Twilight's POV.
"Wake up you degenerate!!!" There is only one lunatic that will shout that way.
"James, what do you want from me?" I grumbled.
"You're still snarky? When your fate hasn't been decided. Oh this is going to be fun."
Sleeping in the cell was no fun but watching James get frustrated will be my favorite show.
"Get up. You're facing the king today." That's great, at least I'll get some answers from
him.
I was dragged out of my cell and through the courts with everyone staring at me,
including Lysa and it reminded me of how they brought me here the first time. Time
really does fly, just depends on how you use it.
Apparently, the castle wasn't too far off the camp's route but it was at the central point
of the kingdom.
"Here she is my King." James threw me like a rag doll before the king..
"Twilight." The king called out."Yes." I looked up and saw Isla behind him.
I felt that pull again but I decided to ignore it as far as I knew I was human with no dragon.
"I presume you don't have manners." I shrugged.
"You tell me. Do I look like I have one?"
"SILENCE!" Isla screamed.
"You do not speak to the king disrespectfully." I ignored her.
"Can we get this over with? Why exactly am I here?"
"You had a poison vial with you, the tattoos on your neck suggests that you had smuggled some sort of inscription tools into the camp." One of the soldiers read.
"The poison was given to me by Lysa under the pretense of a lotion for the tattoo-like
marks on my skin. Which by the way was never from an inscription ink." I corrected it.I stood up, removed the ropes on my hands and dusted my knees.
"We are having a conversation, no need to treat me like a dog." I walked up to James
and dumped the ropes on him.
I looked at the king and he had a smile playing on his lips.
This session was going to be long.
James laughed once, but the king raised a hand. "You also disobey orders," the king
said. "You wander. You ask questions."
"Because nothing here makes sense," I said. The room grew quiet. The king watched
me for a long moment, Then he leaned back in his chair.
"I will not have you executed," he said. James turned fast. "My king"
"She is not finished yet," the king replied calmly. I crossed my arms. "That is kind."
"You will remain in the redemption camp," he continued. "But you will be placed in the
Twilight Mats." I frowned. "What does that mean?"
"A restricted area," Isla said. "Limited contact, Close watch."
"So still locked away," I replied. "Yes," the king said. "But allowed to live."
I nodded slowly. "Fine." The king waved his hand. "Take her back."
The Twilight Mats were quieter than the rest of the camp. The guards walked slower
there. The walls were cleaner, The silence felt thick, like it was waiting for something.
My room was small but neat. One bed, One table. One window, No roommate. James
unlocked the door and stepped aside.
"Do not get comfortable," he said. "I never do," I replied. He left and locked the door.
The days that followed felt slow and heavy. I trained alone while others worked in groups. I ate meals at different times. People watched me like I might explode.
Prati tried to talk to me once. She smiled, hopeful. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yes," I replied and kept walking. Nixon waved from afar, I nodded but did not stop.
Lysa stayed away. When our eyes met, she looked down. I chose distance.
Isla approached me near the yard one evening. "This isolation is not helping you,"
she said."It is helping me think," I replied.
"The king allowed this for your safety," she added.
"Safety feels a lot like control," I said. She sighed. "You are pushing everyone away."
"I am choosing myself," I answered. I walked past her.
That night, someone stood outside my door. "Twilight," Lysa whispered. "Please." I did not open it.
"They forced me," she said. "They said they would hurt my family." I leaned against the wall. "You still should have told me."
"I was scared," she replied. "So was I," I said. Silence filled the space between us. "I
forgive you," I added. "But I will not forget." She cried softly before leaving.
After that, I changed. I stopped reacting, watched more and listened harder. I learned
guard shifts, counted steps and noticed patterns.
Everyone thought I had gone quiet because I was afraid. They were wrong.
The marks on my skin moved slowly each night. They felt warm, like they were waiting.
The king believed distance would calm me, Isla believed space would protect
me.
Lysa believed forgiveness would fix things. None of them understood I was not broken. I was planning.
They were wrong. I was still Twilight.
And I was not done yet.