Well, this most certainly wasn't what Kayle had expected to happen. At least they didn't try to kill her, that was a very large plus. However, she had been practically dragged over to the taller of the group, forced to kneel in front of him.

How dare they lay their barbaric hands upon her! What gave them the right to order and drag her, a princess, around like she was just a simple servant? They must have seen themselves so superior to her or something.

Which, in a way, she guessed they were. Their strength was un-matchable, and their height was unbelievable. She'd never met anyone as tall as them, the only thing she could think of that were bigger than them and almost the same were Giants, which, sadly, didn't exist but it was still a thought. Her mother had told her many stories about the Giants, and Kayle was always so intrigued at the thought of beings so large.

Not to mention their muscles. Even the Goddess' would have given dreamy sighs at the alien being's muscular bodies. There were not that many men out there that looked like these guys did, even the Elder one looked scorching despite his white-grey dreadlocks which must have meant he'd been around for a very long time and was older than the trio.

She mentally kicked herself. She was in a life-or-death situation here, and all she could think of were their bodies. She prayed to the Gods that they didn't decide to up and kill her. It would just be a fruitless task, and they'd never get to know where the owner of the necklace was at.

Kayle took a breath in, the air seemed stale and not exactly healthy, then again they were sitting deep inside of a cave. She couldn't complain, even though it was dirty down here and was ruining her favourite dress, even her bow started to come undone and was just the slightest bit filthy. She would have to get some of her servants to wash them over and over until every single stain was gone, which would take a lot of time.

The princess was snapped back into reality when the Elder grabbed her by the arm, pulling her to her feet like she weighed absolutely nothing. They all wore masks, so she could never tell what their expressions were- if they were upset or anything else. She bit her lower lip, a bit afraid as to what he was thinking about doing to her, if anything. Her shoulder started to hurt as he held her up, looking to be examining her.

She let out a relieved, silent sigh when he released her, her hand going up to rub the spot he hand grabbed. Kayle didn't like this, it made her nervous. They could rip her to shreds, but they didn't.

The Elder gestured to the trio, and they simply nodded, walking to the opposite side of the cave, waiting beside the entrance. Kayle felt her heart skip a beat, fearing what he was going to do. It surprised her when he simply gestured her to follow him as he walked over to the pool she was staring into just a bit ago.

She gulped, looking to the ground as she walked after him, standing beside him as he looked down at the water.

He looked towards her, a gentle but deep croaking sound leaving the back of his throat. She could see his colouration thanks to the bright pool, how pale he looked, his skin seeming to lose bright pigment much like his hair... if it could be called that. He had tiger stripes along his sides, a few going down his biceps, and some along the thighs from what she could see. They used to be orange she presumed, but looked more faded now, a gross, grey-ish colour.

"Ooman." he spoke suddenly, voice so deep she could almost feel the vibrations through the air and ground.

She hesitantly looked at his face, trying to pass off like she wasn't just staring at his muscular body, "...Yes?" she was hoping that with his old age, he'd be able to speak fluent English, having been probably introduced to it all the times he had been to Earth, if that was the case.

He gave a growl as he turned fully towards her, hands clenching then relaxing over and over, his head held up high, "You should learn to have respect for my Warriors. They would be more than happy to rip you apart, royalty or not. Do not talk back to them, do not go against their wishes. Is that clear?" he rumbled. Gods, he sounded like a dragon. All he needed was the wings, as for the face she was unsure. She didn't get to see him without it.

Why were they wearing those masks, anyway? Were they ugly? could they not breath oxygen? She'd probably find out eventually if one of them dared to remove the strange metal covering from their faces. She bet they were actually handsome- a good-looking face to compliment a good-looking body.

"Is. That. Clear." he growled out again, this time in a demanding tone, flexing his fingers. Kayle quickly nodded.

"Yes... of course." she offered a bow, grabbing the sides of her dress as she did so.

"...Good. Now..." he pointed towards the trio, "Go join them. They'll be... requiring your assistance."

Oh she didn't like the sound of that. She swallowed her pride, and the fear that had been building up in her petite form, quickly walking over to the three towering beings, her steps slowing as she got closer to them.

