The sight of someone familiar makes Gwendolyn comfortable, it feels weird, even though it has only been a couple of days it is almost like she hasn’t felt like this in a long time.

Before Drakthar can say anything, Gwendolyn has already walked forward to hug him, something that catches the typically callous man off-guard.

“Are you okay?” He asks her, assuming something must be wrong if the sight of him causes this sort of reaction.

“Yes,” She lies, knowing Drakthar isn’t someone who sympathizes with weakness. He can tell she is lying but he doesn’t say anything, respecting her decision not to show vulnerability.

“I know how we are going to get out of here,” Drakthar starts to mention. Gwendolyn’s sullen expression starts to brighten as she hears this, thinking if there is a finish line in sight that she will be able to make it through the torture to make it there.

“In the place they are keeping me, we can earn these points. If I get five hundred I can buy my freedom. Buying others’ freedom is double the cost, so I’m going to earn one thousand five hundred points and get us out of here,” Drakthar calmly informs her.

Gwendolyn finds herself smiling for the first time in the last couple of days, finally having something to get excited about. She knows if it is Drakthar, he will get those points in the Pits without much effort at all.

“Wait, why are you here? Doesn’t it cost points to see me?” Gwendolyn realizes, worried that he is wasting points that could go towards their freedom.

“I know, it did cost points… but I thought it was necessary to let you know my plan. From here on out you are going to be on your own, so wait until then,” Drakthar explains himself.

“Alright, I can do that. You just keep on fighting down there and I’ll wait… maybe cheer you on a bit too,” Gwendolyn agrees to the plan Drakthar laid out for them.

Despite the optimistic tone, Drakthar can sense something is off with Gwendolyn, he dares to ask her what she has been through to confirm it isn’t what he suspects, “What have they done to you?”

The color falls out of Gwendolyn’s face when he asks this, turning to a pale white as she shakily answers, “Earlier today, after I… turned down God’s advances, I was taken to the room at the bottom of this tower and tortured. They kept on drowning me, over and over, sometimes dying in between before they brought me back”.

When Gwendolyn looks to Drakthar for some sort of reaction, she sees a firm nod of respect in response. She isn’t sure what it is about that nod but in that moment she feels like maybe for the first time Drakthar truly understands her.

They sit there silently for many minutes before Drakthar finally mentions, “I should probably go. Don’t give up, I know you would probably rather be in the Pits like I am, but just keep fighting. That is what he would want”.

“Yeah, I know,” Gwendolyn nods along in agreement as she gets up and walks with him to the door.

“Goodbye,” Drakthar tells her before disappearing down the stairs to the large tower she has been stuck in.

Moments after he has left, the same awkward boy that brought her there shows up with another man. Gwendolyn doesn’t even glance at him as she walks past him, not intending to entertain any other visitors.

“Wait, he spent his points on you,” the boy calls out as he chases after her.

Gwendolyn looks back at him before calmly responding, “Then refund his points”.

The boy begrudgingly gives in, seeing the man out before leading Gwendolyn back up to her room where she finds an annoyed Finella and Tullia glaring at her.

“What? Did he have that little endurance?” Finella crassly asks, noting the short time of her absence.

“No, I mean we didn’t do anything of that nature. It was my friend that came to visit me, he informed me of his plans to escape this place, that is all,” Gwendolyn corrects her wild accusations.

“Well then I’m jealous, your friend has one hell of a body, almost perfect if you can look past all the scars. And the way he fights, you can tell he’s dynamite in the bedroom,” Finella starts to go on about Drakthar, mostly to get a reaction out of her new roommate.

“I already told you to drop that. He isn’t the type of guy who is going to care about someone like you. No offense, but his mind only focuses on one thing and it's not women,” Gwendolyn coldly informs her, trying to convey once again that she has no chance when it comes to Drakthar.

“Sounds like you would know from experience, well maybe he might just be more interested in me than he was in you,” Finella doesn’t let it go.

“You’re hilarious, I’m married, remember? And it's not to him,” Gwendolyn isn’t very amused by her misguided assumptions.

