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This room was suspicious to Sasha. This whole thing was weird. She tried to look around, to figure out exactly what it was that had her on edge, but she couldn’t see anything. She couldn’t focus quite right anyway. The world had changed so very much and Grizzop was gone and the pouring rain was making her head pound. Hamid and Azu had been talking about something, in a way that had sent a twinge of irritation through Sasha. Wouldn’t they stay focused for one second?
“Sasha?” Hamid said, his tone easily betraying his concern even to Sasha. “Would you like a drink? It’s called sake.”
Sasha turned to face them, and immediately softened at the worried expressions on Azu and Hamid’s faces. She nearly rolled her eyes, but she did nod and hold out her hand for a glass. “Is it nice?”
“Oh yes! Sake is brilliant, Sasha, you must try it.” Hamid exclaimed before glancing at the bottle and frowning . “It feels a little warm though…”
Azu took a big slip and then looked at her glass. “It is alright.”
Sasha drank some and shrugged. It was better than other London alcohol. She set herself down on the matted floor.
The others joined her, and silence settled over them for a few minutes.
“So…” Azu said, drawing out the word painfully. “Sasha.”
“Don’t.” Sasha said shortly. She knew Azu wanted to talk about feelings, about Grizzop, about Eldarion, about the world breaking, and about how painfully obvious it was that Sasha was not doing okay.
Hamid chipped in “Sasha, I know you don’t want to but I really think that…” He trailed off as Azu placed a quieting hand on his shoulder.
“Okay, Sasha. We don’t have to talk right now. But you will need to talk about it eventually, and when you are ready….”
Sasha downed her drink. “Alright. Yeah. Cheers, mates.” She paused and then more softly repeated, “Cheers, mates.”
Hamid sighed heavily, and Azu was clearly holding in a hug.
“This room is nice innit?” Sasha said. “I like it. I like sitting on the floor.”
Azu grinned. “It reminds me of home.”
“Oh? Did you have furniture like this?” said Hamid, looking around with renewed curiosity.
“Oh, no, I mean, we’d often eat outside, on the floor. If we were far away with the animals.”
“What was it like?” Sasha asked. “Like, growing up with like, animals. I mean we had rats, but now many like cows. Was it nice to have like outside stuff?”
“We kept goats. It was often my job to watch them. It was beautiful up there, the sky was blue and I could always hear wind up in the mountains. Sometimes I feel like something is missing… And I don’t realise what it is for hours, until there is a gust of wind and a feeling of home settles over me.”
Hamid let out a deep breath, and the others looked over before sharing an amused glance; he’d dropped off to sleep.
“I think I know what you mean. It wasn’t all bad, growing up, like, where I did. I mean it was pretty bad but sometimes I’d be running about with my cousin Brock and just like, forget all the other stuff. I didn’t even realise there was stuff I’d missed until I went back with Hamid and Zolf and Bertie, and the roof creaked in that way it always did, and there was proper eels, and people who sounded like me instead of all fancy like on the surface.”
Azu nodded, and settled back onto a cushion. “There is something very nice about being around people who are like you are.”
Sasha poured them both another sake and to her surprise found herself relaxing back as well.
“Did you have a drink back home? Like how I have orcish moonshine?”
Sasha almost chuckled, but she caught herself. “We just called it ‘the alcohol’. It tasted awful but like, it worked, so…”
Azu did chuckle. “Orcish moonshine definitely ‘works’.”
“Jellied eels was the thing.” Sasha said, feeling her eyelids drooping. “They’re well nice.”
“I will have to try them one day.” Azu said.
Sasha was groggily trying to come up with a response as she gently slipped off to sleep.
***
Sasha became aware once more with a dull ache across her back. She was laying on the cold stone floor and could only see the inky darkness of the room. She could hear three people breathing in the room - probably Azu and Hamid - but she wasn’t sure who else. Silently, she got to her feet, clasping a pair of daggers in her hands.
“Sasha…” called out Azu. “Do not panic.”
“What’s going on?” said Sasha.
“We’re trapped. A quarantine. Wilde was here, and there’s a man.”
Sasha’s heart started pounding at the thought of being trapped and she was struggling to focus on listening to her surroundings.
