1. Glowing Gray Eyes

~ONE MONTH EARLIER~

The atmosphere was cold, despite the fact that the sun was shining high in the sky. Maybe it was because of the towering trees that shielded the lives beneath from the sun's warmth. It could have also been because the sun had just begun to take its place in the sky. Or maybe it was because of the emptiness in Mariana Rosette's heart.

Mariana's horse trotted through the quiet woods. Her two companions also followed quietly behind her on their horses. No one said a word.

Her white mane suddenly neighed. This caused Mariana to reveal the hand that had been hidden safely behind her dark cloak. She placed her palm on its neck and gently caressed it.

"Not now, Calliope. Be calm," She told the horse.

She moved her dark boots slightly on the dark saddle of the horse. The movement caused her brown riding dress to make ruffling sounds. She ignored it.

She threw a short glance at her companions again. They were both of the male species and were old enough to be her fathers. They had been sent by her aunt to safely escort her to Asgaria. The new place she was going to call home.

They were both dressed respectably in white silk shirts, a dark waistcoat and breeches. They both had on thick boots to protect their feet. They had similar features. So much so that she suspected that they were siblings. Starting from their fair skins and huge noses, the dark brown hair combed backward, the way they sat poised on their brown horses. They must have had good training as butlers.

Mariana sighed and turned her attention back to the road before her. She already felt bored in their company. Neither Martins nor Quin spoke unless when spoken to.

Losing her parents was devastating and the last thing she wanted was to die of boredom before she even made it to her aunt. Even Calliope was feeling the lack of energy. The poor animal wasn't used to the uncomfortable silence. It enjoyed hearing people speak and laugh Calliope occasionally joined in that laughter as well. The atmosphere was killing both Calliope and Mariana.

Mariana closed her eyes and thought of her parents. It had always been the three of them against the world. She had never once thought that a day would come when they wouldn't be with her again.

Images of the day they died came back to her head. She remembered the bloodshed. She remembered the screams. She remembered the fear in the air as people tried to get away from the beasts that were attacking them.

She had heard of strange beasts that resembled giant wolves who loved to attack people but she had never believed it until that today they attacked the little town that her parents had settled in.

She opened her eyes and caught sight of a burning ray from the sun. Despite the sight, she shivered. She still hadn't gotten over her parent's death but there was nothing she could do. She had promised herself that she wouldn't cry anymore. She was done crying. Her parents wouldn't even want her to end up crying for them forever. She was someday going to uncover the mystery behind the giant Beasty wolves and she was going to make them pay for taking away her parents.

She pushed the thought of her late parents away from her head. Now was not the time to think about it. She had to instead think up a way to end the boredom.

An idea suddenly came to Mariana's head. Her face brightened up within seconds as she thought of it. She knew it was going to cheer her up for some time as well as the animal. It was also going to get her two escorts on the edge. The idea burned through her veins and brought a big smile to her face.

"You thinking what I'm thinking Calliope?" Mariana asked the horse.

The horse seemed to sense the mischief in her voice. It snorted in response. Mariana nodded as she liked the response. The two butlers exchanged confused looks. It surprised them that the Lady was having a comfortable conversation with her horse.

Suddenly, Mariana yelled at Calliope and the horse began to gallop away. It was so fast and so sudden that it left the men both surprised and shocked. Before they could regain their composure, Mariana was already gone.

"We cannot lose the lady. Lydia will surely have our heads! We need to go after her!" Martins exclaimed and both men began the chase.

Mariana giggled happily as she rode her horse. She felt the wind flow past her and cause her brown curly mass of hair to float in the air. There was a new surge of excitement flowing through her blood. She felt alive knowing that she had succeeded in destabilizing the peace that had been in the air. She felt alive knowing that she had committed the rebellious act. Her aunt wasn't going to be happy about the behavior and she couldn't care less.

All that mattered was this moment. This beautiful moment which she was living. She couldn't tell if she was going to get the chance to act this way anytime soon so she was determined to enjoy it.

She could feel that even Calliope enjoyed the little race they were having. She made sure she led Calliope deeper into the trees so that she would give her escorts a hard time finding her. The place was getting darker than the road they had been using. The trees were longer here and the woods were quieter. Only the sound of Calliope's hooves against the surface of the forest floor filled the air. She also noticed that the place had become foggy. She threw a glance over her shoulders to see if they were still following closely but there was no sign of them.

