"…Two days from now," he said after a while, "another group is going to be branded."
The first guard grimaced.
"I just hope it's not our turn."
After a moment, he spoke again.
"Should we… escape?"
The second guard looked at him.
"Do you think that's even possible?"
"…."
Neither of them spoke again.
Both men sat there with grim expressions, silently worrying about their future.
Then suddenly, one of them sniffed the air.
"…Did you smell that?"
"What?"
"There's some kind of fragrance."
The other guard inhaled slowly.
"…Yeah. That does smell nice."
"Where is it coming from?"
"I don't know," the second guard said. "Maybe Miss used some new room freshener?"
While they were still talking, their eyelids began to grow heavy.
One of them yawned. Followed by the other.
Within seconds, both guards slumped back in their chairs, completely asleep.
---
Several minutes passed.
Then the two shadows reappeared.
