The longest night of my life was spent in that cell. I wasn't sure how I fell asleep after such a crazy experience, but when my eyes fluttered open, a group of young boys stood on the other side of the bars. When I looked at them, they gasped and tried to hide behind one another.

"See?!" One of the boys whispered. "I told you! I told you! It's a human!"

"She doesn't look like what I thought they'd look like..." One of the boys said, slowly coming over to the bars.

"Stop!" The others cried, pulling him back. "It might be dangerous!"

"Um..." I began and they all jumped back yelling.

"Shhh!" One of the boys shushed loudly. "We're not suppose to be here so shut up! If my brother catches us, we're al dead!" I suddenly recognized the boy speaking.

"You!" I cried, running up to the bars. Regardless of trying to be quiet, they all yelled and fell back farther from my cell. "You're that boy! The one at the ceremony!" He immediately puffed his chest and, although shaking, inched closer towards my prison.

"As of last night, I'm a man now!" He piped.

"Were you the one that taught the dog to steal?!" I growled and the group shrank in fear.

"My name is Roni, mortal!" The boy said, his legs visibly shaking. But he still kept a brave face. "A-and I have no idea what you're talking about! So there!"

"The satchel!" I pressed, pointing to the same one he had on now. "That dog that went into my apple orchard had a satchel! The one you used for the cremony last night! You were the one that taught the dog..." I paused a moment as the realization slowly sank in. 

"Wait!" I gasped. "You didn't teach that dog anything! You are that dog!" I groaned and slid down the bars of the cell. Unbeliveable. I sank to my knees and pressed my face into my hands in disbelief.

"Um..." Roni began after a long silence. "You're not...crying...are you? I'm a man now and my brother told me I should never make a girl cry..." I looked up at him and gave a weak smile. Okay, the kid was pretty adorable.

"I'm not crying." I sighed reassuringly. 

"Oh...good!" Roni grinned. Deciding I was no longer a threat, he came closer, sitting right in front of the cell. "Hey, what do humans eat?" The other boys also gathered around the cell, eager to hear what I had to say.

"Um..." I began. "Lots of things, I guess...? Vegetables, fruits, grains, meat..."

"Meat?!" The boys exclaimed in excitement.

"What kinds of meat?" Roni inquired, stars in his eyes. "This one time my brother bought back something called 'barbeque sauce'! Do you guys use that?"

"Yeah." I smiled and the boys began drooling. "It's really good with ribs and chicken. One of my favorite things to eat bacon."

"What's that?" The boys asked.

"You take the underside of a pig... and cut it into thin strips then fry it up until it's nice and crunchy." I explained. The boys looked absolutely enchanted by the idea.

"You guys!" Roni exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "We should go make bacon!" The others all cheered in agreement. But before they left, Roni turned to me.

"Here." He smiled, taking something out of his satchel. It was an apple! My apple! As he passed it through the bars, I realized how hungry I was, taking it into my hands. "You're not scary at all. Do you have a name?"

"Elis." I replied with a small smile.

"You're not allowed to die, Elis!" Roni decided with a ring of agreement from the boys. "I'll talk to my brother, I promise." And with that, they quietly made their way out of the prison. I sighed then took a bite of the apple, the sound of my chewing resounding around the empty room.

---

A few hours dragged by, my mind spinning with thoughts of what would happen next. And what the heck was an inugami anyways? I made a list of all the questions I would ask. But ask who? Wim, I guess. He didn't seem nearly as scary as the others. And he said he would help me, so... I began thinking about him and those maroon eyes. Maroon has always been my favorite color.

Suddenly I heard the sound of someone descending the staircase. I got to my feet, my heart racing. The general entered, Wim trailing behind.

"Look alive, girl." The general growled. "King Rollo is on his way; you better give him your utmost respect." I nodded my head and moments later, more footsteps sounded. I looked at Wim and he gave me a wink, but no more than that. The King entered, a pack of dangerous-looking wolves surrounding him. The powerful, overwhelming aura he gave off caused me to involuntarily bow to my knees. In all his royal grace, he strode up to the cell, looking down at me with his cold, dark eyes. After a moment, he spoke, his voice low and captivating.

"...I don't know what the great commotion was all about." The king sighed, a smile playing at the edge of his lips. "Look at her. There's no way this girl came here with the intention to start anything. And from what you told me, Darcias, she stumbled across our village on accident."

"But what should we do with her, sir?" The general inquired. "We can't just let her go; we don't know what she'll do now that she knows the location of our village. And if she stays, more humans may appear."

"Boy, come here." The king called to the pack of wolves. The wolves all whirled around to reveal Roni, bright red from having been caught hiding in the shadows. He timidly made his way towards the king.

"Roni!" The general, who I now knew was named Darcias, hissed. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?!"

"Calm." The king said easily, turning to Roni. "Do you still recall the location of the apple orchard? This girl's home?"

"Y-yes your majesty!" Roni answered, his posture tight.

"Then we'll write a letter." The king said thoughtfully, turning to me. "You can write it yourself. It'll say you went...on vacation. Or you're visiting a relative. We'll send it to one of your neighbors and they'll be able to rest easy. Could you do that, girl?" I nodded eagerly. Not like I had a choice.

"Good." The king continued. "Problem solved. For the mean time, the girl will stay here until she's deemed trustworthy. Then she'll be able to leave. Darcias, you'll make the decision for when that is."

"Yes, your majesty." The general bowed deeply, though it was obvious by his expression he wanted nothing to do with me. With that, the king made his exit, the wolves following closely behind.

"I knew you weren't going to die, Elis." Roni grinned, running up to the bars. 

"Idiot!" Darcias growled, striking Roni on the top of his head. He yelped and rubbed at the wound. "I told you not to come down here!" As he continued to scold him, I realized the striking similarities between the two. Brothers. I thought to myself. Though Darcias' hair was straight and spiky while Roni's was soft and curled. Darcias caught me staring then suddenly reached out between the bars and grabbed my collar.

"You're lucky, girl." He spat in that chilling voice of his. "But I don't trust you. And you'll go through hell before I let you leave." With that, he grabbed Roni and exited the basement. When they were gone, Wim let out a breath like as if he'd been holding it in the whole time.

"Looks like you'll be okay for the time being." He smiled. Though there weren't any indications he had a hand in it, I somehow knew he'd fought on my behalf. I thanked him but he waved it off like it was nothing. "Darcias won't be easy to convince. But it looks like Roni has taken a liking to you, so I don't think he'll be as hard on you."

"Not that I'm ungrateful," I began timidly. "But...why are you helping me? It's obvious you guys see me as an enemy..."

"Well I don't." He said simply. "You're hardly a threat." I wasn't sure if that was an insult or not... "I'm busy right now, but we'll talk more later."

Wim exited the basement, glancing back at me once.

---

Because bacon <3