Cave Man

After one day and one-night unconscious, Syrena woke up. She looked where she was. Yes, she has returned to the basement.

[I had a nightmare!]

The princess's body ached all over. The princess was trying to get up, but unfortunately, her body felt powerless. Felt the sore neck, Syrena's hand found a bandage wrapped around her neck.

[So the demon spirit is real?]

Believe it or not. But a bandage around the neck should be proof enough.

[I can't believe I made a pact with a demon spirit.]

After two days without eating and losing blood, the princess felt almost dead.

[Now what? The deal didn't make me any better. My condition was getting worse because of losing much blood!]

She didn't expect her encounter with the mysterious man in the cave to make matters worse. Syrena's memory flashed back to the past days when she fled the palace.

***

"Arrgghh...!"

A brunette girl was tumbling under a tree that had fallen leaves. With gasped breath, the brunette girl tried to get away from the pursuit of the royal guard.

"Princess!" One of the soldiers shouted.

On her escape, the brunette girl hides under a cliff. The princess' grey eyes glanced up, then strolled with her back against the cliff. Unexpectedly, the princess found a cave behind the almost perfectly yellowed vines.

"I hope this cave's safe." The princess entered the cave.

As the sound of the guards got louder and closer to the mouth of the cave, suddenly, someone covered the girl's mouth. She struggled, but the force behind her was too strong.

"Shut up if you want to escape the pursuit of those soldiers!"

A man's voice rang out from the mysterious figure behind the princess's body. The shadows of the soldiers were seen entering the cave.

The mysterious man pulled Princess Syrena into one of the hollows in the cave wall so that the soldiers couldn't see the grey-eyed girl. For a moment, the princess held her breath until the horde of soldiers left the cave.

"Who are you?" asked the daughter of King Dione as the horde of soldiers walked away from the cave.

Princess Syrena's eyes widened when she saw the figure of a burly man, with part of his face covered by a hood. The man's black hair elongates from the hood to the front of the chest. Goosebumps immediately engulfed the body of the brunette girl until she unconsciously walked backwards.

"I should be the one asking you. This is my home," replied the stranger in a friendly voice.

Syrena's eyes glanced to the right, left, and up. The princess was not wrong; she had entered a cave, not a house. At the top of the cave, many spiky limestone rocks are lined up like wolf fangs with bats hanging from between them.

"Who are you? Why do the royal soldiers chase after you?" The foreign man's facial movements seemed to pay attention to the girl's appearance in the green dress from head to toe.

Annoyed by a foreign man's question, the princess replied, "That's none of your business!"

"Be polite, little girl! You have taken refuge in my house without my permission!" the foreign man warned.

"I'm not a little girl!" Syrena said with pursed lips in annoyance.

"Don't be so fierce to the person who saved your life. You'll regret it later!"

Although hoods covered most foreign man's faces, the girl could see the foreign man grinning. Thousands of question marks filled the princess's head. The girl didn't know whether the man was a friend or foe.

"Well, thanks for the protection!" said the girl casually.

"Well, that's better. What's your name, sweetie?"

"I'm Syrena."

"Ah... Syrena. A beautiful name. What exactly happened to you? Why do the soldiers chase after you?"

The princess was silent for a moment, in her heart a little hesitant to reveal the events.

"I heard they call you princess, is that true?" asked the stranger. Syrena tidak bisa menyembunyikan keterkejutannya.

"Yes, that's correct." A moment later, Syrena covered her mouth with the tips of her fingers because she felt sorry for revealing her identity.

A smirk returned to the stranger's lips.

"Welcome to my home." The foreign man laughed heartily.

"I won't hurt you, Princess."

Although the princess breathed a bit of relief, the princess' eyes were still wary of watching every foreign man's movements.

"Come here, rest first!"

The foreign man walked into the cave; out of curiosity, Syrena followed in the man's footsteps in the black cloak. On the inside of the cave wall, several torches are stuck to the wall. Some rocks resemble chairs and tables.

"Think of this place as at home," said the man in the black cloak as he sat on a rock.

Syrena was following the sitting movements of the stranger, even though she was scared.

"Speak; I will be a good listener."

With a sad face, Syrena told about her engagement to the black-haired man.

"Do you think kings and queens are evil? They are just parents who wish their daughter have a happy life," said the black-hooded man in a friendly voice, like a teacher to his students.

A smirk graced Syrena's lips, "They made me a security guarantee so that the kingdom of Lagardioz doesn't damage the borders of Ruxenia."

The princess's face was gloomy again. She was disappointed because she was used as collateral to cover the king's incompetence.

"If I could change this... I mean, I have good reasons to refuse the engagement." Syrena's voice sounded weak and desperate.

"What kind of solid reason do you want?" asked the hooded man casually.

"I want the king and queen to see the prince in such a terrible form that they refuse to continue the engagement," said Syrena with her head lowered.

"If that's what you want, it's just an easy request."