The room was dark when she finally opened her eyes again. Mirelha wondered how long she'd passed out and just where exactly she was. The room was big and spacious, with sparse furnitures littering the corners. There was a bed and just two chairs in the entire room. The drapes covered the window panes as if jealously guarding it against the suns rays. Her whole body felt stiff and sore like she'd been out for a whole day. And the fact that darkness covered the room like a force field was not helping, she needed to know where this place was and why she found herself here and she needed to know it fast.
Her mind darted to the handsome stranger from earlier and she wondered what became of him. She knew she had let out too much magical energy and silently prayed that he was okay, then as though been summoned the door creaked open an a figure entered.
"Your finally awake. I was beginning to think you were going to sleep forever"
"Where am I? And why have you brought me here?" She spilled out one question after another
"Breathe sunshine, your at my place"
"Sunshine?-" it took her two seconds for the pieces to fall in place " your that stranger from earlier. Where is this place? And why am I here?"
"I'll answer one question for now, your at my place" the stranger repeated closing the door behind him and making his way towards her, but for every step he took she took an equal step backwards till her back pressed against the bedstead
"I'm not going to bite. Just yet. So you don't have to be scared"
"Where is this place and why am I here?" She asked again ignoring his statement
"Like I said back in Solarel you have to give to get. Whatever question you want answered you have to do something for me in return." There was a pause as he scrutinised her frail figure cuddled beneath his sheets before sitting at the edge of the bed. When he saw she had no intention of speaking another word he added, his voice taking on a new tone, and as his aura shifted Mirelha felt the temperature in the room drop a few degrees "look I don't have all night I've got things to take care of. Your stay here can either be memorable or miserable and it's all up to you. I have no intention of letting you go and I've made plans just in case you decide to escape so give up on that idea. I've only got two rules I need you to obey, first you must never unveil that pretty face of yours and second whatever I tell you, you must follow down to the latter, obedience brings rewards while disobedience attracts punishment." He rose from the bed and began making his way towards the door, "get acquainted with the darkness cause it's not going anywhere, and when you do you'll find your food waiting for you at the table" he pointed to a three legged stool at the far corner of the room, it blended so well with the dark room that it was almost invisible and Mirelha had to squint her eyes a little to be able to make out the figure. And just as his hands turned the door knob she finally spoke again
"It's Mirelha not Sunshine" and he just stood there before replying
"Sunshine suits you better" he opened the door and was already half way through when he suddenly stopped and turned around " this isn't a rule it's your survival formula. Do Not step outside this room for any reason whatsoever, and don't speak to anyone through the door, if you hear voices ignore it and stay away" and with that he was gone the door closing softly behind him, as he left Mirelha in a myriad of thoughts and questions.
"You know I can hear you right?" Calix spoke in an even tone as he made his way out of his chambers towards the larger door at the end of the long hall
"Do you really think you can keep her away from me?" Rune asked stepping out of the shadows into the moonlit hallway "she's like a magnet out here in the Marshlands and very soon I won't be the only one you'll have to worry about"
"Who said I was worried about you?" Calix replied calmly pushing the doors of the room open as he leisurely strode inside "she's mine. My prize and my ticket out of here. So the sooner you and any other person out there realises that I'm not giving her out to you until she's completely worthless to me, the better". Silence reigned for a few seconds before Runes rumbling laughter could be heard echoing off the marble walls. " so you really think you can escape your destiny? Even if you do complete the Blood Moon Bargain before us you know as well as we do that Varlos is never going to let you break the chain that binds you, your his and the sooner you realise that the better. So stop being a-"
"I belong to no one and I'm going to use the stars to break the chains weather Varlos likes it or not" Calix stated as a matter of fact but his statement just elicited a smile from Rune
"How 'bout we play a friendly game of deceit, Huh?" He paused before adding "if I can get your prize to leave the room and follow me of her own accord she automatically becomes mine" Calix just spared his relentless brother a glimpse before making his way out the back door.
Meanwhile, Mirelha was toughing it out on her own. It took her a whole twenty minutes to get a little bit accustomed to her current predicament, not like anyone was counting tho. She couldn't believe her bad luck, first she gets born into a life with her auntie then after many years she manages to escape and is thrown into another one with a stranger who seems to adore and live with the one thing she fears more than her aunt. Darkness.
