All her life, Meyara never liked to eat. Doing monotonous activities that were always repeated would only make her body feel heavy, eyes sleepy, and increase the desire to be lazy, especially if done in excess. And so far, Meyara had always been able to regulate her diet so that it didn't interfere with her daily activities.

Then, it was no different in the last few days. She would only eat a bit of the disgusting food kindly served by Frostfell's minions. The blindfold still covering her eyes reduced her appetite. Moreover, it was very rare for her to be allowed to use one of her hands.

She was treated like an animal to say the least, and she was starting to miss the days when Brenna used to serve her a decent meal. Food that she usually ignored coldly.

“Do I still have to do nothing?” Adriel, who was beside her, asked in a whisper. The young man's voice was hoarse and strained. His breathing was short, irregular, and he occasionally coughed. Meyara could only wonder what work he had been forced to do. “Oh my God, Meyara … I told you. I'm quite capable of doing a little magic to sweep them all away!” he whisper-shouted desperately.

Meyara just hummed in confirmation. Ears too busy listening to the crackling of what she assumed was a campfire. A hint of orange glowed brightly behind the blindfold. The surrounding temperature felt warm amidst the cold wind. Surely, it had been nighttime, and the people were probably resting around the campfire, seeking warmth. Meyara wondered, could it be that they were feeling too relaxed so they accidentally burned her food? Because the food she had just chewed was very bitter and rough, making her choked uncomfortably.

She wanted to immediately answer Adriel's question, but she couldn't confirm their detention position yet. It was quite risky for Adriel to ask so carelessly, because people might pay attention to their conversation. However, the sound of annoying laughter that sounded quite far away seemed to be a sign that the situation was safe enough for them to interact.

Even so, Meyara didn't want to take the risk so she moved her position closer to Adriel. A little difficult, considering that both her hands and feet were tied. Slowly, she turned her bound hands to the right, trying to feel Adriel's body to confirm the young man's whereabouts.

“W-wait! What are you doing?" Adriel asked in a high pitched voice while trying to hold back his laughter.

"Shut up, will you?" Meyara snapped, annoyed by the behavior of the young man who kept squirming at her touch.

"But I'm tickled!"

"What's all this fuss about?"

After being held captive for quite a long time, Meyara began to memorize the voice of someone who seemed to be the boss. It was Galen's voice that contained a lot of firmness and authority in every word.

"What are you guys doing huddled together like that?" The boss asked again. “Don't try to do anything suspicious or else the others will be coming for your necks.”

"'Or the others will come'." The words immediately rang in Meyara's mind. Her guess was correct, those people must be some distance from her current position. Perhaps drowning themselves in the intoxicating concoction that bandits usually drink when partying. They distanced themselves because they didn't want foreign teenagers to disturb their fun.

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"That is none of your business—"

"Oh, nothing!" Meyara finally answered. She nudged Adriel who almost answered rudely. What was wrong with the young man who Meyara had always considered a coward? “We were just … just looking for each other's warmth. It's, uh ... it's really cold tonight, isn't it? And we were too afraid to run closer to the campfire."

Galen didn't answer for a while until Meyara thought the man had left. She was about to talk to Adriel, but the sound of dry grass being stepped on, and the sigh that followed made the girl fall silent again.

"Very good. Now eat your food before we cover your mouth again." Galen only said that before the sound of his heavy footsteps faded away. Dozens of other voices greeted him in the distance, most of them inviting him to join in enjoying the night, whatever they meant.

To test that this time they were really left alone, Meyara tried to jump in place as hard as she could. The landing turned out to be quite harder than she expected until she groaned in pain when her butt hit the hard surface and slightly hit Adriel's leg.

"Ouch! What was that for? Are you okay?" Adriel hissed but his voice was filled with worry.

"Just want to make sure." Meyara shrugged her shoulders even though the young man couldn't see it.

A few seconds passed, and not a single person rebuked her. Convinced that the situation was safe, Meyara turned to Adriel, trying to guess where the young man's ear was. Her lips slightly touched the young man's face before she could feel a slightly protruding part of the skin that seemed to be the tip of Adriel's earlobe.

Ignoring Adriel's protests, Meyara whispered. “We just need to wait a bit longer. Act like a helpless child who can only wait for their kindness to break free. In the meantime, I'm trying to get as much information out of them as possible."

“H-how are you going to do that?” Adriel's voice sounded a little shaky and hesitant. Either because of fear, cold temperature, or because of Meyara's breath tickling his earlobe.

"That's an easy task. Their mouths are loose like worn rubber bands. From their conversations these past few days, I can understand that they are the ones who must be the problem here, not the seers."

"You can't be so sure."

"Well, given the difference in their behavior towards us, it's only natural that I side with the seers, right?"

"No. You just like seers more because of their magic."

Meyara laughed a little at that. “You can also say it like that. I don't care,” she said as she backed away. “Just listen to how things will turn out. Or help me a little with … I don't know, a distraction? They seem to like teasing you.”

“Teasing? They threatened to throw me into a herd of wild animals so they could see how I would react. Is that still considered teasing?”

Meyara didn't answer as she heard footsteps approaching. She returned to her position and sat quietly while pretending to chew food. Her lips and throat felt dry from not drinking enough water, she also felt disgusted with the inside of her mouth which had not been cleaned for a long time, just like the rest of her body. However, she didn't have time to complain about any of that.

"So you've finished enjoying your dinner, huh?" asked the strange voice. “You two haven't finished the food we have specially prepared. Want to save it for later, don’t you?"

“Yup. Who knows how long you will cowardly keep us like pets.” Adriel's response was fiery, the heat his voice brought almost rivaling the warmth of a campfire.

"You talk too much."

In the next second, Adriel's groans were muffled. The man must have gagged him again. When Meyara felt those evil hands hover over her, she voiced her question quickly.

“Why did the seers think all of you were dead?”

The man let out the most horrendous and terrible laugh Meyara had ever heard. He also scoffed, with a wet cough at the end. Meyara was a little grateful that her blindfold covered her vision so she didn't have to see that disgusting man.

"Because we are! Err, I mean, we were dead!"

***