I don’t know how long I was in the water for, but by the time I got out the sun had moved in the sky and was no longer illuminating the cavern completely. Shadows were beginning to appear and I decided I had better get out before it became too dark. The water had relaxed my aching muscles and I felt surprisingly good.
I quickly dried myself on one of the furs and placed it over a rock to dry. It was not an unpleasant sensation, but I would have much preferred a towel. Rubbing myself down using something that used to be an animal just felt wrong.
The candle was still burning despite the length of time I had been in the water and I briefly wondered what it was made from. Then I remembered how Shrek had made his from earwax at the start of the film and decided I really didn’t want to know.
As Perceval had promised, it was impossible for me to get lost and I easily found my way back to the cave that led to the exit from the mountain. The ogre was not in sight, but I could near noises coming from outside, so I ventured out.
Perceval was nearby, chopping wood. The sun was beginning to set and the temperature was dropping. I had a feeling it was going to get pretty cold in the cave. Would Robert wait until it was dark to ‘rescue’ me or would he leave it till the morning in the hope that ogres sleep during the day? Only time would tell.
Perceval glanced up at me and waved. Unfortunately he used the hand that was holding the axe and it was a little disconcerting to see the large weapon cutting through the air.
Seeing that he had almost finished his task, I returned to the cave, retrieved my brush from my backpack and ran it through my wet and tangled hair. I had almost gotten rid of all of the knots when the ogre returned and dropped some of the chopped wood onto the floor, far away from where I was sitting.
He began piling the smaller pieces in a large hole in the cave wall which was close to the ground, then put some of the larger pieces on top. I watched, fascinated, as he took two jars down from a shelf high above him and poured some of the contents from each into one of his hands. He then rubbed his hands together, mixing the two powders.
Almost immediately flames began to appear, curling around his fingers. His hands were on fire! He then crouched down in front of the hole, opened them up and gently blew on them, causing the remains of the powder to fly onto the smaller pieces of wood. The flames leaped from his outstretched hands and soon took hold on the fuel source. When he was satisfied that the fire was burning nicely, he rubbed his hands down his trousers, which appeared to be made from the pelt of some sort of large animal. (A deer maybe?)
I slowly walked up to him. “Didn’t that hurt?” I asked tentatively.
“No,” he said, frowning. “Why would it?”
“But your hands were on fire,” I blurted out.
Perceval looked at his hands in confusion. I glanced at them and found that they were not burnt. Either his skin was impervious to heat or somehow the flames he had created were not hot enough to burn flesh. They were burning the wood well though. The heat the fire was giving off was very pleasant.
“You look tired,” he said to me. “Eat then sleep.” It sounded more like an order than a suggestion, but as soon as food was mentioned I realised that I was starving. He took down a big stone pot that was sitting on the shelf next to the jars containing the fire making powders and filled it with water from a small stream that I had not noticed until now. Stream is probably not the right word for the small amount of water that flowed through the cave, close to the fire, but you get the idea.
There was a ledge above the fire which must have got pretty hot when the fire was really roaring. He placed the water filled pot on it then went off to the part of the cave where he stored his food.
I had left the candle he had given me near my backpack and it was still burning, so I decided to take the opportunity to update my diary, using the light it was giving off.
I have no idea what I am going to be eating, but I hope it is ready soon as the smells that are coming from the part of the cave that should be referred to as the ‘kitchen’ are making my mouth water. I’ll let you know later.
Day 3
Well, I wasn’t ‘rescued’ during the night, though it was the best night’s sleep I have had in a long while. After eating what I think was a sort of vegetable stew with something resembling barley in it, Perceval showed me to another small cavern just off the main one. There was a pile of furs in one corner and not much else.
“You may sleep here,” he said. I was about to protest, thinking that I was stealing his bedroom, when he continued. “This is where my guests stay. The furs are clean and warm.” So, it was a 2 bed pad was it. I wondered if that was common among ogres or if Perceval was one of the more important members of his tribe, but thought it would be rude to ask. I was, after all, a guest and it felt wrong to be questioning my host about his social status.
