"Kalmi… when do you think we can leave?" Alice softly asked, quickly swallowing her incoming tears.
"I-" Kalmin began his thoughts interrupted by the clicks of someone's heels.
"I don't know," someone announced, her feet bouncing off the last step and she walked into the small beam of light seeping in through a crack in the ceiling. "But that's for us to choose."
Kalmin's head perked up in surprise, "Lady Annabeth," he softly tapped Alice's shoulder signifying them to greet her.
Kalmin stood up reaching down to pull Alice to her feet.
"Are you ok?" Annabeth asked, walking closer to the cage, "I'm sorry about my sisters… they may have gone too far."
Kalmin bowed his head, not even daring to make eye contact with her, "I am not worthy of your apologizes my lady."
Annabeth smiled looking down on him, "of course you're not."
"Is there any way to attend to my lady?" Kalmin asked.
"You could start with stopping my lady talk, I am not your woman," Annabeth grinned, "then you won't mind doing me another favor right?"
"Tonight?" Kalmin asked, the soreness from his back suddenly kicking in.
"Don't make me repeat myself," Annabeth frowned as she tossed a key into the cage and then turned around and climbed up the stairs, "see you in my bedroom in… 3 minutes."
Kalmin nodded a reply, lifting his head when she was out of sight.
"Are you really going?" Alice asked holding on to Kalmin's arm, "don't leave me here alone, please."
"I- I'll be back soon," Kalmin muttered, slowly pushing Alice's hands off.
"What? Where do you think you're going? Following that woman? Have you not been taken advantage of enough to know when to resist? Do you think they are really going to let us live if we bend to their every rule? WE'RE STUCK HERE KALMI THERE'S NO HOPE FOR US," Alice screamed tears rushing down her eyes, " what's the point of complying to their every need when we won't get anything in return? I'd rather just die from whippings."
Kalmin looked down and locked eyes with Alice, anger slowly rising in his eyes, "so what?"
"What?" Alice muttered dryly. The word had rolled out so quickly that as it fell out of her mouth, it brought the mood down with it, "ARE YOU DUMB?"
"DO YOU THINK I'M STUPID? HOW DARE YOU? You return here tired, broken, barely able to walk on your own feet and collapse as soon as you fall into my arms but yet you say there's nothing wrong and immediately when I have to be put to work you try to stop me without telling me why," Kalmin jabbed, "don't be a hypocrite Alice. You tell me to resist and just take the beatings when you go ahead and sacrifice yourself, returning with a missing piece of yourself every time."
"So?" Alice sobbed, "can't I at least save you? Whippings are better than whatever they will do to you when you don't resist, SO WHY CAN'T YOU JUST KEEP WHATEVER PURITY YOU HAVE IN YOU AND JUST PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T GIVE IN."