Enna had lost track of whether it was day or night.

She had just recently learned that she had enough electric magic to incapacitate about fourteen guards, annoy the fifteenth, and be captured if there were sixteen or more. She had also learned what it felt like to be bruised, battered, knocked out, and dragged to a palace dungeon.

Educational is always great, Enna thought. But I'd rather it not be so painful.

The prison cell was a bit nicer than Enna had expected. It was clean, there were several rather artistic carvings in the walls. These lines swirled into a spy hanging from a scaffold; etched flames consumed a woman burning at stake; a gallery of tortured rogues and thieves. But even with this exhibition to entertain her, and torchlight to see it by, Enna still couldn't help but be upset.

"I'm off to see the world!" mouthed Enna. "Off find Rex, off to have a grand time!

Enna rattled her chains and glared at the man who stood guard.

"How those gloves treating you?" the man spat. "Comfy?"

"You can take them," said Enna sweetly. "I don't need to keep my hands warm."

"And I 'don't need' my job," said the guard. "And I 'don't need' to be electrocuted. You fucked Rick up," he peered through the bars. "but it turns out without those sparky hands you're just another girl."

Enna writhed her wrists and fingers but the shackles pressed tight, and the leather gloves that had been forced on her didn't budge.

"Bwahaha!' the guard said. "Keep squirming, brat. Thunder means nothing if you can't aim."

"You'll regret this," said Enna. "The forces of good and justice will always prevail."

The guard shrugged. "Philosophy's above my pay grade." He wandered around a corner up flight of stairs, revealing another prison cell behind him as he passed.

The man in the cell had dark circles under his eyes and his head slumped as if he had been beaten, though any marks on him must have faded. He wore a cuffed shirt and pants that were nice, once, but had turned into rags.

"Who are you.?" he raised his head. "You're Prisoner #252."

"I'm Enna, the Thunder Mage." said Enna, ignoring that she was currently thunderless.

"A mage..." said the prisoner. He started laughing, convulsing, eyes bulging and only stopped when began coughing, spit-flecks spraying onto his cell door, 253.

"You, you're in trouble." said Prisoner #253. "I'm not useful - but you, you are, and, when he comes down, it'll be your turn. Not mine! Not mine!"

He started laughing again.

"What's the joke?" said Enna.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! 'What's the joke?' Who knew I'd see a person like this down here? How innocent," said Prisoner 253. "and how absolutely dead."

Enna counted the stones in her cell as the Prisoner continued to cackle. Stone number 263... 264... 265...

She spoke as finally his laugher died and sunk into the ground. "But I'm useless too. There are people who believed in me, that I'd do something amazing, but... I'm just... here..."

"Hmm? I never said you were competent," said the Prisoner. "You're right, in that sense you absolutely are useless."

Enna winced.

"What? Were you expecting a pep talk?" The Prisoner continued. "You think here, staring at the walls, that I'd be an ins-pir-ational speaker? Hahahahahaha!

He breathed deeply.

I"ll tell you. I'll tell you." the Prisoner said. "Why you're 'useful' and why I'm not. I used to be the castle librarian here."

"A librarian!" Enna said. "I like books too."

"Books are shit!" said the Prisoner. "I liked it because I got paid. There was a whole section on prophecies, and I sold them away. To the Demon Lord, greedy Sky-Dragons, beastkin merchants... Didn't matter if the parchments were torn or ripped apart, they'd still pay the full price. I never read them. So in the end I'm useless, but you, you are very useful. There's not supposed to be a thunder mage out here.

The Prisoner would have rubbed his hands together if he had been able to move them. As it was, they simply twitched.

"Where do you come from? Who was hiding you? All this, the King will want to know."

"But I don't want to be useful to the King," said Enna. "I want to be useful my friends."

"If you're worried," said the Prisoner. "don't be. I'm sure that those feelings of inadequacy will all go away soon enough."

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"Thank you then," Enna said. "That's one of the first kind words I've heard in a long time."

"No... " said the Prisoner. "That's not what I meant. All your feelings will soon go.

He tilted his head, listening, and his eyes widened. "Shhh!"

Heavy footsteps came from the spiral staircase that was just out of sight. Enna strained to see around the corner, but then she heard a vicious hiss, a fearful chorus of snakes. The Prisoner squeezed his eyes shut.

"A den of snakes," Enna said, looking down at the floor and its slithering cracks. "There shouldn't be anything like this in the capital, but if there were monsters, then would it be..."

"Y-your honor," said the Prisoner. "Always a pleasure to have you visit."

"You don't look pleased," the Gorgon King's voice boomed. "Though you have a right to be fearful."

"How astute! Haha! Hahahahahahaha!" the prisoner laughed and the ssssssss from the snakes rose from the Gorgon King's twisting hair as if they were laughing too in turn.

Another set of footsteps echoed down the stairs, these belonging to a tall red-haired man who looked studiously down at the floor. He entered the cell, reached out a hand and wrapped it around the prisoner's wrist.

"Now, have you remembered what became of that torn scroll?" said the Gorgon King. "About the chosen one?"

Enna looked up, and a dozen snakes stared back. The Gorgon King was facing away from her, towards the Prisoner, whose face was pallid and fearful, and she closed her eyes, blessing the graceful God that allowed her to survive.

"I think... I sold it... to..." said the Prisoner. "I don't remember, I've sold them all to lots of people."

