She didn’t know how long they’d been walking. All she knew was that the cave seemed endless, the ground stretching forever and ever, the walls curving and twisting in eternal patterns.

They stopped near a pool. She dragged herself towards the body of water, her throat clicking as she watched its crystalline surface. There was no way to know whether it was safe for consumption, so she settled on washing her face and soaking her feet inside to calm her nerves. She sighed softly as the cold water caressed her scorched face and dry lips. The man refused to get near it, complaining about its freezing temperature and how ‘of course, she would find it soothing.’

She ignored him, closing her eyes as she relaxed for the first time since waking up.

She washed the dust from her hands and under her fingernails, marveling at the callouses she felt on her palms. This wasn’t the body of a princess sheltered from the outside world and dapped in jewelry and the finery this world could ever offer. This was the body of someone who had spent time using her sword enough to leave marks upon what should have been soft and delicate hands.

So lost in thought, she failed to notice the shift in the air around her.

“Don’t look behind you,” the man said gently, though his voice had a hint of alarm. Daliya cocked an eyebrow at him, confused and a little bit dubious about the concern displayed on his slanted lips. He extended his arm toward her. “Walk toward me, slowly,” he instructed.

Daliya leaned forward, shifting her legs under her to slowly get to her feet. Then something moved behind her. She heard the water ripple and shift before she felt the droplets land on her cheek. She turned her head.

A giant monster towered over her. Its body shimmered blue and white as it slowly broke through the water’s surface. Its eyes shone scarlet as they fixed on her.

“Run!”

She didn’t need to be told twice. She sprung to her feet and sprinted towards the assassin. The dagger materialized in his grasp, and for a short second, she wondered whether he had decided to split her throat open and use her body as bait while he escaped with his life.

He used the wall behind him as a jump board and launched forward, landing somewhere behind her. The sound of steel against hard scales reverberated around the cave.

Daliya didn’t stop. She ran to where her sword lay resting against the wall.

“Get away from there!”

She heard the assassin’s warning a moment too late. Columns of water sped towards her like reaching hands. She stumbled away, but she was too slow. She closed her eyes right before the water arrows connected with her wary body.

She waited for the pain, but none came. Instead, a searing heat engulfed her.

The assassin stood before her, a wall of flames enveloping them and evaporating the water on impact. She must be dreaming. How was that even possible?

The water struck the ground a few feet away, breaking the hard, rocky surface. Her legs gave under her.

The assassin shot her a look. “Use your powers,” he instructed.

“What powers?”

He tsked, glaring at the approaching monster. “Never mind then. Try not to get in my way.”

The fight was going nowhere. He seemed exhausted. The cuts he dealt grew shallower as time went by. One hit by the monster sent him crashing against the wall. The cave shook with the impact. She watched with batted breath as it advanced toward his fallen form.

With renewed energy born from panic, she gripped the hilt and lunged forward, screaming her lungs out, hoping the noise would draw it away from him, hoping the precious seconds she kept its attention away was enough to get him back to his feet.

He was her only ticket to escape from his blasted place with her life, no matter how ludicrous the thought sounded.

Her sword connected against the scales with a sad clang. She gritted her teeth as it reverberated through her sore muscles.

She steeled herself as the monster opened its maw. She had no protection. She was going to die. She glanced at the assassin’s still form. He still hadn’t moved.

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Was this how she was going to die?

She didn’t want to die! She still had so much to live for!

A transparent, dome-shaped shield-like structure surrounded her with a faint bluish glow. As the projectiles made contact with the shield, crystal ice shapes erupted like broken glass before reshaping again, intact.

“Give me your hand.”

She whipped her head around, unable to stop the beaming smile as the foolish man stood beside her.

Maybe she was the foolish one. Here she was, trusting a stranger whose dagger she could still against the skin of her neck, threatening to cut her life short.

A long gash ran along his arm, the sluggish blood oozing down his fingers and collecting into a puddle by his feet. From the wheezing, she suspected he had multiple bruised ribs–or even broken. Yet, he was still standing.

