Captured by the Beast [SS#2]

Chapter 3

Nuri

Squinting up at the setting suns, I groaned as we continued to walk on. We had decided to go with Yareli's plan of setting out and looking for another cavern but our luck just didn't seem to be there. "How old are you two?" I asked while trying to preoccupy myself as I realized how much I had been complaining lately. Where had this outspoken girl come from? I couldn't help it as that question bounced around in my head.

"Twenty five as of the time we landed here." Yareli interrupted my thoughts as my eyes landed on her small stature. She was shorter than both me and Wren yet she was older. As if feeling my gaze on her, she looked back at me. "You?" She asked as I hummed in thought.

"Twenty one. I hadn't been in jail long. Had it not been for that greedy troll trying to steal my necklace, I probably wouldn't be here." I grumbled while reaching beneath my scarf to feel the pendant. Gently grasping it, it softly warmed up against my touch before the familiar beating thumped against my hand. "Lily was twenty seven this year, I think. What about you, Wren?" I asked while turning my attention forward as she was nowhere to be found. "Wren? WREN!" I shouted while frantically looking around as Yareli did the same.

"Twenty six!" Wren shouted before her head popped out of the sand a little further ahead of us. "I thought I saw something and I fell in." She called as we quickly jogged her way before she disappeared back beneath the sand. Just as I got close to where she previously was, my shoes sunk into the sand before I fell under. There was no time to scream as sand went into my nose and almost into my mouth and eyes but I had closed them both in time. It took a minute before I finally landed on my ass.

"Fuck!" I cursed while brushing off my face before opening my eyes and looking around. It was dark in here yet it was much cooler than it was above the sand. "Wren?" I quietly called, slowly getting to my feet while using the wall as assistance. Slowly raising my hand, an orange will-o-wisp appeared, lighting the large cavern.

"I'm here." She called while I quickly turned as she almost gave me a heart attack. She smiled at me before brushing sand off of my shouldere. "Alright, I'm going to go get Yareli while you get us some light down here please." She suggested as I nodded before I watched her climb back up through the sand. Once she disappeared, I slowly raised my hands as different colored will-o-wisps filled the large cave. It was large enough for us all to stand up straight in, even Lily would've been able to stand tall. She was the tallest amongst all of us but she wasn't here any more. I quietly reminded myself while bowing my head in sadness as the other two fell into the cave.

"Damn, that hurt." Yareli cursed as I turned towards them before she noticed the will-o-wisps. "Wow, that's really pretty Nuri!" She marveled as I quietly smiled at her before turning away from them as I surveyed the cave. It was indeed a large cave but what I had taken as darkness pooling the far corner of the room was actually water. Slowly walking closer towards the waters edge, I stared out at the stagnant water. There wasn't a musty smell to it which surprised me even more before Wren placed her hand on my shoulder.

"So, we've found a good cave ladies and this one even has water." She smiled as Yareli stepped forward before dipping her fingers into the water.

"But, it's stagnant water, Wren. It wouldn't be safe for us to drink or bathe in." I commented as she looked at me for a second before nodding.

"Actually, it seems to be fine. There's nothing in the water and it's not too deep. I think we could get something to put some drinking water in and use the rest as bathing water." Yareli intervened as I sighed while skimming a will-o-wisp against the water's surface. Though it wasn't as big as I had thought it'd be, it was big enough to fit all three of us in it.