Chapter 14: Chapter 14

“Matt,” I cried, and gave him a tight hug while he still recovered from the pleasant shock of my presence in his highly secured underground cell.

“Ellie, how the hell did you break that glass? And how on earth were you able to sneak in here?” Matt blurted out insanely, touching me as though he couldn't believe I was a solid human.

“I will explain everything later, I have very little time,” I asserted, releasing him. “First answer the question for which I have taken so much risk. Did you kill Emily and her boyfriend Broderick? Matt eyed me resentfully at my question and moved back.

“So you don't believe me either Ellie,”

“Matt, I believe in you more than myself, why else do you think I'm present in your highly secured cell by placing my life in danger?!” I exclaimed, highly affronted. “Matt, I just need to know the truth from your mouth,”

“I didn't kill anyone Ellie. That day, after your incident with Emily, I dropped you at your place and went home straight, and that's all,”

“But then, on what basis did they arrest you?”

“I don't how it happened, but the LPCI discovered the knife used to murder Emily and Broderick, and according to them it had my fingerprints on it,” Matt conveyed, looking at me straight in the eye. I trusted him, but to prove his innocence, I had to be assured that he was telling the truth. Therefore, I used my telepathic power to read his mind and a tide of joy and relief splashed in my heart. Indeed, he was conveying the truth, however, I was at loss as to how to prove his innocence. I had begun to ponder about searching for potential evidence to prove him innocent when we heard the sound of footsteps above.

“It’s time for me to leave Matt. Take care, and I swear on my life, I will tear hell apart for evidence and walk you out of court tomorrow cleared of all charges,” I claimed firmly, and with a final to Matt, jumped the wall and sprinted out.

I took off the police uniform and wore my mask and gloves as I walked out of the corridor, while the security guards still lay unconscious on the ground. I looked through the quarterly slid elevator door to see equipped forces marching from the end of the hallway. Thus, I closed the doors and the elevator ascended. It reached the topmost floor, and as anticipated by me, Jason Fox welcomed me outside with the entire police force equipped with rifles pointed in my direction.

“Put your hands in the air!” he commanded, as I walked out of the elevator and raised my hands. And that was exactly the blunder which ruined his game…as I swung my hands in the air and their rifles started shaking violently in their hands, and ultimately rose in the air to fire their bullets at the windows around, while the officers stared at the flying guns in utmost shock and clasped their hands on their ears.

The instant those rifles emptied, I sprinted across the hall and leaped out of one of the windows outside. I had acted on my instinct despite my tremendous fear of heights, adrenaline bolted across my bloodstream as I flew through the air, perceiving death so closely. I was nearly six feet above the ground when I rolled around in the air and fired at the wall with the grappling gun that I had nicked from Holden's place. The hook struck the wall firmly and I swung in mid-air by the cord and landed rolling onto the ground. My arms and legs got badly bruised in the process, but I had little to worry about anything else than disappearing from that area as quickly as possible.

“May I know how you received these bruises Miss Ellie?” inquired the lady doctor, cleaning them with alcohol and applying an antiseptic cream as I winced terribly.

“It was a bike accident doctor,” I lied quickly, recalling that thunderous leap from the headquarters building.

“Oh! Must've been riding with your boyfriend,” she teased, raising her eyebrows. Dad looked at me guiltily as mum glared at him, extremely enraged at him for allowing me to visit Matt's house. I had fed them with a lie that a speeding driver had lost control of his bike and I fell on the pavement while trying to avoid it and by god's grace they bought it. I ran upstairs immediately after reaching home, after bearing mum's outburst throughout the journey back home. In a fit of fury, she grounded me for a lifetime, but that wasn't possible as Matt's trial was to be held the next day, and my mind kept me awake the whole night contemplating intensely on a potential piece of evidence that could prove Matt’s innocence in the court of law.

The day finally dawned, and the rising sun creeped me out for the first time in my brief life, specifically since I was unable to obtain a way through which I could make it evident in court that Matt wasn't the culprit behind Emily and Broderick’s murder. Almost every parent from school including mum and dad were going to be present at the court along with Jared and James, while I was grounded by mum, hence, I couldn't accompany them. I wasn't eager to visit the court either since I hadn't gathered any evidence as of that point.

“I am sorry Ellie,” apologized dad, as he put on his formals. “I can't overrule your mum's decision this time, otherwise she'll throw us both out of the house,” he laughed lightly, making me force a laugh too. “Have faith in the lord Ellie, he can never be unfair to his servants. If Matt is indeed innocent, he will walk out of that court like a free bird,” he reassured me, and placing a light kiss on my forehead they left.

Lying in my bed, I pressured my mind into deep contemplation regarding the case. What piece of the puzzle was I missing? I thought, closing my eyes and replaying the memory of that incident with Emily multiple times. But my efforts were futile, nothing seemed to fit together. I banged my fist against the drawer beside my table, and it slid open, revealing one of my school files…And that's when it hit me. The file I had snatched from that lady officer along with her uniform in the headquarters, read ‘Brent High murder case'. Moreover, when it fell during my confrontation with Jason Fox near his cabin, I had seen the forensic report in it.

“Eureka!” I bellowed, jumping out of bed and moving downstairs. The file had fallen somewhere on the top floor while I encountered the police during my exit from the building. And since it was Friday, it seemed most likely that the building would be empty. Without any further thought, I grabbed dad's motorbike and raced towards my destination.

Reaching the headquarters, I rushed towards the lady's washroom and knocking out an officer, I donned her uniform and went straight up to the top floor. As anticipated, the floor was vacant, except for a few officers chatting animatedly at a desk. Without portraying any signs of suspicion I subtly searched for the file. Despite my unusually sharp memory, I couldn't locate the exact place where it had fallen. I looked around the elevator area but in vain, and near the point where the firing had occurred. It had to be somewhere around that area as only a day had passed.

“Hey fellas,” I greeted the two officers flirtatiously, who were smirked at me as though Christmas had arrived a month earlier. “I seem to have misplaced a very important file somewhere here. If anyone of you handsome officers could assist me in finding it, I would return the favor gracefully,” I claimed, winking at them. Both lunatics sniffed the entire floor for the file like ravenous dogs searching for a bone, but alas, couldn't retrieve it. Panting profusely after an hour's search, they sat back on their chairs and shook their heads apologetically.

“Ma'am,” whispered one of them, breathing heavily. If the file was indeed somewhere inside the building, the one who found it must have surely placed it in Secretary Fox's cabin. A bulb lit in my head at his words, and I charged towards Fox's cabin on the second floor. Unlocking the cabin door with my powers, I ransacked his entire desk frantically as it was my final hope of saving Matt. Eventually, my eyes sparkled with triumph as I found the file lying neatly in the drawer beneath his desk. ‘Brent High Murder case' was labeled on it. As I quickly studied the reports in it, my heart blew with jubilation as the key to unlocking Matt's freedom was indeed present there.

I exited the building, placing the file close to my chest, and rushed towards the court. Suddenly out of nowhere, I noticed two helmeted bikers on my tail. They accelerated their sports bikes and were parallel to me. Both tried snatching away the file from me but couldn't reach it. In a fit of exasperation, I pressed the accelerator and it charged me forwards at an insane speed. However, they didn't leave my tail and caught up with me a few minutes later. I swerved sideways avoiding cars and trying to get concealed behind one. The two appeared again out of nowhere and began shooting at me and I had to swerve to avoid the spray of bullets. Finally, I stopped near an intersection and applied my telekinetic power to stop their engines suddenly as the bikes halted abruptly in the middle of the road, and the impact caused the bikers to leap high into the air and smash into the window shield of an SUV.

I barged into the courtroom a few seconds before the jury was about to pass his verdict which was definitely not in Matt's favor, and my parents looked at me with frozen eyes while Judy and Alex seemed on top of the world.

“Your honor. This is the evidence of Matt Wilson's innocence and I would like to put light on it in this hall of justice,” I announced, as the jury commanded me to sit in the witness box. “Your honor, this is the forensic report of Emily Billings and Broderick Barnes's bodies,” the lawyer passed it on to the jury, who examined it slowly. “The reports conspicuously show that the murder happened a night before their bodies were found in the school's cafeteria at approximately seven-thirty in the evening, and as a witness myself I confidently claim that Matt had picked me up from school at around seven, and the distance between my school and house is five miles, so unless Matt Wilson can be present in two places at once, I believe in his innocence. And the real culprit committed the crime and cunningly got Matt's fingerprints on the knife,” and the crowd applauded cheerfully, causing the jury to maintain order. Matt's parents also testified that Matt was home around the time that I mentioned strengthening our position.

Finally, considering the forensic reports along with the testimonies of Matt's and my parents, he was cleared of all criminal charges with full dignity and the four of us walked out of the court arm in arm, as my parents, including mum, whose anger had vaporized long ago, felt utmost pride in me.

The Realm of Evil

The warmth of summer drifted into my life with the arrival of May. Carrying along with immense hopes of smoothly ordinary and peaceful life. Whether I was admitted it or not, I was frustratingly tired of how the events had turned out in my life since the time of my birthday. The transition from a teen to an adult had been so drastic mentally, that I desperately longed for the days when I had no care in the world other than school and exams. Meanwhile, the doors of Brent High opened again, even though the anonymous culprit hadn't landed in the clutches of the police. However, life seemed to turn normal as the burden of our final exams came crashing down on the three of us. Our twelfth-grade finals were board exams where the paper arrived directly from the ministry of education and was sent to them for correction too, which meant, that pupils like me who desired top grades had to make sure that our paper appeared flawless to the elderly examiners.

“Your exam schedule is atrocious!” Judy exclaimed, staring at the notice board and agitated by the finals too. “They shoved history on the same day as math, and physics alongside French! What could be worse?!”

“Calm down girl. My schedule's fine, I can manage French and mug up history so no worries,” I asserted, pulling her away from the notice board as we walked towards the cafeteria during lunch. The school authorities had shifted the cafeteria's position from beside the swimming pool arena to junior’s block due to the constant requests by parents as the children were substantially traumatized by the horrendous scenario in the kitchen that day. We walked across the massive football field, chatting animatedly when suddenly a ball came flying in our direction. Without turning my face, I casually waved my hand in the air and it froze in mid-air for a fraction of a second and sped off with an equivalent force in the opposite direction as though smacked hard, and landed on the guy's head who had shot it, knocking the wind out of him. Judy didn't manage to notice this as I had distracted her by yelling Alex's name and pointing in the other direction.

We met Alex and Matt who sat staring dreamily into space and munching on a large pepperoni pizza.

“What's the matter with these two?”

“Probably lost a football game,” I remarked and we both sniggered uncontrollably.

Judy walked stealthily behind Alex and grabbed his neck from behind, causing him to nearly choke on the pizza, as he wrapped his left arm around her face. While Matt and I exchanged an awkward ‘hi' and I sat opposing him beside Alex. We hadn't gotten a chance to chat up since the day of his trial and, therefore, we communicated awkwardly through body language.

“How you doing Ellie,” Alex greeted, punching me lightly on my shoulder while finishing the rest of his pizza, as Judy finally let go of him and jumped forward to sit beside Matt.

