There was once a beautiful lady who lived deep within the forest with her loving family.
Though they were far from the town, whispers about them carried beyond the trees, carried by travelers, merchants… rumors that clung like shadows.
Among them all, one name lingered the longest:
The beautiful lady of the forest.
She possessed everything people dreamed of grace, beauty, presence. But beauty… beauty can be dangerous.
One day, the young prince heard the stories. Curiosity stirred, but desire followed close behind, sharp and cold.
He summoned his men and marched into the forest.
The journey was merciless. Trees twisted like gnarled fingers, shadows crawling along the path, whispering that they would swallow intruders whole.
The deeper they went, the darker the woods became, as though the forest itself recoiled in horror.
At last, they found her.
Beneath the pale, trembling light slipping through the leaves.
She was even more exquisite than the stories claimed.
And then… something dark ignited within the prince.
He was not the kind people prayed for.
He was the kind you prayed to be spared from.
With cold commands, he ordered his men to destroy anyone who could protect her, to break every obstacle.
She saw her world crumble. Her family torn apart, her animals slaughtered, her home set aflame.
Her screams clawed at the night, but the forest answered only with silence.
Fate was deaf.
By the time they reached her, she was nothing more than a broken doll—fragile, terrified, stripped of hope.
When the prince finally approached, his smile was sharp, predatory, unflinching.
The night swallowed it all.
No blood remained.
No bodies.
No witnesses.
The trees whispered only one thing:
Her fear belongs to me now.
And I… I am here.
A shadow among the trees.
Listening to her shallow breaths.
Waiting.
Watching.
Because the moment it falters… it will be mine.