The Dragon Prince's Bride
Chapter 153.

Chapter 153: 153.

"" At ease. I just need to check on the Orcs, nothing much."" Neriah prayed in her heart that her Tragonian accent had improved. The queen told her it had improved but she could have just been flattering her. She really prayed it had improved.

"" Aye!"" They saluted yet again and one of them took a bunch of keys from his side and opened the gate. Much to Neriah’s peace of mind. She did it!

Neriah’s heart skipped again and again as she tried her possible best to hide her excitement. All she needed was to see the orcs and she would find her way out of there.

As she was about to step into the place, Aria’s words rang in her ear again. She didn’t have to do this. It was not too late to turn back. A sudden cold swept through her veins as the words replayed. The dark aura the place was giving made the chill in her ones even more evident.

"You are going to be fine." She muttered to herself.

And with those words, she stepped into the place but not before overhearing the knights guarding the gate whisper to themselves, ""Does the commander look a little shorter? Or is it just me?"" one of them said,"" You are seeing things again. Guard duty is messing with your brain."" The other knight responded. ’Damn these tall people’ Neriah thought to herself.

With cautious steps, Neriah walked into the place. It was dark. It almost seemed as though it was rejecting the light from outside. There was nothing like windows, but still, the light coming through the gate should have reached a part of the place. But it was so dark that the light from outside only stopped where the gate ended.

However, on the sides of the wall were torches, burning in the darkness. "" Commander!"" Two knights who stood guard inside the place saluted. She accepted their greeting with a wary smile.

It took her a while to realize that the knights were guarding some sort of thing with another gate. It seemed like a cage and at the same time she was certain it wasn’t.

On further inspection she realized it was something like a pulley attached to a huge platform. But not the kind that she had seen before. This one was over 6 cubits high and just the sight of it made her shiver. She could not help but wonder about the kind of huge things that were being sent down to wherever that thing led to.

What kind of beasts would warrant such a mechanism?

Again, she heard that voice in her head, Aria’s voice in her head, telling her, "It is not too late to turn back now. Turn back now." But she was already there, all she needed to do was step onto the pulley and she could end her curiosity once and for all. What could possibly happen? The orcs were under lock, so what was the worst thing that could happen?

There was no point in standing by... She was only wasting her time.

With a determined heart, she held her breath as one of the guards opened the gate and she climbed onto the platform. There was a lever to pull. "Neriah, you can do this." She muttered to herself and placed her hand on the lever.

But then it wouldn’t budge. She pulled and pushed, but it didn’t move. The guards turned and stared at her with a weird look and she gave them a weirder smile in return.

She then placed both her hands on the lever, and with all her strength, she pulled and pushed, but nothing was happening. It remained in place. Again, the guards stared at her with a very weird face.

"" I uh, I injured my hand, so, you know—" She faltered as she tried to find the right words to explain her incompetence.

"Ahh, That is why. You should just ask us, commander."" One of them said with a broad smile and Neriah returned it with a much more bigger one. He climbed onto the platform and with one hand, he pulled the lever and it moved much to Neriah’s annoyance.

The pulley began to move in a rather ruggedy manner. The knight jumped back to the ground and tried to quickly close the gate while Neriah grabbed for something, while still trying to remain calm and composed.

Slowly, the knights were disappearing from her sight as she descended into deeper darkness.

And now she was really thinking, ’Maybe I should have really listened to them.’ The lower the thing went, the darker it all became. And even though she thought it could not go any darker, it was going darker and darker.

The air was congested... Stiff. The aura felt even more suffocating down there. Her hands that clenched onto the iron bars held it even tighter.

But then, the darkness or the aura soon became minor worries. Sounds, voices... growls so deep and dark that she could not begin to fathom what kind of beast would have made such sound. They filled her ears and she feared greatly.

"They are under lock. They are under lock. They cannot attack. Just find the orcs and get this over with." She told herself again dnd at that moment, the pulley stopped and the gate of the cage which had not been properly locked before fell open.

It was suddenly silent. So, so silent. It was as though all the growls and voices she had been hearing were a product of her own imaginations. Why was it suddenly silent?

It made her feel like the things that were kept down there had somehow sensed her presence. It wasn’t a nice feeling, and it was dark. So so dark.

But then suddenly, a torch was ignited and after it, a series of torch on the same line of rocky walls turned on.

"" Commander!"" Neriah jumped and screamed at the sudden sound that came from nowhere.