“Don’t worry, I’m only teasing you. I can tell how much you love that husband of yours; you were mumbling his name all night long. I could hardly catch any sleep,” Finella complains, rubbing her eyes to emphasize her statement.

“She’s right you know. You should really be considerate of the rest of us, no one wants to hear you cry all night in your sleep again,” Tullia harshly agrees, using this opening as an opportunity to get back at Gwendolyn for what she said earlier today.

Gwendolyn doesn’t have anything to say to either of them, instead, staring at the irritated scowl and amused smirk of the other two women in the room with her.

“You know what, I’ll just sleep now. Maybe if I get to sleep before you I won’t have to deal with any of this,” Tullia notes as she walks out of the room.

“You’re kind of a bitch, but yeah we all know she’s the worst,” Finella tells Gwendolyn, just trying to confirm that despite the jokes Tullia is still the least popular among the group.

“I’m not sure if that was supposed to be a compliment… but thanks,” Gwendolyn responds, giving it an hour of sitting awkwardly alone with Finella before going to get some sleep herself.

Meanwhile, Drakthar returns to his cell below the arena, Pravin and Lorens missing, probably still enjoying the nights they got for themselves after finding such success alongside Drakthar.

However, what Drakthar does find is a new cellmate, one who is oddly familiar to him. The thinly cut brown hair and scowl reminiscent of someone Drakthar wasn’t fond of.

“You, I remember you. You were with him… that little. He… whatever. It’s over now and of course, I’m stuck here with you,” the man complains, reminding Drakthar exactly who he is, Cenred, Gwendolyn’s former fiancé.

“Well? How is Gwen? I’m assuming you would know given you were friends with that bastard,” Cenred asks curiously. Drakthar grits his teeth, almost angry that he has to inform Cenred that she is here and Xander isn’t.

“They are married now,” Drakthar briefly responds, not wanting to see the satisfied grin on his face at her current situation.

“Of course, why would I keep hoping otherwise,” Cenred’s tone starts to deflate.

Drakthar watches as the once-proud man starts to sink down to the dirty floor, a devastated look on his face.

“I don’t know why I kept holding out hope, I screwed up so badly. I was so selfish, if only I could see what I had I wouldn’t have destroyed it,” he starts to cry, causing Drakthar to question whether this version of Cenred is more irritating than the previous one.

“She was just so perfect, she always has been. I just saw how before she would jump from guy to guy… I just got territorial you know? I just didn’t want her to leave but I was the one who ended up driving her away… how ironic,” his tears start to come out faster as he vents his mistakes to this almost stranger.

“I should have treated her better, she deserved that,” Cenred gets out before going silent.

“I know, and he treats her well, so you don’t have to worry,” Drakthar informs him, mostly trying to cause him to fall further into whatever depression he is feeling right now.

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It has the opposite effect, instead, Cenred’s tears dry up, his expression harders, and he stands up in determination not to let the man who took Gwendolyn away from him win.

It is then that Pravin and Lorens make it back from their nights of fun and frivolity.

“Drakthar! Oh man do I have to thank you. I haven’t felt that great in a long time,” Pravin puts his arm around Drakthar’s shoulder as he begins to recount his night.

Lorens interrupts him for a second to give his own thanks, “Drakthar, thank you. I know I probably won’t make it out of these pits so I thank you for allowing me to see my wife one last time. You will never know how much it meant to me”. Drakthar nods back at him before Lorens walks off to his usual corner and sits down.

This interruption causes Pravin to realize the new face in their cell.

“Oh hey, I didn’t notice you here with everything that happened. The name’s Pravin,” he extends a hand to Cenred who is still sitting on the floor.

“Cenred,” Cenred takes his hand and shakes back, his quarrel not with this man.

“So did you get to talk to your friend?” Pravin asks unassumingly.

“Yes,” Drakthar responds, hoping Pravin will drop it after that.

“Good, wouldn’t want someone as pretty as her to be worried. Although it pisses me off that God gets to sleep with those women all the time,” Pravin offhandedly comments.

“She isn’t sleeping with him,” Drakthar feels it necessary to inform him, wanting to protect the good name of his friend.

