My little stunt of creating fire earned us the attention from one of the people guarding because they saw light coming from our cell. He came in with a whip and I froze.
I forgot we're still being kidnapped and I had no clue what they're going to do with us but it's not going to be good. The man swung the whip as Noel quickly hid me behind his back to protect me. It hit right on his shoulder and I gasped.
What the fuck?! Did he just whipped a child with full force?!
Noel grunted and crouched on the floor as he tried to hold his pain. Just as the person was about to give a second whip, we had a visit from the masked person.
"What do you think you're doing?!" The masked person shouted. The man lowered his whip and started explaining to the masked person. They then whispered something in his ear.
I heard something about 'expensive goods' from their conversation so I'm guessing they were talking about us. Soon after, the man left for a moment and came back with a lamp and a blanket big enough for both of us.
They didn't bring anything for Noel's wound so I tried heal him but I suddenly remembered about the choker. I had no choice but to soothe his pain by blowing air onto it.
Noel then started patting my head and I realized I was crying again.
This is embarrassing......
"It's okay. It doesn't hurt." Noel continued to wipe away my tears. I feel more embarrassed now that a child was more composed than me.
"Thank you, Noel......" I said, my voice came out trembling.
We both moved to the corner and I stacked some hay there to make for a more comfortable place for us to sleep. Noel fell asleep quickly, maybe to soothe the pain or he was exhausted from this situation. I tucked him under the blanket and laid closely beside him.
Even though I've been kidnapped, I'm feeling a lot calmer than I thought. Maybe because there was no way to escape and that I had accepted my fate.
Noel's silent breathes soothed me, and soon, I drifted away as well.
***
I had the same dream again where I was submerged underwater. I couldn't move nor speak.
There was someone else before me. Their backs were against the light shining through the water so I couldn't see their faces but I recognize that long, silvery flowing hair that was enveloping me
Wake up. You have to wake up.
They mouthed those words at me.
That's right......I have somewhere else I had to go......I can't sleep here......
When I opened my eyes, I was still surrounded by darkness. The only light that illuminated the cell was the light from the lamp which was burning dimly. I couldn't see the sky outside too so I had no idea of telling the time.
I sat up and felt my body aching after laying on the floor for so long. Then, felt a tug on my hand. I glanced sideways and saw Noel holding my hand while he's still asleep. He felt me moving and snuggled closer to me for warmth. I patted him gently on the head with my other hand.
Since I had nothing to do, I laid back down beside Noel and turned to look at him. My fingers gently brushed away his hair so I could examine his face clearer.
I noticed Noel doesn't have purely dark hair, it has a tint of blue in them too. I tried reading the tag on his ear and it was labelled 'B-043'. It looked like some kind of numbering for us "products". He had a small frame for a 7-year-old boy so I thought he might just turned 7 or he hasn't had his growth spurt yet. Even when covered in dirt, I could see his skin was fair and his features were actually really pretty.
He's so cute! If I have a younger brother as cute as him, I'll definitely spoil him too much.
A sudden loud noise broke the silence and I quickly sat up. I saw the man from yesterday slipping in two cups from between the bars and threw something into our cell.
Noel was also woken up by the noise and his eyes fluttered open. I stood up and tried to investigate what the man brought in. It was two pieces of bread and water. I suppose this is our meal?
The bread was a little mouldy, hard and cold. But at least it wasn't infested with worms or something worse. I brought the food to Noel and carefully picked out the mouldy parts for us both since Noel was hurt.
"What are you doing?" Noel noticed when I started to pray out of habit.
"Praying."
"Who are you praying to?"
"To the goddess. For the food." I just realized it sounded weird because it was the man that brought us food, not the goddess.
"Where did you learn to pray?" He asked another question after I finished praying.
"From the orphanage." I took a bite. Ow, that's kinda hard. My teeth hurts. I dipped the bread in the water to make it softer.
"Orphanage? You're an orphan?" Noel was a little surprised. I nodded.
"What about you, Noel? Where are you from?"
"I......I'm from very far away." His expression darkened. I realized I had stepped on a landmine. It seems he doesn't want to talk about his story.
"Noel's eyes are very pretty." I changed the subject quickly.
"Really?" He blushed.
Aww, he's blushing! He's so cute!!
"Yes, like the colour of sky!" I complimented. It was a mixture of grey and blue, but the blue was more prominent. They seem to be gleaming even in such dim lighting.
"Aren't you afraid?" He asked as he averted his gaze from mine.
"Afraid? Why?"
"Mother said my eyes are scary and ugly. She said they were cursed by gods." He looked down, as if trying to hide them.
Shitty mom you have there.
"No, they are pretty." I finished up my bread and took a sip of water. "Noel has the prettiest eyes."
"You're lying." Noel had stopped eating and he hung his head low. I gently parted his hair to catch his attention and get him to look at me.
"I am not. I promise." I held out my pinky. Do kids still do pinky promises? I hope they do because if not, this is gonna seem lame.
He did not know what to do so mimic me and left his pinky hanging. I hooked his finger and sealed it with our thumb.
"This is a promise! If I break the promise, I will eat 1000 needles."
"What?! Don't do that!" Noel scrambled to release his finger away from me.
"But I already promised." I raised my thumb, pointing out that a seal had been done.
He paused for a moment. The next second, he reached out and held my hands in his.
"Then, I promise you I will protect you."
"Huh? Why?"
"Then, I can eat the needles for you."