Rose

26. The betrayal

Rose

"Tell me the truth and we don't have to do all this!" He paces around in front of me, till his movements come to a halt - now directly in front of me. His eyes bore into mine, as he studies every inch of my face.

I inhale a sharp breath and hold his gaze. "I am telling the truth!   I. Don't. Know." Now in a dungeon which ensures my death.

The cuffs grip in my hand in an iron hold and I know no matter how much I try to break free of them, it will only be a futile move in the end. I feel suffocated in these stone walls behind the iron rods that twinkle in the darkness.

"Then I guess that's it then," he huffs and glances at the guards. "Take her. Tomorrow the Count will read her mind." He turns away without giving me a second glance. Unbelievable.

"Why won't you trust me?" I whisper, my voice cracking and laced with hurt. The guards appear on either side of me, tugging my arms as they forcefully drag me over to the cells "I thought you loved me!"

Just as we turn to the corner, he turns around to face me with his fists clenched beside him. He motions for the guards to pause their movements; a silent command they instantly obey.  "I never loved you," he forces out before rushing out of my view. My entire body freezes in shock as my jaw drops open.

I'm pulled back into reality once the guards resume their movements, dragging me over to the cell. The guards notice my acceptance of defeat as they throw me into the cell. I fall onto the cold hard ground, scraping my knee in the process. The burning sensation kicks in as the piercing cut opens up, allowing the small trail of blood to form against my knee.  They probably think I gave up once I heard him saying those poorly constructed lies.

But little do they know that I won't forget this betrayal and I definitely am a hella good lie detector. And I know that he lied to me. But the major question is why.

*****
My footsteps echo as I pace back and forth in my cell. After Damien had caught me red handed with the books, he did not listen to my explanation. No, instead he stood near the window looking heartbroken for a minute before the agents burst in my room, all looking smug as if they knew it was me all along.

My heart aches when I think of Damien and at the same time I feel rage flowing through me like lava. Yes, I agree that I had indeed stolen the book but what I had read there was about a totally different Damien.

I rack my brain on what to do next. By the small window above my cell, I can already make out that it's early night and Damien had muttered about bringing the Count tomorrow which I believe will happen at midnight, since we are in a vampire town now. I release a deep sigh, knowing there is not  much time left. The fact that I do not know who the Count is not helping  my situation. Biting my nails, a harsh half-stifle yell escapes my mouth and I sit down roughly.

Think, Rose, Think.

My mind runs through a ton of different situations, analyzing the cell again. I note that it is almost impossible to escape from this empty room which means someone from the outside needs to take me out. I peak from the corner I am sitting in and find the two guards near the staircase, standing and focused on their duty.

The dungeon has only one jail which I am currently residing in and even if I get out of here there is no possible route rather than using the staircase.  I curse my foolish brain for struggling when I got caught rather than scanning the area.

I take in a deep breath and squeeze my hands in a fist. Now, what I have in my mind doesn't work then this will definitely ensure my death. Adrenaline flowing through my veins I get up, gulping. I look at the guards and close my hands at the pole and start sobbing.

"Please, let me out. I take everything back, I lied, I know everything. I don't want the count to read my mind. Hell, I don't even know who the count is." My voice sounds strangled as I burst into tears. I smash my hands against the pole and sob louder but the guards ignore me. Except the one in the corner with a pixie red hair. "The Count is the head and the most powerful Vampire in Scarenville," she says, her voice monotone.

Very helpful, you nit.

"O-oh, oh no, but I am willing to comply. I will answer everything honestly." A strangled sob escapes my mouth and I start crying and coughing.  Both the guards look at me with disgust smeared on their face before the red haired pixie answers, "Too late for that, human." Almost barking at me. I flinch at that as the burning tears roll down my cheeks. Broken sobs escape my lips; I try to decrease my volume but definitely fail to do so.

I cry there, for a while, pleading the guard to release me like a stupid chick. My face almost smushed to the pole and my hands almost raw. I inhale deeply.

Ok, part two. I had always imagined what I would do if I were ever captured in a cell and what I was about to do was something I had come up with when I was very little, just so I could answer my  bedtime questions prepared by my brain.

Sobbing one more time I wipe my face with my sleeve and glance at the wall opposite to me. Fingers tingling with anxiety, I run towards the wall with a loud scream and bash my head against it so hard that I lose consciousness for a few seconds. Luckily I hit the wall with just the right force.

When I gain my consciousnes,I hear the sound of the guards muttering near my cell. I stay still and try to suppress a groan. A dull sciatic ache has settled on my head and I could feel the blood gushing onto the floor I am on. Pretending to lose consciousness was my initial plan but doing this is a lot harder than it looks.

But I don't give up, I lie still and ignore the ache in my head.

Listening to the sound of the cell opening my heart fastens and I hear the footsteps of a guard coming near me. Now directly above me I can feel the guard's body shifting.

I try to lie as still as possible but it turns extremely difficult to do so when the guard whispers in my ear, "Nice try."