Chapter 4 : A Hero to the Rescue?

She had been caught by the guards and thrown into the city lord's dungeon. Her cold cell reeked. The rib where a guard had clubbed her was probably broken. Her feet were frostbitten and the cut likely to get badly infected. Not that it mattered. At third noon she'll be put in the fall-blade and days her mother will likely starve to death.

Sometimes she liked to imagine a dazzling knight finding her, proclaiming she was actually of noble blood, worthy of some great castle full of treasures. Perhaps she'd also go to a fancy academy with a great library and make many friends. For a moment her imagination almost made it vividly real.

Suddenly she heard a voice, turning her attention to the pair of small barred windows up on the wall. She turned a chamber pot upside down and stood on it, peering out along the ground in an alleyway, only seeing a pair of legs. Apparently the cell was in the basement of the city lord's manor, but faced out towards the public street.

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"I'm... Star Eagle. Star Eagle Godborne. Well met, kings, nobles and princesses- oh, please remain seated. No applause. You may call me... Master Star Eagle Godborne, blessed... by the gods. Now, let's get some dancing bitches in here!"

The man strutted about gesticulating strangely, apparently talking to an appreciative invisible audience in an exotic dialect. As he came into full view, Zhoey stared at the splendid looking man in awe. But when she reached out through the bars with a trembling arm towards him, he shrieked in horror and took several steps back.

"Disgusting! Keep that rotten garbage way from me."