“As good as ever,” I smiled widely and genuinely, thoroughly revitalized by getting back into the hustle and bustle of school life and reuniting with my three buddies, whose absence in the last few weeks made my life feel meaningless.

“Guys,” Alex started, addressing us. “Firstly, I want to express how grateful I am to have all of you fellas, who make my life worth living, back here beside. I have never actually dared to imagine my stupid life without you worthless pile of idiots,” he expressed, smiling serenely. While Judy and I sniggered and Matt remarked,

“Well, that was moving,” pretending to wipe a fake tear from his eye and we burst into shrieks of laughter.

For the first time, as what seemed like forever, I slept tranquility that following night. The reunion with my buddies seemed to have brought back my sleep as well. The nightmare struck me again like every night as I found myself pacing through the black forest again with the glowing moon guiding my way through the umbra. As usual, I discovered the castle and heard the despicable scream, but this time, my eyes fell on the night sky…which gradually molded and took the form of that dreadful face with pointed incisors and bloodshot pupil-less eyes and faces white as a sheet, whose blood-curdling cackle shook the colossal castle and the forest ground. I woke up instantly, the night's nightmare rather being a source of enlightenment for me as I had discovered that a close connection existed between the castle in the nightmare and the fiendishly hooded creature which was accustomed to scaring the living daylights out of me. I wanted to unravel the mystery behind this connection and most importantly their relation to me. And there was just one person on this earth who help me with that.

Poseidon Park emerged more alive and sparkling in May, as chunks of families and couples rushed to participate in the summer carnival which presented a lot more fun-filled activities in the heat than it did during the chilly weather. I made my way across the stalls which, as usual, burst with enthusiastic customers with their pockets jingling with tokens. However, I had eyes only for the enormously intimidating marquee located at the far end of the stalls, completely away from the hullabaloo.

Despite my previous visit, ‘The Tent of Wonders' still managed to fill me with a mystifying feeling as I walked across the park entrance, the air, however, had turned pleasantly cold this time following the heat of the season. As the tantalizing fragrance of lavender hit my nostrils again, I entered the familiarly large area inside, with everything intact, exactly the way it was months ago and without the tiniest change in arrangement either among the sofas, or the gracefully mysterious Madam Maxima. She sat across her table as usual, with her eyes closed and the enchantingly transcendental crystal orb standing inches away from her face on the table.

“So you have finally returned,” she boomed, her voice reverberating across the gigantic marquee.

“Yes, Madam Maxima, I-"

“I am aware of the purpose of your return my dear child,” she cut in, opening her mystifying eyes and providing me with the familiar feeling of being scanned by them. “I haven't forgotten my vow, dear child, therefore, I would still assist you in unraveling the mystery of your mystique past, which, as I have already proclaimed will help us obtain your freedom from the evil that's been tormenting your days and nights,” saying this, she circled her hands around the crystal orb, muttering certain incantations that seemed inaudible. A few seconds later, the ball of crystal rose, and soaring through the air, halted inches away from my face. As the beating of my heart quickened, the orb sent jolts of electricity that struck my forehead, providing my insides with a warm and tingling sensation.

My eyes closed, and I found myself drifting across white space and landed lightly in the middle of the dense forest that agonized my sleep since the age of eight. The white light was enveloped by the blackness of the night, leaving only the gleaming moon which pierced me and guided me through the profound tenebrosity where no images could be observed. The air was piercing cold as usual, puncturing my skin like needles as I wrapped my arms around my torso and moved forward automatically. The nightmare had always been like a video console game, wherein, the unknown controller monitored and controlled my actions and lead me towards the castle as my destination to complete an objective. However, the game would freeze whenever it reached the castle, with the horrendous laughter as the noise from the screen. But finally, the game was going to reach its next level, wherein, I was unaware of what objective lay beyond the walls of that terrifying castle.

I reached the edge of the forest and the castle came into view, but the instant I raised my step to move ahead….the repulsively familiar pupil-less face floated right in front of the castle, magnified to a hundred times its original size. Its hole of for a mouth stretched, and its gruffly cracked voice bellowed, causing the castle to shiver and sent tremors all over the ground.

“You want to know her past! You miserable old imbecile! You want to win her freedom from the realm of evil eh! But you meddled with the wrong force lady! Let me give you a taste of my wrath, such that your soul will shiver relentlessly even at the thought of reincarnation!” The face vanished, and following the sound of roaring thunder, a humongous bolt of lightning flashed from the blackness of the sky and crashed on the ground, tearing it into two parts and I plummeted down falling through an infinite depth of darkness.

My eyes flashed open and I was back in the marquee on my chair, alive and well, without a scratch on my skin but terribly shaken by the experience as my heart plummeted and my brain buzzed madly.

“Madam Maxima, what does that demon want from me? Why is it after me?” I cried looking forward, expecting a series of explanations. But, no voice was heard as the motionless figure of Minerva Maxima lay motionless on her chair….Her tender body filled with cracked boils and ghastly marks as a result of thunderously repugnant electrocution. The creature’s voice had addressed Maxima, not Ellie, and the massive lightning discharge and struck her, leading to her gruesome demise. With her crystal ball lying in smithereens on the ground.

I nearly fell off my chair at the despicably pathetic sight, my eyes widened in shock which felt like a very soft word for the incomprehensible feeling that I experienced. A repugnant stench filled the marquee, repelling the ravishing fragrance of lavender. Without any further contemplation, I walked out of the marquee, unable to muster enough motions or strength to even run, or tears to spill from my soulless eyes for that matter. The indestructible power of evil had been shown to me for the very first time, and the innocent soul of Madam Maxima paid the price and perished torturously. My frozen mind bubbled one crucial thought as my legs forced their way out of the place, that my dream of a life filled with peace and bliss, lay far from my reach…as I viewed myself stuck in the never-ending realm of evil….

The Final Trip

The despicable memory of the terror I witnessed in ‘The Tent of Wonders' remained etched in my brain for nearly three weeks, making me lose my appetite as well as sleep. Mum and dad along with my brothers started becoming worried about me, as I hardly ate anything much during dinner and remained awake at night like a zombie, staring outside the window. I couldn't manage to remove that repugnantly pathetic image of Madam Maxima lying in her chair, electrocuted. And whenever I closed my eyes her deathly face along with the figure of that evil creature hovered in front of my eyes. Some days I just felt like ending my life or wished that I just died in my sleep. The desire to live had been extinguished with a finality. In addition to that, my studies were affected greatly as I nearly failed my math paper and performed atrociously in history, a subject I was very likely to flunk.

I dashed out of the classroom with a major breakdown. Having returned an empty psychology paper. Whimpering miserably, I saw Judy standing outside with an anxious expression on her face. Immediately, I flung into her arms and broke down pitifully, as she caressed my hair and made an attempt to cool me down.

“I have failed psychology Judy,” I sobbed, wiping my nose against the collar of my shirt. Setting aside the thunder-struck information like a mature adult, Judy offered me a handkerchief to blow my nose and led me towards the football ground. Fortunately, Matt and Alex were sitting in the audience's seats and looked troubled as they noticed my teary eyes and puffed-up cheeks.

“What’s the matter?” they cried simultaneously as we sat down.

“Ellie’s psychology paper didn't go well,” she informed them, who looked disheartened but knew no better than to console me.

Suddenly, Alex thought of something to cheer me up. He looked at Matt and whispered something in his ears, which changed his mood completely as he appeared jubilant.

“Ellie…do you remember our age-old plan to visit my ancestral house near the Forest of Dracon,” he asked coolly, placing his palm on my shoulder as I nodded weakly. “Well, we had been planning this trip for almost a year, but couldn't work it out due to unfortunate circumstances. But now, I have firmly decided that we are going to surely make this trip together next week! It’s our final year at school, and we most likely will be going our separate ways this year and god knows if we'll encounter each other again or not,”

Matt's sentimental words immediately extinguished my anguish of the psychological disaster and replaced it with a feeling of excitement at finally making the trip happen.

The night before the trip, I got up from my bed instantly as if someone had screamed in my ears. I felt my entire body itchy and so I began scratching it madly, the itching was so intense that I felt like taking a steel rod with a pointed edge and scratching every part of me. I moved out of bed and removed my nightshirt and scratched every bit of flesh on my body that I could reach. Blood poured out of the scratched areas on my skin and formed a pool on the ground. My face slashed as a result of the insane scratching and blood gushed out and mixed with the blood on the ground. At that moment, the itching completely halted, and my flesh began to burn ferociously. Meanwhile, the pool of blood on the ground swirled and began to take the shape of a face, with pupil-less eyes and razor-sharp pointed teeth which hissed loudly and I let out a clamor.

My eyes flipped open and I jerked up, as a result, I collided with Judy’s head which was only inches away from my face, releasing a moan of pain. I was lying safely on my bed at home, it had only been a nightmare.

“Have you lost your mind dork head!” cried Judy, roughly rubbing her forehead in pain. “Is this how you get up every morning, like an Egyptian mummy waking up after a thousand years?” she yelled, getting up from the floor. The force of my jerk had knocked her off my bed.

“Oh my goodness, I am sorry Judy,” I apologized while helping her to her feet. “How come you’re here this early?” I asked innocently, half-glancing at the clock, it was four in the morning.

“I came early because we’re late for the trip, Alex changed the plan slightly, he thought that we should leave at eight instead so that we could grab some drinks from Merlin’s bar which falls on the way, so get yourself, ready princess, before it closes,” she commanded irritably, pushing me inside the washroom. The nightmare had me trembling from head to toe, and goose pimples didn’t leave my body as I showered. The face I had viewed in that dreadful dream was still etched in my mind such that the moment I closed my eyes, it flashed past me spontaneously.

My insides were feeling too ill-at-ease for some unknown reason. Every movement that I made towards packing my bag gave me some extremely negative and appalling feelings, an intuitive voice inside me seemed to make me feel as if this whole trip was a huge mistake. An astounding thing which I noticed though was, that the nightmares had halted since the trip was planned, or that’s what I thought so. Nevertheless, irksome intuition was filling my blood, thrusting my insides hard.

At half-past seven we were on the road. The sun was rising gradually, spreading contagiously across the horizon and shooing away the darkness. Judy danced splendidly through the sunroof of Alex’s SUV, relishing the warm weather and appreciating the emerging rays of the sun. Even my mood seemed to have lifted slightly at the sight of the glamorous horizon that I could manage a smile.

As planned, we stopped at Merlin’s Bar which was about fifty miles from my house. It was a dusty ancient place and unlike any other bar I had ever been to, moreover, it emitted an aura of utmost murkiness. The bar was nearly empty, except for the creepy barman; a bald person with lopsided ears and a crooked nose having a striking resemblance to a goblin. We were supposed to get drinks and leave, however, my alcoholic friends decided to gulp a few down in the bar itself.

“Alex,” I whispered slowly, choosing to keep my words a mile away from the abnormally large ears of the barman. “Couldn’t we get drinks from somewhere else?” I asked, hopefully.

