Started this forever ago and then recently passed I finished it to submit to the Russia/America Fantasia event back in July at the community! Enjoy!
Once upon a time, deep in the Black Oak Woods, there stood a grand tower. At least twice a month, a little boy would be dragged to the tower by his father, the King, and locked within. "You have been a rotten child!" the King would say while glaring at the child through the iron bars in the door at the bottom.
The child would cry and plead, begging his father to let him out. But the King would gaze down at his son through piercing cold eyes and reply "A week should break that temper and spirit!" and off he would go.
One day, the little boy heard a faint knock coming from the stairs at the bottom of the tower, and dropped what he was doing and hurried down.
"Who goes there?" The little boy asked in a hushed whisper.
"I'm only a lost woman, on her way to the castle. Can you please help me?"
The little boy peered slowly around the corner of the steps and was met with bright red eyes staring hungrily back.
"You're a witch!" The little boy gasped out in fright.
The witch let out a feral grin. "Yes, but I can grant your deepest wish."
"You can?" The little boy stepped down the last few steps and approached the door.
"You wish to never be alone, and everyone to love you, correct?" The witch gently stated.
The little boys eyes widened and he shook his head furiously. "Yes! Oh yes!"
"Your wish is my command!" Before the little boy could utter a word, the witch pointed a long old finger at him and muttered under her breath a spell. The little boy dropped to the floor in a heap.
What he did not know, was that the witch would grant his wish, but not in a way he imagined. When the little boy awoke, he found the witch had disappeared and a bright black heart tattooed on his chest.
He started to panic when a familiar voice cackled in his mind, "That tattoo will slowly turn from black to red the more people love you. When it becomes completely red, with not a speck of black showing, you will never be lonely anymore! But there is a price, of course. You're internal organs will start to shut down after one month if you have failed to capture someone's heart. And with every day that passes by, you will get a slash across the neck. Thank you for your lovely energy, little boy!" The witch ended in a fit of giggles that caused the little boy to wince before her voice finally faded from his mind.
The little boy's hand flew to his neck and when he felt the first slash, wracking sobs escaped his mouth, and the little boy curled into a ball and cried himself to sleep.
A week later, the first child disappeared. Only a red ribbon was found outside of the thorny tower, before the hunter who found it ran for his life after hearing mad laughter and agonized screams echo from the top window. The witch not only gave him his wish, but granted him a cruel gift- the gift of immortality.
The little boy, after just two weeks, lost his mind completely and now kidnaps whoever stumbles by the tower of the Black Oak woods.
Alfred and his brother Matthew were always told the bedtime story of the evil immortal child deep in the woods, trapped in a tower covered in thorns. Alfred would shake like a leaf, pull the covers up to his chin, and snuggle closer to his older brother. Their Papa would smirk down at his terrified sons and then exit the room, taking the candle with him. He hoped that Alfred would never get entrapped by curiosity and go looking for the tower.
But Alfred and Matthew were no longer little kids. They were now sixteen.
Their Papa stopped telling the ghost story when Alfred and his brother turned thirteen. He was sure by now that neither one would want to step anywhere near the entrance to the dark Black Oak woods. No one went into them. Not since a little boy by the name of Raivis went in and never came out. The town then passed a law that would punish anyone who went within ten feet of the forbidden woods.
That didn't stop Alfred.
Alfred had always been the curious one; curiosity killed the cat, as they say. During the day Alfred studied his science textbooks outside since it was the first warm day of spring. He wanted very much to become a professor of math, though his father wanted him to pursue in the family line of wizards. He just turned the page to a map of constellations when a loud noise startled him. Alfred halted walking and looked up to find himself totally surrounded by unfamiliar woods. Alfred quickly turned around, hoping to see the pathway he had been walking down, but was alarmed to find no such thing.
Not good.
Alfred closed his textbook and took out the red magic stone his older brother had given him in case he got lost. Alfred had laughed at Matthew for thinking the great hero would get lost, but now that was exactly the situation he had gotten into, he had to laugh at the irony. He closed his fist around the stone and began to mutter the spell that would teleport him home. The stone flashed bright red as it was supposed to, and Alfred grinned; he was going home! Alfred felt the familiar tug and pull and squeezed his eyes shut to the blurring scenery. A crow's caw pierced the silence and Alfred, eyes still shut, tilted his head in confusion. He lived with his brother in a one-room apartment in the center of town where the only familiar animals were the rodents. So why did he hear a crow?
