Ain't No Rest for the Wicked [Private]

”Ack!”

Arashi grunted out as she was thrown into the cell by the guards rather roughly. They didn’t care if she was a young girl, nor that she looked fairly harmless. They knew how dangerous she truly was. After the fight she got into alongside the prince, someone in the crowd had recognized her from a wanted poster hanging in the village’s tavern. As such, elite guards were dispersed to the village to capture her. They had outnumbered and outgunned her to the extent where they were able to take her down without much trouble.

Now, she was sitting in the dank prison underneath the Emperor’s Palace. Her crime had been related to royalty and nobility. She had also escaped last time they arrested her. As such, she was to be kept here in the much more secure location. They had taken her weapons, and she looked rather roughed up. Her hair had been pulled from its usual neat ponytail, and in the search for weapons, her guard pads had been taken away as well. Overall, Arashi was not happy with being this vulnerable. She pushed herself into the darkest corner of the cell she could manage, hoping to avoid being spoken to by guards.

Adam had just arrived in the palace and was hoping to gain some rest. However, he realized he left a fried fish in his room while he was gone and the entire area smelled as though it was a hazmat zone. He opened a window and turned on a fan and let it air out.

The second quietest and nicest place to sleep was (believe it or not) the prison underneath the palace. Since the torture rooms were located elsewhere underground, there were no screaming criminals to bother him. Clutching a pillow, he walked past empty cells, deeper and deeper into the jail, until he saw something in a corner.

Or... someone. A familiar face, when he looked closer.

It was that girl who he'd fought the corrupt guards with.

He gestured for a guard to let her out of the cell; said guard (not corrupted) slowly unlocked the iron bars and roughly escorted the kid out. Adam looked at her with a cheerful smile on his face (inside he was wondering what the hell this girl was doing here) and ruffled her hair.

Hiya, Kiddo! What might you be doing locked up in here?

Just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse, the prince sauntered in. What was he even doing down here? Not to mention… Why was he carrying a pillow? Was the prince… going to sleep in the prison cells? Arashi knew nobility was odd and sometimes deranged, but were they really this weird? She couldn’t fathom why anyone would bring a pillow down to the prison that was made to hold some of the more dangerous and personal enemies of Zou.

As she began to hope he wouldn’t notice her, the prince looked directly at her. Paling she tried to hide her face under her hair, however, a guard grabbed her roughly. He dragged out of the cell, pushing and shoving her until she was in front of the prince. He gripped each of her arms behind her back tightly, in a matter sure to leave bruises. When the prince spoke, she looked down, refusing to answer him. The guard spoke for her instead.

“She’s wanted for the murder of nobility, treason and attempting to escape imprisonment.”

Adam sighed. Murder of nobility? Hmph; that made him seem a little bit jealous. A little.

After all, it was he who wished to kill his father, the highest nobility anyone could fathom. He would let nobody in on his secret plan, for it was the greatest of all treasonous acts. He kept quiet about it for now. He turned to face the girl.

Well, well. You killed nobility? I dare ask, who?

He spoke with much condescension in his voice; it was quite unbelievable that such a puny girl of her stature could do something so immense. But anyone could do anything in the world provided they had the practice and effort to.

Arashi stared at him, still refusing to speak. The guard’s grip tightened, as if trying to hurt her for not responded to the prince. How dare she remain silent when a member of the royal family was speaking directly to her! In annoyance, his grip kept growing tighter. He replied for her once more, “It was one of the higher up ones that’ve been gunning for the crown for a few years, they control the weapons trade in the Empire. Rightly odd too, the one killed was the heir to their family.”

She bit down on her lower lip as the guard spoke before speaking softly, ”I didn’t kill anyone.”

Adam was growing irritated that the guard kept answering the questions he was asking the young one. He was even more so when he gripped her arm with such force that it could break the bones within. In order to showcase his frustration with this guard Adam formed a ball of black rukh which he shot towards the arm which grasped the girl. Almost immediately, the guard's arm went limp and he found no way to move it; he let go of the child. (-10 Magoi)

So... the convicted murderer was you... but at the same time, you killed no man? Now, I am a man of literature and studies, and I have delved deep into the realms of psychology. Are you blatantly stating that you, a criminal convicted of high treason, committed no crime?

Adam was perplexed by this girl; she was either lying or there was something he did not know. When he didn't know something, his internal curiosity ached to find out what he was missing.

Arashi stared at the prince with wide yes. Did he just attack his own guard? She looked between the two as the guard's arm went limp and his grip on her melted away into nothingness. Shifting her gaze to him, she gulped silently as she nodded slowly. Arashi hadn't killed anyone at all. She doubted he would believe her, but it as worth a shot. Then again, the nobility all seemed corrupt to her so far.

”That... would be correct...” she said slowly, unsure how this whole event would end. Would he even believe her? She doubted that. ”I... am a loyal servant of the Kou Kingdom. Never in my wildest dreams would I have slain a member of nobility.”