Ever since she could remember the dark was her number one fear and it had remained top of the list even till now. She tried to use her magic to light up the room but they just seem to have stopped working, she could feel they were still there but something was blocking them from rising to the surface. Confusion sprouted a new seed in her mind as she tried to understand how that was even possible, her powers were the one force she knew nothing could stop, when they wanted to come out they would no matter the barrier, so how did this mysterious stranger manage to cage such a powerful force within her? And is this what he meant when he said he made plans in case she tried to escape?
These were all danger warnings. It was at this point she began to think if she had made the biggest mistake of her life, by leaving home she'd left a demon and came to stay with the devil. No. This was not going to be her fate again she was going to escape here no matter what. She began walking blindly towards the direction of the table groping around the darkness trying to find where exactly the table was, until she stubbed her toes against the piece of furniture and fell flat on her bottom, the pain shot through her whole foot and she reached out to rub the offended toe when she suddenly saw something at the corner of the room. It seemed to call to her in a strange way she'd never felt before, almost pulling her in, soon she found herself crawling towards the faint glimmer. It felt like she'd been teleported to another realm where everything faded and fizzled out leaving just her and the faint whispers that called to her, for a fraction of a second Calix warnings echoed through her mind but she was already lost to the voices that seemed now to be coming from inside her head. The glimmer seemed to sparkle or maybe it was the fact that it was the only source of a light in the whole room but whatever it is she was glad she wouldn't have to eat in the dark, as she reached out towards it her fingers brushed slightly against the surface creating a bright spark, it felt smooth yet hard and cold like a jewel, and it let out bright sparks whenever she made contact with it.
Now in her palms she could see it was a ring, and it seemed rather happy in her hands, she was just about to put it on when suddenly she heard someone turn the door knob, she quickly hid the ring in her hood before turning to face the door
"What are you doing?"
"Why would you care what I was doing" she replied standing up "what have you done to my powers? They've stopped working and I know it's because of you"
He just stood there staring at her quietly before he began slowly "you haven't touched your food, why?"
She couldn't believe after all he's done to her he had the guts to still ask her why she hasn't eaten! But if he wanted to know so bad he was going to have to give to get
"Tell me what you've done to my powers and I'll tell you why I haven't touched the food" her statement made him smirk
"You learn fast Sunshine" he encouraged as he took a step forward "if you must know I didn't do anything to your powers, I couldn't. I just put it to sleep temporarily" he revealed pointing at something wrapped securely around her left wrist "now why haven't you touched your food"
It took her a while to realise the silver jewellery wrapped around her wrist, the bracelet was silver and was supposed to shine but it didn't even so much as glimmer in the dark earlier but now that Calix was in the room it gave off a shy glow. Taking her eyes off her wrist she rose her head to meet his gaze " how could I possibly eat when you not only kidnapped me but blocked my powers and confined me into this dark, scary and unsettling room!" She knew in this situation he had the advantage and upper hand but she was on her final thread and the darkness really put her on edge.
"Scary? The dark scares you?" Mirelha nearly burst into flames, of all the words she'd said that's the one he caught?!
"N-no, it was just a figure of speech" she mumbled and for the first time since she arrived she was grateful for the darkness that surrounded the room.
Calix just stared at her quietly making his way closer, but with every step he took she took another backwards, but that didn't deter him, like a predator locked unto its prey he made his way towards her till she reached the walls of the room her back leaning into the drapes that covered the windows. His eyes had a sparkle she was sure wasn't there a minute ago, and her breath hitched, when he was finally close enough he leaned in and in that moment Mirelha forgot how to breathe, I mean she hated him but she couldn't deny the fact that he was still the most hottest specimen she'd ever seen and he was about to kiss her! But just as her eyes fluttered shut she heard someone pull something from behind her and she opened up her eyes only to find the room bathed in moonlight, she was speechless for what felt like forever as she tried to process the most embarrassing moment of her life. It felt like the ground should just split open and gobble her up cause this was much more worse. But as she was still trying to process everything she felt herself being pulled towards the bed by something much stronger than her current physical strength, and soon she found her self on the edge of the bed with Calix by her side, he was disturbingly close but after what she just went through she felt something different from fluttering butterflies, she felt anger red boiling anger, what exactly what this man trying to do, turn her into some kind of bubbling mess or something?! She had to make this stop, he was too close for comfort and she needed space, but as she opened her mouth to protest a spoon full of food raided her mouth. And another one followed each time she tried to utter a word, in minutes her mouth was stuffed, as she battled to eat with her mouth shut she just glared at him, if it were possible her eyes would have been shooting daggers at him.