“Are you kidding me?” he exclaimed, looking at me as if I was crazy. “Merlin’s Bar is the best in England and considerably famous for its lip-smacking whiskey,” he announced, enlightening us with this surprisingly and ironically interesting piece of information, though not worthy enough to alter my opinion of the place. “And according to legend, the great King George himself was accustomed to ordering the drinks for his royal parties from here,” he informed, in a pompous tone, thoroughly proud of his choice. Since I had just turned legal, it was going to be my first drink so I thought of starting with a mild cider, but Judy forcefully made me gulp down a glass of beer at which I nearly choked. The stuff was pretty disgusting, how did they even enjoy this crap I thought despicably, heading towards the toilet in the bar following an uncontrollable emergency causing me to even disregard the obvious scenario of the bar’s toilet being intolerably filthy, nevertheless, I had to use it.

The lavatory emanated an aura murkier than the bar itself, I felt as though I had entered a tiny graveyard that released an unbearable odor. The air inside it was cold and inexplicably suffocating, providing me with goose pimples.

When I finished, I heard a creaky sound, but the door was closed. I moved towards the sink to wash my hands when I sensed an eerie presence, something uncanny was lurking in the toilet. The moment this thought hit me, my eyes perceived something which nearly terminated the beating of my heart for a minute, the same ghastly pupil-less face which I so recurrently noticed in my dreams was staring at me through the mirror, with its incisive teeth glistening. I bellowed my lungs out scampered ran outside the toilet and the bar at lightning speed.

Alex, Judy, and Matt threw their drinks away and dashed after me yelling their lungs off for me to stop. Meanwhile, a car was speeding from the opposite direction, my mind was so tremendously perturbed with the delusion I had that I disregarded it completely. It was seconds away from hammering me when Judy dived forward and pushed me aside from harm’s way.

“Ellie are you okay? What happened?” she asked with immense apprehension, as Matt and Alex lifted me to my feet. All were staring at me anxiously, they all were very well aware that I wasn’t the type of girl who’d go berserk for a petty reason.

“I…..I….saw someone inside the toilet,” I mumbled, stammering with intense fear. I had turned pale and there was cold sweat all over my forehead. They all looked at each other at this revelation and silence fell.

“There was no one there in the bar other than the three of us and that barman, and none of us went near the toilet Ellie,” said Matt earnestly, there was deep concern on his face.

“Yeah Ellie,” agreed Judy, placing her arm on my shoulder. “It’s all my fault, I shouldn’t have forced you to drink that beer, I’m sorry,” she apologized regretfully.

“No Judy, nothing’s your fault, I guess I had too much cider, gave me a hallucination I suppose,” I gave an instant fake laugh, and evaporated the seriousness from the atmosphere as we resumed our journey. That was no hallucination, I thought, desperately, while sitting in the backseat and watching the outer scenario as it zoomed past me. This face had been tormenting my nights and now, had begun to haunt my daylights as well.

The Ancestral House

We reached the forest of Dracon after about three hours. It appeared eminently ancient, and unlike any other forest, I had seen or been camping with my parents. It emitted an aura of substantial murkiness, despite being enlightened with the sunlight. The trees looked like beings who had been cursed and doomed for a prolonged time. Moreover, as soon as we came in sight of the forest, a sort of creepiness conquered me, blurry white images of trees and woods flashed all over my mind and then an image of a blurred female figure sprinting away through the woods flashed past my brain, which felt like a loosely connected television channel.

The images were flashing across my eyes when a figure appeared out of nowhere and stood a few inches away from the car as Alex, who was driving, had to make an abrupt halt and the car stopped with a terrible jerk, causing Judy and I to be banged against the back of the front seats.

“Hey, you! Are you mental!?” snarled Alex, as he and Matt got of the car to confront the person. It was a young man, assumingly in his late twenties, with strikingly attractive facial features and possessing a sort of gravitating charm. He was draped in peculiar clothes and boots which seemed ancient but highly majestic. He had a slash on his face as though someone had assaulted him with an ax, but it looked much lethal even for a cut resulting from an axe, nevertheless, it was ineffective in degrading the charisma of his alluring looks by any means. His skin was radiating noticeably as though he had been dipped in a tank of cream for years and he possessed long silky hair. He was lanky and had no muscle but he stood upright with his chest thrown in front and gazed at us through his brilliant blue eyes. As soon as his eyes struck me, he let out a massive sigh of what seemed to be a mixture of bliss and bewilderment.

“How in the lord’s kingdom is it possible!” he exclaimed in a deep voice, which made his sparkling white perfect teeth visible. He began walking towards the car as Judy and I stared at him with sheer intimidation with a mixture of fascination. But before he could reach us, Alex and Matt pushed him aside and we drove off. There was something massively weird about that young man, I sensed some sort of familiarity in his brief presence around me, like someone inside me was perfectly aware of who he was but was incapable of conveying it to me. An inexplicable sense of familiarity developed inside me, endeavoring to make me recall something which had long been elapsed or forgotten.

We turned right into a path, more like a clearing in the woods, and moved straight for about a mile. It was exceedingly perplexing that each route that we took felt ridiculously familiar, as though I had passed through those paths innumerable times previously. A large pair of wrought-iron gates emerged at the end of the path which was being enlightened by the sunlight that brightening unhurriedly on the horizon. As we reached the gates, they creaked creepily, as though welcoming us with a gesture. Matt moved out to open the gates which had been already unlocked.

Matt’s ancestral mansion was quite medieval; a two-storied typical English house, with two enormous chimneys on the main roof and four windows, lined up on the second floor, with twin sections attached to the main building facing each other. The mansion looked corroded and palely colored, but still possessed the essence of luxury that medieval mansions generally portrayed.

“So this is it, guys. Welcome to heaven!” announced Matt snobbishly, pushing the tanned doors of the manor house wide open, clearly proud of his ancestors.

The interior was opposite; the walls were painted in gleaming gold which didn’t require light to illuminate. A sharp aura of grandeur was emitted by the place; large portraits of Matt’s ancestors were hung all over the house who appeared to be medieval landlords. Flamboyant seventeenth-century furniture was to be found all over: royal sofa sets placed in an orderly manner, multi-colored curtains enveloping the windows as the interfering sunlight irradiated them, hence, creating a vibrant effect. On the other hand, the fireplace lay unlit and gloomy, but that would be achieved too I thought, enlivened just by the sight of the resplendent place.

“Matt! You do have a splendid ancestral house,” I gasped, mind-boggled totally, as Matt blushed thoroughly while managing a ‘thanks’.

“Yeah you sure do dude,” said Alex in absolute agreement. I hope the bedrooms are equally splendid,” he expressed, winking at Judy as she threw him a glowingly seductive look. I rolled my eyes while nagging the love birds to assist me with the vast luggage.

“Matt, how come you don’t have a caretaker or a guard for this mansion?” I enquired thoughtfully, as I carried my luggage upstairs.

“Well, to be frank, my parents never really cared about this house. I came here only once when I was twelve with my parents when my father was going to sign a deal, selling this property to a wealthy businessman,” he conveyed in a mysteriously uneasy tone.

“What happened?”

“It seems, the businessman died of cardiac arrest that same night when he stayed here. Since then, no living soul has been ready to guard the house or take care of it. There is a legend that one of my ancestors who lived here died a horrific death and his spirit roams around the place and guards it. But that’s a pile of utter rubbish if you ask me,” he announced with finality but left my skin crawling at the revelation.

I had packed quite a large bag as our stay was planned to be a week’s. We placed our luggage upstairs which provided us with an opportunity to explore the place further. There were numerous rooms upstairs, and all alike with approximately the same size and shape, likewise, they all contained similar king-size beds and other furniture. The rooms evoked an aura of utmost grandeur and luxury; the rooms were undoubtedly spacious enough to contain a baby elephant along with a family of three and the furniture. Furthermore, the beds looked cozy enough to provide a lovely snug.

Although the archaic house seemed appealing and homely, I sensed a sort of mystifying presence in it, as though I, in specific, was being constantly watched or monitored, and I foolishly looked out for CCTV cameras around the place but laughed it off in my mind later, how could a distinctly historic place like this consist of technical objects. Nonetheless, I conveyed this intuitive feeling of mine to Judy, who shoved it aside saying that it was only a figment of my imagination.

The divine experience of the mansion was followed by an absolutely spiffing day. The four of us roamed around the place, went rappelling over the nearest mountain at the edge of the forest. I dived deep into the blue watered lake. It felt like heaven, my considerably boring life had transformed into an unforgettable experience and ultimately extinguished the apprehensive feeling I had at the first sight of the forest area. Moreover, love was in the air, as Judy and Alex just couldn’t get their eyes off each other (or their hands for that matter) as they snogged amorously and innumerably on the lakeside as Matt and I watched them while sunbathing on the mountainside. Matt was ogling me lustily as I lay there in a blue bikini.

“You know Ellie,” he began flirtatiously, “I kind of love the cross mark on your neck,” he said, referring to my distinctly appealing birthmark which looked more like a tattoo. I thanked him casually, even though I was flattered and blushed deeply, but the flush was camouflaged as my skin was already red due to the sizzling sun.

“So Ellie,” he continued nervously, believing his cheesy line had little effect on me. “What do you wish to do after this,” he said, subtly placing his palm on mine, which I retreated for some incomprehensible reason and he sat there, immensely disappointed.

“Well….how about I dive from this boulder,” I asserted, pointing at the humongous rock lying nearby, feeling a surge of nerves flowing through my bloodstream so I elected to abide by my instincts.

“What! Are you effing serious?” he nearly screeched, flabbergasted at my seemingly eccentric idea.

“Yes buddy I am, do you think the title of ‘star swimmer’ in school be of any value if I freak out at this little adventurous stunt,” I reasoned haughtily, as I stood up and took a deep gush of breath, decisively preparing to jump.

“Ellie, you sure you can do it?” shouted Matt standing fretfully beside me, as I gawked in awe below, over the dazzling blue water.

“Definitely dude, you just fix your eyes on me,” I instructed, and as decisively as I could, I ran with an athlete’s pace, and with a breathless whoop of ‘Geronimo’, I leaped over.

The entire world went bizarre, adrenaline rushed through my veins as I skydived into the crystal liquid, experiencing the freedom of a bird, and with a tremendous splash landed deep into it. Feeling utterly exhilarated and refreshed, I waved at Matt who waved back from the top in awe.

The water was soothingly warm and aided in refreshing me wholly. All my feelings of anxiety due to exams plus the trepidation at the thought of the ludicrous dreams seemed to evaporate like water. I swam deep inside the lake, celebrating my life to the fullest. My body felt so light, all my anxieties and fears seemed to have been absorbed by the water.

Abruptly, at the very depth of the water, I noticed a gleaming object floating, like an extremely inquisitive cat I dived in to get a closer look. It drove me anxious to witness something like this. I couldn’t make out whether it was a person or creature, however, I determined to bring it out of the water.

The instant my skin touched the creature, a face emerged, that of an extremely pale and loathsome old woman whose pupil-less eyes exposed and vampire's teeth showed off her mouth, she possessed slits for nostrils and a hole for a mouth, and her bony brittle palms grabbed my hand and clutched it with the strength of a dozen men. The water went gelid at that point and began freezing my insides extensively. I quivered like a fish out of water and struggled desperately to free myself, but my efforts were futile against the inexplicably brawny clasp of the creature. Eventually, with a lifetime’s scream which tore my lungs apart... I knew no more.

