Moonlit night

The sky was illuminated by the unusually bright moon, which cast shadows over the rustling dark leaves of the trees and on the grass. A thick heavy fog clung mercilessly to the ground and the wheels of the carriage that sped by the countryside, the fog like restless spirits clinging onto a hope of peace. The driver shivered despite his thick clothing, and tried to ignore the horses' whinnies as they continued the journey. The driver tried hard to focus on the countryside and not to turn to gaze up at the tall trees with their black leaves.

Inside the carriage, safe from the wind, were the Duke and Duchess of Pent, adorned in fine clothing, as they were traveling home from a ball held in the neighboring manor. The Duchess, adorned in a blue velvet gown trimmed in gold, shivered in her finery and tried to sleep while shaking the feeling of a lingering doom away. Her husband stroked her black hair that contrasted with her pale skin and blue eyes. He watched her stomach rise and fall with each breath. He looked out the window, trying desperately to forget the tales he had heard of the forest that they were traveling beside. He wondered if his decision to leave the ball that night had been silly and frivolous as the driver said, and wondered if maybe they had been better off to have stayed at the manor for the night. When he noticed his wife shiver, he pulled her to him, and pressed his lips on hers. Their kiss became more passionate as she slipped her tongue in his mouth. He lay his hand over her exposed and cold breasts, caressing them gently while she sighed in his mouth. Their kiss was interrupted when the carriage abruptly stopped. The Duke got out to talk to the driver, while the Duchess, who's name was Beth, shivered.

"Thomas why have we…?" His question remained unanswered when he noticed that Thomas, the driver, wasn't sitting at the driver's seat. The horses were also missing. The Duke, called William, crept into the carriage again, trying to calm his quickening heart while he thought up a plan about what they should do.

"Darling what is wrong? Why have we stopped?" William didn't know what to reply. "I think we are going to have to sleep in the carriage tonight Beth." So he shut the door as firmly as possible, drew the curtains to cover the forest, and took his wife in his arms while they huddled for warmth. After a few minutes, Beth fell asleep, while her husband clutched her tightly. But as the winds continued to howl, he swore he could hear him they chanting their names. "William…Beth….Thomas…" over and over again, getting louder and louder. Finally, he woke his wife up.

"Come on we are getting out of here if we have to walk." As soon as they had walked a few paces, he knew he had made a mistake as his duchess whimpered about her shoes, delicate satin heels, and she implored him to stop and return to the carriage. They had only walked about fifteen meters, but in the winter air, they both realized that it would be impossible to make it to their manor without freezing to death, or being eaten by wolves. As soon as they turned, though, they were at lost for words. The carriage was gone too.

"But where could it have gone? It was right here! A carriage just doesn't vanish into thin air!" When he realized exactly what he had said, he fell silent. A carriage could vanish into thin air. Especially when right beside Blood Forest. "We are going to die." His wife looked up. "What? What did you say? No we cant die, no, how could we die?" she gave a shaky laugh. "People go walking by these woods all the time! It is just a little chilly!" Her husband looked at her. "People don't walk by these woods all the time. People never live to tell even if they did." He watched his wife's eyes grow big as she tried to laugh it off. His look silenced her.

" Wait, over there! Look! A cottage! What luck!" Beth said this triumphantly, and squinted to get a better look at the small cottage with the smoking chimney that lay not more than a hundred paces. She laughed, relieved, removed her shoes, took her husband's hand, and started to run to the cottage.

No one ever saw them again. The next morning, a Count found a small baby with raven curls and blue eyes wailing on his doorstep.

Thanks to everyone who reads this! (Please review if you do read this!)

Criticism is very welcome, I would love to try and improve this, so be totally honest.

So sorry I didn't update this sooner, I actually gave up when I had no reviews, but then when I went on today, I was happy, so decided to keep it going!

Babble fish: Glad you liked it!

Lumiere's lover: I hope you still feel the same throughout the whole thing!

Aerinha: Yup it is Snow White. No problem about reading your stories, they are good!