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Aïtana kept her eyes closed when she awoke the next morning. Her back muscles felt tense and painful but the softness of the blanket around her body and the wonderful feeling of her head on a pillow embraced her with kindness. She didn't want to awaken her sleepy brain to whatever reality would throw at her today. She would need to get dressed soon she reckoned.

A pain in her cheek made her groan. It was more so a memory than actual physical pain. The body reminded her of something she was trying to not remember. But Aïtana was unable to hold her thoughts from coming back to her.

[color=fab900]"No, no"[/color], she whispered into the pillow. Wetness grazed the corner of her mouth. She must have drooled in her sleep. [color=fab900]"Urgh, no. Okay... I'm ready."[/color] With a defeated sigh she sat up and let her brain introduce her to the roughness of the morning. She took a breath and slowly opened her eyes, revealing.... [color=fab900]"What?"[/color], the woman softly wondered.

There were bars that kept her locked inside her cell. But other than that... This wasn't what she had expected. Her hand stroked over the soft duvet of her bed. It felt expensive. It felt like someone had deliberately chosen exactly this material. The room was stacked with shelves and within the shelves books. Candlelight hugged the cell into a dim and romantic embrace. Some of the candles had burnt down entirely. [color=fab900][i]They must have been on all night...[/i][/color]. Or they were old candles. But with someone like Catarina as her host, she doubted it. There was a wooden table with chairs that looked oddly inviting. At the sight, Aïtana's stomach sprung to life and growled desperately.

Aïtana scooted her butt to the edge of the bed and touched the floor with her bare feet. The rug greeted her toes with the decent feeling of a very ordinary rug. [color=fab900][i]Bare feet...[/i][/color] She attempted to wrap her head around the fact that all she was wearing was her undergarments. To be fair, it covered her nicely still. She had some more showing lingerie but found those impractical. So her go-to were tight underpants and a tight top that would allow her to move freely without her chest hindering her. 

[[url=http://newimg.globalmarket.com/PicLib/group1/M00/89/75/rBAAaVbqa8uAVrbFAACfsfS1SU0411_l.jpg](basically sports underwear like this but in all white and a bit less modern cause we're not in a setting where we wear modern clothes)[/url]]

Aïtana let her eyes wander around. Catarina had surprised her after all. After their conversation last night she had not hoped for much more than the typical villain's lair. She found her clothes were neatly stacked on the table with her boots standing by the side of it. She rose from the bed and made her way over to the table. The candle on top of it had only burned down halfway. It was a white ordinary-looking candle. But Aïtana recognized it anyway. It was the same candles she always bought for her study. All the long nights spent with her head in a book or above various parchments, she had found that these candles provided the best quality. They lasted her for days. But she never burnt them down in one go.

In her study, she would often sit and read and write for five hours with no interruption. Within five hours, the candle would be burnt down by approximately one-fifteenth of its original size. It would be hard to measure time with such a long-lasting candle. Aïtana sat down on one of the chairs, grabbed the burning candle, and began to etched small indicators into the wax with her fingernail. It wasn't a foolproof technique and it would be hard to read. Considering that her measurements were likely inaccurate anyway, she could be glad if this was even helping her a bit. [color=fab900][i]No windows, no time measurement. But candles work well, just gotta keep my eye on them.[/i][/color]

She put the candle back where it belonged. Her stomach made another growling noise. When had she last eaten? Being knocked out twice by an insufferable amount of pain had cost her body a lot of energy. But at least she could be certain now. The pain she had felt had definitely been Catarina's work. And by work, she meant her magic. [color=fab900][i]Did the ducal couple know about this cruel ability of hers? Why would they let someone who practices illegal magic into their inner circles?[/i][/color].

However unpleasant her encounter with Catarina's ability had been, she had revealed a part of her hand. Aïtana now knew of this little trick of hers and could prepare herself for it. She had an advantage for as long as she knew more about her captor than Catarina did about her captive. [color=fab900][i]Why do I have a feeling that won't last long.[/i][/color]

Aïtana leaned forward and reached for her clothes. The sound of keys in a keyhole made her look up and stop in her motion. Then the door beyond the bars began to open slowly.

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