The Curse of Raven's Rose Keep

After three hours of back tracking, trail hunting, and searching, he finally found the clearing where he thought that he had seen her from the terrace. However, the approximate place where she might have stood was a different story. He studied the ground and its surroundings and was surprised to find no tracks. He was well trained and had a talent for tracking and predicting how people moved, but this baffled him. There should have been something, a broken twig, rumbled leaves, even a footprint, but there was nothing. Garrick began to wonder if he had imagined her, but just then, he heard a scratching sound coming from behind him. He turned quickly, hand on his sword hilt. He could see nothing but shadows and moonlight. He was about to count it off as an animal, when he heard it again. It seemed purposeful, slow, and close. He ran towards the sound. Just as he reached the place where he thought he had heard it, from behind him came laughter like the chase was some sort of a game. He began to get frustrated. It must have showed, for the laughter grew louder now, but it gave away the stranger’s position. This time he felt for sure that they must be right behind a large tree ten feet from him. He ran full speed and came around it, but they were gone. Garrick stood staring and shouted, “Impossible! No one is that fast!” and then he heard a rustle. “Am I really?” a woman said in a sweet voice. He turned and saw her standing eight feet away from himself, his heart skipped a beat, and he was left speechless at what he saw. She was the most enchanting girl he had ever seen. Her long dark auburn hair dangled down over sharp cheekbones, and rested on the front of her white dress. She smiled and slowly moved towards him in a semicircle, walking in and out of view as she passed by the trees. “Beautiful night, is it not?” she said, her words soft and confident. Garrick said nothing, trying to relax both his gaze and his beating heart. He knew he was staring, but he could not help himself. He was beginning to feel entranced. “I saw you last night,” he managed to blurt out. She stopped walking and peered out, half behind a tree. “And I you,” she said and then pointed up toward the keep. “You were dancing over there, above the trees,” she said as her eyes studied his reaction. “I was practicing,” Garrick responded turning back to her, but once again she was out of view. “Who are you, my lady, and what brings you to my forest?” There was nothing but silence for a moment, then she stepped out only four feet away from him. “Oh, I see, so this is your forest?” she questioned with a smirk and then spun around with her arms spread wide. “Well, no, but I am the keeper of these la . . .” She cut him off in mid-sentence. “Angela,” she said. “What?” Garrick asked. “My name. You asked who I was. My name is Angela.” At that point he did not know whether to greet her or interrogate her. “I am Garrick, Lord of Raven’s Rose Keep. Why are you out in the forest in the middle of the night?” He had only ruled these lands for a month now, but he could easily see by the way she was dressed that she was not from Lee ‘Tal. Angela stopped moving and appeared puzzled by the question. She looked down and curled a finger through her hair. “Angela,” Garrick said, reaching out to touch her arm. Angela looked up when his fingers made contact. Her eyes almost seemed to glow in the moonlight. “Why, I have come for you, Lord Garrick,” she said, staring right into him. Garrick let go of her and stepped back unintentionally. Her eyes bore into him. He could no longer feel the beating of his own heart. He was hot and cold all at once. His hand instinctively reached down to draw his sword, but Angela was already moving away, not fleeing, but leaving, like she could sense his unease. He wanted to tell her to stop, but did not know why. So he let go, watching her disappear into the moonlit grove like an autumn fog. Garrick was puzzled. He felt uneasy all of a sudden and surprisingly alone. It was almost like a ray of sunlight had been shining on him and now he was suddenly in darkness. He stood and stared momentarily where Angela had been standing before he turned to make his way back, wondering how he should treat this encounter. Was she someone lost, who had wandered into his lands? Perhaps she was a messenger, but why would she say she had come for him? He asked and answered himself a hundred questions by the time he returned to his keep. * * * Angela followed Garrick unnoticed. She stayed just out of his view and studied his stride, his movements, his expressions, and his strong form. He seemed to be talking to himself. She hoped it was about her, which made her smile, but it could be that he was just crazy. Either way, she was intrigued. Last night, when he had first spotted her, she was afraid, but then she felt drawn back to the clearing and even more, she felt the need to see him again. When she headed toward the grove, she had only intended to watch the keep at a distance in hopes of catching a glimpse of him, but when she saw him arrive at the clearing, she could not help herself. He seemed almost innocent and yet powerful at the same time. She knew it was a risk revealing herself, but what if he was the reason she felt she needed to be here? She convinced herself the risk would be well worth it. Although they had only talked for a short time, her heart was still filled with his presence. As they neared the keep, Angela leaned against a tree and watched him enter. “We will meet again, Garrick, Lord of Raven’s Rose Keep,” she whispered and then returned to the forest to hunt.