After the first lesson ended, the teacher noticed something odd.
"Where's Riya?" he murmured, scanning the classroom. Her seat was empty. He checked the hallways. The bathroom. The courtyard. Nothing. A knot formed in his gut.
The search spread across the school, but she was nowhere to be found.
He wasted no time. Marching into the estate's administrative wing, he found his younger brother, Gunter—the one Riya was assigned to serve under.
"I thought she was with you in school," Gunter said, his voice carrying a mocking edge.
"Well, she was," the teacher replied, irritation bleeding into his words. "This is a problem."
"What is?" asked a deeper voice.
The eldest of the brothers, Sir Maxim, stepped into the room, his presence enough to still the air. His sharp eyes darted between them.
"We're missing one of our students," the teacher said, lowering his head slightly out of respect. "The one serving under Gunter."
He cleared his throat, then added almost casually, "By the way, can you give Merlin his homework for me?"
"Why couldn't you give it yourself?" Sir Maxim asked, his brow lifting.
"He wasn't in school again," the teacher muttered. "I thought you told him to stay at home today."
Sir Maxim's voice darkened. "You're saying he wasn't in school?"
The teacher nodded grimly.
"Looks like we've got two missing students," he said.
"I knew she was bad news," Gunter snapped. His lips curled into a sneer. "I told her to stay away from Merlin, but she's too stubborn. She must have pulled him into something reckless."
Sir Maxim's gaze sharpened, his astonishment giving way to fury. "What are you saying, Gunter?"
"I'm saying," Gunter replied, "they're probably trying to run off somewhere."
The words struck Sir Maxim like a blade. His face hardened, and his voice boomed through the hall.
"Francis!" he roared—the teacher's true name. "Send a search party. Find my son." His eyes burned with a smoldering fire. "Now."
Within moments, guards were dispatched. The hunt was on.
---
Meanwhile, far from the estate, Merlin and Riya waited inside the ragged tent.
The hours crawled. The sun climbed slowly, and anticipation pressed on them like a weight. Riya had eventually grown comfortable in the cramped space. So comfortable, in fact, that she dozed off, her head resting on the bridge between Merlin's shoulder and chest.
Merlin didn't move. He stared at her, his lips twisting into a small, strange smile. His eyes carried the look of someone watching a memory for the last time.
---
As the sun dipped toward the horizon, they made their move.
Merlin slung his small backpack over his shoulder, rope coiled tightly within. Together, they crept toward the lower edge of the fence—the place he believed would lead them out.
"This is where you stop," Merlin whispered firmly. "I'm going over alone."
"As if I'd let you," Riya shot back, folding her arms.
They bickered, squirming and pushing at each other like the ten-year-olds they were, both unwilling to give ground.
Then—footsteps.
Merlin froze. He grabbed Riya's arm, yanking her closer, and together they peered over the fence.
What they saw chilled them.
It wasn't freedom.
Below lay rows of cages, packed with pale, weakened figures. Men, women, even children, their wrists bound in chains. Their eyes—sunken and hollow—fixed instantly on the two small figures above.
Every gaze cut into them like knives.
Merlin's blood boiled. Rage surged through him, so fierce it almost burst from his chest. He clenched Riya's hand so tightly she could barely breathe, then pulled her forward, teeth grinding, his pace quickening.
Riya had never seen him like this. His fury, his determination, it was like watching a different boy altogether.
For fifteen agonizing minutes, they pressed deeper into the compound, until they finally saw it—another gate. Their final chance.
But it was hopeless.
Ten guards stood watch, spears gleaming in the fading light. The fences were high, far too high for two children to scale unnoticed.
Merlin didn't hesitate. He pulled the rope from his pack, attached the hook, and with a grunt, threw it high against the fence. It caught.
He scrambled upward, climbing with the speed of someone desperate for life itself. At the top, he extended his hand down.
"Come on, grab it!" he urged.
Riya stretched—but her instincts screamed. The guards had already seen them. One sprinted forward, shouting, while others followed in a rush.
Her heart pounded. We'll never both make it in time.
In that instant, her choice was clear.
She shoved Merlin, hard, sending him tumbling over the fence to the other side.
"No!" he cried, clinging to the top edge, his head still over the fence. His hand reached desperately toward her. "Riya!"
Tears welled in his eyes. He knew what came next. He knew exactly what her fate would be.
"Run!" she shouted, her own tears streaming down her cheeks. Her hand reached toward his, but her voice trembled. "Please… run!"
Merlin's chest collapsed with grief, but his mind screamed survival. He knew the guards couldn't pursue him without Sir Maxim's command. He hesitated, frozen, his soul split in two.
Then, with one final glance at her face, he dropped down and ran.
---
Back inside the estate, Riya was dragged before Gunter.
"Oh, great, you found her," he sneered, his hand already reaching to seize her arm. His eyes burned with contempt.
But before he could touch her, another voice cut in.
"No," said Sir Maxim. His tone was
calm, but beneath it was something darker. "Leave this one to me."
A slow, sinister smile spread across his face.