The Circle was the main prison building in Corosa, named so both due to its circular structure as well as the superstition that it was the doorway into the circles of hell. As she made her way down the stairs, Kat had to admit that the reputation the building had received was not ungrounded.

The moment she stepped inside and the heavy doors closed behind her, the place fell into almost complete darkness. It was barely broken by the torches on the walls. A chill was present, and she suspected it was always there, regardless of the weather outside.

"This way, your Majesty," the warden said, bowing his bald head.

Kat nodded and followed him in, the hem of her silver gown brushing the dust and dirt on the stone floors. She had one of her good days, unperturbed by memories of Iride and without the pain in her chest. After a few weeks in which she struggled with her former life, it was a blessing to feel at peace.

The main hall was short, and they began descending on a spiral staircase. The moment the hatch closed behind them, the moans and cries of the imprisoned surrounded Kat. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was aware that this would normally perturb her. As it was, all she had was mild curiosity.

"Warden," she said. "What are the people down here imprisoned for?"

"Most for treason, your Majesty," the man answered at once. "Some for murder, rape and thievery."

"Treason," she said, deep in thought. "What type of treason?"

"Crossing the border to Iride, mostly. But the traitors are in the deeper levels. The ones here... Well, they're the others."

Like in a long forgotten dream, Kat could remember talk of refugees from Endir. Were those people now here? And if not, what had become of them in a kingdom that hated them? She couldn't truly blame them for leaving, not when Iride was so rich and could provide food.

They reached the landing of the first circle and made their way to the other end of the hall where a new set of stairs was visible. The prisoners mostly kept their distance, but a few men hurried to the bars to have a look.

"Oh, it's the ice queen," someone hissed.

"Delicious, isn't she?"

Kat halted and turned towards the cell. A scrawny man with stick limbs and a grin missing several teeth gawked at her. He wore rags, but that didn't stop him from puffing his chest out.

"I can smell you," he breathed. "I can smell your--"

She lifted her hand. Ice surrounded the man's throat, digging into his skin and trapping any additional words in. "I believe you are unaware who you are talking to. Or trying to talk to. Spewing profanities does not a conversation make."

The man's eyes bulged and his hands shot to his neck, but he still let out a wheezing laugh.

"Ain't no whore gonna sit on our throne," he gurgled.

"How dare you!" The warden stepped forward, an iron rod out and ready.

Kat didn't give him the chance to strike the man. With a thrust of her hand, she shattered the ice inside his neck, ripping his throat out with it. The body fell to the floor with a loud thump. The warden faltered, his hand shaking.

The rage inside her didn't subside. She turned to the rest of the prisoners.

"This is an example," she said, her voice loud and clear. "For anyone who will insult me or oppose me. I do not need to ask what you are, and you are lucky to be alive. You will serve your sentence as per the law and be grateful for it."

All bodies scurried away from the bars and there was no murmur left among the prisoners. She strutted away towards the staircase again. She would have maybe felt a little sorry about what she'd done if she didn't believe this was the floor filled with rapists and murderers. Other crimes she could forgive, but not these.

"Why are these men not dead?" she asked the moment the warden caught up with her.

"Um, their crimes are not punished with a death sentence."

"Now they are. Rapists and murderers have no place in Endir. Not anymore."

The warden faltered. "But your Majesty, sometimes, such acts are committed--"

"I don't care who commits them, warden. I will rewrite these laws, and once I do, these men will be retried. Should they be found guilty once more, they are to be hanged. Do I make myself clear?"

"Ye-yes, your Majesty. But who will retrial them?"

"I will," she snapped.

If there was one thing she was sure of it was that she no longer wanted any places like Yarik in her kingdom. She wanted her people, and especially her women, to feel safe. A long forgotten tale flickered in her memory, one of traded girls for the pleasures of men, but it swiftly vanished. It left her feeling confused.

The man no longer protested and followed her quietly through the next two levels. She believed her voice had carried down, because no one dared approach the bars. There were whispers, but they were reverential. Because she'd just killed someone with magic and they knew it.

Once they reached the fourth level, the cages were mostly empty.

"They're this way, your Majesty," the warden whispered, heading towards the furthest cells.

Kat joined him, but halted once she caught a glimpse of the occupants. They were a man and a woman, locked in adjoining cells. Her mind reeled as familiarity battled her desire to keep her cool. She knew them, but their names, their faces, their actions... They were slipping in and out of focus until she wasn't sure what she knew.

"Hey there, Kat." The man leaned his forearms against the bars, a grin on his face.

He was tall, broad-shouldered and handsome, his hair the deep crimson of dried blood, his eyes black as night. Somehow, she knew they could turn deadly white, but she wasn't convinced she still remembered what that meant. His skin was tanned. Talian.

"How dare you address her Majesty like that," the warden said, banging his rod against the bars.

