SNARLS ECHOED IN THE DARKNESS, shadows shifting with the approaching torchlight, and she felt a shiver race down her spine as she waited in the dark. The light was bright as it approached, the fire of the flame green like most of the lighting there, but she'd grown used to that green light no matter how it burnt her eyes. She rarely saw it in the first place, trapped as she was inside the pitch black cell. When she'd first arrived there, she'd been terrified of the darkness and how it seemed to eat everything up in that cold dark room. Now, though, it was another story entirely.

She hated the light.

It was unnatural in that place – and the only things it brought her were pain and terror. The darkness was her friend, her solace in the depths of that dimension. One she wasn't supposed to be in, but it seemed fate had other plans for her... well, if fate existed at all. She had begun to doubt that however many moons ago when the taste of the blood of monsters still lingered on her tongue.

"This one is still alive, eh?" the voice rang out, echoing off the walls of the narrow passageway she knew led to her cell.

She stiffened, ears twitching, feet moving back silently, careful not to rattle any of the small bones lingering around at the back of her cell. Nobody coming down that corridor meant anything good. In fact, it was usually the exact opposite. Though she hadn't had many visitors as of late, nor any trips out to those dreaded sands.

They hadn't dared to let her out.

Not after what she'd done to their prized pet.

A smile pulled at her lips – a twisted one. The looks on their faces had been priceless. She could still picture them even months after. Well, at least she assumed it had been months, if not years. Time passed strangely in that place, and she barely seemed to grow so that was no use as a measurement. She couldn't really tell how much time had passed since they'd left her alone, too scared to drag her back out into the light. Not even the moonlight could reach her in that place.

Her much too thin fingers brushed against the wall, feeling at the cool smoothness of the rock enclosing her in on three sides. How she missed her oversized sword and the confidence it gave her... She missed the familiar weight in her hands, and the way green light had reflected off its bloodstained surface.

She doubted they'd trust her with it again, not that they'd ever really trusted her in the first place. She was just a tool to them, her life insignificant, and all she needed to do was provide them with entertainment.

It was amusing for them to watch her struggle and fight her way through whatever manner of opponents they threw in front of her. They laughed when blood spilt, even more so when it was her own – though she'd long since learnt the methods to prevent just that.

"So this is the human child..." Green eyes peered into the darkness where she hid. They were an acrid colour, a slightly darker shade of green where the white should've been if he were human. But he wasn't. Nobody else was. Not anymore. Those eyes belonged to something more than human. They were reptilian in nature, the black slitted pupil darting about the darkness in which she had hidden herself in. Whatever light he'd brought with him wasn't strong enough, and she was glad.

Maybe he'd leave.

"The keys."

Or not.

The warden handed them over without a fuss, his movements jerky, a slight tremble in his limbs.

Her lips pulled back into a grimace, sharpened nails and teeth ready to sink into skin. The newcomer was dangerous. Her instincts told her that much, and even if they hadn't, his outfit would have. It looked like something which belonged on nobility, and in that place nobility were impossibly strong – nothing like the riffraff she had been fighting against.

Keys rattled in the lock, rusted hinges creaking when the barred door was slammed open.

"Here, little kitty cat," a soft voice crooned. "Come out and play."

She snarled.

Green eyes fixed on her shadowed form almost instantly, speaking volumes about how enhanced his senses were, and she readied herself to strike. "So there you are."

She leapt at him, teeth snapping, her own eyes widening as an odd weight crashed down on her from above before she could even touch him. It was like gravity, only far stronger, and it sent shivers down her spine.

But it couldn't end like that.

She refused to be weak.

Every day that passed she worked towards her one goal – escape. It was her only option, since the alternative was fighting there until she eventually perished and she had no desire to die in that lightless place.

She wanted to see the sun at least once more, and it was that thought which made her move. The door was open, as though inviting her. An opportunity. One she was sure as hell going to take, even with the strange noble in her cell.

Grunting, she pushed herself to her hands and knees, glaring up at him all the while. It hurt, but not as much as what she'd already been through. If she was completely honest, it was rather insulting... to think that such a small obstacle would stop her in her tracks.

Lips curled up into a grin, the pressure suddenly letting off, making her stumble to regain her balance. Her arm was yanked upwards, a hand closed firmly around her wrist, a thumb reaching out to trace her small face and the sharp angles that had grown there thanks to a lack of proper nutrition. "I suppose you'll do," he said, jerking her up to her feet and over towards the cell door. "Come, little kitty cat, there's much to be done."