The day dawned cold and grey. I awoke to a severe tapping upon my window; it was the blackbird. I opened the window to let it in.

"Mary!" it screamed.

"No," I said firmly. "You will start addressing me by my new name now. I'm Belle."

"Mary!" it screamed again.

It fluttered out of my room and into the corridor just as Martha entered, not with the usual breakfast tray, but instead she carried a large, empty satchel. She appeared to be in good spirits.

"Good morning," she said. "The master has instructed me to help you pack for your trip."

She dropped the satchel onto my bed and opened my wardrobe, pulling out clothes to fold up. "Though I do insist you both eat something before leaving," she prattled on, "I know how excited you must be—a trip to the mountains! It sounds like a dream."

I raised my eyebrows—why is she happy that we are fleeing?

And then it hit me: Adrian couldn't tell the castle staff the truth. If he left any hint for the Enchantress to catch on to, then we would be found.

"Yes," I said quickly, "we are looking forward to getting a little fresh air." I tried my best to smile.

She beamed at me, her cheeks rosy with delight. I was going to miss her so much.

"I'm so glad you two are finally getting along," she said, stuffing my clothes into the satchel. Then suddenly she looked up, as if she were worried. "You two are getting along, aren't you?"

I almost laughed.

The night before his lips had been against mine, and all the words we never said to each other were passed to me with the tenderness of his kiss. I could feel the incredible amount of strength he possessed, but with it I could also feel the fragility.

"He has been very good to me," I said. "He saved me from the wolves, and he saved me from the necromancer. We have become… good friends."

"You bring out the best in each other," she said wisely, "that's what good friends do." She winked.

I tried not to blush. "Thanks for helping me," I said. "I don't have long before we leave, so I'm going to look through the library just once more."

I did not expect to find Adrian already there, though, standing in front of the fireplace, seemingly lost in contemplation. I hesitantly cleared my throat as I entered. He turned and regarded me with mild surprise.

"So" I said. "We're really doing this?"

"You can still change your mind," he said gently. "But I must go, or they'll find me and kill me. The king himself has called for my head."

"No, I'm going with you," I said, "and come what may."

Adrian smiled a little, though it was the bittersweet kind. "By the way, I—uh—have something for you."

He slipped a small box out of his pocket. "It will help you in the days to come," he said, holding it out for me.

I carefully opened it; inside was a thin silver chain and a pendant in the shape of a rose. The rose looked just like the ones that had been woven into the fabric of my mother's dress. I gasped when I saw it; if this was truly a gift for me, then it was the most lavish gift I had ever received in my life.

My fingers caressed the chain and I picked it up and examined it closer, and then Adrian fastened the chain around my neck. "It belonged to my mother," he said. "It's meant to keep you safe from the Enchantress. With my mother's totem guarding you she won't be able to touch you."

I held the rose pendant in my fingers and gazed at it, thinking, I want to wear this for the rest of my life.

"It is an honor to wear it. You've done so much for me in this little time we've known each other."

Adrian smiled. "I just want you to be safe. That's what you came here for, isn't it?"

"I will never know why I came here," I said. "It could've been fate, or it could've been an accident. I'm suspecting both, actually."

We laughed. And then our laughter fell away.

"Have you ever done something like this before?" I asked him. "Run away from here, I mean."

"Once," he said mildly. "When I was twelve. It didn't end well."

"What happened?"

"Severa sent her minions after me. This was when the castle staff was still alive. When she recaptured me and brought me back here, the entire castle was empty. She told me she killed every single one of the staff to punish me for running away. And then she made them stay here, as they are now. That was when I swore to never use my powers other than to destroy her."

My stomach contorted in shock. "She killed them? She sounds like she is pure evil!"

Adrian pursed his lips together. "She is evil. And she knows you are here, Belle. Promise you will not take off my mother's necklace."

"I won't," I said. "So, when do we leave?"

"I'm waiting to hear if the coast is clear. Our dark-winged friend is scouting the path. He should return soon."

