Effloresce
ef·​flo·​resce
to burst forth, bloom

***

The corridor stretched impossibly far, the blackness so impenetrable it swallowed up everything. It was endless blackness in every direction.

In the distance - in front, behind, above or below, she couldn’t know - something called for her. Growled. So close it could have been right by her ear - or so far away it could have been only an echo.

The woman’s heart thundered as she ran, slender legs carrying her into the perfect blackness. Where was she going? Did this hallway ever end? Bare feet skidded along the floor and darkness twisted around her feet. She imagined it was a physical entity, shadowy hands curling around narrow ankles.

She kept running, but the hallway stretched on. Not a single sconce was lit, not a single crack of light bloomed from underneath the locked doors. Ragged breathing became erratic, her panic rising as her lungs burned for air. She couldn’t run forever, not when the manor itself was intent on keeping her here.

But those creatures, those monsters, they ever tired. Already she could hear their clawed feet scrabbling against the floor, smell their rotted breath. Any second now and-

Glowing red eyes met her gaze, and it was already too late. She barely had enough time to suck in a gasping breath - and then they were on her.

Meliorna shot up with a stuttering choke, slender hands flying to her face. There was no blood; only the sticky track of half-dried tears. Scrubbing at her face, she tried to quell the shuddering of her pulse - yet her intake of breath left her shuddering, fresh tears threatening to bloom.

Yet her own tears and the remnants of yet another terrible dream weren’t the only things making her shiver. The darkness of the familiar bedroom seemed too thick, as if there was something within just waiting to pounce. One of his creatures sent to monitor her? No, they never came so close, not unless they thought she was trying to leave.

Teal eyes scanned the room, searching for something amiss. Her room was just as she left it. An oak dresser, sitting in the corner, showed nothing in the mirror’s murky reflection. The fire remained dark and cold, the armchairs empty. But the door was open, revealing the dark hallway beyond. Wait-

“Who’s there?” Meliorna stumbled over the sheets, wrenching them back and tumbling over the side of the bed. Her heart skipped as she saw the shadows move, twisting and turning, and Meliorna scrambled away. Until her back hit the wall. This wasn’t him, and it wasn’t one of his monsters either.

Someone had made their way inside this empty manor - but the brief spark of relief disappeared when she realised what that entailed.

“I know you’re there,” she stammered.

The shadows shifted in response, revealing a humanoid figure in her doorway. Humanoid, but that didn’t mean human. Plenty of monsters lurked out there in the outside world.

“If you don’t come out, I’ll… I’ll…” well, what would she do? She was just a woman in a night dress, no more capable of fighting this person than the one keeping her here. Eyes downcast, Meliorna let out a heaving sigh. “Just show yourself. Please?”

The shadows twisted, so slow that Meliorna wondered if she had been alone this entire time. Then something revealed itself, a towering creature encompassing the entire doorway with its bulk. Its legs contorted backward, gnarled and bursting through tattered trousers. Meliorna’s eyes travelled up - past crooked arms, past a torso elongated beyond anything human, past broad shoulders tousled with thick, dark fur.

The creature dropped its gaze as it stepped forward, into the soft beam of light cast by the wide window facing North.

Meliorna skittered back, eyes snapping wide as her back hit the wall for the second time. She stifled a gasp as it came into full view, visible finally in all its monstrous glory.

It’s face. Somehow that was the worst. Yellow eyes, still avoiding her own, glittered in the darkness. Its features, framed by thick, knotted fur - or hair, perhaps - were almost canine in nature, yet there was something soft and almost deer-like about its wide eyes and soft, upturned nose. And those antlers, stretching up past the frame of the door and curving in all directions. Is that what would happen, if a deer never shed its antlers but let them grow forever?

It shifted, enormous body rippling in the weak light, and with a start Meliorna realised it was reaching out for her with an upturned palm. “I’m a friend.”

The deep, rumbling voice sent a jolt of ice through her stomach, freezing her to the spot. Lips parted, but words refused to form. A friend. How was this creature - this monster - a friend? Her head drooped, nervous gaze hidden by thick waves of auburn hair. If only she had her magic, she wouldn’t be so useless. And yet, it hadn’t tried to hurt her. Perhaps…

As if it sensed her distrust - and for all she knew, it did - the monster let its clawed hand drop to its side. Even with the moonlight spilling across its malformed face, it was shrouded in darkness. Yet it bowed its back, as if in apology, and Meliorna allowed herself to relax as it rumbled, “Rohesia sent me to rescue you from this place.”