I stand at the top of a hole that’s been eroded into the ground. There’s a woman at the bottom. She’s beautiful, but she has a cunning to her that betrays her beauty. She’s like a cat. Smart and stealthy.
“Excuse me, sir!” She calls up to me. “Mind letting me out of here?”
“No chance in hell,” I retort. “You’re an enemy of the crown, prisoner. I’d never let you out of there.”
She sticks out her tongue at me. “Have it your way, you dirty goat! The least you could do is toss me a rope.”
“Shut up,” I shout back. “Or I’ll climb down there and have my way with you.”
“You don’t want to come down here,” she laughs.
“Or what?” I retort. I’m sick to death of this person.
“Or I’ll kill you with my bare hands,” the prisoner replies calmly.
I take a step back, alarmed. She doesn’t look angry, but she doesn’t look normal either. No wonder the king wants her dead so badly. It’s settled- I’m never letting her out of this hole.
The woman looks behind me and perks up. “Hey! Rocky’s here!” She cheers.
I turn around. I guess the rumors of her having a pet fox were true. There’s one right behind me.
Rocky jumps up against my legs. Shocked, I take a step back.
And plummet to the bottom of the hole.
I groan- it feels like my head’s cracked open. The prisoner hums to herself as she steals my rope off my belt. She refashions it into a lasso and catches hold of a rock at the top of the hole.
I groan again as she starts climbing to the top. “Hey. Come back. Wait for me,” I say sluggishly. I get up and try to climb after her, but my head is pounding too hard. I give up and fall back to the ground.
The woman reaches the top and unties the rope. It falls at my feet. I could use it to escape, but I’m beginning to realize that’s not possible. I’m fucked up too badly. As of now, I can barely even move.
The woman laughs at me. Rocky seems to be smiling at me. “See you later, guard!” She turns to leave.
“Wait!” I beg. She turns around.
“You can’t leave me here to die,” I plead.
“Oh, don’t worry,” the woman replies. “Maybe it’ll rain and you’ll drown in there. Or maybe an animal will go down there and eat you. Or maybe you’ll just bleed out from that nasty wound of yours. Don’t worry. You’re not going to starve, or dehydrate, or anything. I promise you.”
I spit at her. “Kill me yourself, bitch!”
She grins at me. “And give you that satisfaction?”
And with that, the rebel turns and leaves me behind. Rocky goes after her. I rest my head on the ground. Well, this sucks.
For a while, I have nothing to do but think. Some of my thoughts make me scream. Some of them make me cry. Others make me laugh.
Once I’m done thinking, I look up. It’s a beautiful night outside my hole. The stars are all shining and the moon is full. I sniffle a little.
“A damn beautiful night, that’s for sure,” I whisper to myself. I smile and close my eyes.