Auriella dreamt of starry nights and shadows circling all around her.

She sat on the concrete, watching the unusual figures keeping her hidden away from something or someone.

She let it happen, knowing that these figures were keeping her safe. They kept her wrapped around their darkness, protecting her. For once, she felt safe, secure. It's like her worries weren't there anymore.

She let herself move closer to the darkness, wondering if she could touch it. But as her hand got closer, she could see the shape of a Fae male show itself.

Then she jolted awake, her sweat running down her body.

The cell halls were quiet, only the sound of crackling torches was heard.

Auriella brought her knees to her chest, hugging them tightly. The motion sent a jolt of pain in her back, but she was unfazed by it. She let herself stare at the lit torch that was right outside over her cell door, staring at the fire.

She didn't know why she started crying, but she did. Her tears were silent, taking deep breaths to control the sounds that came out of her.

"Stay strong, my love," Auriella whispered to herself, remembering the words her father blurted out to her. Oh, how she yearned for his embrace. How she yearned to look him in the eyes again and remember their bright color. She desperately needed him.

Auriella remembered, when she was young, Thesan would go into her room and sing for her his favorite ballad that he made for Zephyr. Her memory of the notes was foggy, but she remembered being happy and dancing foolishly around the room. Her father would chuckle as he sang, loving his daughter's enthusiasm.

She hummed part of the song she remembered, making her heart tighten. She would give anything to go back to those days. She wanted to be alive again.

Suddenly, high pitched screams echoed throughout Under the Mountain, freeing Auriella from her comforting thoughts. She slowly stood up from the concrete, wrapping her hands around the cell bars, trying to see if there was anyone coming down the hall.

Another set of terrifying screams sounded again, followed by a loud voice, shouting commands. Auriella could hear the guards murmuring to one another, chuckling at what was happening to the poor soul.

She swallowed hard, tearing herself away from the bars and going into the dark corner once more. The screams became louder, mixed with sobs and words that Auriella could not make out. She covered her ears, wanting sleep to envelop her, but exhaustion never came.

She waited in her cell, letting the motion of the guards tell her when it was time for her next punishment with Amarantha.

But a few hours later, when the screams had stopped, she could hear footsteps of guards coming down the hall. She sat up, thinking that they were going to take her away, but that was not what was happening.

Instead, the guards had a horrifically beaten girl dangling in their arms. They opened the cell door next to Auriella, shoving the girl in. Her body plopped onto the floor, too exhausted to even stop herself from falling on the concrete.

Auriella could hear her ragged heavy breathing like she wasted her vocals. Her arms were covered in blood, her face was bruised and bleeding, her neck was scratched up, and she was missing a few fingers. Her blue-white dress was covered in blood, which Auriella immediately knew was hers.

After the guards left without a word, Auriella crawled towards the girl, laying her body flat on the floor. "What did they do to you?" She whispered, not sure if the girl could hear her.

Auriella reached out, wiping the blonde strands away from the girl's face, tucking it behind her ear. She was human.

The girl tried to open her eyes, but they were swollen. In the dim light, Auriella could see tears stream down her face. She spoke again, "Who are you, my love? What did they do to you? And why?" She asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

The girl rasped out her name, "Clare," she said. Auriella had seen so much torture come from Amarantha, but never inflicted all at once.

"Clare, why are you here?" Auriella asked.

Clare let out a sob, shaking her head, which visibly pained her. "Don't... know. Family... dead. Home... fire. They... took... me." She uttered out, which Auriella understood. She grabbed hold of Clare's wrist, gently comforting her.

"Amarantha wouldn't torture just anyone without reason. There must be one. Why were they doing this to you?" She asked, but Clare closed her eyes, giving in to the exhaustion that must have been overtaking her.

Auriella let her sleep, but she stayed with her, her hand still on Clare's wrist, eventually falling into sleep moments later.

---

Auriella felt a slight tap on her arm, jolting awake. She noticed she was still lying on the concrete, her arm on the other side of the cell.

Clare had awoken, her entire face still a swollen mess, but she was conscious.

"Afraid," she croaked, her body trembling on the cold ground. Auriella grabbed her hand again, ignoring the emptiness of a complete hand. She tried to bring a tang of warmth and comfort to Clare, but there was none of that Under the Mountain.

Auriella nodded, feeling the sore pain in her back, "I wish I could tell you that it will all be alright." She said, not wanting to lie to the girl.

Clare took a deep breath, flinching as she released, "Am... I... going... to... die?" She asked. Auriella's heart tightened. She didn't answer the question.

After a moment of silence, Clare spoke once more, "Tell... me... about... you." She said, her voice shaking with fear. Her three-fingered hand tightly held onto Auriella's, like she never wanted her to let go.

Auriella granted her request, telling Clare about herself. She mentioned where she was from, what she did, and what things she liked to do. She told Clare about the types of music she liked to play and what her songs meant to her. She told Clare about her family. Her fathers, brother, and her two attendants, Lara and Valeria.

