Chatterbox: Inkwell

I've been rereading alot of old rps that I was in, and I decided to compile the posts, and edit them in to one big mesh of a story! And, since I haven't sown them to anybody yet I decided to post what I have so far on here to get some feedback. Tell me what you think buggies!

 

http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/inkwell/node/65463

Rhi slumped down against the cold, stone, dungeon wall, after yet another futile attempt to wriggle her legs out of the shackles. It was hopeless to try to do anything. She was stuck here, for good or until someone came down here to get her. And bring her up to her execution, most likely. Once again she cursed her stupidity. Why had she tried to create a magic fire? The alley had been cold and dark, but not nearly as cold and dark as a dungeon. She had known she would get caught. She had known magic was against the law. And it wasn't as if she was a real witch, one who could turn attackers into toads or whatever. And now she was stuck here.

“May as well give up,” she thought. “Can't do anything.”

On the outside, a guard took out a huge iron key and shoved it into the rusted lock. It turned with a creak of protest and he pushed open the thick, oak door. "Anyone down there?" he shouted. When nothing came but a whimper, he laughed nastily at someone.

The sound jolted Rhi out of her thoughts.

"That's what you've got to look forward to, you little witch!" he snarled, shoving the person forward.

"A witch?" a girls voice screeched in an obviously unintentional high voice. The girl pulled back in vain as he pulled her down the stone steps after him, one meaty hand around her arm.

"I'm not a witch! Who said I was a witch? No, please!"

"No one's said you was a witch," he chuckled, "the governors daughter done caught you enchanting a toad."

The girl gaped, too surprised to protest. Evidently she hadn't been as careful as she’d thought.

“But oh, that simpering, spoiled brat is going to get it when I get out of here,” she thought, “If get out of here, that is. I hope it isn't true what they say about the dungeon being enchanted to resist magic.”

 

 

"It's the Sorcerer's Cell for you, little wench, and then the chopping block!" His pock-marked face broke out into a wide grin when he saw her swallow hard.

 

He stopped before a thick door with a tiny barred window and stuck the iron key in the lock. Shoving her inside so hard that she sprawled face-first into a wilted pile of hay, he laughed.

 

"Little wench should get some sleep before her big day tomorrow!"

 

The girl whirled around angrily as he slammed the door hard enough that she felt it in the stones beneath my feet. "I'm NOT a wench!" I screamed at him. "My name is Temperance Wickler and I am a Captain's daughter!"

 

The guard's mocking laughter echoed even after he'd slammed the dungeon door, sending Temperance into an icy gloom. She gave the door a good slam to vent some steam then turned around to inspect this Sorcerer's Cell. The rumors did indeed seem to be true; she couldn't conjure up so much as a spark down here. I sighed and shook my head.

 

This was not good. Her father was indeed Captain Wickler of the Queen's Guard, but unfortunately he was also dead. Temperance was an orphan and a ward of the governor's, whose revolting daughter would never let her escape the block now, and all because she spilled some embers on her by accident. Well, perhaps the spill wasn't an accident, but it hadn't intended for them to get in her mouth.

 

Rhi shuffled in the corner making Temperance, who hadn’t noticed her yet, freeze. Slowly, she turned around to find that I wasn't alone. "Who's there?" I demanded, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.

 

Rhi stepped hesitantly out of the shadows. "I'm Rhi."

 

"Temperance Wickler," Temperance said. She swallowed, looking as scared.

 

"The captain's daughter?" asked Rhi, surprised.

 

Everyone, or just about, had heard of Captain Wickler. Rumor was an assassin had killed him because he disapproved of the decision to outlaw magic.

 

"Yes," Replied Temperance.

 

After a moment she added, "That doesn't matter anymore, though. He's long dead now, and anybody who's thought to do magic is taken here now, no matter whom they are. Probably more so for me, they all hated him because of his views on magic."

 

She looked at Rhi, "Are you a witch too, then?"

 

"Not much of one. My mother was, and she taught me some before she died. The room we used to rent, well, I couldn't pay for it, all by myself, and the laws about magic came just a little bit later anyway, and nobody would help me, because of Mother. I was living in the streets, and one night it was just so cold, and dark, and I couldn't stand it, so I made a fire. It's one of the only spells I know of the few Mother taught me. And they saw me, and caught me. There wasn't anything I could do.”

 

"What can you do?" Temperance asked curiously.

