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The cornstalks are towering above your head, sealing you inside with rustling walls. The nighttime air smells of dry corn husks and wet earth. Every time the wind blows through, the stalks rustle and sway whispering like a thousand small voices.
Perpetua moves just ahead of you, like liquid shadow, the dim lanterns casting the perfect amount of shadow on to the sharp features of his face. This is not just walking. He is prowling deliberately and unbelievably silent; almost as if the maze is his own personal hunting ground instead of the fun seasonal attraction it actually is. Occasionally his long slim fingers brush along the cornstalks and you can almost swear they bend away from his touch. You have a feeling deep down that you’re lost, but before you can say anything his voice comes in a low soft purr.
“I know exactly where we are. Left here, then a right. A predator never loses his way.” The smile that is spreading across his lips melts your heart when a sharp fang catches his lip.
The only issue is that the path he takes you on brings you back- again- to the same spot you started at 10 minutes prior. You cross your arms and cock an eyebrow at him.
“We’ve been here before.”
His eyes glow faintly and he smirks. “No, little one. The maze shifts. It changes. Reorders itself. It’s jealous.” Pouting, he turns from you walking ahead further before he continues. “It does not like that I’m here with you.”
You can hardly stifle the laugh bubbling in your throat. “Or…maybe we’re just lost.”
Stopping suddenly in his tracks, you practically collide into his back. Turning towards you, his eyes glint in the moonlight like that of a predator. A low velvet growl rumbles from his throat. “Perpetua doesn’t lose.” There was no real threat in it…just his own stubborn pride softened with something sweeter underneath it. “He chooses. And if I should choose to wander with you in circles? Then so be it.”
His hand comes up, claw tipped fingers gently stroking your cheek with extreme care and a gentleness that makes your chest ache in the best way possible. Before you can say anything else he again prowls forward with you following close behind. The confidence within himself never wavers, though the turns look absolutely no different than anything you had already done previously.
When it seems like it may never end, the stalks start parting away from each other. Stepping into a spacious clearing, it looks like something that was carved out of a dream. Pale pumpkins of all shapes and sizes lay scattered about the earth, while intricate strings of fairy lights are casting a soft glow on their round surfaces below. Any and all outside noise vanishes leaving both of you in your own little world together.
Perpetua hums a satisfying pleased sound, arms spreading out wide as he turns in a circle as if presenting this beautiful secret place to you. “See?” The self satisfied grin upon his face is sharp, while his eyes focus on you instead of the clearing. “I told you I would lead us somewhere marvelous.”
Looking back into his eyes you cannot help the genuine smile spreading across your face.
“You mean you finally got lucky.”
Stepping forward, his presence falls like a shadow around you. Pride giving in to something softer, sweeter. “If being lost brings me here with you… then I will lose myself a million times.”
The fairy lights are casting an angelic glow against his skin, perfectly highlighting his mask and the angular features of his face. He looks human…almost. You know better though. Beneath is a wild untamed nature that is simmering. The same creature that prowled the maze and claimed himself victorious, even when cornered, without breaking a sweat.
And yet, when his lips find yours- gentle, loving, affectionately- you feel only warmth and the sweetness of finding the rarest of treasures in the darkness.