As Mirelha waited calmly for her answer she couldn't help but notice how captivating her captor was. Now that they were away from the sun his facial appearance seemed to have changed, his hair was longer than she'd thought and some even fell across his face completely covering one eye, while the other one had turned a few shades darker. She couldn't stop herself from looking her fill and honestly she didn't want to, if guys outside the palace looked this handsome then that was just her bonus. Her gaze shifted from his perfectly sculpted torso to meet his eyes, he seemed to be staring at her but something wasn't right, it was like he was looking but not actually seeing her. Her hands were already inches away from his face when he suddenly jerked as if returning to reality.
"What were you doing?', He asked with unmasked irritation.
"Y- You spaced out in the middle of my question I was just making sure you were okay", she replied a little surprised by his mood swing
"If i were you I'd worry about myself" There was disgust and anger laced with those words and Mirelha couldn't help but wonder what made him return back to the cold annoying bossy pants he was earlier. Her thoughts were cut short as the windows instantly slammed shut and the drapes pulled over it blocking all and every form of light from coming in. Mirelha gasped due to the sudden darkness and instantly regretted it as a smile spread across Calix face, this wasn't a teasing smile or that of amusement it was a smile that she was all too familiar with, one she knew always meant trouble for those it was directed at.
"You've already broken my first rule', Calix said pulling her hood over her head "what do you think your punishment should be?"
Her punishment?! Was he talking about her removing her hood? He can't be serious, how was she supposed to eat with that thing in the way! She didn't reply and just lowered her head
"Ok since you don't have any ideas I'll go along with my plan', he answered suddenly jumping off the bed as if it were on fire startling the already shaken Mirelha.
She refused to be shaken up by whatever he had planned, she didn't do anything wrong and she won't let him treat her like everybody else. So she squared her shoulders and rose her head to speak but her words got stuck in her throat when she saw the figure that stood before her, it wasn't him at all!
She sat staring directly into a pair of deep emerald eyes. In the cover of darkness the entire body was hidden so she couldn't make out what it was or exactly HOW big it was. She watched as all her resolve melted away leaving her alone with her jittery nerves, and to make it worse those pair of eyes were trained on only one thing in the room. Her.
No matter how much she strained her eyes to look around she couldn't see anyone else, the fact that the darkness seemed to be getting thicker gave her a sickening feeling and she clutched her stomach trying to stabilise herself. The cold stare coming off from those emerald eyes were enough to put all her senses on defensive, she tried using her powers once again but soon realised how futile that was and just took in a deep breath. If she was stuck with this thing the least she could do was try to get a sound or maybe even a word out of it, so masking her fears as best as she could she reached out carefully towards the area above the glowing eyes.
The eyes that were trained on her now slightly shifted to follow the motion of her outstretched arm but did not move any other muscle of it's body. Once her palms landed on what she presumed to be the head she was greeted with a cold roughly feeling surface, it reminded her of scales similar to the ones in the palace sculptures. Her hands continued their exploration further down the side of its head clearly oblivious to the slight change that had taken place.
Mirelha had a few guesses on what this creature may be but nothing solid since she still doesn't know it's full size. Being able to feel it's head and still be making safe progress downwards gave her a little confidence and she let her guard slip. Moving little by little she was now only few inches away from the two glowing orbs.
"Umm... hi?" She wasn't sure what to make of this creature and decided to start simple. If it can talk then it would reply her and if it can't then her options were narrowed "my name is Mirelha what's yours"
She waited. Seconds turned to minutes but the figure didn't seem to move an inch, if anything it was as if the gaze on her had intensified. The darkness had grown to be even more darker partially clouding her already impaired vision and the air seemed to be thicker making it hard to breathe. She was still trying to process what exactly was causing the change when suddenly her hand that was on the strange figure was flung towards her causing her to turn and stagger backwards. But there was no time to nurse her bruises as she now understood why her body reacted on its own and was instantly grateful it did. Towering above her she could now see not just the glowing eyes but also a perfectly arranged set of teeth. The sight was both disturbing as it was terrifying and she couldn't help but freeze in place. The eyes had risen now to hover above her head causing her to tilt her head upwards just to stare at it, this means that whatever this thing was, it was big,really big.
Try as she might no amount of pep talk could stop her brain from going into over drive. The only clear thought now in her head was the need to put distance between her and what ever it was that was in the room with her.
