The moment you woke up, you could tell something was… off.
Blinking blearily in the darkness, you wrinkled your nose at the scent of stale air and decay, stomach churning at how intense it was. With heavy limbs, you clumsily felt around you, struggling to make sense of where you were, despite the darkness blinding your vision.
To your growing confusion, you could only feel damp wood and crumbling fabric in the tight space you were in, quickly realising that this was the reason for the scent of decay that was invading your senses.
With a sound of disgust, you pushed at the offending object, spluttering in shock as it practically fell apart on top of you, giving way with far too much ease. Much to your dismay, you still found yourself shrouded in a heavy darkness even with it gone, your hands once again reaching out and searching as you tried to make sense of your predicament.
Too your mounting horror, you quickly realised that you were completely surrounded by stone.
Slightly panicked as the feeling of being trapped started to takeover your mind, you once again pushed against the surface above you, only to startle when you lifted it with an ease that should have been impossible, especially since you could tell that this was real stone.
Choosing not to question it further in favour of escaping, you pushed and shoved carefully, slowly sliding it to the side and letting it fall with a heavy thump, once gravity had gotten hold of it. Wanting to be free of whatever had held you prisoner, you hastily pushed yourself up, alarmed to find that you had been inside some kind of stone
sarcophagus set above the ground, and apparently for quite some time, if your partially decayed clothing was anything to go by.
Feeling clumsy and disorientated, you climbed out of your former prison hastily, leaning against it with shaky limbs as greedily gulped in the fresh air. Glancing down at yourself, you froze, before beginning to inspect your somehow flawless and undamaged body through the holes in your clothing, unable to find even a hint of the scars you knew should have been there.
The sound of a throat clearing was what finally snapped you out of your bewildered exploration, and instantly your head snapped up and towards the source. Your body tensed as you found someone watching you from a few graves over, the shovel in their hand and mound of dirt beside them, indicating that they had been preparing a new grave, when you had suddenly began fighting your way out of your own.
Tense and wary, you could only stare at them, barely even registering the fact that you were seeing them with perfect clarity despite it apparently being the middle of the night, unsure why they hadn’t started screaming or attacking yet.
Strangely enough, it wasn’t until they tilted their head slightly, giving you a glimpse of otherworldly glowing eyes from behind their messy fringe, that you felt something inside you relax. Despite never having met them before, a part of you deep within your soul, knew that this was someone you could trust, though you weren’t entirely sure why you were so certain of this.
Silently they regarded you for a few more moments, before finally speaking, curiosity burning in their eyes as they leaned against their shovel nonchalantly, their lips curling slightly as if the whole situation amused them.
If not for the biting cold you could feel, now that the window was open, and the confusion you felt fogging your mind, you were sure you would have enjoyed the beautiful view laid out before you. Instead, you found yourself growing more and more confused, your eyes sweeping over the unfamiliar landscape with a steadily growing sense of unease.
You remembered very little of the day before, other than vague flashes of pain, fear, and a terrifying sense of complete and utter hopelessness. The very last thing you could remember before you’d passed out, had been a bizarre but powerful pulling sensation, and then the feeling of arms gently gathering you up off the cold floor, as a soothing baritone voice spoke comfortingly to you. Though their meaning was lost to you in your injured state.
The next thing you knew, you were waking up in an ornate and lavish bedroom, fit for a king, wearing unfamiliar clothes, and feeling better than you had in years.
It had all felt like some kind of bizarre dream or fairy tale, a feeling that only increased when you had finally gotten up to peer out of the bedrooms only window.
Although you knew you should be questioning why you could see so clearly and so far, despite the fact that it was currently the dead of night, you were far more concerned with how you had ended up in some kind of castle, especially since there had been no such thing anywhere near where you had been originally.
From the distant but clear sounds of footsteps calmly approaching your room from down the hall, you had a feeling that those questions were about to be answered.
Whether you liked what the answers would be however, had yet to be seen.…
The moment you saw their rage filled sneer focus itself on you, you knew you wouldn’t be able to get inside in time, your mind instantly drifting to the faces of the terrified children you had just ushered to safety.
Swallowing thickly, you shakily pushed the heavy door closed, trying not to flinch at how final it sounded as it shut behind you.
The action caused the creatures expression to twist even further with anger, your interference having taken away a good deal of their prey, and instantly they launched themselves at you with a furious snarl, closing the distance with supernatural speed.
Terrified, you flinched and cowered, covering you head with your arms as you braced yourself for the impact and following pain, your heart racing in your chest with fear.
Instead, you heard a loud rustling of fabric, before a large body curled itself around you protectively, easily deflecting the powerful blow as though it were nothing. Their voice was a deep soothing rumble as they spoke above the sound of the creatures enraged shrieks, the sound somehow managing to chase away much of the fear, though your heart continued to pound.
