Rachelae: The Dungeon - Remembrance

By VidEB

Galleon awoke with a piercing headache chained to the wall of the dungeon of Rachelae. He quickly realizes that he does not know who he is or why he is here. He soon learns the man next to him is his brother and sent here for trying to kill his king. As his memories slowly return, he remembers the woman he loves and his brother, but confusion clouds his thoughts causing only one thing to feel right. His brother is innocent. Was Galleon guilty of trying to kill his king? Was he sentenced for another crime? Did the woman he loves betray him? He is left alive for now but only until he remembers the truth. The Dungeon Remembrance is the first book of a four part series of Rachelae.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490862033

VidEB

VidEB is a graduate of Parker College of Chiropractic, now Parker University. He is a native of Arizona where he has lived most of his life. He is currently practicing as a doctor of chiropractic in the Phoenix area where he lives with his wife and two children.

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Copyright © 2014 VidEB.

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WestBow Press

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-6203-3 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 01/02/2015

Contents

Captured

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Day Five

Captured

T HEY WERE GAINING ON HIM with every passing second. He knew he must hurry, but was unsure of where he should go. The dogs were not far behind and the men were eager to end the chase. How could this have happened? The kingdom was being torn apart and the one responsible was unknown. The woods were dark, making every step unsure. He could now hear the river up ahead and began to take hope. If he could just make it to the river he would have a chance. Running as fast as he could in the dark, he began on the downward drop just before the river. Now even more unsure of his footing, he proceeded with more caution. With the dogs and voices growing louder he knew they were just seconds behind. The river was his only chance. Fear gripped him tighter. Thoughts of not living through the night filled his mind. Just then his foot slipped and he rolled the remainder of the hill, meeting a large rock at the edge of the river. The back of his head hit hard as he fell in the shallow of the water. The water around him grew murky as blood oozed from the laceration on the back of his head. The dim light of the moon seeped through the branches above spreading a shadowy light on his unconscious face.

There he is! a man shouted.

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The door to the dungeon creaked opened allowing torch light to shine on the face of a prisoner. By the looks of him, he had not been there for long. He was dirty and unkempt, but healthy. He was well built but not a big man who looked to be in his young twenties. His hair was brown and straggly down to his shoulders and had what looked like two weeks or so of whiskers. Squinting his brown eyes into the light, the young man could see nothing but the shadow of two men carry in another man. He watched as the two men chained the new prisoner to the wall next to him.

This will hold you until we know what to do with you, one of them said after they chained him.

A third man stood at the door and waited for the two to exit the room. He paused for a moment, then exited the room also closing the door behind him. It was obvious the new prisoner was injured but how bad was not known. The young man moved a bit closer to take a better look, but the pale light was not enough to see the new prisoner clearly.

Are you alright? the young man tentatively asked as he gently shook the limp body. There was no response. He could hear faint breathing from the man, ensuring that he was still alive for the time being.

Day One

B EFORE LIGHT, THE STIRRING OF the new prisoner awakened the young man. Looking up, he saw the man sitting, checking the back of his head with his hand. Feeling the blood in his matted hair, along with the scabbing flesh of his head he spoke. What happened to me? he asked in a weak voice.

You have been taken to the dungeon of Rachelae, the young man answered.

Dungeon… why?

That I do not know.

Who are you? asked the new prisoner.

I am Videon, the young man said quietly. It is fortunate you are weak. The weak seem to be treated better here than the strong.

Barely understanding the information he was receiving but fully aware of his splitting head and aching muscles the prisoner asked, Who am I?

How do you not know who you are? Videon asked.

I don’t know… I… I don’t remember anything.

Both unable to make sense of the situation they sat in silence for a few moments.

Well then, I shall call you Anonymity, Videon said giving the man a name.

Trying to think of something else to prolong the conversation, the man asked, Why are you here?

Videon, knowing the question was inevitable, reluctantly answered. Our king had me sent here for betraying him. Shame filled his voice.

Anonymity cautiously continued. How did you…?

I didn’t, Videon answered quickly. Feeling the need to explain he continued. Our king is an honorable man. He would not have done something he felt to be wrong. He is the one of the best men I have ever known. I will be true to him until the end of my days.

Then why would you be thrown in here for something you didn’t do? Anonymity asked.

Videon lowered his head in shame and remained silent.

