Bang!

The door slammed shut behind me, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Well, "alone" wasn't entirely accurate. Leah stood there, cradling the rescued child in her arms, with Titan beside her, gleefully poking the kid's cheeks like it was his life's mission.

We're now back in the village! Our journey back wasn't anything special, the child did become more close to us though.

Anyway, I couldn't say anything. Literally. Tink had shoved something in my mouth back at the gate, and once it did I couldn't speak anymore.

Combine that with the glowing runes on the thing Tink put on me I was now mute, magically restricted, and dragged into this mud hut like some criminal awaiting trial.

Leah tilted her head, a smug grin forming. "Feeling trapped? Good. You should."

I tried to glare at her, but it probably looked more like a pout. I wanted to yell, "I saved the kid! Why am I the bad guy here?" But all that came out was a muffled, frustrated groan.

She wasn't wrong, though. I was trapped.

My clones, those traitorous bitches, had deactivated themselves the moment they saw Fen and the others waiting at the gate. Even the bird had ditched me for the kid!

Leah set the child down, giving her a soft pat on the head. "Stay here, kiddo. Aria and I need to have a little chat."

Before I could brace myself, I was shoved further inside the hut. To my surprise, it wasn't just Leah waiting for me.

Tied up in a corner, looking just as miserable as I felt, were Serena, Rea, Jin, Levy, and Io.

"...What is this?" I tried to say, but the gag muffled me into incomprehensible nonsense.

"Quiet down, Aria," Leah said, her voice way too cheerful. "You're in *time-out*. And so are they. Consequences, you know."

I squirmed against my bindings, trying to use magic to free myself, only to realize...

Nothing. No magic. Not even a spark.

Leah smirked. "Oh, don't bother. Nia made sure you're as powerless as a kitten in here."

Darn Runeforger!

Atleast I know how my missing clone wasn't able to use magic back in the dungeon...

I heard a clanging of metal beside her, I saw Titan who was still poking the child's cheeks, earning himself an unimpressed look from the little one.

Serena groaned, shifting in her restraints. "Honestly, Aria, this whole situation is ridiculous. Couldn't you have thought this through just a little more?"

"Yeah," Levy chimed in, a sardonic grin on her face. "Next time, maybe consult us before playing hero."

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"I don't mind the mud hut," Io said with a shrug. "Beats traveling in a storm."

Rea sighed, looking mildly exasperated but also like she wanted to melt into the floor and disappear. "This is embarrassing."

Jin looked at me with a mix of disappointment and concern. "Aria, seriously. You need to stop being so reckless. Not everything can be solved by charging in headfirst."

I wanted to argue, to defend myself, but my inability to speak and Leah's smug grin were making it very hard to focus especially since if I did defend myself anyway it would be useless since I never told them about it anyway and now they're caught with me.

The child suddenly pointed at me, her tiny voice chiming in. "She's funny."

Not helping kid!

Io erupted into laughter. "Yeah? She is, ain't she?"

Leah chuckled, giving the child an affectionate pat. "Even the kid agrees. You're hilarious, Aria. Reckless, but hilarious."

I groaned, wishing for the ground to swallow me whole.

Then, the door creaked open again.

"Oh good," Nia's voice rang out, entirely too chipper for my liking. She stepped inside holding...a box.

A wooden box.

My heart sank.

"Alright!" she announced, grinning like a mischievous cat. "Punishment time!"

The others froze.

"Nia, no," Serena said, her voice sharp with warning.

"Nia, yes," Nia said, opening the box dramatically.

Inside were feathers.

Feathers. Just feathers.

I stared in horror as Nia pulled out a fluffy feather duster, twirling it like some grand weapon of justice.

"Leah, Titan," she said, tossing each of them a feather. "You're up. Let's see how ticklish our dear Aria is."

My eyes widened.

I expected a bloody punishment, not this ridiculous one. I don't know if I should be happy that they seem like they don't know how or I should be worried?

"Nia, wait!" Serena interjected. "What about us? Can you untie us now? We've been here for hours, you know?"

Nia waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, you'll get untied. We need helping hands."

Io grinned wickedly, her eyes lighting up. "This just got interesting."

Rea let out a resigned sigh but the smile slowly creeping on her face isn't helping what she said next. "Do I have to?"

"Yes," Nia said firmly, untying them one by one.

The moment everyone was free, they were handed feathers, forming a gleeful circle around me.

"Alright, team," Nia said with a wicked grin. "Get her!"

What followed was ten minutes of absolute chaos.

Feathers flew, laughter echoed, and I squirmed helplessly against my bindings.

They attacked with ruthless precision, tickling every vulnerable spot they could find—my sides, my stomach, even the soles of my feet.

I thrashed, tears streaming down my face as I tried to beg for mercy. But my protests were turned into muffled nonsense because of the gag.

Yep, a gag. I don't even wanna know why Tink has one, I just wish it wasn't used.

"Enough! Enough!" Jin finally called, gasping for air as she wiped tears of laughter from her eyes.

Levy smirked, twirling her feather like a victory flag. "Not bad for a warm-up."

When they finally relented and removed the gag, I was too exhausted to do anything but glare weakly.

"I hate you all," I muttered, though my voice lacked any real venom.

The child giggled from Leah's arms, her tiny laugh as soft as it was mocking. The kid has been laughing at me from the corner as Leah and the others attacked me.

"See?" Leah said, grinning. "Even she thinks you're funny. Maybe we should make you the village jester instead?"

This was officially the worst day of my life.

When they finally untied me, Nia patted my head, still smirking. "There. Don't you feel better now?"

"No," I grumbled, brushing feathers off my clothes.

Jin placed a hand on my shoulder, her expression softening. "Aria, listen. Next time, talk to us. You don't have to do everything alone."

Leah handed the child back to me, her expression soft but firm. "She's right. You've got a good heart, Aria, but you need to think things through."

I nodded, feeling the weight of their words.

As I trudged back to my house, still exhausted and covered in dirt, the child in my arms looked up at me.

"You're messy," she said matter-of-factly.

I blinked, unsure whether to laugh or cry. Instead, I sighed and kept walking.

First, a bath. Then, maybe a nap. And after that? Definitely some plotting.

One day, I'd find a way to get back at them for this.

But for now, I just wanted to be clean.

Little Theater:

Aria: *covered in feathers and glaring* "You're all horrible."

Leah: *grinning, holding a feather* "We're horrible? You're the one who made it way too easy."

Child: *poking Aria's cheeks* "She's messy and funny!"