Chapter 2: Chapter 2
The wolf, lured by the smell of my blood, advanced towards the rock where I huddled, my distorted face mirroring the curse that had afflicted me. Deep wrinkles marked my skin, hanging loosely and showing the effects of the grotesque change that transformed me.
As the wolf drew nearer, its ferocity palpable, I felt a surge of fear grip me, knowing that my fate hung in the balance.
Desperation clawed at my heart as the wild animal closed in, its predatory instincts honed on the scent of my blood. With no escape in sight, I could only pray for a miracle for the wolf to turn away and leave.
The spring's gentle cascade of water from the rocks sprinkled on the wolf and it jumped in fright.
As the wolf crept closer, every wrinkle on my face seemed to deepen, every sagging fold a reminder of the curse that had twisted me into this nightmarish form.
Hunched and trembling, I awaited my fate, hoping against hope that the wolf would heed my silent plea and retreat to the shadows from whence it came.
However, the wolf perched itself on the rock and stared at me hiding behind it.
At first, the wild animal did not exhibit any aggression towards me but stared deep into my eyes. I could sense its pure evil as I looked back.
Despite the fear, I stayed behind the rock, aware of the trembling that had taken hold of my whole body.
I knew that wolves could sense fear and act on it. I tried to evade being mauled by the animal and retreated further behind.
The fearful predator assessed its prey from the rock.
I dared not move, knowing that any sudden action could trigger a deadly response.
The air crackled with tension as the wolf's piercing eyes bore into mine, a hostile encounter in the secluded garden.
Every fibre of my being screamed with the urge to flee, to escape the impending danger that loomed before me. Yet, I remained rooted behind the rock, my heart pounding in my chest, each beat drumming a warning to my mind.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the wolf, sensing my fear, tensed its muscles, preparing to pounce. In that heart-stopping moment, confusion clouded my thoughts, fear gripped me in its icy embrace, and the realization dawned that my fate hung by a thread.
With every passing second, the urgency of the situation pressed upon me, a relentless reminder that action was needed, and time was not on my side. I was at wits end about what to do.
As the wild wolf crouched, ready to spring, a surge of adrenaline coursed through my veins, urging me to act, to find a way out of this deadly encounter.
Amid chaos and fear, I knew I had to think fast, to outwit the predator that stood before me, for in that fleeting moment, my survival depended on my next move.
Just as the wolf was about to attack me, a gust of wind pushed it out of the way. “I heard the sorceress’s laughter ring out in the eerie silence. My heart thumped louder in my chest, and I was consumed by unimaginable fear. I started trembling uncontrollably.
Something trickled down my face, and I suddenly realised I was crying.
“Go now, find some other disfigured human to while your time away,” the sorceress commanded the wolf.
The wolf looked petrified when it heard the voice of the sorceress. Its hair stood on end. And I saw it look away from me towards the trail of the winds.
The winds swished and buckled, and the eerie laughter lingered. I felt afraid to know that the sorceress kept an eye on me.
As the gust of wind and the sorceress diverted the wolf's attention and delayed its impending attack, her haunting laughter echoed through the garden, sending a chill down my spine.
Suddenly, the sorceress's presence loomed over us. I sensed the evil in her presence, in the eerie silence that enveloped the surroundings.
My heart raced with a mixture of dread and awe, my body trembling uncontrollably in the face of the acute nightmare. Tears streamed down my face, a release of pent-up emotions brought forth by the overwhelming fear and uncertainty that gripped me in that condition.
In that moment of vulnerability, the sorceress's voice cut through the air, commanding the wolf to depart and seek another unfortunate soul to torment.
The wolf once poised to strike, now stood frozen in fear at the sorceress's voice, its wild gaze shifting from me to the surroundings which scared it.
Her watchful eye and unfathomable ability to kill us as she wished, was scary.
As the tension thickened, she said wickedly, "You dare trespass in my garden, creature of the night. Leave this disfigured soul be, for she will not be consumed now. I want her to suffer for her insolence by entering my garden. Why, she should have known that I have prohibited man and beasts from entering my private domain. Now, go, amuse yourself with another palate that will be more delicious and suited to your taste. This disfigured old lady stinks and rots like dead flesh."
I suddenly thought to plead, hoping she would release me from her wicked curse. "I seek only solace, sorceress, that I entered your garden. My intrigue for its beauty overcame me and I made a grave mistake. Please forgive me and release me from your spell and I shall never enter the garden or displease you again.”
However, the sorceress gave an insipid laugh, “Your fate is entwined with mine, and you shall remain until I choose when you die.”
My voice, a whisper now, pleaded again, "Please release me from your curse. I shall never return here again. I beg you to release me from this nightmare.”
The place crackled with tension, and I could see her roving eyes looking at me with disdain and loath.
I cowered under her stare. The wolf jumped off the rock and escaped and the sorceress disappeared again.
Chapter 3: Chapter 3
I sat by the rock like it would give me the strength to face this terrible situation. After a while, I took slow steps through the path that led to my residence.
