AN: Changes in chapter 1!

Sorry for not updating in forever o.O

Now that I'm over my "Oh my god not writing!" phase, I hope to update at least monthly for each story, hopefully a lot more though.

I haven't looked closely at this chapter after I'd written it. Sorry for any mistakes / I just really wanted to post it.

I shall soon be getting a beta (hoorah! Laura I love you)

Mara could not bear to look into the creature's eyes any longer. She cast her gaze downward, and whispered defeatedly, "I shall submit to you, my lord."

"Very good," he murmured. "I shall expect no fight from you?"

Mara found herself shaking, and unbiddingly tears began to escape her eyes. "No, my lord, I will not fight you."

He seemed to accept her response, but a slight frown played upon his bloodless lips as he watched her. "No need to...rush," he muttered. "You are still...injured." He was looking at the bruises that lined both her arms from when the Hunters had taken her. It seemed that despite the Morlock Lord's words, he too was reluctant about the situation, which was slightly surprising. Mara knew very well that her injuries were not severe enough to prevent him from taking her.

Mara attempted to wipe away her tears, knowing that being hysterical wouldn't help her. She sniffled. The Morlock lord's frown only deepened at this. From one of the many pouches on his belt he withdrew a black kerchief, which he handed to her.

She cautiously wiped her eyes on the kerchief, eyeing him all the while, and took a deep breath, calming herself. She knew that in his own way, the Morlock Lord was was probably being very generous.

After a moment's silence, she said, "My lord, I know you feel otherwise, but if we are to be...together...might I at least know your name?"

The Morlock lord made a sound that could have been a sigh. "I suppose. You may call me Endrick... if you wish."

"Thank you," she whispered. He simply nodded.

She suddenly felt horribly tired, the recent events finally beginning to take a toll on her. Endrick seemed to notice, because he said, "I will leave you now, so that you may rest."

Not trusting herself to speak, she only silently watched as Endrick turned on his heel, silver hair whirling, and quickly vacated the room.

She finally took a moment to take in her surroundings: The large, soft bed that she found herself in, the chest at its foot. Several candles were lit on various surfaces, their light reflecting off of the stone walls. A lonely table sat in a corner, worn and battered. Several large book shelves lined the walls, stuffed with yellowing parchment, scrolls, and the occasional tattered book. She found herself wondering if this was his room. It would make sense.

She rolled onto her side and must have dozed off, because sometime later she became aware of Endrik seated next to her, in a chair that she had not recalled previously. It made her wonder how long he had been in the room.

Still in a daze, she yawned softly, and made a feeble attempt to sit up. She let out a soft gasp as she felt one of Endrik's hands on her arms, gently helping her up into a sitting position. His long fingernails tickled her skin, and she felt strange when he released her.

"I thought you might be hungry." The eyes again. How could his eyes possibly be so piercing? She felt like they were boring holes into her. Remembering his words, she looked down and saw that in one hand he held a bowl of some kind of stew. Sudden memories of what the Morlocks ate came tumbling back into her mind, and she suddenly felt sick. She shivered, and perhaps Endrik had read her mind, because he said,"Just roots. I have no desire to traumatize you."

Mara felt somewhat relieved and yet at the same time, a spark of irritation flared inside her. Not traumatize her? Hadn't he already? Taking her from her home, making her the equivalent of his sex slave? She could never go home again, never see Kalen, or Torin...

"It is not good to dwell on such things," Endrik whispered

"Stop reading my mind," Mara said angrily. "Is there nothing that still belongs to me anymore? My mind, my body, my freedom, it has all been taken from me!"

Endrik did nothing but raise a hairless eyebrow at her outburst. "My apologies. It is in my nature to read the thoughts of others. I shall attempt to not do so in the future."

"As for having nothing," he murmured, "it's all at the way you choose to view it."

There was an awkward silence that followed. Endrick was the one who finally spoke. "You are able to feed yourself, or do you require assistance?"

Mara turned red at the thought of the Morlock feeding her. "I'm f-fine." Realizing that she had stuttered, she cursed herself.

Endrik handed her the bowl, still warm. She wondered if he had made it himself, and how he had known how. Weren't the Morlocks only carniverous?

Realizing where her thoughts were heading back to, she quickly distracted herself by staring determinedly into her stew.

"Will you be eating that, or just staring at it?" Mara looked up at him, swearing that she could hear a hint of amusement in his voice. His expression, to her exasperation, revealed nothing. He held up a spoon, and she meekly took it.

She ate silently. She watched him while she did, finally given the chance to carefully examine him. He was a strange creature, she had to admit. His lack of eyebrows was odd, his spine even stranger. She wasn't sure how old he was, because she had nothing to compare him to. She tried to look at him in the light one would look at a potential lover, because she knew that that was what he would soon be.

His eyes were beautiful, even if they were frightening, she decided. She supposed that she would get used to them, after a while. His hair was silky and looked achingly soft. She'd never known anyone with hair so fine. His overall facial structure was not altogether unpleasant, either.

Realizing she had finished her stew,she broke out of her silent musing. She realized that Endrick had been watching her the whole time, as well, and wondered if he was having similar thoughts. How long had he watched her life? She wondered. There were so many things he knew about her...and yet she knew virtually nothing about him.

Endrick reached for her bowl, and she quickly handed it over to him. He made no indication of moving, just continuing to watch her.

"Is this your room?"

"Yes."

"Are there any others like you here?" she asked curiously.

"Not my caste, no. There is only need for one."

"It must be lonely."

Endrick shrugged. "I suppose." He ran a hand through his hair. "There are still a few hours left before dawn. I need to see to some things, so I shall not be back until then. You may look through anything you wish," he gestured to the bookshelves, "As long as you do not damage anything." He narrowed his eyes as Mara's lit up. "I would suggest you stay here, because the Hunters do not take kindly to your kind wandering the tunnels."

