I awoke to the sounds of footsteps on damp stone stairs leading out of the cellar. As light shined through the bottom of my cell's door, I began to rise for the day ahead.
"Devin, the inquisitors have made it to town! You need to gather your things," Thomas called out. "I had your family sent for.
So, you can at least have a goodbye."
"Lovely. Are the chains polished like the ones in Hillcrest? Or are they rusted out? You know I didn't take the tetanus potion this year yet. Do you think it's too late?" I asked.
"Devin," Thomas said.
"What? Not good for one last joke?"
As Thomas opened the door, the seriousness of the situation hit me. His face said it all. There was no twinkle behind his eyes.
"These inquisitors aren't the friendliest bunch, are they?" I asked, my voice finally breaking.
"By their small human-sized cage, I would not bet on the latter," replied Thomas. "Try and watch your tongue on the journey. I have heard that inquisitors don't often share a sense of humor as us common folk. Do you have everything you need?" Thomas said as he gestured to the chains he had waiting for me.
With a begrudging groan, I stepped out of the cellar room and nodded to Thomas. Thomas then placed me in manacles and shackles. The weight of which came as a surprise to me. I could feel the cold steel wearing into my flesh. How had they expected a simple baker's daughter to need such a thick gauge of steel for chains? I only needed the golem I created and the items Cynthia gifted me. The golem was stuffed into one of my pockets, and Thomas took the gift in hand.
Thomas began leading me out of the Manor's cellar. I felt dazed as the sun's light hit me for the first time in my imprisonment. My head throbbed momentarily, and all I could see was a silver light. Coming back, I saw three inquisitors standing before us.
A female voice from the center inquisitor said, "We will take it from here, guard. The king thanks you for your service, and may the gods bless you."
I could feel Thomas let go of me as the woman finished speaking. His presence had been a small source of comfort these past days. Without it, I felt more fear tinge on the back of my nerves. Fear of the destiny that awaited me.
"Here are the prisoner's items," Thomas said as he handed over the trunk.
"Take it to the carriage Maverick," the female leader said.
I looked forward to where the voice had come from. The inquisitors wore all-black military uniforms with pointed masks covering their faces. They stood in the main pathway with rose bushes flanking them on their sides. The inquisitor who initially called out had dark black hair pinned in a low bun. As this inquisitor gestured, the other two began to approach.
"Number 471, see that you don't make any sudden moves, or I will strike you here and now. We must switch you out of your everyday wear and have you in your uniform. Maverick, Rhino, please remove 471's current clothing. Place it in the proper prisoner's attire," the female inquisitor said.
Wait, had they been referring to me when they said 471? And what did they mean by it? I was still a person!
The other two inquisitors, Rhino and Maverick, approached me. As they did, they unchained me and switched my clothing. I thought it would be more dehumanizing than it was. But I was still shocked that they were referring to me like I was a belonging. Before I composed myself, they had finished switching my clothing. They had done it with a militarized precision that told me this wasn't their first time doing this to someone. They had even reattached my shackles before I fully comprehended their actions.
"You know," I said, but before I could finish my thought, one of the two men punched me straight in the gut. I toppled over and began dry heaving on the ground.
The other man pulled me to my feet and said, "471, you will only speak when prompted."
"Wow," I thought to myself. It would be dull if this were my fate for the rest of my life. I couldn't help but dream that wherever they took me contained someone with some semblance of humor.
I looked over at Thomas now, who had a fierce glare in his eyes. Even I knew that standing up for me now could cost him his career and a hefty fine or prison time. He would not risk his career for me. Nor would I have expected him to leap in to protect me. The person who I had dreamed would be the knight to save me was not even here. He didn't even have far to travel to see me. I was still in his home, after all.
Looking at the city beyond my captors, I saw my family. The sight filled my heart with even more sadness. I knew I would never get a chance to reconcile our differences. Or even the opportunity to scream at them that they would never understand. Yeah. I could at least imagine it. The thought of me showing up fully glammed and telling my parents this is who I was meant to be. Then my father could scream, my mother would cry, and my brother would have to try to play it off as a joke. Well, I could do that all in another life.
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In this life, all I could do was smile in their direction and mouth the words, "I love you." I could see the tears rush down my mother's cheeks as the two men loaded me into the small, barred crate.
The crate had been affixed to an oxen-drawn cart. The female inquisitor had taken the coach's reigns and was now seated in the driver's seat. Rhino and Maverick sat on either side of my crate to watch me. Did they expect me to try an escape attempt? The idea seemed daft, especially considering we were still in Hillcrest. If the inquisitors didn't catch me immediately, the town guard would.
My prison cart rode down through the main gate and onto the main street of Hillcrest. The cart passed right by my family. My mother, brother, and father were all there to see me off. But they didn't have loving or strong words. All they did was wave goodbye to me. The sadness in each of their eyes could have brought me to tears. But, the thing that tore my heart asunder was Sky's low howl and cry.
