Charlotte

The darkness enveloped the landscape as it swallowed the forest. A dense fog filled the forest, and the forest canopy blocked most of the sunlight, allowing the shadows to obscure the area around. As the dark mist covered everything surrounding Charlotte, her skin crawled with fear. It reminded her of something similar to when she first entered the forest and had no idea where she was or what she was doing there. This time it was far more eerie than she expected. Yet the redhead did not let her guard down. She kept walking deeper into the forest until she noticed something moving behind her; at first, it appeared as a shadow, and she quickly turned around trying to see if it was a creature hiding somewhere. When nothing came, the young woman turned her head once again.

Her footsteps came to a halt, and her heart began to race. Something was standing a bit further away, watching her intently. It was some sort of light that gleamed softly in the darkness. Charlotte stared at it, trying to figure out who or what would wish to kill her. Its whisper reached the redhead's ear, "Follow me. Allow me to take you somewhere wonderful."

The mystery entity vanished into the darkness, and the redhead's legs carried her forward, despite her confusion about what was going on. She couldn't get her mind off the presence that had beckoned to her. Charlotte followed it for a few minutes until she came to a clearing surrounded by dense vegetation. Until she realized the monster had vanished, leaving her alone in her new surroundings. She was completely bewildered, but also afraid, by the entire incident. There were no other humans in sight, nor were there any animals roaming the area. Within the growing hush, only her own heartbeat resonated.

As she got closer to the clearing's center, she noticed a small flower shaped like a rose, but instead of a green stem, it had a black stem. Was this the Sanguine Root? But as soon as Charlotte picked it up, it turned to dust. She sighed quietly and returned the flower—or, in this instance, ashes—to the ground. It was all a ruse from the start. The thing brought her here, only for her to realize the mysterious item was a hoax.

'What now?' Charlotte thought to herself.

Out of nowhere, a deep guttural growl can be heard that shook the ground momentarily. A loud thumping echoed throughout the clearing and the redhead froze. She held her breath and slowly turned her head to see another large shadowy shape emerging from the depths of the shadows. It stood a dozen feet tall and its gaze pierced through the layers of fog, piercing through the shadows and finally settled upon her, giving Charlotte shivers. Charlotte felt herself shrinking beneath its stare and felt paralyzed.

The figure became closer and closer with each passing second, but her instincts told her to flee immediately. Charlotte turned around and ran in the opposite direction. Her mind raced faster than her feet could run and she couldn't believe she almost stumbled over a rock several times because of her shaking limbs.

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She was running blindly without knowing which direction to take. The trees blocked her vision and her legs felt weak from fatigue. Finally, she stopped to catch her breath and looked all around, trying to decide which way to go next. Without thinking, she made haste towards the dark castle instead. Once Charlotte reached its entrance, she pushed the doors open and stepped into the main chamber of the fortress while catching her breath once again. As she moved forwards through the dimly lit corridors, she could sense that the castle was much bigger than it looked from outside.

"Who is there?"

Startled, Charlotte almost tripped backwards due to hearing the voice. The voice belonged to someone familiar and she instinctively recognized it was the estranged being she met in this very castle. Her eyes wandered all over the walls, searching for the source of the voice, however she never saw an opening anywhere. Charlotte wondered if the voice was coming from above. Or maybe it was her own mind playing tricks? Either way, Charlotte decided not to risk it. Instead of calling out the person as she had originally planned to do, the young lady silently slipped out of the main room and headed deeper into the dark labyrinth of halls. As she got farther away from the main hall, she was starting to feel uneasy.

Something didn't seem right here, and Charlotte could sense it. If she wanted to find out where exactly the voice was coming from, she would need to explore more of these rooms. That's why she decided to continue her exploration and searched for the Sanguine Root.

Once again, she crept through the halls in utter silence. The surrounding darkness stretched endlessly. Occasionally, a pair of glowing eyes peered down from high above, observing her movements with interest. Though her instinct told her to avoid that area, Charlotte couldn't help but turn her head and look up. As a result, she could vaguely make out a figure, but couldn't tell exactly what it was. It was impossible to know if those eyes were just figments of her imagination, or if there really was a creature lurking amongst the shadows.

It was then when Charlotte heard footsteps approaching from behind. Instinctively, she ducked behind the nearest column and crouched low, hoping that whoever was approaching wouldn't see her. It was Christine, unaware of the intruder that hid behind one of the columns there. She rushed past Charlotte without taking a single glance in her direction and soon disappeared down the hall.

After letting out a sigh of relief, Charlotte decided it was safe to move again. As she made her way down the corridor, the figures on the ceiling appeared to be following her in silence, watching her every movement. She shuddered in fear yet continued her journey. Although she couldn't deny the feeling of being watched bothered her, she still had enough self-control to hide her nervousness and keep on going.

Finally, the hallway ended and opened itself into another large cavernous space, even more grandiose than the previous ones. In front of her laid two pillars that supported the ceiling, creating a magnificent arch. In between them, Charlotte spotted the Sanguine Root floating amidst the mist of the air. It was resting in a pool of water, with countless roots wrapped tightly around it, holding it securely in place.

The redhead gasped in awe at the scene. Never in her life did she imagine that such a magical object existed. She carefully approached, taking care not to fall asleep or get too close to the Sanguine Root. Charlotte knew she should leave the area, but curiosity got the best of her.