As if it were summoned, the blackbird swooped into the library and landed on Adrian's outstretched arm.

"What did you see?" Adrian asked it.

"The dead! The dead!" it shrieked harshly.

Adrian and I exchanged glances.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"Attack! Attack!" shrieked the bird. Then he fluttered out of the library in a flurry of frantic, ebony feathers.

"He's never said that before," said Adrian.

"Say—who is that?"

Standing outside the library window was some kind of strange shadow—no, a person or other, standing there looking in. A chill tremored down my spine as my eyes glued to the image: it was a woman; I could tell by the long, wispy clumps of hair that stuck out of her skull. She was thin, shriveled, her eyes hollowed and her mouth hanging open, impossibly slack with but a few teeth rotting inside. She was naked with bits of skin decomposed and the rest of her body was grey and blue; she was an animated corpse, standing outside the library window leering in at us with a dead smile.

I screamed so loud I nearly fainted.

The next thing I knew, I was in Adrian's arms.

"Belle—Belle!" he said quickly. "Look at me!"

The dead woman began knocking on the window with two fists, the glass shivering against her might. I clung on to Adrian tightly, my body shaking with fear. He held onto me just as tightly and spoke urgently into my ear. "We're being attacked. We're going to have to fight. Belle, look at me. Trust me!"

I forced myself to look at him, even though all I could hear was the dead woman's fists tearing against the window. "What happens if she gets in?"

"This is dark magic," Adrian explained quickly and calmly, "someone is using necromancy as an attack tactic. The dead are going to try and take the castle, but someone is behind them, controlling the attack."

"You mean—it's the necromancer? Again?!"

"Or Severa," said Adrian.

The window shattered and the dead woman began crawling through the shards to get into the castle. Adrian stepped in front of me and outstretched his hand with his palm facing the corpse. There was some kind of force emitting from the tips of his fingers; the corpse was jolted and immobile. And then it burst into flames.

Adrian is capable of this kind of magic? I thought at once with both horror and profound adoration.

The woman's corpse shriveled into ash upon the floor. And then Clarkson appeared in the library, his normal stoic demeanor vanished, and his face was drawn with panic. "Master—it's the front door! There are more out there, and they're heading this way!"

Adrian slipped his hand into mine and squeezed it. "Raise the alarm," he said to Clarkson. "All the castle staff are sworn to protect Blackhill. I will do what I can to fend them off, without-" he paused, looking at me. "Without turning into the Beast," he finished. "The Beast is still a danger to you."

As we hurried out into the entrance hall we came upon the front door—it was wide open. Adrian rushed to the opening and looked out before almost simultaneously slamming it shut, holding it closed with his back against it.

"They're already inside!" I exclaimed.

He turned around and ran the palm of his hand down the front of the door; I could hear him whispering words rapidly beneath his breath. Then Adrian turned back to me, grabbed my hand and we ran back through the hall and further into the castle.

All around us the familiar and elusive spirits of Blackhill began to materialize. They were holding makeshift weapons and appearing, and disappearing again as Adrian led me into the garden hall and closed the doors behind us.

"The front door's enchantment is only temporary," he said, nearly out of breath. "But whatever is coming in can be held off if everyone fights."

The garden hall's wide French doors were closed, but the glass panes were large and let in a crystal-clear view of the garden terrace. As Adrian and I turned to the doors, more dark and decaying figures appeared outside upon the terrace. Adrian again stepped in front of me, his palm stretched out towards them.

"They're easy to kill," he said steadily. "So at least I can hold them off with the magical traits I've inherited from my family. Severa is stupid to think that whatever sort of attack this is won't be dealt with easily."

There were nearly ten of them, standing at the closed doors. The corpses began to rush forward, throwing their bodies against the doors one by one, rattling the glass and the frame.

"Maybe she's not doing what you think she's doing," I said, my voice wavering in fear as the glass doors began to crack.

"If they get through, stay behind me," Adrian said calmly.

