The vines slowed. Milo grabbed at his neck, gripping the vine that wound toward his throat. Although they slowed, the vines still tightened. “Stella…”

“Viki, really! He’s a friend. Come on out and say hi, and stop strangling him!” Stella insisted, stomping her foot.

The vines narrowed around Milo’s throat. He gasped for air as they began to constrict. “Stella!”

“Viki! Stop!” Stella shouted, angry.

“Why? All these men… but I could protect you,” Viki grumbled, her voice high-pitched and cutesy.

Milo struggled, trying to get an angle to see her, but couldn’t find the source of the voice. “Please. I can’t hurt anyone. I’m just a priest. A—a healer!”

“A priest?” Viki’s high-pitched voice deepened.

“He won’t hurt you. Or me. Or anyone. Come on, Viki. Let him down,” Stella said, putting her hands out.

Milo’s vision darkened, and his hands weakened. He gripped the vines, but could no longer hold them back. Shit… I’m too tired and hungry.

“Viki!” Stella whined, frustrated.

The vines tightened further. The dark tunnel of Milo’s vision narrowed to a single spark of light.

Abruptly, the tension released. Milo tumbled to the ground. He thumped against the stone and winced, hurt.

“Milo?” Little feet pattered over to his side. Stella’s concerned face appeared in his narrow line of sight.

He groaned and rubbed his forehead. “Ugh…”

“Are you okay?” Stella asked, patting his shoulder.

His stomach grumbled. Milo sat up sharply, embarrassed, only for his vision to narrow again. He grimaced and pushed his hand against his eyes. Come on. Stay awake. Don’t pass out in the labyrinth!

“He’s hungry?” Viki asked, slightly put-upon, somehow.

“Sounds like it,” Stella agreed.

A smooth, solid orb was pressed into his hand. Milo glanced down to find an apple-sized red fruit in his palm. He blinked, confused.

Stella stood beside him, her head tilted, white hair falling in her face. Beside her, a small green figure about Stella’s height crossed her arms. A bulbous and lumpy brown potato-like body tapered into four rootlike limbs, while a huge mess of long, green vines twice as tall as Milo spewed off Viki’s misshapen knob of a head.

“Well? Eat it,” Viki commanded.

Milo lifted the fruit to his lips. He hesitated. Dungeon fruit… should I eat it, or…

A sweet scent tickled his nose, full of heady ripe-cherry notes. His stomach grumbled, and his mouth watered.

Whatever! I’ll pass out from hunger if I don’t. Better to eat and regret than not eat and die of hunger! Milo bared his teeth, then took a tiny nibble.

Sweetness hit his tongue first, followed by a wave of ripe cherry and apple, the two sweet-front flavors chased by the complexity of a dry grape. The fruit’s flesh snapped like an apple, red-skinned but a pale pink on the inside. Juice ran down his arm as he ate. He took one bite, then another and another, and before he knew it, the fruit vanished. He looked sadly at the core.

Viki sighed. She reached her stubby root-arms out toward the vines. The vines shifted, moving toward her, and she plucked another fruit off the vines. “Here.”

Milo devoured it, then another and another. Only when he hit the fourth fruit did he finally calm down and take a breath. Licking the juice off his arms, he set the final core to the side with a satisfied sigh.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Thank you, Viki,” Stella said, smiling at her.

Viki huffed and turned away, crossing her arms. “Hope you liked them.”

“Thank you,” Milo mumbled, slightly self-conscious. He wiped his hands on his robes and glanced around. I hope I wasn’t too grumpy while I was starving…

Viki looked at Milo and harrumphed, then turned to Stella. She nodded. “Rare to see you out here.”

Stella beamed at her. “We’re going to have cookies!”

Milo cleared his throat. “Er, she means we’re going to have tea. High tea.”

“I don’t care how high the tea is. You need some leaves?” Viki asked.

“For cloths and rugs!” Stella replied.

Viki frowned. She turned to Milo.

“She means tablecloths and rugs, to make the teahouse look nice,” Milo explained.

“But not… tea leaves? I can make tea leaves. And flowers, for herbal teas,” Viki said, still slightly puzzled.

Milo opened his mouth, then closed it. He opened it again, then closed it and put a finger to his lips. Come to think of it…

“Tea leaves, too,” Stella said, nodding.

“We should tell Aster not to buy tea,” Milo muttered.

Viki walked over, getting up close in Milo’s face. Milo leaned away, but hesitated to jump upright with his vision so eager to fade. Cool, smooth root-hands clasped his cheeks. “You’re one of those adventurers.”

