I stared up at the sun shining through the small window. Although I couldn’t escape through it, maybe….

…maybe I didn’t have to escape. I ran my fingers along the stones in the wall beneath the window, searching for a grip. My fingers found purchase in the gaps between bricks, and I stretched out my arms, standing as high on my tip toes as I could, measuring. The window landed maybe two feet from my outstretched fingertips. I brought them back down, dug them into whatever handholds I could find, and attempted to climb.

My feet immediately scraped back down the stones to the ground, fingers sliding from their grip. I looked down at my boots and frowned, then slipped them off and set them to the side. My climbing attempt was just as horrible with bare feet, and I realized I was a horrible climber. I quickly gave up.

Next, I put my shoes back on and backed up as far away from the window I could get, which wasn’t very far. I sprinted our from the far corner, planting a foot on the wall and using it to leap up, stretching my arms high above my head, reaching for the windowsill. My first attempt failed miserably, my foot sliding down. I removed my shoes again, looking mournfully at the still-healing scratches and bruises covering them, knowing I’d have more. The next few attempts were marginally better until, finally, my fingers clasped the ledge.

They slipped, and I fell, my feet slamming into the cold stone floor, jarring my knees. With renewed vigor, I attempted again, and again, and again, sometimes slipping just as quickly as I’d grasped it. Finally, I was able to cling to the windowsill as if my life depended on it, which, it did.

Slowly, I pulled my head above the sill, using my legs as leverage. My arms shook with the effort, another reminder of my weakness. Eventually, I was able to peek out the window and into the forest covering the hillside. I held on tightly with one hand and shifted my left arm onto the sill, hanging off the sill as I would in the deeper sections of a pool, straining my shoulders and catching my breath. When I found the strength, I lifted my right arm to wave frantically, almost knocking myself off the sill and having to drop it back down to regain balance.

I hung there, waving as often as possible for quite some time. The view out the window might have been pretty if I’d been paying attention. As it was, I did not catch sight of August, Faust, or even Ani. Still, I hoped they could see me. Sometime shortly after noon, when the straining of my shoulders was too much to bear, I dropped back down, landing squarely on the mat I’d moved underneath, protecting my feet and knees best I could. The landing was still jarring but not as bad as it had been. My muscles lept beneath my skin with the strain.

Between resting and my thoughts, it was some time before I regained the energy to try again. Each time on the windowsill got shorter and shorter. Soon, the sun was dipping beneath the ocean, far behind the trees. The bar clanged again, and I quickly dropped back down, landing as softly before dusting myself off and leaning casually against the wall, pretending I’d just gotten up. The leaping in my muscles betrayed me, but I hoped it would go unnoticed.

Caesar opened the door and set down a cup of water. His eyes traced me, lingering on my jumping arm muscles, and I knew I’d been caught. I made eye contact, cooly daring him to say something.

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He grinned cruelly. “Even if you were small enough, the drop on the other side would kill you.”

When I didn’t respond, he shrugged his shoulders and left. The water he left tasted surprisingly sweet, and I limited myself to only a few sips for now, not knowing how often I’d be getting it anymore. They hadn’t given me food since breakfast, presumably to make me think about my options. It was utterly unnecessary.

I climbed onto the windowsill a few more times through the night, taking naps between. There was still no sign of August or Faust. Much of the time I spent thinking. Even with the knife, I wasn’t entirely sure my plan would work. With Caesar around, getting close enough to Hilarious seemed like it might be a much bigger problem than I’d initially expected.

So, it was time to flip the logic. If I couldn’t get close to him, maybe he could get close to me. The moons crossed and started to set before I finally gave up for the night, dragging the mat into a corner and curling up on it for the nightt. Without exercise keeping my blood flowing, the cold seeped deep into my bones, and I shivered, curling tighter in on myself.

_

Sunlight flickered in through my eyelids, drawing me from sleep. Warmth shifted then withdrawn from my chest, and I uncurled and stretched, disappointed. Yawning, I staggered to my feet, rubbing my eyes as I pulled the mat back under the window. It was heavier than I remembered.

“Mrrrow?”

Ah, that’s why. It was Ani. I yawned again and rubbed more sleep from my eyes.

I the vestiges of sleep fell away. My eyes finally focused, and I saw my annoying, amazing cat Ani standing on the mat where I’d been sleeping last night, the small knife tied to his side. I dropped to my knees in front of him, giving him a good rub on the head before dipping my fingers to untie the makeshift belt. He wiggled uncomfortably under my touch but let me continue. Clumsily, I undid the leather, dropping the knife into my left hand.

I used my hand, my teeth, and the piece of leather to tie the knife as best I could to the inside of my left wrist. The knife limited my movement when I rolled my wrist, but the weapon was well worth it.

Relief flooded me. At some point, August and Faust must have spotted me. My lips twitched into an almost smile for the first time in days, and I awarded Ani for his bravery with attention, petting him and showering him with whispered thanks. Too soon, the main door rattled again, and Ani was gone, vanishing between one blink and the next.

The cold leather of the sheath against my arm was a comforting weight, and I drew strength from it as Caesar entered, Hilarious moving to stand behind him. Caesar looked around the room, frowning.

“Is there an issue?” Hilarious asked curtly. The gem hung over his tunic, not tucked in this time.

Caesar looked around the room, returning his attention to the mage. “No.”

Hilarious shrugged the unusual behavior off and turned to me. “So, have you made a decision?”

My stomach growled, and I rubbed at my aching back. “I’ll tell you everything I know for food and a chair. You might want to grab yourself some paper, as well.”

Hilarious searched me for lies, and I met his eye calmly. Thinking he’d won, he bared his teeth in a smirk, then said. “Good choice.”

Without dropping his gaze off me, he ordered, “Bring him to my office,” then left, locking Caesar and me in the room together. We stared at each other awkwardly for a time before I dropped my eyes, moving to lean back against the wall and wait. Soon, Caesar did the same. Not long after, we heard the servant’s door unlock, opening to reveal the dragon chimera on the other side. The chimeras led me back into the mage’s office, opening the servant’s entrance to the genuinely repulsive smell of burning flesh hitting my nose. The bed in the room was black and charred, and I grimaced. Hilarious was disturbingly undisturbed by the smell.

Opposite the desk from Hilarious sat a plate of food–bread, nuts, and olives–along with a glass of water. I collapsed into the chair across from him, the first real comfort I’d had since Sera’s palace. Though my appetite was gone, I forced the food past the lump in my throat anyway, renewing my strength. Hilarious waited impatiently as I ate, tapping his pencil against parchment impatiently. I chewed slower.

When I finished, I took extra time drinking the provided water, watching his face darken with rage. Caesar stood behind me, close enough for the heat to tickle a warning against my back.