Thread: Helidor in Turmoil

Ellia concentrated her entire being on her duty. The door before which she stood guard imprisoned twenty-four of the kingdom’s most burdensome rebels. If any sound above a snore was heard through the great bronze barrier, Ellia would alert the higher guardians. She was trained merely as an interloper, absorbing the natural music of the darkness, from harmony to melody, soprano to bass. Her hearing was her most prized possession, far more important than her other features, and far more rare. Ellia counted her blessings. And she did her job well: More than once, an escape plot would have been put to action had the prisoners’ night-time meetings not been overheard.

One moment passed, followed by another, and still more distantly followed by another. A single tendril of hair escaped from the hold of the leather ribbon wound around Ellia’s head, and fell across her face. Lazily, it slipped from her forehead to her nose to her mouth, coming to rest gently against her jawbone. She did not stir, allowing nothing to distract her. Her duty was to the watch, not to vanity.

Mya's footsteps echoed against stone. She knew it was late, but she wasn't in the mood for sleep. And quite frankly, she didn't care if the castle's prisoners were sleeping, they were more prone to slip ups when they were tired. It was always easier to get information out of them.
Mya was dressed in her usual hooded cloak, but her hood was down, and her hair pulled up into a pony tail by a simple band. She approached the guard, and stopped a few feet away.
"I would like to speak to my father, Leonard Grace. I have some questions for him regarding the rebellion." Mya had been down to the dungeons and spoken with her father before, and with some of the other prisoners. But it was the first time she'd been down so late, and she had never spoken to this particular guard before. But, she knew the girl's name. Barely a moment passed before Mya felt a little bad; she'd probably come across as rather cold and impolite.
"I'm sorry... Ellia, isn't it? How are you?"

Ellia's eyes glided up and down this new visitor, taking in what little bit of appearances she could see in the dungeon's dank lighting. The girl looked familiar in a mundane sort of way. She was a face that had obviously appeared often around the castle, but there had never been a reason to learn her name before. She was just another young girl to keep in line.

"Yes, it's Ellia," she replied after a moment. "Do you have permission to be down here now? I don't get, well, visitors very often at this time of night." Ellia stood her ground before the doorway. She rarely saw anyone during her watches, which was all the more reason to follow the proper procedure for allowing fellow guards into the imprisoned room. This young girl would not be getting by her without legitimate permission.

Mya couldn't help but grin a little once Ellia had spoken. So many guards, especially the night ones, got lazy. Many of them barely looked at her when she passed, and it bugged her. These were the people meant to be protecting their king. She knew from experience that rebels could get inside the castle; her father had been one. They needed more guards like Ellia, ones who followed procedure.

"Well, I suppose you don't get many visitors because everyone is sleeping. My name is Mya Grace, I'm the king's... public liason I suppose you could say. I have strict orders from King's advisors to root out rebels and any information pertaining to the rebellion, by any means necessary... I believe Leonard Grace has some information about rebels within the city." She smiled wrily. She had been practicing at acting a little more authoritative (not that she had any authority over Ellia) and "professional." Most of the guards should have known about her, but she didn't trust the lines of communication through the ranks. People forget things, after all. And it wasn't like her position had been publicly announced. That would just be stupid.

The name rung a faint bell in Ellia's mind, enough to reassure her that Mya had indeed been trained with the castle. Her self-proclaimed title of "public liason" sounded questionable, but Ellia didn't know anything about the king's advisory board anyway. Maybe a new position had been announced, maybe the girl was making it up, maybe cows had begun to fly in the sky - It didn't matter much here in the dungeons. Ellia knew that she had the only key to the prison and that's all that actually mattered in the end. If this girl wanted to go inside, it was no skin off her back.

"Fine," she responded after some thought. "Go in if you must. They're all sleeping right now, so you have your work cut out for you. I'll lock the door behind you, just say the word when you need to get out again."

Still watching Mya, Ellia drew out the key that hung from her belt loops. She slightly turned in order to fit it into the door, fully aware of the vast metal network that clicked through the walls as she opened the lock. I can hear everything that happens in there anyway, she thought. The rebels best not take advantage of this.

Mya smiled, though the smile wasn't as warm as her usual. She looked upon interviewing her father with dread, though no one was forcing her to. She knew that he had information she needed, and so swallowed her emotions and would deal with it.

"Thank you Ellia." Mya said, before entering the room. She immediately found her father, and quietly approached him. He was propped against the wall, and she nudged his leg with her foot. When he didn't move, she resorted to less gentle tactics, kicking him in the knee. He awoke, but he was groggy. She got to work.

Half an hour later, Mya was satisfied. She had gotten the name of a popular tavern, where all sorts of gossip flourished. She had no doubt that she could root out some information there. Her father was staring at her with sad eyes, which she did her best to ignore. He felt betrayed by her, and she felt the same of him. He had done this to himself, by thinking of rebelling. It wasn't her fault. At least, that's what she told herself...

"I'd like to leave now, please." Mya said to Ellia quietly through the door. She'd managed to get the information she was after without waking up too many of the imprisoned rebels.

The conversation had been a bit dull by Ellia's standards. When rebels conversed, it usually contained a bit more scheming and threats. To eavesdrop on this family talk was just as bad as standing in silence throughout her shift. She had never even heard of that tavern before, despite its apparent importance in the rebel cause.

Ellia slowly unlocked the door, once again, and opened it up by just one inch. She looked inside to ensure that Mya was the only one coming out. The last thing she needed was for a prisoner to force his way through the exit.

When she saw the girl standing ready, Ellia stepped back slightly and opened the door enough for Mya to step through. "Quick, I need to lock it back up again," she whispered.

Mya moved through the door quickly once Ellia had opened it. She was no longer smiling, and she was starting to feel a bit tired. Trying to talk to her father was draining; she only wanted information about the rebellion, and he wanted to talk "family". However... She hoped she wouldn't need to talk to him again, that this tavern would actually yield some results. Her superiors were getting impatient with her; her investigations had been slow moving of late.

"Thank you." Mya said to the guard, a half-hearted smile on her face. "I'll let you get back to work." Mya leant against the wall for a moment, then slowly turned to leave.

Ellia quickly shut the door and locked it once again, carefully checking that all was well. She slipped the key back around her belt loop and rested her hand against it.

She watched as Mya slowly began walking away. The girl was obviously drained from the experience, questioning her father couldn't have been easy. But that was her duty and that had to be respected.

"If you see another guard coming down," Ellia started, slightly unsure of how to say goodbye. "Tell them, well, that they're late."

Mya turned when Ellia spoke, grinning a little. "I'll be sure to let them know, no problem." She smiled, and faced the girl completely.

"If you'd like... Once your replacement fills in, I'd be happy to have your company at the Neckwood Tavern. I'm... I'm not too good at the whole "making friends" thing, but I get the feeling you don't get out much. Maybe you'll enjoy it." Mya then turned and continued on her way out of the dungeons. She didn't pass any other guards on her way out, except the ones who were standing at their posts.

Mya left the castle stifling a yawn. Despite how tired she was, she knew that she'd get no sleep that night, at least not until she'd run herself dry with work. Besides, she'd put up with much less sleep before.

Well, that was certainly a thought. Ellia had not been to the Tavern in years. She had once been dragged out there by the older guards in a night of hazing, where she was fed drink after drink until she could no longer remember getting back to the castle. It wasn't her finest night and she had not touched drink since then. Still, visiting the Tavern for supper that night wouldn't hurt. She hoped.

Ellia still had some time before her shift ended, however. She stood with her back straight and listened carefully as footsteps echoed throughout the corridor.