We Died Inside

Waiting for a couple of days to pass was not as easy as I thought it would be.

It wasn’t just about waiting for the time to come up, we also needed to make sure our bodies are ready to fight the enemy back, which needs us to expend energy.

There’s also the issue with our mental fortitude. Me and Rhia are doing well, although, ever since hearing the news back home, Rhia has been a bit depressed. I guess not receiving any updates on her father made her full with dread.

The other elven prisoners also need to be taken into account. Did they also receive the same instructions from Felaris or was it just us? Also, who’s to say that they won’t be used as hostages by the knights if it really comes down to it.

It’d be nice to consult Felaris more about the plan. I trust him to be able to do it—Rhia puts her trust in him as well, but there’s a good chance that things would go awry.

We haven’t seen Felaris since. We could only hope he hasn’t been caught. The whole plan rests on him after all.

All I can do now is to ready myself and have faith in Felaris’s capabilities.

I did some exercises that I could do inside the prison cell in preparation for the big escape like push-ups and sit-ups.

While I get exhausted and sweaty from doing those, I have Rhia to use healing and water magic on me, though I try to minimalize her usage of it. I can’t have her be empty of her mana reserves during the big day.

This way, both of us can do some preparations.

The food that they fed us became significantly worse after Felaris’s meal. Are they rationing or something? Or was Felaris the one who cooked our meal that time. Either way, this is how they actually treat their prisoners.

I didn’t mind much eating this slop but I always worry about Rhia. The food smelled and tasted terrible for me. It would be just as worse, if not, the worst for her.

But to my surprise, she ate it, though obviously forcing it down her throat. She just needs to fill her stomach and keep it warm.

Things are going ok so far.

Two days have passed.

The metal door creaks open loudly. Another guard with a tray of food on his hands.

Is this Felaris?

The guard threw the tray of food onto the ground and kicks it towards the narrow opening underneath. He’s definitely not Felaris.

This is how they’ve been treating us for the past few days. I assume it’s to lower our morale before we get transferred. Either way, we just have to not get affected by it.

The guard went back outside, probably to talk with the other knights out there. It seems we’ll have some privacy for this meal. We always get watched after all.

I pull the tray and presented the food to Rhia. She weakly looks at me and pushes away the bowl of food.

Her condition has gotten a lot worse since yesterday. Nothing really prompted her illness, as far as I know—it just happened.

I have asked the knights for a doctor of some kind to look at her condition but they won’t acknowledge me, and when I ask for Captain Lipton, they just tell me that they’ll call for him but he’s never returned here ever since the last time.

Screaming, yelling, demanding, it didn’t do us any favors. In the end, Rhia’s headache just got worse from the noise so I stopped.

I assumed that she has a cold or something so I gave her massages to at least make her feel a bit relaxed but it’s nowhere near enough.

I’m really worried for her. The possibility that this is part of the knights’ plan to incapacitate her, and maybe the other elves as well, during the transport process is highly possible.

Maybe it’s the food? I mean, the humans are the ones making it so there’s a high possibility there. I decided to dump the food on the hole in the wall.

It’s disgusting to do so, considering the hole is where we excrete waste but I have no choice. They won’t accept a bowl with food still on it.

Luckily, since the guard for today is negligent of his work, I am able to do this. Hopefully by doing so, Rhia’s condition would at least get a bit better.

I’ve tried to get her to use a healing spell on herself earlier but she didn’t have enough strength to do so already.

Eventually, the guard returns and takes the tray back, none the wiser of what I had just done.

Rhia started to groan again, her hand on her stomach. She calls for me.

“Naoki…” Her voice trembled so much. It made my heart beat so fast in dread.

I went to her as fast as I can. The moment I touched her body, I knew something is wrong.

Her whole body is cold to the touch. I started to hug her tightly while brushing my hands up and down on her arms.

The heat made by the friction didn’t seem to help at all. She’s still cold.

“Rhia?! Rhia!” I yell loudly.

“Na-n-nao…k-ki… S-s-so… c-c-c-cold…”

She needs help badly!

Without a care whether she gets a headache from my yelling, I do so hoping that I could get someone’s attention.

“HELP! PLEASE, HELP! SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH THE PRINCESS! HEEELLLPPP!”

Nobody came.

I can’t give up. She can’t die. I made her a promise!

I repeatedly shouted for someone but nobody came. Not even someone who’s annoyed with all my shouting is coming to shut me up.

We’re completely alone.

Rhia eventually stopped responding to my cries. No- it can’t be!

I hug her tighter and brush my hands faster. She’s not going to die!

.

.

.

I don’t know how much time has passed since then. It’s hard to tell if you’re doing the same thing over and over again.

I could definitely feel being extremely tired but what’s new.

I’m still keeping at it though.

Out of nowhere, I hear a metal door open near us. It wasn’t the door to the dungeon—it was already opened, but instead the door to our prison cell.

But that can’t be! The prison cell doors are imbued with magic. It’ll only open if a specific person opens it. Which means…

A man with a hoarse voice stood at the doorway—Captain Lipton, and with him are a couple of his cronies.

“It finally took effect. Load the girl to the prison carriages. We leave immediately once preparations are done.” Captain Lipton ordered.

“What of the boy, captain?”

“Leave him here.”

“Understood!”

They pull Rhia away from me but I’m not going to let them take her away. I promptly wrap my arms around her. She still feels like ice.

“Captain! He’s awake.”

Footsteps draws near me.

“You should’ve run away, kid.”

I look up and I see the silhouette of a demonic man. Captain Lipton raises his fist and strikes my sides with it.

It only took one strike from him for me to lose my consciousness but not entirely.

With my grip nonexistent, the guards freely takes Rhia away from me. I couldn’t do anything about it.

“Whoo, she’s cold as hell!”

“Hahaha, to think he was holding her tightly there.”

“You don’t think he fell in love with her, do you?”

“HAHAHA, now that would be hilarious.”

They made fun of me- of us.

I start to drift off. The sight of Rhia’s frigid body getting carried away is etched into my mind. I feel so helpless.

Then… everything fades to black.

I can’t feel anything anymore, as if I am dead. Was that single punch really enough to kill me? I kind of doubt it… but what if it did?

My overthinking was all for naught though. I can’t be dead. I can still think after all!

Unless this dark void is the afterlife then it’s honestly disappointing. I expected it to be more grandeur and… brighter.

From the distance, or is it right next to me—I couldn’t tell, a voice speaks to me.

“We meet again, my champion.”