10. Camille

TEN

The first thing I notice upon waking is how soft the ground feels compared to the hard, cold stone that I'm used to. It feels warm and almost like it's hugging my body. My eyes flutter open, and I try my best to blink away the blurriness. Once my eyes clear, I stare at the ceiling in shock.

Where am I?

I instinctively tense, becoming acutely aware of my vulnerable position in this unfamiliar environment. My gaze darts around, taking in the walls covered in luminescent pearls and stones. Their beauty is not lost on me, but it does little to calm the knot of fear forming in my stomach.

The gentle sound of water rushing in the distance reminds me how far I am from the sunlit world I'm used to, heightening my fear even more.

That's when it all hits me, and a reminder of what led me here replayed in my mind. I remember it all. The dark elves that were trying to sell me. How I escaped, and how they chased me down. How I was injured fighting. And lastly, the monster that saved me and then refused to leave me alone.

The monster…

Am I still with him? Did he bring me here?

A wave of panic hits so strong, I almost feel nauseous, causing me to bolt upright into a sitting position. Dizziness sets in almost immediately, and I have to catch myself on the ground to keep from hitting it.

My breathing speeds up, coming in shallow bursts. I squeeze my eyes shut, wishing as hard as I can that when I open them, this will all have been a really bad nightmare. But when I do, I'm still exactly where I was.

Deciding that I have to face my reality sooner or later, I finally glance up, dreading what I might see. It seems relatively normal until my eyes catch on a silhouette and instantly widen. I am not alone.

My eyes meet those of Mazituz, and he stares with such intensity that I can't look away. His gaze is unexpectedly curious, and I even detect something that looks like sorrow. For some reason, this makes me feel less afraid, although not by much.

For a moment, I'm paralyzed. I'm caught between my instinctive urge to flee and my inexplicable intrigue of this creature.

Without taking my eyes off him, I take stock of my physical state, remembering how I could barely stand before. Somehow, it appears that my aches and pains have lessened. Finally, I look away from him to see how that could be.

Every place I was injured, there's a small clump of moss stuck to my skin. My breath catches, realizing he must have treated me.

Why would he do something like that? No one has ever cared to do such a thing for me, no matter how badly I was injured. Although maybe he just wants me in pristine condition for whatever he's planning on doing with me next.

I shake this terrifying thought out of my head. Thinking like that won't help me get out of here. I have to stay calm if I want to have any chance.

Suddenly, Mazituz moves, standing without a word and walking across the cave in the opposite direction of me. With his back turned to me, I take this opportunity to search the area. I spot one exit, and no matter where he is in the room, if I'm on this bed of moss, I'll have to get past him in order to get through that doorway. The odds of that happening are not in my favor.

His hulking yet graceful figure slowly turns to me, and his expression turns cautious, almost reverent, as he approaches. He holds out his hand, where two small green circular objects rest in his palm.

I look from his hand and back to his face, refusing to move. He moves his hand closer, letting out a soft grunt.

"What is that?" I finally ask.

"Fruit" is all he says.

"I, um… how do you know I can eat it? Surely you and I don't eat the same foods."

"There are human miners who work in the caverns. I've seen them eating these quite often."

I light up inside. There are humans down here? I try my best to hide my excitement at this, but all I can think is that maybe those miners can help me escape if I can just find them. There's no way they would turn down a helpless girl all by herself, especially if I told them that a monster kidnapped me.

I remind myself that Mazituz is still watching me and holding out his hand. But another thought hits me before I can accept his offering. What if the fruits are poisoned somehow? What if I eat them only to be paralyzed or rendered unconscious, completely defenseless, and ready for him to do whatever he wants to me?

This doesn't sit right with me. But my stomach churns, reminding me that I haven't eaten in over a day. If I don't get some food in me, I won't survive my escape regardless of how much I've healed.

My survival instincts clash with my growing suspicions, but my hunger wins over in the end. I hesitantly reach to take the fruit from him, trying to be careful not to touch his hand and failing. My fingers brush against his surprisingly warm skin, and both of us go rigid.

I pause, my hand hovering over the fruit, still touching him. I swallow, forcing myself to move past the moment as I finally take the fruit from him. He stands there a moment longer before turning and sitting in his original spot not far from me.

"How do I eat it?" I ask. "Do you know which part is edible?"

He pauses as if this thought hadn't occurred to him.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not sure."

If he knows that little about the fruit then the chances of him poisoning it seem low. Still, I feel hesitant to try it.

I study it, pretending like I'm trying to figure out which part I can eat, which I am, but I'm also looking for any signs of tampering. When I find none, I dig my thumb into the skin of the fruit. My finger slips in easily, and I break the rest of it open.

I tentatively bring it to my mouth, taking a small bite and chewing it. Sweetness explodes in my mouth, and I'm surprised by how good it tastes. I become momentarily distracted by consuming it, finishing the first one at record speed.

I slow down when it comes to the second one, not wanting to upset my stomach. My enjoyment of this fruit offers me a brief respite from the constant turmoil of my current predicament. I do my best to ignore everything else as I chew, trying to prolong it as long as possible.

Once I'm finished, I'm slapped with reality once more. Here I am in this strange creature"s cave, unsure of what's going to happen to me next. I find myself wondering about Mazituz.

Why did he bring me here, and what is he planning on doing with me next? Maybe he will try to sell me, too, just like the elves did. Maybe he's not actually good and is only pretending.

I ask the most obvious question that I can think of. "Is this where you live?"

A long silence follows as he looks at me in shock. It's as if he didn't expect me to speak to him.

"Yes, I carved this area out myself," he finally answers.

"You carved it?" I ask.

"Yes," he says, holding up a clawed hand.

I nod, racking my brain for anything else I can say. It's not that I'm curious about him, it's more that I don't know what else to do. Sitting here in silence feels too awkward. Maybe if I pretend to be nice, I can gain his trust making it easier for me to escape.

"How long have you lived here?"

"In this exact cave? Many years."

"But you stay underground?"

"Yes, it is the nature of my kind."

I nod, pretending to be interested.

"You live above ground," he states after a while.

"Yes."

"So why were you down here?"

"Well, as I told you before, the elves were trying to sell me. I was to be a gift for another elf. When they were distracted, I tried to run, and this is where I ended up."

Mazituz grunts, his expression hardening upon hearing this.

"How long have you been a slave?"

I drop my gaze from him to the floor. I wasn't expecting him to ask me that.

"A long time," I whisper.

"You have not had a good life."

It's not a question. I look back up at him, surprised once again by his words. Why does he even care? This whole situation doesn't make any sense to me.

"No, I haven't."

"I am sorry."

I shrug, looking away once more. The vulnerability of this conversation is making me feel shy all of a sudden.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he asks, slowly standing.

"Yes," I answer a little too quickly.

I use my hand to boost myself up from the ground. My legs feel much stronger, and I'm able to walk across the room much more steadily than before, following him out of the entryway and back into the tunnels.

My heart pounds in my chest. This is it. This is either the moment I will get to make a break for it or the moment where he takes me to my next horrible reality.