CHAPTER 3
After they were sure that Countess had gone, and that they could actually breath without fear of being found by her, they stood from their crouch in the shadows and surveyed the cave.
"D-do you think that the monster is in here?" Sparkle asked, her voice shaky.
"I'm not sure," Mythical answered, her own belly churning with fear. Was the monster with the huge yellow eyes in here? Was it watching them at this very moment?
As if in reply, a shadow flickered on the cave wall. But it was not a gruesome beast's shadow, but one of an animal, similar to Mythical and Sparkle. The shadow of a fox.
"Who are you?" Mythical asked, with as much courage as she could muster.
"Count," a deep, male voice echoed through the cave. "Count Fieryclaw."
A flame from a nearby fire pit lit up the cave, and the two of them saw a fox seated on the cave floor a few meters away from them.
"Who are you?" Count asked, in a suspicious voice. He held a small dagger, with a large, sparkling topaz embedded in it's hilt.
"I am Mythical, and this is Sparkle. We are from the Gofnak camp outside this cave. Sparkle and I were..." Mythical trailed off, when she noticed Count's shining brown badge. "Are you Gofnak?!" she shrieked, taking a step back. "Only the Gofnak leaders got to keep their badges when they took over!"
"Me? Gofnak?" Count laughed bitterly and spat on the ground. "No. Why I have my badge is none of your business."
Mythical raised an eyebrow at him.
"As little as I trust you," Count said, giving them a deathly look. "You look cold, and I can't let you just stand there and freeze to death. Come by the fire."
The fire behind him crackled again, and Mythical couldn't resist the warm, flickering flames.
She tugged on Sparkle's flipper, and dragged her towards the fire pit. Count followed them, keeping a tight hold of his topaz dagger.
They all huddled around the flames, Mythical rubbing her numb paws together until she could actually feel them again. And as the feeling came back into her hands, her nerves and sense kicked in as well. How did she know she could trust this Count? He claimed he wasn't Gofnak, but what else was he, if he had a badge?
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I hope you enjoyed today's chapter! :D
-Panda
