The Barbarians' Lover

Chapter 2

Drip... Drip... Drip...

Willows body aches. Ever since she was brought to this cave three months ago she has been tortured. Thomas, her abductor, has been torturing her in many different ways. From stabbing, using a whip, brut force, to unchaining her to drag her to the water and shoving her head under the surface until her lungs started to hurt. Some days he would bring food, other days she would go hungry. She has gotten used to the unexpected from this man. But she still didn't know why he wanted to know about her and Sawyer. Why he wanted Sawyer to suffer.

"Oh, I hope someday I'll make it out of here
Even if it takes all night or a hundred years
Need a place to hide, but I can't find one near
Wanna feel alive, outside I can't fight my fear," Willow began to sing.

Grabbing a stone she tossed it down into the water.

"But I know someday I'll make it out of here
Even if it takes all night or a hundred years
Need a place to hide, but I can't find one near
Wanna feel alive, outside I can't fight my fear," she continued to sing.

Singing seemed to be the only thing now that made her happy or gave her any hope. She hoped that if she sang someone would hear her. That someone would come to her rescue. But so far no one has come.

"Isn't it lovely, all alone?
Heart made of glass, my mind of stone
Tear me to pieces, skin, and bone
Hello, welcome home," Willow sang quieter giving up.

"Did you hear that?" A female voice asked.

"It was lovely whatever it was," another female voice said.

"Hello?" Willow called out.

Drip... Drip...

No reply.

"Must have been my imagination," Willow said with a sigh.

Splash!

Standing Willow walked as close to the edge of her rocky prison as she could with the chains. Looking around at the water she saw nothing but knew she had heard something.

"Hello?" Willow called out again.

"Will you two stop," a male voice this time spoke.

"Is anyone there?" Willow asked.

"No, no ones there," a female voice said.

Splash!

"Ow that hurt!" The female cried.

"Shut up!" A male and the other female shouted.

"I can hear you," Willow said quite annoyed.

"I'm going to go say hi," the female said.

Willow could hear protests from the other two. Soon she saw something swimming towards her rock. She couldn't tell what it was.  Taking a step back out of fear Willow started looking around. Whatever the thing was from the size of it it was big. But just big, it glowed too.

"Hello?" The female voice was closer now.

Walking back to where she stood Willow saw a head sticking out of the water. It was a girl. Well more like a fish girl. She had scaly skin, a giant fin going down the middle of her head with glowing orbs at the tips of it, and on her forehead, an antenna stuck out it. At the end of it were one glowing orb.

"Hello," she said happily once she saw Willow.

Willow couldn't say a word. So she just waved hi.

"Mind if I ask what you are doing in angular cove?" She asked.

"I was brought here against my will," Willow said finding her courage.

"Hey, guys come here!" She yelled looking back the way she came.

Three more glowing things swam under the water in her direction. Fighting the urge to back away she waited until she saw three more heads pop out of the water. They all looked somewhat similar but different. The other female had spikes going down the middle of her head along with an antenna that split into two that had two glowing orbs at the ends. Then there were two males. One had no fin on his head but had one antenna with a glowing orb and blue-green speckled eyes with no pupils. The last male had a fin going down the middle of his head halfway and it had some tears in it, two whiskers with glowing orbs, green glowing dots, and green eyes with no pupils that were somewhat foggy.

"Umm hi," Willow said.

"What is a surface dweller doing here?" The other female asked.

"I'm being held here against my will," Willow said.

The four fish people looked at her. Or at least the ones that could see.

"So do you guys have names?" Willow asked.

"Names?" The first female she saw asked.

"I'm taking that as a no," Willow said and they all nodded.

Willow looked at each of them in turn thinking of what she was going to call them. The first one that had come to talk to her was a light grey-blue color and had many glowing orbs attached to her, Christmas lights Willow thought. The second female was a darker grey and fewer glowing orbs but her split antenna reminded her of Halloween, jack-o-lantern. The next one was the dark grey to black male, he didn't have many fish-like properties but the unnatural glow of his few blue marks reminded her of lighter fluid. The last male had many scars on his fins but all his glowing green marks reminded her of glow sticks.

"Okay, I'm going to call you Christmas lights, Jack-o-lantern, Lighter fluid, and Glow sticks," Willow spoke pointing to each of them.

"Those sound so cool," Christmas lights said.

"I have a question," Lighter fluid said.

Willow gave him her attention and he asked," what's lighter fluid?"

"Oh it's just an easier way to make fire," Willow answered.

"And what about Jack-o-lantern?" Jack-o-lantern asked.

"Well it's what we make on Halloween," Willow explained," we take a pumpkin scoop out its guts, and carve a face on it then proceed to put a lit candle in it."

"What's a pumpkin?" Christmas lights ask.

"It orange and grows out of the ground," Willow said," it a plant."

All four still looked confused but didn't bother asking any more questions. Instead, they kept her company and told her stories about their lives. Well, all but Glow sticks. She had noticed that he was the quieter one out of the four. Soon the day turned to night and the four fish people had to leave. Willow was once again left alone. Walking back to the cave wall she makes herself as comfortable as she could. Curling into herself against the cold air Willow tried to sleep. But sleep never came.