“Your hand,” he stressed.

As their hands connected, she felt something pull at her. A void siphoning her energy till she couldn’t tell whether she was awake or lost in the fuzziness of sleep. She heard the assassin let out a gasp.

“Chilling,” he complained. A thin sheet of frost covered his arm to the elbow. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Still better than nothing.” He seemed blissful. He stood up and stretched.

“You might want to step back,” he said as he took a couple of steps towards the monster. “It’s about to get real hot in here,” he said gleefully.

A wall of flames sprung around him, melting the frost and returning color to his face. He reached for his palm and pulled a fiery blade into existence.

Daliya watched, dazed, as he blinked out of existence only to emerge over the monster’s bulking head. The blade tore through the scally surface with a hiss, leaving the smell of burning fish in its wake. The beast writhed in pain, its howling shaking the very foundation of the cave before falling back to the water, unmoving. For a second, all was still. Then, the monster dissolved into dust, leaving a floating crystal as the sole testament to its existence.

The assassin held the core between his fingers. “Not bad.” He hummed, then pocketed the prize.

“What was that?” she finally asked.

“That,” He gestured to where the monster was seconds ago. “Is a lost soul. It must have been wakened by all the fighting yesterday.”

Yesterday. He must be referring to the fight she had witnessed in the dream. So it was true then. Those weren’t merely dreams. She felt cheated. She did nothing wrong, still, here she was, trapped here while the real princess ran free back home.

He must have mistaken her expression for confusion, for he elaborated, “Lost souls are souls led astray by their desire for power. They wander around, looking for smaller prey to feast on. No matter how much they consume, they’ll never be satisfied.”

She glanced at the faint particles that fell gently to the ground, disappearing before they touched the frozen surface.

“Why did its body disintegrate? What was that thing floating?”

“One question at a time, will you? You’re starting to give me a whiplash.” He took out the crystal. “That’s its core, its soul of sorts. After their death, that’s all that remains.” He threw it in the air. “This can be used to boost one’s power. Or to briefly use the element within. This one has the element of water.” He pocketed it. “It’s also my consolation prize for a failed mission. Not that it’s much.” He shrugged. “Beggers can’t be choosers.”

“Failed mission? Would that be getting rid of the princess?”

He grinned. “You got that right.”

She watched him, doubtful eyes observing him.

“Relax. We already established you’re not the princess. I’m not so cruel that I would use a scapegoat to get my job done.”

She paused. “What now?” she asked.

“Now, we move. All this noise must have alerted the others.”

Daliya turned alarmed eyes to him. “The others?”

He snorted. “Believe me. You don’t want to know.”

She only managed to take a single step forward before her legs collapsed under her.

He smiled sheepishly. “I might have taken more than I should have. Though it was your fault my powers were depleted in the first place.” He paused. “Well…the other you, I mean.” He reached for her hand. “Here.” Warmth traveled up her arm and reached the center of her chest, unpleasant, unlike the comforting coldness of the water. Still, it helped. For a moment later, she blinked, the slugginess that had reigned over her slightly easing.

She dragged her feet against the ground. The haze hadn’t left her mind. She struggled to keep her eyes open.

“Come on. Keep going. We’re near the cave’s entrance.”

She nodded, unable to force a word out of her throat. She stumbled and caught herself against the wall, closing her eyes to fend off the dizzying spell.

“Maybe we should stop for a moment.” His voice sounded somewhere above her.

She startled. His face was inches from hers.

“What?” she mumbled.

He hummed, contemplating. What, she didn’t know. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

“Have we met before?” he finally asked.

Daliya scowled at him. Didn’t he say he believed her?

“No,” she said, voice clipped.

He looked at her for a while, thoughtful, then nodded, resuming her walk.

Daliya glared at him. She struggled after him, debating to just sit on the ground and rest, even if it meant losing sight of his retreating form. But the slight shaking she could feel reverberating through the wall made her forget her bone-deep exhaustion and follow her would-be executioner.

There were worse ways to die here than by the kiss of a sharp blade.