There she was; the woman was waiting for him across the street. Not in the least worried about standing out.

With no other choice, Zeph meets her across the street.

“Took you long enough; I waited 4 minutes for you,” The woman said, who he remembered was called Sofia.

She was greeting him like he was an old friend, and he hadnt just hadnt been kidnapped the day before and set to be their slave. He shoved it off; he should have learned long ago that these people were just a different breed. And we’re all a little extravagant in one way or the other. So Zeph played along. It wouldn’t hurt to be cordial, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt if they became friends. And it seemed that if there was going to be anyone with whom he could have a cordial relationship, it was Sofia. He hadnt met the others, but despite Carlo, this woman gave him the most chance of growing a little closer. He wouldn’t push it, though; no reason to be goody to shoes just to get killed later anyway. That would have been far too pathetic. If he were to save himself, it would be with his pride intact.

“Sorry…”Zeph said, not knowing what else to say.

“Didn’t know what would happen today, but it seemed you would pick me up,” Zeph said.

“Well, not that I wanted to,” Sofia said, getting an annoyed look on her. Though he could tell it wasn’t directed at him, he was happy about that.

“All those stupid idiots, saying I should be the one to get you,” she continued. “Just because I can get there the fastest and back. Don’t they realize how valuable time is to me? I can’t waste time on this,” the woman finished complaining to Zeph.

She paused and looked him in the eyes. Now that he could see them up close, they were larger than normal eyes and matched her hair. Orange, burning much brighter in the middle with an almost golden glow. He almost lost himself until he remembered she probably wanted his feedback. And by the feedback, she probably wanted his support. She would get it. Hopefully, it would gain him some brownie points. “That doesn’t sound fair,” Zeph said, faking a comforting smile. It wasn’t hard; he always had to wear a smile when treating patients. No matter if he was half awake or just heard terrible news.

The woman smiled in agreement. “Right? How could they know that time is so important to me? They’ve known me forever,” she said, then began rambling. She occasionally turned to him, and he nodded and said a few words. It wasn’t much, but he could tell she lit up a little every time he agreed. Zeph didn’t know if he was accomplishing anything, but it was better than anything else he could do. They began walking down the way Aria had him do when she kidnapped him. He prayed they wouldn’t spend long walking back, but thankfully his wish was granted just as he thought it.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Wait?” the woman suddenly stopped up. “What are we doing? Why have we been walking,” She said, looking at him.

Zeph gave a confused shrug; he had no idea what she was talking about. But he certainly didn’t want to walk all the way there. “I got on one of my rants again, didn’t I,” she asked, looking him straight in the eyes. Well fuck, how should he answer her. Be honest. Or try to tell her he enjoyed her talking. He felt it was best, to be honest; a gut feeling.

“A little,” Zeph said, hoping it wouldn’t ruin his chances of friendship.

“I knew it,” the woman said, “I even hate walking; it seemed you got me to do something I hate, hehe,” she said with a smile. Zeph felt like he was talking to a child., or a young teenager. But he could see she was older than him by a few years. Maybe it was just an act, or she was just herself all the time. He felt he could act childish or be a little different around certain people. Well, only two, but this person maybe did that with everyone? Or maybe she was just a little stupid. Zeph didn’t know.

“Enough of this, though. I’ll probably fall asleep when we get there.” The woman said, now talking to herself. Zeph was quickly pulled into one of the dark alleyways, and he didn’t know why, but he felt many of the males on the street glare in his direction. It made the hairs on the back of his head stand up; he didn’t know what they thought would happen. But as soon as he had been pulled into another even darker alley. The woman stopped. “Ready…..? Wait, what did we call you again,” The woman asked, looking at him. He could still see the oranges strands of hair and the orange pupils of her eyes. Zeph felt rage well up in his face when he remembered the name he had been given. The disrespect. But he had no other choice but to tell the woman. ”….little nurse

“ Zeph replied; he was thankful she couldn’t see his angry face in the dark. “That’s right; get ready little nurse,” the woman said. She said it as if it was just another name, not condescending nor held in high regard. Just another name. This woman was odd or just stupid. He couldn’t tell which. The woman pulled up her sleeve, but from the outline of her arm, he could see something even darker. A pattern, though he couldn’t make it out. Her other hand swished right over it, and it began slowly glowing. Before his eyes could see anything else, he felt his entire existence warp.

He felt himself falling when suddenly something was under his feet. Not having the coordination to land on his feet, zeph landed on his ass. He looked around where he was and saw the same room he had been stuck in the day before with the same people. All of them looked at him and Sofia as they arrived. Fuck, he didn’t know if he could handle another day of this. Zeph didn’t have a choice.

“Took you long enough, Sofia,” Dante said, “We are finally ready!”