Sebastian and his father entered the city, Nia. It was a grand city. Even to Urus, it seemed bigger than Mitos. They ventured the streets until they hit another wall within the city. Apparently, the city was divided into three sections: one for the working class, one for the nobles, and one for the royals. They were in the working class sector.

Sooner or later, Sebastian ditched his father and explored on his own. Some time after, he bumped into a young lady. When their eyes met, it was love at first sight. Enthralled by beauty, he stuttered his words. She, too, did the same. They couldn't help but laugh it off.

In the city of Nia, there was a little orphan girl who lived in the alleys. Dark brown shaggy hair, unbrushed and unkempt, filled with dirt, covered her eyes. An oversized large and tattered t-shirt was seemingly the only clothing she had. It covered her down to her knees.

No one knew how she got there, and no one knew why she decided to stay there. Every day, this little girl would steal food. Most vendors didn't mind. Some even deliberately leave out food. Others, of course, would not allow such behaviors. Nonetheless, she was never caught.

One day, on the week of the contest, she peered out from the alley. There was a lion tamer, his crew, and the cages of lions. With a bump in the road, one of the cages unlocked. A lioness took her cub and ran. It went straight to the alley where the little girl was. And she retreated into the shadows as quickly as possible. Unfortunately for them, this alley was a dead end. The only hiding spot was a pile of garbage.

Hiding in the rubbish, the little girl watched the events unfold. The lioness was aware of the girl and dropped its cub next to the waste. To prevent the people from finding them, the lioness revealed itself and ran. The cub subconsciously knew what its mother wanted and stayed.

After a while, the little girl came out of hiding. The cub backed away with caution. The little girl was also scared. The ice broke when both their stomach growled from hunger. The little girl looked around for food. She found a dirtied apple. She cleaned it with her dirty shirt and placed it in front of the cub. It was hesitant. So, the girl figured it must've wanted something else. She told the cub to stay as she climbed the walls. Later, she returned with raw meat. She tossed it in front of the cub. The cub rolled the apple back to the girl. They enjoyed their red meal together.

The cub spoke. It was a low grumble like chuff. "Ma..."

The little girl could only assume it was trying to meow or the like and mimicked its call. They had bonding conversation even though they had no idea what the other was saying.

A month passed before the people found out about the cub. At first, they feared the feline, and then when it displayed no harmful manners, they left it alone. The cub and the girl roamed the streets high and low, taking the food they needed before returning to their home in the shadows of the alleys.

As the cub grew, so did its hunger. Giving more than they could, the vendors brushed away the little girl and the lion whenever they came around. Since they needed food, they couldn't stop. With some time of struggle, the authorities were finally involved. Hearing about the animal, Faustus came along. The king's guard surrounded the alley the two were in. The little girl hid the lion as she faced the guards head on.

Faustus made his way to the front. His eyes found interest in her. Despite the grime and muck and tattered hair and clothes, he sensed an untouched beauty underneath all that. His mind quickly cleared of the lion. Instead, he ordered his guards to take the girl. And of course, she tried to refuse. With a moment of physical confrontation, the girl finally lost.

As she was dragged away, she turned her head towards the hiding spot of the lion and mouthed: "Trust me. I'll be back."

A few years passed as Faustus cleaned the little girl and taught her how to act in royalty. And just as he thought, she blossomed into a natural beauty. A beauty who he wanted to marry. He set a date to throw his marriage celebration.

When that day came, he had a show prepared. The girl was placed in a red silk saree. The pleats restricted wide and sudden movements, discouraging her legs to run.

People were invited to his private arena, where they would watch animals and humans fight for their lives.

Faustus and his new wife sat in the royal gallery of his 'theatre'. Red curtains opened their view to the stadium below. The girl watched as the pairings of fighters fought and passed.

Then, a lion was presented. It looked around, frightened at the loud spectacle. It tried to retreat but had nowhere to go. Its head lifted to the gallery where the girl was. Their eyes met and instantaneously knew who the other was. The girl stood in disbelief. Faustus attempted to soothe her. She shook it off.

Just as Faustus wanted to make his advances, he was notified that a prisoner had escaped. He excused himself for the moment. Guards walled the doors to ensure the girl couldn't leave. That was excessive since she used the curtains to climb down.

She ran through the audience and jumped into the pit. The audience gasped with fear and excitement. The girl beckoned the lion to her. They made their way to a gate and heaved it open. They made their escape.

Through the halls, they ran. The place was too big to remember where the exit was. Eventually, they bumped into a stranger. He told them where the exits were as he dashed into the opposite direction. Guards caught up from behind. They ran.

After a few turns and doors, they found themselves in the middle of a pincer formation. The girl unraveled her saree, revealing the petticoat and blouse underneath. She then wrapped one end partially around her hand.

"We need to break through them," she said to the lion. The lion agreed with a huff.

She charged at a guard and swung her arm. The saree wrapped itself around the guard as she jump-kicked him in the chest. The lion followed suit, protecting her blind spot. Quickly, they passed the first wave of men. Another set arrived around the corner. They attacked without hesitation. The men were careful so as not to harm the girl. Spears and swords swung about. The girl and lion were agile to dodge and parry. But between them and an endless wave of reinforcements, they were running out of stamina faster.

Exhausted, the girl couldn't evade the incoming sword. The lion took the damage in order to protect her. From there, death simply waited. Faustus entered as the guards captured the girl. The lion was still breathing but immobile.

Faustus looked the girl dead in the eyes and smirked. "Did you really think you could get away?"

She headbutted him. He laughed. He was entertained, more so than ever before. He turned his back and motioned his fingers to have her taken away. The lion purred with pain. It looked at her apologetically. It wanted to help. It couldn't help. She mouthed her words. The same words she had told it when she was taken away: "Trust me." She gave a smile.

At that moment, the girl broke free. She grabbed a sword, ready to stab him. As if he knew, he turned around, parried the sword, and struck a blade through her abdomen. She plopped next to the lion.

Faustus grunted with dissatisfaction. He told his men to clean it up after he left.

As he left, the girl crawled to the lion. She whispered to it, "I told you I would be back. . ." She placed her forehead against its nose. ". . .Mia."

The lion replied with a moaned that sounded like, "Ama."

When the guards reached for their bodies, their bodies merged into one. They formed into the body of the girl when she was still in the alleys. Instinctively, the girl performed a windmill kick and swatted away their hands. She landed on all fours as she surveyed the area. In a snap, she lunged between the men and escaped the place.

She retreated to the alleys. The only place where she knew was home.

|¡| | |¤|

"She refuses to talk to us," Pathalias stated. "So, as requested, we will disconnect the  telepathic link from her.

"She is like Inspaltur," Hexice spoke.

"She is most like a human than one of us," ParaVi added. "She cowers, hungers, and reacts like one."

"Feelings we can not fathom without the help from Pathalias," Tantetra said.

"I can not fathom to be dressed like her," Hexice joked.

"At least her body is covered."