Amanda has been living happily in the village for years. Her ancestor, a Mage that helped the Hero in subjugating the Demon King about 500 years ago, made sure that the village becomes rich and abundant. Along with her friends – Irene, Jessica, and Grace – they promised to spend the next harvest festival together as they did this year. Until Jessica suddenly left with her lover. Amanda found it mysterious. After a year, Amanda was introduced to a noble during the Harvest Festival. It was supposed to be a routine marriage interview until she woke up in a place that she did not recognize. In the mountain beyond the thick forest that surrounds the village, a large castle looms with darkness. Will Amanda find the truth about her situation, or will she find love instead?
View MoreAmanda woke up from the sound of the food trolley being wheeled in. Half expecting that it was the centaur that is bringing her breakfast in, Amanda jolted up as she realized that it was the Harpy. Her friend silently prepared the meal. She is trying not to meet Amanda’s gaze and is just putting all her attention into preparing their meal.Amanda took the breakfast with the Harpy silently. She understands how her friend feels and does not want to put her on the spot by asking her about the issue out of the blue.Amanda finished her meal and placed her tray on top of the trolley, making enough noise to get the attention of the Harpy who is eating at a distance. The Harpy jerked and looked at Amanda, she seemed to have finished eating before Amanda did but did not move an inch from where she is sitting down. Amanda and the Harpy looked at each other, trying to wait for whoever would give in and break the silence. Being the more mature between them, Amanda gave way an
There was an awkward silence. Amanda could not believe what she just heard. She did not expect Dimitri to feel that kind of insecurity. She thought that he was always sure of himself, that he always believed that people would choose to be with him no matter what. The unexpected gap in personality made Amanda’s heart skip a bit even for a little. Her face started to flush again.“So,” Dimitri continued, “If you had no choice but to choose between the two of us. Who will you choose?” Amanda could not answer. She could not even speak. She hates being put in a spot like this. She has always been asked this question even back in the village. The boys who liked her would all ask her to choose someone from them. But she knew that most of those were just superficial. She understood that not all of those boys liked her for who she really is, they only liked her because she was pretty.“As I said,” Amanda replied. “I could not choo
Amanda opened her eyes and found herself in a different area of the forest. Apparently, Dimitri took a break and decided to rest somewhere. Amanda could not see him anywhere but he might be close, looking after her while she slept. At least he gives her some privacy to do so. Amanda looked around and realized that the area of the forest is quite familiar. In fact, it was too eerily familiar: it was the place by the lake, the area where she would go with her parents.“Amanda?” Amanda froze as she heard a familiar voice, one that she did not think she would hear again ever, “There you are, come here. What are you doing here?”“Mother?” Amanda is confused, the person standing in front of her is definitely her mother, and she is too real to be just a phantom, “What are you doing here mother? I thought you were”“What are you talking about, you silly,” Amanda’s mother continued to speak as she did back
Dimitri could not move. Just earlier, he saw the girl behind that tree watching them. But now it seems like she is gone; like she has just disappeared for no reason. Thinking that he just looked over at the wrong tree, he looked around – trying to find the tree where the girl is hiding. But no matter where he looks, there isn’t a single sign of the girl, at least not in any of the trees nearby.“What’s wrong?” Alex said as he noticed Dimitri’s troubled expression, “Call her out now and let her choose. Or should I do it?”“No,” Dimitri responded in a low voice, “She will not come out even if we called out to her,”“Why?” Alex asked, he starting to worry as well, “What happened.”“Nothing! Just,” Dimitri said and eased his pressure up, “Just don’t move from here.” As he said it, Dimitri got up and released his hold on Alex. Then he l
The Harpy has returned to the castle for the second time that morning. This time, the Centaur and the Lamia are waiting for her by the gate of the outer wall. The Harpy circled above for a bit and started to descend. She landed right in front of the Centaur cook who had an inquisitive look. The Lamia had the same look as well and the Harpy was immediately bombarded by questions.“Did you find her? Did Lord Dimitri and the girl meet? What did he tell you? Why did you return first? What happened in there?” the Centaur and the Maid’s voices were overlapping as they inquires without end.”“Mama! Snake Boss Lady!” the Harpy spoke with a loud voice as she tried to fend off the two, “Me not talk when Mama and Snake Boss Lady talk together!”“Oh! Oh dear,” the Centaur said as she realized her folly, “dear me. I am really sorry.”“I apologize for my rudeness as well,” The Lamia mai
