John and Albert cough with the dust flying in the air. John didn't like what Mongrel did, and Albert knows that so he held his hand so he didn't commit something stupid.

Mongrel was shaking with anger, inside he wants to kill Cupid, and he was about to, but Albert came between and said,

"My Lord, forgive me. But this man can be useful. His name is Cupid and I have heard he is quite close to Winston. We can use him better alive". Mongrel was so angry and he didn't want to listen to anyone but he thought for a moment and something stuck in his mind, and then Mongrel calmed himself, he liked the idea.

He was quite gullible, and Albert knows it. If you find his right nerve it's not hard to make him do something.

" My lord, now you have an upper hand with Winston. He will try to release him, and now that we have captured all the animals who were dealing with him, he will be helpless", Albert continued, seeing that Mongrel is listening to him.

Cupid was on the floor and trying to recover from what just happened. John was behind Albert looking towards Cupid trying to get on his feet.

Mongrel step forward listening to Albert, and said,

"Throw this pathetic animal into the dungeon".

"Yes my lord", Albert said, while bowing down his head in front of Mongrel. and then walking towards Cupid, he pointed John to come with him. Albert picked up Cupid from the ground, he was hurt and bleeding from the head.

Albert put his arm on his neck and started walking him towards the dungeon. John was following them. Lately, John was having second thoughts about everything. About working for Mongrel. About being in a relationship with Albert. He was working for Mongrel because of Albert and his love for him.

But it's the usual question that at some point comes to every relationship. Is it worth it, to live to be someone else so you couldn't lose the person you love? Albert looked behind to John, he was lost in his thought,

"Hey, are you gonna help us or what?" Albert said in a sarcastic tone while walking in front of him holding Cupid's arm around his neck.

John looked at him with a pretentious smile and ran to hold Cupid's other arm around his neck. Now Cupid was walking far more comfortably with support from both sides.

"What were you thinking about?" Albert asked John, as they were walking beside each other now.

"Nothing, just something from a past life, nothing important," John said while trying to avoid answering the question. Albert senses his hesitation, but he doesn't want to force John, so he just changes the topic, to lighten up the mood.

"Hey, what about tonight? I heard that people are gathering for combat in the city. Let's go, and have some fun" Albert said with a smile on his face.

John paused for a moment thinking and said,

"Okay, let's go", he didn't want to argue with Albert, so he just agreed with him. They kept walking in silence for a while. Cupid was between them and sensing this awkward silence. He can imagine that they were carrying something together, that they were no longer sure that they wanted to carry. But also too scared to throw it away. Because maybe that's the only thing that keeps them away from going insane.

They walked downstairs into the darker hallway. They have a small room with iron bars, rusting with humidity and hopelessness. Watching prisoners come and go for years now. These prisoners change and their faces change, from human-like into animal. From animals into more animals.

These rusting iron bars have watched so many stories and so many devolutions while walking on the journey of extinction.

But in that, all hopelessness Cupid manages to find hope for himself, with a belief that he has in Winston. He believes that someday Winston will come looking for him, and release him, but until then, he is left with these rusting bars, to watch himself getting degenerate every single day without nectar.

John and Albert locked him inside the cell, and before leaving John took a last glance at Cupid, with a pity in his eyes and a million questions in his heart. Why is he doing this? He was not like this. He used to think of himself as someone who stands beside the weak and fights against the oppression of the powerful.

But now he is doing exactly the opposite. He saw the innocence in Cupid's eyes. An animal who is born and reborn thousands of times into animals. Desperate to come out of this cycle and finally someone offers him a chance and he takes it.

Who is right? and who is wrong? Is Mongrel right? Is Winston right? Is what Cupid is doing right? Or what I am doing is right? Questions and more questions ran through John's mind while walking upstairs from the dark hallway.

"Sometimes you need to do what needs to be done, instead of thinking about what's right and what's wrong? Give a little space in life to regret, without regret, you have nothing to inspire you to do something great", Frank said to Winston as they stepped out of a portal into the forest.

Winston just smiles in reply. Dilda was waiting for Winston and the owl had already given the news to everyone that Cupid was captured.

" Where is Cupid Winston?"Dilda came running towards Winston, she thought that Winston had gone to take Cupid back, but seeing Winston without Cupid she felt disappointed.

"Don't worry Dilda, we are gonna get him back, as soon as we can. You need to have little patience", Winston said, trying to console Dilda.

" What do you mean Winston? How much time?", Dilda asked with surprise and anger.

"Not much?" Winston said and get close to her to hug her but she refuse to let him touch her, and said,

"I thought you were his friend", and ended her words with a sob and left with fury. Winston tried to stop her but Frank stop him with his hand, and said,

" Let her go, Winston. She won't understand it right now. And besides, you have bigger things on your plate to think about".

Winston knows that Frank was right. The game has got bigger now and everyone is making their moves.

Silvia came looking for someone and instead, she saw Winston so she stopped. Winston introduce her to Frank, Frank offer his hand for a shake and said,

"I didn't expect to meet such a beautiful woman here?"

Silvia got shy with his flirtatious voice and looked towards Winston. Frank noticed the gaze between them and noticed the chemistry between them. But he was also a little confused because he saw the same kind of chemistry Winston had with Maria too.

While interrupting his thoughts he says,

"If you try to define love you will see that it has no definition. No boundaries and specifically no limits", no one understands what he was talking about, but they understand what he was implying. Silvia looked at Winston with seductive eyes and left. Winston tries to understand what she was saying with her eyes.

" Okay man, see you tomorrow then, let's have some rest. We have a long day ahead", Frank said and left to find a cottage for himself.

Winston stays there for a while thinking about something and then he starts walking in the direction where Silvia has gone.

Moon has gone from the sky long back. Silvia was watching the empty sky and drifting water in the river. She was sitting on the rock, Winston saw her from behind. Her beautiful back was hiding behind her long hair.

Winston walks close to her, and she notices him, but she doesn't seem surprised, as if she knows that he is coming. She didn't say anything, just moved a little further from her place making the place for Winston to sit on the rock.

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