"I will remember you."
The small smile stayed on her lips as she spoke again.
"But I don't want you to remember my number."
I frowned in confusion, but she continued before I could respond.
"Alissa."
"What?"
She hesitated for a moment, then repeated softly,
"My name. It's Alissa. Will you remember it?"
I thought for a moment before answering.
"Yes. Alissa, I will remember."
As I spoke, a genuine smile spread across her face—this time not a fake one.
"Thank you."
I nodded.
Then she reached out her small hand toward me.
"What is your name?"
I looked at her hand for a moment before taking it.
"Adonis."
She tilted her head slightly.
"That's a strange name."
"Is it?"
She nodded.
"I've never heard it before."
My lips curved ever so faintly—not quite a smile, but something close.
"Now you have."
She smiled again before withdrawing her hand. Then her gaze shifted toward my injured arm.
"Do you need help?"
I looked down at the wound but didn't answer immediately.
She didn't wait and reached down and tore at the bottom of her shirt, ripping the cloth apart with both hands.
I stared at her in surprise.
It took a moment until she held a strip of cloth in her hands.
"Your arm."
I didn't extend it, but she reached for me anyway.
Her soft hands gently pulled my torn sleeve higher.
I spoke before she kept going.
"You didn't need to."
She ignored me and pulled the sleeve over my elbow. It hurt for a moment as the fabric brushed over my wound.
"I did. Your clothes are soaked in blood and sweat. Mine are clean."
Her hands left my arm briefly as she adjusted the cloth.
"Stay still."
She wrapped the strip tightly around the wound. Then leaned closer, focusing entirely on what she was doing.
Her brown eyes studied the injury carefully before she moved.
Her hands were warm against my skin as she gently wrapped the bandage around my arm, trying not to hurt me.
The black cloth tightened.
She leaned back, her hands leaving me as she finished.
"All done."
My gaze shifted away from her, lowering down to the crude bandage.
It was a clumsily made bandage, but it was enough.
My voice was small.
"Thank you."
"It's okay."
Silence settled between us as she watched me.
Then she spoke again, changing the topic.
"How did you end up here?"
My throat tightened immediately.
A part of me wanted to tell her the truth.
How I was betrayed, cast aside, and abandoned.
How hard the journey was.
What I saw.
And what they did to me.
But another part of me—
Wanted to stay silent.
I didn't want her pity.
I didn't want to burden her with my story.
It wouldn't even matter.
What could she even do after hearing my story?
Nothing.
You can't undo what had already happened.
And receiving comfort?
I didn't need it.
Lisa was there.
She would listen.
She would comfort me.
That was enough.
So I remained silent.
"You don't have to answer."
My eyes lifted toward hers.
She waved a hand lightly before speaking again.
"I can tell you mine."
I nodded.
Her gaze drifted away, looking to the side.
A smile graced her lips as she began.
"We had a small farm in the south of the Empire. Potatoes. Corns. Even some cows. We sold our vegetables and milk to the nearby city. It wasn't much, but enough for us to live happily."
She and her voice softened.
"My mother... she cared for the cows while father looked after the fields. I helped them out whenever I could. I was happy...No....We were happy."
She smiled faintly.
"Mother even told me that I would get a younger brother. She was pregnant."
Her smile faded slightly.
"Father even decided to take a loan to expand the farm. To plant more food. To make more money. But as soon as we bought the new land...."
She swallowed.
"A Monster appeared."
I listened carefully.
"We don't know from where it came or why it appeared, but it was there on our new land. My father rushed to the city while we hid in the house. Soon...knights came and killed the Monster before anyone could get hurt. But the monster's corpse...."
She paused for a moment, taking a breath.
"It poisoned our land. The crops we planted rotted. The grass died. The soil couldn't be used anymore."
She continued quietly.
"The city offered to purify it, but we would need to pay the cost for that ourselves. We couldn't. The loan father took was already used. The money we had left was needed for our survival. We had to wait until our next harvest."
Her hands tightened slightly.
