//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 - A Gilded Cage // Story: Protocol D // by Topaz Moon //------------------------------// A gust of wind tore down the mountainside and through the small valley, whipping the snow into a frenzy. Two dark shadows appeared in the wall of white, slowly growing larger. The snow crunched beneath their feet with each step, breaking the monotonous whistle of the wind, until finally, two men emerged and stared at the ship. "Home sweet home," Mark said, dropping the rope from his hand. A grunt of exertion sounded off behind him. "It's great to be back, but it's balls-ass freezing out here. Get over here and help me get this crap into the ship," Flint shouted over the wind. Mark brushed the snow off his goggles and walked back to his commander. After several trips, they closed the cargo bay ramp and sat back against the containers. "Ahh, nice and warm," Flint said, taking off his cold-weather gear. Mitch walked in from the cabin, laughing. "I told y'all to wear the EV Suits, but does anyone listen to me?? Nnoooo. Anywho, here, take this," he said as he handed over some sandwiches and drinks. "Dude, there's grease on the bread," Mark said, brushing his damp hair out of his face. Mitch just shrugged. "You'll live." Mark grumbled, but shoved the sandwich into his mouth as he made for the cabin. Flint took the time to wander over to Mitch. After a little bit of discussion, Flint joined Mark in the cabin, leaving Mitch behind to inventory their most recent salvage. It had been a rough week for the men since they made the emergency landing. Thankfully, Mark had somehow been able to land the ship upright, and mostly in one piece. They did lose the majority of the left wing as it clipped a few trees, and the communication arrays fared little better when the nosecone of the ship impacted a boulder. While most of the other ship systems were still operational, the computer had finally given up from all the damage over the past year or so, leaving it with only the bare basics of functionality. "So, any sign of the second ship we towed here yet?" Mitch asked, joining them in the cabin. Flint let out a loud sigh, leaned back in his bent chair, and stroked his beard. "Not yet, but we might have seen some evidence of it hitting the side of that mountain on the other side of that small forest to the south. If it wasn't for this blasted snow all the time we could easily pop out the binoculars and take a look." "Hey, at least the other one isn’t too far away. Sure, it split in half, and part of it is upside down, but at least it's there," Mark said, a grimace on his face as the grease on the bread hit his taste buds. Mitch playfully elbowed Mark in the side. "Don't forget, it's still got both wings," Mitch said with a grin, jumping back from the half-hearted punch directed at him. They sat around discussing plans for a while and giving status reports on the various tasks they had been assigned. Eventually, Mitch headed back to the engine compartment, while Mark crawled under the main computer console with some new parts they had just obtained. Several hours later, Mitch stood outside the airlock, a thin trail of gray smoke floating from his nostrils. The ruffling of wings caught his attention. He peered around, but saw nothing, only snow blowing in the wind. He took the cigarette from his lips, and held it between his thumb and middle finger before giving it a flick. A gloved hand pressed a button on the hatch, opening the airlock. Mitch had just placed one foot in when he heard the ruffling of feathers again, followed by a thump on the top of the ship. Curiosity got the better of him. He took a step back on the ramp and looked to the top of the ship. Mitch's eyes widened as his heart began to pump faster. He quickly dashed towards the airlock, yelling, "We're un—." Flint walked into the cargo bay. "Come on, don't leave the damned airlock open. You're getting snow in here." "Yeah, man. What he said," Mark said, jerking a thumb to Flint. "What're you yelling about anyways?" Not seeing Mitch, they made their way to the airlock to see why he had it held open. Both men stopped about halfway there and looked to the ceiling as they heard several thumps, followed by a clacking sound moving up and down the metal. "So, Mitch… How are the Dales doing!?" Flint called. After several moments of waiting for an answer, the two men turned to each other, their hardened expressions reflected in each others’ eyes. Without another word, they slowly stepped back to the weapons locker, each retrieving an energy pistol. Weapons in hand, Mark looked to Flint. With a slight nod from Flint, both men pressed the little red button. ------------------------------ A strong voice, followed by a much quieter one, wormed its way into Cassie's ears, forcing her to slowly become aware of her surroundings. A scraping sound soon marched down her ear canal, causing her to wince. Normally she would have pulled the blanket up around her head as she lay there, trying to avoid the day. Instead, she tossed the blanket back to get some air, ignoring her slight headache. Then she noticed that the blanket felt much heavier than usual. Sitting up, the cool cell air hit Cassie's torso as the blankets fell to her lap. