I lay snuggled in the furs, luxuriating in the warmth that surrounded us. It was a decadent thing, to be so warm in the midst of the frozen north, and the thought had barely crossed my mind before I slipped from beneath the furs and darted across the cavern. I added another piece or two of wood to the fire before hurrying back, burrowing into the warmth once more.
Listening to the deep, even breathing of my Master, I found my thoughts returning to his words, turning them over in my mind again and again. I, Melete, a huntress of the forests, was to be bait.
Bait!
I understood that I was a slave now. I understood that my place was to obey my Master’s commands, even when they were not what I would have chosen for myself. But this? Never in all my imaginings had I expected such an order from him. And yet, as much as the thought unsettled me, I could understand his reasoning. It was my screams that had drawn the creature’s attention. Whatever lurked out there had responded to them, and Scar intended to use that knowledge to his advantage.
My thoughts strayed, unwillingly, to the whipping I had endured days before. I could still remember the sting, the way my body had reacted despite my determination to bear it, and the sounds that had escaped me. Now those same screams had given my Master a means of drawing the creature to us. I could not help wondering what it would mean to scream again, this time to lure a beast toward me rather than from the bite of a whip. The thought sent a shiver through me, and I burrowed a little deeper into the furs, seeking the comfort of their warmth.
To say I was more than a little afraid would have been an understatement. I did not know what awaited me when we faced the creature, nor what it might do once it had been drawn close. The uncertainty gnawed at me, leaving my imagination far too much room to wander. Still, beneath the fear, there was something I could hold on to. My Master would do everything within his power to protect me, even as he sought to kill the beast. I believed that. I had to believe that.
So I nestled closer into the furs, listening to his breathing in the darkness, and tried to quiet the uneasy thoughts that threatened to rob me of the precious warmth of sleep.
As I finally drift toward sleep, my lips curl into a love-besotted grin, my thoughts now lingering on the memory of my Master pulling me outside to show me the purple lights dancing across the night sky, then drawing me into a kiss. Even now, nestled warmly in the furs, I feel the sweetness of that moment settling deep within me. I close my eyes with that foolish little smile still upon my lips, carrying the memory of his kiss with me into my dreams. 
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