“Ah, sure, not yet. I haven’t heard of a single one that hasn’t caved in less than a week,” Pravin just finishes his thought before seeing how angrily Drakthar is glaring at him.

He meekly walks back his statement out of fear, “But who knows, maybe she is tougher than the rest of them”.

Pravin catches himself laughing nervously at the tension of this moment.

“Friend? What friend?” Cenred asks, holding out a bit of hope that it is who he thinks it could be.

Before Drakthar can shut him up Pravin is more than happy to describe, “It’s this tall blonde woman, with these deep blue eyes. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve seen a more beautiful woman in all my life…” Pravin stops as he feels the overwhelming bloodlust coming from Drakthar.

“What? Is everything okay?” He asks, unable to figure out why saying any of this would provoke such a reaction from his new comrade.

“Perfect, so she is here,” Cenred starts to grin maniacally.

“Wait, Drakthar, do you know this guy?” Pravin asks, assuming as much seeing as how they both know Drakthar’s friend.

“Yes, he used to be her fiancé. Before he held a knife to her throat and tried to kidnap her,” Drakthar quickly gets Pravin caught up on the situation.

“So you do know each other,” Pravin notes, finding the tension in the room too much for him to handle after coming off such an enjoyable night.

“Okay, I know you guys had bad blood between you before but we are cellmates now. We should all get along and work together to get out of this mess. Both of you look really strong, so why don’t we work together instead of being at odds with each other?” Pravin proposes, wanting to add another strong ally to their group.

“I don’t have a problem with it. Also, I have no idea what you are talking about either, why are we down here?” Cenred finally thinks to ask. For the rest of the night Drakthar eyes the two of them as Pravin explains to Cenred how things work down in the Pits.

The next morning, Gwendolyn wakes up before the others, she notes all four of them are there even though Klara and Francine were still gone by the time she fell asleep. Silently, she makes her way outside to the other room, taking a moment to relax before the chaos of the day begins.

Unfortunately for her, she is unable to find such a reprieve as the outside door opens and God enters the room.

“Good morning, I see you are an early riser much like myself,” he greets her, trying to subtly point out similarities between them.

“What is it this time? Are you forcing me to go to breakfast with you again?” Gwendolyn complains more than inquires, irritated that the one time she could get to herself now has to be spent with him.

“No, join me for a walk, I thought you could use a look around,” God suggests, extending a hand out to her.

Gwendolyn glares down at the hand of the man she detests and notes, “I don’t have a choice do I?”

“You do, you always have a choice. It’s just, one of them is correct while the other leads to unfortunate consequences for you,” God threatens her in his own unique way.

“You don’t mind that I am not done up by your servant?” Gwendolyn asks sarcastically, noting every other time she has seen God it has been preceded by a visit from Lazaro.

“As beautiful as you look with Lazaro’s help you do not need it like the others. Now that it has been a few days I can tell, you are one of the most beautiful women that have come into my care,” God compliments her.

His words seem so overused that it actually causes Gwendolyn to laugh, “I’m sure you’ve told that to every woman here”.

God stops, staying at the bottom of the stairs before turning up to look at her, “No, that is simply not true. If you do not believe me, feel free to ask the others, I have told them no such thing because it is not true. You are far more beautiful than any of them”.

“Yeah, that makes me feel much better,” Gwendolyn coldly responds, walking past him towards the door to the tower. God quickly passes her, holding the door open for her to walk through.

She feels the warmth of the sunlight as she takes her first steps outside. Despite all the unpleasant things that have happened since she arrived she cannot deny that this place is breathtaking.

“I’m glad you are in awe of the pleasant view of my island in the morning. Now, let’s get to the reason I brought you here,” God extends his arm, wanting her to take it so he can guide her around.

Gwendolyn looks down at it, unimpressed, she has no intention of taking his arm and letting him have this moment how he wants it.

“Have it your way, your presence is enough for now,” he continues, not hindered by her expectedly cold reaction to his gesture.

God leads her from the tower into a crowded mass of smaller buildings farther North towards the edge of the island. As they walk by Gwendolyn notices a lot of people, young and old stopping and whispering as the two of them walk by. Occasionally one of them will greet God calling out to him a cheerful greeting, prompting a friendly response.