 

"Make fires, stop fires if they're small, levitate small objects, create buttons out of air. Mother was going to teach me more than buttons, but she didn't get a chance, so nothing big. Not that any of it works in here," Rhi added sourly.

 

"I know," she said, "and ... " she stops, unable to continue. Then she starts again, whispering, "They're going to execute me tomorrow."

 

Rhi gasps.

 

"I know. But there's no way to escape."

 

"There's got to be,” said Rhi desperately, “We'll try to get you out, anyway."

 

Temperance snorts, "Better be you too, if it's possible. More than likely they'll use the chance to get rid of both of us."

 

I thought about that, "No, I take that back. They will almost certainly get rid of you too. It's like two birds with one stone, really, a street rat and a witch? They'll love it." Rhi's face paled and I realized she probably could have gone without hearing that. "Sorry," Temperance said quickly. She wasn't feeling any better about the situation than Rhi was, but she forced herself to put on a determined face. "Let's see what we can do about getting out of here then, eh?"

 

Rhi shook her head, "I've already checked. The door won't move and these walls must be four feet thick. Unless you can do any magic..."

 

Temperance shook her head and raised an empty hand, "There should be a blossom of green flame there right now. Not so much as a spark. This is ridiculous! They say they'll kill everybody who can do magic but there's SOME witch or warlock out there casting spells on THIS place!" She waved her arm around wildly, gesturing to the Sorcerer's Cell.

 

"Probably sitting fat and happy on a velvet cushion somewhere, having a servant pop grapes into his mouth to keep his spell energy going."

 

Rhi gave a half-hearted smile.

 

"It just makes me so mad I could-" Temperance broke off, having just been struck with a thought.

 

"You could what?" Rhi asked.

 

She looked Rhi, "You said you could conjure fire and move small objects?"

 

She nodded, "And create buttons."

 

"Hmm. I might have an idea..." I took a deep breath and looked at her, "Since it doesn't appear that we're going to be able to magic our way out of here and I don't much feel like getting my head chopped off, what if we were to offer our abilities to the state? You know, perform magic in return for our lives?"

 

Rhi thought about this, "But I can't really do much. I can't create green fire..."

 

"Lymefyre," Temperance corrected, "And that won't matter. My mother was one of the best witches of the age,” ‘until they burnt her in the Queen's garden,’ Temperance finished the sentence in her head.

 

"I learned a lot from her before she died. Maybe I could teach you, but for the now I’d just cover for you. You know, do all the magic and you just mime it. They wouldn’t know the difference anyway."

 

"I don't know," said Rhi.

 

"Well," I said with a hopeless shrug, "I'm willing to hear any suggestions."

 

"Great," comes a sharp but quiet voice from beside them, "Then I suggest you stop blathering and let me see what I can do."

 

The girls looked up with a start and let out little cries of, "Oh!"

 

The voice shushed them, and the person who it was coming from stepped into the feeble light. It belonged to a tall, thin woman with high cheekbones and medium-length purple hair. She wasn’t the friendliest looking person, but she seems to be trying to help them, and they weren’t going to argue with that.

 

"Who are you?" murmured Rhi after the woman had spent a few moments sending colored sparks out of her fingertips.

 

"You can call me Ven. Short for Veneficus. Be quiet now, please. In case you haven't realized I'm not supposed to be down here."

 

She ran a finger down one of the iron bars, and it began to melt away. Rhi and Temperance gaped at that feat.

 

"You can't do that," Temperance said immediately, "It's enchanted. No matter how powerful you are you can't break an enchantment like that."

 

Ven hushes her, "It may interest you to know that it's only the inside that's enchanted. Not the outside very sketchy. And while I have the fullest confidence, really,” she added dryly, "that you girls would have figured that out eventually, we don't have time for eventually. So let's get cracking."

 

The girls looked at each other, and then hesitantly stepped out through the hole she had made. Ven smiled in a way that was reassuring and firm but rather short of warm and comforting.

 

"That's the way," she said sharply, "Now there's no time to waste. You girls were in the Sorcerer's Cell, so you must have some potential as magical rebels against the government. And the Rhombus is rather in need of some new talent."

 

Their footsteps made a rather un-talkative companion as they trudged down to the dungeon.

 

 

 

I also started it for these:

 

http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/inkwell/node/71065

 

http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/inkwell/node/89793 

 

So if you want to read them let me know!

 

I'll post this now, but if we get too many really long comments, we may decide not to put them all up.

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