Chapter One

The Forest

Darkness blanketed the forest, its shadows burrowing themselves into the crevices and cracks, leaving nothing touched by the innocent light of autumn. The wind caressed the multicolored leaves gently as it danced throughout the wood, its rhythm keeping pace with the silence of this terrifying place. Leaves floated to the ground as if the trees were weeping. They lay on the untouched forest floor without life, without anything but the depressing mood of this particular wood.

Silence masked the darkness of the once wondrous place that many knew as a haven. It was the life of the land, feeding the people and giving them hope that everything would stay as beautiful as this forest. But that dream faded as did those people. Now the forest stood for all eternity as an immortal reminder of how cruel the evilness of one person could be.

One person who had grown up here. One person who people looked to as a leader. One person who was too powerful for their own good. One person who had no idea what force he was reckoning with…

He had died, leaving behind a family. A family who had no idea that the symbol he bore would bring grief upon them. Upon one in particular.

Ruins were left. Ruins of giant stone buildings. Places filled with happiness, not sorrow, as they were filled with now. If one stopped and listened close enough they might still be able to hear the shrieks of them. Of the lost. Of the dead. But not only of the lost men, killed in this ancient civilization. No, of the dead… killed by the children of those men. These ruins were older than many thought, and had been the homes of the animals before they had disappeared.

But who would enter such a place? Who would dare venture into the enchanted forest known to the world as a place of death? Who would want to come face to face with the sadness those people had suffered?

A light flickered in the distance, coming closer through the silent darkness. It was guided by a strong hand. The light, fed by the awe of one individual, watched its surroundings with a wide mouth. Never had a living soul entered the forest, not since the death of the forest dwellers. And yet, here stood a girl, cloaked in red. Her brown eyes gazed at the ruins in front of her.

"Hello?" She whispered to no one. Her voice drifted through the trees, breaking the chains of silence the forest had been caught in. She shivered and pulled down her hood to reveal flowing brown hair that the wind picked up with ease.

"Is anyone in here?" She asked. Her brows knit in puzzlement. "I could have sworn that I saw something a moment ago." She murmured to herself. Her feet brought her quietly to the wall of the largest ruin. There, on the wall, was an unlit torch. She hastily lit it with her own. Light broke across the wall, scaring away the dark shadows that loomed there.

"Hello?" She said again, her back to the wall now. She shook her head and sat. "I have a funny feeling I'm lost." Now, as light lit her body, any onlooker could see she was carrying a large basket in the same hand as the light, balancing the basket on her tiny finger as she clamped the torch in the others. She set the basket down beside her and opened the top to reveal an assortment of food. Bread, cheese, milk, vegetables.

"Well, now." She said with a sigh. "What is grandmother going to think with me being lost in a forest like this? Certainly she won't be happy." The girl shook her head from side to side then sighed again. "Oh well, at least it seems deserted. What would I to do if I were not alone?" She asked herself quietly, laughing a bit at the thought. She knew very well that this forest had been deserted since the days after her father's death. A shiver went down her spine again and she stood.

"Perhaps I should go. No need to put myself in the path of danger if I happen to not be alone." She couldn't help but feel that she was not alone, not matter how much faith she had in the stories told by the villagers. And from the depths of the ruins, ruins that were covered with shrubs and trees, two, large, gray eyes blinked. The girl turned just in time to see them blink once more. She cocked her head to the side and waited to see the eyes blink once more, but they didn't open again. Shaking her head she took hold of her torch and returned to the path she had been on before coming to the ruins.

"Don't be silly, Rebecca." She reassured herself. "You're alone."

But she was very wrong.

And would soon find out, that not all stories have a happy ending.