It was a cool spring morning, Seraphina had been anxiously waiting for today, she woke up and excitedly jumped out of bed, getting dressed before the rooster could even announce the morning sun. Today was her 18th birthday, and the nuns told Seraphina she could have the day to herself, she was free to go out and do as she pleased. The thought of exploring the world beyond the safe haven filled her with excitement and anticipation, as she had never stepped beyond the town's borders.

When Seraphina was only a few days old she was found on the church’s steps by Sister Agatha. It was the first week of spring and as the nun stepped outside to tend to the chickens, she noticed a small basket with linens bundled inside of it; a faint raspy cry coming from within. At first she thought it was possibly a kitten but upon closer inspection, she discovered Seraphina's tiny face peeking from beneath the linens. Agatha quickly picked the baby up and rushed her into the church, where she was raised by all of the nuns.

Life at the convent was boring. Every day was essentially the same for her. In the mornings she would wake up to Agatha opening her window and shouting at her about still being in bed. After getting dressed and ready with Sister Agatha's help, she would attend the morning mass, then help with breakfast and the other chores. In the evening she would run errands in town, which was Seraphina’s favorite because it meant she could sneak off with the children to play. Once the sun set, she would join the sisters in prayer and meditation, reflecting on her day. Although these jobs were tedious and mundane she was grateful for the sense of community and security it provided. Today, however, was a special day and possibly her only chance to explore the outskirts of town. She had been drawn to the mysterious area since she was a child and felt as if something was always calling to her; she was determined to find out what it was.

Seraphina rushed out the door, almost knocking over Sister Agatha who had been on her way to Seraphina’s room to wake her up and check on her. Startled, Sister Agatha stepped back and watched as the girl ran down the hallway in a hurry.

“She knows how to wake up early when she has no chores, wicked girl. She must be feeling better, I wonder what she's planned for her birthday.” Sister Agatha chuckled to herself and continued down the hall.

Seraphina got to the main road and was met with the bustling noise of the busy town. The streets were filled with people rushing around, going about their day. The smell of freshly baked bread filled the air and the sun shone brightly, creating a cheerful atmosphere that contrasted with the hurried commotion of the town. She greeted the townspeople with a warm smile. Most of them simply nodded in return.

As she weaved through the crowds of people, heading towards the forest, she heard a small voice calling out behind her. She turned around to see a group of children running towards her waving their arms, she stopped and knelt down to greet them, their excited voices filling her with warmth and happiness. They begged her to play a game of hide and seek, and although she was in a rush she couldn't resist and agreed to play one game with them. The children were delighted and quickly ran off in search of hiding places. Seraphina already knew all the places the children hid, so the game would only take a few minutes. Seraphina had been playing hide-and-seek with the children for years, she had become intimately familiar with their favorite hiding spots. In order to quickly find the children, Seraphina devised a clever strategy. Instead of searching every hiding spot, she would listen for their giggles and follow the sound, effortlessly revealing their hiding places in record time. When they were finished, Seraphina kissed each of them on their head and sent them on their way with a warm smile.

Finally she made it to the forest, the trees looked as if they reached the heavens, but Seraphina could still see beams of light filtering through the leaves, illuminating a path that seemed to be beckoning her to follow it. The air was thick with the scent of earth and the gentle whispers of the wind rustling through the leaves created a sense of serenity and mystery. As she walked, the sun rays danced around her, warming her skin. A carpet of moss and fallen leaves underfoot. Nobody besides the hunters ever went into the forest and even they did not go too far. The area was forbidden, everyone said it was cursed. But Seraphina wasn't sure she believed in curses. Driven by her curiosity, Seraphina couldn't resist the allure of the forbidden forest. She yearned to uncover the truth behind the curse that had shrouded the woods in mystery for so long. With each step she took deeper into the forest, she couldn't help but wonder if she would be the one to finally unravel its secrets. No one could tell her what the curse actually was, just that people sometimes left and never returned.

“That's not a curse,” Seraphina thought to herself, willing to risk everything to uncover the truth, and defy the ominous reputation of the forbidden forest. "I know there is something amazing out here.”

The forest air was filled with a symphony of chirps and songs, leaves rustled as animals moved among the trees. She was captivated by the beauty of the forest and the mysterious aura of the unknown. As she continued her journey, she started to feel a strange energy emanating from the forest's edge, the hairs on her arms were standing on end.