The one that had brought her here reached out his hand as the other two began their way up the entrance. It was like he was inviting her to dance, only he was probably going to drag her up the slight hill that he had dragged her down in the first place.

She held up her head, giving him the same bow she had the Elder before taking his hand in her own. He cocked his head, letting out a very strange purr. He seemed to have liked that.

Kayle grabbed her dress, holding it up so it didn't get any dirtier than it already was as she was guided through the dark by the large beast. He was being much more gentle than before, when he was practically tugging and towing her around. She appreciated it, he even stopped and waited for her to catch up when she couldn't find her footing. She felt shivers go up her spine- the kind you'd get from a cold breeze making contact with your form- whenever she got too close to him, feeling heat radiating off of him.

He would, in all honesty, make the best blanket around. He was just so damn warm, and the feeling of his hand around her own was so nice.

She squeaked once she saw outside start to come into view, the cave slowly lighting up more and more. She felt hope run through her as she picked up her pace, almost beginning to drag him. Which would be impossible, he weighed at least a ton, she wouldn't be able to do that without a lot of help, or if they were in water. Water seemed to be something that allowed heavy objects to lose some of their weight, becoming easy to carry.

She took a deep breath of air into her lungs, loving the scent of the forest. It was way better than the cave, so fresh, so nice and full of life. She looked back at the three beasts. Why was she calling them beasts? Maybe it was just because of how they sounded- they growled and roared and hissed... It was just easier.

Kayle brushed a hand through her hair, taking out the bow before she retied it, wishing she had a sheet of glass in front of her to see if it looked right.

She felt the ground rumble, thinking at first it was an earthquake, but no, it was just one of the mythical beings walking towards her, again, the same one that found and saved her in the first place. She smiled, but was unsure if they knew what smiles really were.

"...So, how exactly can I help you?" she asked, messing with her dress, making it twist back and forth with her hands, "Do you want me to just... wander around or what?"

Did they even understand? Yes, of course they did, they spoke English back there, but this one seemed more at ease with it that the other two. He brought up a hand, almost causing the Princess to flinch as his knuckle brushed past her cheek before returning to his side as he stepped back.

Suddenly, his brothers vanished, leaving only distorted-looking air, he gave a soft growl, pressing a few buttons on his gauntlet before he, too, vanished.

"Run." was all he muttered.

Kayle blinked, feeling her heart begin to pump, pounding up against her chest, threatening to jump out of her chest and leave her there. She turned and began doing as he said, so happy she wasn't wearing heels, heels were hard to run in, it was possible, but it took so long to get it down.

She stopped once she felt like she got far enough away from the cave, not being able to see it anymore. She sighed. If she knew her run away plan was going to go like this, she wasn't sure if she'd still do it or just go through with the wedding.

Kayle pursed her lips, looking around for any signs of the larger beings, not seeing anything thanks to the dark sky. Soon enough, the sun would appear and everything would be better. But, for now, she just had to deal with it.

Just like she had to deal with taking orders from the alien beings. She wasn't use to it, she was far more use to taking orders from mainly her parents, but from things she knew nothing about? Not too thrilling.

She huffed, holding her head up high as she puffed out her chest, holding up her dress as she began to walk, running didn't seem like something she had to do now. She was sure he had told her to do that so she could get a head start and so she could get as far away from their hiding spot as possible.

It seemed ridiculous, but what could she do? Nothing really. She just had to do what they wanted her to do, and maybe she'd be free to go. Only one of them seemed to really have an interest in her she noted, of course it was the one that had brought her to the others in the first place. She would have been dead by now if not for him.

She shivered at the thought of him. He was so strong, he moved without flaws, he was just so hypnotizing. His colours were also so beautiful to look at, making her secretly gawk at him. If anything, she would prefer to be wedded to him rather than the Prince her father had chosen.

Well, she was certain he wasn't a prince in his culture, if they had royalty or not she was unsure about that whole thing. They seemed more clan based as she figured, taking orders from the higher-ups, kind of like her own people but different. Key words being kind of.