Sky had not originally been there with my family, but he had always known when something was off with me. Now he ran from the direction of our home straight to the side of the cart, barking out to me. I knew he was asking why I was leaving. He had been a stray when I convinced my family to adopt him. Now, what was I doing to him? I was casting him out as his last owner did.
I shouted through my tears, "Go away, you stupid mutt! You can't follow me around anymore."
Sky continued following the cart and started to stride to the ox. The hair on the back of his neck began to stand on end. Sky showed his teeth to the ox and let out a low guttural growl.
"Shut it, you mutt!" came the inquisitor's voice on Sky's side of the cart. The man began to reach for a spear mounted on the back of the carriage.
"STOP!" I screamed out. With tears flooding my cheeks and staggered breathing, I continued, "please stop. Stay. Stay. Sky, please just stay."
Slowing to a trot, Sky looked me in the eyes and halted in a sitting position. He continued his low cries as the cart rode out of Hillcrest. A part of me wished that Sky could come with me. But a more significant part knew where I was going was no place for a treasured companion.
The trip with the three inquisitors lacked any form of entertainment. The three rode silently, with Maverick and Rhino glaring daggers into me. I had learned that Rhino was the shorter of the two. Both men were stout, with long swords strapped to their belts. The leader, who I now knew as Tiger, seemed to be a woman of only a few years my senior. Tiger never strayed from her position at the reins of the two oxen pulling my prisoner cart.
They had found my golem when rummaging through my clothes. It had been when we stopped for the night in the swamp's heart outside of Hillcrest.
"What is this?" boomed Rhino upon finding it.
"It looks like some kind of doll," Maverick said, "Well, 471, don't be shy now. Tell us what it is."
"It's a magical fairy," I said glumly. Maverick was the one to give me a quick smack on the head this time. "It's a golem I am using for practice," I stated.
"Was that so difficult?" Maverick questioned.
Rhino breathed out a loud breath of air. "Hmmm, I don't get why we let your types even perform your demonic rituals. I hope Tiger over there finds you already fit to serve. I might even ask for reassignment when she does to create an accidental death on the front lines."
Maverick let out a laugh and said, "Be careful Rhino. You wouldn't want the princess to hear you say that. Otherwise, you will have another demerit."
Rhino approached me with my golem still in his hand. I reached out to grab it, but he dropped in straight through my hands. "Pick it up," Rhino said while staring down at me.
As I reached down to grab it, I felt the man's boot on my head. Then he pushed down. "Thunk" my face hit the hard surface of the graveled road. "While you're down there, I thought I could use your head to clean the bottoms of my boots," Rhino chirped from above me.
This comment made Maverick laugh even harder. At least I still had my golem, and all my work in that cellar was not for nothing.
"What are you two doing!" I heard the voice Tiger call out, "I know I have told both of you before that prisoner is not to talk to. I don't have to warn you about the dangers of doing so, do I?"
Both of the men grumbled to themselves before deciding to leave me alone. "Splash," the sensation of cold water washed down my spine.
"Clean yourself off," came Tiger from above me. She was now holding an empty pail meant for the oxen to drink from. "You are filthy, and no prisoner of mine will arrive in such a sorry state."
I did what I was told and cleaned myself off before going to the spot they had designated earlier for me to sleep. It was a low patch of ground. Which in a swamp meant that it was wet. I didn't get much sleep that night. I tried curling into a ball to conserve heat, but the damp ground made it too hard to stay warm. We were just on the swamp's edge in the lowlands around Hillcrest. The emerald green willows could still be seen in the distance. Their giant canopies stretched out to embrace the Sky above.
The snoring of Rhino and the anxiety of being taken prisoner forced me to go sleepless that night. How did they expect me to sleep on the ground that sank as I lay on it? Not to mention the water that continued to find its way out of the ground and onto my clothes. I felt like cleaning myself had been for nothing since I was even dirtier than when I started this journey.
I was glad for the rising sun. As the steady heat from the sun continued, I felt comfortable even in my small crate. I fell asleep at that moment as my restlessness caught up to me. The rest of the journey continued without note, and soon the capital was in sight.
We arrived at the eastern gate of the capital. It was the gate that led right into the military barracks. I had only been to the capital once with my father to sell his baked goods at the harvest festival. He had told me it had been a great honor to represent the city of Hillcrest in the capital. That sense of pride did not hit me this time as I entered the looming gates of the outer walls of the capital city.
This time, I was not an honored son of a vendor but a lowly demonic affinity user. Who was about to see if I was worthy of training or if they would sentence me to death on the front lines? Either way, I would see combat eventually. Something also sunk in that I would likely have to use the darker parts of my powers to reach my full potential. I would have no choice but to lose my humanity to this power. I hoped that the date of my lost humanity would be much farther.
The three inquisitors took me to an older-looking fort. It lay a few hundred feet inside the barrack district with its walls. The walls of this fort were older and more moss-filled than even those of the outermost walls of the capital. As we passed through the gates, I vomited. I could feel the sensation of a power washing over me. It seemed like it was trying to cleanse the demonic affinity within me. As we made it through the walls, I passed out.