There, in that bed, was my last memory before I awoke. The sound of skittering is what awoke me to a much different situation. As soon as I woke up, a heavy ache came from my chest. The sort that was as if something had recently struck me there. The next things that came to my attention was the darkness and the cold, hard ground underneath me. I couldn't see it, but I could feel that the ground was rough and uneven like uncut stone. I felt a cold sweat form as I lay listening for any noise. The only thing that came to me was the soft pulsing of the blood in my veins.

I sat there, a feeling of terror rising in me. A half coherent set of scenarios filtered through my mind of shadowy people kidnapping me. Trying to push the imaginings from my mind, I resolved myself to figure out where I was first. Trying to stay calm, I turned and tried to see anything around me. I was only met by the total darkness. The skittering occurred again, a bit closer now. I froze, focusing on it and desperately tried to think of how to get out of this place.

Finally, as I sat stiff, a soft brush of cold air touched my skin. It carried a scent of grass, causing some hope to form in my heart. Slowly, I began to move towards the direction it had come from. The skittering followed suddenly as I crawled, and I felt the urge to jump to my feet and run. I suppressed it as whatever was causing it was barely moving and my legs felt numb. After a few seconds, I came to a wall and gently ran my hand against it. Based on the texture and feel of the floor and the wall, it had to be a cave. Whatever had happened could be dealt with as long as whatever that noise was didn't kill me first. Given that it hadn't, I hoped it was merely some manner of animal with no more interest in me than that I was in it's territory.

Eventually, at a steady pace crawling backwards to keep my front to the stuttering sound, a came to a turn. Turning my head, the faint caress of the wind brushed my face again. I moved, trying to keep a decent pace as the clicking against the stone of whatever thing I shared this place with drew closer still.

Slowly the becoming touch of the soft breeze grew greater and past a turn was a faint pale light. A cold bolt of terror rushed down my spine as there was a horrid clicking as the skittering began to go nonstop. I jumped up, wobbling on my unsteady legs, used the wall as my crutch, and tried to move as fast as possible to the light. Slowly, whatever it was moved closer at a steady pace. At the opening of the cave, it was right behind me and whatever it was let out a horrible noise.

Dread sunk into my very core as I was struck square in the back by something heavy. I was sent no doubt a good four or five steps forward, hitting the ground with a thud. The pain caused my breath to escape my lung and I flipped over, grabbing a rock from the ground. I lay there holding it up, staring at it as it stood at the mouth of the cave.

There in the cave was something that resembled a spider but where it's head would have been was just a single large, circular mouth of small teeth. Nowhere on its body was any eyes. It sat there tapping on the cave floor, turning about and then finally to where I was. It let out an awful hissing noise, raising its front legs at me. I lay there with my mouth agape at the sight of this horrid thing. It moved forward, but stopped tapping it's legs on the ground wildly. Slowly it retreated into the cave, tapping the ground in a skittering manner.

I began to crawl backwards, as quietly as possible. The creature turned back again, came to the mouth of the cave, and then retreated once more, tapping and skittering. I kept carefully retreating as it hissed at me. It wasn't till I had moved a good ten or so yards did I attempt to stand on my still somewhat numb legs. Once I felt steady as I retreated, I did the only thing I could possibly do.

I ran with no direction in mind but away from that cave. That cave had been on the side of a hill, and I saw no towns or road when I turned from it. So I just fled, not looking back as I went. Fear and a want to survive drove me forward with no consideration for where I was going. The time that passed was unknown to me as I had faded from coherence. When I collapsed down into the grass, gasping, the aching of my body wouldn't let me go any further. My mind turned to the fact that there is no way I had got there without help. Looking down at myself, I saw that I still wore the same clothes I had gone to bed in, but outside of the dirt and sweat there wasn't anything clearly out of place.

I lay there, hugging myself as my mind raced with every potential reason someone would do this. There was something I felt I had forgotten and it was eating away at me. I felt as if there were actually people who would do this to me specifically, but my memories were merely vague. I hadn't realized it till then, but so much of my own history seemed blurred and beyond me. Had that chained woman done something to me? I bit hard on my lip, desperately trying to steer my mind to the present.