In two of the top corners of the room were small windows that allowed the new day to be seen. Others were awakening as light began to creep into the dungeon. The normal sounds of chains were evident in the room. Faint voices were also heard as others spoke to each other. Through the faint light, Anonymity was struck with an odd realization that he wore tattered, old clothing, although unaware why, he was surprised by his appearance. It did not matter though; his situation did not seem as bad as Videon’s. What if he deserved to be here? What did he do? Surely he could not be innocent if the king was as honorable as Videon claimed. But, then again, by those same standards, Videon would not be here. The thought troubled him for a moment before finally voicing his thoughts.

No respectable king would put an innocent man in a dungeon!

Videon now looking straight at his shadow spoke boldly. No one speaks ill of our king around me. Not even people without memory Anony! Do not disrespect him again!

Surprised by his reaction, Anony did not pursue the subject. However one thing had become strikingly clear. Videon would not have betrayed his king.

At the door came the sound of keys. The door opened as a shadow with a torch came in and lit a torch on the wall, starting a chain reaction, as one by one all torches down the walls of the dungeon burst into flame. Anony could now be seen in the light. His face was a bit dirty and his clothes were old. He was average in build with some muscle tone and also in his young twenties. He had bright blue eyes with very short dark brown hair. He had only a days worth of whiskers. For the first time Anony noticed how many people were there. About fifty men lined the room; all chained to the wall. Anony began looking on each. Many of them looked familiar. The chains used varied in length. Anony looked over at Videon who sat against the wall with his arms on his knees and his head buried in his arms. As he looked at Videon, Anony noticed that Videon’s chains seemed to be the longest in the room. Across the room was a hallway. Anony’s stomach turned at the thought of where it led, hoping that he would never know that answer.

The man who entered the room was large in stature and evil in appearance. He was in his young thirties, had light brown wavy hair that stretched to his mid back and a short beard. Anony looked close at his face but did not recognize him. The man turned straight to Anony and hurried to him. Get to your feet swine! he said angrily.

Everything inside of him told him that he should obey the obviously powerful man, but Anony did not move.

I said to your feet! he snarled again

The man kicked him but not very hard. It was more like a warning kick as if to say Listen or else. The man grabbed him by the tattered cloak and forced him to his feet. The chains around his wrist pulled his arms down to his side. There was not much slack in his chains.

You need to listen. If you do, you might have a quick and painless death, he said with an evil grin. The man stepped to the side where there were shorter sets of chains and reached for two.

Anony, not sure of what was happening, looked to Videon for some kind of an answer. They saw each others faces for the first time. Anony knew Videon’s face as if they had been friends for a lifetime.

All the blood drained from Videon’s face. No, he gasped. More shame seeped into him and he looked as though he would be sick. His head slowly fell once again in his arms, and his body fell limp.

More confused than ever Anony felt more chains being locked on his arms and legs. The wall chains were then unlocked.

Your king… wants to see you, the man said with emphasis on the words Your king.

Anony was escorted out of the dungeon. As they passed through the door he took one last look at Videon who still sat lifeless against the wall. There were no hopes of escape, but hope of answers and understanding as to what was going on filled Anony’s mind.

They climbed the stairs to a large door. Anony could not refrain from staring at the man’s face, trying to remember anything about him. The man knocked twice on the door and it opened immediately. On the other side of the door stood a guard along with another man whose face Anony knew well. He was an older man, in his forties, large and well built, with long dark hair that was neatly tied back, with a beard just around his mouth and chin.

He’s all yours my Lord, his escort said with an evil grin.

They stepped into what looked like another prison, yet here there were separate cells for the captors. Overall the conditions were much better than in the dungeon. The two men stepped between him and the prison blocking his view. A large evil grin stretched across the new man’s narrow face.

Surprised?

Anony felt anger swell up inside him.

Have you nothing to say to me? To your king?

Standing still and silent Anony searched for answers in his head as he stared into the cold dark eyes.

Well I am in a generous mood, so you may have your silence, although I did expect you to have more to say. Or should I say, I hoped to hear from you while in your defeated state. Your words now make no difference anyway.

Quickly sorting through the words Anony searched for meaning that would be useful in his maze.

Bow to me, the king said calmly.

Anony stood, refusing to move as his anger was rising again. He searched longingly to find a way out of the situation but knew he would have to suffer through it.

I SAID BOW!

The escort threw his knee into the side of Anony’s thigh. More pain filled his knees as Anony hit the cold damp floor.

Anony shot his own evil glare in return. What right do you have to hold me? he said in a controlled but bold voice. Feeling regretful afterwards, he did not know if it would be wise to let his captor know he had no memory before the dungeon.

Right? the king asked mockingly. I am king therefore I can do with you as I please, he said as a smile of satisfaction crept larger with every word. But don’t worry. I don’t plan to keep you long. You have already been alive for too long.

