"If anyone should see someone or something unusual, don't hesitate to say a word," Gavin instructed the group as he led the way with another hunter. "Go straight and follow. Never leave your sight on me or Asher."
The voice of the second prince lingered to the group's ears but slowly, bit by bit, dissipated as clouds around the mountain began to thicken more. In every step of the horse, the amount of fog doubles, covering the path and making it unclear as they go deeper into the forest.
"Asher, Sid, you can lead the rest and watch over them carefully. Bran, lead the way with me," Gavin instructed, assessing the difficulty to continue climbing the mountain would become higher the further they head into the forest shrouded by fog. Sid, a hunter, nodded and left, moving to the last, behind the rest of the group while Bran, another hunter began to lead the way with Gavin.
"Your Highness, please be careful. This mountain also tricks people. It's known for letting you see different things..." Asher mentioned.
"Y-You mean there are ghosts here?" Keagan asked, face paling at the thought.
"We will pass through this mountain together with body and soul intact. Do not worry and just focus on the road ahead," Gavin said. He glanced at the rest, particularly at Princess Carrie who had become silent as they entered the forest.
Each tree they passed by became more unclear as Gavin felt something was off but couldn't point it out. It was as if he had something he failed to remember...
Busily thinking, Gavin's heart dropped as he looked around and realized the rest of the group had disappeared.
"Princess Carrie! Keagan!" he began to call but there was no response at all. "Asher!"
Pulling the horse to a halt, Gavin jumped down to the ground. Werewolves were a rare race in this world and they seldom used their wolf forms. It was a deal with the humans themselves, especially creating a mutual agreement of not transforming to wolves unless necessary. And so far, only royal bloods were allowed to do so. However, unless one was the Alpha King and Luna, transforming wasn't an easy thing to do when there was no moon above.
Holding the hilt of his sword, Gavin scanned his surrounding, head unmoving as he assessed the trees and their statures. Realizing he had fallen into an illusion, Gavin let out a frustrated breath.
"Gavin?"
Gavin's face paled, almost feeling the cold sweat he was having earlier froze throughout his entire body. It was this voice. He knew whose voice was this.
To end his curiosity once and for all, Gavin turned around and there he saw a woman with long, white hair in long tattered clothes. It was almost as if the clothes were burnt heavily and recently...
"You didn't save me, Gavin," the woman said.
Gavin felt his chest beginning to ache horribly. "Who... are you?"
The woman stared at Gavin, her golden emerald eyes glinting as she slowly took steps toward Gavin. "You have forgotten about me?"
Gavin was about to respond back, wanting to ask more, when he suddenly heard a scream nearby. "Princess Carrie!"
Realizing the attention toward her was taken away, the woman exclaimed in madness, "Don't go!"
Gavin heard another scream, the ache in his heart becoming deeper as if stabbing him repeatedly. He looked at the woman with white hair, the guilt in his eyes replaced by the desire to leave.
"Do you fail to understand, Gavin? I'm the person you long for. Don't you wish to know more about me?" the woman tried to convince, even moving closer to Gavin as she slowly reached out, her hand touching Gavin's face.
Gavin stepped back. Holding on to his sword, he faced the woman before him, "You're not the one I long for."
Then with one huge slash, Gavin broke the barrier he had seen suddenly appear everywhere. It was the thing he had caught sight of while passing by some trees earlier and the same thing he had felt something was off but failed to decipher. As Asher had mentioned, the illusions of this forest could really be troublesome. However, the barriers looked as if they were placed here for a while, earlier than their arrival.
But who would do such a thing?
Reaching the origin of the screams as he ran, Gavin panted and stood by the tree, his body frozen in place once again as he realized another barrier was placed before him.
"G-Gavin!"
Gavin heard Princess Carrie's voice. He turned around, only to have his eyes widened as he saw her at the center. It was Princess Carrie... But at the same time, it wasn't...
Princess Carrie sat on the grass, helpless as tears fell down her cheeks. Her previously black hair had turned to white and her face, although already considered beautiful before, had become even more beautiful. Too beautiful it felt like glowing, and most of all, it reminded Gavin of that face - the woman he had left earlier.
"Why... My hair became like this. Is it a work of the mountain deity? The Fate Stealer? Did I just receive someone else's spirit?" Princess Carrie asked, sobbing miserably as she hugged her knees at the center. She was known to be one of the best females in the palace, despite having bad rumors flying around her all the time. Princess Carrie was known to be strong and brave, yet she was crying. And it was because her hair changed its color.
"Carrie," Gavin called out.
"Are you going to laugh? You can laugh all you want then! I'm going to let whoever did this pay me back tenfold!" Princess Carrie said, eyes glaring at Gavin.
Slowly, Gavin let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. So it indeed was Princess Carrie.
He didn't even know how but the barrier easily broke when he began to step towards her. All he knew was he needed to come and save her, no matter where she was, no matter what look she may have changed into.
"It doesn't look that bad," Gavin said, looking at the white hair smooth and long like that of a real deity. "You look more beautiful this way."
Princess Carrie, from the ground, looked up and met Gavin's gaze.
The tears dried up and the insects sang in a forest where fogs continued to hug the mountain as one woman looked at a man and one man looked back at a woman.