The woods grew darker and darker as the sun settled down the skyline. The torches were lit up and it gave off an incandescent glow that ignited the woods in ghastly silhouettes. The prison wagon treaded forward as it became colder the closer we are to the heart of the Dark Forest. You could hear the howls of wolves and the screeches of bats in the dreary atmosphere. Sophie woke up and quickly hugged her knees to herself and scooted beside me. Ezekiel is still fast asleep with his body pressed against the cold iron bars and his face turned away from me.He had opened up to me a while ago and I could have wanted him to say more about my mother but I know there is not much to tell. It was his mother that knew the Queen best, he was just a mere observer of the business that these two women in our lives had shared. As far as I wanted to solve the things that are happening, to unravel the connections between our kingdom with the vampires, it seemed like a shout to the void without

The light of the fire painted us in a ghastly silhouette. Ezekiel sat still beside me as if trying to process the things that I have said. It isn’t something to ponder on, it is something that we should all feel towards our captors. Submitting to their cruelties could only mean a surrender to their harsh ways. I don’t know how to do it, I don’t have any idea how to escape from their clutches and find a way to prevent them from having control over me—after all, I am just as helpless and powerless as everyone else. But I will find a way. I will find something to crawl out of this tomb that they tried to bury me in. I will find a fire in this ocean of misery and I will burn them all. Sebastien walked towards us with his body in patches of different blue-violet-colored bruises. The claw marks given to him by Matthias a while ago still sits like a sliver of fresh meat on his chest. He quickly approached the old lady as he tries to get the whole story of what happened. Eze

My eyes squinted in the vast darkness that laid in front of me. I slowly walked forward as I tried to secure every step that I take. My vision finally adjusted to the darkness that I could finally trace silhouettes of trees and the moss that covered the cold ground. I picked up an arms-length twig that laid beside a big rock covered in moss. I used it to flick at the ground in front of me, making sure that there were no snakes or other creatures that I might step on. A few minutes of walking had passed but there was still no trace of Sebastien. The howls of the wolves are getting louder and louder the farther I trudge on. The light of the moon only cast a dim glow under the trees because of the thick foliage. It felt like there were eyes that stared at me as I made my way through the darkness. It was as if the trees have eyes and they are following every move that I make. My mother once told me of creatures that are older than us of beings that are as old as the world we liv

This was the first time I have seen myself in days. I have completely changed. I am far from the reflection that I saw on the night of my birthday. It was so obvious with my chiseled jaw, sharp cheekbones, and sunken collarbones that I have lost weight. There were bruises on my face from the beating that I have gotten from the blood drinkers. The blue-violet hues of my wounds were striking on my pale skin. It looked like I had aged in just a couple of days, it seemed like I have seen the best years of my life. I have lost the light I once had. Desmond woke up from my lap and absentmindedly stared towards the fire where his grandma was busy cooking the last pieces of meat. I ruffled his head and stood up to walk towards Ezekiel who was left by Sebastien alone. Sophie sauntered towards the children to accompany them. Celeste instantly beckoned Sophie towards her to let her braid her hair the same way as mine. As soon as I reached Ezekiel, he was already wiping

The moon beamed against the starless sky, it had illuminated everyone in the clearing. The rest of the captives were fast asleep but there was us on the farther part of the clearing, huddled in a circle, eager to hear what Petra was going to tell us. The children were giddy to hear their grandma’s story, something that would tuck them in a makeshift bed out of things they had foraged. “Grandma,” Celeste impatiently said, beckoning her grandmother to start telling the story. Petra smiled at the little girl and looked around to see if we were already in our places. “Sit down first, Celeste, so we can start.” She took the child’s hand as she guided her to sit down beside her. Celeste carefully placed her head on the lap of his grandmother while Desmond huddled closely on Petra’s side. “I have lived a life long enough to know things that you children didn’t know,” Petra said calmly with a voice of a storyteller. “This wasn’t their first,” she added.