The beginning of the end…

It was the middle of winter, and the snowflakes were falling like feathers from the sky. The princess was stumbling through the forest. She had no guards trailing her, no silk slippers adorning her feet, or a warm fur coat to protect her from the winter weather. Her dress was torn and muddy from the winter slush on the ground. Cuts and scrapes covered her exposed hands and face, but she didn’t stop, couldn’t stop. If you listened closely, you would understand why. For, trailing her was a group of soldiers on horses coming to capture her. 

She ran as fast as her bleeding feet would carry her to escape the aftermath of a cruel game her betrothed had played. A man she had given her heart to, a man who had found her too plain to be his wife but had still chosen to trick her into believing he felt the same love towards her. A handsome man, with a devilish plan to kill her kind, old father, usurp the kingdom and throw her to the wolves. Hot tears streamed down her terror-stricken face, but she could not dwell on any of the roiling emotions within her. The betrayal had awakened something in her, and now her soul screamed for revenge. There will be time enough for that, but not now. Now, she just had to focus on surviving. 

What she hadn’t realized was that there was something else watching her in the woods. An ancient presence, powerful and evil. Something that time itself had forgotten but it walked among us. Toying with our emotions, our fates, turning them into a game! 

As she felt the soldiers draw closer, the princess started praying to the powers that be. Praying to be saved so she could avenge her father and praying because she was terrified. She screamed out her prayers hoping the Gods would answer. What answered her prayers wasn’t the Gods though. It wasn’t something that she had ever heard of. The woods grew quiet all of a sudden. Like the wind had stopped blowing, the animals were too scared to move. The shock of the sudden change made her stop abruptly. Presence of mind told her to hide in a nearby bush as she took in her surroundings. As she scanned the nearby bushes, she saw a dark figure appear in front of her. The presence seemed to shift in and out of focus. Wrapped in what looked like moving living shadows, the more she tried to focus on the face, the less she saw. A feeling of sheer dread went down her spine as she felt the cold power radiating from the being in front of her. While she tried to figure out what she was seeing and how to react, the presence lifted a shadowy arm with darkness swirling around its fingers and said one word ‘Grimhilde’. How did this ‘being’ know her name? 

The figure seemed to smile, though it was hard to tell since she could never see the face. Mustering all the courage she had, she stepped out of her hiding spot and faced this creature.

‘Who are you and how do you know my name?‘

The figure cocked its head to take a longer look at her as if ascertaining something and then responded in a casual tone

‘I am present, yet not; I am living; yet not. What I am is not something you can begin to understand dear princess. But, what matters right now is what I can do for you to save you from your current predicament.‘

Grimhilde could still hear the soldiers closing in but they seemed to be confused. Though they were nearby, somehow they had lost their way and also lost her tracks. They were wandering aimlessly about 50 yards away from where she was standing but they might as well be miles away. Her mind raced to determine if the soldiers were a bigger threat or was this figure the true danger. To buy more time, she asked

‘What can you do to help me? These soldiers will not stop hunting me. If you save me from this now, more will come.’ 

The figure smirked and asked, ‘What do you want from me then?‘

With a huff of her own, Grimhilde retorted, ‘No one does anything if they do not stand to get something in return. What is it that you want in return is the true question.‘

‘Smart Girl! I knew it when I saw you first, you’d be interesting. You, however, have nothing to give me, yet. But let’s make a bargain, I will provide you protection from your betrothed and help you avenge the wrongs that have been wrought upon you, in return, you owe me a favour, to be chosen and extracted at a time of my choosing. Does that sound fair, princess?‘

The challenge in its lilting voice only served to stoke the raging fire in her heart. She all but yelled at him, ‘What kind of favour?‘

‘Tsk Tsk, princess, now that is unfair. I wish to save your life and give you anything you need to avenge your father in return for a meagre favour and you still don’t trust me. I can assure you that the nature of the favour owed would not bring you harm. That is all I am willing to offer. Either accept my bargain or we shall see what these soldiers have in store for you.’ 

Grimhilde’s mind raced as she weighed her options. Quickly enough she realized that she has no option but to accept this bargain. ‘It’s a bargain‘, she whispered. 

No sooner had the words left her mouth, than a wide grin appeared on the shadowy figure’s face, more grotesque and cruel than ever. Before she could contemplate what she had just done, all the air was sucked out of her lungs as the world disappeared in a swirl of darkness and shadows, making her pass out.

It took a while to get control of her faculties when she woke up. She was lying on the soft moss-covered forest ground. Darkness surrounded her and a strange stillness permeated the air. As her mind shifted to the last memory, the stranger in the forest, she felt IT. She shot up straight to locate the being, her eyes adjusting rapidly to the darkness when she heard him.

“Welcome back princess, now, shall we begin? This is going to be so much fun!“

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