"What is this Nami Lan?!"
"You want me to go to war for the Empire?"
"Are you out of your mind?!"
"I would rather die!"
Voices erupted from all directions in the once-silent hall, which now became chaotic.
Several prisoners cussed, others laughed nervously and a few seemed dazed, yet amongst them all Assad was absolutely silent.
"Enough!"
His voice was not loud.
An impossibly loud hush fell over the entire assembly, even the loudest of voices were instantly silenced out of instinct. Mentesh began a slow deliberate scan across the restrained criminals.
"It seems that there has been some confusion, as I stated this is neither a request nor a negotiation. We are not asking for your cooperation; we are notifying you that you will be involved in the Nami Lan Expedition whether you wish to or not."
Another silence descended over the hall.
He took one slight step forward.
"And for those of you that believe there is an option to refuse; then be advised you could very easily have your execution carried out immediately."
There is literally no option given to you in this dangerous situation. You are just being forced into this danger for the Empire. Your lives are expendable because they are sending you to a location that soldiers are too cowardly to go to. It does not matter if you agree or disagree with him… regardless.
Assad was quiet for a brief period of time. He couldn't stop thinking about one particular issue.
Why should I be involved? I'm not one of them. I don't belong to this world. In fact, I belong to a different body, and I was just transported into Assad's life, so why am I being dragged into something so huge??
As Assad continued to go deeper into thought he began to hear a woman's voice, smooth and with just a hint of playfulness in it.
"Look at what we have here?"
She chuckled softly.
The sound of something moving behind him makes his eyes twitch beneath the blindfold but he does not even turn to look.
She clicked her tongue with exaggerated frustration at being ignored and said with a faked sigh.
"Oh, you didn't even acknowledge I was here."
Another soft laugh escaped her mouth.
"That's so cute."
Assad stayed mute, as she rolled her lips inward.
"Wow, your cold, too?" she asked, giggling softly.
She slowly reached her tied wrists forward to shift her blindfold up slightly and had these huge, bright purple-colored eyes underneath!
The contrast of her dark brown colored skin and all of the loose, dark hair with light purple highlights catching the dim light of the lantern was baffling.
"So, tell me something, with your youthful looks; you must have been into something pretty entertaining to end up here. Right?"
Assad just looked at her for a moment, just a moment; then looked away again.
"Mind your own damn business. We don't know one another and should probably not speak."
She blinked once then blinked twice and suddenly starts to laugh quietly to herself.
"Wow, you have some pretty harsh words not just a pretty little boy after all," her face formed a teasing smile, and Assad clicks his tongue at her in annoyance.
"Still, don't you think that since there is a chance we will probably die on this expedition, that we should at least get to know one another?"
As he clicked his tongue in frustration.
'She's really annoying.'
For a moment, Assad thought about ignoring the woman again, but she continued to look at him like she had all the time in the world.
As he sighed.
"…Let's just say, I will not be speaking to you any longer, as I am not from this area," he said in an unamused tone.
The woman blinked and tilted her head slightly.
"Really? You're not from here? Where are you from?"
Assad's expression turned more serious as he thought.
"Seriously?" he muttered in an increasingly frustrated tone.
"I mean, I'm not from the Ruikha Empire," he stated, beginning to show his irritation toward her.
"Wait… what? Your not from the Ruikha Empire?" She was genuinely shocked at this new information.
She instinctively attempted to lunge toward him, accidentally freeing the cloth from over her eyes.
For a split second, bright purple eyes shined through the light from the lantern, at the same moment she returned to composure.
"Oops."
Her smile softened.
"Sorry."
However, regardless of how calm she tried to appear, there was still excitement in her voice as she leans a little closer toward him.
"So, exactly where are you from?"