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Lux walks into a dark basement, her black clothing dragging on the floor as she takes slow, soft steps. One hand holding onto an oil lamp, her only source of light as she ventures forth, the other hand holding onto a food tray with only old mouldy rice and slimy gloopy mash. The only sounds heard was the soft breathing of lux and her footsteps which seems to echo around the room.
She continues to walk until she finds what she was looking for. She lifts the oil lamp infront of her, to reveal a thin, frail body. Ankles and wrist chained up in heavy iron metal. The ragged sounds of breathing followed by occasions cough. Dirty blue eccentric hair that seems to be as long as her body, with strands of hair sticking to her sweaty dirty face. The girl was trapped in a small cell with nothing but a small hole to pee and shit.
The girls eye opens slightly, eyelashes fluttering as she adjusts to the light. Her gaze sweeping over Lux’s features, analysing whoever is in front of her. The way her eyes looks at Lux makes it seems as if she has been seen through, it makes Lux wants to choke. The girl licks her lips, trying to find her voice.
“Hello pretty girl. You a guard?” Lux takes a step back, putting the oil lamp down on the table outside of the cell, choosing to ignore whatever the girl had said. She was here for a reason, not for idle talk.
“Not down for any introductions? Fine by me.” The girl said, tilting her head to the side as she observes what lux is doing.
Lux places the food tray onto the floor, opening the small gate at the bottom of the cell with a key and pushes it in.
But an uneasy feeling in her crept up as she pushes the food in. The feeling of being watched, the feeling of being seen through.
“You single?”
Lux finally looks up. “A prisoner, does not deserves the rights to talk.” With a flick of her finger, a silencing charm is casted onto the prisoner. “Please refrain from speaking to me, i do not intend to go down the path of such, absurdity.”
The girl tries to talk, but her mouth ran dry.
However, despite Lux being a little too uptight with her, she could not help but look forward to more of the guard appearances.
-
The next day, Lux is down in the basement again, going through the same routine.
“Hello blondy!” The prisoner says with excitement. After being chained down in the basement for so long, it couldn’t help but look forward to any sort of human interaction so that she does not get bored to death.
Lux sends her a deafening look, warning the prisoner that if her mouth does not shut, Lux would cast the charm again.
“Hey, i’ve been chained down here for so long without any social interaction. Im gonna die of boredom instead of getting executed you know?” With a flick of a finger, another silencing charm in cast.
-
Lux does not appear down at the basement for a few weeks, but when she does, the demon looks worse than ever. With a few more wounds added to her already frail body, dried blood on her left rib and a bruised face, the prisoner looked quite pitiful.
Lux spends a little too long looking at the damage when a voice reminded her where she was.
“I thought you would not come down ever again.” The prisoner cried out, her voice hoarse and dry.
Did her hair grow longer? "You know, you’re very pretty. Like a bright star in the endless dark void.”
When Lux does not answer, the prisoner resorted to whistling a specific tune. It was a short, sweet melody that Lux wonders where she had heard it from. Lux continues to work in silent, and as usual, nothing happens.
-
The same routine will get repeated once or twice a week for months. Of course the prisoner will try to spark some small talk with Lux, or just tell her stupid stories. It always prove to be useless to try and get a response from the girl though.
This time however, Lux does something unexpected.
“Hello blondy, how are you today?” The prisoner asks, expecting to be ignored again, but when Lux answers, a wave of shock goes through the prisoner.
“Boring as usual, i live a very monotonous life. I don’t like it.” Lux shrugs, pushing in the food tray.
The prisoner takes a while to respond, mostly from being taken back. Her every fibre in her body has to force herself to respond before the opportunity to talk to the blondie was taken away. She didn’t want this moment to end just yet.
“Same. Mine is boring too. Stuck in a dark basement with my own mind, without anything to do is very boring. You’re the only thing i look forward to.” The prisoner says, hoping that the girl would reply. The girl does not say anything, so the prisoner sighed, resigning her expectations, where all of a sudden, a low respond was heard.
“That must suck.”
-
“Why is a pretty girl like you working here?” The prisoner asks, holding onto the cell as Lux delivers her food.
“No reason.” Lux replies, lingering slightly longer this time. She sat on the floor in front of the cell, bringing her knees to her chest. The prisoner does the same.
“Why are you here?” Lux asks, voice soft, resting her chin on her folded arms. The prisoner, grins, “I'm sure you know why?” Lux shrugs.
After having to deliver food to this specific criminal for the past weeks and months, she has grown to enjoy listening to the girl idle chatter, or whatever that came out of the girls mouth. She knows she shouldn’t, considering who the prisoner is, but she can’t help but enjoy it.
