The Princess Who Went to War

Chapter 23 - Over the Cliffs

[Calysta] 

As expected, once we arrive, onlookers gather at the gate, some peering over the ones in front as they see the monster we've brought in. 

We immediately head for the dungeons of the borders, which were built hundreds of years ago, and are thankfully large enough to fit the giant. 

During the years of the many wars, not just the Great War of Magic, Raziem held thousands of prisoners, resulting our large dungeons that can hold thousands of people at a time. 

"You ought to tie him up quickly. The tonic is about to wear off." Ayu comments as she watches the men take the giant off of the wagon. We flinch when his finger moves. 

"Quick, men!" Ser Remnand exclaims. Other soldiers join in helping pull the giant inside. 

Once inside, they tie him up, double checking to make sure that he won't be able to escape, even with a struggle. 

"How do we go about this?" Randall asks as we look at the sleeping monster, tied up. The reality of the interrogation has set in, watching this giant within our walls. 

"With a lot fire." Kalah replies, smiling widely. 

"When it comes to torture during interrogation, I reckon the Royal Guard is most suitable?" Ser Remnand says, looking over to Gwen. She nods. 

Everything related to a potential danger to the royal family and the kingdom of Raziem is mostly handled by the Royal Guard. I've lived with them for all my life, and yet there are still a lot of things I don't know about them. 

One thing I know for sure, is that they won't stop at anything to get the information they need. Kalah has managed to light up every torch on the wall, and yet the dungeon still seem dark and cold. 

I've managed to take full control of the weather now, and the sun is shining bright outside. But because the dungeons is deep underground, the sun is not really doing much help. 

"Your Highness, may I?" I look behind me to see Ser Rem offering me his burgundy cloak, noticing how cold I am. 

I look to my left and accidentally meet eyes with Gabriel, but I immediately look away, as I nod at Ser Rem. He bows as he drapes the cloak over my shoulders. 

"I can get your cloak should you need it." Gwen tells me, noticing the borrowed cloak. I shake my head, knowing how rude it would look to have my own cloak fetched when I had just received this one. 

"He's waking up." Ulysses says, and our attention is immediately shifted to the giant. He opens his eyes slowly, perhaps still confused as to where he is at the moment. 

"I'll leave this to you." Ser Remnand says to Ser Rem as he gets out of the dungeon and leaves. This leaves me confused, as I thought he'd like to be here to watch. 

"Then," Ser Rem says clasping his hands and looking over at Gwen, "Shall we start?" He asks.

Gwen unsheathes her sword, "I normally do this with a dagger but...," she starts looking at how large the giant is, "This would have to do."  

Gwen approaches the giant, who's still making sense of what has happened and where he has been taking, struggling to keep his eyes open as the sleeping tonic's effect is still on the process of wearing off. 

The giant screams, wide awake now, as Gwen pierced her sword through the giant's leg. I wince at the sight, this being the first time I see Gwen aiming to hurt, not to kill. 

On real enemies, she always goes for the head, the heart or any major vessel she can hit. Today, she aims for the muscles, making sure that the giant stay alive but in pain as we try to extract information.

"Where is Eldrich Abdon?" Gwen asks in a manner of authority.

"I don't know." The giant answers. Gwen twists the sword, still inside the giant's leg. He screams. 

"The longer you answer, the more painful it is going to be for you." She tells him as she withdraws the sword, causing the giant to scream in pain once more. Blood runs down from the wound. 

"We can't have you bleeding a lot. Let me fix that." Kalah says as she approaches the giant as well. With her hand firm on the wound, the giant screams as his flesh sizzles and smoke rises from Kalah's hand. She's burning the wound to close it. 

"Tell us where Eldrich Abdon is." Gwen demands, with her sword in hand. 

"I. do. not. know." The giant answers, determined to keep the information to himself.

"This may take a while, Your Highness." Ser Rem tells me, as if insinuating that I may leave and stop watching this horrific scene.

"It's fine." I reply, not wanting to leave. I do not want to appear the weak one. Gwen and Kalah are taking the lead in the interrogation. I would rather be here when the giant talks. 

"Your Highness." I look back when a squire approaches me. He bows as he hands me a letter. 

"A raven arrived carrying this letter for you." He tells me. At the sight of the envelope and the wax seal, I immediately know who it is from. 

"Thank you." I thank him as I take the letter from his hand. The squire bows before leaving. 

"I will be right back." I tell Ser Rem as I walk towards the exit. Before I leave, I stop by Randall, who's leaning by the door. 

"Gwen will be looking for me once she notices I'm gone. Tell her I've gone out for a letter." I tell him. He nods and I finally make my way out of the dungeons. 

Outside, in the sunlight, I open the letter from Atticus. In it, he tells me that he has received the news of the attack and the confirmation that there is indeed a living Sorcerer terrorizing the border of Raziem. 

He tells me that he continues to plead with Sorceresses to come and help, but has not received a single reply. He pleads that I take care of myself, and reminds me to stay close to Gwen and the knights. 