Once she stepped through the trees a meadow appeared before her, it looked as if it had never been touched by man. Seraphina was mesmerized, wild flowers of every color seemed to stretch for miles dancing in the wind making the meadow feel as if it were alive, and the sweet smell of the blooms filled the air. The gentle breeze was like a whisper, beckoning her to explore, as if she had found a secret that only she was fated to discover.

Seraphina had been walking for hours, it felt like the meadow went on forever. Unbeknownst to her, the meadow was filled with a magic that had been dormant for centuries and she had woken it up. She suddenly stopped, her body felt strange, a tingle started at her toes and traveled through her entire body, it did not hurt, it felt satisfying. Seraphina could feel the tingling sensation grow, like it was building up inside of her and it needed to be released. Her hands began to feel hot, she opened and closed them a few times, and then cupped them in front of her face. Suddenly a small flame appeared in the palm of her hands, causing her to let out a small scream; the flame disappeared.

“Did I do that?” She thought to herself.

Standing there surprised and puzzled, she slowly cupped her hands in front of her face again, but nothing happened. She did it a few more times, staring intensely at the palms of her hand not letting herself blink, but still nothing .

“I must’ve imagined it,” she whispered to herself as she dropped her arms to her sides feeling disappointed.

She fell back letting the meadow's tall grass and flowers catch her and cushion the fall. She reached towards the sky as if trying to catch the sun in her hand.

“I don’t want to go back”, She sighed, “Now that I’ve found this place, the convent feels like a cage, but I have no place else to go.”

While lowering her arm, Seraphina opened her hand as if to see if she had actually captured the sun, instead a tiny flame danced in her palm. She gasped while clumsily getting to her feet, never taking her eyes off the tiny flicker of light. The more she focused on the fire the bigger it grew. She was completely entranced by the fire she had conjured in her hand. Just then a gust of wind blew causing the flame to go out, leaves and flowers formed a small tornado all around her.

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“False King.” a faint voice whispered, but she was too captivated by the tornado of flowers to pay it any mind.

The wind stopped abruptly, Seraphina’s tousled hair wrapped around her face, she moved it away and attempted to calm it with her hands. Suddenly she heard a stick snap in the distance and quickly turned around. Standing at the edge of the meadow by a tree was a man watching her. He had piercing blue eyes, a square jaw, and a top his head, wild golden blonde hair. He was tall and masculine, his gaze was intense and direct. When their eyes met, she felt a jolt of electricity that sent her heart racing. A devilish smile formed on the man's face.

“I am sorry if I startled you,” The alluring man called out, slowly stepping closer to Seraphina, “I was bewitched by your beauty, I have never seen someone as ravishing as you in all my life, I could not look away.” His words oozed with seduction.

Seraphina felt her face flush, and stepped back. She could feel the intensity of his gaze as he looked at her. She knew that she should be wary of his advances, but she couldn't deny the feeling of being admired that came over her; it almost felt like their encounter was destined to happen.

“Please tell me your name.” he said, continuing to approach her cautiously like a hunter approaching its prey.

“Ss-Seraphina,” She called out hesitantly. Her intuition was telling her to run but she could not look away from him.

“A beautiful name for a beautiful creature,” he was walking at a more steady pace now but was keeping an eye on the young girl's reaction. “I am Theoden, but you can call me Theo if you’d like, I have never seen you before, are you from the Elberethion Kingdom?”

“Elberethion Kingdom?” She thought to herself, she had never heard of that Kingdom before which was strange because she hadn’t traveled that far from her home, it was merely half a day's walk. “No, I am from a small town on the other side of that forest,” Seraphina pointed towards the horizon, but she gasped when she realized how far she was. It would be dark before she even reached the forest.

Theo was right in front of her now, he slowly brushed a loose curl from her face, tucking it behind her ear, never taking his eyes off of her. Seraphina could feel her ears burning red, she nervously looked down at her feet, her heart was beating even faster.

“So you came from the other side of the forest?” His curiosity piqued. “Could you tell me how you did that?”

His voice was smooth, and hypnotizing, as if he was trying to lure her into revealing her secrets. Seraphina began to nervously wring her dress in her hands.

“It's my birthday so I uh….” her answer was quickly cut off as Theo dropped to his knee in front of her.

“You’re Birthday!” He gasped, trying to take a peek at Seraphina's face, as she shyly avoided eye contact.

“Yy-yes, it’s my 18th birthday”, she continued, stumbling over her words. “And um, the nuns I live with, gave me permission to explore. So, um, I traveled through the forest at the edge of the little town I’m from, and, um, I discovered this meadow when I got to the other side. I've been strolling through it all day, and I guess I lost track of time. I can’t believe how beautiful it is.” She finally took a deep breath after nervously rattling on, her cheeks were burning and red.

