Silvery leaves and little red fruits rustled serenely over my head, contrasting the glowering tempest skies that mercilessly suffocated any possible glimmer of light bestowed by the heavens, with their stygian wrath. I sat against the smooth ebon bark of a caedis tree, with long silver spears of grass playfully tickling my feet and legs as they wavered in the warm breeze.

My long golden hair was pulled back in a messy low ponytail, using a black strip of fabric that I’d tied into a rather cute bow. My flower crown added the final touch to my whimsical look. I knew that it was rather silly, but wearing it seemed to give me an invaluable sense of comfort. It was like a little rainbow piece of earth on top of my head. A small reminder of home.

The six-eyed zombie horse, who I now knew to be named Sagacor, grazed peacefully beside me. My hand gently glided over the soft black fur of his muzzle, while I listened to the soothing song of the river, and instructed Valarendrik where to stack stones upon its pebbly shore to build a firepit.

“Yep, right there... Perfect!” I exclaimed as he placed one of the final stones down with a clank. Then I frowned, realizing that Sagacor was trying to nibble on my peachy pink dress like the puckish little rascal that he was. “Hey! Stop that right now, you naughty horse!” The reins jingled as he goofily whinnied and playfully shook his head, while I shooed his mouth away with an irritated scowl.

Valarendrik joyfully chuckled as he watched us with a twinkle of admiration in his eyes. His usually chaotic hair was also pulled back in a low ponytail, deceptively making it appear slightly less unruly. He wore only his black leather pants and spiked boots, giving me a full view of his sculpted upper body for the very first time. And good gracious golly, he may have been an abyss creature, but my god was he built like a man.

“You need to watch out for him. He’s a mischievous one.” He laughed while inspecting the sturdiness of the stones. “I believe it is ready for the final piece.” The breeze blew a few loose strands of hair across his face, causing them to eerily dance among the twitching bones.

“Wonderful! I’ll come help.” I began to push myself up, only to have him immediately rush to my side.

He gently grabbed ahold of my hands and helped me stand. I wasn’t putting any pressure on my injured foot, causing me to wobble a bit. “No, you should continue to rest. It would be a shame if your wound reopened and prolonged your recovery.” His voice was very deep, but also soft and caring.

I sighed in disappointment. “Alright, I suppose you’re right... But I would like to at least try to walk over.” I firmly added.

I had only been here for five days so far, and the man had been nothing short of overbearingly protective. Every time I’d try to get something, he’d swiftly get it for me, telling me that he didn’t want me to further injure myself. He carried me just about everywhere, watched my every move like a damn hawk, and rushed over anytime I made even the slightest sound of discomfort. It was like he thought I was made of thin shatterable glass or something.

Yet despite that, I was still extremely grateful for him and his hospitality and protection. I’d already lost track of the number of times he’d saved my life since stumbling into this world. And I hadn’t even been here one measly week!

He let go of my right hand but continued to hold my left. A silent gesture to dissuade me from walking completely on my own. “Alright, just don’t put too much weight on it. The sooner you heal, the sooner you can train.”

He was referring to his grandiose plans to teach a “frail little human” like me to both swordfight and regular fight like an expert. I had felt highly insulted when he’d first told me that. But in all honesty, after considering my natural lack of strength and endurance, I realized that his hopes were far too high.

With his strong arm steadying me, I hobbled over to the impressively stacked stones. The louring dark rocks were all sharp and flat, making up a spiky raised U-shape next to the misty cantabile river. His beaming smile cut through the gloom like a ray of sunlight, as he helped me kneel down in front of it.

“You look pleased with it.” He mentioned with a slight chuckle, alerting me to the fact that my facial expression had unwittingly contorted into an embarrassingly enthusiastic grin.

“I’m just really excited to see some light again.” My voice sounded strangely breathless. I surmised that it was probably because of the short walk over here since I had barely moved in days.

