“Well, we tried to get out in a more peaceful way, but it didn’t work out. You’re welcome, by the way. You should thank Cessi. If it was me, I would have left you where you stood to die.”

Tessandra then walked away, going toward the rocks to try and find an opening, or make sure none of their opponents were still able to fight. Meanwhile, Jisel furiously turned to Cessilia.

“Why did you save me? I didn’t ask nor want to be saved by you! What is wrong with you, always playing the good girl? You could have let me die!”

“...M-maybe I should have,” said Cessilia. “You d-did injure and b-betray Ashen.”

“He betrayed me first,” Jisel retorted, full of spite.

“...B-but when I heard that you actually c-cared for your d-dragon before you g-got to safety, it ch-changed my mind.”

That sentence seemed to shock Jisel. She went mute, truly at a loss for words this time, simply glaring at Cessilia. The Princess had just saved her life, and she was now trapped with them in this cave. Her frustration was all over her face.

Meanwhile, Tessandra came back, sighing.

“The good news is, we’re not completely trapped, so it’s not like we’re going to run out of air. The bad news is, I don’t think we can get out of here by ourselves. Those rocks are completely unstable, we might kill ourselves if we try climbing up.”

“Great,” scoffed Jisel.

Cessilia couldn’t be bothered with that woman anymore, though. Turning her back on Jisel and Tessandra, she went back to Ashen to check on his state.

“...Is he going to be alright?” asked Naptunie.

Nana herself didn’t look alright. She was tired from the whole day, one of her buns coming undone. She had dark dust all over her face from the explosions, and unlike Cessilia and Tessandra, she didn’t have any scales to cover up the many scratches she got. Still, she wasn’t complaining at all, and instead, was down on her knees on the other side of the King, worrying about him. Cessilia sighed.

“...I hope he c-can hold on.”

She then got up, and went back to the little lake, observing the various plants and little submarine elements there, looking for something she could potentially use. Naptunie went with her, immediately helping her identify some of the algae.

Meanwhile, Tessandra kept staring at Jisel, her fists on her hips.

“Well,” she said, “at least now that we’ve got some free time ahead of us, perhaps you could finally answer some of the damn questions burning my tongue!”

“Why would I?” shrugged Jisel, crossing her arms. “I don’t see why I would cooperate with you at all.”

“Of course. You can also stay in your corner, and bleed to death after I cut off a leg or two,” retorted Tessandra.

Jisel grimaced. Although she was fine with dying, she probably wasn’t fond of being tortured. She glanced toward Cessilia. The Princess was already doing everything she could to save her lover. She and Nana had gathered small herbs, and fabrics from their clothes that were still more or less clean, and were even using Jisel’s long needles to do what they could on the injury.

“T-Tessandra,” Cessilia called, “I’m g-going to need some f-fire.”

“...You can’t do it too?” asked Naptunie, a bit surprised.

“No. N-not anymore.”

Naptunie regretted asking. She watched silently as Tessandra created a little fire for them, which they could use to sterilize the needles and heat the water, but also to warm them up a bit. They were close to the water, and since night had fallen, so had the temperature. Not only that but all of their clothes were drenched and torn. The fire was quite welcome.

“...Do you think Sir Dragon will find us?” Nana asked.

“He’ll probably start searching for us sometime soon,” nodded Tessandra. “At the latest, he’ll get worried in the morning if he doesn’t see us in the bedroom. He wouldn’t miss his breakfast...”

“...I d-don’t know if we c-can wait until th-then.”

Their eyes all went to Ashen. He seemed to be barely breathing, and he had been unconscious for a while. The amount of blood spread on his torso was impressive, if not scary. Because Cessilia was currently taking care of the wound, it was all exposed. Even though she was helping out, Naptunie couldn’t help but grimace and kept trying to look away any chance she could. Cessilia sighed and resumed trying to take care of the wound.

“Luckily, it d-didn’t damage any v-vital organs. His abdominal m-muscles did help s-stop the b-blade from going too d-deep.”

“Thank the gods for abs...” muttered Tessandra. “...Can you save him?”

“I d-don’t know.” Cessilia shook her head. “I... I don’t think he’ll b-be able to survive if he s-spends the whole n-night without p-proper treatment, Tessa.”

Her cousin nodded. She had suspected as much. Anyone could have seen how bad that wound was. It can take a long time for a man to die, but given everything Ashen had gone through that day and the lack of medical tools, his life span was getting shorter every minute.

“...Call your dragon to dig us out,” Tessa ordered Jisel.

“Are you joking? First, he’s wounded! Second, I don’t see why I should help you out. And lastly, in case you haven’t noticed, there’s no way my dragon alone will be able to get us out. You’ve seen his size, Jinn’s not even an adult. Did you see that blockage you created? There’s no way my dragon can dig that out on his own!”

Tessandra grimaced. It was annoying, but realistically, Jisel probably wasn’t lying about the last part. Her dragon was large, but that mountain of rocks blocking the exit was much bigger.

“...Let’s j-just try to k-keep calling Krai,” said Cessilia. “We c-can’t stay here, Tessa. The sea will p-probably rise up b-before morning.”

“It shouldn’t get too high,” added Nana, glancing at the lake, “but it will be a bit of a problem for His Majesty...”

Not only that, but the water would most likely cause the rocks to move toward them, which was dangerous.

“...Fine,” groaned Tessandra. “I’ll see if I can find an opening or move some of those stupid rocks without risking us dying under a landslide...”

She walked away and toward the rocks, hands on her hips, probably evaluating the ground. Meanwhile, Cessilia resumed taking care of Ashen for a while. Naptunie cautiously glanced to the side, but Jisel had simply taken a seat by the fire, and kept her eyes toward the entrance of the cave.

For a while, no one talked. They could hear the waves of the sea from afar, and a few men’s voices too. There were probably survivors on the other side of the collapsed rocks, and if there were any on this side, Tessandra would surely finish them. She had gone over the rocks, trying to climb some or judge how risky some were, and they’d hear her swear out loud sometimes, but she always fell safely back on her feet. Cessilia trusted her cousin entirely, and was able to fully focus on Ashen, not even glancing back once. Naptunie had gone to retrieve some seaweed they had deemed useful, and had even caught some wild shrimp they could eat later if needed. It was as if everyone needed to keep themselves busy, despite how tired they were.

The only one not doing anything was Jisel, staring at the fire with an empty expression, her arms around her knees.

“...Your d-dragon was red.”

Cessilia’s words finally got her out of her daydream. Jisel glanced at the Princess, who was trying to sew some part of her injured lover’s body.

“...I’ve only heard of one d-dragon that was red.”

Jisel didn’t answer, her eyes going back on the fire. From time to time, they would hear Jinn’s faint growls from the other side of the rocks. The young dragon seemed frustrated as well, but it was very much alive.

“My p-parents told me about it,” Cessilia continued as if she was talking to herself. “About what happened b-before I was born, when my older b-brother was just a b-baby. My father had a b-brother that k-killed a lot of p-people. He t-tried to kill my g-grandfather and become the Emperor. He was a t-truly twisted man, and he d-died back then.”

Naptunie, a bit confused, glanced at Jisel. That woman was now staring at Cessilia with an expression full of hatred. She definitely knew something about what Cessilia was talking about. Naptunie looked again at Cessilia in front of her. She was still not looking at Jisel, and incredibly calm.

“ ...Are you the d-daughter of my uncle Vrehan?” she finally asked.

“No,” retorted Jisel. “Hadn’t you already heard that from the Hashat? My father was from the Rain Tribe.”