The furs were surprisingly comfortable and I stripped down to my underwear as soon as Perceval left me alone. I lay on the pile, dragged one of the furs over me and the next thing I knew I was being gently woken.
“Five more minutes,” I said sleepily.
“Sssshhhh,” a voice hissed in my ear. I opened my eyes and almost screamed, stopping myself as my memory returned. This was Perceval, a friendly ogre, not the human eating kind. I was his guest not his prisoner and definitely not his breakfast.
“We have company,” he whispered.
Company? What sort of company? The ‘Perceval may be vegetarian, but the rest of us ogres are 100% carnivore’ kind or the ‘Hi Rachel, I’m here to rescue you’ kind? I really hoped it was the latter.
“Stay here,” Perceval continued. “And keep quiet.”
He left me alone and I quickly got dressed. If it was Kris and Robert, I didn’t want them to see me half naked and if it was something less friendly it might think twice about eating me if it had to go to all the effort of undressing me first.
The cave was dark, but not completely. I risked glancing out into the bigger cave and could see through the entrance that the sun was just beginning to rise. I could also make out the vague shapes of two men entering. My rescue party was here!
I glanced about, but could see no sign of Perceval and wondered where he was hiding. I looked back at the two intruders and managed to work out that the one in front was Robert. And he was holding a sword. Where in hell had he gotten a sword from? I knew the answer without even thinking about it. Kris’s bag. He said it always provided what was needed. But a sword? What good would a sword be against an ogre? Did Robert even know how to use a sword?
Robert and Kris slowly made their way deeper into the cave, taking care to make as little noise as possible. As they drew closer I shrunk back against the cave wall so they would not see me. Perceval obviously had plans for Robert and I didn’t want to spoil them.
“Is it here?” I heard Robert whisper.
“I have no idea,” Kris replied, as quietly as he could.
“Which way should we go?”
“How should I know?” Kris said. “It’s not as if I have been here before. Maybe we should split up. I’ll go this way, you start over there.” Never been here before indeed. Kris pointed directly to the cavern I was in when he said which direction he would take. I knew he was in on the so called ‘kidnapping’ so he probably knew exactly where I was and was sending Robert to where the ‘big bad monster’ was hiding.
“Scream out if you find the ogre,” Kris said.
“Somehow I don’t think that will be a problem,” I heard Robert mutter as he started to move away.
Kris slunk into the sleeping cavern I was in and I momentarily contemplated jumping out at him to see if he would scream like a girl, but decided against it. Robert was supposed to think I was being held prisoner, after all, and the noise of Kris yelling would attract his attention, distracting him from his task of finding the ogre.
Kris noticed me immediately and put his finger to his lips, indicating that I should remain silent. I nodded and moved over to th
e ‘bed’.
“Are you alright?” Kris asked as he sat down beside me. He sounded genuinely concerned.
“Fine,” I told him. “Perceval has been a most gracious host.”
“Good. I take it he filled you in on why you were taken.” So Perceval was a ‘he’ after all. Again I nodded.
Kris started to ask me another question when the entire cave was filled with a monstrous roar. If I had not known that it was Perceval and that he was friendly, I would probably have wet my pants. The sound was terrifying.
“Hide,” Kris said. I was in a small cavern; it’s not like there was a handy wardrobe I could jump into. Seeing my uncertainty, Kris pushed me back onto the ‘bed’ and threw a loose fur over me. “Stay still,” he whispered and I felt him stand up.
I sensed rather than heard him move toward the entrance and he must have still been just inside when Robert ran in.
“I think I found it,” he said. “And it seems very pissed off at being disturbed.”
“Have you found Rachel?” Kris asked, knowing full well I was close enough to hear the entire conversation. He certainly was a good actor.
I presume that Robert must have shaken his head because Kris continued. “Then it looks like we will have to face the beast.”
