Friend or Foe

Drystan hesitantly reaches his hand out to Ercilia and goes on to shake hers, silently asking why she's being friendly with him.

If she's part of the Viatrix clan, she's supposed to see him as mere merchandise to further the family business. She also shouldn't be talking with him so casually. There's nothing in this exchange for her to get.

Putting that aside, he realized that he should tell her his name at least.

"I'm Drystan."

Ercilia smiles.

This one doesn't seem too friendly-looking, though. She appears kind of smug. There's a look of mischief in her grinning eyes and on her playful expression.

"Or so I've heard. Prince Drystan Allaric, isn't it? A descendant of a fallen royal family, and the heir to one of the world's largest conglomerates. Am I right, Your Highness~?"

Drystan bristles.

Now, it makes sense. She wasn't trying to be his friend or anything. He mistook her motive for a moment there. It turns out she only sees him as some sort of cool pet that she wants to ogle at before his inevitable demise.

Dismayed, he pulls his hand away from her grasp.

"Don't call me that. Who do you think you are?"

As soon as those words left his mouth, he regretted saying it. He knew it was a bad idea to start a fight with the mafia leader's daughter. She can decide whether he lives or dies, after all.

"Right. I'm probably acting way too familiar with you. We're not even that close."

Ercilia's smile dropped.

He had seen that look before. That's the look of someone who can't help but sympathize. She's taking pity on him, and she's somehow blaming herself. It almost made him feel bad for her even though he knew that he should not.

While he's having this train of thoughts, she suddenly snatched the cup of pills away from his hands.

"Hey! What are you-"

"I'm not letting you take these."

Ercilia briskly threw the drugs in the trash can near his bed. Before Drystan can speak up again, she continues to say, "I know what they're trying to do to you, Allaric."

"We all know what they're trying to do to me...!" he bolted out exasperatedly.

"You meddling isn't going to change that! What would they do if they found out you threw the pills?!"

She stares at him intently. He scowls in return, not getting her at all.

"I'm tired of watching people die. I'm tired of feeling helpless all the time..." Ercilia confessed all of the sudden, taking Drystan aback even more.

"I don't think I can continue like this. I can't stand still anymore."

That's quite a big thing to say. He can't possibly believe her just like that. But when she stares at him straight in the eye, looking so earnest and determined, his resolve not to trust her seems to waver a little.

"I'm going to break you out, Drystan Allaric."

It's such a cruel thing to do - to pretend that she can or will help him, that is. Just when he's starting to fall in despair, she pops out of nowhere and gives him a reason not to. Rather than a light of hope, though, she looks like a flame that's trying to draw a tiny little moth.

Drystan can't get too close.

He can't let Ercilia lure him in and leave him burning in the end.

"You can't... You can't just say that..." he hissed underneath his breath.

"Those guys are probably listening to us somehow. Besides, it's impossible-"

"But it's not...!" she cried out.

"I know this place inside out. I've been here my whole life. If we join forces, I'm sure we can figure out a way-"

"So, you don't even have a plan, do you?"

Drystan snapped at her then. Ercilia flails her hands about as if she's trying to shoo a bug away.

"As I said, we can figure things out if we just work together-"

"Are you trying to get me killed?" he muttered, cutting her off.

He knew what could happen if he agreed to her plan. She would just rat him out to her parents. Even by just talking about it, she was putting him in danger. Back then, he had snooped around this room and found hidden security cameras at some corners.

If they were watching them, they were probably listening to him as well - listening to her try to bribe him into selling himself out. He'd be lying if he said it wasn't tempting.

Even if Drystan knows that it will ultimately end in his downfall, he feels some sort of pull to believe in Ercilia.

All he knows about her is her name - if that even is her name. It's completely irrational no matter how he sees it, and it doesn't make sense no matter how hard he ponders over it. Perhaps, he's only imagining things after all the wishful thinking he's been doing these previous weeks.

Even then, he can't get rid of this feeling at all.

"I'm sorry but I refuse," Drystan said after a short pause on his part, shaking his head.

"Listen, I hate to say this, but you're going to die either way. You either die here helplessly or die fighting for what you believe in," Ercilia remarked vehemently.

His eyes widen in surprise.

She has a point. Even in that one short month that he had been living here, he had already accepted a nihilistic mindset. Even if this was just a trick, it was much better than the alternative.

'So, really, what was the harm? But it still made no sense. Why would she try to help me? What benefits would this give her?'

Drystan ran his hands through his hair. He can see her eyes drilling into his. Ercilia is a stubborn girl, and even though he has only met her, he has a feeling that she isn't going to leave as long as he's not agreeing to her.

He heaves a sigh in defeat. He just can't shake her nor this feeling off.

Now, it's his turn to hold his hand out for her to shake.

"Alright..." he breathed out before he could stop himself.

"I'll try to believe you."

Smiling widely, Ercilia shook Drystan's hand eagerly.

It felt sadly odd to be receiving any sort of positive touch. For the past month, it had only been his captors grabbing his arms to yank him from place to place. He also can't even remember when is the last time he saw someone smile at him as brightly as she does.

"We can do this together," she beamed at him, grinning from ear to ear.

Even though Drystan knows that this is a stupid idea, he can't deny that Ercilia's smile really does give him a glimmer of hope.