Meanwhile, inside Ban and Dit’s cave.

Median and John were mining.

John looked at Median, “So, how do you like mining?”

“It’s better than idling and doing nothing.”, Median replied as a rock fell on his head.

“Or maybe not...”, he added.

John laughed, “You have a lot to learn.”

“Yes, teacher.”, Median smirked.

“Ogre!”

Median looked over at Ogre and said, “No! We’re not getting along, Ogre!”

“Ogre...”

John laughed.

“You know what? I take that back.”, said Median, as he looked over at John and started to mine again.

“I would like nothing more than sitting around and doing absolutely nothing!”, he added while smiling.

John smirked, “Wouldn’t you? But...”

“We’re slaves...”, said Median, interrupting what John was saying.

“We’re slaves.”, John sighed.

Median sighed in return, looked over at John with a pickaxe in his hand, and leaned on it before speaking, “What would you like to do? If you had the freedom to do so...”

John stopped mining as well, and stared at the cave wall.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Reading.”

“Reading?”

“Reading books... all kinds of books.”

Median groaned, “I’ve had enough of books to last a lifetime.”

“You’ve read before?”

“Not willingly.”

Dit came rushing in, “Did any one of you see Slav?”, he asked.

“Ogre?”

“No... We haven’t seen her for about a... day...”, said Median.

Dit looked at shock and rushed out.

“That guy rarely if ever speaks.”, said John, after he made sure that Dit couldn’t hear him.

“Yes... Which makes this even more worrying...”, Median replied.

In Ban’s main camp.

“What do you want from me?”, asked the principal.

“Can’t I call for you to just chat...?”, Ban replied, laughing.

“We are not that close.”

“Maybe, I’d like us to be.”, Ban smiled.

The principal was shocked.

“Relax.”, Ban sat down. “I was just joking!”, she added while laughing.

The principal adjusted his collar.

“You know...”, Ban put her legs up on her table, "I'm from an orphanage too.”

“Except my caretaker...”, she looked at the principal from top to bottom, “...was nicer.”

“Hmph... I was no caretaker.”

Ban jumped out of her seat, “Then, what were you?”

“I... I can’t say.”, the principal tried to hide his face.

Ban came near him and smiled as she tried her best to look down at him. The principal stepped back.

“The duke-”

“The duke is dead!”, screamed Ban.

The principal got silent.

"The duke... or Esting, they both never told me anything about it. It was a need-to-know basis, which worked for me...", Ban sighed.

She looked over at the principal, "But I'm curious. With the duke gone and Esting...", Ban smiled. "I could always ask Esting! But then, you wouldn't have any use now, would you?", Ban laughed.

“So, just tell me... You’re not even a principal anymore. The orphanage you managed is destroyed.”, Ban added, still laughing.

The principal got all red and stormed outside as Dit stormed inside.

“You can always come to me... ‘principal’”, Ban laughed.

“Sister... we have a problem!” said Dil, anxiously.

Ban looked at him and touched him on his shoulder, “What’s wrong?”

“Slav... She’s been missing for a day...”

Ban was taken back, “Are you sure? Maybe she’s out somewhere...”

“We both know that she never does that and even if she did...”

“She’d come back by now...”

Dit nodded.

Ban sighed.

“I hope she’s alright.”, said Dit.

“Me too.”, Ban replied, and she put her hands on her desk and looked back at Dit.

"What now sister?"

"We find her... and we make sure that she's back with us... safe"

Dit looked over at a worried Ban and spoke, "Don't worry... we will find her."

Ban sat down on her chair and smiled, "I hope so.", as she looked straight up.

Dit nodded and went outside. He wondered if maybe this is for the better, maybe Slav should stay far away from them. Far away, and free.