His hand moved from her shoulder to her jaw, holding her firmly enough to keep her from pulling away.
“The dungeons are where we keep those who cannot be trusted.”
His gaze remained cold and unreadable.
“You will remain there until I decide what is to be done with you.”
‘She cries like a child.
Pathetic.’
He released her jaw and took hold of her arm instead, pulling her upright.
“Home?”
His expression hardened.
“You speak as though returning is a simple matter.”
He released her and rose from the bed, his height towering over her.
Then he turned toward the door.
“Guards.”
Heavy footsteps approached from the other side.
The door opened, revealing two armoured elves, each carrying a spear.
Their pointed ears twitched as they entered.
They immediately lowered their heads before their king.
“Take her to the lower chambers.”
His voice remained calm.
“Keep her there until I decide her fate.”
One of the guards stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, should we question her first?”
Eryndor’s gaze shifted toward the girl.
“Not yet.
I have heard enough for now.”
The guard bowed.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
He stepped toward her and reached for her arm.
“Wait…
no!”
She instinctively pulled away.
“Please, I don’t understand!”
The guard caught her upper arm, firm but not rough, and guided her toward the door.
Still trying to understand what was happening, a step behind him, confusion clouding her thoughts.
Eryndor had already turned away.
‘No one enters my private chambers without a reason.
The guards seemed genuinely confused about her existence inside the chamber.’
He noticed the untouched pitcher of water on the nearby table.
‘And yet she appeared there without leaving a trace.’
The door closed behind her.
The morning light spilt into the corridor as the guards led her away.
Servants in flowing robes stopped what they were doing and stared.
They watched her as she passed.
Their whispers began almost immediately.
‘A human had been found in the king’s chambers.’
‘The news would spread before the suns were fully up.’
The guards led her through winding stone corridors.
Torchlight flickered against walls carved with unfamiliar symbols.
Every detail around her felt increasingly unreal.
Their pointed ears alone would have seemed impossible.
Their bronze skin only made the sight more surreal.
She looked around anxiously, searching for anything that might explain where she was.
The corridors became confusing after some time passed.
She couldn’t save the roads.
Then the guards began descending stone stairs.
Water dripped somewhere in the darkness below.
“Third level,” one of the guards said.
“The king said to keep her there.”
The other guard glanced toward her.
She had been strangely quiet since leaving the chambers.
Most prisoners would have been screaming by now.
But this girl seemed more confused than afraid.
The stairs finally ended at a heavy iron door.
One of the guards reached for the key hanging from his belt.
She finally broke the silence.
“Are humans…
bad here?”
The question was genuine.
She wasn’t trying to provoke them.
She wanted to understand why everyone seemed to be so hostile to her.
The guard paused.
“You truly don’t know?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
Her eyes moved between the two elves.
“Perhaps you’re his chamber guards?”
She hesitated before continuing.
“Do you know how I got there?”
Neither guard answered immediately.
“I was sleeping in my room,” she said sincerely, her voice quiet.
“And then I woke up there.”
She looked back toward the corridor they had come from.
“I don’t know how I got here.
I don’t even know where here is.”
The guard’s expression remained difficult to read.
“You should be careful with what you say.”
her brow furrowed.
“Why?”
He inserted the key into the lock.
She curled her fingers in her palm, making a fist.
‘Should I knock the both of them out and run?’ She shook her head, trying to move the idea physically.
‘No.
I don’t have enough information.
I need to gather some before making any move.
At least knowing this place’s layout.’
She observed the door and the locks.
‘ The locks here are simple.
I can open it if I want.’ She loosened her hand.
‘I should be more patient.
Since they didn’t kill me immediately…
there is a chance to get out by talking.
Hurting them now would make no way to return.’
Before he could turn it, she suddenly remembered something else.
She swallowed.
“Wait…”
She looked genuinely distressed.
“I have tests today!”
The guards stared at her.
“If I don’t show up, I’ll fail…”
Her voice became increasingly desperate.
“And I’ll have to repeat the entire year!”
The two guards exchanged a puzzled look.
She could only stare at them, helpless.
No.
She wanted to scream right now.
“Can’t you just…
let me go?”
The key turned inside the lock.
The heavy iron door began to open.
“My family is in the hospital.
They need their medicine.
I have to pay for it…
If I don’t go back, they could die”
‘Tests?
Hospitals?
Medications?
What kind of strange world did this woman come from?’
The first guard paused, his grip on her arm loosening.
He shared a brief look with his companion before he turned back to her.
“Bad?”
The second guard’s voice carried a bitter edge.
“Humans invaded our lands twice.
They burned our villages.
Took our people as slaves.
Her royal majesty, the king’s own mother, was killed by them.”
The girl’s expression changed.
A tear slipped down her cheek as she lowered her head.
“I…
I’m sorry.”
She didn’t know what else to say.
‘Sorry?
What a bullshit!
Did they catch the killer, or are they going to frame it on me?…
Should I ask?’
The iron door creaked open, revealing a narrow corridor lined with stone cells.
Torchlight barely reached the far walls.
The corridors gradually grew narrower.
Then they began descending a long flight of stone stairs.
The air grew colder and damp.
The first guard spoke again.
“We guard the entire eastern wing, not just the king’s chambers.
No one saw you enter.”
He glanced toward the corridor behind them.
“The wards would have been triggered if you had crossed the threshold without permission.”
‘She truly seems confused.’
‘But humans are skilled deceivers.’
The second guard led her farther into the corridor.
“Your ‘test’ means nothing here.
This isn’t your home anymore.”
She looked down, still trying to process his words.
“I didn’t come here by myself,” she said quietly.
“I don’t even know how I got here.”
She hesitated.
“I don’t even know what his name is…”
The guards exchanged another glance.
She continued, her voice becoming more desperate.
“But I have to go back.”
She looked at them.
“I have a test today.
If I don’t go, I’ll fail…”
Her voice trembled.
“And I’ll have to repeat the entire year.”
The first guard’s grip tightened slightly.
“Your test is not our concern.”
She shook her head.
“No, you don’t understand.”
Tears gathered in her eyes again.
“My family is in the hospital.
They need their medicine.
I have to pay for their treatment…”
Her voice broke.
“If I don’t go back, I don’t know what will happen to them.”
The guard stared at her.
He shook his head.
“You keep repeating nonsense.”
‘Either she truly knows nothing of our world…
crazy …
or she is an exceptionally skilled liar.’
The second guard unlocked the cell door.
His grip on the spear tightened as he was thinking why she mentioned her tests before her family, if they were truly in bad condition.
It was more normal to mention them as her priority.
The hinges groaned as it swung open, revealing a small stone chamber with nothing but straw on the floor and a bucket in the corner.
A narrow window high above let in a thin shaft of morning light.
“Whatever troubles you left behind,” the first guard said, his voice flat, “they cannot change what happens here.”
He guided her into the cell.
“The king will decide what is to be done with you.”
She stumbled slightly as she entered.
“Please…”
The guard stopped.
She turned toward him.
“I really am telling the truth.”
He said nothing.
The door slammed shut.
The lock clicked.
Footsteps slowly faded down the corridor.
She was alone.