The clicking of her heels grew louder as Adriana walked deeper into the underground prison. The smell was unpleasant, but Adriana did not express her disgust.
Adriana and two other guards arrived in front of the prison where Astell was locked up. Adriana slightly turned her head, looking at the two guards.
"Leave the prison and hand me the keys," ordered Adriana, but the two guards looked at each other, not knowing if they should.
This made Adriana sigh. Just because she lost against Issac did not mean her power in the family was gone.
"Are you defying my orders?" Adriana glared at them as she summoned Yashiro out. The guard immediately handed Adriana the keys, avoiding her eyes. "Next time, don't let me repeat myself twice."
"We apologize," the two guards bowed their heads and walked back up the stairs.
Adriana unlocked the door and entered the prison covered with white. It did not look like a prison and looked like a confinement room.
Adriana saw a platinum blonde man sitting on the ground. His ankles were chained with a special type of chain that blocked him from using his magic.
In front of him was a plate with a slice of bread and a bowl of dirty water. From what Adriana heard, he hasn't eaten at all.
Which is a good thing since the bread and water were poisoned. But it wasn't a huge amount placed at once but slowly.
Adriana kneeled on the ground and unwrapped the cloth she had brought down with her. There was a piece of freshly baked bread and a bowl of clean water.
"Eat," Adriana told Astell, who glared at her. She knew this wasn't going to be easy, but if he wanted to survive and get out of this prison, he should learn to listen. "It's a good thing you didn't eat that."
Still, Astell did not reply to her. Which Adriana knew he was ignoring her. While Astell wondered why she gave him a new clean food.
"You can ignore me all you want. But when it comes to the food, I'll be giving you. And you need to eat it," Adriana removed her white gloves and placed them on the ground.
Adriana stood up and washed her hands. She sat back down and then tore the bread into smaller bite sizes. She grabbed his face, which shocked Astell, and shoved the bread into his mouth.
"Chew and judge it for yourself," said Adriana. "You don't have to trust me, but if you want to get out of this place, you'll need to learn to work with me."
When Astell gulped the food down, he grabbed another piece of bread and ate everything in a rush.
Adriana felt like she was watching a hungry dog eat after starving for a few days. He must have been so hungry.
If she had known about this earlier. She would have brought more food for Astell to eat.
Usually, people like Astell would not know what to do when kidnapped. But she almost forgot that Astell was not like other nobles.
"I won't thank you," Astell finally spoke, then chugged down the water.
"You don't need to, and I don't expect you to say it," Adriana wore her white gloves back and stood up. "If you don't have any questions. Then I'll see you tomorrow."
"If I knew this was going to happen to me. I wouldn't have helped you."
Adriana frowned, and her eyes turned cold. If it wasn't Astell who had said that. She wouldn't have felt this complicated. For once, Adriana wished to be the good guy.
But blood is thicker than water. It was impossible for her to escape her own family.
"It wasn't like I had asked for help. You could have left me on that cold ground," Adriana bitterly said and looked away from him.
"You're right. I was a fool then. I've learned my lesson thanks to you," retorted Astell.
Adriana did not want to lie. But after, Astell used his magic to calm the poison in her body. She felt a lot better and, at the same time, felt irritated, not wanting to be treated this way.
Even if she defended herself, Astell wouldn't believe it. Though it wasn't her work but Issac's.
"What now? Do I have to beg onto my knees just to ask you to help me out?" asked Astell.
"If you want. Go ahead. I won't stop you."
Astell continued to glare at Adriana and wondered what about her made him think she was weak? It was nothing like that. Adriana won't even take a bite.
"What did you expect after saving me?" asked Adriana.
"I thought we could at least become friends," Astell answered.
"What made you think so?"
"I don't know. It was just a feeling. You looked trapped in your own world."
Adriana blankly stared at him. Did she look that way? Maybe she was. But did not want to admit it.
Astell Skydane, was he this interesting? The last thing Adriana remembered about him was when he was defending Leena Bryfiel. But what exactly happened again?
"I can't remember…." Adriana muttered to herself.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing. Don't eat anything they give you. I'll think of an escape plan for you. Lastly, don't question why I'm helping you," Adriana rushed out of prison.
The past memories were steadily turning blurry. Which made Adriana worried. She needed to take note of the important events that were to come.
When Adriana arrived in her room, she immediately pulled out a piece of paper. Then grabbed her pen. But her hands wouldn't move. Her mind was blank. Nothing came into her head.
Impossible. It had been just a few months, yet she couldn't recall a single event from her past?
Adriana crumpled the paper and threw it to the ground. She couldn't accept it. But thinking about it once more.
The future had already changed. From the moment Astell got abducted, everything had changed already.
But some parts hadn't changed, like how Issac left the house to suppress the barbarians.
There is still time. There is still time to change her future.