Submerged in the plush embrace of the mattress, the silver-haired maiden shifted subtly, letting out a lazy yawn. The remnants of pain had faded, her physique free from the clutches of fatigue. Yet she kept her eyes closed, nestling deeper beneath the velvety cover.
'Too much... too much of it all...' The relentless skirmishes, the constant danger, the pain—her soul ached for solace.
"Rest, if that's your desire." The voice, unmistakably familiar, made her eyes snap wide open, irises dilating with sudden trepidation. Beside her, the red-eye took a seat, leading Tia to the startling revelation that she wasn't in familiar surroundings.
Elevated ceilings, the stern demeanor of granite walls, and the opulence of a shimmering chandelier—all seemed foreign.
'This isn't the federation's design.'
Seeing her puzzlement, the red-eye softly spoke. "Uhh, this is my flagship. We are on the orbit of that stinky planet you called home."
Without warning, the red-eye leaned in, her face dangerously close, peering intently into Tia's eyes. "You know the saying that eyes are windows to the soul?"
Tia's breath caught in her throat. Every instinct told her to pull away, but the girls's gaze held her captive. She felt exposed and vulnerable.
Not this again...' Internal sirens blared within Tia, but she could only stiffly lay in bed, knowing there was no path to escape. 'Trapped with this maniac on a spaceship.'
"It isn't just a myth. I can see your soul."
'Is she deluded, jesting, or genuinely unhinged?' Tia couldn't help but question the girls's sanity, easily recognizing the mentally ill person after spending years surrounded by them.
"It is weird. I had never seen anything like it. Your body is definitely human, but your soul isn't. No, your soul is foreign; it is nothing like I ever saw. Aliens, animals, humans—they are all similar, but yours is very different."
Swallowing hard, Tia's apprehension grew. Her status resonated with the red-eye's assertions: 'It said the same thing.'
"For many, the soul remains an abstraction. Yet, you, it seems, are already acquainted with its existence."
In an unpredictable gesture, the red-eye's delicate fingers reached out, playfully pinching Tia's nose, making her internally fume in anger at someone touching her.
The red-eye's speech changed, turning informal and joyful. "Haha, now I can say I pinched the nose of a dimension-hoping being!" The girl stopped laughing as she turned serious. "Yes, I know your ability to hop dimensions."
Fear manifested in Tia's quivering limbs and erratic heartbeat as she underestimated the monster before her. The urge to flee was overwhelming, yet a grim realization dawned—red-eye desired her intact, which was her sole reassurance. "How...?"
"You mean that giant time-space disruption exploding from your body that happened multiple times, followed by your soul vanishing?"
'She i...'
"Don't worry! I always wanted something exotic as my pet. You are perfect." her fingers now playfully tucked a stray strand of platinum hair behind Tia's ear "Of course, to the outside, you will be my pretty-eyed knight, but between us, you are my exotic pet."
Tia's heart raced at the threat implicit in the girl's words. The idea of being kept as a pet, a trophy, was repulsive, but Tia knew she couldn't give up. She had to find a way out of this nightmare.
As Tia tried to regain her composure, the red-eyed girl suddenly approached the bed once more. Slowly, deliberately, she extended a slender hand, the fingers brushing Tia's cheek in a feather-light caress. The unexpected touch was strangely gentle, contrasting starkly with the dire situation.
"Do not worry. I am not one of those monsters that bully and torture their pets."
The girl's fingers traced a path down to Tia's chin, lifting it slightly, ensuring their eyes met. The depth of emotion in those crimson irises was unnerving. There was amusement, curiosity, and perhaps something else Tia couldn't quite decipher.
"Well, go dress up; as my knight, you have duties to attend."
Drawing back, she added, "Address me as Lady Elyra."
As the red-eyed Elyra stood up, Tia spoke a question that was on her mind. "Where is my cousin?"
"Her? She is safely locked away."
"Why?" Tia couldn't help but feel puzzled. To her knowledge, her cousin helped with their invasion and cooperated. Lady Elyra shook her head, her long raven hair waving behind her.
"So you truly don't know who she was beneath her sweet facade. She was too dangerous to be left free. She was a manipulator who used her psychic power to control others. Look at what she did to you." The red-eye's tone turned quiet—almost a whisper: "It was her who sent you to the hospital. It was also her who tried to kill you."