How long will I live? Anony asked calmly.

I planned to have killed you already. You are only alive now because I am thoroughly disappointed in your reaction of meeting your king. I thought for sure you would have more fight in you. Maybe you are just weaker than I thought you to be.

What wrong have I done to you?

You are alive, the king glared at Anony dead in the eyes clearly enjoying his power over him. That is reason enough for me.

None of the proceedings made sense as Anony had hoped, but the thing that bothered Anony the most is the description Videon gave of the king. The man that stood before him now seemed to be the kind who would throw an innocent man in a dungeon and allow him to rot away. Why was Videon so loyal to this king of his? How could he not see him for what he was?

I was told of a respectable king here. I guess I was told of another, Anony said knowing that insulting the king was unwise, but he could not restrain his tongue from doing so.

His escort stepped forward and backhanded him across the cheek; giving Anony another reason he wished he hadn’t said it. His head jerked to the side but defiantly he whipped it back to look at his captor. Surprisingly, the king seemed to be standing up for him as he held the escorts wrist to stop him from striking again. Also surprised by this action, the escort calmly stepped back to where he had stood.

What are you talking about? The king’s voice was now more angry than simply cold. Why do you look at me as if we have just met?

Didn’t they just meet? Anony seemed to know his face well but beyond a physical recollection, he could not remember him at all. He knew his lack of memory was surely about to be discovered. He stared into the king’s eyes and said nothing. The king leaned forward and grabbed the back of Anony’s head and pulled it closer to his own. Anony winced in pain, his head still tender from what ever had happened to him on the previous night. The king quickly let go having felt the wound on Anony’s head. Just then, understanding seemed to fill his mind and he turned to the escort. He then looked back to Anony.

Maybe you will live a while longer. He turned back to the escort. Take him back and give him a cell to himself, he commanded.

That is NOT what we agreed to! the escort charged.

The king turned to the escort angry. Things have changed. I want him to remember before he dies. I want him to remember everything before he dies.

Seeming satisfied with the change of plan the escort pulled Anony to his feet and started for the door. The guard quickly opened the door.

Treat him well down there. I want him to be strong before he dies. The king then turned and walked away.

The escort paused for a second then they passed through the open door and headed back down the staircase to the dungeon. The walk seemed longer than before but in not much time they reached the door and stepped through. The atmosphere seemed a bit gloomier than before.

There were two guards making their way around the room pushing a large container on wheels. They stopped at each prisoner in turn. One would dip a bucket into the container throwing its contents on each prisoner. The floor sloped downward to the walls. At the base of the wall, some bricks were missing. Here the water would puddle and slowly drain out into the dirt behind. Once the first guard successfully doused the prisoner, the second would then reach into a sack pulling out a small piece of moldy bread, throwing one to each of them. Most of the prisoners gladly took and began to ravenously devour it. Anony looked to Videon who still just sat against the wall with his head in his knees, now covered in water with a piece of moldy bread by his feet. A large rat crept up and stole the bread, then quickly returned to a crevice in the corner of the room.

The escort led Anony to the hallway that had been feared earlier. From the hallway, they entered into another large room that had various devices that was surely intended for discomfort, even torture. Some prisoners were chained from the ceiling, hanging lifelessly. A few of them appeared to have been recently whipped mercilessly. They headed to the other side of the room where there was an opening to another hallway that Anony feared would be worse than the first. They rounded the corner which gave view to the entire hallway. Relieved Anony saw only a hallway of individual cells closely set. At the end was a solid wall. They walked most of the way to the wall and stopped in front of a door that was open a crack. The escort pushed the door open. Fear began to rise in Anony again but quickly subsided as he saw it was just a small cell.

Inside he was chained to the back wall and the smaller chains were taken off of his hands and feet. The chains hardly seemed necessary being that there seemed no way of escape. Grateful that the circumstances were not worse, Anony watched as the escort left the room and locked the door behind him. As the door closed a small opening was noticed up above Anony’s head which allowed light into the room. He sat there quietly, wanting badly for some answers. What was happening? Why was he here? Who was he? What did he do? Thoughts of Videon and the king also began to haunt him. Videon knew more, Anony was sure of that. Videon’s face was one that he had known for a lifetime. Videon recognized him as well. He could surely tell him who he was. But then he remembered; once he knew who he was, he would surely die. After all, his memory loss was the only reason he was still alive now.

