“Help! Help!” the woman laughs as she stumbles along in Xander’s grasp, “I’m being oppressed!”
Rolling his eyes, the young prison guard throws the deranged woman into her cell, causing her to fall to her knees. He quickly shuts the prison bars and glares at her through them.
“My, my, sir,” the woman began smirking up at her guard, “You just met me, no need to be so aggressive with me yet.”
“Ms. Clement, is it?” Xander begins nervously, “I am your prison guard, nothing more.”
“Well, that just means you’ll be seeing me more often, am I right?”
He is disgusted and turns to hastily walk away when he hears the woman’s voice again.
“And you can call me Anastasia, stranger.”
Xander does not turn but gives a curt nod back to the woman and keeps on walking down the dully lit hallway and back to his quarters.
“I don’t know how he expects me to do this!” Xander says as he threw himself on his cot.
“Who expects you do to what, Xan?” says his roommate Joshua from across the room.
“My father. He always expects me to look after these people and I just-”
“Well aren’t prison guards supposed to, you know, guard the prisoners?” Josh said sarcastically.
Disgusted, Xander throws a pillow at Josh’s head.
“I’m going to sleep, try not to read all night this time” he says trying to get comfortable without his pillow, “that candlelight is brighter than it seems.”
“Nighty night, Kriechen,” Josh says as he pulls out one of his many chapter books he reads.
The light just barely shines through the prison windows. Xander reached Anastasia’s cell with an old loaf of bread.
“Here,” he said showing the loaf through the prison bars.
She doesn’t answer but just stared at the opposite wall.
“Have you ever noticed how differently people act when they are just moments away from meeting their fate?” she says still not looking at him.
Xander sighs and drops the bread in her cell. “I have, why?”
“I saw a man being dragged to his death last night after you left…”
“Well then most likely he had committed a murder himself, I don’t believe you’ll have the same fate.”
“My fate will be worse-”
“And how do you know that?”
Anastasia let out a sarcastic laugh. “Is it normal for a prison guard to not even know why his prisoners are placed in this hell hole in the first place?”
“It’s as normal as it is for a prisoner to complain about this so called hell hole.”
Anastasia turned and looked Xander straight in the eyes. Pushing herself off the wall she was leaning on, she walks slowly over to him and peers at him through the bars.
“I’ve been accused of being a witch,” she says softly.
Xander’s eyes widened in astonishment that this woman was like him, she was clearly not a muggle.
“So you think you’ll burn at the stake?”
“Well, isn’t that how they deal with witches?” she says, bringing herself closer to the bars.
He feels sick in his stomach and can only nod. “Yes,” he says before backing away from the bars and into the shadows.
The next day he appears again. There is no light today, just the dark gray clouds covering the skies. The rain seeps into the woman’s cell through the barred windows. She stands directly under the window letting the rain drip to her hair.
“Why do you do that?” Xander questions through the cell bars, “You can get the flu-”
“I’d rather die from the flu,” she begins turning to face him, “than die burning at the stake with all the dignity that I have drained from me.”
“You’re a strange woman Anastasia,” he says chuckling.
“If I wasn’t strange, I wouldn’t be in here,” the girl replied sighing.
“I brought you a blanket,” Xander said holding the a ragged blanket towards her direction, “I’d suggest you use it…”
Anastasia gave a very slight smile and brought herself towards the bars.
“Why?” she said looking into his eyes, “why are you so pleasant to me?”
“Look, do you want the blanket or not?” Xander shot back sternly.
Anastasia nodded with a smile as she reached through the bars, taking the blanket in her hands.
“Thank you…stranger…” she says as her guard walks off down the hallway and out of her sight.
It’s not until evening the next day that she sees him again.
“Well, look who finally decides to show,” she says sarcastically as his shadowed figure reaches her view.
“I’m sorry,” Xander replied, “How have you been?”
“That’s not a very sufficient question to ask a prisoner, love,” the girl says, “but other then the lack of sleep, I’ve been alright I guess.”
“What, the blanket didn’t help?”
“No, no, that helped a lot, I just heard a woman crying and yelling all night.”
“Hm,..” Xander crossed his arms, “You know, that could have been Martha Benet a few cells down, she’s currently with child and has been going through loads of pain.”
Anastasia gave a nod. “Poor girl,” she said sadly.
“Anastasia,” Xander began hesitantly, “Who accused you of being a witch?”
“My husband,” she replied staring at her feet.
“Your husband? I didn’t know you were-”
“I got married at fifteen,” Anastasia said cutting him off, “it was a forced marriage…I didn’t mind, I just didn’t know what I was getting myself into.”
“I’m sorry,” her guard replies in a low tone.
“Me too…”
The next night he returns again to see the prisoner sitting just behind the bars. The light from his lantern flickers on her motionless figure. Upon seeing his arrival, she smirks up at him.
“I want you to sit down,” she says motioning him to sit.
“…Alright…” the man replies with a confused look.
Anastasia brings her face closer to the bars before speaking in an almost inaudible whisper.
“I’ve been thinking it over,” she says into his ear, “and I’ve come to a conclusion.”
“What kind of conclusion is this?”
She reaches through the bars with one hand motioning him to bring his head closer, if possible.
“I know why you looked so surprised when I told you what I was sentenced here for. I know why you asked me who accused me of my sentence…”
Xander’s eyes widened a bit yet again and the sick feeling in his stomach returned.
“You’re like me,” she whispered, “You’re a wizard, aren’t you?”
The man takes his head away from the bars immediately and stares at the prisoner.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about-”
“Please…Don’t lie to me…I’ve been lied to enough over the years…”
Anastasia frowned sadly, her eyes shimmering in gold as the torch light reflects off her face.
“ I am….” Xander sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I went to the Durmstrang school of Wizardry…But please….please don’t speak of this-”
“I won’t,” the woman replies in an almost inaudible whisper, “I promise.”
Xander nods slowly, taking in what had just happened as if it weren’t eve real. “Okay..” he says. He trusts her…He doesn’t know why but for some reason, he knows that Anastasia won’t tell his secret.
