Olivia Legrand followed the prison warden, her steps steady and composed. Throughout, from the sunny entrance of the prison gate through to the dim corridors past other prisoners peering at her curiously, her expression didn't change.

The warden glanced back at this noble lady following him without a single restraint on her. This was rather rare, he thought. Noble prisoners usually threw tantrums whilst on this walk to their cell. They would threaten him or attempt to tackle him to stage a daring escape attempt... So they would normally be handcuffed, which brought forth even more outrage from their wounded noble pride.

But this one... She had not uttered a single complaint, nor had she changed the expression on her face. She had followed him quietly and even maintained a distance, as if to assure him that she had no intention to try stealing his sword or anything of the like. It's almost as if she just couldn't be bothered anymore. And normally when leading noble prisoners to their designated cells the warden would always take the longest path possible, to intimidate the prisoners and to disorient them from being able to find the exit easily. But she showed no signs of even taking notice of what was around her.

Was that the composure a future queen was supposed to have? Even though he was but a lowly warden, he's heard rumours about this particular noble lady... and amongst the rumours he's heard, he could attest that the ones talking about her beauty had not been exaggerated. But even that beauty had not saved her from getting sent to prison. 

Surely no one could stay calm and she was just pretending... as if confirming his suspicion, he noticed that her hands were firmly clenching her dress, to the extent that her knuckles were turning white.

As it should be, her composure was just a facade.

"We're here." The warden announced.

Olivia looked up. The prison cell that entered her sight was bare, with nothing but a plain bed and a small table and chair, dimly lit by a number of mana crystals hanging from the ceiling. Contrary to her expectations, it was at least clean though not spacious. She was the happiest to see that there was a neatly folded blanket on the bed. The blanket did not look thick or warm, probably because it was spring... but that didn't matter. What mattered most was that there was something. Additionally this cell had no window so night breeze wouldn't be a problem.

The warden unlocked the cell and stepped aside to let Olivia in, locking the cell door behind her with a snap that echoed in the cell.

 "It's late so please get some rest, Lady Legrand. A messenger had been sent to Earl Legrand."

"Thank you." Olivia nodded. It would probably take her father at least 3 days to journey back to the kingdom... 2 if he rushed.

Without another word the warden turned around and left. 

As soon as the sound of footsteps died Olivia shed all pretense of dignity, kicked off her heels and jumped onto the bed wrapping herself up in the blanket. 

Cold. It was so cold. The walk to the prison cell had been a torture. Her fingers and toes had been so cold that it took all her concentration to follow the warden instead of huddling onto herself for warmth. Olivia couldn't recall a single thing about the walk she took to get to the prison cell.

It's cold. Even the blanket barely helped. Her only consolation was the ball dress she was wearing - normally she'd complain about there being too many layers to the dress, but for today it was helping to keep her somewhat warm. 

But more than the cold, she was exhausted. Her eyes felt heavy and she felt drowsy. Her 'downfall' was complete, and all that was left was to see what awaited her tomorrow. It was unlikely that they would postpone the trial until her father returned. It was much more advantageous to hold the trial as soon as possible...

As Olivia curled on the bed, she looked up at the ceiling. There were...4, no, 6 mana crystals hanging from the ceiling, of varying size and purity, and she could see that a few of them was of a quality that would demand a high price. How unusual - using such a crystal to light a prisoner's cell? Maybe this prison was run by an eccentric... was Olivia's last thought as she dozed off.

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This story will have a slow start... I'm figuring out the direction of the story as I go along.