First message
I sat in the darkness, the weight of the iron mask pressing down on my face, a constant reminder of the life I had been denied. The cell was cold, the stone walls silent except for the occasional drip of water somewhere deep within the fortress. Years had passed, or maybe just a few days — time lost all meaning here. I heard a footstep, sharp against the stillness. My heart beat faster, but I made no move. If it was another guard, I’d wait for them to pass, as I always did. But then, a shadow shifted at the door, and a voice, low and urgent, whispered, “It’s time to leave this place.” My breath caught, the words ringing in my mind like a dream. For the first time in years, I dared to hope. The chains, the mask, this prison… they were about to be nothing but memories.
I tensed, the question escaping my lips before I could stop it. “Who are you?” My voice was hoarse, barely more than a rasp from years of disuse.