Chapter 1

Drip...drip

Helen woke from her restless sleep with a start. Beads of cold sweat ran down her face and back, her breath was ragged, and her eyes frantically scanned the room. Just a dream, she told herself. The same dream that had tormented her for weeks.

Drip... drip

Her cell was cramped and damp. The only source of light came from a small, bared window just above her cot. When they threw her in her new home last night she could here rats scurrying about frantically. The sound of them almost made her afraid to fall asleep. Though her window was source of light, it was also just another source of misery. Water easily flowed through the opening and collected in a puddle next to her cot.

Drip... drip

Helen swung her legs out of her cot and sat on the edge and stared at her reflection in the puddle below her feet. Helen was a pretty young girl. She had thick black hair that fell to past her shoulders and a very young looking face, though the events of the previous day left her hair tangled and her face ragged and dirty.

Drip... drip

They had come into her house and began to toss over furniture to try to get to find. Her mother and father had pleaded for them to go and tried to convince them that she wasn't there. It almost worked until one of the soldiers struck her father and she let out a little peep that alerted the other soldiers. They eventually discovered that she was hiding under the floorboards. They tore them out and ripped her from her hiding spot. They carried her away while Helen's mother screamed for her daughter.

Drip... drip

Helen stood to stretch her legs. "Hey!" a raspy voice called out. Helen turned to see a Dunmer staring at her from the cell opposite of hers. "So you're the new meat huh? I was expecting a man to be honest. But you'll do just fine."

"Who are you?" Helen asked in a weak voice.

"Valen Dreth. Pleased to make your acquaintance..." He trailed off.

"Helen,"

"Pleased to make your acquaintance Helen. It looks like we'll be spending a long time together."

"What do you mean?" Valen laughed.

"You're going to be here for a long time of course. Everyone who comes down here always stays for a very long time. In fact, the last person in that cell of yours was here for twenty years. He died less than one week ago. Went insane and started hitting his head off the wall until he died."

"Stop it." Helen put her hands over her ears.

"I imagine you'll do the same the thing. Go insane, just like everyone else."

"Please, no more." She insisted. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"You're going to die here Helen! You're going to die!" He laughed a raspy laugh then.

"Stop it you monster!" she screamed as tears began to roll freely down her face. A door slammed open and a gruff, big voice called down.

"Both of you shut up!" the jailor bellowed, "One more word out of either of you today and I'll give you both fifty lashes!" Helen heard distant laughter of the other jailors, then the sound of a door slamming shut.

Helen glanced over to Valen Dreth's cell. He stood there with a smile reaching from ear to ear. He waved before going back to his cot. Helen went back to her cot, curled into a ball, and cried quietly for a long time. This was her reality.

Drip... drip.