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times. With that not being enough, she brought her hands to her eyes, gently rubbing the sleep out of them. A short huff left her lips when she realized the wasted effort of doing so on the right. A hand traveled from her eyes and up over her head with the fingers spread as they passed through her hair, followed by the same motion from the other hand. With a loud sigh, Cassie leaned her head back and shook it a few times before finally looking down at her lap. An eyebrow rose at seeing not just the thin cotton sheet, but also a thick, off-white comforter. She suddenly remembered the last thought she’d had the night before. "Oh, wow. I wasn't just dreaming that," Cassie said softly, hugging the still warm blanket. "Guess they finally figured out a little sheet isn’t enough for me here." Cassie moved to the edge of the bed to reattach her leg. She closed her eyes and dropped her forehead into the palm of her hand while her elbow rested on her thigh. She stayed like this for several moments before she breathed in deeply through her nose and held it, before exhaling loudly. Scrunching her nose, Cassie sniffed a few times. A smile crept up on her face, causing her to open her eyes and look around, until she spotted an object near the door. She placed her hands on the side of the bed and slowly pushed off into a standing position. Almost immediately, she reached for the wall. Leaning against it, Cassie again brought her other hand to her head with her eyes closed. After a few moments, she shook her head and slowly opened her eyes, hoping that the room was no longer spinning. Cassie made her way over to the bars and promptly sat down, leaning against them. She could see an orange pony off to the side of her cell, just standing there. He looked back to her, gave a slight nod, and then continued to stare down the hallway like a statue. Well that's new. Carefully, so as not to spill it, Cassie reached out for the familiar cup of water. After drinking most of it, she looked down to the tray. Unlike usual, a vented lid rested over the top of the food. Pulling the lid off, Cassie breathed in deeply through her nose. The smell of warm pancakes and scrambled eggs assaulted her senses. She hoped the small meal would taste as good as it smelled and looked, though the lack of syrup caused a slight sigh to escape her. After picking up the fork, Cassie smeared the little bit of half-melted butter around before pausing. With the fork resting on the top of the pancake stack in preparation to cut, she looked up in the direction of the barely visible guard and said, "Thank you." And a thank you to whoever told you what I can actually eat. A smile tweaked Cassie's lips as the first bite of pancake touched her tongue. A slight moan of appreciation came unbidden from her throat as she chewed. She tried to hold back, but they were just too good, even without syrup, and she devoured them in short order. She followed that up with the eggs, but with no seasoning on them, they were bland. Cassie knocked back the rest of her water, put everything on her tray, and pushed it partway out through the ground slot. Cassie made her way back to her little bed, flopping down on her back. She immediately regretted the action as she inhaled sharply and rolled to her right side with clenched teeth. Cassie started fidgeting while she laid there, feeling uncomfortably warm, and slightly sticky. A bead of sweat trickled across her forehead, followed by a quick motion to capture it with the back of her hand. "Well crap," Cassie mumbled. Sitting up, Cassie wiggled the new comforter out from under her and pushed it and the top sheet to the head of the bed. She then untucked the sheet from under the bed. While not ideal, she didn't have much choice. Shucking her dress over her head, she used the part of the sheet normally under the bed to wipe off the thin layer of sweat that had formed on her torso and head, before quickly re-donning it. Cassie lay on her side trying to ignore the worsening headache, occasionally using the sheet to wipe her forehead. While lying there, Cassie started pondering what caused the ponies' recent attitude change towards her. It still didn't make much sense to her that when she tried to escape, they only did a quick inspection of her room for more contraband, and then gave back her shoe. Cassie shuddered slightly when she recalled Apolla, but it seemed like it was after that large pony’s visit that things started to get even better. Following Apolla's visit, Padlock returned her leg, and brought her food she could actually eat. They had even given her a better blanket while she slept, and more food this morning. She ran her hand through her hair before scratching the back of her head, but she just couldn't come up with anything for why the ponies were being nicer to her. Cassie spotted the cup on the tray. A war between being thirsty, and not wanting to move waged in her head. After several minutes, the forces of thirst had beaten back the forces of lethargy, though it was a hard-fought victory. She slowly crawled across the cell and grabbed the cup off the tray. Moving to the side of the bars closest to the guard, she pushed the cup through and asked, "~Wat… Water~ please?" The guard turned around, took the few steps needed to the cell, grabbed the cup, and trotted down the hall where he yelled something. Cassie spotted a small bowl in between the bars with an apple and orange in it. She looked at it, but had no desire to eat anything at the moment. Instead, she placed her forehead on the cool bars and closed her eyes, while her shoulders relaxed. Voices caused Cassie to jerk awake. Two ponies were in the hall outside of the cell, apparently arguing about something. The one from earlier stood in the center of the hall with his legs out at a slight angle. Cassie watched as the new red pony tried to walk past, only to be blocked by the guard. "Q bwtl ukq, qjwqpdknevaz lanokjjah wna vyb ittweml bu amm Nejco. Eb ukq bzg ioiqv, Q sehh gipris ukq," the guard growled. "Lw ukq ybck epw Q iu? Q sehh dwra ukq nazqyaz bu akzcjjqvo hyv ntwwza. Vye ush cih kab ug eig!" the unknown pony hollered. The guard resumed his stance in the center of the hall. "Q lwv'b cera i bhuejc piqy epw ukq wna." Cassie crept back some, but still