In a dark and ancient castle, a grand ball was in full swing. The castle stood on a cliff overlooking a deep valley, like a giant standing on the clouds. In the darkness, the huge figure of the castle seemed even more mysterious and majestic.
The castle's exterior is Gothic in style, with tall, spire-topped towers glittering with a cold radiance in the moonlight. The thick stone walls and iron-studded gates bear witness to countless years of vicissitudes. The surrounding forest acts as a guardian, silently watching over this once-glorious but now-silent castle.
Entering the castle, a cold and solemn atmosphere envelops you. The high ceiling is adorned with huge chandeliers, dazzling with jewels, illuminating the entire hall in gold and splendor. The guests, dressed in gorgeous costumes, dance in the hall, and their laughter and the sound of the band echo in the air.
Anne Kingsley, the youngest daughter of the Duke, is sixteen years old, but already has a beauty and elegance that cannot be ignored. Her long blond hair is carefully arranged at the ball, like a shining light. Her eyes are as bright as emeralds, revealing innocent and innocent curiosity. Her smile is warm and gracious, always easily breaking down the inner defenses of those who talk to her.
However, in this joyful atmosphere, Anne did not feel much enjoyment. She was not an outgoing child since childhood, and she preferred reading alone in the garden to attending various parties during the social season. She stood silently in a corner, hoping that no one would notice her again.
She tried to focus on the crowd on the dance floor, but suddenly, she felt sleepy. The sleepiness came suddenly, like a blanket covering her head, and she couldn't resist it. She fell over and fell asleep directly.
In a coma, there are large dark clouds.
She didn't know how long she had been floating in the darkness, feeling like a duckweed, drifting with the current. She couldn't grasp anything, nor could she perceive anything, wandering in a dark chaos for a long time.
Finally, she finally regained consciousness from this chaos, her senses gradually recovered, her limbs began to regain strength, she felt a blinding sunshine, and suddenly opened her eyes to find herself lying in a dense forest.
She got up in amazement, her clothes intact, still wearing the same dress she had worn to the party before falling asleep, a long black velvet dress, silk gloves, and even the diamond tiara and necklace on her head were not missing.
Where is she? Why did she suddenly appear in a dense forest?"
Anne's first reaction was that she had been kidnapped. Her father, Duke Cornell, was one of the highest-ranking nobles in the kingdom, and perhaps there were enemies who wanted to blackmail him by kidnapping his favorite daughter.
Besides, she looked around and found that there was no one in this dense forest. If she was kidnapped, why did they throw her out and not send someone to watch over her?
Anne forced herself to calm down and quickly removed the diamond ornaments and necklace from her hair and hid them in her bosom.
She felt very strange in this place, but it should not be far from the castle. She first walked around casually to see if she could meet hunters on the hunt, or just walked out. If she dressed too richly and exposed her wealth, it was inevitable that people she met would have a thievish heart and kill her to take her wealth.
However, as she walked on, she became increasingly strange. This dense forest was unlike any she had ever seen before. The towering trees that blocked the sun were of a species she had never seen before. Usually, her father would allow her governess to take her on tours of the fiefdom under the protection of the knights. She had never seen such a dense forest in the fiefdom.
When she looked up, she suddenly noticed that the sky here was different from the one she usually saw.
When she was in a daze, she liked to look out of the narrow window of the castle and gaze at the square sky. She always felt that the sky was far away from her.
But now, this blue sky is right in front of me, so clear and pure, without any impurities, as if it is within my reach.
This is not in the fief! She realized that it was far away from home.
Anne was shocked.
She suddenly became panic-stricken. Everything in the dense forest had become strange and terrifying. Why had she suddenly appeared in such a place? She had only slept, could it be a dream?
Anne had ten thousand chances of luck in her heart, and she began to squeeze her arms hard, making her teeth grit and her face contort with pain, but there was still no sign of "waking up".
It's over. This is not a dream.
She slumped down on the ground, dejected. Suddenly, she saw a huge bug crawling at her feet. She had never seen such a large bug before in her life. It was as big as her palm, with a dark, shiny hard shell, and was crawling towards her.
Annie jumped in fright and quickly stood up and ran. She had not run two steps before she suddenly heard a rustling sound in her ear, as if it was moving towards her. She held her breath in fear.
The thing slowly approached, and Anne took a closer look. It was a gray wolf. Anne let out a scream and instinctively started running, but from the sound of things behind her, the gray wolf seemed to be chasing after her!
Annie was stumbling as she ran. Her beautiful dress, with its long skirt, greatly restricted her movements. Plus, she had lived in the castle since she was a child, and had always had maids to dress her. She didn't need to do any of the work herself, and was already out of breath and about to run out of steam.
In a panic, she guessed her skirt and tripped up, falling heavily to the ground.
She turned her head in horror and saw the gray wolf leaping towards her, its eyes flashing with a sinister green light, looking bloodthirsty and vicious. She couldn't help but scream and cover her face.
She almost smelled the stench of the gray wolf's mouth, but there was no sharp pain coming. She waited for a long time and saw no movement. Curious, she loosened a finger and peered through the gap to see the gray wolf in front of her.
She saw the body of the gray wolf pierced by a long spear-like object, with its gray fur soaked with blood, falling straight to her feet.
She was still gasping for breath and in a state of shock. She loosened her hands from covering her face and noticed that a man had been standing in front of her for some time.
Her heart, which had fallen back into her stomach, suddenly hung up again. Compared to the fear the gray wolf had brought her just now, this man was even more frightening than the gray wolf.
This man was tall and strong, with a beard on his face, and his age was not visible. He was wearing a thing like a skin around his body, and his bare chest was also covered with hair, making him look like a wild man. Of course, what scared Anne the most was not this, but that on the top of this man's head, there was a pair of ears like wolf's ears!
"Who are you?" Anne curled up and couldn't help but back away, her eyes full of fear and caution.
This man originally came only for the gray wolf, but now seeing Annie, his eyes lit up and he walked straight towards her.