When I heard them both leave the cavern, I pulled the fur off my head. I was getting hot under there. I slid off the ‘bed’ and made my way across the floor to the entrance. The sun had risen further, lighting up the cavern enough for me to clearly see the scene in front of me.
Robert was standing next to Kris, waving his sword around. It looked quite funny. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I knew the poor guy was terrified, I would have laughed.
“Come out where we can see you,” Robert called out, his voice shaking almost as much as his arm was. If it had been a vicious beast that he was about to face, was calling to it really a good idea?
A low rumble filled the cavern. I guess Perceval found Robert amusing. “Of course,” his voice boomed out. I could hear the laughter in it. “Anything to keep my breakfast happy.” I think the ogre was really enjoying himself.
Perceval’s reaction took Robert completely by surprise. “That thing can talk?” I heard him hiss at Kris. “You could have warned me.”
“Why?” Kris asked, bewildered. “What difference would it have made?”
Before Robert could answer, Perceval stepped out of the shadows, snarling viciously. Yep – he was definitely having a good time at Robert’s expense. Robert yelped at the sight of the ogre towering above him, but, much to my surprise, he didn’t step away.
“Where is Rachel?” he shouted once he had regained his composure. His voice was higher pitched than usual, indicating how hard it was for him to remain facing the ogre. I was impressed. I hope Hades was too. “Tell me or I will gut you.”
Perceval looked at the sword Robert was brandishing. “With that little thing?”
“Now,” Robert growled.
“Over there,” Perceval said, indicating with his head toward a pile of bones on the floor. They were not large enough to be adult human bones, but I guess Robert didn’t realise that.
“You will die you monster,” he screamed out and ran forward, his sword raised above his head.
Worried for his safety, I stepped out from my hiding place and shouted, “Robert, no.”
I’m not sure if he didn’t hear me or if his momentum was carrying him forward, but he ended up slashing his sword at Perceval.
The ogre nimbly (for a huge creature he was surprisingly agile) stepped out of his way, grabbed the back of Robert’s t-shirt with one of his huge hands and lifted him effortlessly off the ground.
Robert, ignoring the fact that he was now up in the air, continued to slash his sword at Perceval’s unprotected torso. Thankfully he could not reach the ogre’s flesh as I have no idea how Perceval would have reacted.
“Put him down, please,” Kris said, deciding that Robert had done enough to prove his bravery. I was expecting Perceval to just open his hand and drop him, but he didn’t. Instead he placed him gently onto the floor, where he fell in a heap as his legs gave way.
I rushed over to him. “Robert, are you alright?” I asked anxiously.
“No,” he replied. “What the hell is going on?”
“It’s a test,” I quickly explained. “Hades wanted to test your bravery.”
“And you were in on this?” he asked in an unpleasant tone.
“Not when I was first taken, no,” I assured him. “Not until Perceval explained it all to me.”
“Perceval?” Robert asked, raising his eyebrows. I should have realised that he was still full of pent up anger, but I didn’t and stupidly went on talking.
“The ogre. Kris knew all about it though.”
Ooops.
“You bastard,” Robert shouted, looking to where Kris was talking with Perceval. “I thought she was dead. Do you think it funny playing with people’s emotions like that?”
He was on his feet faster than I thought possible, striding toward Kris, sword in hand still. This was not going to go well.
“Robert, don’t do anything stupid,” I said. “I’m sure Kris was only following instructions.”
“I bet he was,” Robert said as he jabbed the point of his sword toward Kris’s throat. Kris expertly stepped out of his way.
“Put the sword down.”
“Or what?” Robert asked as he slashed the sword across were Kris’s throat had been milliseconds before. The combination of terror, loss, then relief must have temporarily fried Robert’s mind.
I ran forward, grabbed his free arm and attempted to pull him away. Robert acted instinctively before his brain could take control of his body and whirled around, slashing out at me with the sword as though I was the enemy.