A beat later, the doors cracked and crumbled before the dead and the dead poured in through the openings—but now there were far more than ten. They were a snarling, hungry bunch like the wolves that had pursued me the night I came to Blackhill. Without a word some kind of force emanated from Adrian's outstretched hand, and like a shooting star, shot through the room and eclipsed the corpses as they rushed towards us. Adrian swiftly turned and put his body over mine as the effects of the spell filled the room and shook the animated corpses. They all fell motionless to the ground and disappeared in flames.

We slowly stood up and gazed at the scene around us.

"There will be more," he said.

"Will your magic run out?" I asked.

"It just has," Adrian replied, striding over to a suit of armor and picking out the sparring sword from its grasp. It was a flimsy tool with barely a pointed end.

Better make myself useful, I thought, and I retrieved my own sparring sword from another hollowed suit of armor. We ducked quietly into the corridor, edging down the dark hallway with bated breath.

"Where are we going?" I whispered.

"Back into the library," he replied. "There's a sword in there—a real one. As far as I know it belongs to my family. I've always wanted to put it to use."

There were echoes coming from the entrance hall; the front door was being attacked from the outside. We sprinted into the library and stopped in our tracks in surprise. The entire castle staff was there, seemingly waiting for us.

Clarkson stepped forward. "You are the master of this castle," he said solemnly. "We will do as you order."

Behind Clarkson each and every person was holding an object to fight or defend with. Martha stepped up beside Clarkson, holding something long and wrapped in cloth. "I believe this is what you are looking for," she said.

Adrian stepped forward and silently unwrapped the cloth. A long sword with a hilt carved in the shape of a raven's head gleamed in the morning light. He picked up the sword with one hand and held it aloft, gazing at the blade.

"It was your father's," said Martha.

"My father's?"

Martha nodded. "He gave it to your mother and swore he would come back for it, for her. It is yours by right."

Adrian was at a loss for words—but the moment was soon gone forever, as a loud bang echoed through the castle and into the library. The dead were infiltrating the castle.

"Fight with me and beat back the Enchantress and these unwanted visitors. Let's defend our home!" Adrian shouted.

The castle staff roared in agreement and began to pour out of the library and into the hall.

Adrian turned to me and gently took the sparring sword. "You're not fighting," he said. 'It's what the Enchantress wants. You'll be safest in the high tower."

With his right hand brandishing his sword, and his left hand in mine, Adrian led me out of the library and back into the wide corridor connecting to the entrance hall. As soon we were halfway down the hall, a skeletal corpse lunged at us through the shadows. In one swift motion Adrian sliced it in half, and without hesitation we kept moving forward to where the castle staff and the reanimated dead were engaged in a battle.

The entrance hall was plunged into chaos, and immediately we could see there was no safe path to the staircase.

"There's another way," Adrian said quickly and so we sprinted into a side corridor lined with doors. "One of these leads through the servant's quarters back to the main corridor on the second floor."

At the end of the corridor appeared one of the dead—a tall, sloping half-skeleton with a skull that still had pieces of flesh attached to it. It was something out of my worst nightmare. As soon as it saw it us it began to charge.

"Adrian!"

Adrian turned and held his sword steadily with both hands, bracing for the corpse's attack. The skeleton fell to pieces as soon as it met Adrian's sword. I opened nearest door and saw a narrow hallway leading to a set of stairs. "This way!"

We shut the door behind us and alighted the creaking stairs that so reminded me of the ones in my old home, where I was a prisoner a lifetime before. We hesitated when we reached the top.

"How many floors until we reach the high tower?" I whispered.

"Five," he said. "How many dead things have I so far destroyed?"

"I think twenty, at least?"

"Good," said Adrian, putting his hand onto the doorknob, "I'd like to keep count for the next time I see my aunt."

He thrust the door open and we took off down the second floor corridor, the sounds from the fight below us uncomfortably close. He slashed through three or four more wandering corpses until we reached the next flight of stairs.

Coming down the steps was another wall of animated corpses, their arms stretched out towards us, snarls escaping through their rotted and broken teeth. Adrian pulled me down an alternate corridor, where more of these things appeared and were effectively taken down with his sword.

