"I didn't expect you to cry over something as minor as that," Ravana uttered, his voice strained.

Serena frowned intensely in annoyance at his presence. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, but there wasn't anything else left inside of her now that all of her emotions had been released from their prison. She had done what needed to be done; she'd cried until there was nothing more within of her—no more tears or thoughts or memories or regrets or guilt or anger.

"And now you are getting depressed on me," her mental guest complained. "What did I do wrong? Did my words hurt your feelings?"

The question made Serene's brows rise and she felt the urge to strangle him. She knew that he would shatter her before she even attempted his life, but the urge to hurt him was still present.

"The loss of my backpack was a major setback," Serena mentally said back to him. "It contained a lot of important things: weapons, supplies, books… You name it, it was probably in there."

Ravana huffed a laugh at this, a sound that didn't seem right for such a being, but he didn't seem offended. He seemed amused. As if it was a joke between them.

As much as she wanted to kill him for making light of such tragedy, Serena couldn't find any energy in herself to care anymore. Her mind was numb from crying so hard; there wasn't anything left in here to give it form or meaning or emotion or thought. The only thing that existed inside of her now was emptiness and the need to move forward. There were no more tears to shed; she had emptied her well dry with her last one. All she could do now is continue onward.

Serena shook off her thoughts and turned her attention toward her companion again. "I am not depressed," she informed the man coldly. "You are the cause of all the trouble I have been going through lately. If you hadn't gotten me into this mess then none of this would be happening." She paused and added, "However, the situation is still salvageable."

"Oh?" Ravana asked, his voice curious. "How do we fix this? You've already lost everything."

"That's true," Serene agreed, "but I'm still in a better position than you are."

Ravana chuckled at this, but he didn't sound happy about it at all if Serena was reading him correctly. He seemed to think that Serena was trying to make him feel bad, which was odd since Serena had never done anything like that before in her life. But as long as he didn't try to hurt her in any way, Serena wouldn't bother with him anymore either.

She decided to change topics to something else that had occurred to her while she'd been crying—something that might help them out of their current predicament.

"The first thing that needs to happen is for us to find a way to Mythras," she said aloud. "If we can get there quickly enough, then we would likely be out of danger for some time."

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"Mythras is halfway across the country from here," Lucian said. "Even with my wagon, it would take weeks of travel just to reach the city limits."

Serene nodded along silently at his words, thinking over what they needed to do next. "You have a wagon?"

Lucian nodded, an expression of scorned pride blossoming on his features. "I had to travel in some way that would be fast and would not bring dishonor to a royal slave." He looked at Serene with a strange look in his eyes. Then he asked curiously, "Are you feeling any better?"

Serena blinked, surprised at the showing of care toward her. She hadn't expected such compassion in this man's heart; she had assumed he was nothing but a cold-hearted fanatic who only cared about himself. But now that he had shown her otherwise… Well, Serena had no idea how to react to all of this. Her mind went blank as she tried desperately to think up something clever or witty to say back to him.

"I no longer feel as much pressure crushing down on me."

"That is good," Lucian replied sincerely. His voice sounded like it held more emotion than she'd ever heard from him before. It even seemed that he meant it. "We are almost to where we were held last night. I'm sure your friend would be awake by now."

Serena looked at one of the only buildings still standing and recalled the small dark hallways. There were stairs leading down that could have rooms containing supplies.

"It would be best to check on the horse and wagon first. If it is still usable, we can ransack this building for any supplies to make our trip easier." She turned and walked away without waiting around to see if the man would follow her orders. The fact that the man had followed her command made her feel a little bit better about their situation; perhaps they wouldn't have to go through this journey alone after all.

The wagon was in better condition than she had feared. There wasn't too much damage done; most of what needed fixing was minor scrapes here and there. The wagon was low-key in design but was made from high-quality materials by an expert craftsman.

When she lifted open the flap in the back, Serena was surprised at what she found within. What had once been a large wagon had magically enhanced into a mobile home. There were five beds inside with blankets folded neatly over them, as well as a chest of drawers, several chairs, and even some bookshelves filled with various scrolls and other documents. A small table sat next to each bed, along with lamps on either side of the chests so that the room could be lit at night when the sunset. It seemed like it would be comfortable enough for her needs while traveling across the country—or even staying overnight somewhere safe until they could find another place to stay for the evening. There had even been a kitchen area built where food or drink might be prepared without having to walk outside to do it.

A walled section seemed to lead to a bathroom area and after checking it, Serena was surprised at the tub and other essentials she found within.

She had never expected such a luxury to fall into her lap like this, but she wasn't going to question it or complain. Even in the Celestial Empire, and in the heart of the Hidden City, this would have been expensive enough to even give the Imperial family pause before spending their ill-begotten gains on it.

Serena didn't even dare to consider how much this had to cost and how many people had to work on the enchantments to make this possible in this backwoods world so very far from her home.

Who could Lucian even be to warrant such expenses and why would he be sold? This wagon alone would have been worth more than a handful of the weakest Celestials, let alone mortals.

It was terrifying to not have answers and not know about this world. More than that, having to rely on the unknown factor for guidance didn't sit right with her.

The only thing she did know for sure was that there were still so many questions left unanswered for her. That was all she needed for now.