𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 ✍︎

55| 𝙵𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝙳𝚊𝚢 𝙱𝚊𝚌𝚔

Ayla/Dove's POV
Age: 10
Location: Base, Unknown

"Is she dead?" A female voice asks as the door of the room opens.

I don't move from my curled-up position facing the wall. I can already assume that this new person is my other new roommate.

"Well, she's breathing so clearly Vincent didn't kill her." I breathe a sigh of relief when I recognize One's voice. The relief is quickly replaced by anger when I remember that he is unwilling to help me escape.

I hear his footsteps approach me, but I still don't move. He places a gentle hand on my back. "You okay?"

"I will punch you," I tell him through gritted teeth.

Getting mad at One isn't something I'm used to doing, but right now, I feel it's justified.

The other person in the room snorts and I hear the springs of the single bed next to mine squeak as if she just jumped on it. "You're right, I do like her."

At this, I finally move for the first time in hours, and roll around to see who this person is.

My eyes widen when I see Number Five. The girl from my dream. The girl who tried to overdose on the painkillers.

"I remember you," I say.

She grins, revealing dimples on her cheeks. I never noticed those before.

"Ha! See, I told you she'd remember me!" She yells in One's face.

One doesn't look defeated, though. He simply smiles. "The question is, how does she remember you."

They both look at me expectantly, making me shift uncomfortably. This doesn't seem like a good time to bring up the incident where she tried to kill herself.

"Uhm..."

As if reading my mind, both One and Five's faces drop slightly. Five smiles again after a moment. This time it's more rueful than giddy.

"Well...at least she remembers me. Though I am offended you don't remember anything else."

"She also helped take care of you as a baby," One clarifies.

"Translation: I cleaned your shit diapers and I'd like you to at least pretend you remember that."

I can't help but crack a smile. "Oh, now I remember. Silly me, how could I forget?" I say with a playful smirk.

Five's grin widens and she meets One's eyes. "I like this one."

"I know," One deadpans.

There's a sudden knock at the door that makes me jump, but my roommates don't react.

"That's our warning for lights out," One tells me. When I frown at him in confusion, he gives me a small smile. "Things here work a bit different than what you're used to.

"Guards wake us up at 4 o'clock for morning training which lasts until 9 o'clock, then we have morning school that goes until noon. Then lunch, for those who earned it, then afternoon school from 1 o'clock to 5 o'clock then evening training until 9 o'clock. After that, dinner, but if you didn't earn it, you shower then go back to your room. Lights out is at 11 o'clock."