Alex got up and put his pants back on. He picked up Amanda’s nightdress and threw it towards the crumpled shape of Amanda who was on the bed. He could hear her sniffling, muffling a cry. For a moment, Alex felt guilty about what he did. It is true that he was attracted to Amanda and that he desired to have her. But what happened was driven mostly by the fact that they were alone, his high spirits after being alone with her in this isolated place, and the urgency that came because of Harpy’s discovery.If he had another chance, if Alex could turn back the time to 30 minutes ago, he would have chosen differently. But there is no use crying over spilled milk. Amanda might despise him now, but he will do everything to make her fall for him. He will take her away from this place and then he will have the rest of their lives to make up for this offense. At least that is what he thinks.“Put your dress on,” Alex said as he sat on the edge of the bed, &
“It seems like you will not have to worry about food,” Alex said as he closed the window again and turned to face Amanda, “aren’t you a lucky one?”“Are you sure about that?” Amanda asked, still suspicious about Alex’s intentions.“About what?” Alex replied with a question, pretending not to know what Amanda meant.“Letting her go,” Amanda replied, trying to gauge how far Alex plans to take his ruse,“Keeping it a secret to your Lord.”“Oh?” Alex looked a bit surprised, “Have you grown concerned about my well-being now?”“Never,” Amanda replied coldly, “I am just not confident that she will be able to keep it a secret from her Lord,”“Doubting a friend, are we?” Alex replied mischievously. He tries to keep his cool but deep down he is already bothered by this unexpected turn of events. Having
The Harpy is bothered. She is relieved that Alex assured her that Amanda will not be punished. At least she knows that her friend is safe for now. What bothers her is the reason why Alex does not want her to tell anyone about it. On the surface, she is glad that Alex does not seem to plan on returning Amanda to the castle. She will not be punished by Dimitri yet. The problem is in the way that Amanda looked at the Harpy as she left. There was something about how Amanda looked that felt odd.The Harpy is torn about what to do. For starters, she needs to get to the castle as soon as she can. If there is any person who could tell her what to do, it would be no one else but the Centaur Cook. She is not sure about keeping it a secret from the Lord, but the Centaur cook could at least suggest ways to the Harpy how to deal with this issue.Not having to look for someone in the dense forest below, the Harpy saw the castle sooner than expected. She sped up even more and landed
Alex felt something change in the air around him as soon as he entered the forest. It was the first time that he was this deep after a long time. Dimitri has since stopped hunting in the forest and without anyone to actually challenge him, Alex also decided to stop. But entering the forest was not really the reason for his sudden feeling. It was something else, something that springs from way back: When Alex and Dimitri were still young, and when they were still living in the village.“Dimi is going to the forest again,” one of the young village girls who admired Dimitri said as they gathered together, “What does he do there?”“I don’t know,” the other girl replied, “Why don’t we ask Alex? Alex goes to the forest with him as well, right?”“Alex! Alex!” the girls called out to Alex who is sitting by a large tree, “Come here!”“What is it? You are so noisy,” Alex
The Dark Forest is a vast area of woodlands so thick that the sunlight ever hardly penetrates through the canopy. Even when the sun is high up in the sky at noon, the heart of the Dark Forest is only ever as bright as the dawn breaking and never really fully committing to a full morning. Because sunlight barely gets through, the forest gets colder the deeper one goes inside. Because of this and some other reasons, the forest has become home to various creatures that are barely seen outside. Creatures that could only be known in books and are considered to be merely created by fantasy.Towering on the north of the forest is a ragged mountain that is hardly accessible. An old castles sits at its peak. It had been said that the castle is home to an evil lord that was vanquished by the hero 500 years ago. When one stands at the terrace of the castle overlooking the forest, one see a stone altar surrounded by a circular column of large stones and slabs deep in the he
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