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It was still early in the day. In the back corner of the king’s castle, on the third level, was the queen’s room. A young woman, twenty years old, lay on the bed asleep. She had been up late the night before living through the horrid night. A horror worse than she had feared or even imagined before. The rise of the morning sun gave light to her beautiful face. She was one of the most beautiful in all the land. Many agreed that none even compared to her beauty. Still wearing the old tattered dress from the night before, she lay face down where she collapsed from exhaustion just hours before. The night had brought her many tears until finally she had cried herself to sleep. Her dark hair, that had been tied up to hide its true length, had mostly fallen from the pins that held it. Her dark eyes snapped open revealing the fear and pain of the night. Galleon, she whispered breathlessly.

She quickly turned and slid off the bed. Her eyes quickly scanned the room finding herself alone. She ran to the doors and attempted to open them, hoping that something had changed over the last few hours. Tears filled her eyes again as she attempted to clear her mind to think of a way of escape. The only doors were locked and the windows were too high to jump from. She hurried to the window opening it quickly hoping to find someone to help. It was a beautiful day late in the spring but this brought her no joy. Instead of help she found only a couple of chickens that had wandered around the castle. Knowing it was not possible, she looked around the window hoping to be able to climb down. She breathed heavily, still barely believing the recent events. She looked out over the land beyond the castle wall, into the woods in the distance. She eyed the approximate place where she had separated from Galleon and where Jareth had been killed. Tears were running down her face and her breathing began to quicken.

Instinctively, her head lowered and a hand went to her face as she began to cry again. Why, why, why? Her other hand also reached her face as she attempted to get control of herself. She wiped her eyes which temporarily dried them. She normally was not one to cry, but since the events of the previous night she could not stop. She turned away from the window as her hand covered her mouth in attempts to cover her cry that had begun again. Her thoughts were of Galleon, not knowing if he were still alive or not. He would not have been caught without a fight and she knew he would rather die than be taken prisoner.

He got away, she breathed heavily. We got caught, so he got away.

She did not know who, or how many people followed them, but she knew that she and Jareth had separated from Galleon. It was a while later that they were caught.

He got away, she continued to reassure herself.

The thought brought her some peace and her dark eyes seemed to take in a small glimmer of hope. She took some deep, calming breaths but shortly burst into tears again. She had no way of knowing of Galleon’s safety other than the little hope she had that they only followed her. Hope that she presently wanted more than anything not to be in vain. If he did get away, she knew he would be back for her. He would know by now that she had not escaped, and he would come as soon as he could to rescue her. But if he had not escaped, she knew he was most likely dead, whether from his resistance or because they wanted him so.

Quickly turning to a noise at the door she waited to get some answers. The doors opened and two men entered the room. One was a large man who held his head high. The other a thin servant who walked a step behind with short strides, and eyes fixed on the floor.

Her wet eyes turned to anger as they entered the room. You, she spat disgustedly.

He just smiled as he looked pleasing upon her.

WHY! she yelled causing the little man to jump and look up at her.

Now, now, he soothed. Is that any way to speak to your king? He spoke calmly.

No, she breathed hard and began to cry again. Not wanting to give him any more satisfaction than he already had, she quickly gained control again. Where is he? she demanded. She could not endure the heartache of not knowing any longer.

Where is who? he said once again in his calm voice.

You know of whom I speak! she yelled again refusing to play in this game of his.

Jareth or Galleon?

The little man kept his eyes mostly to the ground but eyeing each of them in turn. He saw the king raise his eyes, quickly returning them to her with a sly smirk on his face.

He is dead. Jareth also.

You lie, she breathed fighting back her tears harder than ever.

I am truly sorry. My men did not get to him in time. He paused for a moment as if to try to read her mind. If they would have been there moments sooner they would have saved him. He took a sword to the chest. He did not live the night. My men killed the ones responsible.

You lie, she said again through her heartache. She could think of no other words to say but she knew Galleon too well. She knew he would fight to the death.

My dear Kiera, you have had a difficult night, please take your time to recover. If there is anything I can do to help just let the guard know and you shall have it.

Let me go! she yelled, then quietly added, That is all I need from you.

Please, my dear, be reasonable. You know I can’t just let you go. It is not safe for a woman as yourself to be out there alone. I know you are suffering from a loss now but I do hope you remember the kingdom. It is most important that peace and control be recovered. The best way to do that is for you to be queen.

Never! barely holding in her anger. You will never have me.

You know as king I …

YOU ARE NOT MY KING! she yelled in anger.

Please, there is no need for yelling. I am your king and I’m just trying to explain why I have you here now. I wanted you from the moment I first saw you.

I will NEVER, marry you.

I have the right to marry the woman of my choice and I choose you.

I WOULD RATHER DIE!

It does not need to come to that, he said calmly.

Never before had anger consumed