After fleeing the palace, Lily found herself in a thick, misty forest. The cool air was biting against her skin, and the adrenaline that had once fueled her escape was beginning to fade. With each step, the reality of her situation crept in. She was cold, scared, and utterly disoriented. The palace, with its warmth and familiarity, felt like a distant dream now, an unreachable memory. She had thought that running away would be her salvation, but as the night grew darker, the wild unknown felt far more terrifying than she had ever imagined.
She had never been in the wild, never ventured beyond the palace walls alone. And now, she was far from anyone who could protect her. The thin, delicate gown she had worn beneath her cloak offered no defense against the chill that gnawed at her bones, and the cold night air stung her lungs with every breath.
Lily kept moving, though her body ached with exhaustion. The dense fog curled around her feet, and her footsteps seemed too loud in the unnatural silence of the forest. Something was wrong. She paused for a moment, glancing around nervously. It was too quiet. The forest should have been alive with the sounds of animals and rustling leaves, but instead, an eerie stillness hung in the air, as if the entire world was holding its breath.
Lily stood still in the forest, her gown torn and dirtied from the frantic escape, though its fine silk still clung stubbornly to her slender frame. She was a picture of delicate beauty, with golden hair cascading down her back in tangled waves, a stark contrast to the dark and wild surroundings. Her skin, untouched by the sun, was pale and smooth, a reminder of the life of privilege she had lived—where the walls of her palace had kept the world's harshness at bay.
Her eyes, wide and shimmering with fear, were a soft shade of blue, almost silver, reflecting the moonlight with a haunting innocence. But behind that innocence was uncertainty, the look of someone who had never been truly alone or faced danger before.
There was a quiet grace to her, yes, but it was the fragile grace of someone untested, someone who had always been protected. The soft way she moved, the careful way she held her hands close to her chest, all spoke of a girl not meant for the hardships of the real world. She was like a delicate flower, beautiful but vulnerable, far from the safety of the palace walls that had always shielded her.
Now, in the cold night air, Lily was a princess far from her palace, her fine clothes and noble blood useless in the face of the dangers that surrounded her.
Lily's heart quickened, and an unsettling feeling washed over her. Something was amiss.
As her fear began to build, she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Her gaze darted toward the trees, but she couldn't make out who—or what—was there. Shadowy figures moved swiftly through the dense foliage, slipping in and out of her sight like phantoms. Lily's breath caught in her throat as her mind spiraled into panic. Was it the palace guards? No, they wouldn't be so silent. Something far more dangerous was watching her.
Her heart pounded in her chest as the shadows seemed to grow closer, circling her. She bolted, sprinting deeper into the forest, her cloak whipping behind her as she ran. Her mind raced with thoughts of terror—what was following her? Demons? Monsters? She had no idea, but she knew she couldn't stop.
The forest seemed endless, and the trees closed in around her like prison bars. Her breaths came in ragged gasps, and her feet stumbled over roots and uneven ground. She tripped, falling hard against the damp earth. Pain shot through her palms as they scraped against the rough ground, but she forced herself up, ignoring the sting. She couldn't stop. Not now.
But as she rose to her feet, her body froze. She felt something move behind her, something fast. Before she could turn to face it, a sharp blow struck the back of her neck. Pain flared, and her vision blurred as she collapsed to the ground. The world spun around her, and everything went dark.
When Lily regained consciousness, the world was different.
Her head throbbed, and her body felt heavy, almost too heavy to move. Slowly, she opened her eyes, blinking against the dim light that surrounded her. She wasn't in the forest anymore. The cold, damp air had been replaced by something else—something darker, more oppressive.
She was lying on a cold stone floor, bound tightly at her wrists and ankles. The rough rope bit into her skin, and her hands were numb. Fear rushed back into her chest as she realized the gravity of her situation. She had been captured. Not by palace guards or kind strangers, but by something far worse.
Lily's heart raced, and she tried to move, to scream, to do anything, but her body refused to obey her. Panic set in as she looked around the room—large, imposing, with stone walls that loomed over her like a cage. Torches flickered in the corners, casting long shadows on the walls.
She was trapped.
A part of her had believed that running away would save her, but now it seemed like a foolish dream. Her attempt to escape her arranged marriage had led her straight into another kind of prison—one far more terrifying than the palace she had fled from.
She could hear voices in the distance, rough and guttural, but couldn't make out the words. Demons, she realized with a sinking feeling. She had heard rumors of them, of the terrifying beings who roamed the dark forests outside the kingdom. And now, they had her.
Her body trembled as footsteps grew louder, drawing closer. Whoever had captured her was coming. The cold fear that had followed her through the forest returned in full force, gripping her like a vice.
The door creaked open, and the shadows seemed to stretch toward her as if they were alive. Lily's heart pounded in her chest, but there was nothing she could do. She was at their mercy now.