Sun and Stone

X.

After being deposited roughly in the pouch, I held my head and breathed deeply, trying to steal my rolling stomach. I had never been so grateful for having skipped breakfast. I was still in this position when the world around me shifted and I felt that familiar elevator rising feeling as Malavy stood. The ascent was followed by the leather wall to my left bulging inward quickly, twice, as Malavy patted the pouch from the outside. "Next time you call me a fairy, I just may drop you. It would be a lesson in etiquette that could save your life one day." And then the pouch began to sway as Malavy started to walk deeper into the tunnels.

I slowly adjusted to Malavys movements and my stomach settled. I now saw the flaw in the oath I requested, and I berated myself for it. I had grown up reading fairy tales and watching movies about Rumpelstiltskin, Jinn, and crossroads demons. When making a deal with a magical creature, always root out the loopholes before the bargain is made. By only giving Malavy permission to touch me in order to keep me safe, I had left the assessment of danger in my captors hands. Malavy was free to decide that in order to keep me safe, they could trap me in this pouch at their hip. Once again I was confined in a small dark space, rocking back and forth to the sway of Malavys gait, unable to see what was going on around me. I would have to sit and wait, letting others decide where to take me, what I could see and hear. Frustration and exasperation boiled over, but this time I had no more energy to light up my surroundings. Instead, I broke out into sobs, unleashing the pent-up emotions the last hours had created in a very human way. Wasnt a big magical adventure supposed to be fun? I was supposed to be a hero, the great savior. Instead, I was a trinket, tucked away and ignored, as my life was decided by beings that couldnt care less what I thought.

This melancholic soliloquy did not halt when I had expelled all of my frustration. Instead, my small enclosure slammed into something, and I was thrown forward onto my hands and knees as sound exploded from above. Picturing what could be going on outside, I imagined that one moment Malavy had been briskly stalking through the darkness, the next they were pinned to the tunnel wall by a stone grip around their throat. Their feet scraping the ground as they struggled to get free would explain the rock scratching I heard and the continued jolts of the enclosure. They would jerk, probably trying to unsheathe their blade while their feet kicked out. Their frantic struggles quickly stilled as a deep growl slowly grew in volume. It felt like the entire mountain was shaking with the noise. Inside the pouch, my heart raced at the sound of the menacing predator. Malavy had said there were creatures in these tunnels. Were they being attacked? My mind spun as I envisioned black claws reaching into the leather cave. Instead, I heard the too loud but still familiar voice of Gray erupt from above.

"Let. Her. Out."

My world shook as Malavy began to struggle against his hold. Had Grayson attacked them? I was torn between worry and relief. As much as I wanted to be out of this pouch, and as scared as I had been of some unknown cave creature attacking them, this was wholly unlike him. For as long as I had known him, Gray had never before made a sound like the one that had just quaked through my world. It was territorial, predatory, and terrifying. As Malavy stilled in their struggles, I could both hear and feel their reply as the voice reverberated through their body.

"There is hope for you, despite your obvious limitations." Grayson's only response was to growl deep in his chest, but quieter this time. The hand around Malavys throat must have tightened further when they let out a choked gasp. He was so strong now. Remembering the gangly boy I lived with, I marveled at the change. Gray was fit and strong enough, but this was insane. How was he holding Malavy against a wall, lifting a person as big as him and not sounding strained?

My cave began to shrink as Gray leaned in, pressing his weight onto Malavy. Having no clear idea what was going on outside, I began to panic and squirm between the firm walls. Shouting and grunting, I tried to get one of the giants attention. Hey! What gives?! The pair was either ignoring my shouts, or couldnt hear them. Crushed to death between two fighting giants was not how I pictured my death.