♡ chapter 22 - Rose ♡

            I woke up screaming, my head throbbing consistently, an excruciating pain striking through my neck. My chest is heaving, trying to keep up with my rugged breaths as I prepared to calm myself, but to no avail. One hand flew to my head, trying to minimize the pain as I squeezed my eyes shut, but quickly snapped them open due to my mysterious location. It would be better to be alert than to be careless.

            My eyes take in the sightings, noticing nothing but dulling dray walls smothered in grime. I was sitting up on a hard bed, not even the simplicity of a mattress being stuffed under me and a thin paper-like pillow where my head had been moments ago. A toilet with a makeshift sink built in behind it is in the corner, a sliver of wall for privacy being the only bit of coverage I could spot. It was then I realized where I was.

            Prison.

            For some baffling reason, I had been thrown into a cell where all the horrendous criminals or people who are a threat to the Council go. But if I am a supposed White Witch, why would they lock up their own kind? What had I done to deserve being tossed in a stuffy cell? I just recently found my powers, and now I was being restricted?

            But then it all came rushing back. The kiss. Being taken. The tracking device in my neck (most likely the cause of my pain). Being brainwashed into killing innocent people without my consent.

            And that's when the anxiety kicked in.

            Unintentionally, I screamed again.

            Did I hurt innocent people? Had Marcus really pursued his diabolical plan that far? How long have I been here? What happened in the few hours, days, weeks—however long—that I was unconscious, brainwashed?

            "Hey, hey. Calm down, Rose. It's all right."

            My head snapped to the source of the voice, sweat beading my forehead and my shoulders slumped a bit in relief at the sight of Harry in the cell across the hall. At least we were close by, not only for comforting but for company. Reassurance, even. I don't know what I'd do if we hadn't been so close. I'd either scream until I killed myself from screaming too much, or I'd drown in my own paranoid tears. Neither seem like a very pleasing death.

            Harry was sitting on the floor next to the bars, his back against the wall as he steadily drummed his fingers along the metal. He seemed utterly calm for someone who was abruptly thrown in prison, but I had to remind myself that he had been here before. He's experienced the life of a criminal. He's experiencing the life of a criminal.

            And even though we were opposite each other, Harry tossed me a small smile but his eyes were filled with exhaustion. "I'm glad you're finally awake. You were beginning to worry me."

            "W-why are we here?" I asked, my throat raw from the two piercing screams I had belted out previously.

            Harry blew air from his cheeks, his lips making a motor sound like you do when you're a toddler. "Long story short, you shouldn't associate with me, be near me, or even glance at me, for that matter. You're the good and I'm the bad. We aren't supposed to mingle, Rosalie."

            My eyebrows pulled together. "So we're locked here because we're not the same?"

            Harry smirked, shrugging slightly. "The Council has hilarious ways, don't they?" He then shifted his weight, sitting up straighter. "But I do believe that's the reason you are here. Me, well... I'm supposed to rot here, so it's a no-brainer why they locked me up for a third time."

            I nodded slowly, but then turned to him in confusion. "Wait, a third time?"

            Harry waved me away. "A different story for a different time."

            "Okay then..." I pursed my lips, settling back against the wall my shitty bed was currently pressed against.

            Before either of us spoke again, a creaking door opened from far down the hall. My eyes darted towards it, my neck straining to give me a better view and I soon noticed a man in a Council suit walking towards our cells. I glanced to Harry, noting how his jaw automatically clenched, his eyes darkening as his gaze followed the worker until he finally stopped between our cells.

            The man noticed Harry's dark stare, gulped, and shakily turned to me. "Your trial will be held in approximately five hours and twenty two minutes. We suggest you prepare your argument ahead of time to try and increase your chances of being let off the hook. Considering you're one of us, the judge may be more lenient."

            When the man turned to leave, Harry spoke up. "Excuse me, good sir. But do you think I would be able to get a glass of water?" He was clearly messing with the employee.

            The man sucked in a sharp breath, turning towards Harry hesitantly and the smirk on Harry's face could've been seen in China. "Styles, you know the rules down here."

            "Oh, forgive me, but I believe I forgot. It's been what... two months now since I've been in here? Kind sir, please recite the rules for me," he teased.

            "I'm not—"

            "Good, I don't really give a shit."

            The man's jaw tightened before he hastily turned, leaving the hallway even quicker than he had come.

            I rose my eyebrows, turning to Harry. He shrugged, giving me a small look of innocence. "Gotta have a little fun, right?"

            "That guy has more patience than me."

            "No, that guy just knows when to shut his mouth. You, Rose darling, do not."

            "Darling, huh?"

            Harry cheeks flushed, but he cleared his throat and let his head fall back on the wall once more. "It sounded better in my head. Anyways, you get bored being trapped down here with nothing to do for two straight years."