Clare gave Auriella a small smile, listening to every word.

But those moments of whispers and stories were interrupted by heavy footsteps coming down the hallway. Auriella retreated away, preparing to be led out of the cell and out to the throne room, where Amarantha would be waiting there for her with a whip in her hands.

Then the guards passed her cell, unlocking Clare's, and lifting her up from the ground. She whimpered in pain, pleading with the guards to not take her away. She sobbed, her cries echoing and sending shivers down Auriella's spine. She wanted to cry out, to force the guards to stop, but there was nothing she could do.

She was useless.

Moments later, Clare's screams sounded once more. Auriella cried in her cell, knowing that Amarantha was torturing this girl to the limit.

Auriella put her hands over her ears once more, trying to block out the painful screams. She wanted this to be a nightmare. She wanted Clare's screams to be a figment of her imagination. She wanted to believe that she was in a hallucination, that she was finally breaking from reality.

But it would not stop.

Auriella felt herself start trembling. From trauma, exhaustion, and the pain that was inflicted on her. Any hope that she had left quickly escaped from her.

---

She didn't remember when she closed her eyes to the darkness.

Auriella heard the heavy footsteps stomping down the hall, but she didn't move. Instead, she kept her eyes closed, hoping that Clare wasn't coming back worse than before.

She heard the guards open the cell, she heard Clare's body slam onto the floor, the cell door close once more, and the guards walking away. But still, she was terrified to open her eyes, knowing that Clare's state had worsened from Amarantha's torture.

Auriella took a deep breath, slowly opening her eyes.

She didn't recognize her.

Clare's face was covered in blood, both of her hands had no more fingers, her neck was dripping blood onto the floor, and her blue-white dress was ripped in many places, her legs bleeding and flesh peeking out from them.

Auriella sobbed, heading to the water bucket to let out the contents of the stale food that she had eaten earlier. She lifted her head to Clare, crawling back to her. She was hesitant to grab her wrist, seeing that it had scars from being bound, but she did anyway.

"Clare?" She breathed, hoping that her life hadn't left yet.

After moments of pure silence, the girl let out a small whimper, signaling that she was alive. Auriella let out a sob of relief. She rubbed her thumb over her scarred wrist, gently bringing back the comfort that she knew Clare needed. It was clear that she wasn't going to hold on much longer.

She didn't want this human girl, that she never knew, to die alone without anyone. Clare mentioned that her family was dead, that she was taken from them. Auriella's heart clenched, imagining the pain that must have gone through her before the whole ordeal began. Clare must have been so confused as to why this was happening to her, why she had to suffer this much pain.

Auriella sighed, her tears staining the concrete. She began to hum her father's song, the one she remembered clearly after so many years of not touching a piano. She kept her eyes on Clare, making sure that she was still breathing, even though a part of her wanted her to die so that she didn't have to suffer any longer.

She hummed her father's song until could no longer hold the right notes. She laid in the silence, letting Clare rest, having possibly her final moments of peace.

"Let your soul find its way to the sun," Auriella whispered, reciting the words of the Dawn Court. They would be spoken whenever a person was dead or close to dying, wanting their souls to be one with the light instead of the darkness, to find peace instead of despair.

---

After many hours of lying awake with Clare's motionless body, Auriella heard the stomping footsteps come down the hall once again. She wished that they were coming for her, that she was going to the throne room to receive her punishment. She begged to any of the spirits that they would let Clare have a day to rest.

But her heart dropped when they passed her cell. She didn't move away from Clare. She let the guards see that she was interacting with her.

Clare breathed out two words, "Thank... you."

The guards ripped Auriella's hand away from Clare's wrist before yanking her up and dragging her out. Auriella yelled at the guards, begging them to leave her alone, gripping the bars, shaking them, her rage taking over her body.

She crawled to her cell door, yelling out Clare's name, wanting to rip the metal door from its hinges. But her frail body was not able to do anything but watch as the girl was taken away.

Auriella punched her cell door multiple times until blood was leaking from her knuckles, but the pain did not compare to her wrenching heart. This girl that she barely knew, was suffering at the hand of a demon who showed no mercy.

After a few moments, the screams started again. Auriella didn't cover her ears this time, wanting to hear the final sounds before they stopped because she knew they would. She took deep breaths, keeping her knees close to her chest. Her useless tears streamed down her face and her body trembled with every emotion.

She couldn't think of anything else but that blonde headed girl. She thought of Amarantha using every torture device on her, screaming profanities until she extracted the unknown answers out of her. She thought of Clare, her hands bound tightly, and her silent tears streaming down her face, wondering why she was being tortured.

Auriella once again crawled over to her bucket, throwing up nothing but liquid. She plopped her body against the wall, breathing heavily.

There was no hope here.

Then, the screams stopped.