The Sorceress: Blossoming Power

"Is it really night time?" Xinyi asked the Hutyuns as she tilted her head upward and glanced at the moon above.

"Yes, My Queen."

Xinyi started to feel cold and rubbed her shoulders and called the Hutyuns to warm her up again. Then she heard loud scurrying.

The chameleon is far unless there's another animal coming my way. And asked the Hutyuns again, "Are there animals near me?"

"No animals, my Queen."

"Are you sure? I heard some noise." She looked around but sighed, remembering her eyes were gazing at the opposites. The winds got stronger and thought of a place she could stay for the night. "Find me a shelter. A cave or wherever I can rest but far from the eyes of the chameleon."

The Hutyuns showed her a hole under a tree's undergrowth. It was large enough for her to crawl in and sit. After she entered the hole, she moved back from the entrance. She then felt a presence nearby and told the Hutyuns to hurry inside the hole. When the Hutyuns entered, they saw a red monstrous eyes that remained hidden at the far end of the hole.  

"SSSsss! Who entered my lair? Who are you?" the giant snake asked.

"We mean no harm. I am hiding from someone," Xinyi answered. She realized her voice is back to normal.  

"SSsss. You're human, yet you can understand me." This shook the creature.

"I was born this way." She thought of telling the snake she was the Sorceress but held her tongue, unsure if it could help. Xinyi didn't explain further.

"Who are you hiding from? SSsss." The snake moved his head forward to Xinyi. It also thought of intimidating her. However, his size was nothing to Xinyi. The python back in Forsaken Valley was ten times larger than this one. Her nonchalant attitude intrigued the snake and liked her. 

"I am hiding from the chameleon who is so angry at me. He thinks I killed his grandfather." Xinyi said as she hugged her knees.

The snake wriggled to her side. "Ah! I see. Sssss. So you're the one who arrived earlier?"

"Yes. May I rest here tonight? I really need some shelter away from him while I think of a way to get out of the illusion. 

"You may stay for the night. Although tomorrow morning, you must leave at once." 

"Thank you." 

"I don't advise you to walk at night with the strong winds. You might die out there covered with snow while your little companions will be blown away easily."

"I appreciate your advice, my worst problem though is I can't see anything. This is frustrating." 

"SSssss. The only way to get out from this place is through the Cave of Truth. SSssss."

"Oh, yes. I totally forgot about that. I've been so busy with the chameleon" She sighed again. "I'll find a way tomorrow." 

"Shall I suggest that you command these little beings to cloak you like a snake so when the guardian passed, he will think you're with me?"

"Guardian? Who is the guardian?" Xinyi stared at the snake, trying to feel the creature's emotions, for it might be deceiving them.

The reptile saw her apprehension and slithered back to the innermost part. "The chameleon." 

"Damn it." Xinyi gritted her teeth. Damn, why him?

The snake shut its mouth afterward and coiled its body to rest.

Meanwhile, outside, the chameleon passed by the hole but left it when he only sensed snakes were inside. He also didn't want to fight a snake at the moment. 

At dawn, Xinyi left the hole while the latter was still sound asleep. She commanded the Hutyuns to go out first to see if the chameleon was nearby. 

"No sign of the chameleon, my Queen, but the wind is still strong."

"It's okay. We need to go now while that chameleon is still asleep. Fly me to the cave as fast as you can and let's get out of here." 

Xinyi saw the same thing, a serene scene. She shrugged it off knowing it was the opposite. It took them time to fly against the heavy winds. An hour later, they reached the cave.

Her smiles were ear to ear when she saw the stone opening. She walked in. But as sudden as she came in, she jumped back in an instant out of fright. Xinyi saw a huge chameleon snoring inside. Its huge body covered the whole space. From here, she also realized the illusion had no effect inside.

Xinyi silently examined the chameleon's body. Observing how to pass through this sleeping guard. There was a narrow space at the chameleon's tail. 

Ugh. I give this guy a thumbs up for being resilient. But a headache too. Can he not leave me alone?  

Xinyi and the Hutyuns slowly crept inside the cave, they managed to get near the Chameleon. "Let's sneak through there." She pointed at the space between the tail and the wall. They nodded in agreement as she pass by the tail.

They were confident that they had succeeded in not waking it up. But the creature suddenly opened its eyes and gave out a low-toned growl. 

"You dare sneak up on me? Fool!" The chameleon tried to hit Xinyi with its tail but failed as the Hutyuns rescued their queen right on time.

"Run, Queen!" Xinyi ran as fast as she could, she had a hard time escaping it because of the cave's small space. 

"Pray that I don't catch you human!" The chameleon tried in different angles to hit Xinyi with its tail and attempted to grab her but the Hutyuns were blocking him from a perfect aim. 

Slowly, the chameleon got irritated and thus didn't care anymore if these Hutyuns were his late Grandfather's minions. He started hitting them one by one with his tail and would scratch them if they blocked his path. 

"No!" Xinyi shouted as she heard the Hutyuns shouts of agony. She started getting nervous as she eyed the fast lunging tail toward her. Suddenly, she was thrown to the cave's wall and yelped out in pain. 

"You will regret showing yourself to me human."

Xinyi was shaken, not because it threw her at a far distance, but because she believed she was powerless against the chameleon. The chameleon's tail swept her farther inside.

Her eyes caught sight of a wider road inside the cave and hope filled her heart. Although her body was hurting, she dismissed the pain from her mind as she ran for this chance to escape. 

"The Cave of Truth…" Suddenly the ground rumbled as the chameleon charged again. She ran for her life, for survival. She finally escaped the chameleon's attack this time as there was enough space to dodge. But the chameleon's claws slightly scratched her fleeing feet. Blood gushed out from the wound. 

She moved with her back on to the wall and faced the angry lizard. "Please, let's talk! I don't want us to fight."  Xinyi jumped up and hit her feet on the wall to avoid another strike of the being's sharp claws. She kept evading the chameleon's attacks.

This increased the creature's irritation. He swayed his tail and let her avoid it because his front feet waited for her where she headed.

Finally, she was caught. No chance for escape. The chameleon grabbed her and threw her to the cave wall. She closed her eyes as she braced herself for the impact.