Weeks had passed since Delilah had been to visit Leisha. Pearl would no longer let her out of her cage, and her food came less and less. Pearl didn't talk to her, but when he did he would talk about Delilah. And Leisha was going insane with him just talking about how Delilah would be punished for taking over the well-being of her kingdom. Her heart burned with a new found rage at Pearl, and with an eerie darkness clouding her thoughts. He would never get close enough to Delilah to even see her. Not with Leisha around.
Pearl just kept explaining and describing how slow and painful they would make Delilah's death when they got their hooves on her. "...You won't even be able to tell she's a pony...She'll have no fur, no hair, just a hairless freak... Then we'll..." He continued on, but Leisha quit listening and turned around. She mumbled angrily to herself, flicking her tail. Then the door opened and Leisha listened closely.
"Its almost time. Is she ready?" A stallion's voice asked,and she heard the sound of the chair push back and the clinking of armor as Pearl stood up.
"Almost. Then she'll be fit to visit the king." Pearl said, then dismissed the other stallion, shutting the door behind him. He walked over to Leisha's cage. "Listen girl, you better get your attitude up. You can not meet the king with a attitude." He growled, and Leisha rolled her eyes.
"Oh me...?" She batted her eyes, and used her hoof to flip her hair. "Have an attitude? I'm just to divine to have an attitude!" She looked at him angrily then slammed her hoof back down to the bottom of the cage. He growled, and kicked the cage door. Leisha pulled away from it as it rattled, staring at Pearl with a 'you are dead' expression. He looked at her, then sat down before the cage.
"What happened to the 'I wish for only everypony's happiness?'" He said, imitating her voice and putting air quotes in the air with his hooves. "'Oh, I am only as good as my friends? As my peasants?'" He said, leaning towards the cage, his face smiling with a victory.
Leisha laid her ears back, and quickly tried to grab him through the bars. He jumped back as she nearly grabbed his face. She was boiling with rage and hatred. Pearl watched her huff and puff from behind the bars, her eyes flickering back and forth from green to the light blue. He kicked the cage again.
"Calm it!" He growled, and she stared at him, her face red with anger. The door opened to allow a guard in.
"The king is ready to meet his future Queen, Pearl." He said, and Pearl turned and nodded.
"Get a few more guys. We are going to need lots of help with her." He turned to Leisha, her teeth bared in a angered sneer. "A lot more help."
The stallion nodded, and within minutes about 5 more guards came into the room. She mumbled, squirming around in her cage. Pearl ordered them over to the cage. "The second I open this, you guys grab her. She is gonna try to run." They nodded, creating a half circle around the cage. They stood ready, looking to Pearl for the go. Leisha stared at the cage, waiting for the door to open, waiting to spread her wings and break out from this cold, hard, death cage. She looked at Pearl with an intent glare. He stared back, and put his hoof on the cage, holding the key right next to the lock. Leisha felt all of the muscles in her body tense, ready for the spring.
"NOW!" Pearl said, whipping the cage door open. Leisha leaped out with all of the might left in her skinny body. Leisha felt her wings open the moment they were able to get out of the cage, but her lack of strength only caused her muscles to fail. She fell, the guards grabbing her quickly and pulling her to the ground. They quickly got to work, securing her wings down with rope. One unicorn put a magic cuff on her horn to stop magic that she may use when they enter the castle, and another put cuffs on her hooves to still allow her to walk yet if she tried to run she wouldn't make it that far. She huffed, her energy sucked out of her from the failed escape. She looked at the guards around her, then to the shackles on her. She sighed, looking down at the ground.
"Come on Leisha. We have a King to meet." Pearl said, guiding the guard and Leisha to most likely Leisha's horrible doom.