watched on. Suddenly, the new pony tried pushing past the guard again. Her breath hitched in her throat as she wondered if this pony was here to attack her. Time seemed to slow for her as she watched the guard strike out with a foreleg into the red pony's side, while simultaneously sweeping the front legs out from under him. Her eyes widened as the guard roughly shoved a hind leg into the red pony's neck while forcibly pulling his foreleg up behind his back and cuffing it, followed by the other. The guard stood over the prone pony, jammed something into its mouth, and said something that Cassie could not hear before trotting back to the cell. Cassie backed away from the bars but the guard stopped just outside of range of being able to touch them if he had extended a foreleg. "Lwv'b sknnu, Nejco. Vy cbs sehh ush dogh um," the guard said, before moving away from the bars. Cassie scooted back to the bars in time to see the guard grab one of the red pony’s hind legs and drag him down the hall. A few seconds later, she heard a door being slammed, and the guard returned to where he was when she woke up. Wait… Am I being protected now? With her headache getting worse, Cassie drank most of the water from the refilled cup before going back to her bed in an attempt to sleep the headache off. Sleep did not come; her mind kept thinking back to how she was being treated all of the sudden, but could only come up with the possibility that they were trying to make up for the earlier actions against her in here. Cassie snuggled into the blanket, halfway between wakefulness and sleep, when a sharp click ripped her eyes open. She let out a slight hiss as she quickly spun in her bed to her left side to look at the cell door. After the back of her hand swiped across her head before drying it off on the bed sheet, Cassie let her vision focus. In the doorway stood Padlock, wearing brightly polished, gold armor consisting of a torc with an attached chest plate. Cassie bundled the blanket around her and leaned back into the wall. She noticed the shine in the pony’s eyes seemed to drop slightly before Padlock pushed the door all the way open and stepped back. "Ykia," Padlock said while making a beckoning motion with her foreleg. When Cassie didn't move, Padlock repeated the word and motion several times. Finally, Padlock sighed and trotted away from the door to talk to the orange guard. "Yeah, not falling for this trap. Sure, you’ve been nicer to me, but I'm not falling for it," Cassie said quietly. After several minutes of Padlock occasionally repeating the word and the motion, and Cassie shaking her head, Padlock finally left. A sigh of relief left Cassie. She stared at the open cell door. She wanted to believe that Padlock wasn’t going to do anything mean if she walked out of the cell, but fear of how she had been treated, and fear of the ponies in general kept her inside. Cassie sat on her bed just staring out the cell door while debating back and forth if she should try to leave. Her hair danced around her head as she broke from her trance-like gaze when she heard hooves approaching. Padlock had returned, this time with a tray of food. Instead of using the tray slot in the bars, the dark blue pegasus set the water down in the doorway, and the food tray a few feet into the hallway. "You really want me to leave this cell, don't you?" Cassie commented. The gurgle from Cassie's stomach forced her hand. Standing up, she held onto the wall for support, momentarily closing her eyes before making her way to the cell door. Looking down the hall, she noticed that Padlock had moved further down the hall and a different guard stood with her. Padlock nodded in her direction, and again motioned with her foreleg. Cassie crouched down and grabbed the cup. She gave a sniff of the water, but couldn't smell anything funny in it. With a shrug of her shoulders, she took a small sip and waited to see if anything happened. Satisfied, she stood back up and looked back to make sure the ponies hadn’t approached. With a careful step, Cassie exited the cell to the food. Once she bent down, a small breeze of wind followed by a clack and click from behind her caused her to spin around. I knew it! Those sneaky, evil ponies! Cassie glared down the hallway at the two ponies. Everything for the recent actions of the ponies seemed to click in her head. "I see how it is! You evil little shits just wanted me out so you can say I tried to escape again! So you can use it as an excuse to start beating me again! Well, piss off, I'll wait right here until that old red one shows up again and sees that I didn't try to go anywhere!" Cassie yelled. The two ponies only stood still as Cassie stood up and started pointing at them while she continued to rant. "Sparks and her friends already screwed me over once by lulling me into a false sense of security. Getting me to thinking I might actually be able to get along with you all. But NO, it's not going to happen again." Cassie bent down and reached for the cup. Her hand clenched around the smooth wooden surface before she threw it at the two ponies with a scream. As usual, her throwing ability left much to be desired. The cup sailed through the air at the unmoving ponies before it harmlessly bounced off the wall and over the unicorn, but not before dousing the stallion with the water it held. A small smile of satisfaction poked through Cassie's foul mood. Not willing to let the food go to waste, Cassie grabbed the tray and sat with her back against the cell door. Her eyes narrowed upon seeing the peanuts in the tray. In a huff, she shoved them off the tray, causing them to scatter around the hallway. Once she finished the rest of the food, she carelessly tossed the tray to the side where it bounced with a clatter a few times. With her