“I killed my own family, and some other people. Should I feel any remorse? I don’t know.” Lux says nothing. She knew the reason of course, it was all over the newspapers when it happened. But is there a deeper meaning to her reasons or is the girl just crazy and psychotic?
Lux gets up and leaves.
-
Lux does not appear for a month. In that time, people show up to visit the prisoner. With the prisoner chained up, she has no choice but to take the beatings of others, to take in the countless of sexual touch from others. The prisoner is used to it, she has endured this ever since she came to this prison.
She had it coming because of what she did.
1 hit to her abdomen, another to the face.
1 touches her, another spits at her.
1 pulls her hair, another slaps her face.
When they’re gone, the prisoner is resigned to slump against the wall with her open wounds, not being able to do anything about it. She wishes that in that moment, the prison guard would appear, to save her from loneliness.
-
Another painful month passes and Lux finally appears again.
“Where were you?” The prisoner asked, gripping onto the cell bars tight, desperate for an answer. The prisoner was used to being alone, used to drowning herself in her own thoughts. But ever since the specific guard appeared, she was all the prisoner could think of.
“Away, for duty. Somewhere far from here.” Lux replied, The prisoner didn’t pry further in, just happy that the guard would reply to her.
"As long as you're okay then."
"Your body has gained more wounds when i was away." Lux says, her eyes glancing up and down the body of the prisoner.
The prisoner was never conscious of her own body until now, when she feels the fierce gaze of the prison guard on her own body. Her first instinct is to cover herself up, but it was a fruitless attempt.
"Mhm, it happens from time to time." The prisoner replied. But Lux wasn't having it. Her eyebrows furrowed, "I've noticed." her voice suddenly grew tight.
She lingers for a while more then leaves.
Leaving the prisoner in her own thoughts.
Did someone just.. ask about her well being?
-
The next day, Lux visits, bringing along something else instead of a food tray.
"Rub this on your body. It should help. Be Careful, it stings a little." Lux says, handing over the smile bottle of ointment that she bought just for the prisoner.
"Hah, is this allowed?" The prisoner asks, but quickly applies the ointment everywhere. It stings badly, but not as bad as the beating she receives.
"Thank you."
-
"Your execution date is coming closer. Are you scared?" Lux asks, fiddling with her own fingers.
The prisoner is currently laying on her back, arms supporting her head.
Back then, she would have wanted that day to come closer, so that she would not have to live in this wretched world anymore. So that she would not have to suffer anymore. But now that she has something to look forward to, she finds herself dreading the date that once brought her excitement.
"I.. don't know." The prisoner replies, turning her head to face the prison guard. "Will you miss me once I'm gone?"
The prisoner meant it as a joke, to lighten the mood, but she got an answer she didn't expect.
"Yeah."
-
"Blondy, I have realised why I find you familiar."
Lux quickly looked towards the prisoner, some sort of feeling in her eyes that could not be explained.
"I would like to start off by saying i'm sorry. I killed your parents, didn't i?"
Lux breaths hitched. A ringing in her head as she gets reminded of her parents. Of course they weren't the best of the best, but they were still her blood family. The people who had her blood running through their veins.
But, even though they meant that much to Lux, it still wasn't what she was looking for to come out of the prisoner's mouth.
"I.. im sorry but I don't regret it."
"Figures."
-
The date of the execution draws nearer everyday and the prisoner never loses her ability to talk and talk. It makes Lux feels relieved, makes lux forgets about fhe execution, but forgetting and something not happening is not the same.
-
It was the date of the execution. The prisoner was to be executed by hanging.
"Today will be the last day you serve me food. You'll be free of me from now on. Exciting huh?" The prisoner jokes, trying to get a smile to form on the prison guard face.
She didn't like the scowl on her face, or the emotionless eyes she was showing.
"I realized I didn't actually introduce myself?" The prisoner said, pointing a finger towards her face. "I hope you remember me even when im gone. Could you please burn some money for me? I know I don't deserve it, but it would be nice if someone remembered me as a person, and not a maniac."
"My name is jinx. Jinx for jinx."
Lux eyes go red. She wasn't sad, she was mad.
"Uh oh, what's wrong?"
"Tell me your real name." Lux demanded, grabbing onto the bars real tight and shaking it around. She is now frantically shouting.
"Tell me your real name! Shit!" Lux shouts, her hand going red from how tight she was gripping the bars.
Jinx is now dumbfounded. Has she done something wrong?
"Hey blondie.."
"Even at your last moments, you just can't seem to remember me? Powder?"
And Lux leaves. Never to be seen again.
Jinx says nothing. Guilt creeping up onto her.
What did Lux mean? Jinx don't know.
-
The next day, Jinx's head hangs high as a sign that the town is finally rid of evil.