The maid kept her hands in front of her, rubbing them together as she entered Lord Evans' office.
"My Lord." She greeted with a deep curtsie.
"What have you found out? I trust you understand the meaning of coming to me empty handed. I thought you had run away."
Lord Evans sat in his red satin seat, his legs up on his desk, crossed as he examined a large ruby. His eyes never left the gem, never glanced her way. In fact, if someone had been deaf, they would think he wasn't aware of her presence at all.
"My Lord, as I was inquiring about Mi-…..about the shed girl, I was captured by Viraaz soldiers. They took me back to Viraaz. They asked me to confirm I was searching for my daughter, and when I did they showed me some odd looking coins and asked me if I recognize them."
"Oh? And what did these coins look like?"
Lord Evans looked over at her and slid his legs off his desk as he sat up straight. The corner of his nose twitched upward and a deep frown came over his face as his eyes landed on the state of her uniform.
"You appear before me like this?"
She gasped, her body froze. Her eyes lowered to see the wrinkles in her dress and the dirt that covered its hem.
"My Lord, I apologize. I came to see you as soon as I was freed. Informing you was my number one priority."
"I understand. How you appear to your employer means nothing to you. You lack respect for me. No need to apologize."
She trembled harder.
"M-My Lord, the coins.....they were odd. I've never seen them before in my life. They were completely green and their details have been lost to time. They must be ancient."
Lord Evans' shoulders relaxed.
"I see. Any word on that girl? I need not hear of your stories of being whisked away."
He leaned back in his chair and turned his attention back towards the ruby.
"My Lord, I was unable to find any information. The shop keepers all said that girls matching her description come and go often, it would be near impossible to tell."
Lord Evans grunted and the maid lowered her head, her hands picked up the pace of their fidgeting.
"So you came back with no information that is useful to me is what you are saying."
"My Lord, please. Please give me some more time. I can find something useful, I promise. I will not return until I scour the Earth. Please."
Lord Evans let out a soft chuckle.
"Take her away." His voice was quiet and calm.
Two male servants entered, their faces full of sorrow as they grabbed her arms and dragged her away.
Her screams of bloody murder filled the hallway.
"NO! PLEASE! PLEASE I SWEAR! PLEASE!"
"PLEASE!" Eilownia begged, "I'm going to go crazy from this questioning!"
She looked over to the side, her head slowly turned away from him, "How many times must I say I don't know? I'm beginning to think they are the only words I know how to say to you!"
Marix let out a charged exhale through his nostrils as he held onto her wrist and stared at her, his expression flat.
"So you know just how I feel. Having to come down here every day only to hear you don't know this and you don't know that. I wonder which word you will mistake today. 'What's water?' 'What does it mean to sleep?' I ought to have you beheaded at the guillotine."
Her head snapped towards him as she stared and tilted her head, "What's a key oh tin? Oh! Did you mean gelatin? I've never had any but I read about it in my favorite book. It seems like it must be yummy."
Marix cocked his head to the side and shut his eyes tight as he held his breath for a beat.
"No. It's a large wooden contraption with a blade that-"
He opened his eyes and as he did so, his gaze drifted to a lump on the bed. He squinted his eyes trying to figure out what it was in the dim light.
"What is that?" He questioned, staring at it.
Eilownia turned her head to see what he was looking at.
"What is what?"
"That lump over there on your bed. It's not a rat is it?"
He let go of her and walked over to the bed, grabbing the lump.
"Straw?" He turned it over in his hands to examine the bundle.
"Oh! That's Strawbunny~ I made it. Isn't it cute?"
His eyebrow lifted. "You're imprisoned here, being tortured and interrogated and....you choose....you choose to make a doll?"
Eilownia nodded and took it from his grasp. "Yes. It's my friend down here. The guards don't take very lightly to me complaining about you~" She teased.
However, as she held it, he noticed some discoloration on it.
Marix snatched it back and held it closer.
"Disgusting! This has mold on it. It's trash."
Eilownia let out a sharp, horrified gasp.
"How dare you!" Her hands reached out and yanked it out of his hands.
She cradled it close to her and stroked it gently.
He shot her a disgusted look. "Stop handling it like that. It has mold. It's bad for your health. It should be thrown away like this. It's trash!"
Marix attempted to reach out and take it back from her once more but she only twisted her body to protect it, blocking his advances.
"No! Just because it's molded doesn't mean its trash! It's my faithful friend. Just because it is flawed, just because it's not perfect, doesn't mean it should be treated so horribly and thrown away like nothing!"
He stared at her, speechless.
'What is she talking about? Has her mind broken? Perhaps the mold spores have already traveled into her brain and caused delusions. Or perhaps the darkness and torture have finally sent her spiraling into madness.'
Despite his internal judgement, she didn't care one bit, that part was blaringly obvious.
She just continued to stand there, staring down at the Strawbunny, a small smile on her face as she gently pet it as though it were a real rabbit.
"It's okay. Don't worry. I won't allow you to be discarded."
Marix took a deep breath and hesitated a moment.
"...Guards!"
Two men shuffled in.
Marix nodded towards Eilownia and the two of them swiftly grabbed her biceps and held her in place.
"Hey! Let go of me! I'm not doing anything!"
Marix plucked the doll out of her hands, squishing it a bit when he did so.
"No! Stop it! Give it back! That's mine!"
"Tsk." Marix turned, his back facing her.
"Clean out her cell. I want all of this straw removed and replaced with fresh straw immediately!"
"Yes sir!" The guards saluted him with their free hands and got to work cleaning out the straw as Marix left.
Eilownia slowly sat on the bed and placed her head in her hand as she sighed.
Once Marix got to the stairs he turned to the head guard.
"Tonight the temperatures will drop even more. We are meant to have snowfall tonight."
The guarded nodded. "Yes sir. Everyone is prepared with their winter gear to hold out against the cold weather tonight. We will not disappoint you sir."
"My maid will be back with new clothes and a thick blanket for the prisoner. Ensure she gets them or else I will have your head."
The guard nodded and informed the others of the General's order.
That night, Eilownia laid curled up on the mattress underneath the thick blanket Marix had sent for her. She wore his winter gear which was oversized on her and sighed with contentment as she snuggled into the warmth.
'This is the best. He must love me for sure.'
Marix laid underneath his fur blankets and stared at his nightstand. Sitting there, ready for a good night's sleep, was Strawbunny, mold and all.
"Not trash, huh?" He whispered out loud, his eyes glued to its mold spots.
"I wonder Little Flower...if this is not trash to you, then what is?"
He continued to stare for a moment before he rolled onto his back. His arm rested on his forehead as he stared up at the ceiling.
"Why can I not get you or your frustrating antics out of my head. Tell me Little Flower, why have you caused someone like me to keep mold right next to where I sleep? How filthy."
Despite his frustrations, he couldn't help but find himself becoming attracted.
He let out a charged huff and rubbed his eyes, furrowing his eyebrows as he did so.
How could she just create a doll like that? How could she love it even though it was molded? How could she, the prisoner, stand up to her captor like that? Over a piece of trash no less!
He thought back to all of the times he'd inflicted pain on her, how she'd taken it with hardly any complaint. How could she not have cracked yet? Her resilience, her attitude, her demeanor…..how was she able to maintain it all despite everything?
"What are you doing to me…..?"