            My heart sank. "How did you survive without food and water for two years?"

            Harry gave me a weak smile, one that crushed my heart. "I didn't. I've been dead for a while now." He then sighed, ruffling his hair a bit. "But they give you a glass of water and a crappy little lunch on a tray through those slots." He pointed to the bottom of the cell where the bars don't quite meet the floor. "Then they walk off and act like they never noticed you in the first place."

            I frowned, getting up from the bed and walking over to the bars. "But if there are gaps between the bars—"

            "Don't touch those—!"

            But my finger had already met the gap, an electrifying shock shooting down my spine. I yanked my hand away, eyes wide as I turned to Harry. I clutched my hands to my chest, still whelmed over what had just happened.

            Harry pursed his lips. "Where magic is stored away, magic is there to keep it locked up. They can't leave people like us in cells when we could easily burn the bars off in the blink of an eye. So... that's where the shields come in."

            "There should be a damn sign stating that because that crap hurt."

            Harry smiled, but before he could say anything, another voice I didn't quite recognize sounded from beside Harry. "Oh—oh, is that Rose? Is she finally awake? Good, I can apologize now."

            Releasing a sigh of what sounded like disappointment, Harry shook his head. "Nearly fifteen minutes late, Daniel."

            The mystery person—Daniel—soon appeared in the cell beside Harry's a small smiling tracing his lips when he caught sight of me. He waved frantically. "Hi there, Rose! Look, I know we haven't met officially, but I kind of stole your body to be an imposter of you, and I was just making sure that we would be on good terms now since I'm apologizing and—"

            "Back up, you stole my body?" I asked in disbelief, my hands naturally patting my stomach and legs, just to make sure I was in control.

            Daniel puckered his lips, holding up his index finger as he corrected me. "I prefer the term borrowed."

            Harry groaned. "Daniel, you really suck at apologies. All he's trying to say, Rose, is that he shifted into your body to be portrayed as you, but he was never actually in your body." Then, under his breath, Harry added, "Thank God."

            My eyebrows etched together as I turned to Daniel. "So are you like... a shape shifter?"

            Daniel clapped his hands once, nodding. "That's the word for it. You see, Harry, you're lucky you have someone smart like Rose to cover up all your bullshit."

            Harry turned to face the wall that was blocking the two from being side by side, his glare bold and warning.

            Daniel frowned, his eyes meeting mine. "He's glaring at me through the wall, isn't he?"

            I giggled. "Yeah, maybe."

            "See, Harry. I've hardly known you three days and I can read you like a book."

            "Oh really?" Harry challenged, quirking a brow although Daniel couldn't see. "What am I thinking about right now?"

            "Most likely strangling me or something that isn't very pleasant."

            Harry pulled his lips together, nodding slowly. "Wow, you really are psychic."

            "Told you."

            A smile tugged at my lips as I looked at Harry, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion. But before he could question me, I spoke. "You know, this is the first time I've actually seen you getting along with someone that wasn't me."

            Harry rolled his eyes. "Daniel's stupidity causes me to pity him."

            "Hey, I'm not stupid!" Daniel argued, folding his arms across his chest. Then he muttered, "I'm just special."

            Harry chuckled, shaking his head some. "Special you are, dipshit."

            I grinned. "You two are adorable. I need to come up with a bromance ship name."

            Harry and Daniel in their opposite cells turned to face me with confused looks, and at the same time asked, "Bromance what?"

            I rolled my eyes. "Never mind."

            Both of them shook their heads before Daniel rose an eyebrow, pointing to me. "You've read The Fault in Our Stars, haven't you, Rose?"

            I snorted. "Duh, that book is my life."

            "Ha! I told you I wasn't the only person who read it, Harry!"

            Harry rolled his eyes. "I said the only boy, moron. But congratulations."

            Daniel smiled victoriously.

            That's when a small silence settled over us, the tension in the air rising. All of us were thinking the same thing, but no one had the guts to say it audibly. I wondered if Harry would, considering he's so fearless and all, but perhaps he knows about security cameras? But I've looked around my small cell and haven't spotted any. Then again, the Council is very sneaky and most likely hid them in places we wouldn't look. That are they were microscopic size.

            "All right, enough screwing around," Harry finally said, leaning in closer to the bars barricading him but not touching them. I had to strain to hear the words that fled his lips, but they were highly unmistakable. He hadn't spoken them allowed, but mouthing them was all I needed to pass it on to Daniel, who also nodded in agreement.

            We needed an escape plan.

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A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but its just a filler! c: Anyways, I just wanted to thank you all for reading and supporting this story because it really does mean a lot. Love you all (: xx

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