The Ancient Castle

Darkness spread across my surroundings, no ray of light was visible and I found myself standing on solid ground in an unrecognizable and unearthly area. A figure in jet black robes was pacing towards me; the same tenebrous creature I had encountered in the water, which I recognized through its razor-sharp vampire teeth which were sparkling and the only source of luminescence there which in turn enlightened my way through the blackness.

I began sprinting away in terror nowhere, in absolute darkness. I tripped and fell on the ground as the murkily repulsive creature approached me, it stood an inch away and a bony hand protruded out of his robes being directed towards me while exposing its ghostly head with the holey mouth held wide open.

“No, no, please don’t hurt me, no!” I hollered and my eyes jerked open.

I was lying on a king-size bed, with three distraught faces of Judy, Alex, and Matt surrounded and staring at me tensely, I was in Matt’s house.

“Ellie, are you alright?” asked Judy worriedly, sitting beside me and placing her hand on my forehead.

“What happened?” I whispered weakly, barely able to recall anything much other than the hallucination or nightmare or whatever that I had for the hundredth time.

“We heard you scream from the bottom of the lake when you jumped into it, and discovered you floating unconsciously,” blabbered Matt and Alex simultaneously. “But before any of us could dive in to rescue you…” Matt paused, unable to continue further, which I assumed was something mysterious that they witnessed.

“What?” I urged him to continue, feeling impatient as a bubble of fearful inquisitiveness was blown in my tummy.

“Before we could take any action,” he resumed profoundly, not facing me. “We saw you emerging out of the water, lying unconsciously in the arms of that freaky dude we had encountered when we arrived here,” he conveyed, in a fit of rage, clearly unable to conceal his jealousy from us.

“You have been howling your head off all the way when we brought you here and while lying here too. What’s the matter Ellie, what happened in the lake? Did that guy do something to you?” she inquired, frantically, possibly expecting a distasteful reply.

However, I remained taciturn. I had no strength left inside me to reciprocate, I was at a limitless loss to respond to anyone. What on earth was happening to me? Was I hallucinating? Or was some foul dark magic being played on me? In addition to these unanswered queries, the mystery of that youthfully enigmatic man puzzled me beyond anything.

“Ellie….Ellie….” a slow and hissy voice filled my ears. “Come to me...come to me... the hour has arrived Ellie…come to me….”

My eyelids opened in a flash, as this presumably hypnotizing and hair-raising chant struck my eardrums. With the quietness of a mouse, I got up from my bed as though sleepwalking, and ambled out of the mansion, without a tiny sense of sensation left inside me.

I walked across the dense forest, the unusually ruthless wind piercing my throat and my legs felt numb, as though they hadn’t moved in ages. The moonlight guided me towards a path I was magnetically attracted to. With absolutely no idea in the world where I was heading, I was merely a puppet in motion, whose strings were being controlled by an unknown force.

Shivers ran down my body and my heart was palpitating as though a bulky rock had been attached to it which was oscillating and banging it. I felt like a cactus, as prickly goose pimples wrapped me up. Time seemed to have just halted, and I felt I had traveled a million miles across the forest when unexpectedly an incandescent ray of light punctured through the moonlight-filled darkness, which appeared to be arriving from the end of the forest area.

My body started yearning for that light and was drawn towards similarly to how an insect of light gravitates towards a luminescent young flame. I advanced, and pushing aside the leafy branch of a tree, I viewed on the ground at the edge of the forest, the enormous silhouette of a colossally intimidating castle and heard a blood-curdling cackle which boomed all over.

The gates of the colossal castle opened automatically as if they had been expecting me for a very long time. A prolonged hallway came into view, upon entering it, I was eventually led to a gigantic hall. A purely magnificent and towering ceiling with carvings probably dating back to the fifteenth century came into view, along with an ornate glass chandelier hanging from it. Two extremely lengthy red-colored sofas were placed opposing each other, besides which stood a massive curved flight of stairs leading to the top. And in the exact center of the hallway, laid three enormous thrones made of gold which glittered as though they were constructed only yesterday. The one in the middle stood quite higher than the ones on its sides, presumably, it was the kings and the other two of the queen and their lone prince or princess respectively. The entire hallway was lit luminously with torches bearing fire which were placed perfectly in caskets on the walls. It reminded me exclusively of vampire movies as the castle evoked a much similar aura but here, the light was scintillating.

I felt as though I had traveled through times, nearly six hundred years back, as the medieval view of the interior of this mysteriously enchanting place flashed across my eyes. Everything seemed

“Welcome young lady,” exclaimed, a girlishly sweet and silky but intimidating voice. The flight of steps was descended, and a slim tall figure came into perfect view, it was a young maiden hardly in her twenties, beaming with eternal youth, donned in glamorous floor-length maroon robes with a sparkling crystal crown on her silky jet black hair which was let loose. Her face was the face of the moon, perfectly embellished with enchanting sky blue eyes with dazzling long eyelashes, and a unibrow to enhance her distinct facial features. Her reddish-white skin was such that blush would be invisible on her face. And on her delicate neck hung a luxuriously massive necklace of a diamond which considerably augmented her radiance, thus, providing an absolute treat and relentless awe for the eyes of the viewer. Even I was spellbound by her incomparable beauty and splendor. She was much taller than me such that her presence on the large staircase portrayed her as a giantess, had bizarrely broad masculine shoulders.

“What brings you to this solitary house of mine my dear?” she inquired keenly in her buttery voice.

“Nothing, I just lost my way into the woods and discovered this castle,” I lied instantly, unwilling to express the possibility of me being dragged by an unknown force towards the place and for her to question my sanity. At that instant, a surge of thunder sounded from outside the castle.

“Oh dear, it appears to be raining heavily,” she exclaimed, placing her palm on her bosom portraying a typical sophisticated ladylike gesture. “Young lady, I would insist you spend the night here and be my guest,” she requested beaming while holding my hand and utterly unnerving me. I could muster no sensible reason or for that matter a will to reject her hospitable offer and thus, I courteously gave in to her insistence.

“May I know who you are, and what is this place?” I asked inquisitively, ogling the place like an alien and trying to sound as polite as possible, as she walked me across the hallway.

“I am Malena, the queen of this castle, my family is one of the royal families of Windsor, I am the last of their descendants and thus, their sole heir,” she proclaimed, in a subtle but noticeably haughty tone. “Now you might be wondering how come I reside here solitary. I do not, I stay in London, and every year I visit this ancestral home of mine to pay homage to my forefathers as per the family’s traditions,” she explained in a slight, but sheepish tone which built an extra compartment for doubt in my mind as she escorted me to one of the innumerable rooms at the far end of the hallway.

“Here, make yourself comfortable, and I would ask you for your pardon to allow me to retreat to my chamber, if there is anything else you require, do not hesitate, and just call out my name, I’ll be there in an instant. May you have a lovely night,” she wished jovially and departed.

The Tale of Princess Talia

The entire place appeared one large mystery to me despite what Malena said. My mind ached with the events of the night. What exactly was this perplexing place? I thought, glancing around weirdly, and why and how was I magnetically gravitated towards it. In addition to that, there was something very odd about that young woman Malena as realization struck me. She had hardly even asked my name, let alone enquire about me or my activities lately. Another very bizarre action of hers that came to my notice was her strangely typical medieval manner of conversing. That was simply not a piece of tradition she was following, I thought humorously. I didn’t go inside the room that Malena showed me, instead, I decided to take a tour of the place.

I moved towards a door located in the far left corner of the hallway which appeared decayed and guarded by cobwebs. I opened it with a crack, and it led to another hallway, however, this one looked decently more ancient than the main hallway. It was fully empty with no piece of furniture around, the walls appeared extremely corroded and stank profusely. The light inside was very dim compared to the main hallway but strangely, it seemed to emit a subdued glow. Across the walls, I noticed various portraits of men and women dressed royally and seated on thrones, all lined in a row. Presumably, these portraits were that of the various kings and queens who had ruled the place over the centuries.

In the end, what particularly caught my attention was a humongous but faded blue and violet colored tapestry dangling freely, which portrayed something that appeared to be the family’s lineage beginning from the early sixth century till the late eighteen hundreds. I voraciously read through the tapestry as though it was a list of data I needed to memorize for my exams. There was something very incongruous about it that was worth speculating…Malena’s name wasn’t present anywhere.

Though the tapestry was faded, it was visible enough to be conspicuously read. I studied the family tree with complete focus nearly seven times but discovered no trace of her name. Instead, the last name on the tapestry read: Talia. I started pondering as to whether Talia was Malena’s second name or something and just as I had begun to contemplate on the theory, I tripped atrociously and banged my head against the marble floor. A trickle of blood began oozing through my hair and trickled across my cheek, and spilled on the ground lightly like drops of rainfall.

My head was spinning and began throbbing simultaneously. In a desperate attempt to retain my senses and regain my balance, I caught hold of the tapestry, and just as I did, it fell, revealing another painting, that of a girl. She was wearing a golden robe, and was adorned with amazingly simple jewelry; just a slim pearly necklace with light golden oval-shaped earrings (unlike Malena), while sitting with her chest thrown on a throne. She appeared to be the emblem of royalty and beauty, which allured me, even when I was in no state to smile. A girl, whose beauty caused Malena’s attractive face to be brutally devalued in the eyes of the viewer, like comparing the full moon’s glow to the faint sparkle of the stars. She was slender, with a slim cute face, wearing a smile of glistening white teeth that could bring summer. Her unique reddish floor-length hair touched the bottom of the enormous throne and whose flare could heat the sun’s scorching rays. Her skin appeared to be dipped in milk, and green eyes, glittering aesthetically as though emerald had been placed there. A teeny jet black mole on the lower lip could be viewed distantly on the snowy angelic skin. Fleshy roseate lips, glossy enough without a lipstick, capable of raising a storm of insecurity in a girl and a cyclone of lust within the opposite gender.

Even from the blurry vision of my fainting eyes, her face was like.....staring into the mirror...

The great hall was decorated elegantly, torches were blazing with fire, and the large mob of masked people was swaying merrily. Scrumptiously eye-popping food was laden in golden utensils across the table in a corner ready to be devoured. Father was sitting on his throne beside the fireplace, along with me sitting on his right on a smaller throne, and onto his left was my stepmother. The masquerade ball was thrown by my father, the great king Eric, on the occasion of my eighteenth birthday with such great pomp and lavishness that royals from the entire Windsor kingdom had been invited.

“Talia my love, why don’t you join the mob.” said father merrily, removing his mask and taking a sip of wine from his goblet.

“Talia my dear, when the masquerade concludes, I would request you to enter my chamber, I have a present waiting for you there,” she announced, in her typical silky voice, just as I got up to wear a mask and dance. I nodded at her curtly and departed. The masked mob was dancing to a slow and breezy tune played by royal and highly notable musicians brought from Rome, particularly for the occasion. I took a seat in a corner in solitude, pulling over a distinctly attractive and unique mask while expecting a suitable suitor to ask me for a dance. A masked gentleman, whom I assumed to be quite youthful and fanciable considering his tall and slender posture approached me.

