Rewritten

***

Drayce VeLila and his sister, Dara, were chained, tattered and broken. Their wrists were chained to the ceiling and their feet barely managed to graze the floor.

Three days ago the twins received their beating and in another two, they would get it again. But the only thing that bothered the two of them was that they could not remember anything of the life before the dungeon. Not even the crime that landed them in there.

The Immortal Zone was like clockwork. The first three days after the twins' beating, the wounds wouldn't heal but clog. The next days consist of their wounds healing inhumanly fast so that they were good as new for the next beating. The magic dimmed their pain after the beating, but during the beating, their pain sensors were amplified.

They were told that they had been in this dungeon for exactly a hundred years a day ago. They were also told that they were in a coma for ninety-nine years. But the most surprising news was that the dungeon was often referred to as the Immortal Zone, thanks to a little enchantment the Alchemists placed on it. In this part of the dungeon, there was an enchantment that stopped anyone inside from aging or dying.

Drayce was fine with that, but he wasn't okay with the fact that the twins wouldn't get food.

In the Immortal Zone, food wasn't given to their prisoners since they weren't going to die anyway. The magic of the place kept them alive and it instantaneously healed whatever wounds the prisoners received during torture.

"We've been alive for a hundred and twenty-four years," said Drayce.

"Yeah, but we were asleep for ninety-nine years of our existence. And technically we're still twenty-four since we haven't been aging for a century," Dara replied.

"Why won't you let me be happy that I've been alive longer than a century?"

"Because you're an idiot."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Figure it out and prove to me that you're not an idiot."

The twins' bickering went on and on until another prisoner yelled at them to shut up. After that, the two of them made vulgar gestures towards each other. They heard some prisoners mutter about how much enthusiasm they had after being tortured for a year straight. They both grinned at each other, silently saying that they were each other's leash onto sanity in this dungeon.

Had they been alone, they would have broken months before. They would have shattered under the weight of being alone and tortured.

All memories of their past lives may have been erased but they still had memories of one person. Very rarely the siblings might see an image of a woman, which they presumed was their mother.

That was how the VeLila siblings held onto the slight sliver of hope. That and the instantaneous healing system of the Immortal Zone. Without it, any human would have kicked the bucket.

A guard came to their cell and opened the door. He was one of the entrusted guards that tortured both of them. Drayce and Dara's eyes widened. Only three days passed since the last time so why did the guard show up earlier? They still had two days let. 

"Greetings, criminals."

Drayce spat out some blood on the ground. "Why are you here early?"

"Don't worry, be happy."

Anger engraved itself on every muscle on Drayce's face. "Why the hell should I be happy?"

"Because I'm recruiting you."

"For what?"

"The competition."

When Drayce heard those words, he wasn't sure how to feel.

He wanted to know why someone would want to recruit him; he was a criminal. He also wanted to know how he could join. He wasn't one of the Special people; he wasn't a Rare, Alchemist, or Destroyer. "What if I refuse?"

The guard named Sherwood took a couple of steps closer to Drayce. "Then you will continue your sentence in this dungeon. But I'm guessing you wouldn't want that."

Dara remained unconscious, but she did move a little.

Drayce shifted a little, trying to intimidate the guard. His feet barely graced the ground, yet he still managed to move. He had pulled his shoulder further out of its socket to lengthen his body. He did not so much as wince. "What do you have to guarantee that the competition held by the Cruel Queen will be any better than staying here with a one hundred percent chance of survival? Isn't that why you put us in the Immortal Zone? To make us go through a life worse than death for as long as you please?"

The guard did not say anything for a moment, probably to come up with a way to play his next words right. The cards had been dealt, but if he managed to play right, he might be able to convince Drayce to join the competition. "Because after your sentence, you will be freed while your sister will die. Her crime was greater than yours. And I suggest you don't call my queen the Cruel Queen."

Rage filled Drayce from head to toe. "How dare you! I swear I'll kill you if you lay a hand on her, you bitc-"

"I suggest you don't finish that sentence because I have a proposition." Drayce stayed still, urging the guard to go on. "If you win the competition, your sister and you will be freed. If you die during the competition, your sister will be freed after finishing her sentence and won't be executed."

Drayce licked his lips implying that he was thinking. If he joined the competition, either way, Dara would be free, but there was a large chance he could die if the Cruel Queen was hosting the competition. But if he didn't join...he didn't want to think about that.

He bit his lip, thinking--bargaining with himself.

He looked at the guard with disgust. This guard—this demon—was able to torture the twins every five days and still dared to ask favors of him. How dare he? If Drayce wasn't chained, he would have ripped the guard's eyes out.

He calmed his rage and forced himself to think about his older sister—his other half. He wouldn't let her die because he was too much of a coward to join the competition. What kind of brother would he be if he couldn't save her like he promised every time a whip hit their back?

What kind of monster would he be if he couldn't confront this demonic guard or the competition?