“The ones that killed Momma,” Stella said, pursing her lips.

Viki turned to Stella. “He’s still alive?”

Stella shrugged. She stared at her feet, silently kicking the dungeon floor. At last, she muttered, “I… don’t want to kill. If I kill him because he made me feel bad, won’t killing him make someone else feel bad, and make them want to kill me?”

Viki snorted. “So what? That’s what the dungeon’s for—killing people.”

Stella shook her head. “But why? Does it have to be? Can’t everyone survive?”

“Even if you don’t want to kill, humans will still kill each other and charge suicidally at your monsters. There’s no point worrying about it. Humans want to die,” Viki explained flippantly.

“That’s not true,” Milo insisted. We want to survive. If there weren’t so many resources in dungeons, no one would bother them.

Tutting, Viki shook her head at Milo. The vines rustled down the hall. “When you’re as old as I am, and you’ve seen as much as I have, you’ll understand.”

Stella knelt down to look Viki in the eye. “Can you make rugs? And decorations?”

“I can. Tea leaves, too. I don’t really mind, but why? What do I get out of it?” Viki asked.

“Well, what do you want?” Milo asked.

“Sunlight,” Viki replied.

“Sunlight? But it’s so bright and nasty,” Stella replied.

Milo startled. He blinked at Stella. “You’ve seen sunlight?”

Looking over her shoulder from where she crouched on the floor, Stella nodded. “Aster took me to the surface.”

Isn’t that illegal? Taking monsters out of a dungeon… wait, does Stella count as a monster? Or is she the monster?

“Sunlight is good for plants. It helps me grow. I’ve been making do with the crystals’ glow, but I’d prefer sunlight,” Viki said.

“Wait, have you seen sunlight?” Milo asked, equally confused. She shouldn’t have ever left the dungeon, either!

Viki looked at him like he was stupid. “Yes?”

“But… eh?” Milo muttered, frowning. He rubbed his chin, confused.

Stella squinted upward at the ceiling, far overhead. “I can make a sun hole for you, but I need more mana first. After the tea party, I’ll do it.”

“Tea party?” Viki asked.

“We’re going to invite a bunch of people into the first chamber for a special dungeon tea. Stella’s mana is too low, and her dungeon is weakened, too, thanks to… recent events,” Milo said, his voice falling to a mumble.

“Thanks to you and your friends killing her mom,” Viki replied, raising an eyebrow.

Milo frowned. “I’m sorry, okay? We didn’t know. We just thought we were clearing a dungeon. It’s a normal thing to do!”

“Normal for humans,” Viki grumbled.

“Stop!” Stella shouted. She glared at both of them. “Stop it.”

Viki put her hands up. “I’m just saying.”

Milo narrowed his eyes at her, but said nothing.

In the distance, a harrowing scream echoed over the labyrinth.

Viki turned. She shook her head. “He’s been louder lately, and more often, too. I wonder…” Her eyes flicked to Stella, and she fell silent.

“Wonder what?” Stella asked, tilting her head.

“Wonder how long it’ll take me to grow all those leaves. You’d better hurry up and have your tea party, so you can make me that sunroof,” Viki said, drawing her vines over her shoulder. She stroked them, unable to keep her eyes from flicking toward the labyrinth’s center.

Milo, too, turned toward the center. He licked his lips. We always shortcut the labyrinth, so I have no idea what’s at the center. But what would make Viki nervous? She’s a monster. The other monsters shouldn’t threaten her.

It’s possible that they eat each other, but even so, she’s a plant monster. Predator monsters should be carnivores and uninterested in her, and she should be able to easily handle herbivore monsters. If an omnivorous predator comes after her, she can escape into the earth. She’s very defensive. And yet… it doesn’t look like an act.

Viki pushed Stella ahead of her. “Go on. I’ll sit back here and grow the leaves. You come back later. Surely you need more than just leaves?”

“We need furniture, too!” Stella said. She grabbed Milo’s hand and drew him onward.

“Aren’t there traps? Shouldn’t we be on the lookout?” Milo asked.

“Not until the end! Besides, I can tell most of them not to notice us,” Stella informed him.

Milo nodded, not entirely reassured. He took a deep breath and followed her.

As they walked away, he turned over his shoulder and looked at Viki. She stared toward the labyrinth’s center, her brows furrowed. Turning slightly, she caught him looking. She scowled, then drilled into the ground and vanished, dragging her vines down into the earth with her.