His pale clawed hands mindfully placed the final wide flat stone across the top, with a strangely adorable look of slight confusion on his face. “But the lantern gives off light, does it not?”

I hummed while giving a confuting shrug. “This will be different. Trust me.” Not only was the ghastly lantern in the cave dim as fuck, but the thing was from Hell. Quite literally.

As it turns out, his friend who could supposedly traverse worlds, and would ‘surely be willing to bring me home’ was, in fact, an actual goddamn demon of all things. Naturally, I freaked the fuck out upon learning such information. Valarendrik had tried to calm me down, assuring me that I’d be in no danger with him, especially considering that his consort, Gwendolyn, was also a human. And it did make me feel a little bit better to know that. But it was still highly unsettling, and besides, what kind of whacky woman would marry a demon anyway?

Begrudgingly, I knew that I didn’t have any other options. So now here I was, trapped in some godforsaken abyss, with a kindly tenverian man and his zombie horse, waiting around for a literal motherfucking demon to randomly appear from the depths of Hell, and teleport me back home like a damn taxi service.

Valarendrik suddenly placed a bunch of sticks and pieces of dark-red wood down next to me, startling my thought bubble into swiftly dissipating. “Will these do? I made sure that they were all very dry like you requested.” He held a stick while flicking the tip of it with his thumb.

I clapped my hands together with a smile, then grab a few sticks. “Yes, they’re perfect. Thank you.” A look of accomplishment and pride adorned his features, as he curiously observed me meticulously stack them within the firepit. “I believe that all we’ll need now is the lighter.”

“Oh right. The fire creating device...” He held up a finger while adding, “I’ll go get it!” My eyes followed him as he excitedly wisped away like a shadowy reaper, swiftly becoming one with the unfathomable blackness of the cave. I shook my head and giggled while plucking a few loose threads from the tattered hem of my dress... ‘The fire creating device’ I mentally mused. Black mist suddenly twirled across my bent legs as he reappeared holding the lighter out for me to take. “Here you are, my little friend.”

I pinched my nose in a pseudo scowl while taking the lighter from him, in order to show my disapproval of the nickname. “Thank you, my gigantic companion.” I retorted with a smirk, causing him to laugh. “How tall are you anyway?” Curiosity was abundant in my voice, while I tucked an imaginary loose strand of hair behind my ear. He really was strikingly tall. I stood at a moderately average 5′7, yet he still appeared to be well over a foot taller than me.

He looked puzzled by my question, then awkwardly placed his hand on his head. His sharp forehead bones twitched while he slowly moved his hand out in front of himself, mindfully keeping it at the same level as the top of his skull. “Um, I don’t know. This tall, I suppose.” He answered with a small shrug.

A crooked smile of amusement snuck its way across my lips from his guileless answer. I felt silly, realizing that he understandably knew nothing of the metric system. “Thank you. I’d been wondering about that for a while now.” I graciously replied, only deepening his confusion. “Now watch and learn as I kindle this flame.” My brow arched up to a dramatic angle that said, ‘let’s get to business.’

Valarendrik dichotomously loomed above me like a dark cloud with a cheerful demeanor, while I confidently ignited the first flame with the lighter. I held it steadily under a flimsy little twig, watching with great excitement as the fire set forth on its noble quest down the length of the gnarled bark to enkindle the large pile of wood. Then it fizzled out halfway down the twig with a decrepit grey puff of smoke that pathetically wisped into the darkness.

“Dammit.” I hissed while tucking an actual loose thread of hair behind my ear this time. The lighter hissed along with me, as I reignited the flame, once again trying to set the perfectly stacked pile ablaze.

“Are you sure this will work?” Valarendrik dubiously asked, failing miserably in his attempt to not seem doubtful.

“Yes, I’m sure this will work!” I grumbled while slightly tilting my head to give him the good ol’ one-eyed stink eye. “It just takes a minute or two for the wood to catch on fire. That’s all.”