Authosr note: Alright, looking good for posting weekly here since the chapters are small, so that a positive!
as im sure is kind of obvious, i'm taking things slow here to set up charachter growth, the setting and the like. it will be a few chapters befor oir surviving charachters truly enter into space, but i hope you like the direction we are going, and the chapter itself.

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The screams went on for a while. Without any kind of natural light it was hard to tell time, but it must have been for easily an hour. When it finally stopped Malicorne, Louie, and even Montmorency, perked up and waited.

They did not have to wait long as one of their captors walked in alongside the lights brightening. It had a floating gurney behind it with the boy on it, and he was then dumped unceremoniously back into his cell. He was completely naked, and aside from some strange brown colored wraps that could likely be bandages on his wrists, ankles and neck, he did not look injured.

A fact that made it even more creepy and worrisome to some.

"What, did they do to him?" Montmorency asked quietly, having waited till their captor left the room and the lighting had dimmed once again before speaking.

"I, can't really see anything wrong aside from the bandages," Malicorne said slowly. Louise could not see him, but figured he was probably standing and trying to get a good look.

"But, the screaming," Montmorency said in fear, sobbing a bit again despite no tears manifesting.

"They probably used healing magic on him," Malicorne said, not realizing that such words made things worse. "Don't worry, we'll get out of here, Guiche will come save you and-"

"No he won't!" Montmorency screamed.

The lights then brightened again, silencing the three of them as two monsters came into the hall again and stopped at the same place. Only this time, it was Malicorne's doorway that disappeared.

"Wait, I won't resist," Malicorne said as one of the monsters approached him, and a second later he was being walked out of his cell, past Louise and Montmorency's. " Guiche will come Montmorency, be strong!" he said as he was led out of the cell area, and the lights once again dimmed.

"No, he won't,"

"Why?" Louise asked after a few seconds, making Montmorency look up at her. "He's your boyfriend and fiancé, right? So why don't you think he will come?"

"He's the reason I'm here," Montmorency said with a sniffle. "When that light bathed us and we began floating upwards I had been holding his arm in fear. I thought he would hold onto me, that he would pull me back to him. But," Montmorency stopped for a moment, her hands balled into fists and tightening so much that she drew blood on her own palms. "He threw me away. He grabbed my hand that was holding his arm, and wrenched it away from him with a wild fearful look in his eyes, a look that became calm a second later when he fell to the ground, when he wasn't pulled up alongside me."

"I'm sorry."

"He threw me away for fear of his own life!" Montmorency screamed suddenly. "He always talked about how much he loved me, how happy we would be, how I was beautiful and, and, and he just threw me away without a second thought to save his own hide!"

" . . . He . . . . there were those rumors about him."

"I know there were the rumors!" Montmorency snapped at Louise. "I had heard them of course, but I had never seen them, never found any proof, and Guiche always told me that they were baseless, that they were just rumors from our fellow students who wanted to get back at him for having me as his girlfriend! I, I trusted him! I trusted his word! I thought, I thought we had something, that it wasn't just our families planning our marriage, that we could be happy after our time in the academy!"

"I'm sorry," Louise said after a few moments of silence.

Montmorency said nothing, leading to a long, uncomfortable silence that reigned between them until the lights brightened one again, and Malicorne was brought back in and tossed into the others boys cell, naked as well. Instead of leaving though, the monster that brought him back stopped in front of Montmorency's cell, the doorway of light disappearing.

The creature stood there for a moment before motioning at Montmorency with its arm, and seeing this she slowly climbed up to her feet, resigned to whatever fate was awaiting her.

"Montmorency!" Louise suddenly exclaimed as Montmorency walked out of her cell. "Guiche may not be coming, but I'm here, and Malicorne hadn't screamed at all. You will be fine if you are strong!"

Montmorency said nothing as she was walked out, the cell block dimming behind her and leaving Louise in darkness.

"Why did I say that?" Louise muttered to herself after a few moment of sitting in the dim cell.

It was a foolish question that she knew the answer to. She had known Montmorency years ago when they both were much younger. Nobility often had their children have other children of nobility of a similar age as playmates, and aside from the Princess, one of Louise's had been Montmorency due to their families closer proximity to the Valliere's territory. They had played, talked, shared their young hopes and dreams. But when they began learning magic from their families early, as many noble families were want to do, and she could not seem to do anything but explode, Montmorency's family refused to let her come anymore, claiming that she was in danger at the Valliere estate. The next time she would see her would be years later when she came to the academy, and it was like she was a different person.

No, that wasn't right, they were both different people years later. Montmorency did not have as many childish dreams as she used to, and had gained her families pride at being a family that regularly made contracts with a great water spirit, while Louise herself had changed as well, losing her naiveté at how good and nice people could be. Years of failing magic and being pushed by her family harder and harder to do better would do that.

They had both changed a lot in the years since their younger days, so perhaps she spoke up to try to reassure her in remembrance of those days?

The lights in the cells brightened, making Louise look up in time to see one monster moving Montmorency back in to her cell, fully nude, and with no bandages or marks upon her body of any kind.

The monster then turned around as the door of light to Montmorency's cell reappeared, and then her own disappeared.

It was now her turn.