A Tragic Tale Part 5

“Ah, would you look at that; she’s scared. Don’t worry, you can leave here as soon as we are through having a little chat. Would you like something to eat?” The lady purred.

“I, I don’t want anything from you!” I declared

I tried my hardest to take the squeak out of my voice, but my body was too rigid and shaking to stop it.

“Oh, my dear, that’s no way to speak to the Queen now, is it?” she said.

This was the evil Queen, and from what the boy told me, she is Queen Nixie! I knew she existed the moment I remembered who the boy was.

I stood up and walked over to the iron bars. I stared at that witch right in the face even though I was terrified. If I was going to leave this prison and get back to my normal life, I had to face my fears of confrontation by confronting the Queen herself.

“I went to the village, and I saw no one under the age of 20. Why aren't there any children or teenagers?

“Do you really want to know?” She crooned as she walked right up to the bars of the cell. I could smell the heaviness of Queen Nixie's perfume. It was an overwhelming cloud of scent.

“Yes! Did you do something to them? Why would you be this cruel? What is so bad about the younger generation that you had to take them away from their parents?” I pleaded.”

“Well, if you must know; I can tell you before I release you downstairs to be with the rest of your population. When I was a little girl, my dream was to one day be Queen over Dominion and rule it like my once noble parents. But, as I grew older, I began to realize that I didn’t want to be Queen anymore because that would mean that I had to meet with peasants and farmers to hear what those pathetic little imps wanted. So, I told my parents on my 16th birthday that I had no desire to take the throne after they retired. They were furious with me, and I don’t blame them, but who wants to sit on a throne all day listening to people blather on about who cares. Anyway, my parents decided for me that since I didn’t want to be a queen and I wouldn’t be a princess anymore either. They sent me to a boarding school across the kingdom where peasants went to school! I was furious. I hatched a plan to come back to this dump of a kingdom and rule it one day, and once I had control, every young person under the age of twenty would be sent here to live in the castle. If I couldn’t live with my parents then no one could! Hahaha!”

The Queen was crazy and I was terrified. She wouldn't answer my questions, so I went back to the beginning of the conversation. I thought the scene might play differently; it did not.

“My name is Stella, Stella O’ Conner. I don’t know where I am. I’m frightened,” I replied shyly. “Will you please let me go?”

“Let me think, NO! You entered my realm without any authorization to do so,” she screamed.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to end up here; I walked through a closet and landed here.”

“You walked through a closet door?”

“Yes.”

“That is an interesting way to travel. My name is Nixie the queen of Dominion and I am a witch if you couldn’t already tell. A slave to me you will become because of your carelessness.”

“No!” I shouted. "I know who you are, and you can't keep me here forever! Someone will help me escape."

“How could you possibly know who I am? You said you've never been here before?" She pondered. I realized that I had given away the fact I knew someone here in Dominion who could indeed save me from the Queen's clutches.

"It doesn't matter! You will remain here forever with me!” She shouted back. Thank goodness, all she cared about was making me her slave.

The Queen and her guard both turned and walked away. How could she be so cruel and demeaning? They didn't say goodbye or give any signal for their dismissal. I believed I would be forcefully taken at the moment of their departure to wherever the other young were held. I was very frightened. They used this powerplay move to create even more fear in me. It worked because I expected to be taken immediately, but now, every minute that ticked was another agonizing question of whether it would act as my last. I waited and waited in the cell for who knows how long. There was no noise except for the cough of another prisoner every once in a while. I sat back down on the cold stone bench with shaken bones. I started to get the feeling that I would never be able to leave this cell and I wondered what the evil witch had planned for me as her new slave.

**********************************************************************

After what felt like eons later, the vampire guard finally returned to my cell. There was no emotion in his eyes except for the determination to do the job he was sent to do. He unlocked the door, walked straight in, and grabbed me by the arm. His grip tightened around my bruised flesh from the fall in the glade. He dragged me out of the darkness of the cell, into the low-lit hallway, and pushed me forward with my arms behind my back.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked as I fought to get free of his arms.

"You're going to the slums underneath the castle with the rest of your lot." He said as he wrenched my hands behind my back harder than before. The guard's voice came out gravelly like he smoked too many cigarettes on his breaks. My thoughts returned to reality as we continued through the dark passages of the prison quarters. It was a maze down there, it would be impossible for anyone to find their way out without an escort.

"Don't even think about trying to escape. You won't make it past me, the soldiers under my control, or the Queen." He said roughly.

"Don't worry, " I encouraged, "I won't try to leave on my own unless I have a plan." The plan was to meet with the others of my young generation, learn more about our situation, and listen for the voice of the boy who came into my head earlier. I hoped that he knew more than he said when he first popped in.

The tunnels in front of the guard and I suddenly stopped at a large metal door. He released one of my arms to reach for a key on the left side of his body. I could have tried to make a run for it, but I was tired. I waited for him as he slipped the key into the lock, turned it, and swung the door open. At once, kids from 20 to 5 or 6 lined up in front of their bunk beds looking disheveled and beaten. The guard pushed me into the room; I landed on the floor with a gasping breath from the shock of the cold-damp floor. The door shut with a heavy thunk.

After I regained composure, I slowly turned my face upward toward my new surroundings. About 20 kids looked down into my face.

A boy my age looked at me with so much pity, I thought I would shrink into nothing at the state of myself on the floor. He reached his hand out to mine while he remarked "Can I help you? We haven't had anyone new for so long."