Page 13 of Nightmare's Dance

My setup for the drop complete, I threw myself into it, expecting the silks to snap tight around my body and stop my fall.

Instead, they vanished, and I plummeted toward the ground. I didn’t even have time to scream before something tightened around my ankle, jerking me to a stop with my head inches from the floor. I could feel the cold radiating from the hard stone.

Sounds filtered through my shock, Geraint shouting in anger, someone laughing their ass off, a few angry grunts as someone hit someone else.

I just stared at the floor shaking, warm liquid soaking my yoga pants. I needed Geraint’s arms around me, but he didn’t come. Instead, polished black shoes came into my view.

“Oh, we are going to have so much fun together, little dove,” Baz cooed. “So much fun.”

Ember

They’d given me a room that was only better than the cell had been because it had rudimentary bathroom facilities. I’d stripped my clothing and left it in a sodden heap in one corner and gotten into the shower despite the icy chill of the water. Was nothing warm here?

Pressing my hand against the stone wall, I wished for a hot water and soap. Slowly, my shivers subsided as the chill left the liquid streaming from the wall. Twin nightmares plagued me while I stood under the water, the vanishing silks and the freefall through the air, and the horror image of my knight being dragged away, unconscious, a streak of red trailing out behind him and bringing some color to the unrelieved grayness of the place.

I didn’t know if he was still alive, and sadly, focusing on that was preferable to dwelling on my other fear. The silks had vanished. They’d betrayed me, dropping me and Geraint hadn’t been able to catch me.

My fingers clenched into fists without me telling them to, digging nails into my palms. I pressed my knuckles into the stone and tried to quiet my trembles, to keep the scream that was just on the other side of my lips from escaping. If I let it out, I might never stop.

When I finally got out of the lukewarm water, my clothing had vanished. I had planned to wash it and wear it dry, but now that choice was taken from me. Were they going to leave me naked, then?

I squeezed a little of the water out of my hair and stepped from the shower. I hadn’t even checked for a towel, not that I would have stayed covered in piss and sweat and fear when there was an option to get clean.

The water dripped off me, splatting on the stone floor, loud enough to drown out the silence, and I was grateful for it. I almost turned the stream of water back on just to have some noise, but finally refrained and dripped my way out into the small bedroom area.

A black robe lay on the small, hard mat, probably intended to be a bed. Well, that was better than nothing, I supposed. This time, the weird damp, clingy feeling of the fabric didn’t shock me. Raising my eyebrows, I held it up. I’d thought it was a robe or a blanket, but it was a dress.

The thing adjusted to fit me perfectly when I slipped it on. Like, no joke, just shrunk right up, covering me but also form fitting. I was instantly a hundred times warmer, too. Well, whoever had left that for me had at least left me something good.

“Thank you,” I breathed, the grateful words displacing the scream I hadn’t yet voiced and buried it deeply for use another time. I had no idea if anyone would hear my gratitude, even so, it helped me to say it.

I rubbed the fabric on my arms. It no longer felt cold and clingy, more like a nice jersey cotton, but tougher somehow. For now, this would work well enough. I didn’t wear a lot of dresses outside of gigs, but it was just another kind of costume right now.

Exhausted, I lay down on the pad, expecting it to be hard and uncomfortable. Like the dress, it surprised me, molding to my body and warming quickly. I didn’t have a blanket, but someone or something answered my wish to be clothed and warmer, at least. It was the little things.

Those thoughts and worry for Geraint chased me into a fitful sleep broken by dreams and nightmares like I hadn’t had since I was a child.

***

My stomach woke me some time later. Licking my dry lips, I glanced around. Nothing had changed in the room. The lighting was the same strange, diffused illumination from an unknown source. The same shadows clung to the walls and swirled along the ceiling. Still, it felt different, and I wasn’t sure what I was experiencing until I realized the air temperature was comfortable.

Huh.

I got up, stretching sore and abused muscles, ignoring the twinges I’d normally take the time to work out. My usual stretching routine was so far from what I wanted to be doing that I skipped it, heading into the bathroom and taking care of my needs. I drank water out of the sink. That helped some of my hunger, but it wasn’t really enough. I hadn’t eaten a decent meal since brunch a lifetime ago.

Shit, I hadn’t even thought about Robby. Remembering his slumped form in our van, I hoped he was okay. I spared a passing thought for my little succulent plant, but as much as I loved the thing, that was the least of my worries right now.

Somewhat refreshed, I went out into the bedroom area of the cell. A tray of food had appeared while I was gone. Curious, I tried the door, but as with every other time I’d tried to tug the iron ring to open the door, it didn’t budge.

The food itself looked like some sort of simple meat sandwich. Like, someone had taken Wonder Bread, slapped some American cheese on it along with some ham, and I hoped that was mayo and not the other crap people used as a condiment. Weird as hell, but I wasn’t going to complain about any food at this point. While I wondered if it was safe to eat, they really didn’t need to poison me to get me to cooperate. They just had to put a knife to Geraint’s throat, and I’d do about anything they wanted. I took a cautious bite. It tasted exactly like it looked like it should, and I woofed it down. None of that was food I’d normally eat, but it helped to fill the void.

After I’d eaten, I sat and stared at the door. And I stared some more. Nothing happened. For whatever reason, I’d thought they’d pay more attention to me. If I was supposed to be this princess, wouldn’t they want to test me? To find out?

Of course, simply being ignored might be better. Safer anyway. At least in the short term.

After another eternity of staring at the door didn’t produce any sort of change, I sighed. May as well do some of my stretches. My body ached and I could work some of it out, anyway. I wasn’t used to long periods of being still and despite the lingering hunger, restlessness had me folding my hands and fiddling with the hem of the dress I wore.

I stood, and the dress shifted with my intention, encasing my legs and turning into some sort of full body cat suit.

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