At the very end, he encourages that I head home should I want to, but doesn't force the idea. I sigh as I fold the letter back into the envelope and keep it inside my pocket for now. 

I look up at the sky, feeling the gentle breeze as I breathe in. I take this moment of peace, before getting ready to head back into the cold dungeons. 

"You must be exhausted, Caly." I look down to see Ayu looking up at me, smiling. 

"Not as exhausted as you, Ayu." I reply, looking over to the infirmary, with the healers still running about. 

"The exhaustion of others does not invalidate yours." She replies. I smile at her. 

"The giant still has not said anything?" She asks, motioning at the entrance of the dungeons. 

I shake my head, "I stepped out for fresh air and to read a letter Atticus has sent me. He hasn't said much when I was still inside." I reply. 

"Gwendolyn ought to get information out of him. She's a skilled member of the Royal Guard." She comments. I nod. 

"If not," She adds, "Kalah's psychotic tendencies shall." Ayu laughs, and I do too. 

"I should head back in, Ayu." I tell her. 

"Ah, yes. Please remind Gabriel for his last tonic tonight." She tells me as she leaves. So, I stand there, unsure of how I'll tell Gabriel, if we're not even talking. 

I turn to head back inside the dungeons, when I find Gwen on her way out. 

"Did he talk?" I asked, surprised at how fast they were able to get the information we needed. Gwen shakes her head. 

"Kalah asked if she could interrogate on her own for now. Ser Rem thinks it's a good idea that we take shifts. Don't let the giant rest and tire him into talking." She replies. 

I nod my head, agreeing at the plan. Behind her, Gabriel heads out with his team. 

"Ser Rem recommended that Gabriel's team and his take shifts as well." Gwen informs me, probably noticing the confusion in my face. I look at Gabriel, wanting to tell him what Ayu had said, but I could not seem to get a single word out of my mouth. 

I panic when his eyes meet mine, as he could have felt my gaze on him. His eyes wander down to my shoulders as he speaks. 

"Shall I give that back to Ser Rem?" He suddenly speaks. Confused, I look down at my shoulders, to realize I'm still wearing Ser Rem's cloak. 

"Uh," I say, panicking, fumbling with the tie. I awkwardly untie the cloak, "Would that be fine?" I ask, handing it to him. He only nods. He turns to get back inside, not giving me a chance to deliver Ayu's message. 

I look around to see that everyone is quiet and avoiding my gaze. My cheeks heat up at the thought that they were all watching that awkward and embarrassing exchange. 

"Please tell Gabriel that Ayu wants to remind him to take his last tonic." I tell Randall. He only nods.

"Shall we head to the quarters? I heard Prince Atticus has written to you." Gwen suddenly asks me, grabbing my attention. 

"Ah, yes. I should write back." I reply as I walk away swiftly, with Gwen following closely behind me. 

The day goes by, as I write my letter and send it to Atticus through a raven. The giant still refuses to talk. I accompanied Gwen during her turn to interrogate. 

Kalah leaves the dungeons, annoyed that she had failed to get anything out of the monster. And still, after hours upon hours of Gwen's torture, the giant refuses to talk. 

By nightfall, Ser Remnand has advised that we take a break, and let the giant sit on his thoughts for a while. So, we have our dinner, and get ready for bed. 

The next morning, Gwen and I go straight into the dungeons to find Kalah already starting her interrogation. The giant is bleeding all over now, having gotten multiple wounds and still, he refuses to talk. 

I bite my fingernails as I watch, afraid that we never get anything out of the giant. He had succeeded in enduring a huge amount of pain until now. 

"Shall I give it a try?" I ask, walking forward. Kalah looks back at me, shocked at my suggestion. Kal;ah then looks at the ceiling, looking confused. 

"There's no sky." She tells me, probably referring to the fact that I can't control the weather in here. 

"I can't channel lightning through my hands as well." I inform then, holding up my hands, showing the electricity bouncing between my fingers. 

Kalah smiles widely at the sight, as it is the first time she's seeing this. 

"Not as strong as when I summon thunderclouds.., but strong enough." I say as I place both hands on the giant's stomach. 

He looks down at me, and smiles. 

"Ah, the Princess of Raziem has laid her hands on me. What an honor." He says, in a mocking tone as he smiled through his swollen eyes and bleeding mouth. I smile back at him, eyes glowing, summoning lightning. 

"Aaaaah!" He shouts and writhes in pain as I electrocute him. I take my hands off of him, as his muscles continue to contract involuntarily and he pants. 

"Tell me where he is." I tell him, looking down at him now that he's lying on the ground. The giant looks up at me, smiling, as if we had met before. 

"If it's you, dear Princess, I'll tell." He says softly. I furrow my brows as I look back at him, confused as to why he's looking at me with such familiarity. 

"East. Over to the cliffs leading to the ocean." The giant says. Suddenly, without me, or anyone else doing anything, a sigil by the giant's neck glows, burns, and dissipates, and the giant takes his last breath before going limp, eyes still open. 

Over the cliffs. Just like in my nightmare.