Heart of Darkness

Angelica stared at the enormity of the dark castle. Not a single window was lit as if no one lived there. It had an eerie feeling to it and she understood why people called it the cursed castle.

The cursed castle where the cursed man lives. Where the beast hid. Where the monster preyed on women.

The monster?

Her brother couldn't have meant Lord Rayven. That was how people saw him. Not her brother. William had always been fond of Lord Rayven. He had no reason to call him a monster.

Whatever her brother meant, fate led her here. She had prayed to God to show her the way and if this was the way then she had to keep going and keep fighting. If she succeeded, Lord Rayven would be her sword and her shield.

She had nothing to lose. This was her last way out and this was the only man who didn't desire her. Now she was afraid of those who did more than of those who didn't.

Angelica began to climb the hill, thinking that she was insane for seeking protection from Lord Rayven. The king's man whom her father had betrayed. He was a nobleman for God's sake and she was nothing. She was worse than dirt in people's eyes.

Why would he accept her offer?

No. She was not going to offer her services as a maid or sell her body to him. The blood in her veins burned with the need for more than that. She wanted to take back the things she lost. She wanted to change her fate.

Why should she be punished for her father's deeds? Why was she dirt for having her body used and those who used it could walk out of the room with no shame? Why would a small mark on her wrist determine her whole life?

She clenched her hands into fists and continued to climb when the sky roared and rain began to fall heavily over her.

Even the skies seemed to be against her. Clearly, as a woman, she had no right to wish for more. She should be content with surviving only.

Perhaps she should be. That would of course be the first step, but not the last one.

As she took a step, the wind fought against her, pushing her back down the hill.

Life could indeed get harder but she couldn't go back now no matter how hard the wind tried to push her back. She had made up her mind at this point. Now she just had to figure out how to convince Lord Rayven.

One thing she could be calm about is if he denied her he would tell her straight and not stab her in the back, like most of them did. But that was not her goal. She had to make sure he didn't deny her even though he had the most reasons to do so.

Later, she would consider how to convince him. First, she needed to get there because the distance was much longer than she expected, especially with the wind and rain. Her feet became numb, she was cold and panting and completely soaked. She didn't know how much longer she could keep going but after a lot of struggle and small breaks along the way, she finally reached the top.

Angelica felt strange being this close to the cursed castle. It loomed over her with its tall structure, as if trying to intimidate her. She felt warning signals from her body like those she experienced when she first met King and his men. Something in this castle signaled danger. Could it be one worse than what she ran from?

Could there really be a monster living here? She shook her head. She was scaring herself for no reason. There was no way she would go back after all the struggle she went through without giving this a try.

The castle's structure was terrifying in every way. The heavy walls, the thick metal doors, and the door knockers shaped like bats, all gave off a feeling of threat.

After knocking on the door twice, with no one answering, she slowly opened the unlocked door. It was strange that it was unlocked this late.

As she entered the castle, she was embraced by the warmth yet she shivered. There was complete darkness inside and the frightening silence made her hear everything that was happening outside.

Were there no windows here? How strange.

Suddenly the wind shut the door behind her, startling her.

Angelica walked further in. "Is someone home?" She called again but she only heard the echo of her words.

Maybe the castle was dark because Lord Rayven wasn't home, but why would he leave his door unlocked?

Feeling too tired to think she decided to find a place to rest for now and think about everything else later. Hopefully, Lord Rayven won't arrive while she is asleep and throw her outside.

With an outstretched hand, she tried to find her way to a place where she could rest. As she walked blindly across the floor she felt cold air behind her. There was a shadow looming over her. The warning signals from before came back but with a terrifying intensity this time, making her shiver.

With heart racing, she slowly turned around and saw a shadow with fiery eyes, gleaming in the darkness. The fire in those eyes cast light over a face covered with what looked like blood.

Her heart skipped a beat and she took a step back but fell onto a couch. She was trapped and the monster took a step toward her.

Oh, Lord! The stories were true. A monster lived in this castle.

The monster reached its hand out and she screamed in horror and covered her face with her arms.

When nothing happened she carefully looked from behind her arms. The monster still stood there. It grabbed her arms and pulled her out of the couch, bringing her closer. Angelica felt like her heart would stop for real and she would die of horror.

The monster grabbed her face but she kept her eyes shut praying for whatever this thing was to disappear and leave her alone.

"Look at me."

This voice.

She recognized this deep dark compelling voice.

Angelica opened her eyes and up close in the dark she recognized the monster. It was Lord Rayven. The scars on his face were fresh and bleeding.

"Forget what you saw. Now sleep." He said and Angelica felt her eyelids becoming heavy before darkness embraced her.