Castle Kelsey

Alone, in a dark stone chamber, trapped in an iron cage, was a young naked woman with chains wrapped around her limbs. 

Her eyes were downcast, her throat dry, her stomach empty and rumbling, echoing throughout the cold room, and she could barely stay awake.

She didn’t know how long she had been in that room for, nor did she know if it was the day or the night.

There was only one thing that broke up that unending misery and that was a small, faint, glimmer of hope that kept trying to stop her from dying.

The heavy wooden doors opened and a maid came into the room carrying a tray.

“I’ve brought some food and water.”

Even without a candle, she navigated her way to the cage door for she had done this many times now. The maid set the tray beside the cage and smiled, though the woman in the chains couldn’t see it.

“I was only able to get some bread and a little bit of meat today.” The maid passed a plate through the bars and set it in front of the woman. “The chef gave me the best bits before serving the lord his meal tonight.” She finished putting the food onto the plate and then put the cup of water into the cage. “He hopes you’ll like it and if there’s anything in particular you want, just let me know and he’ll try and make it for you.”

The caged woman said nothing.

She just slowly moved to the bread, grabbed it and took a tiny bite from it.

The maid’s expression twisted in agony, but she quickly forced a smile.

“I’ll try and bring you some more tomorrow before dawn,” the maid said in the happiest tone she could muster. “I’m sorry, but I have to go now. His lordship might notice if one of us is late and…”

The maid, realising how she had messed up, quickly left, whispering ‘I’m sorry’ before closing the door, leaving the woman alone once again.

***

Castle Kelsey, the home of House Kelsey, sat in the Northern Hills region of the Holy Empire of Themis. Sat between the Great Northern Road and the Dragon’s Spine Mountains, the land itself was very fertile and very wealthy, making Lord Anthony Kelsey a very rich man.

With his short blonde hair, handsome face, silver tongue and ties to the underworld, he was a very influential and prominent figure in the Holy Empire.

No one dared raise a hand to the Kelseys, not with the rumours going around the country about what Lord Anthony did to those who defied him, many of which his guards had a hand in. There were other rumours that said he dabbled in forbidden magic outlawed by the church and that he had connections to powerful criminal organisations throughout the Empire.

He was so powerful it was said that even the Emperor himself didn’t dare invoke his wrath.

What was scarier still to those who believed such rumours was that Lord Anthony rarely left his own keep, preferring to stay locked within his walls.

He could harm the Imperial family from the comfort of his very own home.

The castle was something that Lord Anthony himself had ordered constructed two decades ago sparing no expense with its materials and furnishings.

The dining room he and his family were eating in was a prime example of this.

The floor and walls were painted a dark royal red with golden patterns of symbols of the empire, animals, nature and holy items on them. There were six crystal chandeliers lit by magic stones hanging from the ceiling and there were sweet smelling flowers in pots lining the cabinets against the walls.

At the dining room’s centre sat the long oak table capable of having thirty guests around it comfortably.

Lord Anthony himself always sat at the head of the table while his wife, Lady Katherine, sat close to him and his daughter, Rebecca, sat quite far from him.

Katherine Kelsey was a pretty woman with green eyes and long brown hair tied beautifully on her head. She was wearing a lavish emerald dress that made her even more beautiful in Anthony’s eyes and she was adorned with expensive jewellery.

His daughter, Rebecca Kelsey, however had his blonde hair and her mother’s green eyes. She was as beautiful as her mother was, but she wore a plain white dress with very little jewellery.

Unlike her parents, she wore a dark expression and was looking down at her plate.

How many times have I warned her about this, Anthony thought, sighing.

“Darling, what’s wrong?”

Anthony smiled. “It’s nothing. Just a minor issue; our tax income from the peasants is lower than last year’s.”

“How is that possible? You raised the taxation rate to generate more money, didn’t you?”

“I did, but it seems that it has had the opposite effect. It seems that some people have taken it upon themselves to cast aside their duties to us and have left our domain.”

“Disgraceful!”

“It is, isn’t it?” Anthony took a sip from his glass. “It was only a five percent increase, nothing substantial. What’s a few extra coins to them? Nothing. But, to us, it allows us to properly protect and govern this region so it may prosper.”

“The world is full of selfish people, dear.”

Rebecca gently placed her knife and fork on her plate.

“What’s wrong, child?”

“…I’m not feeling too well. May I retire to my room?”

Anthony glared at her and put his glass down. “Rebecca, have your mother or I finished eating?”

“…No, my lord.”

“No, we have not. So, would it be polite for you to retire early?”

Rebecca curled her fingers tightly around her skirt’s hem. “…No, my lord.”

“No, it wouldn’t. If you have finished eating, then you could have the common decency to look up and listen to your parent’s conversations. Or do you perhaps find talks involving our lands distasteful?”

“…I’m sorry, my lord.”

Anthony grunted and resumed eating. “Katherine, make sure to discipline her properly later.”

“Of course, dear.” Katherine stared daggers at her daughter.

Then, not even a second later, she eagerly turned back to Anthony and continued talking.

“Dear, can I ask you when you intend to get rid of that woman in the dungeons?”

The butler, the maids and Rebecca froze when she asked that question, but didn’t dare let their true feelings show on their faces.

The guards, however, didn’t react in the slightest.

“Hmm, probably before I set off for Stonefall again this weekend. I imagine there will be some good replacements for her and some new staff at the market, so you may pick your favourite to do with as you like.”

“You're too kind, dear.”

Anthony smiled. “Not at all. We all have our own ways of unwinding after a hard day of work, so I am just happy I can provide for you yours.”

Rebecca resisted the urge to look away from her parents and cry her eyes out.

Every two months, her father made a trip to Stonefall to conduct business with his associates and buy slaves from the black market. Some would be forced to become their new butlers and maids, whereas others were unfortunate enough to be given to the soldiers as ‘gifts’.

The ones that suffered the most though were those taken by her parents to the dungeon.

Rebecca had tried many times to save the slaves' lives, but they had all failed.

She’d been beating for trying and, on one occasion, was forced to watch a man she tried to save die.

Her parents and all their guards were cruel; the men who protected them were former mercenaries who committed atrocities in other countries that her father bought out.

How can the Great Goddess allow such cruelty to exist? Rebecca thought, resisting the urge to turn her eyes downwards to her spear necklace.

If she did after her father’s warning, she would get a beating or perhaps another scar on her back or chest.

She smiled bitterly and pretended to care about what they were saying.

…There’s nothing I can do to stop them, is there?