CHAPTER THREE

"Come again?" Mirie said. She had always wanted to be a fairy, to have wings and fly high up in the clouds. After all, it was one of the reasons that she was sentenced to life in prison. She could just imagine having wings, grooming them day after day.

Gylfie went over and put her cloak back on. Just in time, too. For at that moment, the three girls heard the footsteps of the guard bringing them their meals. The girls, all except Kish, went to the door to investigate.

It was Manten. He was struggling to hold two bowls in one hand while balancing his spear and a third bowl on the other. But something was different. He must have lost a bet on a night out with his friends, because he was now bald. The girls fought to hold back their laughs.

He arrived at their door and entered their cell. He looked at Kish and Mirie. "Have you been smuggling items into the dungeon? Your hair is brushed, and her wings are clean. I want answers now." He said.

Kish said something before Mirie did. "Here's your answer." She started in a rude tone. "We've been using our fingers to comb our hair, and I've been using my fingernails to chip off dirt from my wings. Is that a good enough answer for you?"

This infuriated Manten. He rushed over to Kish. Anyone could see that he was at least two feet taller than her.

Oh no, she's in trouble again, Mirie thought.

Suddenly, Manten grabbed Kish's hair and lifted her off of the ground until she was almost higher than he was. Her eyes were shut as tight as they could be, as if it could take away some of the pain.

"Now listen, you,” Mirie could smell whiskey on his breath. "If the king would just let me have my way, I would kill you right here." he let go and she hit the ground with a huge *thud*. He went to the door and turned back halfway through. "And by the way, thanks to your new friend, your rations have been cut down by half." He slammed the door and left.

Mirie rushed over to Kish and tried to help her get up, but Kish just slapped her hand away.

"I'm fine," She said, although she had a huge bruise on her leg. "You guys can have my rations for today." She winced as she got up. She slowly limped toward her bed and pulled the cover over her head.

The two girls sat in silence for the rest of the day, moving only to go to a different spot, or to use the toilet.

That night, the two girls were talking to each other as they were lying in their cots.

“Mirie,” Gylfie started. “Has Kish always been this way?”

“Actually, yes. You see… she tries to act all tough, but she’s actually really dependent on others. She actually gets sick a lot, sometimes to the point that she can’t get out of bed.” Mirie answered.

“Wow. Sorry. Anyway, let’s get some sleep.” She turned around and pulled the blanket over her.

“Gylfie?”

She turned back to Mirie, who was just settling down in her cot. “About being a fairy,” She said. “My answer is yes.”
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