Honored

Chapter 6: Spies

The dungeon felt the same. The stale and yet sharp odor of urine mixed with the tangy bite of blood, and the sickly rancid sweet smell of infection. The prickly straw on the smooth, hard, cold floor. The iron bars preventing escape. Manacles on my wrists connected to a wall.

This time Dan shared the cell with me.

"How long do you think they will keep us here?" His voice sounded hoarse, and he cleared his throat.

It felt surreal to be back here. This whole experience since coming out of the wasteland surrounding the city was like a dream, but at the same time it was all too real to be a dream.

"Liv?"

"Hmmm. Probably till they kill us." The manacles on my wrist were so tight. It made the skin under them hurt.

"Liv!"

"Hmm?" Why was he yelling at me?

"You need to think and be prepared. We have to plan how to survive." Dan's desperation caught up with me.

I was here, now, in this dungeon. I was freezing cold and my wrists itched.

I closed my eyes for a minute, focusing in on the first question I nonchalantly answered, "We will have to make our move when they take us to be killed. If we are lucky, we might be able to talk to a sympathetic guard. If not, we might die."

"We need a better plan than that..."

"What do you want!? If we try and fight our way out of custody on our own we will be killed instantly. We need support. If we try and escape now we will be caught. This prison is too well watched. I lived here ten years of my life. I know.

"Is there maybe another way in. Maybe we could escape under the cover of night..."

"We are in the City Dan. That dome over the city that make the sky look so weird, it also makes sure that the prison is properly illuminated at all time. Who knows if the city's day and night cycle even match the outside world."

"You can't just give up. Ya planned for this. Ya had all that training in the Wall."

"Yes Dan. This is my plan. My plan relies on the support of some of the guards here. It relies on the people to actually care. If it makes you feel better, everything is going according to plan. Relax. Lean back. Enjoy the easy life in prison for a couple days." I was being too harsh, but for some reason I was feeling apathetic toward the whole situation. I should care more. I should be furious that the City betrayed its honor even though this was what was expected. I felt nothing.

I was back here. Is this how all the Dishonored came to simply accept their fates? Was this who I was. My sense of desperation for revenge, my strong guiding belief in honor, my desperation; was it all lost now to the confines of metal bars?

No. I forced myself to stretch, to look over at Dan who was staring at me like I'd lost my mind.

I had to get past this tired lackadaisical feeling.

"We will prevail. I believe, that there are good people in this city. There are people fed up with the way this city is run. Our rebellion will take off.

Dan's face looked blank as he nodded. "There's the Liv I know. You'd never been so pessimistic before."

I hadn't? I don't think my plan is going to work. I don't think I can escape from fate this time, but I had to, for Dan's sake. I dragged him into all of this. I'd expected it. I had to keep going for him.

"I am going to take a nap though. I want to be well rested when it's time to bring the King down."

Dan nodded. We could take turns napping and exercising. We needed to keep up our strength for the fight.