[center][h2][color=B0C4DE] Xaelia Talamor[/color][/h2][/center]

[center][sub] 
Interacting with: Zeldria [@Saltwater Thief] [/sub][/center]

The thin material did little to protect from the icy wind that whipped through the crowd of browbeaten Gems. The entrance to the underground was an almost welcome relief, although it did little for the chill that seemed to hold onto Xae’s very essence. But at least it stopped the wind. 

The stone underfoot was eerily smooth. Worn down by the thousands of Gems who had walked it path before. 

[i] How many of them are still alive?[/i] 

A dark thought she tried to brush away, but one that kept echoing in the darkest corners of her mind.  It had reared its head the moment the drakken guard pressed the coal to her heal. It was a move that was meant to humble rather than cripple. Effective and temporary.  While the burn still ached, after a day Xae was able to bare some weight on it.  

A hidden blessing, the journey below was perilous enough with two legs. 

The cavern that house the pools stretched on, the steam giving the room the illusion of going on forever.  Suggesting that, if one traveled far enough, they too could vanishing into the steam. 

All around her, girls were climbing into the pools, eager to bathe. The three leering drakken guards that remained were unavoidable, but they seemed content to watch the show, only reacting if the girls came to close to the door. 

[i] [color=B0C4DE] Clearly they are certain that there is only one way out of here[/color] [/i]

There were only a handful of girl still clutching at their towels now. One of which was a girl with scarlet hair. Xaelia had noticed her before, one of the few other girls who seemed to keep to themselves, rather than cling to others for support. Not that Xaelia blamed them. By the time she had tried to reach out to other girls, the brand on her heal already marked her as trouble. Far too many were wise enough to avoid that. Their reaction thought...well it hurt more than the burn. 

But this was clearly time meant for the Gems. A time to pretend that everything was fine. That they were just people, rather than prizes. Taking a few step closer, she spoke to the Gem. 

[color=B0C4DE] “I find it strange,”[/color]  said Xaelia, the words struggled to come out, as though she was talking to all of the capital, rather than just a single girl. [color=B0C4DE] “That they would show kindness in the face of all they have done to prove that they are anything but,” [/color] 


[color=B0C4DE] “Although I suppose even drakken have to agree that a dirty, travel weary  girl would make for a poor prize,”  [/color] Picking one of the smaller, shallow pools, Xaelia sat near of edge of it, her towel still held tightly around her chest. 

[color=B0C4DE] “I’m Xaelia, by the way,”  [/color]