In Terrall, the existence of witches and wizards were rare. They were the gifted people capable of controlling unnatural forces through the use of a catalyst or by consuming up the mana of living and nonliving objects around them. Witchfolk was the precise term that they were called of as a whole. After Vitte, the First Witch, appeared six hundred years ago and gave away her powers in exchange for her death or so the legends say, Witchfolk began showing up. Most people did not accept their sudden entrance so easily because of three main reasons. The first reason, was because they were afraid of their strange, inhuman powers. Some looked up to them and likened them to a god's. Others considered them a blasphemy, a sign of false worship. The second reason, was that some people regarded them as a critical threat to humankind. Not all witches were born with equal talent, but among them, the powerful ones could easily destroy a small village if they wanted to. They were what most people called 'Titled' witches nowadays, those whose abilities were recognized by the capital kingdom. The third and most pressing reason, mainly, was because a few descendants from the Witchfolk used their own abilities over the Mortalfolk for their own desires.

    In other words, they oppressed those who were powerless.

    Even with the instigation of a law and the assembly of an elite squadron responsible for Witchfolk-related threats, it wasn't rare to hear about a witch or a wizard who used their powers for their own gain. As a result, those people who had been victims of their actions harbored a sense of deep hatred towards them. Many Mortalfolk had lost important things or important people close to them, while most had lost both. And now, as Chell looked at Noct, she suddenly realized that he was certainly the latter. From the look of resentment in his eyes, something and someone irreplaceable had clearly been taken away from him.

     Chell decided not to ask deeper into the subject. She knew full well how hard it was to tell anyone about something she did not want to remember. She understood the pain brought upon by recalling memories that had been forced to be buried and restrained. Also, she knew it was unlikely the thief would tell her anything more. After all, Chell was just a mere stranger. A witch he naturally decided to hate, one he had accused to be the main cause of their current predicament.

    Another silence blanketed the cell. The torchlight flickered restlessly outside the bars, partially illuminating their faces and sending flickering shadows that danced on the walls. Chell's mind wandered as she gazed into the shadows enveloping Noct. She wanted to escape already. To quickly run away from this place, the way she always did in the past. Time was moving and if she stayed any longer, Chell was afraid that everything around her would start to slowly be affected. She did not know how long she had stayed unconscious or how long it was going to be until the execution, but she needed to hurry. She did not like to risk inviting calamity again, like she had once before. That was a regret she would always have for the rest of her life.

    But as of the moment, she could not leave yet. There were two reasons why she needed to stay. She needed to find the skull first, for one. It was her most important possession, the one thing she could never afford to lose. Not only was it because it was her magical catalyst, it was also because of another, much more important thing. For two, she still needed to know or find the reason why she had been guided here to Uldard by the dead, even with her current situation. Surely, she thought, it was something important. It had been their final guidance, and they had, after all, always done everything to help her with the best of their intentions. Before time ran out, she needed to resolve these two reasons. The only problem was, Chell had no idea how.

    By the time she was done with her thinking, the healing spell had already been completed. She hadn't even noticed until Noct cast a glance at her injured side. She looked down and saw that the pattern of frost had disappeared, a sign that the spell was already done. Underneath her clothes, she knew that the mended flesh revealed no traces of the previous wound. The pain was already gone. Her breathing had steadied. Her head did not feel light anymore. Slowly, Chell retracted her hand from the wound and breathed out evenly. In front of her, Noct simply stared. She did the same.

    It was then at that precise moment, as Chell looked into his eyes, when a careless idea suddenly struck to her. Like the calm before a storm, she did not even take a moment to rethink about the strategy that had occurred to her mind. She stood up immediately, her flickering shadow shifting with her.

   Then, Chell started walking. With short and quiet footsteps, she stopped directly in front of Noct, looking down at him with her usual expressionless stare. She noticed him slightly leaned away as a response, his expression confused. She ignored this and parted her mouth to utter a single word.

    "... Truce," she said. Though her voice was quiet and slightly shaky as a side-effect from the spell she had used to recover herself, her determination evident.

    Noct blinked at her sudden proclamation, leaning away from the wall. He looked up at her to gaze directly into Chell's eyes. He seemed genuinely taken aback. His mouth was hanging open. Then, when he finally spoke, his words were in a quiet, disbelieving whisper.

    "What?"

   Chell eyed him. "... Truce, " she repeated again.

   There was a deeply confused look on the thief's face. He frowned. "Did... Didn't you just hear me? I told you, I detest what you are. Your kind is the one that I hate the most. I would have probably stabbed you if I had any weapons right now," he admitted. "And what good would a truce do? We're about to die anyway, it won't change a damn thing."

   "... No, it will," Chell insisted. "Make... a truce with me. Help me find... my bag. In exchange... I'll help you escape."

   His eyes widened further at her final words. He was frozen for a second, gathering himself as he continued to study her. Then, when he finally spoke, Chell noticed that there was only a small amount of doubt in his voice this time.

    He asked, "... But... What can you even do?"

    Chell tilted her head for a fraction of an inch. "It's not... only healing spells that I know."

   They gazed at each other, eye to eye, amidst the silence and semidarkness of the damp cell. Chell saw that there was an unmistakable a spark of hope that lit up in Noct's eyes. His mind was contemplating about her offer. She waited for him to make his decision. After a moment, he finally breathed out in a whisper. "You... You aren't just any witch are you?"

    Chell only offered him a ghost of a smile in return. Noct looked surprised at the gesture. Then, he grinned widely and threw back his head in a laugh, head shaking. "Well. Okay, so this is pretty much unexpected, right? Who would have thought this day would come? You never really fail to surprise me, good or bad. Okay. Sure, I'll accept your truce. Help me get out, and I'll promise to help you find your satchel."

   Chell merely nodded in return. Then, the thief did something she did not expect him to do. Noct suddenly held out his hand and grabbed hers, not even minding the dirtied bandages she had wrapped around it. Chell jerked away in reflex, eyes momentarily flashing fear, but the thief held on tightly and refused to let go. He grinned. The same kind of cheery, helpful grin he had given her before she learned of his true nature.

   "Then, I have one condition... let's both pretend nothing happened before this," he joked, moving to stand up to full height. He still held on firmly to her hand. Chell could feel the warmth seeping into her skin. A wave of nostalgia swept over her for a second. When had been the last time she touched a person, even if not directly?

    She blinked, forgetting about the thought. Then she looked up at the thief and nodded. His grin split widely.

   They shook hands.

----> thank you for reading!

Q:
Will Noct honor their truce? Or was Chell mistaken?