Pandora's Box

Chapter forty

The night is dark.
Only a faint glimmer from the stars provides enough light to see shapes in the distance.
The air is heavy with anticipation of something lurking in the shadows.
With the feeling of her heart in her stomach, she tip toes through through the darkness of the forest without reason.
The persisting hum ringing in her ear serves as a beacon drawing her towards the black.
Then it stops.
And is replaced by a low growling sound leaving her mere seconds to react...

Lilli wakes up in a pile of cold sweat as she relives the events of last night in her nightmares. She recounts for the moment she was attacked by shadows leaving her defenseless in the dark. Her fingers trace the line of dried blood on her thigh as the moments pass.

She's shaking and is uneasy. Any slight sound triggers a reaction from her. She slowly makes her way to the shower, thankful for its modernization inside such an ancient building. The cold water remains icy on her skin as it attempts to slow down her hummingbird heartbeat. She focuses the water towards her neck to defuse the tension. She barely uses her gift of water but now she's desperate.

Something was is the shadows last night. Something that attacked her out of pain and fear. Something that was hurt. Even though it left a scar, Lilli can help but bring her mind to the pain shrieking cries of the creature every time she tried to move towards it.

She trades in her luscious gown for simple tights as she resorts to go back into the forest in search of the creature. Her clothes are dark like her hair with her sapphire eyes attracting all the attention. She looks like a doll. A doll ready for war which is ironic since she can't bring herself to hurt a fly.

She remains quiet throughout breakfast just like everyone else. Everyone's eyes shine with a type of exhaustion that makes them seem like lost animals. Not even the sweet, succulent smell of Toni's dish could bring everyone back to their normal selves.

Subtly, she makes her way out of the palace and back to the woods, her mind even more curious as to how she got there last night. With the entrance to the forest in sight, a magnetic force seems to be pulling her closer and there's no chance of going back now.

The smell is of rain against the ground envelopes Lilli as she explores the greenery of the forest. Every color seems to be a deep, more vibrant shade of itself as if the forest is layered with a selfie filter. There's no sound except for the faint twittering of birds as they fly high above the trees.

The low pitched growl followed by a whimper of pain releases a sound which echoes through the forest. The sound of pain immediately grabs Lilli's attention and she can't help but run towards its source.

She creeps her way around the large bark of a high tree to see the dark animal lying helplessly on the forest floor. It's head pops up due to the rustle of the fallen leaves as Lilli walk towards it.

The jaguar looks fearful, knowing that he was the one that attacked her last night and praying that he receives mercy. Lilli knows now that it was a jaguar attack, the animals claw is stained with silver glitter from her dress. And yet, she will help this poor animal because in her mind, no one deserves to suffer.

The jaguar looks like it's ready to pounce but Lilli remembers her encounter from the House of Cards and decides to do the exact same thing. She kneels down to show vulnerability and therefore gains the trust of the wary animal.

After a few moments studying the jaguar, she can tell that he has a fractured bone which isn't going to heal quickly especially if it's going to be fighting for survival in nature.

Even though the animal is much larger than the ones in the real world, she manages to slide her arms around it and slump its one paw over her shoulder so it's as if the creature is standing up. Then she guides it towards the castle.

Her breathing gets heavier the further she walks as the full effect of the animals weight takes over. She feels as if she might collapse any moment but the thought of numbing the animal's pain keeps her going.

Her vision becomes blurry as she pushes herself forward. Suddenly it's as if the weight has been lifted off her shoulders as Kai rushes towards her. He still wears his battle armor which frightens the jaguar but Lilli manages to calm it down.

He takes the weight off of Lilli and holds the animal with him and guides it towards the empty stables. He releases the animal with a huff of exhaustion them looks to Lilli with an expression begging for an explanation.

Lilli tells him about what she experienced the previous night and what she went out to do now. Kai is angered that Lilli was risking her life once more and won't listen any further. He storms out of the stable, banging the gates closed behind him.

Lilli doesn't care to follow after him and instead searches for all the necessary ingredients to make a healing liquid. She runs in and out of the kitchen, almost colliding with Toni a few times. She eventually settles down next to the Jaguar with a basket of ingredients and a cauldron brewing.

Any sense of unease that the Jaguar felt initially, has been washed away by the kindness Lilli has given him in his moment of suffering. This is his trust. In that moment, the animal vows his loyalty towards this one human being.

I am That jaguar because I'm so thankful for each and every one of you!
I really can't put my thoughts into words when I say how incredible my readers are. You make me speechless.
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