“May I have the distinctly rare pleasure of dancing with a ravishing personality such as yours?” he proposed delightfully, offering his hand. He had me charmed to bits with those words and so took me. The gentleman had put on a very peculiar silver-colored mask shaped like a vulture’s beak which tremendously enhanced his intimidating figure. We swayed gracefully on the dance floor.

“Who are you young lady?” he enquired keenly, not permitting his masked eyes to abandon me for even a second. “Surely you are not just a part of the rest, seeming a swan among the ordinary birds,” He left me quite flustered with those magical words that I had to look aside to conceal my blush that was so uncontrollably slipping off my face.

“And who are you gentleman, whose intentions I feel are not quite noble?” I slipped out, trying hard to sound normal.

“Intentions are nothing great, just to take you away ravishing bird. And by the end of the feast I would have had your hand in marriage with the full consent of your father,” he declared uprightly, holding me an inch away from his masked face.

“Well…you’d require sufficient guts to face my father, for the simple fact that he is the one who has thrown this ball,” I teased flirtatiously, hoping to notice some sort of apprehensiveness across his masked face, but none appeared. Astonishingly, however, a smile shot out across his mask as he twirled me around.

“This is much simpler than I anticipated,” he professed, and with a quick peck on my palm, he walked away, abandoning me on the dance floor.

“Wait! At least inform me of your name before leaving,” I said loudly, feeling rather agitated and abandoned at this spontaneous departure.

“It’s Gerald, princess” he uttered audibly without turning, leaving me madly yearning for his mesmerizing presence.

Meanwhile, one of the guards of our castle approached father.

“Your highness, I have some misfortunate news, the lords of Windsor have become insurgent and are marching towards the castle,” The guard informed, with his helmet-bound head held low in respect.

“How dare they commit such an action!? What could happen that they take such a step?” lamented father furiously, rising from his throne. “My lady, kindly maintain the festive atmosphere in the castle, I will attend to the lords and attempt to suppress their revolt and after I have done so, I’ll join you back in the castle as briskly as my legs can get me to,” he said to my step-mother, and with a quick bow he left.

“With pleasure, my lord,” she replied from behind her mask, which somehow failed to conceal the strange and unusual glow in her eyes as she bid him farewell.

The Face of Evil

In the interim, my eyes searched desperately for Gerald all over the castle. The young gentleman had played some serious magic over me such that, I felt, that I had fallen for him; love at first dance. My heart began craving for his masked face such that, I sort of felt betrayed by him.

“Coward!” I scoffed under my breath, with clenched teeth as a tiny tear escaped my left eye, leaving me broken-hearted.

The masquerade ended, and I sauntered towards my stepmother’s chamber, my heart still loitering around Gerald and anguished at his abandonment of me. Just as I was a few steps away from her chamber, a series of spine-chilling screams echoed from outside the castle.

My heart thumped vigorously at the cry and that instant, the chamber door clicked open.

“Ah my love, come in,” said my stepmother silkily, her face still concealed behind the mask. Thoroughly unnerved, I entered her chamber. I wasn’t quite fond of her such that even her presence around me caused my heart to tremble almost every time, absolutely ironic, as this excessively prepossessing lady who enticed almost every living soul in the kingdom was so repelled by me. Father had married her when I was a baby, shortly after my mother’s death under complicated circumstances which weren’t revealed to me. Although she seemed rather amiable towards me and addressed me with a beam whenever we encountered her, I felt an inexplicably creepy aura whenever she was around me. She was standing in front of the mirror with her back on me as I entered.

“Talia, my sweet innocent damsel,” she exclaimed joyfully, however, there was the presence of negligible spookiness in her voice. As you have finally reached adulthood, I, being your mother, would have the greatest pleasure in handing you the ultimate gift preserved by me particularly for this occasion... of isolating you from your soul!” she hissed turning towards me and lifting her hands, and as a result of some mystical power, I was raised in the air, as if someone had clutched my throat and lifted me.

Immense pressure started to build up all over my throat that had begun to choke me inexorably. I started screeching like a bird in distress, unable to release myself from its clutches.

“Open your mouth, Talia, and present me your soul which promises me eternal youth and beauty,” hissed the witch. And suddenly, I experienced excruciating pain throughout my body, as though my insides were being ripped apart. I let out a scream of agony which filled the chamber. My stepmother had just opened her jaw to suck my soul when the door burst open, and a white spark was shot towards the witch who was slammed out of the window while I, almost subconscious due to the substantial pressure applied on my throat which nearly suffocated me, felt myself being dragged away from my stepmother’s chamber.

It was my childhood nurse, who was rushing me from harm’s way. She brought me to the entrance of the castle and urged me to run away.

“Talia my child, make haste and get away from here. That darned woman is an ancient and vile sorceress, whose sole intention is to perform something on you which is far worse than death,” she commanded hurriedly, keeping herself highly alert, clearly expecting a counter-attack.

“But nurse, what is happening?” I cried serenely, tears brimming through my eyes. “There is no time for explanation, just know that your beloved father unknowingly married a witch and one of the most malevolent kind ever. I breastfed you and raised you, my child, as long as there is a single pulse left in me, I would never let her harm a hair on your head, now go!” she ordered, and let go of my hand.

“But how do you know so much about her?” I asked anxiously.

“That’s because I am a witch myself, now off you go-” she broke off, as a lightning spark flashed through the air and slammed her in the heart, which blasted her off her feet.

The witch returned, gliding in mid-air, her eyes bloody, and seemed extraordinarily powerful and more sinister than ever. I made a step towards the nurse, who was lying on the floor, and tried to assist her.

“Go!” she bellowed in agony, clutching the spot where the witch had struck her. However, I was rooted to the spot out of intense fear as the vicious figure advanced towards me at a towering height.

The witch drew out a wand from inside her cloak: a nearly eight-inch long black-colored crooked stick, assumingly made out of wood with a pointed edge. It was the most powerful and enchanting object used by wizards and other magical beings in the world and, in the wrong hands, was a weapon of mass destruction. I had been enlightened about this marvelously magical object by my nurse during her bedtime stories. Ironically, I was petrified at finally viewing this object in reality while I was so awestruck to hear it about all those years ago.

She flicked her wand directing it towards me which lifted me to an extent in the air, but I fell instantly as her magic was counteracted by nurse’s, who had withdrawn her death stick, which was slightly shorter and thicker than the witch’s and was colored brown. Nurse shot a spell at the witch who skillfully deflected it with her dark magic. They were both evenly matched as far as I could judge, however, the vile sorceress had her dirty tricks up her sleeve, as she vanished from sight for a moment and attacked from behind, however, the nurse had produced an impenetrably magical shield around her which frustrated my stepmother beyond the limits.

The battle seemed never-ending with a firework of spells illuminating the great hall as both attacked each other like a pack of ravenous hounds, waiting for the other to make a one-minute blunder that would cost their life. Unfortunately, my nurse made a mistake as Malena distracted her focused eyes and wand movement for a second by shooting a lightning bolt at the chandelier, thus, causing the shield around her to be stripped off and leaving her defenseless. Malena took the golden opportunity and directed another spell at her wand which was blasted off the nurse’s hand and laid on the floor in fragments. The witch let out a growl of laughter and struck her lethally with a nearly fatal spell that sent her flying across the hallway. She collided horribly with a burning torch hung on the wall which set her ablaze as she fell onto the floor.

“Nurse!” I roared, aghast at the horrendously gruesome sight of her being incinerated. The scream diverted Malena’s attention towards me after a prolonged time as she advanced towards me, playing with her wand, holding a deadly grin on her dangerously enchanting face, and filling me with extensive trepidation with every step that she took. The ruthless monster was inches away from me when an ominously high-pitched voice sounded from behind her which nearly caused the castle walls to shudder.

“With all the power of goodness inside me, I curse you to be bound to this castle for eternity!” nurse chanted, from within the scorching flames that devoured her, simultaneously raising her empty hand which caused me to be lifted in the air and flown towards the entrance and outside the castle gates. Her spell dropped me on the ground softly, while the doors of the castle slammed shut.

I couldn’t move at all, the traumatizing events of the evening had somehow clutched my legs. I stared at the castle doors foolishly, believing as though someone would come out laughing and jeering, conveying to me that it was all a drama, a sort of surprise for my birthday, but none came. And bearing bitter tears of lamentation I sprinted away, with all the energy I could muster, weeping insanely as nurse’s flamed figure flashed across my mind. She had sacrificed herself to prevent me from getting isolated from my soul, and in doing so enhanced the noble bond of love between us. My mind was in a state of utmost chaos and instability, such that I was unaware as to where life was leading me. Eventually, I took refuge under a massive tree in the forest as my legs gave in. Aghast by the nightmarish events of the night, I sat there weeping my heart out and pitifully yearning to see my father. As the thought of father hit me, I felt drops of warm liquid dripping over my head, with an abrupt shiver I looked up and my insides got torn apart, as what came into view froze the blood in my veins, it was a bearded human head with a golden crown on it, dangling from the tree’s branches....it was all that was left of the great King Eric.

Nearby, I noticed a pack of wolves preying on some kill. I couldn’t figure what it was, however, my eyes froze as they recognized the wolf's prey: a torso draped in royal robes, with a charmingly handsome face I hadn’t seen before, but a silver mask in the shape of a vulture’s beak lying by his side. There was a gruesome hole in Gerald’s chest as he lied in a pool of blood, being feasted on by the famished creatures. Several bodies of our guards in a similar state were scattered across the ground like insects crushed by giants.

The ground beneath my feet vanished, I felt lifeless, as if the witch had already siphoned my soul. A tiny bubble of relief tried to escape inside me; my love hadn’t abandoned me. However, what chance did that petty bubble have against the mountain of sorrow that had collapsed over me? With no tears left in my eyes to spill and carrying the consciousness of a mere zombie, I lifted my father’s dagger (lying beneath the tree where his head dangled) and mechanically pierced it in my heart.....while feeling not a sting.

The Hiking

My eyes opened almost instantaneously, the blood trickling across my cheek had soaked but my head still throbbed abysmally. My feelings were going haywire, the ground underneath me seemed to have vanished. The illusion or dream or whatever it was, seemed to have restored memories of a life I lived hundreds of years ago. Vengeful feelings had slowly begun to overtake me, channeling my veins with hot blood, I felt as though I was going to erupt like a volcano. I looked at my painting again, it felt so weird, as though I had traveled through time and had been brought to this era. A sudden ray of determination struck me, filling my peaceful heart with a yearning for revenge. I had to avenge the death of my (Talia’s) parents’ and nurse’s death, I determined myself, and began striding away towards that sorceress, but, a voice in my head halted me. The witch was way too powerful and possessed dark magic. For now, I’d have to run away, before she tries to do the dark deed she couldn’t accomplish centuries ago. Instantly and as swiftly as my legs could take me, I scampered out of the hallway and into the great hall. As cautiously as I could, I moved out of the hall and opened the gates of the castle, struggling to maintain the tranquillity. To my utter astonishment, the gates opened without any sort of noise, and with no moment to waste I sprinted away into the woods.

My world seemed to have turned upside down within those last few hours. The dawn of a fresh day arose through the night sky, bringing with it a seemingly new purpose for me in life and restoring my long-lost identity as I hurried across the forest towards the manor house.

