Gardenia’s Heart

The creature woke up. She didn’t know how long she had been asleep. Even though she was a colorless sphere, her entire small gelatinous body served as a sensor, so she could see and hear her surroundings.

(Where am I?) she thought internally.

The very act of thinking made her different from the other monsters. And that’s exactly what got her into her current situation. Her surroundings were completely unknown, but she could at least recognize some materials. She was on something soft, perhaps fabric or wool, positioned like a small nest on top of a wooden structure. The room she was in was made of stone, but unlike the gray, dirty walls of the cave, these were raised uniformly and completely dust-free.

(I was sure I had plunged into the river...)

The first response her acquired ”mind” could create was that she was carried away by something, or more specifically, someone.

The metamorph tried to move, but it was futile. Magical creatures needed mana to move, or more specifically, dark mana. To obtain this, she needed time. Long minutes passed. Now that the creature understood the concept of time, waiting for some reason became very painful.

Suddenly, on one of the stone walls, a small rectangular part made of wood moved. With slow steps, a woman with snow-white hair entered the room.

(A... human?)

The creature searched her mind for what she could be, and the answer was a female human.

Although she had no eyes or even a face, she watched with apprehension and curiosity the basket the woman brought into the room.

(Are those... mana herbs?)

Her mind granted her a resource called memories, and there she could see the moment she devoured these same leaves inside the cave to feed herself.

They were of the lowest quality, and although they contained more common mana instead of dark mana, it was still enough for a creature like her to regain some strength. Her mind began to work on ways to obtain the herbs and escape. Not knowing where she was made her afraid, and because she was afraid, she wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Would the woman kill her? If the answer was yes, the creature wondered why she was still alive. Monsters were enemies of humans; this knowledge was clear in her mind.

The woman’s expression, with only one of her blue eyes showing, was cold, almost freezing. As she approached, panic and fear began to rise within her again, like sirens announcing imminent danger. However, contrary to everything she expected, the woman took one of the small herbs from her basket and placed it on her gelatinous body. Slowly, the green leaf with light blue tones melted, and energy returned to her body.

(Is she helping me? Why?)

As if somehow sensing her confused state, the woman’s lips parted, and she spoke.

”You like this, don’t you? I hope I didn’t pick the wrong herb...” The metamorph realized she could understand the words and their meanings. Soon, a hand reached one of her gelatinous sides and stroked her slowly. ”I wasn’t sure if human potions would work on you, but you seem to be feeling better, my little one.”

The sudden actions and the gentle voice inexplicably calmed the creature’s mind. For the first time since she saw her, the frozen expression seemed to melt as the warm hand slid over her small body.

At that moment, some knocks were heard, and the woman’s expression soon lost all the warmth she had shown. The noise was loud and irritating, accompanied by an annoyed and discomforting voice. It came from the same place the woman had entered a few seconds before.

Without even having time to think about the noise, her body was lifted along with the cloth, and she was placed under a small wooden and straw structure. The woman seemed to be hiding her, before heading to the door.

From her position, the creature could observe the woman’s feet clad in leather shoes, and the feet of someone much larger than her outside, clad in something resembling iron.

”You really took your time to respond, do you know how precious our time is?” The irritating voice seemed to come from a male source, in her mind, the concept of a “man” made the metamorph name the newcomer as such.

”I was lying down,” her voice was icy, devoid of any feeling.

”I can keep you company if you want,” a mocking laugh accompanied his smile, which didn’t hide his desires. ”It must be difficult to live alone without releasing repressed desires,” his gaze studying her body.

”What did you come to talk about?” She ignored the man’s comment and insisted he get to the point.

”Hey, sweetheart, you’ll never understand the fun and pleasure of life if you don’t give in to your desires, the door to my room will always be open to you,” he continued suggesting something, and then went on, ”A messenger from the village to the east came to report that the movement of monsters has been strange for a few days, so we should avoid entering the forest for any reason whatsoever, I’m reporting this to all the villagers.”

”I don’t plan on entering the forest, so thank you,” after finally hearing what it was about, she tried to close the door, but was immediately stopped.

”Even though you went there today?” The man’s voice almost hissed. ”That’s rare coming from you. What were you doing there after washing the clothes in the river?”

The metamorph froze. If the girl went to the forest, it was obvious to obtain the herbs her body had just consumed. Should she flee? The metamorph had regained enough mana to teleport a few dozen meters. It should be possible to escape and hide. If the woman handed her over to the man, the creature would undoubtedly die, so she needed to be quick.

However, the next sentence dispelled her doubts.

”Are you bastards following me?” Her voice rose for the first time. ”What I do is solely my problem!” She stated firmly.

”What threatens the peace in the village is clearly my concern, my sweet Lily.”

”Are you accusing me of something?” Her cold voice echoed even more through the room. She didn’t raise her tone as before, but it carried anger and disgust.

”I never said anything like that. It’s just a warning. Don’t cause trouble or we’ll have to take... certain actions!” He squeezed one of the woman’s breasts with his hands without hiding his intentions.

The grip was anything but subtle, putting her on tiptoe. The sudden action and the spreading pain made the girl fall to the ground. She quickly got up to try to protest, but the man was already out of sight.

Biting her lip, she closed the door, her only arm across her painful chest. After a few seconds, she went to where the metamorph was. Taking care, she removed her from the cloths and wrapped her body with her hand.

Both of her legs gave way, and she knelt on the floor. A transparent tear streamed from her only blue eye. She was crying.

”It’s okay, he won’t hurt you.”

Putting the creature against her chest, she kept saying this until she finally fell asleep.