The Dungeons of Glenn Brush Castle

Isabella had left quite suddenly hoping to make it back to Matayas before dawn, and still get to Layna with his letter before she left Sydelle. There was mist filling the air and it did wonders in cooling Isabella down as she raced towards Glenn Brush. The castle was many miles away from Clairelionne and the dungeon where Matayas was kept lay deep below the castle itself. She hated seeing him there, she had wanted to help him but did not know how and then Layna gave her this crystal to take to him. If it worked, then Layna and Matayas' love must be true, for only ones true love would sacrifice themselves for the one they loved. The crystal that Isabella held now contained much of Layna's life force as an elf, but not all of it. Isabella thought it very brave of her to give such a thing up, but it seemed that Layna knew she had no other way to save Matayas, that or she went with the most effective way before even considering the others. That idea seemed more likely, for Issy knew that Layna was smart and also knew that Matayas meant so much to her. The time passed on, the journey seemed endless, but then across the horizon Isabella saw those horrifying towers and the eerie glow of light through Daiquiri's blood red curtains. Isabella shook it off and headed straight for the dungeons, not knowing what she would find.1

~†~2

Matayas' strength was disappearing, he did not know how much longer he could hold out, he screamed out in his mind hoping anyone on the outside would hear. He needed her, he couldn't survive without his driving force. Layna kept him alive before, she should be able to do it now, but he could not get to her, something was keeping him from reaching her. Pale, weak and depressed he slumped back against the wall and gazed at the beams of moonlight barely filtering through the disgusting and grimy window above him. As he started into those faint little streams of light images began to form, he blinked trying to clear his head thinking he was merely hallucinating but the images did not go away. From somewhere up above him he heard a soft chuckle, one that his devious little friend Isabella would make. He looked around frantically and finally relaxed as she perched on his knee. Matayas took a deep breath, wiped away a few tears and watched her. "Matayas, dear one, I have come with news, and with things that very well may help you." She said, and he looked at her in bewilderment. "There is only one thing that could help me now, one person, one love, one heart, and she is far from being here" he said in despair, but Issy just shook her head. "Layna isn't so far as you might think Matayas" and she handed him the crystal, almost instantly the color returned to his face and he looked a little more like himself. "Do not let anyone find you with this Matt" Isabella warned, "Should they find it, the consequences will be catastrophic for both you and Layna." Matayas nodded, and slipped his love's crystal around his neck, tucking it safely within his tunic. Isabella moved from his knee to his shoulder and gently pecked his cheek and saw him smile slightly for the first time in nearly a fortnight. "Master Toran is sending people, or will be once he speaks to Layna," she said "and he told me that you had something that I needed to take to Layna?" Matayas nodded and made the parchment appear, although miniaturized so that Isabella could take it to Layna. "See that this gets to her hands, and Issy..." he said with a suspicious glance to his left at her "don't read it, that is for Layna and only her." Isabella looked disappointed but agreed, although reluctantly, to keep her nose out of it. She glanced around the cell that Matayas was held in and realized just how horrible this place was, the mice even stayed away. She shook her head in despair, and took a vow to get her friend out of this hell hole no matter what the cost.3