14. Camille

FOURTEEN

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"You'll see."

This morning when I woke, Mazituz asked me if I wanted to go somewhere special today. I, of course, agreed to go, but he refused to tell me what we're doing or where we're going. There's a small part of me that's hoping it will be above ground, but I know the chances of this are pretty much zero.

Nonetheless, I still follow him through a labyrinth of caverns, the promise of adventure momentarily outweighing my longing for freedom. As much as I never saw myself ending up in a cave beneath the ground, Mazituz is starting to grow on me. Monster or not, he's kinder to me than anyone else in my life has been.

I still don't know my way around these tunnels, but I at least feel less scared of them than I initially was. Maybe it's because I'm with Mazituz, or maybe it's because of the comforting silence around me. Whatever it is, I'm glad to be able to walk around without fear consuming my every step.

My curiosity piques when I spot what appears to be light reflecting on the cavern walls. We round the corner to see a wide cave mouth that opens to a large body of water. It doesn't appear to be connected to the above-ground world, which saddens me a little, but its beauty overwhelms my disappointment.

I stop in my tracks, admiring the way the surface shimmers with bioluminescence.

"This is beautiful," I marvel. "How is this possible?"

"It's an underground ocean."

"This is the ocean?" I ask incredulously.

"Yes," he says as he walks into the water.

"I've never seen the ocean before. It's always been something I wanted to see, but I never got the chance."

"Do you know how to swim?"

"Yeah, I've been in lakes and rivers before. But this is different. It's exactly how I pictured it, minus the sun, of course."

A part of me feels sad that the first time I see the ocean is underground and not on land. But this sadness is short-lived as I walk up to the edge of the water.

"Join me," Mazituz says, and I look away from the water to see only his head and shoulders poking out.

I hesitantly dip my toes into the water. It's surprisingly warmer than I thought, so I walk a little farther in.

"My clothes will get wet," I protest.

"So you'll change when we get back." He shrugs. He"s accumulated several outfits for me from the miners over the past couple of weeks, so it"s not like I don"t have a spare.

I consider my options, deciding that this is too rare a moment to pass it up. Besides, I rationalize a dunk in the water might help get these clothes a little cleaner.

I wade in, going for it. The farther I sink into the water, the more I feel the weight on my shoulders lifting.

I find myself laughing as I swim further in to catch up to Mazituz. I can't help but feel happy right now. The water embraces me as I swim alongside him, completely mesmerized by the way the light dances around us as it reflects off of the walls. All of my fears and problems are temporarily forgotten in the magic of the moment.

I've always loved swimming, but something is different about this experience.

"The water is so clear," I note, making eye contact with Mazituz.

The way he's staring at me makes my cheeks heat. His expression looks like one of admiration, mirroring the way I'm sure I looked when I first saw the water. I turn away, unable to compete with the heat of that gaze.

I plunge into the water, fully submerging myself and allowing myself to swim further in, further from Mazituz. When I emerge, he's still watching me, his expression having turned into a curious one.

"How do you not come here every day?" I shout, throwing my hands above my head and twirling around in the water.

"I like to save it for special occasions," he shouts back.

I swim farther and farther away, exploring the ocean, unable to help myself from enjoying this temporary freedom. Because that's what this feels like, freedom. Something I haven't felt in so long that I almost forgot how amazing it is.

I feel giddy as I swim back to him.

"So what's the special occasion?" I ask.

"Huh?"

"You said you like to save it for special occasions," I remind him. "So what is it?"

"You," he states.

I'm not sure what I expected him to say, but it definitely wasn't this. No one has ever thought of me as special, and it warms something in my chest to hear him say that. We stare at each other for a moment before I turn away, resuming my swimming.

"Come on! Don't you like to swim?" I shout.

I hear his deep chuckle, followed by the sound of water splashing. When I look back, he's gone. I search the area, trying to find him, even going as far as to duck under the surface and look for him under the water.

Just when I can't possibly get more confused, a sound occurs behind me. I swing around, back to the direction I had been swimming, and there he is. He stares at me, eyes twinkling.

"How?" I ask.

He doesn't answer, simply ducking back under the water and popping up next to me a few seconds later.

"Come on, I want to show you something," he says, swimming right past me, his tentacles extending into the water. He heads toward one of the walls, stopping to wait for me.

I follow him curiously. What could he possibly have to show me that would be more stunning than this?

When I reach him, he gestures next to him.

"This is a bed of oysters. Whenever I come here, I like to collect their pearls for my lair."

I stare at them before turning back to him. "Show me."

Without a word, he reaches in and grabs an oyster. He carefully uses one of his claws to pop it open, showing me the inside before plucking out the pearl.

"Not all of them have one, but I find these here usually do."

I nod, carefully picking up an oyster, trying to replicate what he just did. It takes me a minute, but eventually, I'm able to get it open. Sure enough, there's a pearl inside.

"Look!" I show him.

He nods his appreciation before turning back to his own collection, which seems to be growing rather fast. I have no idea how he does this with such speed, but I guess it makes sense, him being a different species with claws.

I hold the pearl up in front of me, admiring the way it glows and casts a soft light onto my face. Where I just felt pure joy only a second ago, I now feel an intense longing inside me. The glow of the pearl reminds me of the sun, especially early in the morning.

I swallow, looking away from it. How does being underground affect me this much? Surely, it can't be that different. In fact, it really isn't. Except for the fact there is no sky down here…

I shake off this feeling, knowing that slipping into such thoughts will not bring me any closer to the surface. Returning to the oysters, I pop a few more open, finding three more pearls.

"We should get back to the shore," Mazituz finally says.

I nod, showing him my collection. In turn, he shows me his, and I can't help but laugh at the difference in size.

"Show off." I giggle.

The gentle rumble of his laughter along with mine is a soothing sound, and we're still laughing when we get back to the shore.

We find a rocky outcrop to lay on as we dry off. The two of us sit in silence, the only sound being the water lapping at the ground of the cave as we simply enjoy each other's company. It's hard to deny the bond that's forming despite the barriers between us.

"Thank you for bringing me here," I tell him.

He turns to me, and I wish at this moment that I could read what's going on inside that head.

"We can revisit any time," he answers.

I believe him. But then I wonder, would he take me above ground any time I wanted? I'm sure that I already know the answer to that, and so I don't bother asking him. Instead, I go back to enjoying the silence.

Later, we're lying in his bed, wrapped in a layer of warm moss. I turn to face him, watching him sleep, his breaths coming further and further apart as he slips deeper into his slumber.

My mind is a whirlwind of emotions. I feel gratitude for the kindness he's shown me, a kindness that I've never been gifted with. I'm thankful for the thrills he's given me, showing me his world down here. But at the same time, there's that voice of freedom whispering in my ear, calling to me.

I'm completely torn inside. Even though he's a monster, I enjoy spending time with him, more than I ever thought I would. Certainly more than I've ever felt with anyone else.

I know that I feel something for him, something real. But how could there possibly be a future for us? We are two different species that come from two completely different worlds. We certainly aren't meant to be together.

I belong in a world of light where the oceans have beaches. Where the sun reflects on the water instead of the water reflecting on walls. I deserve to feel the warmth of that very same sun on my skin.

And Mazituz belongs down here. He was made to live like this, and I couldn't ask him to give up his nature any more than he could ask me to give up mine.

Nothing good can come from us sticking together, but I have no idea what to do. I could leave here only to be forced into another terrible situation, feeling the regret of walking away from Mazituz for the rest of my existence.

Despite that possibility, I realize I have to take the risk. I cannot stay here any longer. I must leave before it's too late. Before I fall deeper for his kindness.

Tomorrow.