I seem to be in a dungeon of some sort, or a whole string of dungeons. I start to walk about, searching for a prisoner. I shudder as I pass a few of them. In three or four of the cells, skeletons are draped across the bars, as though they died trying to escape. I hear a faint clinking, as if someone is banging against the bars. Probably just the ghosts of prisoners past, still tormented by their captive state. And then I hear a voice.
"Please! Anyone, help me!"
Great. I've been here so long I'm starting to hear voices.
"I'm begging you, you don't know how bad it is down here. I haven't eaten in weeks!" The voice becomes more and more frantic, raising by about an octave every word. I know that this sounds foolish, but I start to follow the sound of the voice. It no longer sounds like it's in my head.
"Help me! Help me!" The desperation in the voice fills me with adrenaline. I race through corridor after corridor full of jail cells in various states of decay. I run, and the voice grows louder. I finally round the corner and see one cell with a person in it.

The person is a woman. She is tall, and it seems as though once she might have been beautiful. She has long hair that is almost black, but whether that's its natural color or the result of years of dirt, I can't tell. Her skin is an even tan, but it is caked with grime. Her face is haggard, and her expression looks beaten down. She wears a fraying white shift made of old cotton and no shoes. I feel an instant pang of sympathy for this woman, whoever she is. While my conditions are better than hers, I am a hostage and thus a prisoner. I may have a much larger room and better foods and clothing, but I still lack one thing: Freedom. I give her a sad smile.
"Hello, ma'am. Was that you who was calling for me?"
The woman studies me with bloodshot eyes. Her gaze is calculating, and I notice something that I did not see before. The woman's irises are pure gold. I know eyes like those. From where, I know not, but those eyes trigger a faint memory.
"Who are you?" she rasps.
I give her my best curtsy, which is not very good. "I am Princess Lorelei Sourbern of the Red Dragon Kingdom. It is a pleasure to make your-"
Before I can finish the sentence, she slams up against her door with such fury that the lock snaps into pieces all over the cobblestone floor. She runs out and embraces me so tightly that for a moment I cannot breath. "Oh, darling! I've missed you so!"
"I don't know you, madam."
"Oh, but of course you do. I'm your mother, for heaven's sake!"