eyes closed while leaning her head back on the door, Cassie began to think. Just sitting here would be stupid, she decided. Sure, this was probably a trap, but if it turned out that way, she would fight back as much as possible, and as often as possible. Cassie watched Padlock approach again. She looked from the small smile the mare held to her eyes. She couldn’t be certain, but it seemed like the mare was happy, yet unsure. Stopping a few feet from her, Padlock again made a beckoning motion with her foreleg, though much less pronounced than before, and quietly said, "Ykia." Wonder if that means come or follow? Going with come. "So you want me to ~C... come~ with you?" Cassie asked. Padlock's smile grew bigger and she again repeated the motion and word a little louder this time. "Fine," Cassie deadpanned before muttering, "I am so going to regret this." Cassie stood with her head down and took a step towards Padlock, who took a few steps back. Not paying much attention while repeating this process, her foot stepped on the edge of the bowl containing the fruit. A familiar tingle enveloped her body with its soft, almost inaudible tinkling sound filling her ears as she stumbled forward. "Get it off! Get it off!" Cassie shrieked, as she uselessly tried to wipe the pony’s anti-gravity aura off her. The tingling feeling stopped as suddenly as it started, causing Cassie to fall onto her butt as she continued flailing around. Scrambling back to the cell door, her knuckles whitened as she held onto the bars next to it, while resting her head on her forearms. Sweat mingled with the stream of tears from her eyes, while her heart attempted to beat her ribs into submission. It took several minutes before Cassie's breathing leveled out. She took one more long breath and held it, before letting it out and looking to see if the ponies were still there. Padlock sat like a dog, and the unicorn was gone, replaced by the orange guard from earlier. Her heart sank upon seeing the spear he held. "Fine, get it over with and let me back in my cell," Cassie dejectedly said, slumping to the ground. Cassie listened as the hooves clopped on the floor, louder and louder as they neared, each vibration causing a chill to ripple through her body, until they finally stopped. Her muscles tensed, eyes squeezed shut, and jaw clenched as she prepared to be hit. But it never came. Instead, she could feel and hear a hoof being tapped on the ground, along with something coming from the pony. Taking a chance, Cassie brushed the hair out of her vision and looked up. Just out of arm’s length stood Padlock and the orange stallion from before. She watched as Padlock leaned over to the stallion's ear, followed by the spear being passed over. Cassie's eyes locked onto the spear Padlock now held, though unconsciously, her tensed muscles slightly relaxed at seeing Padlock now in possession of the spear. While staring at the spear, the unexpected happened. Padlock swung the spear down in front of the other pony with force, causing a small spark at the impact, and held it with the point against the stone floor. Cassie's jaw dropped when the orange stallion reared up and slammed his hooves onto the spear shaft just below the metal head. A sharp snap echoed in the hallway, followed by a few clanks of metal rolling around. Cassie's mind went blank trying to processes this. She started questioning her earlier thoughts, wondering if these ponies really were here to help, and not to hurt or trick her. Another snap and some tearing of wood brought her back. She looked to see the stallion breaking the shaft some more. The stallion then placed the now blunted spear shaft on the ground before nudging it towards her with a hoof, while simultaneously kicking the spearhead into her cell. Looking into Padlock's eyes as she reached for the shaft, Cassie noticed a slight gleam in them and a small nod from the mare. With the shaft in hand, she stood up, wavering slightly before closing her eyes for a brief moment. She leaned into the staff, finding it to be sturdy enough for use as a walking stick, and to clobber a pony if need be. Both ponies smiled at her and began walking back, Padlock doing the motion with her foreleg again. A small smile spread on Cassie's face. Maybe things really are getting better. This will help me walk, though I hope this dizziness goes away soon, and at least now if they try anything funny I can whack them with this. Cassie followed them for several minutes down the corridors. Few of the cells had any prisoners in them, and the ones there asked Padlock and the other guard questions, which they responded to, but kept walking. None of the prisoners seemed too interested in Cassie, which she was thankful for. She took note that the hallways were better lit in this section of the dungeon. As they approached a T-intersection, Cassie could hear the rattle of chains and clopping of hooves getting louder with each second that ticked by. She stopped as Padlock did. The other guard quickly trotted up to the intersection, then back to Padlock with a clenched jaw. He whispered something in Padlock's ear before taking up a stance like earlier when that red pony showed up outside her cell. Cassie could see the mare's eye twitch, and her tail flicked back and forth as she assumed the same stance, effectively blocking off the hallway. Moments later, a white pony in gleaming gold armor entered Cassie's view at the end of the hallway, holding onto a chain leading to the forelegs of a slate-gray unicorn. A scream came from her throat as her vision blurred. She wanted to run, to get away from the unicorn that had been the worst of all the ponies. The want changed to a short-lived, frantic try. Cursing her own clumsiness, Cassie pushed herself to her knees and held the shaft out