Even if the town was near, I wondered if I'd go there. Someone had dragged me there and left me without waking. I looked about, a paranoia of the potential of such horrors being about as was in that cave. Whatever that monster was, I couldn't be sure it was the only threat in the area. It appeared I was alone, but I didn't trust that there wouldn't be something watching somewhere. When my breath finally slowly, I stood up as best as I could and looked about. How they managed to drag me so far out in a single night? I hadn't seen any towns or even any sign of a road.

I couldn't think of anything, I just started walking, the moon light being the only guide I had. Hours passed and the pain became dulled. Looking at the moon, it was somewhere around the middle of the night. I still had yet to see anything related to civilization. These fields seemed to not end and I began to wonder if I had been thrown into yet another world. The thought terrified me.

As I stood there, the wind suddenly died completely. The sound of chirping insects disappeared. Everything went dead quiet beside a renewed thudding of my heart. The hair on my neck rose as I heard a small, soft noise behind me. I quickly turned. What I was met with confused me for a moment as at first I thought it was a person, but quickly my heart dropped then.

Upside down, floating lightly, with a grin showing her sharp teeth, was what may have been a woman. I let out a yelp and fell backwards. Her hair was long and white like paper, her eyes pure black except for the small red circles. Her skin was a pale color like she never saw the sun. She wore a dress covered in decorative looking chains with small wooden shield shaped tokens hanging off them. She had a pair of black up-swept horns on the side of her head. A long tail, segmented by what looked like some sort of bone plate, swished back and forth and ended in what looked like a blade. Red marks spiraled up her arms. She giggled lightly and said, "Look at you. I saw them drag you in there and here you are. Alive here. Marvels never end."

Her voice was strange. Pretty and melodic like an idol as it was, but I wasn't sure how I was even understanding her. The words she actually spoke were nonsense to me, but the meaning still came through perfectly. She turned slowly in a more standing pose in the air, her mouth curving into a frown, her teeth still on full display. I wasn't sure how I wasn't even passing out as I sat shaking. She said, "You smell. Did you know that? You smell like a corpse. But you live. I saw it. Then dump your corpse in that cave and it was dragged in. You had to be dead. Here you are. Alive."

I stared at her, unsure of how to even take that information. She narrowed her eyes as she began swaying side to side in almost a dance, and asked, "Why even bother asking? You appear to have just got lucky. Yes. You're just a human. Can't understand a word. Yes."

As her tail slowly raised, the blade like tip pointing at me, she muttered, "Guess I'll just kill you."

I, with a stammering like a madman, said, "K-kill? W-w-what?"

Her eyes suddenly snapped to mine and she got extremely close, her nose touching mine. She said, "Speak. You spoke. Words. Yes? Human. Yes. Who?"

I crawled back and began to get up, but her tail snapped out and wrapped around me like a python. I struggled and shouted out, "Let go!"

Her eyes widened and her smile returned as she stopped her wavering to the sides. She brought me face to face, her breath against my face. She asked, "You spoke again. Understand?"

Her tail squeezed hard, forcing out a gasp of pain. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack from the sheer fear and stress. I said, "I don't know what you want! Who are you?"

She leaned back and began to giggle, holding me off the ground with her tail and she floated. She looked about and said, "Name. Does the human want that? Silly. Who is the human first?"

I looked at her, trying and failing to calm myself in any way. I asked, "Why do you want my name?"

She brought me back to just as uncomfortably close again with narrowed eyes and a massive grin. She said, "You do understand me. You understand. Ha! Yes!"

She giggled madly, throwing herself backwards as her tail held me in place, and shook with what I could only guess was some twisted form of joy. Every time I tried to struggle she'd squeeze me painfully till I stopped. Finally she stopped, flopping her entire upper half forward, and said, this time a strange feeling of her voice gone and the words were familiar, "Hello. I am happy to meet you. You died. Corpse man."

I stared at her confused. She bobbed up and down where she floated almost like she was bouncing on her heels. I asked, scared but also befuddled beyond my limits, "What?"

