1.

Darkness, something she should be accustomed to seeing as she had been in this cell for a few days now with almost no light and very little food. She remained huddled in the far right corner, her pale white legs drawn up to her chest, hiding as much of her naked body as she could from the leering guards that stood watch over her cell. She couldn't understand why they were there, and part of her just didn't want to even though one question ran through her head contently. What was it about her; a small elf girl; that had them watching her so intently?

After a few moments, one of the guards came to her door, her usually provision of cold beef soup, along with a stale piece of bread and some water in his hand. When she made no move to approach the bars, the guard sneered and opened the door, causing the Girl to scurry up the wall, her back pressed firmly against it because she had no other place to go. Upon inspection, bruises littered the girl's small body and blood was on both her legs and face, a jagged cut could be seen running horizontally across her right cheek, just under her eye, blood crusted over both the cut and down her cheek.

The closer the guard got to her, the more her body shook and before she knew it, a scream ripped it's way from her already sore throat. The cry of terror echoed off the prison's uncaring walls, and would of made even the more seasoned guardsmen flinch in annoyance. But then the guard in her cell dropped her food to the floor, growled angrily, made two steps forward and backhanded her with his mailed glove. The force of the strike silenced the elf's cries of terror and the guard was rewarded with only ragged breathing and new blood on the floor.

The guard took a breath and looked down to the split rations and chuckled a bit, [b]"Stupid girl, you spilt your food. How clumsy of you."[/b] When all he got was soft whimper the guard turned around and made his way out of the cell, waving as he left, [b]"See you next time."[/b] the soldier said as if he was saying it to a mere bug. With a resounding slam of door, the elf was left to her split food and grim fate.

She inched towards her food slowly, watching the guard closely before she sat down and used the stale bread to sop up what she could of the little bit of soup that was still in the bowl. She remained silent as she ate, ignoring the fresh blood that was sliding down her cheek and dripping onto the dirt floor. Once she was done, the elf slid back to her corner and resumed her earlier posture, her arms hugging her legs even tighter now as she waited for the next morning.

Time passes differently in a cell, without the sun you can never really see the dawn arise over the horizon, but the body can tell if it has not been that long since it's incarceration. Another day in the dungeons is merely another jot on the calendar, with the meager prison rations as the highlight of the day. This always come at dawn and dusk, and every time the battered elf had to endure the guards antics before she was granted her meal.

Except this time when the door opened she saw that two males enter, the first being one of regular guards. But the man who folowed the guard she had never met before. She could not make out much about him though other than he was slightly taller, seemed sturdier, and wore a black fur cloak. Being in a dungeoun so long adjusts your eyes to see better in the darkness, so when a torch is seen it hurts the eyes as they try to adjust.

[b]"So, this is the one?"[/b] Said an unfamiliar but gruff tone, probably the stranger.

[b]"Aye, this is her. Your brother had a good time with this one,"[/b] the guard said with a wicked grin across his face.

[b]"So I see. That will be all Vince, I will take it from here,"[/b] the stranger ordered.

[b]"Shame, I wish we could of had our way with her a bit longer."[/b] And with that the brute Vince handed the torch to the stranger and left the cell, closing it as he left.

The stranger then walked over to the opposing walls and lit the the lanterns on the opposing sides of the room, giving the cell a bit more of lighted atmosphere. Afterwards he placed the torch itself in the holder next to the door, turned back around, and then stood there for a moment looking at the elf in the corner. She felt his gaze upon her, and already assumed he was another of his ilk. Perhaps this was one of the lesser children here to either avenge his brother for his injuries or to take advantage of her. Wild and horrible thoughts raced through her mind as she watched from her corner in the cell. He then strode forward and placed a single package on the ground in the middle of the dankly lit room, [b]"This should be better food than what you are used too."[/b] He then placed a flask beside the package, [b]"This is spring water from Northern Lucerna, not poisonous if you are worried."[/b] He uncorked the flask and took a quick sip before placing it down. He then walked back to the opposite wall and sat down, leaning his back against the wall.

The elf watched him closely and waited until he went back to the other wall before she went to the food and water her provided for her. After a moment, she grabbed the bag he had provided for her and practically shoveled the food into her small mouth. Due to her trying to eat so quickly, she started coughing and immediately grabbed the flask of water and guzzled it down before dumping the rest of the water over her reopened cut. When the water met the wound she let out a small hiss of pain, but decided that the pain was worth getting as much dirt out of the scrape as possible.