"Why can't I see Aria?" Norman asked one of the slaves in the cell, who had just calmed down and noticed that Aria was not there.
"I don't know," the slave replied. "When I woke up, she was not in the cell."
Norman queried other slaves, but only received the same answer. "That girl is in too much of a rush," he thought to himself. "Well, I guess I will just have to go to the rendezvous point and meet her there."
He left the cell and headed towards the main toilet, thinking about the plan and the route they had to take. After walking for a while, he arrived at his destination. As he opened the door, a putrid smell of piss reached his nose, and he scowled, as he did every time he came here.
"A clean world would be the last thing you should expect," he muttered to himself. "You can see the finger marks created by shit on the walls. The smell is so intense that if someone died here, I wouldn't be surprised."
Clearing his head, he entered while pinching his nose. He searched for nearby toilets, but there was no one in there. He shouted her name, but unfortunately, he received no response.
He searched for her in other toilets, including the women's toilet, thinking that maybe she forgot where to wait. But he didn't find her. "Maybe she is preparing the materials for the plan," he thought to himself. "I'll have to wait for her here in this disgusting toilet, as I can't wait outside; otherwise, it will attract unwanted attention."
"She should have told me," he grumbled to himself as he patiently waited for her. Time slowly passed, and an hour had gone by, and it was nearly time for their break to end. He was on the verge of losing his patience and was internally cursing her when he heard the creaking sound of the door opening.
"Took you damn long enough..." Norman started to say while trying to look stern, but he paused midway as the person he was expecting was not there. It was quite the opposite.
The person who walked in was none other than Ken, the fat merchant or slave trader who had bought Norman from Vayne.
"Oh, were you expecting me here? How touching," Ken said, looking at Norman with a strange, deep look. Norman was surprised by the turn of events, and why wouldn't he be? It was the person he was least expecting.
"You fat toad, why the hell are you here, and where is Maria?" Norman asked with confusion in his eyes.
Ken didn't answer but instead went towards one of the toilets and started his nature call. Surprisingly, he was not bothered by the smell, not even a single frown on his face.
"Looks like I was wrong. You were not waiting for me but for Aria, huh?" Ken said with a smug grin. "Alas, why do you think I will know her whereabouts? It's not like I keep an eye on my slaves. But seeing your worried look, I will take pity and say that you will find her soon enough."
As soon as Ken finished his sentence, Norman heard a commotion coming from the canteen, which was not too far away from their location. Hearing the commotion, he couldn't help but have a bad feeling about this situation.
He ran towards the canteen instinctively and couldn't help but think about his yesterday's conversation with Aria. "I hope nothing unforeseen happened," he had said to her.