“Why aren’t you eating Ellie?” demanded Judy, looking at me serenely, holding a slice of pizza, while having lunch in Matt’s house. “Are you still worried about that lake incident?” They weren’t aware where I had been last night, which suited me perfectly, I didn’t want any sort of awkward and serious questions. I had already been sick of their concerned faces whenever they talked to me or made any reference to me.

“Nah Judy, I’m just not feeling hungry,” I retorted, though a little is irritably as I sat on an armchair near the fireplace, staring stupidly at the logs of wood and contemplating about the previous day’s mystifying events that had inevitably brought a revolution in my ordinary and mundane life. At that point, Matt approached me and placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Hey pretty girl, you know we are all with you right. Don’t have to conceal any problems from us. We’re your friends, and you know that we’d never judge you,” Matt assured me, with an affectionate and caring smile that sort of diminished my worries for a moment.

“Thanks, Matt,” I said, placing my palm on his and beaming. It was difficult to disguise my feelings for him as friendship anymore. It had always been, but now it was even tougher and even more necessary, as I had a witch on my back. Previously, I kept away from Matt coz of trivial and silly reasons, but now the barrier between us had to be maintained.

It had been nearly a week since we had arrived here, and most of the trip had been a series of shocking and ominous episodes. I had been exposed to such dark revelations about my own life which caused me to be an insomniac. Not a second passed when I didn’t think about the horrors of my past life. The idea of me having a past life petrified me, such that in a week, an ordinary high school teen’s life had turned upside down. Mixed and muddled feelings rose and fell inside me. Sometimes I wanted to run away, thinking it was just a nightmare like all those I had before, and forget about it. While, on the contrary, there were times when I recuperated the feelings of revenge I experienced after my memories were restored. I believed I would go crazy if I stayed there any longer, but since my friends had planned to extend our vacation by two days I had no chance or energy to argue with them.

“Alright, is everyone ready then?” clamored Alex, shoving his packed tent inside his mountain bag, and then rushing to help Judy pack her rucksack. We were going camping and hiking in the dense forest and the nearest mountains.

“Yeah, done mate,” replied Matt, carrying his bag. “Are the barbecue utensils necessary Alex, I mean we could have done that here outside my house too,”

“Nah, where’s the fun in that, we came here to not just relax and chill but also to mingle more with nature right Judy?” he asked Judy flirtatiously, who winked at him and nodded her head thoroughly in agreement. Matt and I were fully aware that they both just wanted to spend more private time together.

We set out into the forest at exactly five past six. The sun was gradually emerging across the horizon as its rays jutted through the dawn light, spreading its soothing morning light across our faces and illuminating the lifeless trees. The weight of the bags nearly caused me to stoop as we marched through the forest. Matt had courteously offered to carry my tent in his bag but I had refused, I didn’t wish to be considered physically weak, especially during a time when such incidents had occurred which portrayed me as being emotionally frail.

“Guys, I guess we’ve found our first stop!” exclaimed Alex, as he dumped his bag on the riverside in the forest. The river’s water was sky blue and crystal clear, which provided a soothing feeling just by throwing a look at it. The rest of us placed our bags too and decided to change into our swimsuits and sunbathe lying on the smooth grassy ground. As we placed a mat on the ground and were about to go and change, a frightening howl echoed across the woods, which nearly stopped my heart and also terrified Matt and Judy. We had just turned our heads in fear towards the forest when a horrified Alex emerged from across the forest sprinting towards us in his shorts.

The Magical Love Ignites

“Help me!” he roared, knocking us off our senses, as he ran like a mad dog. He let out a growl of fear, raced past us, and dived insanely into the river, going out of sight. Utterly horrified and perplexed, we called out his name loudly, but no answer arrived. There were tears in Judy’s eyes and she was about to let out a squeal when Alex burst off the water and started laughing maniacally. His prank had worked perfectly on us, but he was more successful in annoying us, especially Judy, as she marched towards him with a furious red face and starting punching his chest, while he laughed crazily.

“Oh you piece of a jerk, how dare you pull such a ridiculous trick, scared the life out of us,” she blabbered angrily, hitting him persistently.

“Give him some from me too Judy!” shouted Matt, as he lay there on the ground, half-laughing, half-angry.

“Ok, ok I apologize, my damsel,” said Alex, holding Judy’s arms to defend himself and then giving her a rib-cracking hug. As they both rejuvenated their endlessly mundane romance, Matt and I were once again left in solitude.

“Ellie could you pass me the sunscreen,” asked Matt, casually putting on his sunglasses as he lay there on the grass with his hands folded behind his neck, thoroughly relaxed. I passed him the lotion from my bag and had a relentless desire to apply it on his irresistibly tanned muscular body, nevertheless, I shoved aside the lusty thought and passed it to him who took it lightly. Guess, he had given up on the idea of us being together.

“Matt,” I began lightly, lying down a few inches away from him on the cool grass.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Anything,” he said, not changing his position or even looking at me.

“What if…what if someday you get to know that I am not who I am? Like, I am not Ellie or I was someone else before, and not an ordinary person. But someone who is hunted and haunted unceasingly by evil and unstoppable power that can be lethal. Would you still be beside me then and….would you still want to be with me?” I asked him seriously, expecting that he’d gawk at me thinking that I have gone crazy or something, or that he’d ask him that why I would be asking such senseless and irrational questions. But what I received in reply was quite stunning. He lifted himself, removed his sunglasses, revealing an intensely loving look in his uniquely glowing grey eyes as he moved towards me.

“Ellie, ever since the day you have come to my notice, the only thought that has crossed my mind is whether this girl’s going to ever respond to my feelings. And I always told myself with assurance, that when the day arrives, I’d never let you go, nor will I ever let anything harm you. You may say this is an infatuation, but infatuation is capable of transforming into love over a transition of ten years…..which is since the day I have known you,” saying that he leaned over me and planted a tender kiss on my forehead, causing a tickling sensation as a result of his thick goatee. It was the cutest thing that anyone had ever said to me in eighteen years, and magic of love began gushing through my veins, scintillating my worn-out spirits and revitalizing my mood. Perhaps oxytocin or love hormone was being released into my bloodstream, I thought, chuckling staring at his perfectly slim beardless jawline and placing my palm into Matt’s as he fondly slid my hair behind the earlobe while I simultaneously caressed his typically messy blond hair which obstinately refused to stay flat.

I was astonished beyond words, that how gorgeous this man was both in and out. And a desperately insane desire rose up inside me to smack my face and also give him a rib-cracking hug. But before I could make a move to execute any one of those strong actions there was a sound of delirious laughter from the trees.

Alex and Judy returned, holding hands and portraying two people who have just had the time of their lives. Usually, I would get rather irritated and extremely sulky at Judy’s abrupt and spontaneous disappearances, feeling rather neglected by her and preferring her boyfriend over her best friend. But today, I didn’t mind them at all and felt unusually blissful at the sight of them being together. Is this what love does to one? I wondered dreamily.

“Eh…What’s going on here?” Judy inquired with amusing suspicion, as she caught us in an awkward position, which alarmed us and we broke apart.

“Judy…” began Alex slowly, eyeing Matt and me, with an irritating grin forming across his face. “I guess nature has given birth to two new love birds,”

“It’s not what you both are thinking,” shot Matt, bending his head down, turning rubescent, exactly like a tomato, while they sniggered uncontrollably. Then Judy moved towards us lovers and held both our hands smoothly like a mother holding her children’s hands, and most astonishingly gave both of us a tight hug.

“You guys have no idea how happy I am for both of you,” she claimed gleefully, as we hugged her back warmly.

“Hey, hey, don’t leave me side-lined,” complained Alex, so Matt and I raised our hands from behind Judy as he sprung and enveloped all of us in a bear hug. “Now aren’t we forgetting something fellas, we’re here to have some fun and not getting all emotional,” declared Matt, slapping us all on the back as we broke apart. “All of you pack your stuff up we are going to go hiking up that mountain,” he ordered, pointing at the colossal mountain visible at the edge of the forest.

The Towering Mountain

We began marching towards the mountain, which was about two miles away from the riverside, following Alex’s lead. The entire journey he annoyed us totally by treating us roughly as though we were soldiers marching off towards the battle arena. Whenever any of us got exhausted, he would criticize us and even pass a few taunts. It was highly unusual and odd for him to display this sort of behavior. Nevertheless, we bore him patiently and walked with the burdensome bags on our backs. He led us using a compass, and his navigation skills were so accurate that we didn’t astray even for a single moment.

“Ouch!” I cried, as I felt an instant excruciating pain spreading through my foot in the middle of the forest, such that I fell on the floor moaning. Looking down I noticed some reddish liquid leaking out of my shoe. Blood was dripping out endlessly, proliferating the unbearable pain and helplessness.

“Oh my god!” exclaimed Judy, as she threw her bag on the ground and sat down to tend to me. She removed my boots and noticed a horrible sight; a large nail had been shoved in the sole of my foot. I felt like roaring in pain as the gruesome sight enhanced my pain mentally. However, Judy restrained me, as she cautiously placed her hand on the piece of metal, and instantaneously yanked it out. I felt not a prick as she did so, and a sense of relief broke through my body as I lay on the forest floor.

“Bloody hunters!” Matt swore ferociously, as he sat on the ground beside me, caressing my face. “Dogs like those place such traps while innocent beings get hurt. I’d skin one alive if I come across one scoundrel like that!”

“It’s okay Matt, I’m fine now,” I assured him, holding his hand. Meanwhile, Judy stripped off a ball of cotton from the first-aid kit in her bag and soaking it in an antiseptic lotion, applied it on my wound. I didn’t even wince, as I was staring at Judy compassionately while she tended to me. I felt myself to be substantially fortunate to have a friend like hers, she had been by my side since childhood and had saved my life on various occasions. I would dump mountains of gold for a prized gem like her, I thought fondly. She tore a large black cloth, which was her brand new handkerchief, and fastened it around the sole of my foot. Matt lifted me to my feet and helped me to walk. They decided to cancel the trip and return to Matt’s house, but I repudiated this plan and assured them that I was capable of walking normally, which was perfectly true as Judy had fixed me flawlessly. Therefore, we resumed our journey, however, this time Matt walked beside me.

By the time we approached the mountain area, it was afternoon, the sun’s scorching heat diminished in its intensity and the breeze became slightly cooler causing the immense sweat that draped my body to dry steadily.

“All right everyone, let’s go right over this mountain,” cried Alex adventurously, unzipping his equipment from his bag.

“Dude, you think we should go for climbing, I don’t think Ellie can-” I cut him off, and said,

“Guys I’m perfectly fine, I can easily make the climb,” I added, a little haughtily, throwing my bag down and removing its contents.

“That’s the spirit Ellie!” applauded Alex and arranged the equipment.

We began making the climb enthusiastically, and as the weather grew cooler it was quite easy to do so. However, as we made the climb, an ill feeling began to develop inside me. I wasn’t afraid of heights, nor was I reckless, but this feeling was something I had never experienced previously, as though somebody was going to spring up from below and grab hold of me. It was a mixture of fear and hallucinating aura that surrounded me. I made each step up cautiously, restraining myself completely from glancing below. Alex and Judy were way above us, both of them were climbing at an astoundingly professional pace, while Matt remained below me, I knew he was staying below to keep an eye on me, for which I was way more than grateful. It was nearly twilight when we reached the second highest peak of the mountain.

