Despite struggling, the door to the cell soon closed behind her. A small-cave, somehow dug out of the frost, and almost as cold as the outside. A stack of hay was in the corner, and a small pot for necessities was all that had been placed in the cell. She sat down in the hay. Out of all the feelings churning inside her, none was quite as strong as the sense of betrayal and confusion. A moment ago, she had been in on a plan, then suddenly thrown in a cell, and Siravin had decided to go on without her. Going through the recent days, all she really had done to upset him was arguing over the fate of the elf… Which she so intensely wished had died. Frustrated, she laid down on the hay, but immediately sat back up as something hard poked her back. In the stack of hay was a small box. She opened it to find a key, and a small scrawled note which read:

“We are being led into a trap. Stay in that cell for three days, then leave… A local friend of mine will help you… The elf plans to blow up the imperial audience chamber… Not sure how. Find your mother on your own… And whatever you do, do not follow… Good luck.”

She read the note once more to make sure she had not overlooked any details. The key in her hand was cold, and she felt ready to use it right away and make her escape. She stood up and peeked through the keyhole. The room outside was still full of guards. Resigned, she sat back down and tried to get some sleep in the cold, using the hay to give herself a way to keep a little warm.

--

“Hi… I brought you a blanket and some warm drink… Hello?”

She opened her eyes to find a small girl halfway crawled up on top of her. A pair of curious cyan eyes seemed to stare deeply into her.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Rilvi… Siravin’s sister.”

“What?” She looked at the girl in disbelief. “That’s not possible...”

“It is! I didn’t even imagine it, but suddenly, my big brother shows up in the doorway like nothing had happened! It was weird… He was so big too!” The girl got back on her feet and began filling a wooden cup with hot water. “You are his friend, right?”

“Yeah… I think so. My name is Mariel…”

“You know… My big brother really cares about you… He came to our house, and after talking to mama for a while… She came out crying! He had told her something nice… But she didn’t say anything to me… Do you know what they were talking about?”

“No… I have no idea… Your… Brother is still a bit of a mystery to me.”

The girl nodded and handed her the wooden cup, which smelled of sweet, hot tea. “Drink up, it will keep you warm and it’s also really healthy!”

She drank the tea, which immediately warmed up her slightly chilly body. Her numb limbs seemed to come back to life.

“I’ll come back with some food later… Stay here okay? Brother said you have a means to get out, but you have to listen to him okay?”