The figure gauged her frail form now exposed from the sheets before diving in or at least she thought it was diving in, all she could see was the eyes above her one second and then all up in her face the next. It's sharp teeth opened up and she was sure it was going to snap her body in half if she didn't act fast.
Mirelha could see her miserable life flash before her eyes, and suddenly she heard the metal scraping of the creatures body against something and a loud clash was heard. Glimpses of her aunts torment and weeks in the dungeon played in her memory like a tape recorder. All her life all she wanted was to get away from her auntie and now that she did she gets taken out by some unknown creature?! Life just wasn't fair!
In the darkness there was no hope running, the creature whatever it is obviously knows it's way around the dark. Those eyes that never seemed to leave her face were now back to hovering above her no doubt preparing to dive again. But what damage did the first dive cause? And more importantly why is she still alive?
⚔️⚔️⚔️
Meanwhile somewhere at the mouth of the Marshlands something equally life threatening was taking place. The lands beyond the River are home to many creatures, but these ones in particular were the worst of the worst. Born to be a nuisance with the ability to resist death, they were perfect for an army and that was exactly what Calix was staring at. A full on legion of Hylics. These things were really a pain, and the fact that he was the only one was really going to be tiresome. Why? Because the one characteristics of Hylics is that they never know when to stop, Ever!
"You guys sure know how to make an entrance,don't you?' Calix asked in a relaxed tone. Even though his voice was calm and low it was carried across a great distance to every one of them that were making their way towards him with great speed. "I would normally leave these punching bags to Rune, but that bastard is taking his sweet time to get here, I just hope he hasn't tried anything stupid yet, or else I'll roast his arse', Calix thought to himself as his eyes wandered back to the incoming army. Casually he turned back and started making his way back to where he'd come from. One of the Hylics seeing this as an opportunity sprung forward on its two front legs hoping to get a grip on Calix, but it was soon sent back hurling towards the incoming stampede of running beasts, the force wasn't enough to kill it, in fact brute force can never be enough to kill a Hylic, no matter how strong the force is, so the creature wasn't bothered and just waited for its body to slam into the ground, but as soon as it was above the centre of the army Calix had snapped his fingers and bright flames could be seen erupting from the sky and landing on the beasts below. With one snap of his finger he had annihilated more than half of their population, for most beasts this would be a sign that the enemy is stronger, and they would probably have already begun to retreat,but not the Hylics, they began sprinting even further closing the distance with every stride, then when they were close enough they began pouncing one by one on top Calix till he was fully submerged under a wave of furious Hylics. But just like before a blast of fire could be seen and within it a single figure stood burning in it it's flames, ashes were now all that was left of the army.
"You guys really are a pain'. Calix murmured under his breath looking straight ahead into the trees, another stampede of footsteps could be heard coming his way.
Gearing up again amongst the trees were another batch of Hylics. These hybrids were one of the many abominations of the Marshlands. They had four muscled legs used for running, and from their head two one inch canines could be seen just below their mouth, how these creatures came to be? Was just one of many mysteries.
"Don't worry I know what your thinking, and no this isn't part of the bet, the Hylics were probably sent by someone else', a voice spoke before materialising in front of an unfazed Calix.
"Who said that was what I was thinking?' Calix replied crossing his arms under his head.
"You seem soo relaxed, do you have that much confidence in your prisoner?' Flicking his hands side ways the entire army of Hylics were suddenly engulfed in a tower of black fumes, "don't disturb your elders when were speaking', in the place of an army all that was left were just fallen trees and Rune turned back to face Calix. "My plan is already in motion, and if these annoying fiends are anything to go by somebody else's is too'.
"What plan?' Calix asked staring intently at Rune.
"You of all people should know, I always win. You left your prize in the hands of that wild uncultured pet of yours?' Rune answered a mischievous glint flashing in his eyes. "I can imagine the horrors she must be facing. Luckily—', Rune couldn't help but notice, although Calix appeared to be calm and unbothered his eyes had already darkened and his fingers twitching, "I offered her a little gift to shed some light on that hideous creature and—', Rune stopped himself from speaking any further as all that was left in Calix's place was nothing but dust particles. He was gone, and a wide grin could be seen across Runes face, "now the plans in motion'.