Elena's breaths were unsteady, each one a shudder as if her lungs hadn't yet accepted the reality of open air. The forest stretched out before her dark, unwelcoming, an endless sprawl of trees and shadows. The cool wind that brushed her face felt sharper, colder, now that she was standing still. She could hear the rustle of leaves, the subtle creaking of branches swaying in the breeze, and the occasional distant crack of something unseen moving within the undergrowth.
She didn't move. Her feet were rooted to the ground, her gaze fixed on the forest's shadowed depths. There was no road, no horse, no promise of guidance. Just the forest, an untamed, unpredictable wilderness.
Her mind raced. If she ventured inside now, in the suffocating dark, she could easily lose her way. The branches would snag at her clothes, the roots would trip her. She could wander for hours, directionless, circling back to this very spot without realizing it. The darkness hid everything: pits in the earth, thorned brambles, perhaps even traps meant to catch stray animals or, worse, people.
And what of the animals? Wolves prowled the deeper parts of the forest, she had heard the guards speak of their howls on cold, sleepless nights. Other creatures, too...predators that stalked the shadows, their eyes glimmering with hunger. The thought of meeting their gaze, of hearing a low, hungry growl from somewhere unseen, sent a chill down her spine.
"No... I can't." she whispered, the words carried away by the night wind.
Her limbs were trembling from fear, from exhaustion. She hadn't slept properly in days, her nerves pulled taut by the uncertainty of Anna's plan, the ever-present vigilance of Adrian, the cold, assessing stares of the queen. Her knees weakened, the weight of everything finally settling upon her.
She couldn't go into the forest now. She would wait here until dawn. When there was light, when the forest was less a gaping mouth and more a path to freedom, she would go. It was the only choice that made sense, the only semblance of control she could cling to.
Slowly, hesitantly, Elena lowered herself to the ground. The earth was hard beneath her, unyielding. Dirt and small, sharp stones bit into her legs through her thin skirt. The air was cold, stealing the warmth from her skin. She shivered, her arms curling instinctively around herself.
She had never sat on the bare ground like this. Her nights had always been spent on soft mattresses layered with silk sheets and embroidered covers. Pillows stuffed with down cradled her head, and the canopy of her bed sheltered her from the chill. Here, there was no shelter. No barrier between her and the night. Just the earth beneath her, damp and unyielding, and the endless sky above.
Her fingers dug into the soil, its cool, rough texture foreign against her skin. There was a heaviness to it, a weight that grounded her but also reminded her of how exposed she was. She could feel the grit pressing into her palms, under her nails, a stark contrast to the polished, immaculate world she had known inside the palace.
Her back ached from the hard ground. Her shoulders tensed, resisting the urge to curl up entirely. She tried to ease herself down, letting her head rest against the uneven earth, but every rock, every twig beneath her felt like a jab. Her eyes fluttered shut, but the chill of the night and the biting roughness of the ground kept her awake.
She felt small. Vulnerable. Like a child left alone in the dark. In the palace, she had been trapped, but at least she was protected from the cold, from the elements, from the wild, unknown dangers lurking just beyond the walls. Out here, there was nothing but the harsh, raw reality of the world she had never truly known.
Her fingers clutched the fabric of her cloak, pulling it tighter around herself. The wind slipped through its thin material, a reminder that it was not made for warmth but for convenience. It was a piece for maids made with cheap cloths.
Her eyes stayed open, wide and watchful, scanning the shadows that stretched and shifted before her. Every crack of a branch, every rustle of leaves made her heart skip. She imagined eyes watching her, waiting. She imagined fangs, claws, sharp and hungry.
The night felt endless, the minutes stretching into hours. She was cold, tired, and afraid. The darkness seemed to press closer, an unseen weight that made her breaths shallow and her heart quicken.
But she couldn't go back. No matter how much the ground ached beneath her, no matter how sharp the cold bit at her skin, no matter how the darkness seemed to reach for her, she couldn't go back.
When the dawn came, she would rise. She would face the forest, the uncertainty, the dangers that lurked beyond. She would find a way through, even if it took her until nightfall. Even if it took her days. Because there was no other choice. There was only forward.
❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥
The
♥
Twilight
Kiss
♥
❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥
The young woman had no notion of time. The hours blended together in an unbroken stretch of darkness. The night had deepened, growing thicker, heavier, like a shroud wrapping around her. The forest, already imposing, now seemed monstrous, a labyrinth of shadows and unseen threats. Every twisted branch looked like a claw, every rustle of leaves like a lurking predator. The moon, pale and distant, offered little comfort; its light barely pierced the tangled canopy above.
She tried to close her eyes, to will herself into some restless semblance of sleep, but the rough, unyielding ground beneath her made it impossible. The stones and twigs pressed into her, sharp and intrusive, reminding her of how out of place she was here. She shifted, again and again, searching for some spot that wasn't as unforgiving, but there was none. The earth seemed to reject her presence. Her back ached, her legs throbbed, and the cold crept through her thin cloak like fingers of ice.
Worse than the discomfort was the fear. Every sound became a threat, a branch snapping in the distance, a whisper of leaves caught in the wind, the hoot of an unseen owl. Her heart hammered at each noise, her gaze darting to the forest's edge, convinced she would see a pair of glowing eyes staring back at her.
