The first time I went into the caverns, aside from being horribly shocked by the odor of brimstone, I noticed the beauty of it all. The huge lake, with its population of Squalts, surrounded by cliffs and a city full of lights. The caves, each with their own exuded light and special meaning. The way that all of the creatures lived in harmony together. It was just so picturesque! Now, however, the Caverns are being looted and savaged by Everett's insensitive army. Is it fair that they get to tromp about and ruin things for everyone and destroy everything? I think not. Suddenly, Sene swoops down beside me, a look of panic on her face.
"Lorelei," she says. "I mean, urm, General Lorelei. They're going to find the idols sooner or later. If they do, we'll lose for certain."
I pat her bony shoulder awkwardly. "It's alright, Sene. We'll be able to prevent it, I just know it. Now tell me something. What's your story with Everett?"
She releases a pained breath, as though she's admitting something she'd rather not.

"Okay, so you already know that he is also a Scarmortus. He is two years my senior, but he has always acted far less mature than I. I overheard your conversation with your mother last night-"
My face turns beet red. "You weren't supposed to hear that!"
She sighs. "I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep. Anyway, do you want an explanation or not?" She sinks down to her knees onto a rocky outcropping, her dress pooling into a puddle of black on the hardpacked dirt. "Anyway, you might be wondering how, if Everett is a Scavenger, yet his father is human, how this all came to be. Well, his mother was a Scavenger, and yes, his father was human. That, I suppose, is how Everett managed to maintain such a human appearance. An average Scavenger would sleep for days at a time, morph spontaneously from time to time without warning, and crave strange things like will-o-the-wisp jellies." At that, I cringe. She gives a shuddering laugh, as though she is still haunted by the thought as well.

"So yes, his mixed roots must have made it easier. It's hard for Scavengers to transition into human society with these traits. But I guess Everett succeeded in the transition. A long time ago, before he left for human society, he and I were, well, inexcusably in love." My face blanches, losing its beet coloration. "Yes," she says, laughing a bit again. "We most definitely shouldn't have been in love, in retrospect, his being such a nasty person. But he understood how much I hated killing other creatures, and sometimes he even helped me free the creatures at night. He was the only one who knew a lot of things about me. He knew my full name, obviously. He knew my true nature, the kindness and compassion that I was forced to hide or be the Scavenger's next meal. I thought he really, truly loved me. But right before he left, he said that he-" She chokes on the sentence, dark tears rolling down her cheeks. "He said that he never loved me, Lore! He said that I was barely a child, and that he was no longer interested in anything about me!" She dissolves into sobs, her eyes overflowing. She falls onto my lap, sobbing like her heart will burst. I pat her back awkwardly, my stomach aching for her.

When Sene finally stops crying, we sort of rejoin the rest of the world around us. The soldiers have moved on from pillaging, and are back to their task of trying to destroy our army. I am thankful for the distraction; I have never liked trying to comfort people. It is easier for me to just smack swords away, jumping and kicking. Since they entered the Caverns, the Green Dragon have not been playing fair. So if they intend to play dirty, I intend to fight dirty. Sir Pendergast taught me, in secret of course, how to fight dirty. He told me that people don't always play fair, and that knowing a load of fancy fencing strikes will do you a fat load of nothing on the battlefield. I know how to throw high kicks to hit specific tender areas. I know how to scratch and hit and punch quickly, faster than sword blows. I may be a princess, and I may try to keep a grace about myself, but I am not above breaking all sorts of conduct rules when it comes to fighting.

When Everett morphs back into his awful human form, he descends directly in front of me and tries to impale me as a means of saying hello. I place a strong snap-kick right into his stomach, and then feel a slight pang of guilt when I see him doubled over in pain, wheezing. Just earlier, I know not how much earlier, for I know not how long I spent in that odd in-between with Maye, just earlier I was hit in the same place. I never wanted to go through that horrible feeling again, and I cannot help but feel bad that I have now committed someone else to that pain.

Everett sneers at me. "Just concede, Lorelei. I am going to win. Surrender now and no one gets hurt."
I grit my teeth and drive my fist into the side of his ribcage. "NEVER!" I scream, victorious for only a split second. But victory for even a fraction of a second is still a victory nonetheless.
He sucks in a breath, and then reaches out and slaps the side of my face with the palm of his hand. It stings, and I can feel my cheek reddening. Besides that, there are rules of etiquette that say a man should never hit a lady. Although, when I think about it, there are most likely rules of etiquette that say a young lady should never don armor and kick someone in the stomach, so I suppose that etiquette is going down the drain today.

Sene, morphing as she flies, swoops over and grabs Everett's hair in her talons. She zips upwards, and he screams like an infant. He morphs again, tearing himself away from her claws. It is her turn to scream as he whirls around her, slapping her face with his wings. They are a tornado of feathers and talons and noises, and I can barely stand it to be next to them as they tussle. Sene is whimpering, and Everett is hollering like a child on the jungle gym. I finally grow bored standing beside them and getting covered in black feathers. I reach up, sword in hand, and slide it between them like a barrier. Sene takes the opportunity to drop, landing in my arms like a rag doll.

Everett swoops up into the strange, unearthly sky that always makes me wonder. How is there a sky in an underground cavern? He lands on the cliff face, that same cliff that I almost fell from, thanks to a will o' the wisp. The flaming, brilliant spark of an idea flies from the sparking steel of thought and lands on the tinder of my mind. Will o' the wisps tend to spend their time here, lighting everything and leading travelers to their doom. If I could just.........