Stiches, Part 2
Imprisonment  


Alder simply stared at the captain. This was unheard of, a knight of Malcath being taken into custody so publicly. At first he felt indignation, then fear. This had to be serious, he was being made an example of, for some reason. He had to try and make the best of it.
  "Why would I struggle, I'll will go with immediately Ulfias. What seems to be the problem?" It was the best he could do, considering the circumstances.
  "The charge is being withheld till further notice," it seamed that he was talking to the crowd now, making a proclamation, and really he was. The charges not being given was not only a confusing, it was a public slap to the face, only peasants were not given a reason for incarceration. Alder put a frown on his face, one that declared angry acceptance, humble in a way, he hoped.
  "Well then, seeing as there is nothing more to say, lets go," Alder said.
Ulfias situated Alder in the center of his men, in case he tried to escape, and left the ballroom. Alder could still feel the stares a long way down the hall.
The castle was large and meandering, almost a maze to a new comer. To a seasoned explorer of it, the castle would show all of its secrets. Ulfias was such a seasoned explorer, and it showed. They were going down pathways that Alder had never seen before, secret doors that had never even occurred to him. He assumed this was all for his benefit, trying to disorient him. Slowly they descended, and Alder had a good idea where they were headed, the dungeons. It was the ultimate slight, a knight thrown into the dungeon, instead of a well furnished tower cell. Alder would have been more angry, but he knew what they were trying to do. He was, by birth, a commoner, and this was probably some elaborate plot to remind him, and everyone else, of the fact. He thought that he would probably get questioned, for some random crime, them given a small scar, probably on his face, then let go. People would see the scar and remember, or if no scar they would just see him and recall that ball. He really couldn't comprehend who would do this but the king popped to mind. The fact that he had asked for, and been granted, the honor of escorting the princess to her ball had not set well with some people. He had thought that the king had been happy, well at least not bothered by it, perhaps not.
They were deep in Castle Veyar, and the only light came from Ulfias's torch. The walls around them were dank, cold, and dirty, an oddity in the castle. Alder knew where they were now, he had grown up down here, hiding from the lights, like Ulfias's, licking water off the walls when he could get non anywhere else. Those memories pained Alder, they were a constant embarrassment, and he had worked long and hard to erase that embarrassment with deeds.
Finally Ulfias stopped. Alder, who had been involved in his own thoughts, looked up for the first time, and a shout caught in his throat. This was the cell, the cell were it all began.