A Distant Reverie

Chapter 36

"Alice, there's no one here," Suisei said, glancing around the empty cell. Alice's wayfarer stone had led them here in their search for the captured princess.

"Yeah, thanks, I can see that," Alice spat out. Suisei instinctively took a step back, startled by the malice dripping from her words.

I should have kept my mouth shut.

Alice's earlier friendliness was gone. Her casualness disappeared, replaced by a wild and savage look as she glared at the cell where the princess was supposed to be. Suisei swallowed nervously, twitching at the indiscriminate bloodlust radiating from the young lady.

The ease at which Alice took down two of the Eden cultists was still fresh in her mind. Suisei had to remind herself that the two of them weren't friends nor allies. They were simply bound by circumstance and were temporarily aligned in their motives—Alice needed help to look for her princess, while Suisei needed someone to cling onto in order to survive.

It was a fragile alliance built on rocky foundations. If their motives were to ever clash, their current arrangement would be shattered in an instant. The moment she became a hindrance to Alice's goals, Suisei would find herself abandoned. Or even slain by Alice's hands. The precedent was already set.

This is the same person who had no problems using the other prisoners as a distraction.

Suisei and Alice entered the cell for a closer investigation. There were fresh footprints still visible on the dirt floor. A pair of bowls partially filled with a gray blob placed by the corner. And a single wayfarer stone glistening under the dim torchlight dropped by the center. Alice crouched to retrieve it.

Was she taken away by the cultists?

Oddly enough, there were several spots on the ground that seemed to be charred and littered with ash. Aside from that, there was nothing else unusual. Suisei could only discern a pair of different sized footprints. Presumably, it was the princess and her cellmate.

The cultists usually patrol in pairs. If they came to take her, there should have another set of footprints here. And the floor should be messier as well, assuming that the princess and her cellmate would have tried to resist.

Suisei turned back towards the entrance. Near the edge of the barred doors along the walls, there were a couple of bars snapped in half. The rough and uneven ends suggested that they had been broken apart.

"Alice, I think the princess escaped," Suisei said, pointing to the damaged portion of the door.

Alice frowned, "...Her Highness is a tiny one. Such a feat would have been impossible for her."

"Maybe not for her, but what about her cellmate?" Suisei asked, "At the very least, I don't think she was taken away. There are only two sets of footprints here, and it doesn't seem like there were any signs of struggle or conflict."

"Right..." Alice massaged her temples as she closed her eyes in thought, "Given the freshness of the footprints, they only escaped recently. Then they must have gone deeper down the corridor since we didn't encounter them. If we're fast, we might—"

Something shrill echoed from up the corridor. It vaguely sounded like a scream.

"Alice?!"

Without warning, Alice immediately rushed out of the cell.

"What are you—"

She didn't respond. Without looking back, she instantly broke into a sprint as she charged towards the direction of the sound.