Sofia glanced eagerly at the door, her stomach is rumbling again, which means it's time for another meal!

If she guessed correctly, it's already Lunchtime since she finished eating her breakfast a while ago. ​​

A few minutes later, the door opened and the old woman stood in the doorway looking at her.

"Child, follow me..." Hera said.

"Where?"

"I'm going to put you in another room," Hera spoke.

"Just like room #6? " she asked.

"Yeah," Hera replied and walked away.

Sofia grabbed her knapsack and bolted out of the room.

She saw the old woman entered room #5.

When she reached the room. She saw a tray filled with food placed on the table.

Hera looked at the girl. "From now on this is your new room. You can start eating your lunch now," she said and left the room.

Sofia noticed that the room has the same feature as room #6. And the best thing about the room, it has a wall clock!

She smiled a bit and went to the table, she lowered herself on the chair and begin devouring her meals.

Half an hour later, she finished eating all the dishes. She put the plate and dish bowl back on the tray. She rose to her feet and sat on the edge of the bed wondering what to do to pass her time. Five to six hours of waiting for her next meal. That's quite long and nothing to do in between!

She walked towards the door and tried opening it, but it won't budge. She released a deep sigh, dang! she was being locked again!

She went back to bed, lay down, and stared at the ceiling.

A few minutes later, she heard the door opening...

Hera entered the room and looked at her. "Make yourself presentable, the lord will see you in two hours. Hopefully, he will answer all your question so that you will stop pestering me!" she said.

"Thank you, Granny! May I know if your lord is a monster or a human that looks like you?" Sofia inquired.

Hera smiled. "So... tell me.. what do you think of me... human or non-human?"

"Nonhuman!" Sofia answered quickly.

Hera clapped her hands. "Smart girl! Now that you know my identity, behaved yourself and avoid doing things that can annoy me, okay?"

Sofia bit her lip and nods her head. "Ok. "

"Good! I'll come back here after two hours and bring you to my lord," Hera said and went to the table, she picked up the tray.

"Granny, before you go, can you please answer my question? Is your master a scary-looking monster or looks human like you?" Sofia repeated her question.

"Why are you so eager to know?" Hera asked.

"Because the one who abducted me from the forest is a scary-looking monster. Is he the one I'm going to meet later?" Sofia asked.

"It depends on his mood. No more questions, I'm leaving!" Hera replied.

"Thank you for the delicious food, Granny!" Sofia said.

Hera glanced at the girl for a few seconds and exited the room without saying anything.

Sofia sighed deeply. Why that old woman is giving her a hard time? She just asks a simple question and yet the woman refused to answer the truth! How frustrating!

She just wants to know if she's going to see a monster or a human being so that she can prepare herself mentally and not passed out in front of such a horrifying creature!

She rolled her eyes and took a deep breath.

It's comforting to know that they haven't done something bad to her yet, it gives her a little hope that they will eventually release her one of these days.

If they're really bad people, she was already dead by now.

She should take a bath now before Granny comes back for her. She went to the closet and looked at the new clothes. She noticed that there are about seven pairs of clothes, mostly blouses and long flowing skirts. She ran her fingers on the garment, they feel nice to touch, just her type of clothes to wear.

She grabbed one pair and entered the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, she exited the bathroom, wearing a matching pink blouse and skirt.

Dang! The room has no mirror but she had a small mirror and comb in her knapsack!

She opened the cabinet and fished out the mirror and comb from the pocket of her bag.

She began brushing her below-the-shoulder hair. While brushing her hair she was thinking about how to play her card well. They haven't hurt her yet, but it doesn't mean that they won't! Her main goal is to survive and live another day to wait for the chance to escape and return to the arms of her family.

But the thing is... if they keep her prisoner in this place with no exit an entrance... how could she get out and escape?

She breathed deeply.

There is an entrance and exit somewhere for sure! But the problem is... how to find them?

She remembered that she asked her sister Laura once... Why her brother-in-law can easily appear and disappear instantly? And her sister Laura answered her that it's because Graven uses the teleportation process in his mind, only beings of his kind can do that.

