Flipp
Hours went by and I was chomping at the bit. I was pacing the cell because I could not sit still. I was waiting for something to happen, but it was taking forever. Where were they? I had to remind myself that it took time to find a runaway Denon, and it could take more than a day, depending on where he went off to. They might never find him, and I would still be pacing around my cell in frustration.
I heard a noise in the corridor and I went to the cell door to see. It was the same nice guard that had spoken to me before. He stopped in front of my cell and he was holding a plate of dinner. It looked like brown mush with a few slices of bread. My stomach turned at the sight of it, but I remembered what Azil had said about keeping my energy up. I didn’t need to be weak or drained if something was going to happen. I needed to be ready for an escape or a fight, or both.
“I see the kitchen is doing well,” I said sarcastically.
It was the friendly guard and he at least offered me a smile. “No offense, monster girl, but we don’t eat the same as you do.”
“Shocker.”
He slid the plate to me and sat down beside my cell. I looked at him curiously. “Can I help you with something?”
“I just thought that we could have a little chat.”
“I can’t imagine what about.”
“Are you always this hostile?”
I laughed. “No, only when I’m locked up for no reason whatsoever.”
“Don’t kill the messenger.”
I rolled my eyes. “Let’s agree to disagree.”
He let out a hearty laugh. I looked down at my plate and wondered if I should just starve.
“It might look rough, but it really doesn’t taste that bad.”
I looked up at him and acknowledged once again how handsome he was. It made me miss Xagon, but Xagon definitely didn’t deserve to be missed. It was partially his fault that I was locked up. It still burned me that they knew all along that I was going to be locked up and they didn’t even warn me. They made me believe that I had a chance in hell of convincing the Queen not to lock me up.
I sighed and started to fork the mush into my mouth. The guard was right, it wasn’t that bad. No great, but I could eat it without gagging.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Flipp, and it’s pretty sad that I’m a prisoner here and you guys have no idea who I am. It makes you look bad.”
“Oh, I’ll make sure to alert the Queen.”
I found it weird that I could easily banter with the guard without wanting to claw his eyes out. I preferred him, however, to the lean or pudgy guards. At least he seemed to have a personality and didn’t want to sexually violate me.
“What’s your name?”
“Irving.”
“Well, Irving, your slop isn’t bad.”
“So, tomorrow is the big day.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Big day for what?” I asked, as I continued eating. It was best to just get it in my body as soon as possible, before I changed my mind. I finished the mush and moved on to the bread. It was a little stale, but I could deal with that. I sat there munching on it while he spoke.
“The event that you will be performing at is tomorrow.”
“Good Gods, already. I suppose I’m going to be humiliated in front of everyone. Is that the type of entertainment they want?”
“It’s not going to be a fun evening for you, that’s for sure.”
“Fabulous.”