I shudder slightly as I put my hand to the wall, leaning on it for the briefest moment. There are thick, clinging cobwebs everywhere in this part of the caves, and what little rock is free of them is often covered in lurid growths of fungus. I stand completely still, listening to the ominous sounds of movement echoing in the caves around me, taking in my surroundings. I have been here before, I am sure of that now. Despair wells up again, but I force it down, force myself to start moving once more, walking forwards in what appears to be a never-ending circle. To my right, the lake waits, entirely still, undisturbed by even the faintest breeze. To my left, the caves split into many smaller passages – the cobwebs get thicker. There is no way out through that labyrinth, even if I dared enter it again. The spiders there are beyond any attempt at control, we learned that to our cost some time ago.
The caves seem to stretch for endless miles ahead. As I pace wearily forwards, I hear the occasional tap of other footsteps against stone, the soft rattle of a pebble dislodged by the lake. Sometimes the sounds seem so close that I stop and stand motionless, sure that some creature is close by in the darkness. Nothing appears. I stand for a moment, listening to the sound of my own breathing echoing too-loud in the still caves, before I force myself to begin walking once more, the cracked stone unforgiving beneath my feet. When the sounds begin again I pretend to ignore them, along with the trickle of panic that seeps into my mind. I force myself to look only forward, to search for a path that I recognise. For any way out.
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A slight breeze stirs my hair: with a shiver I shift closer to the fire, shaking my head as if to banish memories that way. The figure beside me is still, undisturbed by my concerns. I cannot help the small smile that creeps across my face as I glance at him, still scarcely able to believe that he is here, that he has found me. As the horizon begins to lighten with the first pink of dawn I stand silently, moving carefully away to stretch and face the sunrise. All is still. Ahead, a storm waits for us, but as the light of the sun touches my face for the first time, I realise that I am unafraid. The storm will come: we can but face it, together. For now, I will savour this snatched moment of peace, in the sunlight.
