Caught

1.

Step by step, I walked down the long corridor of the prison complex, wondering what awaited me at the end. The five-year civil war was finally coming to an end. Only recently had the tide turned, and our side had begun to gain the upper hand. The Imperial army had been defeated in a decisive battle, the Emperor had fled, and the people were anxiously awaiting the end of the fighting and the restoration of peace.

Sadly, chaos reigned everywhere. The hastily formed government was desperate to find the remaining Imperial supporters before they could do any more damage. Despite having captured the capital and the Heavenly Palace, fighting still raged on the outskirts of Kashima

Accompanied by two guards, I made my way to the high-security pavilion. There, in one of the cells, they held our best catch. Shira was the Emperor's right-hand man, his bodyguard, his scout and, above all, his favourite assassin.

There was no doubt about that last part. During the war he became extremely feared.  

When the Emperor wanted someone dead, the black-haired assassin made sure it happened. No one escaped the blade of his sword, a weapon he loved to kill with. Shira's legendary katana had claimed the lives of many of our commanders, spies and agents.

The rebels were aware of the danger he posed, but none of their attempts to catch him were successful. It was more or less by chance that we finally managed to capture him. 

It happened during the bloody siege of the palace. 

When we finally broke through the fortifications and got inside, the rest of the Imperial army did everything they could to buy as much time as possible for their lord to escape.

And then Shira appeared. Together with the Imperial guard, he launched an unexpected counterattack. Despite being outnumbered many times over, we had a hard time holding our position without having to retreat.

Of course, this didn't last long. Our numbers eventually prevailed and there was a massacre which none of the enemy soldiers survived. Shira was the only exception. He was too valuable a prize for the rebels to kill alongside the others.

My memories were interrupted by a guard who brought me to a massive metal door with several locks. Behind it they held our famous prisoner.

This was in a former Imperial prison with a terrible history. It was known that anyone sent here would never see the light of day again. Convicts disappeared without trace and there were rumours of inhumane treatment, cruel torture and forced confessions.

I was there the day we freed the prisoners.

Freed.

The memory of that day made me feel sick.

I remembered as I walked between the cells, it became clear that there was hardly anyone left to free. Most of the men were in such a state that there was only one thing left to be done for them.

I pushed away the unpleasant images and concentrated on the work ahead.

Shira.

Two days ago, I was unexpectedly assigned to his case and asked to lead the interrogation. I knew that getting information out of him was the key to success and the way to end the war as soon as possible. Among other things, Shira must have known the Emperor's hiding place.

But getting him to talk was no easy task. The one who preceded me knew all about it. 

Kay Marakin, who conducted the interrogations before me, was a cruel man and I was not particularly fond of him. But his rough methods were supposed to be a guarantee of success. I had seen him break many stubborn prisoners in the past, and I had always thought of him as someone who could make even a mute talk.