Calix could tell that his methods didn't sit well with Mirelha and if given the chance she would explode into a myriad of questions, but he wasn't ready for that, at least not now. He needed a distraction to prevent her from speaking to him with those tiny blue flames still in her eyes. At first he thought it was some kind of spell and if he brought her into the Marsh's forest it'll ware off but if anything it just grew stronger, and he was beginning to realise he felt more for this girl than any living being he'd come across. Maybe it was because he could see the fear in her eyes as clear as day or that those purplish-blue eyes looked so innocent and naive. What ever it was Calix just pegged it as pity, and convinced himself that sacrificing her would be putting her out of her misery and in a few months whatever it was that frightened her so much would not be able to bother her anymore, and he would finally live up to his destiny. But in the mean time he was going to fatten her up and try to play nice cop for a while till the next Blood Moon which he hoped appeared soon.
"If you be a good girl, sit quietly and finish your food I'll answer three of your questions for free" Calix spoke not looking up from the plate of food he was holding, but when his question was met with silence he rose his head up to find her staring at him then back at the plate as if trying to decide something " I won't put another spoon in your mouth just yet, so your free to talk"
"Fine but I can feed myself pretty well" she replied curtly staring at him intently as he quietly handed her the plate and leaned back on the foot of the bed to watch her eat. Halfway through her food she suddenly stopped
"What's wrong?"
"How do I know you'll keep your word and answer my questions?" She asked arching her left eyebrow in question, but he just chuckled darkly before replying "I'll answer your question as long as it's only three". She knew the exact questions to ask and she was so eager to finally get answers she rushed through her food quickly and was barely able to breathe when she was done
"Easy , eating is meant to energise you not kill you" but Mirelha was not paying even the least bit attention to his words.
"I've cleaned my plate time for you to hold up your end of the deal" she said looking straight at him as she spoke
"I know a deals a deal, three questions" he replied casually
"Where is this place?" Mirelha had a hunch about where this handsome stranger had taken her to but she needed to be sure before she can plot an escape route.
"The Haunted Marshlands"
"Is this where you live?"
"Is that your second question sunshine?"
" no just curious, you don't have to answer it I-"
"Yes this is where I live. What's with the face?" He asked noticing how her expression changed to one of confusion then disapproval
"How can a perfectly normal person like you live out here?" She asked genuinely confused "The lands beyond the River of Tears are home to monstrous creatures. And you look nothing like the stories I've heard"
Calix watched her express her confusion and couldn't help the little smirk that crept up to his lips. This was definitely going to be a long wait till the Blood moon.
"I'm nothing within the range of normal" he began carefully "and if the stories you've heard didn't make you frightened of this part of the world then they weren't scary enough. Your second question" he added with a straight face, and that signalled the end of that topic
"If this is your home, then why did you bring me here? If you don't do anything for free then why did you help me escape back in solarel ?". He just sighed before answering "Clever. You were able to utter two questions in one breath"
"For the first one I brought you here because you have something I need. And second this was a clear give and take."
"And what exactly am I supposed to be taking?" She asked crossing her arms across her chest
"You needed a place to lay low till whatever your running from died down, I offered that to you" Calix gestured to the finely lit room "and in return you give me what I want". Mirelha couldn't help but chuckle a bit at his explanation
"Do you really think bringing me here will stop what's coming for me?" She asked " and if I'm to guess I'd say you want my powers for some selfish reason or just so you could show it off, so which is it?"
Calix just sat there silently for a few minutes. He was so sure by now she owed him about five favours for all the additional questions she'd asked and they haven't even reached her last one. He would make sure to keep tabs on all her debt to be collected later. But right now something else seemed to have captured his attention and whatever it was it made his mood shift considerably.