A Shade of Night

A chateau stood on a slow, sloped hill, standing above a thick pine forest, the peaks of the trees sharp and severe. They glinted in the midnight moonlight like the teeth of some ancient behemoth, ready to snap closed and swallow the world if awakened. Thick fog seeped from between the dark spires, creeping and crawling out from the wood, licking at the edges of the berm, surrounding the rise on all sides.

The structure was an old thing, dark stone and shale, pale towers and draped in stark shadow from the moon's cool light. Its windows flickered with amber brilliance, glowing eyes set in its somber facade. A sudden flood of warmth as a wide oaken door opened to reveal a young woman, smiling and flushed. She fixed the clasp of her crimson cloak below her graceful neck, sweeping her dark brown hair back before lifting her hood and smiling to friends within. A final wave, a kiss thrown from pink lips by her fair slender hand... the door creaked closed, the latch snapping loudly behind her as she turned to face the night.

The air carried a chill though there was no wind. She shivered slightly as she walked down the stone steps. Turning to look over her shoulder, she hesitated, then pulled the woolen sanguine fabric tight around her, lit her lantern, and strode with purpose towards the waiting timber, and the path through it that would carry her home. As she descended into the mists, a wolf howled in the distance. Her eyes widened, blue green jewels on her fair, freckled face. She squared her shoulders and set out into the darkness. From the windows of the manor, the scarlet figure became a softly swaying radiance in the fog, and finally... vanished into the gloom of the forest.

There, alone in the inky blackness and murky mist, her smile dwindled. The rich green needles and vibrant flora of the wood emerged eerily from the veil, shifting and dancing ominously in the paltry gleam of the lantern. She lifted her light high, in defiance of the fear which deepened within her. Blades of wild grass grasped at her ankles. A twig snapped in the darkness, and she spun around to peer futilely into the trees. Her light dimmed by the abundant haze, she could see nothing beyond a few feet away. She gripped the metal ring of her lamp and listened. One deep, shuddering breath... two... Only silence now, not even the nightsong of insects and frogs. The stillness was severe and complete.

Onward, her boots crunched the dirt of the narrow path.

"Not far from home now," she said to herself aloud, her thin voice wavered against her fading resolve. It was difficult to be sure, though. She had walked this path many times, but the shroud that surrounded her was bewildering. Slowly, gently ... a breeze rustled through the wood towards her. The mist stirred around her. The wind rushed through the trees and flicked at the wet red folds of her cloak. It carried with it a sound that froze her to her very bones, a gravelly whispering voice that seemed to come from all directions and nowhere at once. Trembling, petrified in place, she drew back her hood and strained to hear the words...

"All alone and out to play, it walks by night but should have stayed.

The sense of dread it feels inside, it thinks it's brave but cannot hide.

It thinks it's candle brightly burns, but dark is deep, and now she learns."

A swift strong gust of wind lashes at her, lifting her cape and sliding up the bared skin of her legs with frosty ephemeral fingers. The candle within her lantern flickers.. and dies, wisps from spent wick lost in the fearful dark haze. In the frail trickling glow of the moon, her skin is pallid, her hair damp, wild black tendrils upon her face. She gasps as the voice rises once more, much closer and clearer this time, but still with no discernible earthly source.

"It must now learn the way of night, it must be pierced through heart with fright.

The ancient way of learning now, to cold hard truths I'll make it bow.

It feels my icy fingers bold, the way of terror taking hold."

The wind roars once more through the forest, falling needles from the trees pricking her pale cheeks. A cold shiver courses through her body and she runs headlong down the dark path, spent lantern swinging, a useless glimmer in the cold light. It falls with a crash as branches scratch and claw at her skin. As she flees, a thorny barb seizes her cloak and yanks her off of her feet, clasp breaking with a flash of pain upon her thin neck. She feels deep striking fear as she falls to her back, breath stolen by the impact with the hard earth.

Through an opening in the thick mists that hang above her, the single white eye of the moon watches with uncaring tranquility. The pale glowing disc blurs as the mists gather rapidly around her, closing in on her heaving frame. Her body clenched, the last beam of moonlight gleams on her falling tears. Darkness descends upon her. The voice is visceral, its vibrations tingling against her exposed form.

"It quivers in anticipation of despair, its skin crawls and nostrils flare.

My dark intentions are made real, now deep terror's penetration it shall feel..."

The moon shines on the sharp tops of a pine forest, stabbing upward from a deep dark place. A long languid scream echoes into the lonely fearsome night, unheard by any but the shadows.