The man didn't even flinch. "Oh, we go way back, her Majesty and me."

"Jazz, please," the woman said.

Jazz. Kat glanced at the redhead woman and her name popped into her head. Jinx. She hated Jinx, even if she was unsure as to why since she was obviously Endirian. She glanced at Kat with narrowed green eyes, and her expression was somewhere between pleading and defiant.

Kat's mind spun and she wasn't sure what to do with all the information she had and didn't have at the same time. A ship, sea, a mermaid. Fire and ice and destruction. Singing and drinking in a mess hall. A muscle in her cheek twitched as she tried to make heads or tails of her feelings.

Jinx and Jazz glanced at each other, worry on both their faces.

"Kat," Jinx said carefully.

She couldn't allow them to get the upper hand on her so she steeled her spine. "I have been told you are Iridian spies, even if neither of you are Iridian."

"Kat," the man said. "Don't you know who we are?"

"Of course I know who you are!"

The woman let out a deep breath, but he wasn't fooled. "If you knew who we are, you would either hug us or hang us."

"Jazz, will you stop it!" Jinx stomped her foot. "Honestly, it's like you've been trying to get us killed for the past day."

Kat glanced over her shoulder. The warden was gawping at them, his mouth wide open. Whatever this was, this familiarity these two people shared with her, she didn't want him to witness it.

"You are dismissed, warden," she said.

"But your Majesty, I cannot leave you here without protection."

"I just killed a man upstairs. I think I can handle these two."

The warden hesitated for only a fraction of a moment before bowing in acceptance and heading up the stairs. Once the sound of his footsteps faded, she focused on the two people in front of her.

"Are you spies for Iride?"

"Not exactly," Jinx said.

Kat narrowed her eyes. "That is not an answer. Speak, if you hope to live."

"We actually wanted to see how you're doing," Jazz said.

"That sounds like spying to me."

"Kat, you spent months at sea with us ," Jinx said. "We fought monsters together. Wolfbane." She bit her lower lip. "You destroyed our ship. Don't you remember any of it?"

Kat blinked, her mind swirling again. With each of her words, images formed in her mind, but they went too quickly, leaving a void behind. There was something left unspoken. Something important. A name.

It danced around her mind, just out of reach. It was filled with hope and longing... And hatred. Her feelings flared and hatred bubbled to the forefront. Not just for this nameless person, but for the two people in front of her.

Without her even thinking it, shards of ice flew out of her body, towards them. Deep down, she knew she should interrogate them, get information, but she accepted their deaths as well.

The shards stopped right outside Jazz's bars, inches from his face. They hit Jinx head on, but merely melted against her skin.

They have magic. And she should have known that. They were dangerous.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

The two of them exchanged glances. A flitting memory came and went again, but it wasn't useful. It was of the two of them locked in a passionate embrace, kissing. It brought forth a longing which speared through her. What was going on?

"Jazz is right," Jinx said. "We wanted to check on you. Do with that information what you will."

She had no idea what to do with it, because at the moment, she couldn't tell whether they were friends or foes.

"You're not afraid I will kill you."

"You, personally? No." Jazz was insane enough to grin. "As you've probably noticed, we can combat your magic, and we both know we're better than you with a sword. But we are also very aware you can have us killed."

"And we don't want you to kill us," Jinx added, throwing Jazz a glare. "We mean you no harm, Kat."

The softness in her voice only made Kat more confused. There was something there, something dangerous, and she couldn't put her finger on it. As it was, she had no idea what to do with them. She needed to focus. She needed to remember.

"I'm not convinced that is the truth," she said, doing her best to cover the tremor in her voice. "Or you wouldn't be here, captured like thieves."

Jazz opened his mouth, but Jinx waved her hand at him to shut him up. "It is the truth. We never wanted to harm you. We are your friends."

"Whatever other garbage Lucille might have planted in your mind," Jazz mumbled.

His words dug into her. She had no answer for it, but she couldn't let them know that. They had the upper hand on her because they knew who she was while she struggled to place them. They knew her strengths and her weaknesses, she barely knew their names. She'd forgotten that they had magic.

How could they come from Iride then? She knew for certain magic was banned there. And yet...

"Maybe you two need to cool down some more," she said, her tone breezy. "Because I don't care who you are. That's not how you talk to a queen."

"Seriously?" Jinx muttered.

"Of course, forgive us, your Majesty," Jazz said with a bow of his head, but the smile on his face was patronizing.

Kat hmphed and turned her back on them, making sure to freeze the floor as she went. Maybe they could melt it right out, but the message was clear. If they crossed her, they were dead.

⚜⚜⚜

Aaaand, we're back to Kat. And we have fun with Jazz and Jinx who apparently ran into a stranger. Will Lucille's "gift" turn out to be Kat's undoing? I guess we shall see.

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