The Girl didn't know how things had gotten this bad. She'd run off after an argument with her dad because he didn't want her training with a sword. She had never been in danger in these mountains, anything that approached her was something she was confident in fighting, and everything else didn't waste the effort in hunting something so small, or so she'd thought. Now she wished she'd listened to her dad about the danger of the mountains and caves.

  At the entrance to the cave she usually hid in, was a husk. Her dad had told the stories about them, told her that husks were the most feared monster in the wilds. That it took a full team of experienced hunters just to drive one away, and even stronger people to actually kill one. Now, with her back to a cave, and the only exit cut off, The Girl expected the worst.

  "Had another fight with your father, I see." A grating, horrendous imitation of a voice was projected from The Husk.

  The Girl couldn't think. No one had ever told a story of a husk talking. Screaming? Absolutely. They yelled to induce terror in those they hunted, but speaking coherent words was unheard of in any of the tales. She had to be going crazy from the fear, how else would the message be so pointed. How would a monster know that she'd fought with her dad or that this was a regular occurrence?

  "I can assure you that you aren't crazy." The sound of a million dying breaths came again. 

  The Girl was afraid to think, assuming that the creature in front of her was capable of reading her thoughts somehow. The idea that the monster could pick her thoughts from her head at will might fit with the incredible reflexes husks' were said to have, maybe.

  "I can't read your mind. I merely  know enough about you to predict what you're thinking, to a point." Rasped The Husk.

  This statement didn't alleviate The Girl's fear at all. The monster knew her? How? Had it been watching her? For how long? Why would a monster watch her? The only idea The Girl could come up with that answered those questions was that this husk wanted to toy with her before killing her, so it had watched to get more information to torment her.

  "L-le leave." The Girl failed to form a full sentence, only getting out the one word.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "I am afraid that isn't an option, not yet." The Husk rasped.

  "Wha-What do yo-you want?" The Girl stuttered out, hoping that whatever the answer was, it would give her a chance to live.

  "Me? No. What do YOU want?" The Husk rasped while moving toward The Girl in a way that looked like gliding in the dark cave.

  "To n-not be ea-eaten." The Girl said hopefully.

  "Hehehe." The sound that imitated laughter came from all around the cave, unlike an echo, it seemed to come from the shadows rather than bounce back from them. "No. What do you want in life? Do you want power? Fame? Do you want to help people? Hurt them? What is it you desire so badly that you'd give your life to its pursuit?" While speaking, The Husk circled The Girl, leaving the cave entrance open, but her legs didn't move toward the exit.

  "I- I want to be a swordsman." The Girl's eyes seemed to glaze over a little as she spoke.

  "Only a swordsman? So, unambitious." The Husk came in close behind The Girl.

  "I used to want more. My dream was to be a grand weapon meister." The Girl continued in a trance-like state. 

  "What changed?" The Husk probed.

  "Dad always says that if I spread myself out too much, I'll never master anything." The Girls spoke softly, remembering her father"s insistence that she works on something less dangerous than combat. "So I focused on the sword, even if that wasn't what he wanted."

  "What if I could make you more? What if I made you into a weapon meister? If I could make it possible for you to pick up any weapon in the world and wield it like a master, what would you give? The Husk moved back into The Girl's line of sight.

  The glazed look in The Girl's eyes disappeared, replaced with a fierce light that hadn't been present throughout the conversation. "I'd give anything." She said with a strange hunger in her voice.

  "Oh? Are you positive? Would you follow me if I asked? Would you kill if I asked? Where does your confidence end? With strangers? Friends? Family?" The Husk moved to be close in front of The Girl's face to add pressure to the words.

  Visibly stalling at the idea of killing family, The Girl thought for a second before speaking. "I can't say. I can't tell you that I'll listen to everything, cause I don't know. I can follow you, and I might even be able to kill for you, but I don't know. All I am sure of is that I want to learn everything I can." The Girl's voice was confident but full of desire.

  "Good. A lesson in life, don't promise something you can't deliver." The Husk extended a bandaged hand towards The Girl as an indication for her to shake it, but as she reached for it, the wrapped hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. "You will be taught everything I know about weapons, return here tomorrow night, and come prepared."

  Letting go of The Girl, The Husk proceeded into the dark of the cave, disappearing.