Juri considered her answer while popping round sugary pieces of cereal into her mouth. "I hadn't seen any dead people before last night. If that happened every night, this place would stink even during the day." She pinched her nose. "They smelled awful. But there are creatures, monsters some might say, all over at night. I've only seen one of those, but sometimes you can hear fights going on in other places even if you don't see them."

That was something she'd tried to ignore the previous nights. Her willful ignorance hadn't done her any good. She was still stuck here with all these strangers, except for the Rose Bride and the dueling champion. Those two wouldn't have been her first choice of familiar faces, but at least Utena could be spoken to like a reasonable human being. The Bride was hopeless, a soulless puppet of End-of-the-World.

She sighed. "I wish I could tell you something more useful other than keep your eyes open and trust your fellow prisoners more than the staff."