Chapter 61: Offer
The echoing clang of the cell door closing behind them was a stark contrast to the sudden silence that enveloped Jinx and the girl. Jinx’s gaze immediately darted to the unguarded exit, a path to freedom tantalizingly within reach.
"The guards must be defending the city," Jinx muttered, a hopeful whisper. But before her feet could propel her forward, the girl’s small hand gently yet firmly grasped her own, halting her in place. Jinx turned, a perplexed expression etched on her face.
"What happened, Little Dragon?" she asked, her voice laced with confusion.
The girl didn’t answer with words, instead, she pointed a finger towards the other cells, rows upon rows stretching before them, easily more than twenty in number. Jinx’s eyes widened in disbelief, then narrowed.
"Are you kidding me?!" she exclaimed, her voice rising in exasperation. "We haven’t even escaped, and you want us to carry more?!"
"They are just like us," the girl said, her voice surprisingly calm and steady. "We don’t have to lead them out, as long as they can leave the dungeon, they won’t be our problem. We just need to open the cells."
Jinx let out a long, dramatic sigh. "Sometimes I wonder if you’re just a 12-year-old," she mumbled under her breath. Her head then swivelled towards the cell they had just vacated, her eyes landing on the lifeless forms of the guards within. A glint of metal caught her attention – keys.
She strode back into the cell, a determined glint in her eyes, and retrieved the keys from one of the fallen guards. As an afterthought, she began searching the Ogre’s body, her hands moving quickly and efficiently.
"Lucky!" she declared, her voice laced with triumph as she pulled a sleek dagger from the Ogre’s side.
"Aren’t those better?" the girl asked, pointing to the two broadswords lying on the ground.
Jinx scoffed. "I don’t like swords... They’re slow to kill." She walked back towards the girl, the dagger now securely in her grip.