Bird Wings

Chapter 2

(Part 3)

Now that she was left alone in the cave, Wren looked about her. It stretched far back into the cliff side, and the uneven walls and floor divided it into smaller cubby-like sections. It was mostly bare and cold, but Wren could see the occasional sign of life; one hollow was full of blankets over top of what looked like hay, another had some dishes stacked on an outcropping ledge. A few pieces of clothing lay strewn on the floor or lay draped over ridges in the rock as if hung there to dry. Did this creature wash its clothes?

Wren was uncomfortable where she sat on the slanting rock, so close to the cave mouth. She felt dizzy looking down over the treetops far below, and her muscles ached from sitting still so long. Now that she wasn't being watched she began to hesitantly pick her way towards the section where the dishes were stacked. That part of the cave had the most level area of floor, and she thought she saw a woven mat there that she could stand on.

The most productive use of this time alone was to look for some way of escape. Wren stretched out her aching legs and took a survey. The front of the cave was out of the question; that was just a drop nearly straight down. The very back of the cave disappeared into darkness and she couldn't tell how far it went; was that possibly an exit? Staring into that black tunnel made her skin crawl. There could be anything back there, human bones perhaps. Wren decided that he wouldn't have left her alone here if there was a way she could get out - he obviously wanted to keep her. That was the best excuse she could think of to continue standing still and instead try to sort through her mental state.

"I didn't want you to get married," He had said.

Wren brought trembling fingers to her temples and tried to stay calm. Best not to think about anything he'd said too much. He clearly wasn't a normal boy, so he likely only wanted her for some dark ritual sacrifice to the full moon or something. She was more comfortable imagining he intended to eat her heart to gain immortality than speculating on what other plans he might have.

"Oh!" She said out loud. She needed a weapon. That was the next most productive thing to do right now.

Looking around again, nothing seemed to hold much potential for self defence. She could hold onto that pottery mug, maybe. It would smash immediately though, and demons were probably hard headed. There was a stick lying in a corner, that might be better, but again it seemed likely to break easily. Didn't cave living ever require a knife? How did he get by with so few possessions?

This activity pulled her mind out of its fog better than the first idea had, and she realised she was hungry too. The bread he had offered her earlier still lay near the entrance to the cave, wrapped in a cloth, but Wren looked at it suspiciously. Why had he wanted her to eat it? She began to move around the cave, peering into different corners and discovering a few more everyday items that must have been pilfered from the village below. Thinking of him hiding in the trees, watching them all live, stealing their belongings and carrying them back here like a magpie gave her a creepy feeling in her stomach. He'd said he knew all of their names.

Aha! There was something shoved into a crevice in the wall with a wooden handle sticking out. She had to step gingerly onto the blankets (his bed?) to reach it, as it was high up. A knife! Feeling resourceful, she trimmed a ribbon of material off of the hem of her skirt and strapped the knife to her calf like an adventurer from a story, then looked at it doubtfully. It was about as long as her hand, and the type meant for hunting. The villagers she knew who used knives like these always kept them in leather sheaves, and this one was in danger of slicing through the binding or even cutting her leg. Maybe she should just hold it. But she didn't want him to know she had it.

Making decisions only made her feel more hungry. That bread was probably fine. If he wanted her dead he could have just dropped her over the forest earlier. She crept back to the cave mouth to get it, and then crawled back again to eat.