Chapter 10: AN EXTREMELY WICKED SIDE

**Ellen Evans**

My black curly hair was a mess. I was also a mess.

Courtesy of being in this sad little dirty depressing place for what, nine days now...

I had had only my wolf Layla to keep me company.

No one had come to pay me a visit, not even my father, not even my brother, not even my twin sister who put me up to this.

I thought guilt could make one do some things.

Well, not Elena I guess.

This entire incident had opened me up to a new side of her.

An extremely wicked side.

If someone had told me a few days ago that Elena would betray me so badly, I would have punched them in the face despite the fact that it would ruin my nails and tell them that my twin sister whom i had thought to be an angel would never so such a thing to me.

Turns out, she was not an angel. She was the devil.

And yes, she had done something this evil to me.

I have accepted that reality.

I no longer cry and weep like a naive fool who had been played.

I stay here all day, chatting with my wolf and receiving her help.

She gave me pointers on how to defend myself at my trial which would be tomorrow.

My stomach quibbled.

I remembered then that I have had nothing to eat the whole day.

I wondered where the guard who always brought me meals was.

I had asked him before who ordered him to feed me because he fed me with food that was not like prison food once everyday.

Particularly around this time, mid day. I was sure about that because my stomach remembered.

Well, he never spoke to me. And yes, he was no prison warden.

I heard the sound of the doors opening. I heard that familiar voice as he greeted the prison warden stationed at the door.

I sat up, straighter.

His footsteps advanced alongside the ones of the prison warden.

Soon they were standing in front of me, the three of us separated by the heavy iron door of my cell.

"Good afternoon," he greeted me first.

"Good afternoon,"I greeted both of them with a nod.

The prison warden began to open the lock of the cell. I was quiet, watching as the door was unlocked, waiting patiently in anticipation for my meal.

When the lock was taken away, he pushed the doors open and the food delivery guy like I liked to call him came in.

He bent and began to loosen the bag he had brought. He brought out various dish and began to arrange them afore me.

I once again wondered if this was how every prisoner was fed and treated in the pack's cell house.

Because every single thing that he had brought was rich and flamboyant, suiting for royalty.

When he was done arranging, he handed me a spoon and urged me to eat.

I stared at him, and then at the spoon that was in his hands.

"Who tells you to feed me?" I inquired of him. He raised a brow at me.

"I am in charge of prison food."

"I am not stupid. And this is not prison food," I said to him.

He sighed. "Take the cutlery," he urged trying to place them in my hands.

And though I was hungry, I still said, "I shall not eat until I know who feeds me. What if I am being poisoned?"

"Do not be ungrateful!" He snapped at me with a loud voice.

"I am not ungrateful," I tried to pacify him in a gentle voice as opposed to his harsh one. "I just want to know who cares so much about a traitor."

"My master does not care about you. He only wants you to be alive till the trials, to pay for your crime."

Suddenly, a thought came to me.

No one has come here to see me, no one except one person who wanted me to pay for my crimes.

Only him.

Prince Sebastian.

Wait, was the prince his master? Was he my benefactor?

I also realized a bunch of other things.

After the prince had visited me that night, my prison wardens had been changed from those bad foul mouthed people who did not care if I wept or not to nice men who greeted me and treated me like a human being.

Whenever I made a weeping sound, they would come over to tell me to be quiet that crying too much would get me killed.

They made sure I was comfortable, just a bit as my cell had been cleaned out soon after and clean bed sheets given to me. I even had a blanket in case I was cold at night.

Although they didn't feed me three times in a day, the food that I was given once a day was equivalent to eating three square meals.

So all this premium treatment had all been the prince's order?

I would act like I did not know since the prince also did not wish me to know of this acts that seemed like chivalry to me rather than a way to keep me alive till the trial.

"Still, I am indebted to your master. Thank him for me. I do not feel so much wronged because your master wishes to prolong my life till the trial. But tell your master, I am innocent. I do not wish to die. I shall not let the trial end in my death. I shall defend myself till my last drop of blood, till every prisoner believes that I am not who they think I am and I did not do that which they all think that I did. I was framed."

"Tell all these to the judge lady," he told me while handing me the cutlery. "I am not here for that. My only job is to make sure that you eat the meal that I bring for you," he told me. I nodded and took the cutlery from him.

I served myself some food and began to eat. They stayed, watching me as I ate.

They always did.

Just like I always invited them to join me to eat.

Well, they never replied me.

I ate silently, savouring the meals afore me.

As I ate, I thought of many things.

I thought of my entire family who had abandoned me. But even if they had been disappointed in me, should they have done that, left me alone completely? Did I deserve that?

I thought of the prince who seemed to be extremely angry at me, but made sure I was well taken care of in prison.

Life was an irony, so it seemed.

When I was done eating, I packed up the dishes myself and kept a portion for dinner like I usually did.

The food delivery servant only made sure I did not take anything I could use to harm myself like the knife for eating.

When he had inspected everything I wanted to be left behind properly, he packed up the rest of the things and arranged them in the bag that he had brought.

"Have a good day miss," he said to me as he left my cell. He did not wait for the prison warden who stayed behind to lock up the place.

When he was done, he left and once again I was left alone to myself.

"What is the sigh for?" Layla asked, surfacing.

"My trial is going to be held tomorrow Layla," I communicated to her.

"I trust you Ellen. I believe in you, you will find a way."

And did I?

Yes.