There was the sound of Hamid stirring and his muffled voice came “What’s going on?”
Sasha tried to listen to the other person in the room. It sounded like a man. It sounded familiar. She had the thought that it might be Barat and as much as she tried to dismiss it, she knew it was possible that he was free. It had been eighteen months. The person shifted their weight. The roaring sound of blood in her ears got louder and Sasha felt sick.
Azu explained “We fell through a trapdoor, and Oscar Wilde, I think, was here. He doesn’t think we are who we say we are. And there’s someone in the shadows who might still be watching, I don’t know.”
Sasha felt her breathing get shallower and quicker, as Hamid tried and failed to light the room up.
There was the sound of the man standing up. Sasha readied herself as he cleared his throat.
He said “Hey, Sasha, Ham-” and then grunted in pain as one of Sasha’s daggers lodged itself in him. She froze as she realised who the voice belonged to and at the same moment Hamid exclaimed.
“Zolf! Is that you?”
“Steady on, Sasha.” Zolf said. “Ouch.”
“You know this man?” Azu asked.
“Yeah, it’s - Why is it so dark in here?” Hamid asked.
“Oh, yeah, sorry. I’ll put on some torches.” Zolf said. There was a pause. The room started lighting up slightly, and Sasha caught sight of the bars trapping them in the room, and the dagger fell from her hand.
The clank echoed through the room and the others went still, looking at her.
“Sasha?” Azu prompted, gently.
Sasha locked eyes with her. “This makes sense. This - this whole thing. I - I should have known.”
“It doesn’t make any sense!” Hamid exclaimed. “Zolf, what’s going on?”
“Sasha, what do you mean?” Zolf asked.
She turned to look at him, then stumbled back a few steps away from the bars. “I- I mean, because from the start this - because I - I.” She took a few shallow breaths. “I chose to join the group. That was, like, my first proper choice, big choice. And Bi Ming he said that I wasn’t good at choosing my friends when he met you and I-I know. B-but this is what happens, yeah? Because I thought I chose you. And now I’m… in prison. Again.”
“Sasha, no, I… it’s just for a week.” Zolf said. “Look, I’m… I know it’s not nice. I’m sorry, Sasha.”
“I’m so stupid.”
Azu stepped forwards, arms hanging down by her sides hopelessly. “You are not stupid, Sasha. This is a bad place but we will not be here forever.”
“I’m stuck… I’m stuck.” Sasha gasped.
“Zolf. Let us out.” Hamid demanded. “Right now!”
Zolf fists were clenched by his sides as he shook his head. “It’s not safe, Hamid. I can’t.”
“What do you mean?” asked Hamid. “This is absolutely ridiculous, Zolf! Look at Sasha. She…”
Azu spoke to Sasha again. “It is going to be okay. Come here, sit with me. I will tell you about my home again.”
Sasha allowed herself to be led the painfully short distance to the far corner, stood at Azu’s side, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.
“When I was a child, my favourite colour was blue. The bright, brilliant blue of the sky on a clear day. I liked to watch the clouds.” Azu paused for a moment and gently suggested. “Would you like to sit down?”
Sasha glanced around, then to Azu’s surprise sat very close to her so that their arms were touching. Her back was against the wall and her eyes focused firmly on Zolf.
“I do not know if you’ve done cloud watching, Sasha. But sometimes the clouds look like other things. It was my favourite thing to do.”
“Azu?” Sasha whispered.
“Yes?” Azu glanced at Hamid and Zolf, who were watching across the room. Zolf was shaking, and Hamid was fidgeting like he did before casting fireballs. Neither seemed like they would be much help.
“I thought that… Zolf was, like, someone I trusted. Why would he have put so much effort into making me trust him? I’m not important. Did he plan this? All from the start?”
Zolf inhaled sharply from across the room. Hamid whispered something to him, before crossing the cell to sit with Azu and Sasha. Zolf quietly went back to his corner.
“Why don’t you keep going, Azu?” Hamid suggested.
And Azu continued to talk gently until Sasha had fallen to sleep.
Then in silence, Hamid tired to process the situation, Azu attempted to figure out how to get Sasha through the week and, alone, at the other side of the room Zolf lost hope that their friendship would ever be repaired.