I cannot begin to describe the pain I felt as the blade sliced through the flesh on my cheek. I was later told that the cut went down to the bone. I screamed out and dropped to the floor, my hand automatically moving up to my face to cover my wound. I pulled it away, saw it was covered with blood, then screamed again. I felt sick. I felt faint. And I hurt.
Robert dropped the sword on the ground, shocked at what he had done. Kris ran over to me and gently moved my head to the side in order to get a better look at my injury.
“I need water,” he said. “And a clean cloth.” Perceval responded immediately and moments later handed him a stone bowl and what looked like a piece of leather.
Kris began to wash my cheek, turning the water in the bowl a deep red. Robert could only stand there and watch as I gritted my teeth. It was the only thing that stopped me from crying. It stung. It stung a lot.
“Rob,” Kris shouted at him, bringing him out of the daze he appeared to be in. “I need needle and cotton. My bag. Now.”
Robert sprang into action, easily finding the required objects. Well there’s a surprise. Not. He threaded the needle and handed it to Kris.
“This is going to hurt,” Kris warned me. Great. As if I wasn’t in enough pain already. I took a deep breath and held it, bracing myself for what was about to come, but before Kris could start his sewing a thought suddenly occurred to me.
“Hold on,” I said, trying to pull away. “Aren’t you supposed to heat the needle in order to sterilise it or something?”
Kris moved my head around so that he was staring straight into my eyes. “Not in this case. Trust me.” And for some reason, I did. I nodded my head and he began his work.
Have you ever pricked your finger with a needle? Better still, can you remember how it felt last time you had an injection? Well imagine that, coupled with someone rubbing salt in an open wound while pinching you and you might get some idea of how bad it was. By the time he had finished, tears were streaming down my face.
I glanced up and saw Robert. He, too, was almost crying. “It’s going to leave a scar,” I heard him mutter. “How could I have ruined such a beautiful face?”
Until that point I had no
t thought about that and I really wished I hadn’t heard what Robert said. I like to think I am not a vain person, but I do consider myself attractive. I have long blonde hair, blue eyes, a slim yet sporty figure and a rather pretty face. Now the latter was gone.
Kris also heard Robert’s comment. “She will be fine,” he said and placed his hand over my stitched up wound. His hand was soft and warm and didn’t cause any pain when his skin came into contact with my injured face. It was actually quite nice and I was rather disappointed when he took it away a few minutes later. I had no idea why he cradled my cheek the way he did, but it made me stop crying at least.
“She should get some sleep,” I heard Perceval’s voice sound out from somewhere behind me. “Make her drink this.”
I felt a stone cup being placed in my hand and looked down at it. The contents were green. Lovely!
“Drink,” Kris said softly, moving my arm up so that the cup was almost touching my lips. Reluctantly I did so and was pleased to find that it tasted great. Why can’t medicine always taste like that? I drank the entire cup, then asked for some more.
“Not a good idea,” Perceval said. “It is a sleeping potion. Drink too much and you will never wake up.” Right then, that sounded like a good idea to me, but I decided it would be best to keep my thoughts to myself.
“I’ll carry you to bed,” Kris said and slipped one arm under my legs and cradled me against him with the other.
“I’ll take her,” Robert said, somewhat forcefully.
I sensed rather than saw Kris glare at him. “You have done quite enough already,” he snapped as he picked me up and carried me back to the cavern in which I had spent the night. He placed me on the sleeping furs and covered me over. I felt him kiss my head like a protective parent as my eyes began to close. I was asleep before he had left my side.
Day 3 - continued
I have no idea how long I slept for, but it was bright when I awoke so the sun must have still been out. I felt groggy and didn’t want to get up, so I decided to take the opportunity to update my diary. Someone (Kris I presume) had placed my bag right next to my ‘bed’ so I could reach it without having to get out from under the nice warm fur that was laying over me.
Diary of a journey through Hell Page 5