"Where are they all coming from?" I asked as we rounded a corner to another small flight of stairs.

"Severa's got some tricks up her sleeve," he said as we flew up the steps. "Maybe she is letting them in through a way I don't know about…"

We stopped at the top of the stairs. The corridor before us was lined with the dead; they stood there poised, as if they had been waiting for us to show up. And then they all at once ran at us.

Adrian and I took off back down the stairs, cutting through two more skeletons before reaching the bottom.

"What do we do?" I frantically asked when we landed back on the second floor. "All the ways we want to go—they're following our every move!"

Adrian continued to slash through the animated skeletons and fleshy corpses as we searched for a safe place in the castle. There were just so, so many of them now—the castle was infested with the dead. We ran down corridors, up and down stairs, through rooms and halls before we finally realized we were running out of places to go.

"I need to find Martha and Clarkson," said Adrian as we headed back toward the main staircase. "They can help protect you."

We reached the top of the main staircase and looked down into the entrance hall below, where the main fighting was occurring between skeletons and corpses and the castle staff. The front door to the castle was wide open and suddenly, above the cacophony of the fight, there came a howl that pierced the air. In the door frame appeared four shadows—no, not shadows, I realized, squinting down at it. Four wolves.

Adrian and I exchanged uneasy glances. The wolves bounded into the castle, their teeth barred; the alpha sniffed the air and howled again.

"Belle," said Adrian. "I have to change into the Beast."

The four wolves darted through the hall, coming towards the staircase.

"As long as you're wearing my mother's necklace the Enchantress can't touch you," he continued. "But these wolves can. Take my sword and find a place to hide and once I kill these wolves I will come find you and we're getting out of here."

I couldn't speak for the fear amplifying in my heart. Adrian leaned forward and kissed me like he did the night before, his hands gently squeezing my waist, and then he slipped the sword into my grasp.

"I love you, Adrian," I whispered.

For a moment he appeared taken aback, but then his courageous hazel eyes twinkled. "I love you, Belle."

And then he turned; the wolves were making their way up the staircase now. Adrian leapt into the air and transformed into the Beast—this time, it took only a matter of seconds, and so he met the wolves with a furious roar. I turned and ran back down the corridor, looking for an empty room to hide in. There were skeletons crawling, walking, and running through the halls of the castle and the ones I had to get past succumbed easily to the blade and force of the sword.

This isn't so bad, I thought to myself, if only I have to contend with these weak, dead things…

I found an empty bedroom and closed and bolted the door shut behind me. I placed my ear to the door and listened; out in the corridor some of the dead had followed me and were now scratching and snarling at the door.

They can't get in, I thought carefully. And if they do I will kill them.

I took a deep breath and slid to the ground, balancing the sword beside me against the wall.

And then someone spoke.

"I'm so glad you are okay."

I gasped and stood. "Who's there?" The bedroom had appeared empty. One bed, one side table, a wardrobe, and a window that was half-opened. Martha stepped out from behind the wardrobe.

"It's just me, deary," she said. Her cheeks were rose red, even redder than usual, and her smile was wide. She seemed completely unscathed from the fight.

"Martha," I breathed in relief. "I'm okay. There were wolves so Adrian had to change into the Beast. This will all be over soon!"

"Yes it will," she agreed. "Yes it will. Here, to comfort you. Have something to eat." She pulled an apple from her apron and held it out to me.

"I'm sorry, I can't even think about food right now," I said. "I have to make sure Adrian's okay-"

"The master will not be harmed," she said pleasantly. "It's you the Enchantress is after."

"Huh?"

Martha stepped closer. She was silhouetted against the grey light of the window. "You must at least take a bite," she said, "because you love me and I know what's best."

I sighed as she handed the apple to me, my ears attuned to the sounds of the fighting coming from below. I thought I could hear the Beast among them. Adrian's not far, I reassured myself, and absentmindedly took a bite from the apple.