As she turned her head back to the road before her, Calliope suddenly squealed and came to an abrupt stop. This caught Mariana off guard, so much so that she lost her hold on Calliope and flew off the horse.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she braced herself for impact. She prayed deep within her soul that she would only break a leg and not hurt her face. This was probably her punishment for escaping her escorts. She waited for the inevitable pain that was going to follow after she hit the ground or a tree.

But to her greatest surprise, she landed in warm hands. Her eyes flew open immediately to see who her savior was and she froze.

Mariana was met with eyes so gray that they seemed to glow in this dark side of the woods. There was a scar that started above his eyes and went all the way down to his lips. His nose was just perfect for his light brown face. His lips reminded her of lilacs which had dew drops on them. His dark curly locs reminded her of a very cozy bed that she badly wanted to sleep in.

Despite the fact that his face was scarred, she couldn't stop staring. His eyes were the most fascinating. The way his eyes stared deeply into hers felt like he could uncover all her dark secrets. She could feel herself heating up. He was causing her to begin to burn from the inside. Her heart started to race with a mixture of excitement and nervousness. She felt herself begin to take heavy intake of breaths. Every other sound seemed to fade away and it was just the two of them in their own world.

His stare was so intense, so powerful, so dangerous yet intriguing. She knew she had to stop gazing into his eyes. She knew that if she kept staring, then she would get lost in them. Yet she couldn't stop herself from looking into his intriguing eyes.

Her lips started to tremble with the desire that had awoken deep within her. None of them said a word to each other. They only gazed into each other's eyes.

Mariana's eyes flickered to his lips. The strange man noticed it too. Mariana wanted him to take the initiative and close the distance between them. She wanted to taste him. She wanted to know if his lips were as soft as they looked. She wanted to know if his fingers could make fireworks explode in her heart when he trailed them down her skin. She wanted to explore his body and memorize every part of it.

Suddenly, Calliope neighed menacingly and started to thrash around. This startled Mariana and she immediately released herself from the strange man's arms.

She turned to Calliope and started to caress her neck. "Easy Calliope, you're fine. It's just a little fog. Nothing to get scared about," Mariana assured her horse.

Eventually, Calliope became calm again. Mariana turned back towards the stranger and was met with an empty space. The strange man was gone. Her mouth came open in shock. She tilted her head and tried looking around but there was no sign of the strange man with the most intriguing eyes. She suddenly felt an emptiness in her heart. She felt abandoned. She felt as if she had been left alone again. He had brought a certain warmth to her heart and now that he was gone, it hurt her. He didn't even say a word to her. She didn't even get to hear his voice.

She wanted to go on a hunt for him. She wanted to search for him in the woods. She wanted to find him. She was just about to drag Calliope along with her on the search when she heard horses coming her way.

Her escorts showed up.

They looked both exhausted and relieved to see her. Quin was sweating all over. Martins was still trying to keep his cool and act calm but it was obvious that he was freaked out the most.

"For a moment, I thought we had lost you milady. Please do not run off like that again. The woods are not safe. There have been reports about strange men as well as beasts roaming the woods," Quin complained. He took out a handkerchief and wiped his face clean. He proceeded to take out a water sack and drank from it.

"Hush! Quin. You're not supposed to tell her that. Do not run off like this again Lady Mariana. Will you please mount your horse so that we can continue on our way?" Martins asked politely.

Mariana wasn't paying attention to them. She had heard them but her eyes were busy searching the woods. She still wanted to find the strange man so badly.

"He couldn't just have disappeared, Calliope," She muttered under her breath.

"Did you say something milady?" Quin asked.

Mariana shook her head in denial. The last thing she wanted was for her escorts to find out that she had just been in the arms of a very strange man and the worst part of it was that she had enjoyed every moment of it.

She quietly mounted her horse in defeat and took her place between Martins and Quin. she understood that they put her between them so that she wouldn't just run off as she did. She scoffed. They were no match for her and Calliope. If she wanted to escape them, then she would do it easily.

Both men smiled triumphantly as they had succeeded in getting the Lady back on track. Martins hoped that Mariana wouldn't run off as she did again. If something were to happen to her, then he couldn't dare show his face to her aunt. She wouldn't even spare him.

Mariana closed her eyes and remembered the intriguing gray eyes. Who could the man have been? Where did he come from? Where did he run so fast to? Why did he make her feel the way she did?

She immediately knew that she was not going to find peace until she found the answers to the questions that were plaguing her.