In The Halls Of The Dark Queen

If you lot have the time, please review this chapter. There was a lot of effort put in and I want to know how I can improve.

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I awoke slowly to the sound of dripping water. As I opened my eyes I wiped away the gunk that had collected in them while I slept, my blurry vision beginning to solidify and become clear.

I was practically nude besides my underwear and half submerged in a small pool of water, surrounded by the grey walls of what seemed to be a cave. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, dripping water in a messy rhythm as their symphony echoed throughout the cavern.

Looking into the pool, the sole source of light was the pale blue glow of an opaque crystal. As I began to take in my surroundings, I noticed my clothes sat neatly folded on a flat stone with my helmet on top of them. Other than that, I was entirely alone.

*Drip Drop*

'Perhaps I have died again?'

*Drip Drop*

I placed my hand to my chest, however my beating heart did not answer.

*Drip Drop*

Yet I still continued to breathe.

*Drip Drop*

I sighed. It seems I have not died yet.

*Drip Drop*

My mind wandered back to my near death experience from before.

*Drip Drop*

The shadows that wavered and swam in the crystal's glow seemed to grow.

*Drip Drop*

Fear crawled up through the depths of my mind, my eyes glancing at the flicker of every shadow.

*Drip Drop*

As I gripped my chest I realized ribs were healed?

*Click Clack*

I slowly turned to peer in the direction of the new noise. The new echoing rhythm was slow but consistent. It slowly approached me as the shadows seemed to bloom and reveal the being within.

Leisurely, a tall woman walked out from the darkness, barely appearing within my new circle of light.

Her skin was pale, almost sickly so. She wore a beautiful pure white gown, and in the pale light, I could make out the designs of flowers blossoming along the hems. Dark hair that was a slick oily black flowed from her head and cascaded off her shoulders.

One thing however, stood out to me. A black silky cloth covered over her eyes, as though she was blind.

Yet even so, I could feel her gaze boring into me.

"W… re… u"

I tried to speak but my throat was dry and sore.

As she took another step towards me I couldn't even move. My body had neither the energy or the strength to get up and stand before her.

The origin of the sound that had attracted my attention now came into view. Her black shoes clicked against the stone with every step.

She then stepped into the pool, rippling the water as she made her way over to me. As she arrived in front of me, she folded her dress beneath her with a swift elegant movement from her hands and knelt into the pool, leaning forward until her face was barely an inch from my own.

She was beautiful despite her frail appearance. Her chest was slightly pressed against my own, deceptively large beneath her gown.

Delicate fingers caressed my cheek as she smiled and brought her cherry red lips in close, before finally speaking softly in my ear with a voice chilled me to the bone.

"What are you hiding from me, child of man?"

My eyes flared wide open as all the energy in my body returned at once.

"Ack!"

I tried to leap away from the woman and out of the pool but cold shadowy tendrils suddenly wrapped around my arms. They moved and wavered like shifting sands, yet held strong. In the end, I hadn't been able to more than cause a ripple.

I had felt this before.

That night that thing grabbed me.

Wide eyed, I looked at the woman before noticing something I hadn't seen before. A long slick tail, like that of an eel, was snaking out from under her dress.

The moment I saw that it all clicked.

Her appearance, the shadows, her tail.

Fear took away my voice as my throat contracted. Despite my earlier burst of energy I felt heavy, as though the weight of the world was now crushing my chest.

However despite all that, I managed to choke out a question.

"W-what are y-you."

She leaned back a little, her presence becoming far larger than the frail, beautiful woman before me.

"I am a dragon. The dark matriarch of the iron wood forest, Tyvelia."

Silence reigned after she spoke, as neither of us made any moves to further the conversation.

The cavern was silent besides the rhythmic dripping of water and the quiet movements of Tyvelia's slithering tail.

She had done nothing yet.

She simply sat patiently, unmoving like a stone as she awaited my answer.

As we sat together, I began to gather my thoughts. She made no moves despite me never taking my eyes off her. She expected an answer to her earlier question.

Sucking in a breath, I employed all the calm I had within me. It took several tries, but I then began to speak. Deliberate thought and effort woven into every syllable.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

I then waited.

Her face betrayed no emotions. Even seconds passed like hours as a droplet of sweat slowly slipped down my forehead. Her contemplation seemed to last an eternity as I chewed the inside of lip, awaiting an ugly death.

"I see. Then you will stay here."

Her words were spoken in a soft and light tone, yet the weight they held was anything but.

However I had to admit, I really did not want to die by her jaws. That said, could I even die? Now that I think about it I had awoken without my previous injuries.

I was broken out of my thoughts by the receding cold touch of the shadow tendrils. Tyvelia got up, stepping out of the pool and back into the shadows.

However before she fully disappeared into the depths of the cavern, she turned back.

"Come this way after you have changed into something. I don't have a habit of interacting with nude men."

She then disappeared into the black abyss without so little as a clack of her shoe.

My face may have flushed red had a normal woman said such a thing. Instead, all I could do was collapse and sigh in relief. Throughout our entire awkward conversation I had been sweating artillery shells.

I cupped some water in my hand, splashing it on my face as I washed away the sweat.

Then, surprisingly, a dark tendril reached out from the shadows in front of me.

In the curled tip of the tendril, it held a white cloth towel. I stared for a moment, before tentatively reaching out and taking the towel. The tendril then instantly wasted away into dust. Though I didn't have the best experiences with those tendrils, I was still quite curious about them.

That thing, Tyvelia, she had called herself a dragon. I had no idea where I was, but I could be sure this world resembled the fantasy I had read when I was…

I shook my head as I rid myself of distractions. The past is gone. I need to figure out exactly what I can do in this new world. I know that if I dwell in the past, I will end up the same as I did before, stuck in that circle of light.

Getting out of the pool of water, I dried myself off before heading to see exactly what was held in store for me next.