"My name is Matthew, little one. What's your name?" Matthew said putting away his weapons and kneeling on the floor to appear less threatening to the girl.

"Matil." The blue skinned girl said shyly and still suspicious of Matthew.

"She's a water Nixie." Ffyr said showing herself to the girl. "She's also a Fae."

"You're from the Fae too?" Matil asked Ffyr with wide hopeful eyes.

"I am." Ffyr said getting close to the Nixie. "What are you doing here?"

"The dungeon brought me here. Made me guard this box." Matil explained pointing to the gold chest. "But I don't want to fight anyone!" It said with tears in her eyes.

"It's alright, Matil. I'll not fight you." Matthew said also getting closer.

"This is Matt. My human." Ffyr introduced Matthew. "And I'm Ffyr. The youngest of Titania's daughters."

"Nice to meet you." Matil said ignoring that Ffyr was the daughter of the Queen of Fae. For the Fae there was no nobility in bloodlines, only in power and age.

"How long have you been here?" Matthew asked looking around.

"I don't know. A long time." The Nixie answered with a sad voice. "I've been so alone. And afraid."

"Have other people come here?" Matthew asked sitting on one of the chairs.

"No. You're the first. I hid under the bed as soon as the wall started to move!" Matil said proudly.

"Where did you get all this stuff?" Matthew asked pointing at the furniture.

"I made it!" Matil smiled at him and conjured a teddy bear from midair.

The ability to create matter was rare. There were several classes that could make matter, like the Geomancer that could convert mana into metals or minerals. But like dungeon simulacrums, that matter reverted back into mana once the caster stopped focusing or the effect of the spell vanished.

To create matter permanently like Matil was doing there required a lot of power. Something that was on the realm of lesser gods.

That realization sent a chill down Matthew's spine. Matil was not just a Nixie. She was a spirit powerful enough to be a god if she wanted to.

He started to tremble. If he needed to fight her to conquer the dungeon, he'd sure die.

Matthew felt his throat dry. That small spirit that looked like a child suddenly seemed larger. Her eyes, that he once found cute, seemed darker, deeper. His breath faltered. What was he to do?

Then his belly ached. A loud roar came from the depth of his guts.

Matil cocked her head to the side. Looking puzzled at Matthew.

"Are you hungry?" She asked.

"A-a bit." He stuttered.

"Oh! Here!" Matil approached him with a smile moving her hands over the table and conjuring a cornucopia of fruits and biscuits. "Eat!" She said with a smile.

Ffyr didn't wait to be asked twice. She flew to the table and started to eat a guava hurriedly. It was like she was the one that was hungry, even though, as Matthew's familiar, she didn't need to eat.

Matthew thanked Matil and ate politely. He was impressed with the taste of everything. Those were the best fruits he'd ever eaten in his life. But then again, being extremely hungry might've changed how he tasted things.

Between eating grapes, he looked at Matil carefully. She had a wide smile on her face and moved about happily making her dress swing in the air. She suddenly looked cute again. Although his rational side told him she was very powerful and could kill him on a whim, he only saw a cute little girl that was happy to feed him.

"How powerful is this girl?" Matthew asked Ffyr telepathically so that Matil wouldn't listen to them.

"I don't know." Ffyr answered also telepathically.

"To create food out of thin air like this. She must be very powerful." He explained his line of thought.

"Really?" Ffyr shrugged.

Ffyr would be no help on this. Matthew thought to himself.

"Matil." Matthew called to the girl who came to him running and bounced expectantly in front of him waiting for what he was going to say. "Why are you here? Couldn't you just leave if you wanted to?" He asked.

Matil looked at him like he said something new to her.

"I could just leave?" She asked him.

"Couldn't you?" He asked back.

Matil blinked several times before closing her eyes.

"But the dungeon put me in here to protect the box." She said. "It would be rude to leave."

"Are you really a Fae?" Matthew asked laughing.

"I am." Matil answered not understanding his question.

"I thought you didn't care about rules." Matthew commented.

"I don't." Ffyr said while devouring a cookie as big as her head.

"I don't like to be rude." Matil explained shyly.

"But the dungeon isn't a person. I doubt it would feel anything if you just left." Matthew argued.

"Isn't the dungeon alive?" Matil asked.

Matthew couldn't answer. He didn't know nothing about the dungeon.

Both of them stared at each other. None had the answer to that question.

"Why don't Matil come with us? If the dungeon is alive, we'll find it and ask it to let her go." Ffyr said between bites on a pear.

"Do you think it will let me go if we ask?" Matil asked Ffyr.

"Mommy asked us to conquer the dungeon and free all the Fae inside of it." Matthew paused to recompose himself after saying something embarrassing. "Even if it doesn't let you go, me and Ffyr will make it."

"Mommy?" Matil asked.

"My mother. Queen Titania." Ffyr explained laying on the table and massaging her full belly.

"The Queen did?" Matil thought to herself. "Ok then!"

"You'll come with us?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah! It's better than staying in here doing nothing." Matill frowned at the room.

Matthew smiled at her and she smiled at him. It was settled. He found a very powerful ally in there.

After eating his fill, Matthew moved to the chest.

"May I open this?" He asked Matil.

"I don't know. It would be rude if we don't fight for it." She thought out loud.

"How about we play a game for it?" Matthew asked. "It's still a kind of fight, but no one gets hurt." He explained his reasoning.

"I love games!" Matil jumped up and down. "What game will we play?"

"Do you know rock, paper scissors?" Matthew asked.

"No…" Matil said shaking her head making her hair whip around.

Matthew explained the game to Matil three times until she understood it. She was too hung on the idea that paper covering a rock would never defeat it, but Matthew was patient in explaining the metaphor behind the game.

They played 3 hands.

Matthew lost the first. But then won the second.

Matil had a decisive look on her face as she picked which hand to show. She was thinking so hard on it that it seemed she was playing chess or another game that required careful consideration.

Matthew, on the other hand, was dead set on picking scissors.

When Matil showed paper, she screamed as if she was in pain.

"Not fair! It is not fair!" She wailed.

"I'm sorry Matil, but those were the rules." Matthew said opening the gold chest and finding a golden wing similar to the one he had in his pocket, but mirrored.

Matil sat on the bed pouting while Matthew pocketed his prize.

He then sat by her side and pat her head. She reminded him of Sarah when she was that old.

"Tell you something. We can play again later, after we get out of the dungeon. The loser has to do a favor to the winner." He proposed.

"Ok!" Matil agreed turning her frown into a smile. Then she laughed to herself a mischievous laugh as she was plotting something terrible for him.

"Where to now, Ffyr? To the end of the dungeon." Matthew asked stretching his back.

"Right." Ffyr said laying on his shoulder. Her stomach too full for her to move properly.

Matthew took Matil's hand on his and guided her through the dungeon.

When enemies appeared, she hid herself under a blanket she conjured from thin air. Matthew and Ffyr then fought the monsters for her.

Matthew realized that nothing changed form before. Worse. Now he had to babysit a little girl who was more powerful than he was, but disliked fighting so much, that all she did was to run around and hide whenever there was danger.

Even though she was more of a burden than any kind of help, other than making food for him, Matthew had no regrets bringing her along. Her smile while he looked at her during the moments of peace inside the Labyrinth revitalized him in a way no food or potion could.

Pressing on, the three of them walked around the Labyrinth for more three days eating the food and drinking the water Matil made them.

They finally reached a huge door by the end of the third day.

"This is it." Ffyr announced with a wavering voice.

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