This means... these people who abducted her can easily leave and enter this place without needing an exit!

Or there must be an entrance and exit somewhere in this place that was protected by a spell... or an invisible door that she can't see!

But she could never see or access the door unless she will gain their trust!

She wants to know how to play her card well to her advantage!

If she will play fierce, stubborn, and infuriate the people who are in charge of her, they might hurt or kill her! But if she will play obedient, and submissive, she might have a chance to escape this place.

That's it!

She must bid her time and plan carefully because these people have supernatural powers and she's just a mere human being, they can easily smash her with their fingers, and she will be a piece of dead meat before she knows it.

Realizing how difficult and dangerous her situation is, makes her want to cry, but this is not the right time to cry! She must stay strong, brave, and smart even if she's powerless against these powerful strangers. She only has herself to depend on from now on!

She needs to survive this difficult and dangerous ordeal to return safely to her family one day.

She released a deep sigh.

'I must be strong!'

'I must be brave!'

'I must be wise!'

She repeated those mantras inside her mind over and over again.

After a few minutes of repeating those mantras, she felt a sudden surge of strength burning in her heart.

She can do it!

She will survive!

She breathed deeply and inhaled, exhaled fresh air into her lungs for a few seconds.

She will see the master soon, the one who orchestrated all these things! She must face him bravely!

A few minutes later.... the door opened.

Hera entered the room and looked at the girl. "Are you ready?"

Sofia nodded her head. "Yeah..."

"Alright, follow me. I'll take you to him," Hera said.

The women exited the room and went to room #10.

When they entered the room, there's no one there.

"I see... he's not here yet, I'll leave you here for a moment. Just wait for my lord and he will arrive soon. Just sit on the couch and behave," Hera said.

"Ok," Sofia replied and sat on the couch.

Hera exited the room.

Sofia roamed her eyes around the area. This room has the same feature as her room, but instead of a table and chair, there's only a couch. She looked at the bed, does the lord sleep in this room?

She looked at the closet wondering if it contained male clothes?

She was about to move closer to the closet and investigates its content when she heard footsteps outside. She sits erect on the couch and fixed her head on the floor. She can hear her heart beating rapidly inside her rib cage.

Meanwhile...

Outside the room.

"Is the girl already inside?" Zero asked.

Hera nodded her head. "Yes, my lord!"

"Okay, I'll talk to her," Zero spoke, he pushed the door open and entered.

He saw the girl sitting on the couch, her eyes fixed on the floor.

Sofia saw the black shoes and she finally raised her head to see if he is a monster in disguise just wearing a pair of human shoes... and her eyes landed on his handsome face. Her lips formed an...oh... "You're human! Thank, God! I thought I'm going to see a monster today!" she exclaimed in gladness.

Zero smirked and sat on the couch facing her. "I can turn myself into a monster if you want," he suggested.

"No...no...please...don't do that! I might die early due to fear!" she pleaded. "I like your image right now, so please stay that way!" she begged.

Zero smirked in amusement. "Alright, I won't shift... " he said.

"Oh, my God!" Reality finally dawned on her. "You people are shapeshifters!?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, we are," Zero replied calmly. "With my level, I can transform myself to anything I like," he boasted.

Sofia breathed steadily and smiled a bit. "That's cool! Um... may I know why you abducted me?"

Zero went silent.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked again.

"No!" he answered.

"So, if you don't have any plans to kill me, can you please release me? I promise you, once you set me free, I won't tell anyone that you abducted me," she said, persuading him.

Zero was silent while tapping his fingers on his legs.

"No. I can't release you. You will remain in this place until something comes up," he finally spoke.

Sofia's brows knitted together. "We're not enemies of each other! What wrong have I done to offend you? Why did you abduct me against my will? Please tell me the reason why you took me away!?" she demanded, teary-eyed.

"I abducted you because I saw that you have in your possession a missing object that my men and I are were desperately trying to find all this time..." Zero replied.