This sort of interaction, especially coming from someone as self-centered as to call himself God, catches Gwendolyn off guard.

“Did you expect everyone to think of me as a monster like you do? I am afraid the ideas you have about me are your own. These people here rely on me to survive and I have given them all comfortable lives where they can enjoy themselves in this wonderful place. The same could be true for you. I can give you one of these houses by the coast; you’ll live a comfortable life in one of the most picturesque places in this world”.

As God talks, Gwendolyn follows along, almost able to picture herself living here exactly as God is describing it, she contemplates how pleasant life like that could be before realizing what it is she would have to do to achieve it.

“I see at least you are open to it. You should be careful Gwendolyn, that gives me hope that one day you will finally take me up on my offer to show you a better life,” God warns her, the thoughts he had been reading not as defensive as they usually are.

“That will never happen,” Gwendolyn stays firm in her refusal, reaffirming her hated of him and his demands to stop her from being swayed by what he is showing her.

Suddenly, Gwendolyn feels something run into her legs below her knees, she starts to fall backward, completely knocked off her feet by whatever collided with her. God reacts quickly, scooping Gwendolyn into his arms to avoid her tumbling to the sand below.

Gwendolyn looks down and sees a kid with black hair and a smile on his face as he looks at a lizard he just caught in his hands.

“Put me down!” Gwendolyn demands as she gets out of God’s arms.

A man with peppered grey hair and a hardened, almost indifferent, look that reminds her of Drakthar approaches the boy.

“Apologize for almost knocking her over,” the man leans down and tells the rambunctious child.

“But look! I caught this lizard! He feels so cool,” the child ignores the man’s orders. The man picks up the kid who is giggling at the feeling of suddenly being brought to his feet.

“Apologize,” the man repeats sternly, facing the child in Gwendolyn’s direction.

“Wow, she’s pretty,” the kid can’t help but comment, his focus on Gwendolyn causing him to lose his grip on the lizard he was so proud to have caught.

“Oh no!” The child cries out as he notices the lizard scurrying away. He chases after it laughing, enjoying the chase after the slippery creature.

“I am sorry my son bothered you. Enjoy your day,” the man bows before walking off.

“What do you think of that? Children being about to live carefree lives like that one is? It is something that is desirable to you is it not? Your children could grow up here as well,” God continues to try to convince her to allow him what he wants.

“I’m not as ignorant as you think. Sure all of this looks nice but the part you are not mentioning is the cost of all of it. I will never give myself to you; I don’t care what you will give me in response. I just want to get out of here, find Xander, and continue on with my life. You will never be a part of it,” Gwendolyn stops him, no longer willing to play along with this little game of his he is trying to play by showing her this.

“Fine, I was going to tell you a story about the man you just met and his son but I can tell it will mean nothing to you. Let’s go back, if you do not wish to spend more time outside this morning I will not force you to,” God notes, calmly beginning to walk back towards the tower.

Gwendolyn follows; knowing it would be pointless to try and get away, even if she tried to he would already be anticipating it due to his ability to read his mind. She knows she is right as he starts to chuckle. The smug sound of it causes her to scowl at his overwhelming abilities.

As they make it back to the tower there is a familiar face approaching it. The short but fearsome Audra is standing across from them along with her two goons.

“Oh, she is with you. I was just going to head up to grab her for today’s session… but if it isn’t necessary…” Audra pauses, thinking maybe Gwendolyn might have accepted God’s proposition.

“No, she is all yours, try not to have too much fun with her. You know what we discussed,” God gestures over towards Gwendolyn, causing the two men accompanying Audra to grasp each of her arms and forcibly lead her into the room with the tub full of water.

“You could be a little less rough, I know how to walk,” Gwendolyn complains as they are basically lifting her up and carrying her to the edge of the water.

“Well then, I will see you later. Hopefully, this session is more successful than the last,” Audra smiles creepily as she says her farewell to God.

“Yes, see that it is,” God agrees before walking away to attend to other matters.