She stopped and held me out a bit with her tail. She turned me about, like I was a toy she was admiring. The monstrous woman said, "A human. Hilarious. Not elf. Human. Great. You died. You were a corpse. Then you were not."

There was a pause as her eyes turned up to the sky. She pursed her lips, a red taking to her cheeks suddenly. With the red circles of her eyes falling back to me, she put a hand on my cheek and whispered, "Want me?"

I stared at her, not sure of anything at this point. My eyes turned to the ground, trying to puzzle out everything. If she was telling the truth, I had died and then returned from death.. It took a bit for the last bit of what she said to even sink in. At the statement coming to my attention, I looked back at her, now more confused than anything else. I asked, "What? Want you?"

Her head bobbed side to side and she said, "Yep. You're perfect."

I began to wonder if one of those gods were playing some fucked up joke on me. I felt awkward as she held me with her tail, bobbing her head side to side and giggling lightly. I really wanted to say no to that, but the mental image of her tossing me into the air a few dozen yards or crushing me came to mind. The idea disgusted and felt wrong, but it was better than the potential of what this devil like woman did to me.

With a deep breath, I braced myself, and said, "OK. Sure."

The sight of her began to shake, and the small, high pitched noise escaped her as her mouth grew into an unholy grin. She threw her head back and let out a gleeful, maniac laugh. She said, "Good! Contract! Yay! Bound? YES! Immortal Master!"

Before I could even process that statement, her tail quickly unwrapped from around me. I braced to hit the ground, but some force held me in place and she spread out her arms. The little wood trinkets began to clack wildly and she spread her arms out. The air took on an electric feel against my skin. She said, this time in that weird speech, "By the will of Cathurnalt, I hereby proclaim myself! By this proclamation I bind myself in contract of service! Sealed now till final rest, together, I share my life as life is shared! My power given to you with this as yours is given! Proclaim your name, my master!"

If I could scream, I would, but the energy that rushed around us somehow kept my mouth shut. There was now a light about us Burning and whipping air shimmered violently. I was partially lost to panic but no matter what I tried, I couldn't move and couldn't say a thing. So, in desperation, I finally was able to shout, "Alexander Moores!"

She grinned and then shouted, "By the will of my maker the divine Cathurnalt, I, Veline Scheltia, bind my life and power to Alexander Moores! As one heart beats so does the other!"

I felt a burning over in my heart and with a pulse, the energy around us dissipated. I was instantly dropped to the ground and my conscious faded as I lay there, her laughing being the last noise I had heard.

When I next awoke, the pale woman was knelt down over me with a huge grin on her face. That menacing tail was slowly loving in a serpent like way behind her. I stared at her, wondering what the hell I'd do then. I didn't really remember much at that second, but I knew I had apparently made some sort of contract with this being.

She, in the not strange language, said, "Hi. Feeling good?"

I really just wanted to close my eyes and pretend that nothing had happened. I didn't want to wake up in my bed, per say, but I'd like to have woken in a bed somewhere far from this place. As I sat up, she moved back, now clearly standing on the ground. Her feet were bare, but that didn't seem to bother her at all. Looking at her, she wore a much more calm sort of disturbing smile. I could practically feel how happy she was as the demon-like woman said, "This. This is good. You and me. The world."

I stared at her for a few more moments before the soft orange sky caught my eyes. For a moment, I just let the morning view of the fields. After taking that moment of solace, I let out a small sigh, and asked, "What was anything that just happened?"

She pouted lightly and said, "Hours ago, really. Contract. You and I are contracted together. Our lives are linked. Die and I die. You don't stay dead. Immortality."

For a few more moments I just laid there in the grass. Asking in as calm a manner as I could, "Can you speak in complete sentences or at least complete thoughts?"

She grinned again, this time more impishly, and said, "Yeah."

I then asked, "Who and what are you?"

The woman looked me over, her face going more neutral, and said, "Veline Scheltia. I am Deamuri. Deamuri bind ourselves with contracts. Contract to one person. Our purpose is that."

