"You don't have to apologize, my love." Zarek's smile never disappeared from his face.
Tessa went all red hearing him call her that again. She could never get used to such a word considering the mam was just but a stranger. Though she felt some familiarity and a strange connection with the person, there was slight fear in her heart because this never happened before.
Warily, she looked at the man to see if she had seen him before but to her disappointment, his face was still new to her eyes.
"Are you confusing me with someone else, Sir?" That would be the possible reason why the man would address a stranger he just met. Tessa thought to herself but felt a knot in her heart as if something very valuable had been snatched from her.
Zarek understood her.prediacment and did not rush to anything. He had waited for centuries and two lifetimes so a few more days was nothing. He didn't want to scare his mate whom he had found after such difficulty.
"Not at all." His eyes gazed at her full of adoration and fulfillment. She was his to love, his to keep and worship.
Tessa sighed with complex emotions surfing in her heart. From the look in the man's eyes, she could tell he was not lying and if that was so, what would be reason for him to act so familiar and intimately with her?
Having been judged all her life, she was not one to di so to people and thus she decided not to think of any bad possibilities.
"Fine," he reply was short before she realized she was in dungeon that was not so friendly yet not so bad. "What place is this?"
Zarek was observing her silently. Nothing she did missed his gaze. The way she moved her eyes scanning the place. The small reactions yet eye catching. The pout on her lips when she felt dissatisfied with something. Everything was so precious to Jim that he wished to stay that way forever. Only him and her left in the world to fulfill each other.
Tessa was taken aback by the condition of the place. It was akin to someone's home with every decoration. That's if she could call the leaves and stones decorations. It was so simple yet beautiful.
There were slightly large stones that formed something like a cave. The entrance was not covered so she could the insides clearly. Stones had been arranged beautiful to make a table and beside it, there was a stock of leaves which she guessed maybe was a bed.
"You like it here?" Zarek broke the silence when he saw staring at his cave full of fascination and veneration.
"I love the... cave. It's..." She was yet to complete her statement when she felt her a warm touch on her hand.
"Why not come in? It's better in there," Zarek invited impatiently. For the first time in a long time he felt proud of his hard work.
Tessa flinched at the sudden pull, and was tempted to follow but she remembered she didn't know the man. She shook her head and faced down, feeling complicated that she couldn't explain what was creeping in her heart every moment she met his eyes, felt his touch and listened to his enchanting voice.
Zarek understood her even without her voicing out her fears. She could not feel the strong pull as him but from her physical reaction earlier, he knew he had an effect on her and that scared her more.
A smile plastered on his lips, Zarek moved himself in front of Tessa and knelt with one knee, the other lifted a little. His hand was still on hers while the other started brushing her hair gently. This calmed him and made him feel peace that was unfamiliar to him.
"I would never do anything you don't like,.my love. Trust me, okay?" He soothed her softly gazing directly into her brown eyes.
Tessa nodded subconsciously, lost in his eyes. She could look at them forever and still not get enough of them. They were beautiful, enchanting and magical. They seemed to be carrying a lot of secrets but one thing Tessa was sure of, they mirrored her in like a rare light, as if she was the most precious in front of them.
Zarek held both her hands and helped her stand up, their eyes never fixated on ea h other. In an unhurried motion, he led her towards the cave that was a few steps away from them.
"This is quite surprising for a prison, don't you think?" Tessa spoke up as they approached the place.
Zarek smiled followed by a chuckle. "It is."
Tessa frowned deeply in thought before she turned towards Zarek. "The cave is manmade, but why would it be built inside a regular dungeon?"
From her puzzled expression, Zarek understood she had not heard the legend of the dungeon. This place was considered a death hole where people who were deemed dangerous to the kingdom were sent. And after that, they were never to be seen again. Zarek was then only person alive to tell the tales of what went kn with them but no one ever dared enter the dungeon so for the past ten years, he had busied himself by building the cave. As for the stones, only he knew their source.
"I guess it's the work of a man who has been idle for over a decade and he decided to make himself useful."
Tessa thought for a while and nodded. Standing outside the cave, she felt a strange pull that made her to go inside but she opposed it.
Zarek could see her fight to repel the force and felt a sense of pride. He knew the power of the stones that could drive out someone's deepest desires and forced them to step inside. Once in, their lives and entire would be sucked into it and fall into nothingness. Zarek had witnessed all this and no matter how much he tried to warn people, their greedy nature would overpower them and that was how people disappeared.
Zarek, having been an ancient lynx, could not be entrapped by such things even if he was in an entirely new body.
"What kind of magic is this?" Tessa closed her eyes tightly seeing flashes of images that were not entirely clear. After a lot of struggle, she could see a clear stream running gently and on the other side, there was a person dressed in black holding something near his mouth.
"My love, are you fine?" Zarek, filled with worry, questioned trying to get her put of the dream.
He was scared. Scared because he could see she was struggling with something inside and it was hurting her physical body. This was the first time Zarek had seen such a reaction from someone. There was always a smile of greediness on people's face when they got their dreams but this was totally different.
"Zarek! Please save me. Zarek!" Her painful cry alerted the man clenching his heart but then he froze upon realization. How did she know his name when he had not mentioned it to her?
Everywhere was dark. Even when she tried to opened her eyes, failed. Someone seemed to be holding her back from escaping that hell. Tessa wished to escape from those scary growls, cries of those creatures that she couldn't see into the hollow she had been sucked into.
"Who's there?" Her voice echoed into the empty space.
This was not what Tessa had intended to do with her life. Not getting trapped in place out of the world. From her little experience, she knew this was some kind of a spell. That cave had done something to her and led her to this place she in now.
Scanning around, Tessa could not see anything. She took a step forward, slow and warily. This was a time she once again regretted not being serious with her practice. Things might have been different if she had learnt even a little bit of magic.
"Is someone there?" Her voice sounded again and this time, she got a response.
Though it was faint, Tessa could hear whispers all over.
"Can you hear me?" She asked desperately rotating on the empty trying to listen on which side the whispers were coming from.
"...ssa." The whisper resonated agin making her desperate.
"Who is it!" She exclaimed shouting louder while holding her head because the whispers were now hurting her ears. Growing louder with every passing second.
"Tessa." This time, she heard someone call out her in between the growls, cries and whispers.
The voice sounded familiar in her ears and after a little thinking, she figured it out who it was. It was the same person she was with near that cave.
"Tessa." He called out again and from the sound of it, he was worried, broken and angry.
Tessa felt her eyes well up for some reason, relief filling her heart. His voice calmed her magically making her resign and she knelt down. Her soul felt as if it was healed. Like she had found light, solace and guidance the darkness.
Closing her eyes, she let her mind flow freely, then she heard a whisper. Tessa opened her eyes and saw him. The same cave man. A bright shiny light surrounded him which made it possible for her to see him. Her heart leaped when he stood before her with a smile brighter than the sun.
"You came," Tessa whispered under breath tears flowing from her eyes.
"Always, my love. I'll never leave you." He knelt down same as her, wiping off the tears on her cheeks. "But for now, you'll have to go back."
Tessa did not avert her eyes from afraid he would disappear and the light would also disappear with him leaving her all alone again. "Let's go together."
With a subtle smile, the man cupped both her cheeks and leaned his forehead on hers. "Alright, my love. Close your eyes."
Tessa shook her head still afraid. "I don't want you..."
"I won't leave you alone, ever. I'll be next to you when you open your eyes." He smiled wider then added. "Trust me."
Tessa eyes went close obediently as she leaned her head onto his. "I trust you."
A flash of light passed over them and darkness took over after some seconds.