Days passed. Each minute felt like an hour, and an hour felt like a thousand years.
Yuna lost track of time, but she was sure it had been more than a few weeks since she has last come in contact with another human being.
-That includes the emotionless maid.
Yuna lay unmoving on the floor, conserving every last bit of energy as she'd done in the past. It was unsure when it would be before the next serving of food and water, so she needed to be extra conservative if she wanted to survive.
There was a bit of déjà vu.
Yuna moved her hand to her forehead, which pounded from dehydration. She hissed while feeling every ache and strain from her organs, crying for energy.
Yuna closed her eyes with the short feeling of relief from her hand. A sigh escaped her mouth, 'I scavenged the whole room for bugs and water droplets, but I guess I finally consumed everything. Haha, oh well," she smiled painfully.
'Maybe rocks are consumable?' she wondered, then smacked herself inside her mind, 'Don't be stupid. If I eat a rock, it'll puncture my internal tissues. At that point, I won't be dying of starvation but bleeding.'
'...So hungry.'
Another storm of painful jabs ran over her body, and the space between her eyebrows scrunched up. Yuna rolled over to her side while hugging her stomach, 'I don't want to think anymore.'
...
Contrary to her expectations, they didn't leave her to die alone.
A clang, click, and creak rang through the room like a heaven-sent.
Her eyes widened in surprise, and Yuna watched the iron door slowly open. Light mixed into the darkness. Leather boots walked in, but they were bigger and of a woman's.
It was the maid.
But this time, her expression seemed somewhat unreadable. It felt colder than usual.
Yuna bore the pain of her muscles tearing and dry skin breaking to sit up straight. Her boney hand clenched the dyed scarf around her neck and the storybook beside her. All she could think about was food. But little did Yuna know, she'd have to wait a while longer.
She brought her eyes down to the maid's hands, only to find her not carrying anything besides a lantern.
Yuna looked up curiously and saw the maid extending out her arms.
Weighing a feather, the maid quickly picked Yuna up and turned around with no wasted movement. She headed in the direction of the iron door.
'...I'm getting out of here?' Yuna thought with disbelief, 'For real?' a glimmer of hope shone in her dead eyes. Yuna grabbed the maid's sleeve and tightened her grip. The maid looked at Yuna for a split second, but her expression didn't change.
They both looked forward as the maid opened the iron door to view a dark and dreary corridor. To Yuna, this sight was surreal.
Rats, bugs, and mold climbed the walls, and cracks filled every space. It was the same as Yuna last saw; the only difference was the massive chunks of stone and soil on the ground along the walkway.
This scene almost brought tears to her eyes, 'How long has it been since I've last been here? It feels like it's been a couple of years,' she looked around. Now that she didn't have a panicky servant running through the halls while carrying her, she could fully appreciate the poor corridor that led to room 'Zero.'
...
After a long while of silence and walking, she finally saw an end to the passage; a large wooden door decorated with barred iron.
She subconsciously stared at the maid's hand as she pulled a ring of keys from her pocket and unlocked the door.
She heard a lighter clang, click, and creak.
The iron cover opened, and the wooden door opened with it.
Her dark eyes stilled.
What welcomed her was a white wonderland of snow. Flakes fell from the sky, blanketing her in a refreshing cold. The wind brushed by her flushed cheeks and tore at her cracked skin. The image filled her empty stomach, and she completely forgot about the pain in her body.
Yuna's eyes burned from the bright white, but she forced them open to fully take in this scene. The scene that she would remember for the rest of her life; The scene that she would come to regret appreciating.
...
The maid didn't stop to let Yuna enjoy the view and turned towards a palace of stone, which gave an overbearing and majestic pressure. It brought forth feelings of worship, might, and justice. Yuna thought it all felt rather ugly, however.
The maid took Yuna through rooms of red, unrolled carpets, antique paintings, and modern appliances. Vases of unknown worth and roses with thorns filled the halls, and chandeliers were in every open room. She was overwhelmed by the variety of colors.
But, she still scrutinized every detail of the place, unconsciously engraving it into her memory.
...
After a long time of walking, she had been brought forth before a door of bloody red and gold. It looked greedy and dark, like a dragon ready to swallow its prey; It served as a ward to those without business.
The maid set Yuna on the ground, to which she stumbled but reclaimed her balance. She felt the maid's hands on her shoulders, which lost the lantern along the walk. Yuna found her spine straightened to the extreme, forcing her to stand up in an awkward position. She felt taller than before.
Yuna cleared her head before turning to the maid, who knocked on the menacing door. She gulped dry saliva, only now remembering her extreme dehydration.
'I'm starving,' she thought but quickly shoved the miscellaneous thoughts out of her mind to focus ahead.
Her eyes stared forward at the intimidating door, knowing who was present behind it.
But just as she had thoughts of running away, like booming thunder, a deep male voice resounded through the door,
"Come in."
...