in front of her. She froze when the pony turned its head and looked at her with a sneer. Her mind barely registered the metal covering most of his horn, or the other set of shackles attached to his hind legs with the chain going to another armored pony. Instead, she dropped the staff, curled into a ball, and held her dress close. No longer could chains be heard, no longer did hooves clop on the stone— the only sound Cassie could hear was her own ragged breathing. As her other senses began reminding her of their existence, she felt something soft on her back and covering her side. Her nose caught the smell of a rain shower, mixed with something she could not quite place. After rubbing her palm across her eye, Cassie opened it to see dark blue feathers. They quickly retracted when she reached out to touch one. Turning her head to the left so she could see, she looked into the very large, and more importantly, very close gray eyes of Padlock. A quick glance back spotted the rest of the mare lying down only inches from her own back. With as much control of her breathing and fear as possible, Cassie rolled away so she was fully facing the pony, but with some space between them, while groping around until her fingers brushed against the wooden shaft. Padlock kept a smile and pushed a glass of water to Cassie, but Cassie ignored it. With a nod, Padlock stood and began walking forward again, pausing with a look back to make sure she followed. ------------------------------ Just under a half-hour later, Cassie stood in front of an ornate doorway, though bland and indistinguishable from many others she had passed. The two ponies had led her from the dungeon to a large castle. Due to her being moved along at the fastest pace she could muster, Cassie hadn't had time to look as closely at anything as she would have liked. However, she still marveled at the architecture of the castle that Padlock and the red stallion had led her through, and hoped that maybe one day she would be able to appreciate it better. One oddity struck Cassie; everything, from the lovely smelling flower garden to the marble-columned hallways of the castle, just seemed void of all life. Throughout the journey she had not seen any other ponies, other than a couple when they crossed the large outdoor field right after exiting the dungeon. A shiver ran through Cassie's body, remembering who she had seen there. A chuckle snapped her mind back to the present. Padlock stood just inside on a rug in the center of the large room, and beckoned Cassie to enter. The mare began pointing out various features of the room, impersonating a tour guide, but Cassie tuned her out and only looked to wherever she pointed. While the room appeared very high-class and ornate, only a few items in the room caught her attention: the large, comfy-looking four poster bed with gems embedded in the wood, the table with padded chairs, and the large windows that overlooked a pleasant garden. She briefly wondered if it happened to be the same one she passed through earlier. During her brief pondering, Padlock had relocated to the side of the room to open another door. Cassie could see it led to a bathroom, causing her to immediately wish for a shower. Padlock walked over to the desk in the corner of the room, picking up a parchment and quill. Already knowing she could not read the ponies’ language, Cassie went to the windows and looked out at the garden with a smile. Cassie was so lost in thought that she didn't even think about the fact that Padlock had just tapped her on the leg to get her attention. Padlock held up a piece of paper to Cassie with her wing. On it, Padlock had drawn a stick figure in a bathtub, followed by the sun near the horizon. Cassie looked out the windows for the sun, but she was unable to spot it. It was either late morning or early afternoon, but without knowing which direction she faced, she couldn’t tell. The next picture showed Cassie and Padlock at a table eating. She really hoped it didn't mean the mare was going to try to eat with her. Padlock has been nice, but so had Sparks and her friends, and look how that turned out. Padlock trotted to the table and set the parchment on it. She then nodded to Cassie and left the room. Cassie looked around, and the small smile she had held dropped. I hate how these ponies have made me so leery. I need to beat this fear of them as a whole. I need to maybe even try to trust them, but the last time I tried is how I ended up here in the first place. I wonder if this would’ve been different if I was trained in diplomacy instead of having my degrees and training in geology and engineering. I need to get back to my ship… by whatever means necessary. Pushing her thoughts aside, Cassie left the window and made her way into the bathroom. Her smile returned when she laid her eye upon the large tub. Looking around the room, she found shelving units built into the marble wall, like a cubby that held various sized towels and soaps. She grabbed a few different-sized towels, a couple of the soap bottles, and then moved to the tub. Placing a large, fluffy towel on the floor, and two washcloths on the tub edge, she put the others on a rack stand near the end of the tub. Cassie swiped her hand on the edge of the smooth, white tub, nearly shaking with glee. Holding back her excitement of a shower, Cassie walked over to a floor-length mirror. After disrobing, she looked at herself in the gold-framed mirror. She’d already known she had lost more weight than she would’ve liked since she crashed on the planet, even more so since she had been arrested; seeing her reflection in the well-lit room hammered it home. Her eye twitched seeing the few purple and blue bruises still left on her torso, and a couple older ones that had faded to just the ugly, yellowed