Witness to Destruction Chapter Nine They led her down the dark, dank corridor, past cell after cell. The air was filled with strange moans and shrikes, and the occasional plea for help. She did not turn her head to either side, but locked them on the floor in front of her. She held the prospect of her release in front of her like a fiery brand, her only focus. There was a rattling of keys as one of the guards unlocked a door, and opened a heavy wooden door. Beyond it was the faint flicker of torch light, and a long winding stairwell. She was pushed from behind, and taking the cue, she began to ascend the stairs. When she reached the top, she was ushered into a small room, seated at a wooden table, and told to wait. The guards exited and she heard the lock being turned. The room was not much different from her cell, a little brighter, a little cleaner, perhaps. There was only the table she sat at and two chairs. After waiting for almost an hour, by her calculations, she heard footsteps outside the door. Next came the sound of a key in the lock, and the creak of the opening door. A heavyset man, with graying hair entered the room, and took the seat across from her. He motioned to an attendant outside the door, and it was closed again, but not locked. “Are you one of the examiners?” “Yes I am miss. Let’s get down to business then, shall we?” “You don’t know how grateful I am. You have no idea how horrible it is being locked up in this place and knowing that your perfectly sane.” “That’s for me to judge. Start at the beginning. Name?” “Amalthya.” “All right, Amalthya, how about you tell me how you got here.” She poured out the whole tale to him, from that fateful day in the park, up until she was taken away from the village. The man nodded occasionally, or made grunts as if he were making some mental note of her story. When she had finished, he stood, walked over to where she sat, and took her head in his hands. He turned her face this way and that, as if examining it for faults. More than once his eyes flickered over the cut on her brow. He traced the jagged line with his finger thoughtfully. “How did you get this?” “Running away from the spider, I think. I don’t really remember.” “Um hum. Guard?” The door opened. “Yes?” “Take her back downstairs, and have someone watch her. She’s no threat to anyone, but we can’t release her. Keep an ear out for anyone missing a wife or daughter fitting her description." “You’re sending me back? You can’t! You have to let me go, please. Let me go!” “I’m sorry this is happening to you, dear. I know you can’t understand what’s going on, but it’s for the best. You’d only get hurt if we let you go off by yourself. I’m sure your family will come for you eventually.” She was dragged from the room. ---- The king sat in his throne, looking at the man before him dispassionately. "You have her description. That should be enough for you to begin a search." "May I ask why the girl is so important to you, your highness?" "You may not. Your job is to spread the word in the villages that Someone is looking for a girl matching that description. Your job should make that a simple enough task." "Yes, your highness." The man departed. ---- Back in her cell, she sat whimpering on the cot. He hadn’t believed her! She was beginning to lose hope in ever leaving the room in which she now sat. There was no escape, she didn’t have the strength for it. The most she could hope for was a re-interview. If he didn’t believe the truth, then she’d just have to lie. She spent the day dreaming up an identity for her self, but hit ledge after ledge. It was no use. She didn’t have enough knowledge of life here in the forest to even begin to weave a convincing fabrication. She retreated further into herself, trying to forget where she was, why she was there. Better she had been thrown in a dungeon at the castle, or died on her bed at home. Anything was better than this maddening confine meant. She paced the room, sometimes screaming in outrage, or beating the unyielding stone with her fists in frustration. Yes. Better she had died, than suffer this, to go slowly out of her mind. In the dark of night, when not a sliver of moonlight shown in the small bared window, she awoke. Worn out with screaming and crying, she had thrown herself down, and slept for hours. Now she sat up, alert and listening for what had awakened her. After a moment, she walked across the cell, floor cold on her bare feet, and looked out the portal window in the door. “Who’s there?” She called softly. There was no answer. She went back to the cot and wrapped the thread-bare blanket around herself. "Oh God. I'm never going to make it out of here." She began to cry silently. All her hope had leached away, leaving only dispare and bitter hatred in her heart. "Damn you, Jareth." She whispered harshly to the inky darkness. --- For days he'd had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, punctuated by a sudden, mindless fear. These feelings weren't his own, he knew, but Amalthya's. He had wracked his brain trying to think of every place she could be, alone and frightened. He had personally searched every obbliet there was, and came up with nothing. Someplace cold and dank...like a dungeon. "Where is she?" It was driving him to madness. If he could only find her, rescue her, maybe he could do away with the other emotion that was eating him from within. Uncertainty. He felt...he wasn't sure what he felt for the girl. It had been so long since any emotion besides anger and cruelty had touched his heart that it was alien to him. Even the love he had felt for Sarah hadn't been true. It had been based on what-might-have- beens, on dreams based mostly on control over her passionate will. So what was this monstrous thing that clutched at his heart, and would give him no rest? He sighed heavily, and paced the room in long strides. He could hear whispers behind his back; the goblins were talking about the change that had come over their king. He spun suddenly, shooting them such an icy stare that several attempted to cower behind their companions. His whole frame was tense, and seemed to lend electricity to the air, as if he was a live wire. "Don't you have something you should be doing?" The throne room emptied faster than he had ever seen it before, leaving him alone with the seething turmoil of his heart. End Chapter Nine