Mara swallowed hard and nodded. Endrick rose to his feet, still holding the bowl, and exited the room for a second time, his boots clicking loudly against the stone.

Knowing now that he would not be coming back soon, Mara felt a strange sense of loneliness. With little to do and unable to resume sleep, the bookshelves began to call to her. Curiousity overcoming fatigue, she managed to pull back the blankets of the bed with some difficulty, her joints sore and bruised. Unsteadily she rose to her feet and walked over to the bookshelves, the cold stone floor making her bare feet tingle.

She picked up a scroll at random and pulled the chair Endrick had used up to the beaten table in the corner. Sitting down, she carefully unrolled the fragile parchment in her hands.

The writing on it was like nothing she had ever seen before. The print was fluid and smooth, each symbol flowing into the next, making it hard to distinguish them. Though she could not read the script itself, there were large, intricate drawings below it, and even with Mara's limited knowledge she could tell that it was a map- but it was like none she had ever seen before.

There were spiraling coordinates and lines that ran over flat depictions of landscape, in between them towering drawings of a city that reached toward the sky. She felt a sense of awe as she stared at the picture-it was almost like the stories her mother had told her-stories of the world when the moon had been whole.

She ran a finger over the lines of the city's twisting towers, wondering what it would be like, to see such a wonder.

Allowing herself to appreciate the mysterious map a final time, she finally rolled it back up and placed it on the shelf, looking for something she could actually understand. She would have to remember to ask Endrick what it meant when he returned.

This time she removed one of the few books that lined the sides of the shelf, gently opening the cover.

The book's spine made a soft cracking noise, but after that made no protest as Mara delicately flipped through the pages. It was her lucky day- the book was written in Lex.

The previous parchment she had looked through had left her with a sense of mystery and wonder, but this book made her feel like a child, thirsty for knowledge. There were symbols and numbers, mathematical calculations...

Most of it she didn't understand, but what she did she was amazed by. She silently mouthed the words "Chemical reactions" as she read, wondering what it meant. There was more information...things structured in ways not visible to the human eye...DNA? She frowned.

She removed more books from the shelf, scanning each one with an eager eye. Soon, she was immersed in them, taking in as much as she possibly could. There was so much, so much she didn't know! How could her people never have wondered how things worked? How could they simply accept things, when they could learn how they worked, why they worked, what made them tick?

She was so deep into a book on human anatomy that she did not feel the presence behind her.

"I could teach you, you know."

Mara spun aroung wit such force that several scrolls rolled onto the floor.

Endrik smiled faintly, bending down to pick them up.

She carefully took them from him, feeling foolish. "I did not mean to surprise you," he said.

"It's alright...I guess I just wasn't paying attention."

He let out a soft "hmm" sound. That was when Mara remembered the first scroll. She quickly picked it up from the shelf and said hesitantly, "Could you show me what this means?"

Endrik took it from her, laid it down on the table and unrolled it. "Ah, yes," he breathed. "Alkria."

"What is it?" Mara asked. His sharp eyes met hers. "This is where I was born."

"This place is...real?" Mara said, her voice unbelieving.

"Oh, very real. It is a city, the city where I lived, until I was assigned here at adulthood."

"How old were you?"

"16," he said, his voice uncaring.

"You've been alone for a long time, then."

He snorted. "It is the way of my kind. You make it sound as if it is an awful thing." He looked at her curiously.

"For my kind," Mara said, "Being alone is an awful thing."

Endrik's frown reappeared. "I may not be the most preferable of company, but I shall always be here."

Knowing in his own strange way, he was trying to comfort her, she said, "Thank you, Endrik."

Endrik nodded. "It's dawn," he said. "I think that it would be easier for you if you slept during the day."

Like you, Mara thought.

"Alright," she said. She looked at the bed, then at him, and found herself turning a maddening shade of red.

"I can sleep elswhere, for now, if it makes you uncomfortable." He was watching her, waiting for a response.

"No, it's fine," Mara said, feeling secretly terrified. He hadn't taken advantage of her, before, would he now?

"Alright then, if it doesn't bother you too badly," he said. He raised a brow, knowing that she was lying.

He went around the room extinguishing the candles he had lit to help her see. He left one burning, and Mara saw his lips flicker upward momentarily as he watched her. "You can lie down, Mara, I promise not to ravish you." Mara shivered at the way he said "ravish."

She smiled sheepishly and slipped into the bed, watching as Endrik sat on the edge, undoing his boot laces with nimble fingers. He removed his skirt, revealing patched brown leggings, and undid his morbid shirt, placing everything within the chest, the angle not allowing Mara to see what else was inside. Wearing nothing but his leggings, he crawled up into the bed next to her, scrutinizing her with uncanny curiousity. His eyes were mere inches from hers, and Mara felt uncomfortably warm.

He moved closer, wrapping his arms around her. She gasped. "What are you doing?" He was so close to her now that they were almost kissing.

"I'm holding you," he said matter of factly. "You need to get used to me."

"Yes, but do I have to get used to you so...quickly?" she said helplessly.

"Would you rather I kissed you?" he murmered. His warm breath tickled her skin.

"This is...fine," she said faintly.

Endrik hummed contentedly and closed his eyes. His breathing became steady and even, and she could tell that he had gone to sleep.

Mara examined his face, his dark, beautifully long eyelashes, the way his face softened while he slept, the cold lines disappearing. She snuggled against him, his warmth strangely conforting, and sleep finally found her.

And now...I shall sleep, seeing as how it's 2:50 in the morning