ring. Cassie's hand traced up her side, slowly running over each slightly visible rib until it hit the cloth wrapped around her torso. Carefully untying the knot of the bandage wrap she’d made for herself, she unwound it until it stopped, a wince on her face. A grimace overtook her frown when she turned to see the reflection of her back. The soft flesh of Cassie's foot padded near silently across the slightly grainy, tiled floor with the mostly unwound cloth in one hand, and her clothes draped over her other arm. Turning the shower on, she fiddled with the slider to achieve an appropriate temperature. Once satisfied, she turned the shower head so the water fell near the edge of the tub. Sitting on the edge, Cassie leaned back into the stream with a content sigh. The warm water splashed on her upper back before cascading over her shoulder blades in little rivulets until the cloth wrap dammed the flow. It held the water just long enough for it to build up before spilling over in a torrent, and continuing down her back. After a few minutes, she reached her arms behind her to both sides of where the cloth stuck to her. Cassie closed her eyes and breathed in deeply several times before giving a sharp tug, followed immediately by her hands balling into fists with a grunt of pain. The falling water covered up her hissing through clenched teeth as the water probed the wound on her back Leaning back out of the water, a tear rolled down Cassie's cheek, and her left foot bounced in place as she took one of the washcloths and pressed it to her back. Pulling the cloth off with another wince, she took a look at it, only to reveal the once aquamarine cloth now stained with an ugly red and yellowish-white splotch. "Just as I thought— it’s infected. I better tell Padlock. This is as good as anything to see if I might be able to trust her more," Cassie said aloud. About an hour later, Cassie finally emerged from the tub she had filled after her shower, smelling slightly of rose. Once rinsed and dried off, she dropped to her knees on the towel she had laid out earlier, and grabbed her dirty clothes. Dumping them in the soapy water of the tub, she proceeded to clean and rinse the clothes as best as she could, before draining the tub. Picking up the towel rack that had been at the end of tub, she placed it inside, then lay her clothes out on it to dry. Sitting down, Cassie removed her leg. Her fingers ran down its length, taking note of all the minor imperfections that had accumulated on the surface. They lingered on a couple larger gouges and a very small hole. Several moments later, a small smile tweaked her face as she determined they could easily be filled in back at the ship, but none of that mattered to her. Just having her leg back is what mattered. Cassie hummed a happy tune as she picked up a washcloth, then used it to gently scrub clean the connection points on her thigh and the leg before drying them and putting her leg back on. Satisfied with her work, she poked around in the open cubby again. Finding a brush and a few other items for later, she moved to the sink with a small mirror above it. A few minutes later, Cassie placed the brush on the counter, letting out a content sigh. The muscles in her face tugged upwards on the corners of her lips at seeing her cleaner reflection. While still a bit gaunt-looking, she had to admit that she did look much better cleaned up with her hair properly brushed out. Choosing one of the mid-sized towels, Cassie grabbed the scissors she found earlier and began cutting it into strips. "Hope they don't get too mad about this. If it does piss them off, oh well." Cassie said, then continued with a chuckle. "These towels are nice, soft, and super fluffy, and I am totally going to steal a few of them when I figure out how to get out of here anyways." After re-wrapping her wound, Cassie threw a towel over her shoulder and ventured back out into the main room. She jumped slightly when a shadow rapidly crossed the floor in front of her. Cassie's face turned a bright crimson when she looked to the side to see pegasus ponies flying in the distance through the large, very unobstructed windows. With her face getting more heated by the second, she turned from the windows and quickly wrapped the towel around her. With the crisis averted and her face back to a more normal color, Cassie looked around the room for something to do. She raised an eyebrow at the door while running her fingers through her hair at the base of her neck. She gave a quick glance behind her to the windows before tiptoeing to the door. A crooked smile formed on her lips when she heard the small click after the handle reached the end of its movement. Surprised it had remained unlocked, she cracked the door to the hallway open and stuck her head out. Just off to the side stood a brown normal mare she had never seen before, mirrored by one of those white guards in gold armor on the opposite side of the doorway. She yanked her head back in, shutting the door with a little more force than necessary. "Great, from a stone cage to a gilded cage," Cassie mumbled as she made her way to a chair. Cassie flopped down into the plush, red cushioned chair next to a desk with a bookshelf built into the back. For the first few minutes, she wondered about its size. It could have easily held Kozlov, and probably still fit her in next to him without them being too squished together. Her eyes stared blankly at the rows of books on the bookshelves before her, and her thoughts wandered around in past memories, while her fingers absentmindedly picked at the towel where it rested on her thigh. A knock at the door caused Cassie to shake her head a few times. The room spun briefly, and she immediately regretted that decision. The dull knocking on the wooden