She was alone. Completely, utterly alone. No guards, no walls, no one to protect her from the wild, untamed world beyond the palace. She had no weapon, no way to defend herself. If something came for her, a wolf, a stranger, a shadow of the night, there would be nothing she could do.
Her breathing was shallow, quick, a desperate attempt to control the rising panic. She pulled her knees closer to her chest, burying her face in the fold of her arms. The cold earth chilled her legs, the stones digging into her skin. It was nothing like the softness she had always known, the downy pillows, the velvet curtains, the plush mattresses that cradled her each night. Here, there was no comfort. No protection. Just the cold, unfeeling ground and the endless stretch of darkness.
The night felt eternal. Time seemed to stop, suspended in the stillness. The world outside the forest, the palace, Anna, all that she had left behind felt distant, a memory fading in the dark. All that remained was this moment, trapped between the fear of the forest and the harshness of the ground.
She had run from a cage, but had she just stepped into another? A place where the bars were unseen, but the danger was far more real.
❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥
The
♥
Twilight
Kiss
♥
❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥❥
Anna sat at the edge of Elena's bed, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. The room was cloaked in shadows, the dying embers in the fireplace casting faint, flickering shapes across the walls. The air was cold, still heavy with the quiet of the night, but outside the windows, she could see the sky beginning to shift, the deepest black giving way to a muted gray. The dawn would arrive soon.
Sleep had never come. Every time she tried to close her eyes, her mind returned to the same thought: "Had Elena made it out?"
Her heart twisted painfully at the uncertainty. The tunnel was treacherous, narrow, dark, endless. What if Elena had panicked? What if she had fallen, hurt herself in the dark? The idea of the princess trapped and alone in that oppressive passageway filled Anna with a suffocating dread.
And if she had found the exit… Had the horse been there, waiting as planned? Did Elena know how to ride well enough to escape quickly, to flee before anyone could discover her absence? Was she far from here now, galloping through the fading night toward safety, or had something gone wrong?
Anna pressed a trembling hand to her mouth, suppressing the urge to cry out in frustration and fear. She had told Elena everything she needed to know, given her the map, described the path to take once she reached the outside. But now, alone in the silence, doubt gnawed at her. Had it been enough?
Her gaze drifted to the bed, to the rumpled sheets where Elena had slept her last night in this prison. She had smoothed them out earlier, made the bed appear untouched, but now, in the half-light, they looked disheveled again. The smallest detail out of place could lead to suspicion.
Her fingers dug into her palms, leaving crescent-shaped marks. What if someone had seen Elena leave? What if the queen already knew, if the guards were already searching? What if, right now, soldiers were riding out from the palace, their orders clear and ruthless: bring the princess back, no matter the cost?
Her eyes stung with exhaustion, but sleep was impossible. Her mind wouldn't stop racing. Images of Elena in danger, captured, dragged back to the palace in chains or worse filled her thoughts, relentless and cruel.
Had this been a mistake? Had she condemned Elena to a fate worse than what awaited her here?
But no. She couldn't think like that. She had made a choice, and so had Elena. It had been their only chance, the only way to escape the suffocating grip of the queen, the relentless control that would never have loosened.
Anna's legs trembled as she stood, the fatigue sinking into her bones. She crossed the room slowly, her footsteps muted on the plush carpet. Her fingers brushed over the familiar objects scattered across the vanity: a silver comb, a polished mirror, delicate hairpins. All of them belonged to Elena, remnants of a life she had left behind.
Her reflection caught in the mirror: pale, drawn, eyes rimmed with red. She looked like a ghost, a shadow of herself, haunted by fear and guilt. Would this be her fate now? To linger in these halls, playing the role of the loyal servant, deceiving everyone who crossed her path? How long could she hold this facade before it crumbled?
Her eyes flicked to the window, the pale light growing stronger now, threatening to wash away the night. Soon, the palace would wake. The first servants would begin their duties, the guards would switch their posts, the queen would rise. And Anna would need to play her part flawlessly: to smile, to nod, to pretend she knew nothing of the princess's escape.
Could she do it? Could she truly deceive them all, knowing that if she failed, Elena's sacrifice and her own would be for nothing?
Her fingers curled against the windowsill, knuckles white.
She could imagine the queen's cold, unyielding gaze as she questioned her. The guards' heavy hands forcing her to her knees. The accusations, the threats, the punishment that awaited traitors.
She shivered, a chill running through her bones. She had accepted that risk the moment she had helped Elena plan her escape. But now, in the quiet, the fear was real and sharp, no longer a distant possibility but a shadow pressing close.
And yet, despite it all, a small part of her clung to hope. That somewhere beyond these walls, Elena was free. That she had found the courage to keep going, to not look back. That the night had shielded her, carried her far from the queen's grasp.
Anna closed her eyes and took a slow, unsteady breath. Soon, the sun would rise. Soon, she would need to face the waking palace, the eyes that watched and the ears that listened. She would have to be strong, composed, convincing. For Elena. For the hope that all of this had been worth it.
When she opened her eyes again, the sky had lightened further, a soft, hesitant dawn pressing against the horizon. It was almost time. The day would begin, and Anna would have to become someone else: a servant with nothing to hide, a girl who knew nothing of the princess's flight.
Her heart ached, heavy and uncertain, but she steadied herself. Whatever happened, she would protect Elena's secret. She had made a promise, and she would keep it, even if it meant losing everything.