“That was smooth,” cheered Alex, running across the place and shouting randomly just for the fun of hearing his echo ricochet all over the area, while the rest of us sat down, thoroughly haggard by the climb. My body was aching strenuously, that I couldn’t even muster the energy to get up and sit. As I laid on the jagged rocky surface, I viewed the glamourous sight of dusk, the orange light of the sun being enveloped by the darkness of the night, and the minuscule stars emerging out from within the blackness.

We lit our dazzling lamps and started the barbecue. It was like a dreamy scenario, unbelievable, that I was sitting cozily on the crest of a mountain having a barbecue dinner with my buddies. I felt somewhat guilty about lying to my parents about this whole trip and on top of that not informing them about the two-day extension. Nonetheless, the guilt evaporated as a juicy and appetizing barbecued piece of chicken hit my throat. Alex and I assisted with the barbecue but Judy and Matt did the main job. After the luscious meal, we engaged ourselves with a few engaging group games such as spinning the bottle and relished our hearts out. We wanted to have a bonfire, but carrying the wooden logs in our bags would have been extremely burdensome therefore we had canceled that traditional idea. At half-past midnight, we erected our mini sleeping tents which had space only for one, and decided to call it a day.

“Alex! Could you please assist me with this darned tent, it’s not erecting,” yelled Judy, attempting to straighten the tent’s rods.

“Here let me help you,” I offered abruptly, walking towards her. Judy and I had developed a unique bond during this trip, which felt quite different from what we shared previously, it was much stronger and more reliable. It felt as if our souls had been bonded by an invisible force, a type of bond which conceivably twins shared.

“Judy,” I began quietly as we put up the tent

“Yeah Ellie, what’s the matter,” she answered distractedly.

“I assume you’ll feel weird when you hear this, but I want to say how much I appreciate you being a crucial part of my life,” I gulped, succumbing to unexpected tears that were on the verge of release. Hearing this, she turned briskly and stared at me as though she had just realized my presence there.

“You just stole the words out of my mouth,” she said and moved forward to give me a prolonged embrace that felt convivially warm and pleasant.

“Humph, I wish I was that lucky to get a hug as sweet as that,” said Alex, with lofty sarcasm, pretending to weep, as we broke apart and Judy threw a tiny pebble at him which he laughingly ducked and walked off chuckling. The tents were set up properly and we laid there respectively, waiting for the starry night to conclude.

My eyelids shuttered open instantaneously as my heart began pounding like a wrecking ball. Unzipping the tent, I moved outside, feeling the chill of the night, the torturously freezing wind piercing my skin like needles. I looked up into the night sky, whose color transformed into blood red. My head started whirling terribly, as though I had intentionally spun around real fast. But I didn’t fall, instead, I continued to spin uncontrollably and my body was in motion. Each spin placed me an inch forward and began leading me towards the edge of the mountain. I struggled to prevent myself from causing any movement but alas, all went in vain. The insane swirling eventually halted at the brink of the mountain, and I stood there petrified. My eyes fell below, the mountain peak was approximately five miles high. And for the first time in my life, I was terrorized by heights. As I turned around to return, my eyes found the pale white face of Judy standing behind me and before any kind of sound could escape my mouth, she shoved me hard, which tossed me below with the force of an elephant’s feet.

And I fell….my entire body experiencing the force of gravity below me, it felt as though life was not worth living, the end had arrived…like how it did for Talia….. I hit the ground with an ominous bang….

The Twin Beasts

I woke up with a shudder, sweating profusely, my heart thumped as though it was going to burst out of my chest in the flick of a second. The night felt as chilly as it did in the nightmare, causing my insides to freeze spontaneously. The thick blanket I had pulled over provided no help in diminishing the tormenting frost. My teeth chattered overpoweringly, leaving me with no strength to call, let alone shout out to anyone. At that point, my tent was unzipped and Judy came in, wearing a sweater she had perhaps packed predicting the considerable degree of chilliness that would be present on a mountain. I jumped over her and hugged her immediately, hoping to obtain some warmth.

“Ellie, you are freezing to death,” she stated, revealing another sweater and wrapping me around it.

“Here, put on this sweater, thank god my brain worked at the right time and I packed an extra,”

“Oh, Judy! What I’d do without you,” I began sobbing, grasping her tightly.

“What happened Ellie?” she asked worriedly, hugging me back. “Did you have a nightmare or something,” but before I could answer, a portentous sound echoed from outside. A sound which froze the blood in my veins, a sound which was highly unlikely that it was of any species of human. Judy and I went outside, though most reluctantly as to know the source of that noise.

It was pitch black outside, we could have been nothing more than blind if Judy hadn’t had the lamp. We began moving forwards towards Matt and Alex’s tent when that threatening noise sounded again. It seemed to have been emanating from somewhere below. This time it woke up Alex and Matt who came rushing out of their tents, both appearing anxious and a little fearful.

“What the hell was that noise?” exclaimed Matt, looking hither thither. He had put on a balaclava and appeared to have been afflicted by the fatal chill himself.

“It’s so goddamn strange, it’s peak summer and the temperature seems to be way below negative,” asserted Alex, hugging himself, he had put on a thick leather jacket and appeared to have been battling the biting cold himself.

At that instant, the intimidating noise sounded again, this time from somewhere above, filling the atmosphere with utmost terror.

“You reckon, it’s some sort of beast or something?” Judy asked Alex apprehensively, her voice nearly shook with intense fear.

“Maybe,” retorted Alex, gesturing Matt to come with him.

“Matt, I have two guns with me in my tent, I carried them in case of an emergency like this,” he said and they both went to Alex’s tent to retrieve them.

“Ellie, you go back to your tent, I am returning to mine to get a rod that I had packed in case we needed any weapon,” she instructed and walked off to her tent. But I didn’t move, instead, I stood there waiting for them to return. The noise sounded for the fourth time, and now it was even shriller than before. A sort of curiosity overpowered my fear that moment, as I moved towards the edge of the mountain expecting something dramatic to occur.

Before I could reach the brink, a figure appeared out of nowhere. It emerged out of the darkness, revealing a seven-foot-tall man… Or was it even human? Its head was the size of a football, with teeth as long and piercing as a metal nail, its waist-length hair swung fiercely due to the wind. His body was fully covered with hair and he stood towering above me. His eyes were bloodshot and he possessed slits for nostrils.

The beastly man advanced towards me, his eyes fixed on me as I slowly moved backward, feeling rather foreboding and petrified. They raised his abnormally large hand to grab me when there was there were two simultaneous gunshots as Alex and Matt fired at him with their hunting rifles. The firing was unable to cause any harm to the beast, on the contrary, it managed to enrage him as it let out that horrible scream which had been heard previously and ran towards Alex and Matt, both continuing to fire at him. He caught hold of their rifles and smacked them hard with those. They both went flying away onto the ground, their faces bleeding heavily. The beast then shifted its attention back towards me. Its nails were longer and more pointed than a lion’s, it was about to pounce on me when a figure appeared out of nowhere, a handsome man wearing royal robes having a gash on his milky white face, his body seemed to be emitting an extraordinary glow which was brighter than a lamp’s light.

It was that same strange gentleman whom we had encountered on our first day, and who according to my friends, had brought me back safe and sound from the lake. The man withdrew a shiny sword from his sheath and sprung over the beast. With one swish of his sword, the beast fell onto the ground, bleeding profusely through its hairy chest where the man had sliced him. However, it rose again and began battling him. The beast used its razor-sharp nails as a weapon against the man’s sword. It struck ten times, but the man deflected his strikes skilfully and managed to inflict another blow as he flipped over him and chopped his right arm off. The creature let out a gruesome roar and attempted to strike the man pathetically with its remaining arm, but in vain, as the man spun in mid-air and ended up slicing the creature's head off.

The creature perished without a sound, bringing back the tranquillity in the darkness. Inexpressible relief broke through me, it was as though my heart had been safely placed back inside my chest. The man had arrived again to my rescue, like a guardian angel sent by the lord specifically to protect me. I couldn’t summon any words to express my gratitude, however, I still made an effort using my swollen lips. But before I could create a sound, another monstrous roar was sounded from the sky as another beast sprung out of nowhere.

The beast was an identical copy of the first one, who without wasting a second grabbed hold of me and jumped off the mountain. The creature held me on my shoulder and was landing miles below, causing my surroundings to accelerate immeasurably. My body felt light as a feather, even the force of the creature's grip on me felt negligible. The beastly man bounded from boulder to boulder and finally landed on the ground. Its grip on me tightened, and with a second’s agonizing pain that shot across my feeble body, I fell unconscious.

My eyes opened, and I found myself lying in a heap of twigs, as my body ached immensely. A grunting noise seemed to blare a few feet away from me as I noticed the beast who had carried me away, munching disgustingly on the carcass of a dead deer. I nearly threw up at that repugnant sight, but somehow managed to control it. My body felt numb and immovable as I assumed the creature had thrown me mercilessly on the ground like a piece of meat. Nevertheless, I started crawling silently, without making a single noise. And moving a few feet away, I made a substantial effort to get onto my feet, which finally paid off. Rising, I scuttled away without turning around. I was thirsty as hell and gasped deeply for water, but found no sign of it anywhere. My strength was leaving me, and my senses were about to be extinguished, as I collapsed onto the ground. From the corner of my eye, I saw some reddish liquid drip and tried to reach for it as my mouth had dried completely. Looking for the source of it, my eyes traveled upwards, and to my horror, it was the deer's blood dripping from the corner of his repulsive mouth.

In an instant, I mustered all the strength left in me and ran in the opposite direction, adrenaline aiding my feeble body. I had run approximately a mile straight when I discovered the silhouette of the castle on the ground. Terror-stricken, I turned around to run back, but the beast towered above me, looking furiously murderous. With a light smack from his massive hand, I went soaring in the direction of the castle and landed with a thump on the ground.....motionless.

The Night of Cold-blood

The darkness of the forest that had so irreversibly filled my retina subsided, and the familiar glow of luminescent torchlights filled my eyelids as they opened irritably, revealing to me the enormous hall of Windsor Castle.

My hands and legs felt numb and immovable as I had been tied against the great hall wall, except that no ropes were used. Malena stood facing me right underneath the chandelier.

“Well, well, well. Looks like little Ellie has woken up from a deep slumber…or should I say little Princess Talia?” Malena hissed in her dangerously silky voice. I was tied against the wall by Malena’s magic which felt tighter than ropes. “Hope your journey on my pet beast’s back was comfortable. Mind you, I had strictly instructed it to act as gently as the situation allowed, in escorting the honorable princess of Windsor back to her home,” she declared loftily, eyeing me like a ravenous snake.

So the beast was Malena’s pet, I thought, desperately wriggling to free myself from her dark magic which held me firmly, but to no avail. Currently, the beast wasn’t anywhere to be seen in the castle.

