Darkness...
Seated on a thin bed, Aldric stared into the familiar void. But it wasn't the type he had grown used to. Somehow, his lost sight had returned, but now, he was locked in a dark room.
Only one word summed up his life for the past few years.
"Miserable."
He released a sigh, drifting into the past. His life had once been normal. The perfectly average lifestyle. But everything took a turn after his fourteenth birthday.
His parents died, and shortly after, his eyes followed, leaving him practically hopeless.
This had been his reality for six years.
The events that led to all of this were unclear to him; his memories of that time remained foggy and inaccessible, like a vague dream upon waking. Only the panic, terror, and sensation of being lost in a maelstrom of darkness remained deeply scarred in his mind.
He was forced to learn to survive by sound alone.
It became his greatest ally, helping him distinguish people who were happy, desperate, and intoxicated. The clicking of coins provided him with more information than any facial expression.
Sometimes, bad things happen not to punish, but to protect you from something else… or was that just a lie he told to comfort himself?
Releasing another sigh, he brought his thoughts back to the present.
"How did I end up like this?" he muttered. "And just how am I supposed to get out?"
He had woken up here after falling unconscious the previous night. Or rather, three nights ago. He estimated that he had spent roughly three days locked up here, not counting how long he might have been unconscious.
He was questioned when he woke up, and tried to tell them everything he knew. But strangely, the questions asked were mostly focused on him as a person rather than the crime itself. He wondered why.
Was the crime interrogation meant to be handled by someone else?
All this time, he had neither slept properly nor bathed. If the walls had ears, they'd be full from all his rambling questions.
Speaking of walls, rather than blocks or bricks, they were made of metal; not just any metal, a very conductive one.
He wasn't sure if it was for extra security or just to make the prisoners' lives harder. This was because the cell grew sweltering hot by day and bitterly cold at night. There was barely a window to help out with this.
'Would I spend the rest of my life here?' Just the thought alone made his head and stomach ache.
He was given a pitiful excuse for gruel and bread two times a day. Any normal person could get sick just by eating it once or twice.
But life hadn't been very kind to him for a long time, so he could stomach this much.
But even he had had limits.
He held tightly to the paper he took from the girl. It was the only clue he had.
He had spent all this time reliving the events of that night. And as time passed, it only left him more confused.
How did he get in that room?
How did he regain his sight?
Who were the victims?
Who killed the two victims?
Why was he being framed?
At this point, he was sure he had more questions than the officials. He could only hope that the investigation would be handled properly.
He tried to bury the thought, but deep down, with his experience of the world so far, he doubted that any investigations were being carried out. Who would waste time and effort when a suspect is served on a silver platter as he was?
He could only hope for the chance that there was an official different from the rest.
As if responding to his thoughts, a metallic clang reverberated from just outside his cell. It was followed by a sharp creak.
He looked up as the cell door swung open, spilling sunlight into the room.
Aldric squeezed his eyes shut. He was still not fully adapted to sight.
A moment later, with squinted eyes, he tried to make out the figure in the doorway.
A man well over six feet tall dressed in a black uniform stepped inside. The same metal crest he had seen on the men who arrested him gleamed faintly on his chest. His face held a hard, unfriendly expression.
"Stand!"
No pleasantries, no introductions. Just the command.
'What was I expecting?'
Aldric obeyed, instinctively rising from the bed. The man's eyes never left him as he gestured toward the corridor.
Aldric followed, his feet dragging on the floor. His muscles had stiffened over the days of just sitting and lying, causing some discomfort.
"Am I being released?" Aldric asked, already knowing the answer to this. Receiving no response, he fell silent.
He squinted again, lowering his gaze against the light.
They both walked down the corridor.
Aldric's head twitched, hungry for sight, but his eyes were yet to fully adapt, so he could only look down while closing them.
He followed the official mostly by sound—his comfort zone. But with each passing second, his eyes adjusted. It was happening faster than he anticipated.
After a few minutes, his eyes were fully open. The first thing he saw was the floor.
It was made from broad stone slabs, carefully fitted but worn slightly with age. Their surfaces were polished but dull and faintly reflective.
He slowly raised his head, taking in his surroundings.
The corridor was narrow and long. Gray brick walls rose on both sides, lined with metal doors to cells like his own. Faint cracks spider-webbed near the ceiling. Lanterns hung at intervals, all unlit.
He looked around continuously, trying to capture every single detail, not for any important reason. Just because he could.
They stopped before a small door. The man gestured at him to enter.
"Clean yourself up," he said curtly. "We wouldn't bother for the likes of you, but our guest has particular standards."
'A guest?' Aldric could only ask this internally. It was obvious that this official was displeased with his current job. So interaction was out of the question. He only nodded and walked in.
"I must reek," he sighed, closing the door behind him. He hadn't bathed since that night, and dried blood still clung to his skin.
Flashbacks from that night hit briefly, but he shook them off. 'Focus.'
As he looked for toiletries, his eyes fell on something that made him freeze.
A simple, tarnished pane of glass, its edges clouded, yet clear enough to show what he had become. He walked slowly towards it, stopping inches away.
Aldric was slowly starting to forget his own face. He could barely recognize the young man staring back. The boy he remembered– the one with the soft cheeks and bright future–had been hollowed out. Replaced by something else.
He often wondered sometimes.
Did I age gracefully?
Now he could finally answer this question. A tear trickled from his black eye down his cheeks as a bittersweet smile touched his lips.
I did not.
Still, if someone had told him years ago he'd be this happy to see himself someday, he would have laughed.
His eyes lingered on his pale skin, his lean frame, the hands that had learned to survive without sight. His long, slightly matted black hair...
Visible marks scarred his body. One of which faintly stood beneath his left eye. He knew they were there, but seeing them was different. A stark reminder of the life he's lived.
He wasn't the most pleasing person to look upon— his looks were barely above what he remembers as average—but it felt good to see himself. To him, at least.
---
Twelve minutes later,
Aldric walked out, now wearing fresh clothes: a clean white shirt, black pants, and a pair of cheap but decent shoes. All the stains and blemishes were gone.
Whoever this guest was, he owed them thanks.
The official who had patiently waited began walking once again.
Aldric was surprised by this; he'd expected to be dragged out after taking so long.
He immediately hurried after him.
After a series of turns, he began to notice changes. The floor, walls, ceiling... everything was beginning to look a lot better.
The doors were now fine wood, not metal.
He also saw other people dressed in uniforms.
His ears could pick up on their conversation, but he couldn't make much of it being in motion.
He scanned subconsciously for the officials who arrested him. A lot of new faces appeared before him, somewhat overwhelming. But the search ended fruitless.
Finally, they stopped before a wooden door—far larger and grander than any he'd seen so far.
Two more officials stood guard. They saluted Aldric's escort before opening the door.
A large, modest, and neat room was revealed. It was the finest he'd seen in years.
Simple but elegant furniture filled the space, clean and well kept, with nothing out of place.
But even such a place felt like an insult to the woman within.
She sat by the window, wearing a white dress which seemed to draw the light in the room to herself. She remained completely still like a picture in a portrait. With her gaze fixed outside, she had her back turned against the entrance, so he could only stare at her long brunette hair which swept back in a style so severe and neat it defied the very concept of stray hairs.
Aldric's body fidgeted at the sight as he wondered if this was the 'guest.'
He nervously glanced at the officials.
Getting no reaction, he simply took a deep breath before and walked in.
He would find out what this meeting would hold soon enough.