The cell reeked. It wasn't just the smell of waste and dampness; it was also the smell of fear. The fear of the countless prisoners Evelon had accumulated in his more than 10 years of tyranny.

"Oh, but this is not a little pleasure I'm going to give you, you dumb king," Saeya thought, devising a plan.

It wasn't the first time she had been locked up there. Normally, when a soldier was punished, they were put to work with the servants, doing heavy tasks or intense training. But she had managed to be so disrespectful that the king had locked her up, just the same as the day Calandiel disappeared.

The half-elf pulled her knees closer to her chest. It had been a while since she thought about it. She had managed to bury the guilt with thoughts like, "I guess she chose to run away" or "there was nothing I could do." But the supposed kidnapping of the princess was a deep wound she carried. If she hadn't been locked up, she would be by her side, whatever was the truth behind that story.

Worse than the guilt and concern for the princess was seeing Calen's desperate face. Every place they visited where they found no clues about the princess, the young man's expression aged. When they didn't find Calandiel in Sunstone, that was when Saeya truly started to believe it might have been a kidnapping. Until then, she thought the princess had gone after her "best friend," escaping her father.

Looking around at her bars, she began to think about it again. Evelon had gotten worse in recent years, but he had always been a controlling man. She wouldn't be surprised if Cali had run away.

The sound of footsteps outside the dungeons caught Saeya's attention. The door was pushed open with such force that splinters of wood flew as it met the wall.

Saeya, as soon as she realized who it was, started to feel her pulse in her throat, partly from shock, partly from excitement.

When Calen's eyes met hers, the woman could see a burning anger and guilt in his gaze, something she had never seen on the captain's face before.

- Get out of here! - Calen barked before any guard could offer a salute.

Among mumbling of "yes, Your Highness," the guards left the dungeons, while Calen made his way to Saeya's cell.

- What are you doing here!? This will only make your situation worse!

- I can't be at peace knowing you're locked up - he replied, with a softer expression, approaching the bars. - With the preparations for the journey, I managed to arrange for the night shift to have only one guard. Do you think you can get out?

- What a question! Half of the soldiers are weaker than me, and the other half are slower.

Calen let out a nervous chuckle, sighed, looked down, and then into the eyes of his beloved.

- I wish I could do more... - he whispered as he passed a bag through the bars. The coins jingled as the girl squeezed the package. - Be free, Sae. For both of us.

- What is that supposed to mean?

But Calen didn't answer. In a few steps, he was already at the door.

- CALEN! - Saeya shouted, but the ones who entered were the guards who had watched over her before.

- I hope he finally gave the scolding this savage deserves - one soldier said to the other.

- You only say that because I'm locked up, Naiek, otherwise I'd beat you like I did last week - the half-elf replied in a loud tone, trying to drown out the sound of the coins she was hiding behind her back.

The other elf laughed at his colleague, who immediately turned red. He muttered a few things and sat away from her.

"Good, stay away from me," Saeya thought as she settled into a corner of the cell. "I just have to wait for the night shift."

Time passed slowly. But finally, Saeya began to hear the servants running outside to light torches and chandeliers. Soon, it would be the changing of the guard. Finally, as promised, only one guard came to replace the others. The half-elf didn't really remember the young man, she thought his name was Gael, one of the newcomers. Sae felt sorry for the boy; she imagined she could easily take the keys from him. However, she didn't know how many more guards were outside the dungeons. The idea was to escape alive, preferably without killing anyone in the process.

- Hey, you!

But it wasn't Saeya's voice that spoke those words. At the door stood Evan, full of arrogance.

- Your-Your Highness! - the guard stumbled over a reverence, but the prince went straight past him.

- I want to know what kind of dirty things you did to my brother in bed to make him defy a direct order from our father! - Evan said with a disturbing smile on his face.

- What are you talking about?

Evan began to laugh.

- Right after you left, the king ordered Calen not to speak to you anymore. The first thing he did was come down to this pigsty. Now you're both condemned.

Saeya could see the delight on Evan's face. She couldn't believe he had come down to the dungeons just to humiliate her and Calen.

- What do you mean by condemned?

Evan approached the bars, triumphant.

- I'm pleased to announce that as soon as my dear brother leaves the limits of this palace, the king will order your execution.

- What? But why?

Evan got closer, but not close enough. Behind him, the guard was lost, not knowing what to do, watching the scene in astonishment. Saeya had to focus hard not to explode at the prince. For her plan to work she had to be as cold as her captain taught her to be, and that was the time. 

- Prince Evan, have mercy! - she said, lunging at the bars. - Calen and I have nothing between us!

- You don't address a prince by his name, filthy savage! - he replied, getting closer to her, pointing his finger at her face.

"Stupid dick," Saeya thought, and with all her dexterity, she pulled the prince's hand into the cell, twisting his arm in the process. The elf yelled in pain, squirming, as the girl passed her arm through the bars and put her arm around the prince's neck.

The soldier watched everything without reacting.

- Give me the key! - she ordered the guard.

- Bu-but, Your Highness, no - the elf seemed lost, looking from Saeya to Evan, shifting from one foot to the other.

It was too good to be true. Since Evan's encounter with Ghelehor, Saeya wanted to make that damn heir suffer. It wasn't enough that he was a jerk all the time; he also had to follow in his father's footsteps and sacrifice the few good people left in that kingdom.

She pulled the prince's arm even more, until she heard the sound of bones popping out of place. Evan screamed in pain, making Saeya wish the walls were thick enough for the guards outside not to hear. The soldiers who usually accompanied the prince were too strong, even for her. Evan had presented her a gift by coming there alone.

- Open the cell, or I'll break his neck.

Gael hurried towards the prince, keys in hand, the young man was trembling so much he almost couldn't get the key into the lock. When the door finally opened, Saeya let go of the prince and kicked the guard, ran toward the chest where they had put her things, grabbed her sword, and dashed toward the dungeon exit before either of them could get up.

She only encountered guards outside after climbing all the flights of stairs. From there to freedom was a leap. She could hear their carefree voices on the other side of the door; the best course of action would be to pass them without a fight. A fight would draw attention, and it wasn't late enough for the castle to be asleep yet.

Saeya ran as fast as her legs could carry her. The guards only saw a blur and the slam of the door; this moment of confusion was enough for the half-elf to cross the courtyard and lose her pursuers.

She headed to the guard's quarters, which fortunately weren't far from the dungeons, in search of her horse. 

***