Silence remained in the air. The navigator tried so hard not to eavesdrop on their conversation, but from where he sat, he could hear everything from the gaping window. He sighed and yelled at the two from the front. “Get a room, will you?!”  The Count and Asty widened their eyes, realizing the position they were in. He gently loosened her wrists from his palms and returned to his seat as if nothing happened. Asty remained wordless throughout the duration of their transport.

 Beneath the moonlight, two figures sprint amongst the rustling trees, leaping from branch to branch while following the dusty trail.  "How long do you think we can get there?" Yvonne asked her partner who was ahead of her.  "In a few minutes or so." "I wanna guess. Is it 60 minutes?" Yvonne sarcastically whined. Owl didn't reply and shot her a glare. "Just keep moving." "Oh come on, Owl!" Yvonne glided her arms and grabbed a twig from the branches. She accelerated further until she met Owl's and then threw the twig on him. "Can we just ride in the carriage too? This is making me exhausted!"&nbs

Asty opened her eyes slowly as the rays of sunlight continued to leak behind the curtains. The chirping of birds could be heard faintly from behind the opened window.    Asty sat straight and rubbed her eyes. She then stretched out her arms and yawned. She was still tired, but her sleep seemed enough.    She got out of the mattress and neatly arranged her blankets. It was the first time she had ever slept so comfortably. Her mattress back at the village was hard as rock, but in here, it was so soft.    She even had her very own comfort room!   Asty ran her eyes around her room. It was spacious. She had a big bed and a huge antique wardrobe, beside it was a spotless, beautiful mirror. She had two shelves with contained books. A painting

Asty walked along the lonely corridors of Chaol's premises. It was daytime and yet everything around her seemed so quiet and passive.  Daytime in her village was like chaos. Everybody would wake up to the sound of people yelling and animals moaning. If she were to walk along with the farms and square, her ears would be bombarded by the sound of carts and fishermen yelling at the passersby to buy their goods. She was not used to such a quiet environment. No yelling. No children laughing. No whispers about her. Just plain silence and the chirping of birds.  Asty continued to drag her feet. She was alone. Chaol had excused himself that he was going to rest and had only accompanied her for breakfast. The maid earlier too, excused herself that she was going to sleep. 

Even from behind the huge tree pots, Asthenosthene could still be clearly seen from behind them, sneaking. It has been half an hour since Asty had stayed hidden behind these huge pots, pretending to be unseen amongst the darkness. She could see her clearly from behind her as she was washing the dishes at the sink. Asty's terrible attempt at hiding was clearly reflected upon the maid's glass plate. She heaved a sigh and continued to ignore Asty, playing along with her tactics.  Asty remained hidden, intently looking at the maid with curious, gleaming eyes. "I want to be friends with her!" she mumbles under her breath. The maid turned around and pretended not to see her while placing the finished plates inside the cupboards. The maid then took off her white apron (which was impossibly stainless) and folded