"So how did you know I'd be in here?" I asked, turning my attention back to Martha.

But Martha was gone. Instead, a dark, elf-like creature hovered before me, his golden eyes bright and gleaming. I opened my mouth to scream—but something came over me, something I couldn't control. My vision began to fade and my senses failed. The creature took hold of me and I vaguely perceived being lifted up—and out through the bedroom window.

Large wings parted out of the creatures back as it held me close, dipping into the air.

This must be a dream, I thought. Any moment now I will wake up and I will be back in my room, waiting for Lorna to summon me for the day's chores….

The earth fell away from me and then so did everything else.

When I awoke, I was laying down in a bed of blankets in a covered wagon. The wagon creaked as it rocked along a path. I sat up.

Where am I?

There was no one else there—only a driver and their horses. The wagon suddenly came to a halt.

The driver of the wagon appeared. "A-a-are you awake?" they asked.

It was an elderly man with heavily hooded eyes and a stutter.

I nodded, speechless.

"Good. Now tell me, what is your name, dear?"

My name?

I felt strange. So strange—like I barely even knew who I was, or where I was, or why I was.

"My name is Mary," I said as my head began to throb with pain. "Please—what is going on?"

"You've—you've been held captive by the N-N-Necromancer for weeks. Somehow you m-managed to escape," he explained. "And you've asked me to take you home. We're near the b-b-border of the wild forest now, so there's no need to worry. We will get you home by n-nightfall."

"I can't remember anything!" I shrieked, suddenly realizing. "Why can't I remember?"

"M-Maybe it's best you don't," said the man. "My-my name's Riss, by the way."

I frantically examined myself—I was wearing clothes I did not recognize, shoes I did not recognize, though I appeared to be unharmed—and—

What's this?

A silver necklace hung around my neck. I picked it up by its pendant and examined it. Where did this come from?

"Best con-continue on now," said Riss. He climbed back up onto the driver's seat and the wagon lurched forward. I could only sit and stew in utter horror and shock, racking my brain for any clue about why I had just seemingly woken up here. After a while, a light rain began to fall and suddenly there was a voice on the path ahead.

"You there! Halt!"

Riss stopped the wagon. I peered out, squinting to see who it was through the rain and rising mist. A tall figure upon a white horse blocked the path with several men behind positioned behind them.

"What business do you have on the King's road?" one of the men asked.

Riss raised both of his hands in the air. "I—I am a traveler, if it pleases you. Delivering s-someone home."

The opposing figure rode forth on their horse, wearing a long, green cloak. Their hair was dripping wet around their face, but I immediately knew who it was.

"Stefan!"

I jumped out of the back of the wagon, landing in a puddle in the path, soaking my clothes.

The prince hesitated, regarding me with half- disbelief before jumping off his horse. "Mary? Is that you?!"

And suddenly his familiar face was there, before me, and a rush of happiness filled me.

"Where have you been?" he asked, ripping off his cloak and wrapping it around my shoulders.

"I don't know," I said, shaking my head.

"The—the girl has been through an ordeal, from what she was able to tell me," Riss chimed in. "She barely just m-m-managed to escape the Necromancer."

Stefan's hazel eyes filled with emotion and he drew me close to him. "I'm so sorry," he said. "I'm sorry I couldn't find you sooner. You're safe now, I swear it. There will be no more necromancers, no more beasts-"

"Beasts?"

He cocked his head, gazing at me in confusion. "You don't remember what happened at all?"

"No," I said, my stomach feeling weak. "Nothing."

Stefan breathed out shakily, and we shivered in the rainy wind. "Let's get you home," he said. "To my home."

"W-wait!" Riss shouted as the prince led me to his horse. "I was supposed to deliver the girl!"

Stefan helped me up onto his steed and tossed a bag of coins at the wagon driver. "For your good intentions," he said.

The prince's men rode after us as Stefan drove his horse full speed up the king's road and back towards the city, leaving the wagon driver and the wild forest far behind. And with them, memories that would long be forgotten.

End of part one.