“Ah, your pretty little mind is thinking where my adorable beast-man is right Talia? Don’t worry I have sent him to dispose of your friends, they have been hurting you continuously princess, due to which I feel highly affronted,” she snorted sneeringly, filling me with a mixture of wrathful rage for her and anxiety for my friends.

“You! You ruined my life, you murdered my father in cold blood, you bloody witch!” I howled, with fury and exasperation building up inside me.

“Yes, Talia I did, and I am glad your memories have been restored! Didn’t have to do much did I, just tricked my dear king husband and his pack of fools into believing that a revolt had broken out. And as that old nincompoop rushed with bravery outside to guard the castle, my lovely magic was there expecting them impatiently. Mind you, I sliced his head personally, all I had to do was to give him a taste of his dagger!” Malena chortled, which raised the blood to my head and I struggled furiously to free myself.

“You ruddy piece of evil!” I swore with pure poison in my words and spat at her. This rose her temper for the first time as she shot a tiny bolt of lightning at my shoulder which burnt fiercely as I uttered an agonizing squeal.

“Insolent brat, I think you better be shown what destiny lies ahead of you. Let me provide you with a glimpse of what fate had in store for the one who brought you in this world,” she yelled furiously and placed a finger near her earlobe.

A sort of liquidized vapor emerged out. She held it in her palm and with a blow of air, it came flying towards me as I closed my eyes and moved my head aside, expecting it to be another tormenting blow from her. On the contrary, the vapor just splattered over my face...and I fell into blackness.

After what felt like about fifteen minutes, my body hit the soft ground. Rising onto my feet I discovered myself standing exactly opposite the gates of the castle at night time. At that moment, an army of armored and equipped men arrived, led by a figure with a crown on his head. I glowed with immense jubilation at having noticed my father that I ran insanely to hug him but, ended up moving through him. With the anguishing realization hitting me hard that this was merely a memory from Malena’s mind. Moreover, I also discerned the fact that this was the night of my, as in, Talia’s birthday celebrations when the guard had informed King Eric about an insurgency by the landlords.

It was all tranquil, as my father and his army of knights waited for the supposedly barging landowners as I watched from the sidelines, but none arrived. There was pitch darkness across the castle grounds and was only made visible by the purely enchanting light of the full moon spread greatly over the night sky. “You will not find anyone here beloved king,” a dangerously silky and girlish voice which I could never forget, spoke from the shadows, as the sinister figure of Malena emerged, draped in the royal attire she had worn that dreaded night.

“My lady, what are you doing out here?” asked father with a baffled and anxious look on his bearded face.

“My dearest king, I am here as the fates have brought me here,” she declared firmly, eyeing father like a beast through her gleaming eyes. “To end your time in this world!” she roared and with a gut-wrenching movement, she withdrew her wand from within her cloak, and with one firework of red light, she blasted the entire army into smithereens. She let out a howl of evil laughter, rejoicing at her triumph. However, the laughter evaporated and took the form of a thunderstruck look instantaneously as King Eric appeared out of the smoke standing on his feet, unharmed.

“This is impossible!” roared the witch aghast.

“Sorceress,” addressed my father calmly, “there is the power of goodness in this world which defies all evil,”

“Ah, yes, of course, your ancestors’ shield is impregnable. How foolish of me, I should’ve known. But that’s not going to protect you for long.” she said firing jolts of lightning towards him who managed to deflect it successfully with his shied which rebounded and hit the witch who tumbled backward.

The battle lasted about an hour with the witch being eventually on the verge of defeat as a jolt of lightning deflected off my father’s sword and hammered her on the chest, and she was thrown backward. She lied on the ground whimpering as my father his sword to terminate her.

“My dear lord,” she whispered in agony. ”Pardon me, I went astray, I am a witch it's true, but I have loved your daughter and brought her up as my offspring,” These words brought a considerable change over father’s uncontrollably enraged face, his eyes weren’t bloody anymore and rather took the form of mercy but with the bloodthirsty sword still held in his hand, waiting impatiently for its prey.

"No father, no!” I kept screaming pointlessly as I was kind of aware of the outcome. At that instant, a voice sounded from behind,

"King Eric.”

It was a tall figure with a mask, shaped like a vulture’s beak, on his face which stood flabbergasted at the scenario. Father turned his head and gasped “Lord Gerald,” and in that fraction of a second, with one thrust in father's armor, Malena removed his dagger with the right hand and slashed his throat, as a shower of blood splashed over her body while King Eric’s torso collapsed on the ground motionlessly.

Gerald let out a roar of fury and dashed towards her, but she was ready for him, and with a flick of her wand she shot a sparkling jolt of light towards him. The howling of Gerald halted, as he froze on the ground, apparently rooted to the spot. I thought she froze him with some sort of spell, but I was left horror-struck as he looked below, with my eyes following him from the side. Blood was dripping continuously without pausing, and with one final glance at the witch, his body sliced into two from the waist, and his remains were blasted a mile away into the dense forest.

Meanwhile, Malena raised their father's head high in the air and laughed triumphantly, with King Eric’s blood splattered across her body. I ran forwards, my eyes filled with tears of revulsion and distress, as I foolishly attempted to pounce over the witch.

The Vicious Witch

My eyes opened in a flash and I was back, my hands feeling the clasp of the invisible ropes again.

"How can you be so despicable?” I wept, feeling defeated, while the witch laughed viciously with exultation.

"That's a compliment dear. Well, not just your dear father, but I might also enlighten you with the fact that I murdered your lovely mum too. I released her from her misery while she was in labour with you,” she exclaimed, in a sing-song manner. This new revelation had a storming effect on me as my heart cursed her bitterly. Words like vicious and sinister were too petty to describe her, as she was someone beyond any usual evil this world had probably ever seen.

“Do you have any idea, how many centuries I have waited for you? For your soul, which could free me from this wretched castle and provide me with eternal youth and beauty!” she laughed coldly, which gave me goose pimples. “Your re-incarnation is my salvation, which perhaps was your destiny, Talia, You could provide me with something that not a single soul could ever have, as was revealed to us witches through a prophecy, shortly before your birth... and now your soul is mine-” she broke off as there was noise across the castle.

Matt, Judy, and Alex burst in calling out my name. They were all fine, except for the injuries on Matt and Alex’s faces as a result of the beast’s assault on them on the mountain. An unfathomable relief broke out on my pale face at the sight of them being alive and well.

They froze in terror noticing me stuck to the wall above the ground. No word escaped through their petrified mouth which kept hanging with shock. Malena was thunderstruck to discover them alive and unharmed, she looked hither thither to notice any sign of her slave but found none. However, her anxious expression subsided within a moment, restoring her malevolent coolness.

“Ah, Ellie's friends, how I completely forgot about them. How about I let the soul witness a few more deaths before devouring it,” she whispered, glancing at me, then placing her poisonous stare on them.

“Run!” I howled at them.

Malena waved her hand and Alex, who attempted to scamper, was lifted high off his feet and hurled straight across the hall. He was banged against the castle’s marble wall and fell with a gut-wrenching thump onto the ground, his forehead bleeding relentlessly.

“No, please no, kill me, and let them go!” I pleaded with her, tears drizzling from my eyes. But it was all in vain as she flicked her fingers, and with the substantial force of a magnet being attracted to a metal, a spear from one of the armored statues in the hall detached itself, flew across the hall, and pierced Alex through the heart. He perished instantly, with a mundane finality.

"ALEX!” howled Judy breaking down on the ground and passing out. Matt sprinted towards the witch with fatal fury. However, he was brought to a halt in a second with a gesture of Malena's palm.

“LEAVE HER ALONE YOU WITCH!” he growled, struggling to rid himself of her body-binding curse.

"Ah, yes, this is the lover boy isn't he, who adores you little Ellie, just the way the masked boy had done if you recollect sweet Ellie. His heart beats for you right, just the way Gerald’s did, oh yeah that was his name wasn't it? And mind you I slaughtered him too, ” she cackled pompously, revealing another of her inhumane deeds displaying no signs of remorse whatsoever, which burned a desire in me to slash her head off. “Now let’s see exactly how his beating heart looks,” with this statement she gestured her hand into squeezing something, as Matt’s agonizing scream filled the castle.

Blood poured out gradually through his chest but he marched forward, battling the torment like a warrior. I had never seen anything more gruesome in my life, while I squealed helplessly against the wall. With each step he took, a hole in his chest poured out some blood, I didn’t know how much of the agonizing pain he could endure.

With a huge splash of blood, she ended his agony as his heart burst out, being shot like a bullet towards Malena who caught it triumphantly. She held his heart in her hands and crushed it like a sponge, while Matt collapsed lifelessly onto the ground in a pool of blood.

“MATT,” I wailed like a baby helplessly, wishing my eyeballs to be squeezed out before I had to witness any further cannibalistic murders of the ones I loved. A desperate desire to die started to burn my insides like wildfire, I didn’t wish to live any longer when Matt had just sacrificed himself in a fearlessly heroic struggle to save me.

"Finally, the moment which I had been waiting for has arrived, little Talia. Bid adieu to your soul-” she couldn't utter the rest as Judy jabbed a spear across her chest which froze her for a while, in utter shock, and broke the spell which had so mercilessly bounded me. The next moment, both of us attacked her like vultures using whatever we could get our hands-on, but our efforts were futile as her wrath broke out, she expressionlessly removed the spear out her chest, and with one quick wave of her palm we both went flying through the air. Judy smashed into the chandelier and fell like a skeleton onto the ground, knocked out cold. I circled in mid-air and was slammed against the wall ominously and slid down. My body felt extremely numb and motionless.

"Enough! I think it’s time I gave you a demonstration of what I have in store for you Talia!” she proclaimed in an unrecognizably towering voice totally unlike her. She placed a hand in her robe and drew out as what appeared to be an elbow-length brittle stick...a wand.

Malena aimed it at Judy and with a quick flicker, Judy was raised into the air. She was carried by invisible hands towards Malena. My mind was racing; I felt like I knew what she was going to do. Was this the end of both of us? What had we ever done to perish so viciously? I implored for help desperately in my mind. In a moment of desperation, I used my telekinetic powers and hurled the massive furniture at her, but the powerful sorceress turned it into ashes with a flick of her wand. I used my abilities to try and toss her, but couldn’t move her an inch, as though some invisible barrier protected her.

“Foolish brat!” she guffawed, “you really think your feeble powers stand any chance against my mighty magic?” and shot another spell against me which hit me square in the chest, knocking the wind out of me.

At that point, my weak eyes noticed a ray of white light appearing a few inches away from me. The light took the shape of a figure. While observing closely through my half-closed eyes, it appeared to be a stout elderly figure, with white hair tied in a bun, wearing what seemed to be a sleeping gown. It was neither ghost nor human, but some sort of a hybrid. The face was wrinkly with distinctly sharp blue eyes. It was the same angelic lady who had saved my life in the swimming pool that day.

“Nurse,” I mumbled putting some effort to raise my head, utterly flabbergasted.

The lady beamed at me, revealing a systematically arranged pair of sparkling white teeth, and offered her wrinkled palm in my direction. Without a single thought, I placed my bruised wrist in her soft and inexplicably smooth palm, which caused my eyes to close, and my body to float into darkness.