Seraphina turned her head staring off towards the forest, the sun was almost completely lost behind the trees. She was happy she played with the children before she left town, she had a feeling she would never see them or her little town again.

Theoden was transfixed by the timid girl's story. She had ventured through a treacherous forest full of bloodthirsty creatures unscathed, passed through a protection spell created by the most powerful mage in history, awoken an enchanted meadow, and was able to use magic, which had been lost to Elberethion for Centuries, and yet she spoke as if she had gone for a simple stroll.

“Stupid girl”, he chuckled to himself as a mischievous grin crept onto his face. He knew he had to find a way to take advantage of the situation, and he was determined to find a way to take the girl's magic for himself. He thought that if he could control her, he could use her magic to take the throne from his uncle and become the rightful ruler.

“It's getting dark Seraphina, and I can not leave you out here all alone, ” Theoden stood up, removed his cape and wrapped it over her shoulders, waking her from her trance. He reached out his hand “It must be fate that I found you, it is dangerous at night. Why don’t you come back with me to my castle, you can stay as my guest. We will find a way to get you back home in the morning ”.

Seraphina stared at his hand, she had a strange feeling of Déjà vu. Her heart was telling her to take his hand and never look back, but her body was telling her to run away.

Theoden was beginning to get irritated but hid it behind a fake smile. “I Vow to never leave your side Seraphina. I won't let anything happen to you.”

“It must be fate, indeed Sir Theo,” She slowly placed her hand in his, finally looking up at his face. There was no other option, it was now nightfall and she had no place to go. The moonlight lit up the meadow making it look as if it were glowing. She could see the stars twinkling in his eyes, they felt familiar, they were beautiful but they frightened her.

An uneasy feeling came over her, as Theo quickly led her to where his horse was, and her legs began to feel weak.

“Can we slow down, my legs feel a bit tired”. She tried to loosen her hand from his grip, it felt as if he would drag her if she didn't keep up.

He didn't respond, and instead tightened his grip as he pulled her through the meadow. Seraphina began to panic, she tried to dig her heels into the ground and pull her arm away, but Theo just overpowered her.

“Let go!” She cried out, a small flame erupting from her hand burning Theoden. He let go and retracted his hand instantly, causing Seraphina to fall backwards onto the ground.

“How dare you!” He shouted, glaring down at the small girl trembling on the ground.

The look of disgust on his face made her stomach turn. Why was his expression so familiar, why did it cause an aching pain in her chest. “..Run!” She thought to herself, but her legs would not move.

“I’m sorry! I didn't mean it.” she pleaded to him. Every bone in her body was telling her that her life was in danger.

“Stupid girl”, he scoffed, as he regained his composure, running his fingers through his blonde locks. “I am trying to get us to safety, you mustn't put up such a fight, I promise I will keep you safe.” But as he extended his hand once again, he noticed Seraphina's face was drained of all its color, her eyes were wide and filled with terror, as if she had seen a monster.

“How could I forget…” All the horrors and betrayal came rushing back at once. The lies he spewed now a ringing in her ear.

She was overwhelmed with emotions as she had flashbacks of him forcing himself onto her and calling it love, then killing her because she was no longer useful. This was no man, he was the Devil. Seraphina knew exactly what would happen if she took his hand. Everything started to get foggy in front of her.

“No, not again, not now.” She could see Theoden rushing over to her side, as she began to faint, “No, don’t touch me”, she thought to herself, she wanted to shout it, she wanted to push him away but her body betrayed her and she blacked out.

“Tsk, why is she making this so difficult?” His voice was low and menacing as he hovered above her, his eyes gleaming with a predatory hunger as he eyed her sleeping body. When he said he had never seen anyone as ravishing as her he wasn’t lying. Theoden knew he had to possess her, he would never be satisfied until she was his. He wanted to own her like she was a mere object. If she wasn't useful or if he got bored with her he would just throw her away. Lifting her up off the ground he hoisted her over his shoulder, and carried her over to his horse who had been impatiently waiting for him at the bottom of the hill.

“Sorry to keep you waiting girl,” His horse let out a frustrated whinny as he rubbed her on the nose. He draped Seraphina’s body over the saddle of the horse, and took the reins. Clicking his tongue he led the horse towards the road back to the castle. Theoden looked up at the sky, the stars felt strangely familiar. “It must be fated, Indeed”.