As I return to the basement, the heavy footsteps of my boots reverberate through the corners, adding to the horror of earlier's mayhem with Anastasia. I constantly check behind me as I walk away from the situation to see if she is following me. I swear I saw her eyes become completely black right in front of my eyes. Anxiety suddenly shot through my chest. Why is she acting so strangely? What makes her so determined to get the necklace from me? “What happened?” Flynn’s face greets my presence.  I walk past him and shut the door without greeting him. I hurriedly yank the necklace from my neck and pull the drawer from a rusted cupboard. I stare at it for a long time, trying to understand out why it has Anastasia so enthralled. It's just a simple necklace, really. It's not even as sparkly as the rest of their necklaces. The pendant is the only difference between this one with Anastasia's and Drizella's. A scarlet stone wi

We take a step back as it creeps closer to us. As soon as it reveals its claws, we both run. Flynn is dragging me away. The shifting of the leaves and creaking of the stems and branches appear to be the animal's signal as we escape for our lives. The animal disturbs the forest's daytime and nocturnal species with its raucous and piercing howl.   It isn't that far away. Its claws uproots and fling many trees in its path at us, forcing us to reroute. Why are there no wardens in this area perplexes me. Or did it completely wipe them out?   “Flynn! Flynn!” I call when I take a sight to the hole we used before.   He takes out his poniard and prepares for the vines once he realizes what I'm talking about. He makes a slit in it and pushes it open. I shove Flynn into the hole as soon as I see the animal approaching us. I'm stuck in a rut and have no idea when I'll be able to move. When animal's claws are about to drag me away, s

The stiffness of the chain encircling both my wrists and feet causes a severe spasmodic loud exhalation through my nose and mouth. The rusted bars of the cell we're in suggest that this chamber is so aged that it looks more like a spider's house than a tormented soul's. I'm so irritated that the hay we're sitting on is causing my skin to itch, and I can't scratch it.    I squint through the clefts of the cell and see a faint light at the end of what appears to be a tunnel. I'm not sure how we got here, where portion of the castle we're in, or even if we're in a castle at all. I awoke to find myself inside this hellhole. It's too dark, and the only source of light is a small barred window on the upper wall behind us. At the very least, I'd be able to tell if it's day or night through that hole.   I can't believe they don't consider what I stated to be a threat. I can't believe that every single phrase they're afraid we'll say makes no se