18 Took off in the Wilderness

It had been a week since Elize had been trying to escape. There was no one to talk to, Arawn had made himself discreet, only appearing when he had to restock food or other items. The loneliness was driving her crazy. She was tired. She had tried every possible way to get out of the cabin, but the spell around it was so strong that every time she would end up circling the place. And now she even knew what scenery would come next. Elize would prepare her backpack, get out of the cabin, walk for hours at night and then come back to the cabin just before dawn. She didn't encounter wild beasts, only small barrats and squirrels, which dared to come out in the snow during the night.

The blood in the fridge was… disgusting. She would drink half the bag and then she couldn't. She remembered how his blood tasted—like honey and cinnamon and so good that drinking anything else was becoming increasingly difficult. But Elize willed herself to not think about Caleb, or his blood, or his body, or his warmth.

After a hectic round the whole night, being alone for the whole day was maddening. She would sleep the entire day in order to escape the loneliness, but the nights—nights were getting crazier. They brought imbalance, irritation and a sense of gloom. There were ebbs and flows of too many emotions.

Elize was watching the snowflakes drifting from the skies towards the ground from the confines of her room that evening. As she stood there, the intensity increased, as if warning her of a snowstorm. The sun was now set behind the wall of pewter and gray clouds marked the whole sky. The weather felt gloomy, as if the horizon didn't want to show itself. And she—she was trapped in this wooden cabin for god-knows how much longer. Her thoughts went to Owen and Nessa and wondered what they must be doing now. She wished that her father was still alive. Only he knew what to do with her, only he accepted her… Tears stung her eyes and she started crying. She would give anything—absolutely anything in the world—to have him alive and be with him.

Elize was about to take a step back when through the window, she saw the stag—once again. Standing on the other side of the fence, it was watching her closely. Her eyes widened as the next breath that came out of her was ragged. She wanted to cross the space between then and stroke the fur of the stag. Suddenly she heard a faint boom somewhere in far distance and her gaze broke. The next moment the stag ran away.

Surprise was not even what summed her emotions. "What is there?" she murmured, straining her ears to listen to the sound. But there was nothing. She resigned and then once again packed her bag, hoping against hope that she would find a way.

Yet another week passed and Elize was not feeling well at all. Even though there was blood in the fridge, she couldn't drink it. She was tired of staying alone for such a long time. There was no television, no phone, no way to communicate with people. Her face had become pale, her skin sallow and there were dark circles under her eyes. She packed her bag tonight also and dragged her feet to the kitchen. She took a blood bag out and was forced to drink it fully. Arawn had said that Caleb would come back in two weeks and then she could go, but he hadn't come and so she was still here. Was he punishing her? Elize gulped down the blood as she closed her eyes to stop that retch that formed in her throat whenever she drank animal blood.

She discarded the blood bag on the table and then walked to the door with her backpack strapped on her shoulders. She remembered how energetic she was on the first day of the escape and now—now she just went through the same ordeal out of routine. She opened the knob with her lips quivering and her body trembling and she found herself staring at the stag again. She stopped in her tracks. This was the third time she had come so close to him. A shaky breath left her and Elize started to walk towards the stag. She was half afraid that the stag might attack her, but it didn't. It seemed to be waiting for her with silent eyes. She stopped her breath and slowed her pace, giving it a chance to sniff her and giving herself a chance to run away in case it attacked. But the stag lowered its face a little, as if encouraging her to come near him.

Her mouth dried as she stared at the beast. He was so beautiful and terrifying with those fierce looking antlers. She swallowed as she took another step forward. Her breath lodged in her throat as she reached out for him. If it attacked her with its antlers, she would be so upset.

The stag made a small trilling sound and Elize touched him with the tips of her fingers. Her fingers pressed a little more. She was surprised to find how tame the stag was and how warm. She petted his nose and he made a chuffing sound. His breath clouded around him. He nuzzled into her hand and Elize—she was extremely happy that there was someone who was her friend. She chuckled and then laughed softly. "Who are you?" she asked as she stroked his fur.

She crossed the fence and knelt on the ground as she stroked the stag who sat beside her. Elize didn't know what to do with it and when the stag got up, she too got up with him. She was now laughing at his eagerness. The stag pranced around her and nudged her hips. "What do you want me to do?" she asked, feeling ticklish. The stag lowered himself to the ground and tilted his head as if asking her to climb him. "Really?" Elize asked, feeling excited and doubtful. Maybe, this was her cue to escape. After initial hesitation, Elize climbed his back and held its antlers. He got up with extreme caution as if he was trained to do so.

"Woahhh!" she exclaimed. Too many thoughts swirled in her mind. Was she doing the right thing? Why was she trusting this stag so much? Why did she feel like trusting the animal who couldn't even speak with her?

The next moment, the stag took off in the wilderness of the night and she shrieked!