Her Capture, His Desire

Chapter 1

                    Emily's POV
                             ★
The life I'd always imagined.

A happy family? No.

My happy family. Exactly

The real laughter, joy, and smiles beaming in everyone's faces. I'd wished for it the night before, a little walk in the nearby garden, just the three of us.

As we walked through the garden, the world seemed to be bathed in a warm, golden light. Mom and Dad walking ahead of me, smiling and laughing as they cut a path through the colorful blooms, while my little legs tried to keep up.

The garden is a paradise, filled with the scent of fresh flowers, birds singing their way through life.

For once, everything felt right in the world until a sense of unease began to creep in, and as suddenly as the moment came, it began to dissolve.

My parents moved further. "Wait for me..." I giggled.

They moved further away, their figures diminishing until they were nothing more than specks in the distance. Alone, I tried to catch up, but my feet seemed rooted to the ground, panic rose in my chest.

Suddenly, the garden seemed to darken, and the sky turned an ominous grey. The cheerful atmosphere had vanished, leaving me alone in the suddenly foreboding garden.

What is happening?

I looked around, my heart racing. The once-beautiful garden seemed cramped and claustrophobic, the shadows lengthening around me like creeping vines.

I started to call out for my parents, my voice trembling. But there was no response. The silence was deafening.

"Mom! Dad!" I yelled, my only response being the echo of my voice.
Tears blurred my vision as I realized;

I was alone.

The trees seemed to lean closer as if edging me away from the path. The wind howled like a banshee, making me shiver from the sudden cold.

I sat down on the ground, my breath coming in quick gasps, trying to calm myself down, but my heart continued to pound. 

Trying to shut out the darkness around, I closed my eyes, but as I  opened them, I found myself still in the same dark garden, my parents still nowhere in sight.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I yelped, spinning around, my heart in my throat.

But there was no one there.

My heart began to slow, replacing the fear with confusion. I looked around, but the garden was empty. The sense of being watched creeped up my spine.

I struggled to my feet, ready to sprint, when she heard a voice behind me.

"Emily... trying to run already?"

The voice was soft, husky, and oddly familiar? I stopped, fear gripping my heart once again.

I struggled against the darkness that almost consumed me, my breath coming out in short gasps.

The voice came again. "Running doesn't matter, it never will."

My tears fell freely now, I was stumbling against my own feet. "Leave m-me alone..." I whispered, convincing myself that it was all in my head.

"Because you can't escape this, no matter how far you go. It's inevitable..."

The distorted figures a continued to surround me and I felt suffocated. My legs felt weak under me, and I suddenly collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air."