After a long silence, Aliana finally leaned back, her hand still connected with his via the chain between them.
"Star," she said softly, "what if... what if we replace your friends before your master returns?"
Star stared without a hint of emotion.
"Replace them?"
Aliana nodded. "You said your master doesn't remember their faces, right?"
He tilted his head slightly. "Master doesn't care about faces. He only... counts them."
Aliana's heart pounded.
"So if we find nine new... 'friends'-he won't notice?"
Star didn't respond immediately. His blank stare drifted toward the dark corner of the room as if searching for an answer, then back to Aliana.
"If the number is right... Master won't be angry."
A small flame of hope ignited in Aliana's chest-but it flickered dangerously.
"Okay," she said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "So all we have to do... is find nine replacements."
Star's lips parted, his voice quiet but steady.
"Not as... companions."
Aliana tensed.
"As... showpieces for Master."
Her stomach twisted.
To Star, people weren't people-they were just objects in his master's game.
But there was something else gnawing at her-Star wasn't just afraid of punishment.
He was terrified of something far worse.
Loneliness.
If he didn't replace those "friends," he wouldn't just face his master's wrath-he would be alone for two whole days.
And that fear overpowered everything else.
The silence between them grew louder.
Finally, Aliana exhaled.
"We're going to figure this out," she said, gripping the chain between them firmly. "I promise."
Star didn't move.
But this time-his free hand slowly closed into a hesitant fist... and rested softly on the edge of his knee.
Not quite reaching out-but no longer retreating either.
They were still chained-physically and emotionally.
But for the first time-Aliana could feel the faintest pull of hope.
Would they really be able to find a way out before the master returned?
Would Star ever understand the difference between companionship and captivity?
There was no clear path ahead.
_ _ _
The night was as silent as ever-an unsettling stillness hung in the air, broken only by the faint sound of clinking metal as the handcuffs kept Star and Aliana chained together.
Star lay stiffly on the cold wooden floor, his back to Aliana, his hood still drawn over his face. The dim light of the moon barely lit the room, casting long, crooked shadows against the walls.
Aliana, unable to move far, awkwardly lay beside him, her free hand resting between them, the chain between their wrists stretched just enough to give them space-but not freedom.
At some point, she drifted off to sleep.
----
But the silence didn't last.
A low, broken moan escaped Star's lips.
It was soft at first-like the echo of something distant-but then it grew louder, more anguished.
His body twitched, his fists clenched, and his face-normally a mask of emptiness-was now contorted in a rare expression of fear.
He was having a nightmare.
Aliana's eyes snapped open.
The room was still the same-dark, quiet, cold-but Star was anything but calm.
"No... I didn't... I can't find... the friends... Master, please..." His voice was a broken whisper, but every word was filled with despair.
Aliana's heart sank as she listened.
"She... betrayed me... I'm alone... Master-please-stop-"
The mention of betrayal cut through her like a knife.
His body trembled-his breathing quickened-his nightmare was getting worse.
Without thinking-without hesitation-Aliana moved.
She turned toward Star and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight, desperate hug.
The sudden warmth broke through the nightmare.
"Star, wake up-it's okay!" she whispered, her voice trembling.
His eyes shot open.
For a split second, his entire body froze-stunned-not by fear, but by the feeling of someone holding him.
His breathing was ragged-his gaze darted between Aliana and the floor.
The dream still haunted him-but the sensation of Aliana's arms around him was too real to ignore.
She didn't let go.
The chain between them clinked softly as she held him even tighter.
"I'm not going anywhere," she whispered. "Plus, I promised, you are not getting rid of me that easily."
Star blinked-once, twice-his mind unable to comprehend why a person with emotions, someone who wasn't his master, was still here-still holding him.
He didn't push her away.
He didn't understand why.
Aliana's voice cracked, but she kept speaking:
"I handcuffed us together, remember?" She lifted her bound wrist slightly, making the chain rattle gently. "You don't have to be scared-I'm right here."
Star stared blankly at the handcuffs, then at her.
The nightmare still echoed in his mind-the thought of failing his master, of Aliana betraying him, of dying alone-but those thoughts began to blur.
Because Aliana was still here.
----
After a long silence, Aliana finally spoke again, her voice softer now but still heavy with emotion:
"Tomorrow..." she swallowed hard, "we'll find the nine new friends your master wants. But they won't be like the ones before."
Star's brow furrowed slightly.
"What do you mean?" he asked, his voice still flat-but less distant.
Aliana smiled weakly, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"They won't be mindless puppets, they'll be real people, with real emotions."
Even as fear gnawed at her, even knowing she might not survive, she forced herself to add it. "And... We'll find them together."
The word together seemed foreign to Star-like something from a language he didn't understand.
His master never used that word.
It was always obey. Follow. Submit.
Never together.
----
Star's lips parted, but he couldn't find the words.
Aliana continued, her voice shaking but firm:
"Even if we can't find nine... I'll still be here."
Star blinked again.
"If your master punishes you... I'll try to shield you."
Star's eyes widened slightly-just for a second.
"And if it gets worse, if your master decides to kill you..." Aliana's voice cracked again, more tears spilling down her face, "then I'll die with you."
Star's heart did something strange-it lurched-like a flicker of something breaking through the emptiness he always felt.
He didn't know what to call it-this warmth in his chest-this ache that wasn't fear.
It was different.
New.
Hopeful.
Star finally spoke, his voice quieter than before.
"Why?"
Aliana blinked.
"Why... do you care... so much about... me?"
Her breathing steadied-but the tears didn't stop.
She wiped her face with her free hand and whispered:
"Because... I hate seeing someone so lonely."
Star's expression didn't change-but his heart twisted again.
"I hate seeing someone... living a life so empty, so cold... so emotionless."
The words struck a chord in Star's mind-like a dull echo of something he didn't even know he was missing.
Emotionless.
That was what he was, wasn't it?
But tonight-he didn't feel so empty anymore.
And he didn't know why.
----
Aliana slowly released the hug-but only slightly-and looked into Star's dark, hollow eyes.
"I won't let you go through this alone..." she whispered. "I promise..."
The handcuffs between them gleamed faintly in the moonlight-an unbreakable bond, both literal and symbolic.
Star didn't say anything.
But for the first time-there was a fragile flicker of something human in his otherwise blank stare.
And Aliana held onto that flicker-no matter how faint with all her heart.
The real battle wasn't against the master.
It was against the chains inside Star's heart.