"But the men father borrowed from didn't trust us. They demanded a security. Father offered our land and animals, but it wasn't enough for them. Father said that he would find a solution, that we should trust him."
Her voice trembled now.
"Then...one day, the men came. Mother was in the city, and Father called me outside. He crouched down and told me that I had to go with the men for a while. That I needed to stay with them, just until he paid them back. He...."
Her voice shook.
"He promised it wouldn't take long. That my brother would be waiting when I returned."
She looked at me again.
"They brought me to the city. And a few days later, to a carriage. Now... I am here."
Her smile returned, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"Father lied. He sold me to pay the debt."
Silence stretched between us as we stared at each other.
I didn't know what to say.
What could even be said to a girl who was sold by her own father?
I took a breath.
Then—
"Aldaria," I finally spoke.
She blinked, surprised.
"Aldaria? The human continent?"
I nodded.
She asked curiously.
"That's like on the other side of the world. How did you come here?"
I closed my eyes for a moment before opening them as I spoke.
"Someone blamed me for a crime I didn't commit. The sentence should have been death, but was changed to slavery. I was sold in Aldaria. Then shipped to Drakoria. Now I am here."
This was enough.
She didn't need to know more.
Not that I was a noble.
Not about the betrayal.
Not what happened in the cell or on the ship.
Alissa frowned.
"What crime?"
I shook my head.
"I don't want to talk about it."
She nodded.
"That's okay."
Silence settled again.
It wasn't awkward, it felt comfortable.
Alissa's gaze shifted to my clothes, observing them before she whispered, breaking the silence.
"I don't think I can do it..."
I tilted my head.
"Do what?"
Her body trembled for a moment as she gave me a bitter smile.
"Kill someone."
Her voice cracked.
"I just… can't."
Before I could answer—
Click.
The door opened.
A guard called out numbers.
"21, 17, 28, 39, 44, and 30! Come out!"
Alissa shook as her number was called.
She stood frozen in place.
I watched the others climb down from their beds.
Boys and girls walked toward the door.
The girl who had prayed was among them, whispering softly.
"Goddess...please protect me. Give me strength.."
I looked back at Alissa.
My mouth opened before I knew it.
"Alissa. Good luck."
My voice broke her out of her frozen state, and her eyes snapped toward me.
The fear in them flickered for a moment before calming.
Her lips stopped trembling and curved into a bright smile, one that didn't have a place in this dark cell.
Her voice was soft.
"Thank you."
She turned and walked toward the door.
Step.
She stopped abruptly and slowly turned her head towards me.
Her bright smile seemed to tremble for a moment before she spoke.
"Adonis… let's meet again."
I opened my mouth—
But she had already turned away.
Thud.
The door closed behind them.
***
Time passed.
I don't know how long.
I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling.
Waiting.
Listening.
Every footstep in the corridor made my chest tighten.
Then—
Click.
My body moved before my mind did, and I sat up.
A boy was shoved into the cell before the guard slammed the door shut.
Thud.
The boy trembled as he stood next to the bars, eyes darting across the cell, settling on nothing.
His clothes were torn and covered in blood.
I stared past him, into the corridor.
Waiting.
Maybe she was behind him.
Maybe she would come a bit later.
Maybe—
The corridor stayed empty.
The guard's footsteps faded.
No one else came.
My chest tightened.
I didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
I stared at the empty corridor.
Where she should have appeared.
Where she promised—
"Let's meet again."
My heart felt heavy.
Then that heaviness turned into pain.
It hurt.
Like it was crushed.
Something warm touched my hand.
Drip.
A single tear.
I didn't even realize I was crying.
I didn't know why, but—
My body turned slowly toward the wall.
To the rows of numbers.
There were thirty.
My hand was already moving, lifted to my mouth.
My lips parted, and I bit down on my finger again.
I reached out toward the wall with my bloodied finger.
But this time—
I didn't write a number.
Carefully, slowly—
I wrote a name.
The letters were uneven, but clear.
My fingers brushed over the fresh red lines as I finished.
A whisper escaped me.
"Alissa."