Kayle looked around, hearing the leafs of trees rustle, some even falling down. The changing of the seasons was always nice, the leafs changing colours, falling off so that new ones, greener than ever before could grow. For a few minutes, she felt like she wasn't under the pressure of the large creatures, but was back to a time when she didn't know they existed.

She stopped in her tracks as she heard something start to approach her, growling. She slowly turned to see two wolves staring at her, showing their teeth as their tails went straight up, a sign of being alert.

Kayle squeaked, backing up too quickly, for she tripped over her own feet and fell down. Oh Gods, please let them be watching, please let them help.

The wolves approached her slowly, barking at her before they pounced at the same time, only to be instantly met with a net flying at a fast enough speed to grab them both. She screamed, standing up as she watched the net grow tighter around the wolves, listening to them whine as blood began to spurt from their squished bodies, kililng them. She placed her hands over her mouth before turning away, tears coming to her eyes.

Out of the darkness, she saw him, the one with the brightly coloured skin that she had met when she was captured by bandits, de-cloak. His left arm slowly going down as he walked over to her. She tried to get away from him, but he grabbed her arm as gently as he could, pulling her to him. She pounded her fist on his bare chest.

"Release me!" she cried.

"Calm." he rumbled.

"No!" she, once more, pounded her fist against his broad chest, only hurting herself but not even caring. It was like punching against a brick wall.

"What is matter?" he asked, "You'd be dead if not for me." it was almost like he was gloating about saving her once again, only this time it was from animals and not people.

"..." she was just freaked out, she knew they wouldn't have any mercy towards her had he not been there, but watching them slowly die via his net? That was what scared her the most. It terrified her, caused her to remember just how brutal he could be.

He released her, causing her to slump down to the ground now that she was free to do what she willed, a look of utter fear claiming her facial features. Why was she so afraid? He wasn't going to do that to her... right?

He crouched down, cocking his head to the side as he watched her closely. She could feel him staring at her intensly from behind the dark lenses of his nickle-bright mask, heat radiating off of his body like a fire. Gods, he was so hot, literally speaking.

She bit her lower lip, shutting her eyes.

"...You're... not planning on having me killed, are you?" she asked him silently.

He shook his head. A good sign. She sighed, forcing herself to look at him. She didn't want to seem weak in front of him, even though that was exactly what she was. Weak and afraid of him in particular.

"...Pyode..." he suddenly whispered, brushing his hand along her skin, causing her to tense up. That must have meant soft or silky, she was unsure. He must have really liked the feeling of her skin, he would touch it every chance he got, and she was contemplating if that was a good sign or a bad one. Maybe he was obsessing over it too much...

"... Y..Yes.." she mumbled, hesitantly placing her hand on top of his, feeling as he, too, tensed up like her. She furrowed her brows, feeling his hand. It felt like he was wearing some sort of leather, fingerless glove that was ripped up in places, only exposing some of his reptilian-like skin and his fingers. "... strange..." she mumbled, feeling the texture of him. His palm and fingers were softer than the back of his hand, the way it molted and looked... So beautiful, unlike anything she'd ever seen before.

"Strange..." his mask played back the word in her voice, startling her some. He let out a soft trill, seeming amused by the reaction.

"Do not copy me..." Kayle spoke, pouting slightly.

"Do not copy me..."

Gods, if that was how he was going to be.

She stood up as quick as she could, his hand leaving the surface of her skin. She crossed her arms over her chest, turning her back to him. He trilled, standing up. She huffed, taking a few steps away from him.

"Strange..." he played once more. She wasn't sure if he knew what the word meant, but he said it anyway.

"I think I should get back to finding some bandits, seeing as you're being a rude little boy." she giggled, trying to be playful with him. Gods she hoped he knew what playful was, "I don't think your brothers will like me staying in one place too long, especially with you." now she was just teasing and taunting him, taking a few steps away.

He growled, wrapping a hand around her slender waist, causing her to squeak as she was pulled back to him, her body making contact with his hot, muscular form. She tried to push away from him, fear building up inside of her as he held her with a tough grip.

She looked up at him, fear in her eyes.

What in the Underworld was he up to...?

Translation(s):

Pyode - Soft