• Frederick woke to an uneasy silence and reached out to unsheathe his sword, his hand falling upon cold, bare stone. Noticing his unusual lack of protection he scuttled backward, finding his back soon pressed against what felt like a stone wall. His back pressed tightly against the wall, Frederick carefully edged his way along, looking for a means of escape.

    Slowly, part of the opposing wall started to slide away, bathing the room in a soft, golden light and revealing the petite and graceful figure of a young woman. She stood looking upon him with a calm smile stamped out of red plastic, a clean smooth forehead, not a line in it to show weakness or worry; flat, wide, painted-on green eyes that bore an expression of calm confidence.

    Shuffling his feet nervously, Frederick slowly made his way toward her, captivated by her luminous green eyes. “Excuse me miss,” he stumbled on his words, sounding as though he was just learning to talk, “I was wondering if you could tell me where I am.”

    Smiling softly the young woman turned on her heel and started off down the hall, her musical voice floating back to him, “Follow me, sir, and all may be revealed.” Upon finishing she disappeared around a corner, her skirts trailing behind her.

    Curious to know more about the woman and the strange place in which he had found himself, Frederick hurried out of the chamber and down the hall after her, noticing as he walked by that the walls were bare, apart from the plain iron sconces that kept the way lit. Catching up to her he slowed his pace and turned his head to look at her, “So, are we the only two that occupy these halls at the moment, miss?”

    Smiling softly the woman looked up at him, “Yes sir, I am afraid so, for I am but a poor widow, left here to look after myself, praying that a stranger may someday come and take me away.” She turned away, her cheeks turning a light crimson as she lifted the hems of her skirts off the floor and hastened down the hall, disappearing into darkness.

    Feeling rather confused, Frederick continued on down the hall, alone again, until he reached a large, tightly locked oak door. He rattled the lock curiously, hoping that maybe it was old enough to break with a little rough handling. To his surprise the lock fell apart in his hand as though it were made of sugar, rather than the stiff iron that it truly was.

    Letting the shards of iron run out of his hand, Frederick opened the door and stepped through into the darkness. Shivering slightly he felt around the walls for a sconce, slowly moving around whilst muttering curses under his breath. Suddenly the room was lit in a bright, yellow light as the sconces caught fire and he looked around curiously, stepping further into the room.

    Standing in the centre of the room was a lonely book stand with a large ancient book opened on top of it. Scanning the page Frederick shook his head, not understanding a word of what it said and ripped the page out of the book, stuffing it into a pocket for later study. Taking a last look around and finding nothing interesting Frederick walked out the torches extinguishing mysteriously as he left.

    Walking down the hall he soon ran into the young woman again, “Sir, I’m rather sorry I disappeared earlier, but I had to make sure that your room was ready, so, if you would just like to follow me, I will take you to your chambers.” Taking his hand lightly she led him through a maze of corridors.

    Looking down upon her, Frederick smiled, “Miss, I don’t believe I have properly introduced myself, my name is Frederick Oakbearer of the elven realm.”

    Smiling back at him she nodded slightly, “It is a pleasure to meet you Frederick, my name is Ariene, and I am the mistress of castle Veviimas. I hope that you accept my offer and stay here for a time, I would very much appreciate the company.”

    Stopping at an intricately carved wooden door, Ariene reached out and touched the centre of the design lightly with her index finger, “If you would like to stay here, these shall be your quarters.” The door swung open noiselessly, revealing a brightly lit room with long velvet drapes the colour of the night sky hanging across the windows.

    Sitting on his luxurious four-poster bed, Frederick looked up at Ariene and yawned, “I thank you for your hospitality, madam; I hope you would not be offended if I retired for the night.”

    Nodding softly she backed out of the room, shutting the door tightly behind her, the lights extinguishing as she the door closed and Frederick climbed into his bed. He tossed and turned for half an hour before finally giving up setting out to wander the halls once more, this time in search of a midnight snack.

    While wandering aimlessly, Frederick heard a strange noise coming from around the corner. Creeping quietly he looked around the corner to see Ariene eating something small and furry, the stone tiles getting speckled with the animal’s blood. Horrified, he fell back against the wall, knocking a torch out of a sconce with a loud clatter of iron on stone.

    Straight away she was standing in front of him, smiling slyly, her face, hands and clothing all free of blood. Feeling a burning in his pocket Frederick fumbled to pull the piece of paper out, the writing had changed and he was now able to read it. His hands shaking, Frederick managed to stammer out what was scrawled on the paper, “Truth is new, I have not a trace, Take off your mask so I can see your face.”

    Ariene took a step back, letting out a shrill scream, her body changing from that of a beautiful young woman to that of a misshapen monster with foot long claws the shape of crescent moons, sharpened to fine points like well used daggers, “How did you find that!? I was sure I destroyed it! You have ruined all of my plans, you cannot live.” With that she thrust one of her claws into Fredericks stomach, ripping up his organs.

    Pinned to the wall, Frederick screamed as the claws pierced his skin, “Your beauty blinded me, but now, I know the truth” With a final twist of the monster’s claws he let out an ear piercing scream, his blood washing over Ariene’s hand and pooling on the floor between them. The shred of paper with the spell scribbled on it falling to the blood, the ink mingling with it. There would be no trace of that night’s event in the morning.