Ercilia sounded so sure of herself, but that didn't make Drystan any less doubtful.
"That is if I escape," he corrected.
"Well, with that attitude, you won't," she chided.
She gave him a wry smile, expecting him to return it. But he just looked at her blankly. Silent and still.
"Hey..." Ercilia began once more, trying to break the tension.
"I know it seems impossible, but I assure you that everything will work out."
"That's easy for you to say..." Drystan muttered dubiously.
"You're not the one whose life is on the line here."
"Right. You're right. I can't imagine the pain that you've gone through, but I'm trying to help you here. You just need to trust me, alright?"
"How can I? Just why is it you want to help me so bad, anyway?"
She shut her eyes closed, trying to stay patient. He had seen this look before - usually on his parents. It made him feel so powerless. He feels like she's seeing him as a misbehaving pet.
"You think I want this?"
It was as small as a whisper.
She looks so exhausted that he doubts that the only reason for that is his stubborn skepticism. Taking a deep breath, she then slowly opens her eyes, which ends up making his widen. He is taken aback to find them brimming with tears.
"Everyday, I see children like me walk to their deaths - all at the hands of my own family."
As she said that, she can no longer stop her tears from falling. Now, he feels bad for getting her wrong.
Drystan has never been good at comforting people. As intelligent as he is, he still has a hard time understanding things like emotions - even his own. It's not that he didn't care. He really did.
Drystan just doesn't know how to help others, especially someone he barely knows.
Even then, he timidly reached his hand out to Ercilia. He gently strokes her arm, trying to comfort her. Much to his surprise, she leans into his touch.
"It's not your fault, Ercilia."
Their eyes met then.
Still not used to how breathtaking those rubies are, she finds herself gasping a little in awe. Unbeknownst to her, he is also drawn to her own pair of sapphires - to the look it holds. It's so pure and innocent. Too good for this world.
She gave him a small smile, and for once, he returned it.
"What matters is that you're trying to fix your father's mistakes. I believe that you're sorry. I trust you"
No sooner than he said that, his heart dropped.
He'd just fully sealed their alliance. There's no going back now. Even if she seems genuine, he still has to remind himself to play it safe. There's nothing he can do about it now, though.
If Drystan backs out, he'll seem like the untrustworthy one.
---
Another week has passed.
Drystan awoke to someone lightly poking him in the shoulder.
He slowly opens his eyes, grimacing as the bright lights flood his vision. It takes him a moment more to register where he is. He's lying on his bed. It seems he's fallen asleep without realizing it.
"You're already asleep? There's still a couple of hours before dinner."
Drystan turns over to see who's with him. Perched on his bed is Ercilia, smiling down at him - the only good thing in this horrible place.
"Wow, you're a mess," she half-heartedly scoffed.
When he didn't respond, her expression shifted from bubbly to concerned. She then remembered that something had happened earlier that day, though she's not sure what it was.
"Ercilia."
Drystan shyly took Ercilia's hand in his.
Something about her touch is comforting - another good thing in this horrible place. It's embarrassing how soft he'd gotten for her over the course of the week, especially since he kept telling himself not to trust her. Still, that's just what happened. He's softened up to her.
"What did they do to you?" she muttered, unsmiling.
Drystan never heard Ercilia like that before - not even when she first cried in front of him several days ago. It's a different kind of hurt. This time, it's much more personal.
"E-Ercilia."
He gripped her hand tighter. She squeezed it in return.
It took him a while to gather the courage to tell his story as he didn't want to upset her more. She didn't mind. He felt assured she didn't. Then again, she's always ready to listen.
"They took me into this room..." Drystan finally spoke up, his voice brittle and little.
"They sat me down in this chair. I wanted to try to fight back, but I knew that it would only result in my death. So, I just sat there frozen. Like an idiot."
Ercilia rubbed her thumb against his hand.
There are no words of consolation uttered despite her being better than him at things like that. She simply sat beside him and listened to him vent it all out. Nonetheless, that was enough for him.
"They hooked me up to this machine. I think they were tracking my brain or something. They do that a lot for some reason. But this time's different."
At this point, his words were more breath than voice. His throat hurts from coughing so much. Talking in a normal tone felt like dragging nails down his throat.
"They would give me these drugs and monitor my brain to see how I reacted. And it hurt like hell."
Drystan almost laughed in spite of himself.
Ercilia can't find anything to laugh about, though.
So, instead, she pulled him in for an embrace that nearly knocked the breath out of him. It's a hug that smells like strawberry and mint - a hug completely different from the ones anyone has ever given him. This one feels real. Sincere and genuine.
He buried his face in her hair while she rubbed circles on his back, too drowsy to be embarrassed.
"I have no idea what they put in me, but it made me have all these... spasms. When I got back here, I threw up blood all over the floor."
Yet again, Drystan laughed for no apparent reason. It made his throat burn in agony, but he didn't care. He can no longer find it in himself to care.
Ercilia shot him a concerned look.
Since she's in a more stable state, she can see the real problem at hand. She knows that they don't have much time to prepare for the escape. He's already dying. Slowly but surely.
'Now isn't the time to tell him, though. Making him worry even more isn't going to do anything to help,' she thought.
For now, all Ercilia can do is to try to comfort Drystan to the best of her abilities.
He slowly pulls away from the hug. With the eyes of a lost petrified child, he looks at her and asks, "W-What do you think is going to happen to me?"
She didn't know how to respond. She didn't want to lie to him. She can't just look at someone in the eye and tell them they're going to die.
So, Ercilia hugs Drystan again - a bit tighter this time.
"I'm going to break you out of here. That's what."
He half-heartedly hummed in response. She wasn't sure if he really believed her, but that didn't matter.
Whether Drystan believes it or not, Ercilia will definitely get him out of there.