door sounded again. She briefly wondered why they were knocking instead of just entering, but brushed it aside like the sweat that had formed on her brow before getting up to answer the door. Slowly opening the door a fraction, Cassie looked into the eyes of a pony in a maid’s outfit. "Q dwra jzwcopb ukq aviksa obr water, Nejco. Skqhz ukq hega um bu dih hyva cb hyv hopzs?" the mare asked with glee. Cassie stared blankly at the pony, a slight ringing developing in her ears, then spotted a small serving cart much like the ones at the hospital, though much shinier and decorated, behind the maid. Only understanding the one word, she decided to chance it, and opened the door to let the pony in. Looking like she was just holding the door open, Cassie picked up the spear shaft from earlier. Her eyes never left the pony as it placed a pitcher, two bowls, and a glass onto the table in an efficient manner. Cassie’s knuckles whitened around the shaft when the smiling pony approached. With a hoof on the cart, the mare stopped in front of Cassie. "Skqhz ukq hega um bu bapyd obm ntwemza noz ukq, Nejco?" the mare asked, before gasping loudly with her irises shrinking to pinpricks and galloping out the door. "Uh, thanks for the stuff... I guess," Cassie called half-heartedly to the fleeing pony. "That's new, too. And just what the hell was that all about?" she wondered aloud, closing the door. Plus, there's that word ~Nejco~ again. I've heard that a few times now when they’re talking to me. Is that what they call me? Cassie poured herself a glass of water while looking at the two bowls on the table. She frowned at the one containing lightly salted peanuts. She picked up the bowl and did a quick scan around the room, a toothy grin spreading on her face when she located the object of her search. Briskly walking to a corner near the door, she took a small handful of the nuts out, and then dropped the rest, including the bowl, into the trash. "What's this supposed to be? Some sort of sick joke? Trying to give me peanuts like they did in the hospital for some sort of 'reward', or a peace offering? Pfft... as if. Not after the shit I’ve been put through," Cassie spat, the grin now a menacing frown. The memories of the hospital brought a bitter taste to her mouth. Not because they were bad, but because those ponies were so much better than these ones. Her time in the dungeon had not been overly long, but added with her treatment, it had felt like months. While her new… accommodations were luxurious in comparison, they still represented her lack of freedom. And for what? Stealing a few things from the hospital kitchen? Way beyond harsh. Looking down at her action brought the grin back to her face. Though not some great victory, the simple act of being able to do something that she chose to do for herself greatly satisfied her. The fact that it also let her slightly get back at the ponies for trying to resurrect happier memories from the hospital helped, too. Still smiling, Cassie moved back to the table. After grabbing the water and other bowl, she set them on the windowsill near the end of the bed. The legs of one of the smaller chairs at the table filled the room with a slow screech until it suddenly stopped with an 'oof' sound. Cassie let out a disgruntled huff as she kicked the corner of the off-white rug that filled the center of the room over on top of itself. Finishing the task with which she had been so rudely interrupted, she next tested the windows. She smiled, finding they could all be opened, and left the one next to her ajar. Cassie inhaled deeply, relishing the crisp, clean air and fresh scents that flowed in from the flower garden below. Grape after grape lazily popped into her mouth as she rested an elbow on the windowsill, cradling her chin. Her eyes danced around the many features of the garden, while pointedly avoiding looking at the occasional pony that strode into view when possible. ------------------------------ Occasional soft snoring flowed into the evening air where two pegasus guards floated outside of a window, looking in at the being they had heard so much about. They whispered to each other in hushed tones, so as not to wake the sleeping female. Until recently, they had believed Rings was a terrible sight to behold, with eyes so cold they could freeze a pony solid, fangs jutting from her lips like a wild manticore, that she could bite a pony’s jugular clean in half, and easily do the same to its windpipe, along with tearing it clean out. "I thought the rumors said she had to have pads on her claws because they could easily rip through flesh," the green mare said, looking at the rounded ends of Rings fingers resting on her arm. "Well, that's how rumors are sometimes," the other mare replied. "I know, I know, but after hearing all of that stuff, she actually looks kind of cute, all sleeping with her head pressed on the window. Even with her drooling slightly. I like her mane, too. And I don't know about you, but she doesn't look all that dangerous." The yellow mare replied softly, "Yeah. The princesses did tell us that we should form our own opinion of Rings, and to not let misguided rumors influence us." A chilled breeze passed over the mares. Using a couple wing beats to move to the open window the mare continued, "I better close this window. She looks a little sickly, and without any fur… at least on the upper, top half of her. Tonight's planned on being somewhat cold, too. I don't think that's gonna help her any." “Yeah, you're right. Too much condensation on the window above her forehead, too. Looks like she’s sweating a bit much. Think we should let the little unit assigned to her know at muster in the morning?” the green mare asked. Closing the window with a soft click, the yellow mare replied, “We probably