A Shadow in The Night

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Bang!

The loud crash immediately woke Zell from her slumber. She sat up, her entire body frozen in cold terror. Was the house being robbed? Or was it simply her father, getting a cool drink of water?

Zell quietly slipped out of her bed, her eyes on the hallway outside her door. Her hands fumbled around her nightstand, but she couldn't see anything.

She was looking for an object to defend herself with, maybe a hairbrush or something. But after a few minutes of searching, she had found nothing useful.

Zell quietly tiptoed down the stairs, her light footsteps making no sound. Her eyes scanned the empty home, but from what she could see, it was empty. The silence dragged on until she reached the bottom of the stairs.

It was then, that she heard a loud crash!

A dark figure stood in her kitchen, a large cloak pulled over the haunting body. It stood on one side of the room, while Zell faced it from the other. The creature made a low, rumbling sound as it slowly took a step toward her.

Snapping out of her daze, she reached behind her. Her fingers quickly found the handle of her mother's favorite frying pan, and Zell whipped it in front of her.

Her hands were shaking as she held the pan out, making a sort of shield. It was then that the creature laughed.

It sounded like an old woman, and Zell instantly flashed back to the incident at Tooth's Café. Now that she thought about it, this woman here was undoubtedly the same person as before.

"W-Who are you?!" Zell exclaimed, the frying pan serving as a barrier between them.

Another maniacal laugh escaped from the woman's lips before she answered. "You don't remember me? What a shame, I believe we've met before. Isn't that right, Rapunzel?" She spoke with a sickening tone, her voice too silky and smooth.

Zell gasped at the woman's words, her eyes widening. "How do you know my name?" she exclaimed, trying desperately to remain calm.

The woman sneered, and whipped her cape to the side. Suddenly there was nothing in her place, but the same black sand from before.

Zell gasped softly, and just as she reached out to touch some, she felt a cold, bony hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw that it belonged to the old hag.

"See, you took something of mine." The woman grinned, several of her teeth rotting or missing. "Something very precious to me."

Zell shrugged off the woman's hand, and tried to make a run for it. She had barely reached the back door when a large wall of black sand shot up from the ground, blocking her exit. She nearly fell over in surprise, but righted herself just in time.

Her eyes searched the room quickly, before she realized something. Surely, this much noise would have woken up her parents already.

"What have you done to my parents?!" She yelled now, her voice reaching the woman across the room. "Oh, not to worry. A little nightmare or two never hurt anyone."

Zell shook her head, her grip on the frying pan tightening. "What?! What do you mean, "Nightmare"?"

The woman simply laughed, her hideous smile showing once again. "You are a foolish mortal, and undeserving of the Sun's ultimate power."

The dark wall of sand moved closer to her, forcing her closer to the old hag. "The sun's power? Foolish mortal?! This doesn't make any sense!"

The woman lowered her voice, down to a dark whisper. "Don't worry my flower, you will."

Looking back, Zell only remembered two things:

One; The wall of sand came crashing down upon her.

And two; Strong arms and the sensation of leather covering her like a shield.

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WELL, THERE YOU HAVE IT!

I hope you really enjoyed this, as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Can any of you guess who the "Strong Arms And Sensation Of Leather" is?

TYPE YOU'RE GUESS BELOW!

-A