Cathy was excited to have company whether it was a werewolf or not. Being locked in a Lycan dungeon for a decade should have increased her hatred for werewolves, but she knew better. She knew it was best to keep her friends close and her enemies closer.
She was pretty sure that Ember would be of use to her. Cathy liked smart people and Ember was smart. She could use that to her advantage.
First of all, she would make Ember feel comfortable with her by giving answers to Ember's questions. The girl sure loved to ask a lot of questions.
To prove Cathy's point, Ember asked. " What did you do to end up here for ten years? That's a very long time for anyone to be locked up"
The past ten years had been one of the worst times of Cathy's life. The thoughts of revenge and the thoughts of seeing her brothers again were the only things keeping her going.
"A werewolf ambushed me, kidnapped me and threw me in here. I know you might want to ask what I did", she said. "The answer is nothing. I was just on my way to visit my brother and got attacked by one of your kind"
"Wait, you have a brother?"Ember asked. She was genuinely surprised that Cathy had a brother who didn't know she was here the whole while.
Cathy smiled, looking absently into the distance. There was a slight hint of sadness in her eyes. "I have brothers, actually. Two brothers", she said.
"They must be worried sick looking for me all these years", she continued. Noticing that Ember had been staring at her pitifully, she waved it off and said. "That is by the way"
Ember nodded in understanding. Many people coped with bad situations in different ways, maybe for Cathy it was pretending it didn't exist.
They sat in silence for minutes, none of them knowing what else to say. The weird silence was then broken by Cathy. "Earlier, you said you had no memories of running away from your pack on the night of your mating, right?", she asked.
Her loss of memory was a mystery to Ember and she didn't mind talking about it with a vampire. She was already at rock bottom, how bad could it get?
"Yup. The last thing I remember was walking into the mating circle with my mate, next thing I woke up by the side of the road alone and I couldn't remember anything else", Ember replied. Even saying it out aloud sounded insane. Cathy must think the same thing, she thought to herself.
To her surprise, Cathy listened to her quietly. "That is strange", she admitted. "Do you have any idea what might have happened to you?"
Ember shook her head slowly. "I don't know. It's just insane because I don't forget things that easily"
"Well, I think I might have an idea what happened to you," Cathy replied. She was pacing from one corner of her own room to another. Hearing this spiked up Ember's curiosity and she rose to her feet with speed. The gate that separated Ember's room from Cathy's was the only reason Ember did not run to Cathy.
"Well, tell me. I've been dying to wrap my head around this" Ember pleaded. She knew that she sounded desperate but she didn't care.
Cathy replied. "There's only one thing I can think of that makes sense" "Come on then, tell me" Ember demanded. She was honestly not a fan of the suspense.
"A vampire." Cathy simply said. "Maybe a vampire wiped your memory, that's the only reason I can think of"
Ember looked at her surprised. "Wait, you guys can do that?", she asked. There were a lot of things she didn't know about vampires, except from the fact that they were cruel, bloodsucking creatures even worse than demons.
"Yeah, there are a lot of things we can do too", Cathy replied. Ember felt a little bit disturbed by the information that Cathy had just given her. How in the hell had she ever run into a vampire?
"I don't remember ever meeting a vampire", Ember said. "Well, duh. That's the whole point of wiping your memory. Of course, you won't remember" Cathy told her.
Ember had to stop herself from feeling even more stupid than she already did. She paused as a thought hit her. "Since a vampire cleared my memory and you're a vampire, maybe you could bring my memories back", she said.
She watched with disappointment as Cathy shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry, but it doesn't work like that" Cathy said.
"How does it work?" asked Ember. She really needed her memories back. She didn't mind what it took for her to achieve that.
"The memory thingy is a very delicate art", Cathy informed her. "Only the vampire who took your memories can restore them"
Ember saw all her hopes of getting her memories back dissolve into the thin air. How could she know the exact vampire who had taken her memories? That was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"This knowledge doesn't help me in any way", she told Cathy truthfully. She was back to square one, all her hopes were squashed.
Cathy shrugged and said "I really wish I could help you but there's really nothing I can do from behind these bars"
Ember shook her head, feeling a great disappointment wash over her. This was her life- just a series of great disappointments.
Silence. More silence. Then, Ember asked. "How were you so comfortable staying here for ten years? Have you never tried to escape?"
Cathy's word got stuck in her throat as memories she wanted to forget washed over her. "The last time I tried to escape, the other girl who was in here with me died", she said.
Ember shuddered in fear as she heard that, but she couldn't back down from the idea that was forming in her head already. "That doesn't mean that you have to stop trying to escape", she said.
Cathy chuckled in disbelief. "I am a weak vampire who has not fed in a decade. Tell me how you expect me to escape all by myself, smart ass", she said in a sardonic tone.
Ember gave her a wide smile and replied. "That's why you have me here". After a long pause, she added. "I think I might have a plan"
"What is it?", Cathy asked. There was a glint in Ember's eyes as she asked. "When do they normally bring you food?"
"It's usually three times in a week", Cathy said. A guard comes and slips me a bowl of animal blood and then leaves"
Ember smiled as the whole plan played in her head like a movie. She had to stop herself from squealing. "I only have three weeks to spend here and I'll be free. But for you? You could be here for another decade or another hundred years. We have to get you out of here", she told Cathy.
"How?" Cathy asked, genuinely interested. She knew that Ember would be of great use to her, she just didn't think it would be this soon.
Ember explained the whole plan to Cathy and watched as Cathy's whole self lit up with excitement.
"I like your plan. I think it's going to work", Cathy said.