should, just in case." Both mares suddenly looked at each other with a gasp before darting straight up, continuing on their patrol. ------------------------------ "Go away. I'm not on duty," Cassie said sleepily. Two sharp, cracking knocks sounded on the door again. "Damn it, hold on a minute," Cassie yelled. Cassie smacked her lips after running a hand over her mouth and wiping it on the towel. Blearily, she started telling whoever was on the other side of the door to come in, before her brain reminded her that they didn't speak the same language. Cassie's arms fell to her sides after a few satisfying pops from her back, and she took a deep breath through her nose before pushing herself off the chair to answer the door. As soon as she stood up, the overhead chandelier turned on, bathing the room in a warm glow that slowly grew in brightness. Cassie quickly looked around to see who turned the light on, but saw no one. She narrowed her eyes and rescanned the room to still find it empty. "Come out of hiding. Now!" Cassie growled, glancing around the room suspiciously for any movement. Filing it as something to look into later, Cassie finally opened the door. Unsurprisingly, on the other side stood Padlock, though with a small stack of rolled up parchment in a folder poking out from under a wing, and unexpectedly, the maid from earlier. She couldn't help but let the corners of her lips tug up briefly when she saw the nearly infectious beaming face of the mare. Stepping aside, she waved her arm out and the two mares filed into the room. The maid quickly added ice to the water pitcher, placed two new glasses on the table, and took the glass and empty bowl from the windowsill. Cassie smiled internally when the mare wandered around with a confused expression, obviously in search of the other bowl. A small chuckle escaped Cassie when the maid's tail started twitching in agitation. Cassie stopped immediately when she noticed Padlock's ear swivel back in her direction. The maid, oblivious to the crooked grin having graduated to a physical presence on Cassie's face, rubbed a hoof under her chin while spinning in a circle before shrugging her shoulders, and closing the door on her way out, still looking confused. It took all her will not to fall to the floor laughing. "Come," Padlock said, waving a forearm. Cassie turned to see Padlock sitting in the bigger chair at the table, identical to the one at the desk she had sat in earlier. She fought back a giggle when she noticed how Padlock sat in the chair on her haunches like a dog, with her forelegs straight down in between. Not entirely pleased, and somewhat frightened to be in a closed room with Padlock, she cautiously moved towards the table. With only a few steps to go, her legs locked up, and sweat beaded on her already sweaty forehead. She heard Padlock say, "come" again, but it sounded distant. Cassie closed her eyes, focusing on keeping her fear in check. Come on. You knew you had to do this, and you know you have to. Padlock's been nicer than the rest, like the three at the hospital. She's not going to bite, and definitely isn't going to trample me for no reason… I hope. She's intelligent, just like me. With one final, long, deep breath and exhale, Cassie opened her eyes. The mare had not moved, and still held a joyful smile. Cassie weakly returned the mare’s smile and took a step forward, and then another, until her hand rested on the table. "That's my chair," Cassie said, while pointing to the chair Padlock sat in. "You can sit in that one over there or something," she finished, pointing to the other chair. The mare looked at Cassie blankly. Cassie repeated herself and pointed sternly at the other chair several times. After a moment, a sheepish grin came to the mare's face. Padlock's hooves clopped on the marble floor as she went around the table, opposite of Cassie. A small smile formed on her face when the mare moved, but she jumped for joy on the inside that a pony did something she wanted. Though her reasons for making the mare move were bigger than that; not only was this the bigger chair, but more importantly, it faced towards the window so if she had to, she could focus on the sky if her fear started creeping back up. Just as she started sitting down, a slightly red hue tinted her face. "Umm, I'll be right back," Cassie quickly said, and darted to the bathroom, leaving a confused-looking Padlock behind. A chill rippled through Cassie's body as her dress slipped over her skin. Having elected to forgo her bra, and grumbling about the still damp clothing, she fiddled with the dress until it settled properly. After kicking the towel she had been wearing into the pile with the rest, she looked at herself in the mirror. Cassie turned her head back and forth, watching both eyes track side to side. The corners of her mouth drooped as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. While both were still a bright blue, the right looked dull and lifeless, as the pupil was stuck in a shrunken state, since the last thing it saw had been that bright light coming at her. The longer Cassie stared, the creepier the mismatched pupils began to look to her. She ran the brush through her hair a few times, then separated a section to fall over the right side of her face before putting the rest into a loose ponytail with a hair tie. She turned her head to the door and stared for several moments before looking back at the mirror. "Come on, you can do this. You must. You need to get out of this place and back to the ship," Cassie muttered to her reflection. A rapid, double slapping sound echoed off the bathroom walls. With her head back in the game, Cassie removed her hands from her cheeks. Properly dressed, and sporting a new smile, she returned to the bedroom and the awaiting pony.