AN: Sorry for the hiatus; school and CAP have not been kind. Now, I am well aware that Miranda and Cedric have a bit of an age gap despite being in love. In this fiction, I'm assuming that Miranda is actually in her late teens, but just really petite, and that Cedric is in his early or mid twenties. That way, Cedric doesn't look like a creeper, and Miranda doesn't look ridiculous.
The Fourth Heart
Chapter 2
Cedric and Miranda
Miranda couldn't quite remember her trip to... wherever she was. All she could come up with was the bizarre headache that was fading, and the fact that the man she had recently announced to be her lover was taking a nap on the stone floor. The later of which would be fine, if they had any idea where they were, and if they weren't out in the open.
She scrambled to his side, noticing herself to be in her human form again, and began shaking Cedric's shoulder. She whispered loudly in his ear,
"Cedric! Cedric, get up!"
The gigantic snake-man stirred, mumbling in his sleep, "Five more minutes, mum..."
Miranda growled, "Cedric, if you don't get up right now, I swear on the Heart of Kandrakar, Elyon's wrath will be the least of your worries!"
That got his attention, as he shot up, eyes wide. His head darted from side to side, confusion taking over, "Where are we?"
"Hell if I know," Miranda shrugged, trying to hide her shaking. It wasn't very cold, though. In fact, it was actually really warm in these caves, almost boiling. Miranda could only assume that wherever they were, they were near some kind of volcano. More of a reason to find a way out.
The snake-man sat up as Miranda inspected the caves that surrounded them, and slithered to her side. He sniffed the air, flicking his tongue about, turning in the direction of another tunnel, "I smell civilization that way."
"Let's see where it takes us," Miranda said, "I think it would be a little less conspicuous if you shifted, in case the place is full of humans."
Cedric gave a simple nod, before getting enveloped in the same electric blue magic that manifested during his shifting. In a matter of a few seconds, he was back in his regular blond human guise. He extended his arm to Miranda, asking politely, "Shall we?"
Miranda smiled, and took his arm, letting him bring her towards the city.
~0~
As the two walked down the tunnels, Cedric couldn't help but notice the lack of subterranean life. Even in Phobos' dungeons, there were a few rats and insects crawling about. However, in these natural caves, not even a bat. Something was off about this place, and he had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't just that scratching noise.
"What was that?" Miranda whispered, turning her head to try and look behind them. Nothing.
"I don't see any animals," Cedric said back, albeit quietly. The scratching was soon replaced with footsteps, heading towards the two. Four pairs of glowing red eyes singled out Cedric and Miranda from the shadows, a very large figure heading towards them.
Miranda and Cedric did the only sensible thing to do when faced with an obvious monster, they shifted. The figure stopped short, the red lights widening. After a moment's pause, it came into the faint light of the glowing crystals that seemed to illuminate the cave system. Cedric looked between this creature and Miranda, a brow raised.
The creature before them appeared to be a large spider Changeling, almost as tall as Cedric's naga-like form. It had a total of eight legs, and was covered in golden hairs. The glowing red eyes were placed in a somewhat diamond shape on each side of its head, and for unknown reasons, it was crawling upside down.
"What the...?" It said in a surprisingly feminine voice, expressing shock. Miranda had, much to her shock, made eye contact.
The creature dropped to the floor, adjusting its body to land on its legs. When it reestablished eye contact, it bowed its head deeply, saying in a polite tone, "Good morning, my name is Yamame Kuroudani."