"Mummy! Mummy!"
Alfred's eyes popped open and he felt himself freeze. He was still in the woods, but it looked different from what he was just at. He had teleported, but it certainly wasn't to his apartment.
"Mummy, where are you!"
A child! Alfred pocketed his stone and raced towards the sound. He pushed his way through huge bushes near some boulders and when he exited the brush, he found he was in a tunnel. Alfred bit his lip and felt warning bells go off in his head. Maybe this wasn't such a smart thing to do alone…he should turn back now and get some help before looking for the child.
"Mummy, I can't find you!"
No, Alfred could never abandon someone in need. Alfred ran down the tunnel towards the brightly lit end. A groan sounded behind him in the dark, and Alfred felt his heart beat faster. Alfred exited the tunnel at last and winced as the daylight flooded his vision for a few seconds. He held up a hand over his eyes and was prepared to see a small child standing in the middle of the woods.
Well, he was still in the woods. But what he now saw in front of him was a huge brick tower with only one door at the bottom; a wooden door with a small window that had metal bars.
"Mummy…is that you?"
Alfred took a shaky breath. The sound of the child was coming from the other side of the tower door.
But it was only a story!
"Mummy!"
Alfred gave his head a shake, checked to make sure his knife was still strapped to his thigh, and walked the remaining feet over to the bared door. A pale light flickered from within and Alfred gripped a bar with each hand and peered inside.
"Who are you?" Alfred asked.
Alfred could see the small child holding a candle that was slowly dripping wax on to the brick floor beneath him. The child gasped and looked up from his only light source and met Alfred's gaze. The child was a little boy of about six, Alfred guessed. He has medium length wheat-blonde hair that framed his heart-shaped face nicely…but that wasn't what caught his interest. The bright violet colored eyes that were round with wonder had Alfred's complete attention.
"Did you see my mummy? She is supposed to come back for me any minute now!"
Alfred tried the door handle and found it locked.
"I have not seen anyone else in the woods. Are you sure your mother is out there?" Alfred gave the handle another yank and felt it budge a small fraction.
"She's supposed to be...what are you doing?" The boy cried out, backing up.
"I'm coming to get you, why are you in this old tower? Does anyone live here?" Alfred paused and scanned the tower again, noting the deep cracks and overgrown ivy.
"You mustn't open the door or else he will snatch you away!"
Alfred froze. "Who will snatch me?"
The little boy trembled but took a step back towards the door. "Why, the demon who devours hearts."
Alfred giggled. "But that is just a story to scare children like you so you will not go into the woods and get lost!" Alfred lifted a foot and placed it against the door and returned his hands to the door handle. He took a deep breath and gave a hard yank. The door flew open with a loud squeal causing Alfred to lose his balance and fall down.
"You okay?" Alfred called as he got back up and dusted the dirt off his blue tunic. No response.
"Little boy?" Alfred leaned his head into the tower entrance. He could see no candlelight.
"I'm right here."
Alfred's eyes widened and he spun around to find the child standing behind him. Now that the boy was in the daylight, Alfred could see the torn and dirty red shirt he wore that was clearly three sizes bigger than his body so that it hung all the way down to his ankles. The only other article of clothing the boy wore was a long crème-colored scarf that wrapped tightly several times around his throat.
"Are you hungry? I was saving this for my mummy, but since you got me out of that horrible tower, I think you have earned this."
Alfred blinked rapidly as the boy shoved a bright red apple up at him. Where did the apple even come from? Alfred gave a small hesitant smile and took the apple anyways and stared down at it. He was very hungry though…it had been at least four hours since he ate lunch.
"Thank you….err…"
"My name is Ivan." The little boy smiled brightly.
Too brightly; Alfred felt a cold wind and shuddered. Alfred took a hearty bite and was pleased to find the apple tasted better than the ones he bought in town!
"So Ivan, how did you get locked into that tower?"
"I never said I was locked in there. You just assumed."
Alfred didn't feel the apple fall from his hand. His mouth felt numb and a muffled buzz sounded in his ears.
"I was so worried I wouldn't be able to lure someone this month…it's been too long since the last soul came by that I was worried I might actually be alone forever, and that is such a depressing thought…isn't it Alfred Jones?"
Alfred stumbled backwards and slumped down against the tower wall. He was totally numb and it was getting very difficult to keep his eyes open. He saw the child approach him with a grinning smile and eyes filled with delight but sleep took over and Alfred's head fell forward as he faded to darkness.