"Try to remember." said the Gorgon King again.

"I sold it to one of the wandering beastkin!" said the Prisoner. "Yes! To a fox. I don't have it now, so just find that fox!"

"That's the truth," said Adam, releasing his hand.

"Thank you," said the Gorgon King. "I ressspect thossee who are honessst in their ansswers."

"Great! Then, are you going to let me go?" said the Prisoner. "I, I, told you everything!"

"You have ssseerved your purpose well... so I might honor and pressssserve you."

"Preserve me?"

The Gorgon pushed his fingers into the prisoner's closed eye, and the man half-opened his mouth in a choked scream.

In a swift moment, the king pried the eye open. Blood welled from not flesh but stone, and there was crackling as his skin turned to rock.

"Sleep well," said the Gorgon.

Ah, Enna thought. Ah, eh, uh, eh, ah, ahhhh...

She breathed in, breathed out, and her thoughts coalesced into words.

They're leaving, she thought. Footsteps - they got what they came for, and now they're on the view.

But their footsteps grew closer instead. And now in her ear was a dark gravely voice, close enough that she felt a warm putrid breath.

"A thunder mage from the woodsss." the Gorgon King said. "What a pleasssant surprissse..."

"Ah..."

"Tell me," said the Gorgon King. "Who are you looking for?"

Someone loosened her shackles, wrapped two fingers on her beating pulse.

Da-dum. Da-dum. Dadumdadumdadumdadumdadumdumdumdududu

"I c-can't... I'm," Enna hicced. "I'm not looking for anyone.'

"That's a lie," Adam replied.

"Could you be looking... for a boy...." said the Gorgon King.

"I said, I'm not looking for anyone!"

"Lie number 2."

"Lie again and your eyesssss will be opened..." said the Gorgon and she felt his nails caress her cheek.

"I'm..." said Enna. "I'm looking for a boy. But it's no one important."

"Sssssso Irwin is trussssstworthy after all..." said the Gorgon. "He keepsss the boy for usss in hisss room. But is thisss boy... is he the chosen...?"

Enna's breathing was fast and shallow. Don't die, Mathilda said in her mind. The world is more dangerous than you think. One mistake and it could be over.

If Rex is captured, Gemini was speaking in her mind. If they get information about the Underground - that puts us all at risk.

Enna whimpered.

"I... I'm looking for... a... scrawny wimp..."

"She's telling the truth," Adam said.

"Ssooo Irwin exaggerates, or was decccieved." the Gorgon said. He drew back. "How disappointing."

There was a long silence, but a heavy presence stifled Enna's breath even still.

"If I may make a suggestion, my liege." Adam said. "Allow me to interrogate her later. If she is from the underground, she will have valuable information."

The Gorgon King smiled.

"Very well... you may have her. And later sssshe will make a beautiful statue."

The hissing grew faint and there were footsteps on the stairwell, first loud and then soft. The cell fell silent, aside from the torch crackling, and she opened her eyes.

Her hands, her arms, everything was trembling. But as she shook within her chains, she noticed - the cuffs that had bound her gloves so tightly to her wrists now had space for her to move. Adam had forgotten to tighten them again.

When her shivering subsided, she grit her teeth and began to squirm, and the cloth began to come off.

----------------------------------------

You need to leave, Daymond, the royal guard had whispered. Leave before the sun rises.

The first rays of dawn reached through the stained glass and touched Rex's shoulder, and he woke from a strange dream.

Rays of dawn...? Rex thought. "Wait wait wait wait wait. Is this morning? I just wanted to take a nap before making a move, but..."

"Jin," he shook her. "Jin, wake up."

"It's very windy," she mumbled. "Why is it so windy?"

"Oh," she straightened. "It's you. Why do we need to leave?"

Though they had slept on couches, they were woven from luxurious velvet, and rather than small the room managed to be cozy. The table had leftover food and crumbs from the night before, and above a set of drawers in the mirror Rex saw his own anxious face.

"The guard gave me a warning before he went to sleep last night," said Rex. "He told us to leave the castle."

"Are you sure you weren't still dreaming?" said Jin. "I need to ask Irwin about my parents. But if you say we still have to go, then..."

Jin's face dropped.

"I don't think it was a dream," Rex said. "And we'd be dumb to stay there, so we're leaving. But we're taking initiative - rather than wait for Irwin to find us, we'll go out to find him."

Rex smirked.

*click* *click*

His smile fell.

*click* *click* *click*

The door did not budge.

*click* *click* *click* *click*

"I believe you now," said Jin. "But does it matter whether or not I believe you if we can't escape either way?" She stared out the window at the birds that were beginning to chirp, as they flitted about, free.

Rex slammed his body against the mahogany, and accomplished nothing except giving himself bruises. Jin picked up a statuette that was atop the drawer.

"My body weighs more than the statue, so that's not going to be as effective." Rex growled. "Stand away."

One more time, thought Rex. Just one more try!

He backed away to the other end of the room.

Rex ran. He flew into the door with a thud and heard a shattering-sound as his arms began to sting.

A shattering? Rex thought. Doors don't shatter. And the door, of course was still there.

Wind blew into the room and touched Rex's hair. Jin stood in front of a shattered stain-glass window, having just tossed through it a statuette.

"If we can't take that front door, let's go through the back." Jin said.