บท 23: Prison

Slowly, I opened my eyes, the dim room still blurring my vision. My thoughts were still muddled and confused, probably aftereffects of the drugs I took, and I could barely remember how I got here.

The cool, damp concrete beneath me was unusual as I was accustomed to waking up in a comfy bed. The floor was much harder than a mattress, and my back felt sore just from lying on it. Where the hell was I? What happened?

I groaned and tried to sit up, but my whole body ached all over and I couldn't find the strength to lift myself up. My muscles were a at least responding to me though.

"So you're finally awake, I thought you would sleep forever." A hoarse voice drifted into my ears from behind. I could tell the person was a young woman, around my age perhaps, and yet they seemed completely unsympathetic to my plight.

I tried to move my head to get them into view, to at least see the other person, but their body was directly behind me and I could not move my head enough.

"Who are you? Where are we?" I asked, my words a whisper, my mouth dry from a lack of water. It was on a mere whim to start a conversation with them, not knowing who they were, but at this point I had little choice.

"I am Elaina. As for where we are…" She paused to cough a little. "Well, welcome to prison, kid."

Prison? Why was I jailed? The last thing I remember…

Right, Lady Juliette had betrayed me and allowed the Burned Man to kidnap me! He must have brought me to the Demon Lord of Envy's personal prison to later sell me away, or maybe use me as a bargaining chip with Lilith. Either way, my situation wasn't the most optimistic, it was unlikely that my mistress cared about me that much despite her unusual attention.

My movement slowly returned to me, and I eventually managed to lift my upper body up and move my head to look behind me, to get Elaina in sight.

The other party was sitting in the back of the room, their back resting lazily against the wall. Her body was covered in the darkness and I could barely make out their figure, but I could tell the woman named Elaina was slender and tall, with barely any fat on their bones. Unable to see them clearly, I decided all I could do was stand up and move my muscles a little.

However, I overestimated my strength and fell forward on to my hands and knees.

"Pffttt—" I heard Elaina laugh, before she began coughing.

"I just fell down, it wasn't that funny!" This girl was too mean…

"Your panties fit you quite well," Elaina said as she tried to hold back the rest of her giggles.

My cheeks blushed in shame, my face the colour of a tomato, as I moved my hands to cover my backside. I had forgotten that my dress was so short and had unknowingly given Elaina a perfect view of my embarrassing underwear!

I quickly gathered my pitiful strength and turned around to sit on my butt, facing Elaina, with my legs curled up to my chest. At least this way she couldn't see underneath my skirt too much.

Gathering the rest of my shattered dignity, I introduced myself. "Hello, my name is Kitty."

"Pffftt— What did you just say?" Unexpectedly she broke out into laughter again.

I had completely forgotten how embarrassing my name was since I was so used to being called worse. Now, this girl ended up having another reason to laugh at me. How humiliating!

"My name is Kitty…" My voice was much lower this time, barely a whisper.

"Did your parents run out of original names?" The girl asked as she stood up from her seat.

"I was named by my owner…" It wasn't like I wanted this stupid name!

"Well I do think the name is appropriate." Elaina said as she walked over and stood in front of me, her shadow covering my view. Looking up at her face and meeting her sharp, emerald eyes, I was stunned.

What were the chances of meeting her again?

"Y-you—" I stuttered as I pointed a finger at her. "The auction. You were there!"

It was the high elf from before! I had wanted to meet with her, but to think we would be reunited here of all places.

Elaina raised an eyebrow as she flipped her long golden hair back. "Oh, you were there when I was sold?"

I nodded as I continued to stare at her, my eyes open wide. "My mistress wanted to buy you, but she wasn't as wealthy as the Demon Lord of Envy and had to give you up."

Standing before me, I felt the same familiarity that I did at the auction. This woman and I were definitely connected in some way, but I didn't know why. My instincts only told me that I had to stay with her.

"I see." She rubbed her chin. "So Kitty, how did you end up here?"

"I was betrayed by a subordinate of my mistress who drugged me and allowed the Burned Man to kidnap me. After that, I woke up here, probably to be sold somewhere. I doubt she would keep me as my presence would only offer evidence of her crime if my mistress decided to investigate my disappearance." I explained concisely.

"Yes, that would make sense. They haven't used me yet, or even harmed me in anyway, except by barely offering any food and water. It seems our captor, this Demon Lord of Envy, is waiting to sell us for the right offer," she said.

"I hope my next owner won't be too bad…" I sighed. I was really lucky to have Mistress Lilith as my owner. At least I was fed, clothed and not punished too harshly, even if it was really humiliating.

"Idiot." She stood over me, her eyes looking down at me with cold disgust.

"Hey, I'm not an idiot!"

"You're just going to sit here on your ass waiting to be sold like cattle? What kind of life is that?" Elaina's face was dark as she reprimanded me.

"What other choice do I have?" I asked. I was weak and cowardly, that was just who I was. All I could do was endure and hope for a better life.

"You really are pathetic." The cold words were like a dagger into my chest.

I was truly pathetic. I had let myself be humiliated over and over again, even accepting it.

I had thought up a dozen different ways to escape Mistress Lilith, but I had known all of them would end up in failure. My Status was a joke, I had no secret powers and my body was as frail as glass. I wasn't anyone special, what was I supposed to do? I was captured by one of the strongest people on the continent, and now I was again imprisoned by a similarly powerful woman. A person like me, what could I possibly do?

Of course, I was pathetic, But I would rather be pathetic as long as I could continue living. I wasn't ready to die yet.

She squatted down next to me. "I don't know anything about your past, or what kind of life you've lived. But at the moment, we are both in the exact same position, stuck in a small cell underground, guarded by the subordinates of bloody demon lord. Our situation is pretty terrible all in all, in fact it couldn't get a whole lot worse." Yes, that was pretty hopeless…

"And yet, I haven't given up." Her hands went up to pinch my cheeks, pulling them out like a chipmunk. "So why have you?"

"Owww!" I rubbed my face.

"Kitty, do you want to escape? Because I have a plan, but I needed someone else to help pull it off. Now that you're here, I can finally set it into motion." Her glittering eyes stared at me and, suddenly, for the first time in a long time I felt hope.

I couldn't do an anything alone, but now that Elaina was here I suddenly was full of courage. I was no longer alone, I had someone to rely on.

"Alright, I'll help in whatever way I can!" I said full of confidence. "But why do you need my help?"

"You'll make a good body warmer during the nights and a subpar pack mule during the day. Plus if we can't find any food once we escape… well I've never tried cat before."

"…" Maybe I don't want to escape with her.