 9 / Finale

I spent these long days aimlessly walking the castle halls. Every instant I passed by the heavily guarded prison entrance, I could barely keep myself away without having an intense fight with my legs for what felt like a life age to me. I had to walk away and remain patient, according to Granny. She was going have a talk with Todd. It was going to work! She wasn't going to be hurt! That is what I said to myself... I was a fool...

This grueling wait was agony on my mind. Even when I slept, foreboding dreams would bombard my subconscious thoughts, slowly peeling each layer like a rotten onion. In the dreams, I would hear the screaming of the nobles as they were dragged from their rooms and later stabbed by the armed townsfolk who showed on mercy. Jim and Gregory were struck down mercilessly. At the very end of my dream, Todd would bring Tabitha in front of me, and, with a swift thrust of his sword, he would stab her in the heart.

When I woke up, crying in grief, I could still hear the sounds of pitiful sobs coming from underneath me. Something was wrong! I pressed my head to the floor and could distinctly hear wailing from the lower level. What was going on in the dungeon?

I noticed that Todd was spending a great deal of time down there, which made it difficult for Granny to talk to him, since he would only allow a select few to travel down with him to the jails. I should have known what was happening to the nobility, but the hope of Tabitha's pending release blinded me.

As it became harder for me to stop thinking about Tabitha, I noticed the dudgeon guard spending less time protecting the jail door. Instead, the sentry would lazily daydream as the cell keys dangled loosely from his belt, creating a tantalizing melody of clicking metal that tempted me greatly. My fingers itched to snatch them from him like I did to General Kathrine, when she was still alive. It would be easier too. The man was an untrained civilian and didn't take his job at all seriously. Anyway, I was beginning to lose hope in Granny.

On the seventh day of waiting for an answer from Todd or Granny, I yanked the keys from the inattentive guard and unlocked the door. It opened with a loud creak that made me fear someone would notice. Like a skittish thief entering a holy temple, I crept inside and closed the door gently behind me.

I waited at the top of the stairs for my eyes to adjust to the lack of light. Once I was able to see properly enough, I descended the stairs slowly, carefully avoiding a fall. I sighed in relief after making it down without losing my balance once.

As I began to walk among the many cells which lined the spidery chamber, spreading out into different tunnels like an intricate web, I gasped at how many prisoners there were. They must have totaled into the hundreds. And there was still enough room for each of them to have their own individual cell. Unfortunately, their cells were no bigger than five feet in length and width. They weren't very tall either.

I kept my head down, and I tried to remain unnoticed by the imprisoned nobility. Nevertheless, once I accidently glanced at a noble who's face had a distinct red mark, I had to take a closer look. The blemish turned out to be a deep cut and a broken nose. Those weren't the only injuries he had sustained. His body was covered with ugly blue bruises that must have been made by someone wielding a massive bludgeon for a weapon.

The injured man was shivering as he sat down cross-legged on top of his hands. His belly was flat and sagging as it quivered like an empty burlap sack. He was staring at an empty plate that was spotlessly cleaned yet was dripping with a layer of dried up saliva that was starting to flake off. Teetering his head nervously, the noble twitched wildly. He reminded me of a pigeon I had known during my time in the wizard's deplorable laboratory. The aristocrat bobbed in the same uncontrollable way my fellow cellmate would do before he was taken away to be operated on. I never saw him after that...