The Curse of the White Rose
Tác giả:© WebNovel
Chương 1: Chapter 1
I fell victim to one of the most sinister evil sorceresses ever to roam on Earth. Brought up in a secluded forested enclave, I resided in a grand estate and grew up amidst the wild creatures that roamed the woods.
Though I had experienced opulence once, I was left indigent when a curse befell me. I carried the dark secret within my aching bosom in silence for months and hid away in the forest. Away from the prying eyes of those around me. I wanted to die in the forest and not be recognized for my disfigurement.
The curse on my youth and vigour was a cruel one. My beauty was reduced to horror as I grew older beyond my years and looked distorted, my skin wrinkled and resembled that of an ancient.
I was condemned to live the life of a diseased, ugly old woman by the sorceress, Tarantula, as deadly as her name suggested, who dwelled in the shadows of a magical garden deep within the woods.
No one from the outside world was allowed entry into the garden.
The owls that perched on trees in the dark of the night hooted away trespassers as a warning that an evil sorceress resided within its enclosure.
The sorceress had forbidden the wild animals from entering the garden, fearing they would shatter its pristine beauty. The whitest confetti of rose petals ever to be found anywhere covered the grounds, and no one was allowed to trample on them, man or beast. The sorceress was protective of the white rose in the garden as it held a magical secret, only known to her.
I was intrigued to know the secret and a wild bird that flew to my window one evening, told me the story. It came out of the woods to perch on the tree in our estate, then flew to sit on my window.
I asked the bird if it knew the secret of the white rose. I stood by the window as it perched on the windowsill, “Do you know the secret of the white rose? Have you ever flown in the enchanted garden, birdie? Why isn’t anyone allowed inside the garden?”
The bird chirped its reply as I listened to its story with interest,
“The sorceress had once upon a time, found a magical potion in the nectar of the rose and cast a spell on it, so when it bloomed, no one would dare pluck the flower off its stem. For whomsoever trespassed in the garden or went near the rose, would be met by tragic death, mauled by wolves and left to die in a pool of blood, their bones never to be found again. The wolves in the woods paid homage to the sorceress and guarded her with their lives.
The white rose outshined all the other flowers in the garden and possessed an allure potent enough to arouse the enchanted by its captivating charm. The white rose bewitched with its pristine and luminous petals and emitted a soft, ethereal glow that sometimes whispered the dark secrets of the garden.”
“One day, the rose whispered the secret to me when I flew past and warned me not to fly or perch on the trees there anymore.”
The white rose warned me thus,
“Beware of the wolves at night. They see everything while the sorceress hides in the shadows and watches with evil eyes.”
My intrigue and interest in the garden of the white rose grew and soon I was without patience as I slept and woke thinking about its secret day and night.
I decided to see if the garden possessed the magical allure everyone was talking about.
I walked into the garden when the owls were asleep one morning. The sight of the garden that greeted me filled me with inexplicable awe when I walked inside, I felt like I was walking on raised ground, that my feet floated above the soft earth.
The beautiful garden had a peaceful ambience, however as I entered further, an eerie feeling washed over me. I felt like I was being watched. Eyes were lurking behind the rose bush. I tried to see if it was an animal of some sort, however, though the eyes followed me wherever I went, it was too dark for me to see what it was.
I followed the scent of the fragrant rose as it was hidden from view at the first instance. All around huge leaves draped the trees in the garden and tiny white flowers grew upon their stems. They circled the trees like creepers since they were spineless and didn’t have the strength to stand upright without strong branches or stems to uphold them.
I walked past those trees and entered a tranquil surrounding. I saw the most magnificent view of a rose bush with a single white bud on a stem.
I stood gaping at the rose bush as if it held me transfixed by its virgin beauty.
” What’s this I see before me? A rose bush with a bud and leaves that cover the plant with neither thorns nor branches nor stems but for its root and the plant towers above.”
Then a strange thing happened as soon as the words left my lips.
A sudden gust of wind pushed me out of the garden and threw me down on the ground at the entrance. I thought someone pushed me as I felt a hand on me. Feeling afraid, I stood up quickly and looked around. I thought to leave the place immediately. Then, I heard water gushing through a stream nearby. There were a few large rocks by the stream and suddenly feeling parched, though overcome by fear, I went to sit on a rock. I drank from the stream and nearly choked. The water burned my throat, and I couldn’t swallow it, so I spat it out.
The leaves from the garden flew out and covered me as they came sprawling through the winds that pushed me. They swirled and rushed past me like a whirlwind and were suddenly gone.
I heard a loud screeching voice then. The voice reverberated throughout the forest. “How dare you walk into the garden, you inconsequential fool. Who are you and where did you appear from? Don’t you know that you have trespassed on my sacred grounds?”
I felt the strong winds surround me once more and I spun around like a top and fell off the rock. I spun so fast that I felt my insides turn upside down! My heartbeat accelerated and I couldn’t think clearly. What was happening? I was petrified by then.
I knew it was the work of the sorceress when her ugly laughter reverberated with the wind.
Then she slapped me hard on my right cheek, and I lay on the ground bleeding from my mouth. “You will never leave these grounds anymore,” she said wickedly. Then she was gone.
I lay there for hours, in a semi-conscious state. I felt the trickle of blood and it blotted the ground beside me.
When I at last awoke, it was sundown. I looked at my reflection in the water and saw not my face, but that of a disfigured old lady instead. I started crying and my cries sounded like the moan of a wild animal caught in a trap. I ran to hide behind the rocks.
Chương 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.
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