It had been three days since they went through Deiram, and they had finally reached the outskirts of Saputa City, the capital on a cool afternoon.
Stretching his legs, Jamal hopped out the carriage once it stopped with the others on the road, finally getting some fresh air.
"Yo, please put this on. And get a bath, you've been smelling these last few days." Vice yelled from inside, throwing a shirt he found at one of their stops.
Jamal grabbed it without even looking, and put in on. Did they ever get his belongings?
"You can't just leave us here." the younger girl hopping out it as well and going the other direction, "Well, not me anyway. I got to go home. Ya'll stay safe out there."
"Wait, Vice you live in Saputa?" Ula asked him.
"Oh no I don't. I'm just staying here, cause I'm just going to get lost. I'll just wait until I see some people I recognize. Good luck out there."
Ula nodded and went beside Jamal, carrying her belongings with her.
"Now what?" she asked him, grabbing his hand.
"Travel into the city, until we meet up with Boom. I think we should stop at a hotel, if you still have money on you?"
She nodded, and they went deeper through the crowd, also pushing their way into the city. They walked for about thirty minutes, until a trench blocked their way, Saputan soldiers inside it. They had to pass through a small checkpoint and once through, they continued their way deeper into the city. They stopped in front of a building that looked like a hotel, name Rest Or Eat, with people turning around, and Jamal opened the door ignoring them.
"Before you say anything, if you don't have seven thousand Saputs, turn around." a lady said behind a counter.
"Seven thousand? For a room?" Jamal asked, as they couldn't be right.
"I don't know if you've been sleeping under a rock, but Saputs have been becoming worthless lately. If you have the money, you both will have to share a room. If you don't, go."
"Yes, we have cash." Ula said, ripping out her wallet, and putting wads of it on the counter.
The lady smiled, and counted it quickly, before putting it in a drawer. Crouching under the counter, she fished out a key and handed it to them.
"Room 24, that's all we have for two people. We only have two meals a day, due to rations."
"Rations? Hasn't this war just been heard about for a few days." Jamal asked.
"Ask the government, not me. If you have any more questions, come back down." the lady said, before sitting on a chair and dozing off.
Jamal and Ula looked at each other and shrugged, before climbing up the stairs. Once they arrived to the next floor, they went down the hall until they found the room. It was small, with a bed barely large enough for the both of them, a bathroom, a few drawers, and a small balcony.
"You did not pay seven thousand for this." Jamal looked at Ula.
"It was this, or back in the carriage for another night. And you saw how safe that was." she said to him.
"Yeah, those buildings in Deiram probably were safe too, they didn't fall down, so we can trust this one too." Jamal sarcastically told her.
She sighed, and began to unpack the belongings inside. He could tell something was off.
"Look! After everything we've been through, I don't have time to complain Jamal! This is what we're doing for the moment, and if you don't like it, then you can go somewhere else!" she turned around and snapped at him.
He backed up a bit. He didn't mean to offend her actions.
"I'm sorry. It's probably all the fighting messing with my head. I wouldn't judge your actions like that. I'll clean myself up, like Vice told me. I really mean it."
He rushed inside, and turned the shower on, watching the water flow into the dirty drain. I guess this will do, as he stripped himself and cleaned himself. Once he was done, he put on a new set of clothes laying around and walked out, to see Ula staring outside at the city from the balcony.
He walked up behind her, and she still didn't respond.
"You have no idea, what options we have left. We're so lucky we're still alive. I want to stay alive. I want to live, Jamal. Start a family. Move on with my life. I don't want to die as some seventeen year old and become another statistic in a history book twenty years from now. Don't you see? This is all we have left!" she muttered to him, began to tear up.
"Hey, don't cry now. Everything will be okay." he embraced her.
"No, don't lie to me. This isn't right. We shouldn't be in this position. We should be back at the academy, enjoying your victory. But here we are, waiting for the moment to leave here or die." she sniffled.
He looked into her sad eyes. This wouldn't be the end.
"I told you already, no matter what happens, I'll won't stop at nothing to remove any threat between us." he said, before kissing her lightly.
Ula took a breath and looked up to him.
"I'm worried about the next several days."
"And you should, but as of now, we're okay. And as long as you're still okay, that makes me know everything will be."
She smiled back at him, before moving up and kissing him deeply. He didn't back away as they stayed that way for minutes, the city continuing moving around them, as the war continued to rage tens of miles away.