I sought my grandmother, the matriarch and heir of our vast estate, following the tragic demise of my parents during a fox-hunting expedition in the same woods, where they fell victim to a savage animal attack and died tragically.
As I walked through the path that wound towards my ancestral home, the forest enveloped me in a cloak of ancient mystery and spectacular beauty.
Towering trees, their branches reaching towards the sky like gnarled fingers, cast dappled shadows on the forest floor, creating a play of light and darkness that encircled me.
The air was thick with the earthy scent of damp moss and fallen leaves, mingling with the sweet perfume from wildflowers that peeked out from the undergrowth. Birds flitted across the branches, their melodic songs weaving a tapestry of sound that echoed through the tranquil woods.
Sunlight filtered through the canopy above, painting golden patterns on the moss-covered ground, illuminating patches of vibrant green ferns and delicate mushrooms that grew lusciously on the forest grounds.
The gentle rustle of leaves in the breeze whispered secrets of an ancient past, while the occasional rustle of small creatures scurrying about added a sense of life to the serene landscape.
As I walked, the forest seemed to hold its breath, as if mourning the loss of my parents and bearing witness to the tragedies that had befallen my family.
Each painful step I took was a journey through memories and shadows, a reminder of the fragile life and the mysterious spirit of the woods that stood witness to joy, sorrow and primal fear.
I remembered the words uttered at the funeral like it was yesterday. “It is a tragic consequence – almost like a curse had befallen them.” they had whispered.
They described the gory state of my father and mother’s bodies as unrecognizable as they were nearly torn to pieces. “No one dies this way,” an aunt had whispered at the funeral, torment in her eyes.
My grandmother said after, that anyone who cared to look at the bodies was tormented for days at an end. It was too gory a scene to forget or put asunder, as even with eyes closed you could envision the bloodied state of the bodies.
As I neared adolescence, something drew me to the forest like it did father. It pulled at my heartstrings.
I woke up to lyrical sounds in the wee hours of the morning. My sleep gone, I sat by my window to look out at the vast forest till sunrise.
The sounds were a symphony of nature's melodies, where the rustling of leaves, wind whispering through the trees, and the gentle patter of pinecones falling created a serene yet lively atmosphere.
Birds filled the air with cheerful calls, while the buzzing of insects and the distant yapping of coyotes added rhythm to the forest's soundtrack. Squirrel’s staccato and bark added playful notes to the composition, as the rustle of leaves signalled the footsteps of deer and other woodland creatures.
There was something else out there I couldn’t quite fathom or put a name to.
The forest, a mystery, consumed my curiosity.
I had seen a wolf with glowing eyes one day. It disappeared somewhere into the woods in a fleeting moment.
I sensed that it followed me sometimes as I sensed the presence of an animal hiding between the bushes while I took my walks. The thought of being watched made me uneasy.
However, there were days when nothing disturbed, and I languished in the beauty and stillness of the forest. I would sit by a creek and be nourished by the perfect scents of nature that permeated the whole environment.
I thought most about the enchanted garden, confined within the seclusion of the forest, where the white rose grew to prominence.
Everyone in the outside world talked about the white rose.
Its magnetic attraction was such that I couldn’t overlook or dismiss its existence. It evoked mysticism and I wanted to see the rose in full bloom.
Nothing in the forest radiated a beauty as astounding as that white rose.
My grandmother told me the rose was an enchanted rose.
That one day, the rose bush sprouted overnight and all around the bush, trees rose from the fertile soil of the forest. The garden was created overnight and hypnotised and awed.
A hunter once warned that the rose carried the soul of a sorceress. She was an evil witch who devoured the beauty of the white rose, so she stayed young and beautiful. She was a jealous sorceress who could not bear the thought of another beautiful maiden entering the forest to awe the creatures there as she did.
The sorceress had once been a princess who ruled the kingdoms of the underworld where Hades lived.
She was obsessed with her beauty and form and sought maidens of great beauty to lure them to the darkest parts of the underworld, so they grew old and haggard. The spells she used were potent.
She imprisoned hundreds of young maidens in this manner, eliminating them one by one in moments of rage, until she faced banishment from the underworld by Hades for slaying a maiden he favoured. Hades retaliated by casting the very spell she did on the maidens, transforming her into an aged and decrepit sorceress with a malevolent demeanour.
Then as the evil sorceress roamed the forest, she caught the scent of the white rose and possessed it.
I had listened to my grandmother dumbfounded as she relayed her tale.
My mother could have died at the hands of the same sorceress.
People talked about my resemblance to my mother’s beauty and swore that my mother’s spirit lived in me.
They said she possessed me the day she died.
And, ever so often, they would warn my grandmother about letting me wander off to the forest alone, that my beauty was just as appealing to the dark world as it was to the light.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
N/A Power
Ranking 
0 Power
stone >15,000 words needed for ranking.
Paragraph comment