He looked at her with promise in his eyes, as if he'd made his decision. He would do anything for her...even fight to the death.

"Even if I do agree, why recruit me? I have none of the special abilities." Drayce may have looked calm now, but his rage was icy cold behind his calm mask. If another word popped out of Sherwood's mouth, he wasn't sure what he would do.

The guard smirked and instantly Drayce knew that this guard was someone with power. He might have been a general or someone with connections. Or an Equitum, one of the magic knights.

The guard looked like he was in his late twenties—like he was innocent, but that was only on the outside though. The guard would look very smug whenever the siblings took their beatings. "What makes you think you don't have powers. You belong to one of the strongest races, Rare."

Rare. That word hit Drayce stronger than any physical attack, but he didn't let it show on his face. "What do you mean I'm a Rare? How do you even know?"

"I looked at your file. It has everything about you in there, other than your crime of course. The king of that time feared that if anyone knew what you guys were doing, they would try to implement it."

Liar, thought Drayce. There is no file, and there never will be. A risk like that is something this puny kingdom would never take.

He ignored that and asked, "Am I going to receive compensation or money if I join?"

"Yes."

"Am I going to receive training and food? I don't know what to expect, but since she only wants Specials, I believe I'm going to need to know how to use my ability." The one I didn't know existed.

What was the Cruel Queen planning to do with the Specials? The Rares, Alchemists, and Destroyers.

"You'll receive training for sixteen weeks and food for free."

He thought about it for a moment "Don't let my sister find out about why I'm going to be gone."

"Very well." The guard wondered why Drayce's voice sounded so...normal. It was strained at the beginning of their conversation like he was in pain, but now it was fine. The guard guessed that it was the magic of the Immortal Zone healing him, but he was dead wrong.

The only thing that kept Drayce going was his need to protect his sister.

"If what you said is true, you can consider me the winner, if you follow my condition."

"What is it?'"

"I will join only if you let Dara go within the next week and keep her well-fed."

"If I free her, she will have to work in the kitchen as a disguise. Technically she isn't supposed to be free until you win or after her sentence. I talked to Duke Ambrosia about your freedom, so I might have to bend the rules."

"That's fine with me. As long as you promise me her survival and freedom."

"I will promise you that she will be fine and legally free after your win."

Then Dara opened her eyes. "What's all this talk about a competition? If you get to play," she said, gesturing to her brother, "I want in too. I will fight for my freedom."

"How long were you listening?" Drayce said.

"The whole time," she replied, her tone strained yet playful.

"You are so annoying. Why won't you let me do the competition myself?"

"You're probably going to lose, and you're going to need someone stronger than you. If you're a Rare, I must be one too."

"She is a Rare--"

"No one asked for your opinion, guard."

Sherwood merely gruffed, upset at being interrupted and insulted.

Drayce and Dara shared a long glance at each other, speaking with their eyes to one another. "Okay, guard. We will both participate in this competition and we will both fight for our freedom. It's both of us or none of us."

"Duke Ambrosia only let me get one of you," Sherwood muttered. "I will have a hard time getting on board with both of you."

"You're going to have to change your duke's mind." Dara tried to move forward, but her feet barely graced the floor. She remained chained to the ceiling with both her shoulders dislocated. But after all this time, the pain had become a daily routine. "Because you must be desperate to come to a prisoner for help. It's both of us or none of us."

Sherwood shook his head. How would the queen react?

Not well, he presumed. He would probably be decimated.

And he was.

---------

A few days later, Sherwood came into their cell, accompanied by a younger guard. He had skipped their routine beating four days ago.

A blessing, or a misfortune.

"Greetings, criminals. You will be meeting the queen today, and I need to make sure you're ready."

The younger guard unchained the twins from the ceiling. They both fell and the pain of having their shoulders dislocated for over a year crashed into them.

They groaned and yelled in pain.

"Quiet down!" yelled a prisoner, just outside the radius of the Immortal Zone. "I'm trying to get some rest!"

Ignoring the prisoner, the pair used the walls to push themselves up to their feet, only to fall once again.

Neither of them could remember the last time they walked.

Moments later, Sherwood taught them how to walk again. Almost an hour later, they were able to walk out of their cell.

They were free after so many years.

"Listen. The effects of the Immortal Zone will last anywhere from three weeks to three months. You will be a sort of immortal during this time, but you can be killed. Most immortals do not die even when decapitated, but you will die."

Without offering any other information, he forced the twins' wrists, ankles, arms, legs, and torsos into a new pair of chains and cuffs.

Then he forced a rod into their guts.

They both yelled at the pain.

"It's a procedure for Immortal Zone prisoners."

Then, Sherwood and the younger guard who'd introduced himself as Nico dragged the twins to the throne room.

Neither of them appeared ready to meet the queen, but it had to be done. 

***
Thank you for taking the time to read "The Cruel Queen." Don't forget to vote and add this book to a public reading list and/or library to be notified when I update.

Word Count: 2181