I sighed and got up, brushing dirt from my body. Veline slowly lifted off the ground, floating a few inches above it. I said, "I thought maybe a demon, but guess not. So, Deamuri?"

I looked around as Veline floated about strangely. There was a flicker of annoyance on her face for just a split second as she regarded me carefully. The chains she wore, I realized, were what kept her dress in place. She said, "Deamuri are not demons. Not divine. Something else. Yeah. Made by divine? Yeah. Come to the world to find a contractor. Live as long as contractor. Serve. No idea why, though."

That really didn't answer everything, but at least I felt unusually confident this woman wasn't going to hurt me. I wasn't sure why, but I knew it was absolute truth that she was in a literal life bound with me. I didn't know if I was actually dead when I was tossed into that cave, but I wasn't going to really make any claims given the wildness of this place. I said, "Fine. OK. Well, first off we need to find a town...I guess."

I didn't want to go to that one city, that was for certain, but I wouldn't last in the wild. Even with a magic servant like Veline, I knew next to nothing about survival. Sure, I had vague memories of watching some TV show about a guy drinking his own piss, but I doubted that was actually useful.

Veline was floating around me in a slow manner before stopping. She looked around and said, "Contract new. Feeling very weak. Find a town. Right. Left, maybe?"

She was already talking in that broke way again, but I was far too concerned about my own survival to really care. Veline then turned away slightly, a look of annoyance on her face, and said, "No idea how to find a town. Sorry."

With a sigh, I said, "Then I suppose we will have to just walk till we find a road. Unless you can fly up high enough to see anything."

Veline stared at me for a moment before looking around sheepishly. She frowned, saying quietly, "I can't go up high."

The entire situation weighed on my shoulders horribly as I stood there. A sinking feeling in my gut grew as I figured that my life wasn't going to be any easier with her around. I let out the breath and just began walking. I was tired, but I just couldn't go to sleep in a field again. I still didn't want to trust Veline, either. Somehow I knew that she was loyal, but I didn't want to change anything. I didn't want to trust her. I didn't want to end up waking up to another bad situation.

As I walked, she floated along behind me. She kept muttering and asking random questions but I just merely pretended to not even hear her. My entire goal was to not die and her rather long winded blabber, in short, stunted statements, didn't help with that. She didn't even seem to care that I was ignoring her either, much to my own dismay.

My eyes darted about, paranoid that some evil would come for me now. I tried to keep my mind in order, but the thoughts just kept showing up. I felt wrong as if some force was waiting upon the edges of my mind, waiting to rip me apart. I knew if I didn't focus, it'd eat away. I tried to keep the thought of how I got to that cave away, but it never stopped and kept leading to that priest. That priest had tried to kill me and I didn't know why.

When I saw a small dirt road, instead of hope, all I felt was pressure. What would I say when I got to a town? This woman looked like a demon to me. Would she look as such to them? I had no money. Where would I get any? Would I be wanted for running from the church, despite it being false? Would they have seen my corpse and think me a monster? I froze before the road, staring at it and fist tightening. I felt my heart thudding. I clenched my jaw and tried to keep calm. I breathed slowly and deep as sweat formed on my skin. I had to remain calm and think clearly.

Veline's babbling stopped and then, next to me, I heard an annoyed, "You stop. Why?"

I didn't answer as I stared down at the road. I was struggling to keep a steady breath as something felt so wrong about it. Some vague image was pounding on the walls of my mind. Veline's voice became more unsure as she asked, "Need rest? Humans need rest. Rest?"

Then, a small drop of water fell and struck the ground. Thud. Thud. Thud. My heart rate grew heavy and fast. I stared at the wet ground of the path and a horrible feeling rose in me as I stared at it. The single sweat drop was like a key falling into a lock as the sounds slowly returned to me that day. A cold took hold down to my very core, the shivers wracking me violently, as a lump formed in my throat. The sounds of a man's angry voice as I stared down upon the road. The memory came fully into view and I felt my legs falter as my heart pounded against my chest. I lost myself to despair, remembering the one thing I wish I hadn't. The day I died.